Recommended Books

HPL Recommended Books

Books About Women and the Vote

Local author Nancy B. Kennedy stopped by the HPL to recommend some good reading for women's history and the vote.

Staff Book Suggestions for Gift Giving
Click on the book titles to display more information in the HPL catalog.

- Adult Books
- Children's Books

Adult Books

Gardening & Nature

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy
A primer on native landscaping. Restoring native plants to suburbia - What is native and what is not? - Gardening for insect diversity. The whys and hows. As development and habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations and the links between native plant species and native wildlife. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical and achievable recommendations, we can all make a difference.

Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy
In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Nature's Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats.

The Tree Book : Superior Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and Gardens by Michael A. Dirr and Keith S. Warren
A must-have reference of more than 2,400 tree species and cultivars. Each profile includes the common and botanical names, with details on foliage; flowers, seeds, fruits, and cones; native range; adaptability; and popular uses in landscapes.

A Way to Garden: A Hands-On Primer for Every Season by Margaret Roach
Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, the book is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.

The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting & Pruning Techniques by Tracy DiSabato
A favorite perennial gardening reference. Removes the mystery from perennial pruning with techniques for pinching, deadheading, site selection, soil preparation, planting, and disease and pest control. An extensive encyclopedia of perennials.

The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage by David L. Culp; with Adam Levine; photographs by Rob Cardillo
Culp shares basic techniques of interplanting many different species in the same area so that as one plant passes its peak, another takes over. It discusses how to design a layered garden, and how to maintain it. The result is a nonstop parade of color.

Seeing the Sourlands by Jim Amon
Local author photographer, Jim Amon, donated over 60 of his amazing photo-essays featuring plants, insects, birds and other natives of the Sourland region to the Sourland Conservancy to publish in this beautiful book. It is available through the Sourland Conservancy, and locally at dandelion wishes in Hopewell Borough.

What It's Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing -- What Birds Are Doing, and Why written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley
This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to experienced birders. More than two hundred species, including illustrations by the author. New scientific research on the ways birds have adapted to environmental changes. Text is aimed at adults, but is nontechnical, making it perfect to share the love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action.

The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris
When a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary was published in 2007, around forty words concerning nature had been dropped, such as adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, and newt. This beautiful book conjures back twenty of these lost words, and the beings they name, from acorn to wren, with the magic of word and paint.

Cooking

The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett
A definitive selection of America's finest cookies, in a cookbook that features a variety of traditional treats, regional specialties, and contemporary new creations, along with tips on cookie decorating and crafts.

Tart Love: Sassy, Savory, and Sweet by Holly Herrick
Sweet and savory recipes for marvelous little pies. A course in pastry making as well as a guide to using seasonal fruits to create scrumptious, palate-pleasing desserts and main-dish tarts.

Cook's Illustrated Revolutionary Recipes: Groundbreaking Techniques, Compelling Voices, One-of-a-kind Recipes by the editors at America's Test Kitchen
To celebrate it's anniversary, Cook's Illustrated has gathered together some of it's most extraordinary recipes and innovations from the past quarter-century in this hands-on book packed with practical tips and techniques. A big part of what makes the magazine so trustworthy (and enjoyable to read) is the essays that accompany each recipe, tracing from initial brainstorming to aha moments (and the occasional catastrophe) to final success. These feature-length stories celebrate the art of food writing and the extensive work that goes into every recipe.

Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook by Dorie Greenspan
Dorie Greenspan’s food is powerfully cookable—her recipes instant classics. In Everyday Dorie, she invites readers into her kitchen to savor the dishes that she makes all the time, from Miso-Glazed Salmon to Lemon Goop!

Rose's Baking Basics: 100 Essential Recipes, With More Than 600 Step-By-Step Photos by Rose Levy Beranbaum
No-fuss recipes that everyone should know. Each recipe follows a simplified approach for can't-fail results, from brownies and banana bread to homemade bread and pecan tart. Baking will be more fun than ever!

History & Local History

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams
The first book from Ruth Bader Ginsburg after becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 1993--a witty, engaging, serious, and playful collection of writings and speeches from the woman who has had a powerful and enduring influence on law, women's rights, and popular culture.

Eleanor by David Michaelis
A breakthrough portrait of America's longest-serving first lady, that covers her major contributions throughout critical historical events and her essential role in advancing international human rights.

Women Win the Vote! 19 for the 19th Amendment by Nancy B. Kennedy
From local author Nancy B. Kennedy – one of HPL's wonderful volunteers!
A collection showcasing trailblazing individuals who fought for women's suffrage. This book maps the road to the Nineteenth Amendment through compact, readable biographies of nineteen women who helped pave the way. A view of suffragettes perfect for older elementary and middle school students, and their families!

If These Stones Could Talk: African American Presence in the Hopewell Valley, Sourland Mountains, and Surrounding Regions in New Jersey by Elaine Buck & Beverly Mills
Local authors Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills bring fresh light to a forgotten corner of American history that began in a small cemetery in central New Jersey. Their foray into historic preservation work convinced them that they had a lot more work left to do to connect African American history to local and national history books. In warm but unflinching voices authors Buck and Mills offer readers a unique window into our past. A must read!

Hopewell Valley: Images of America by Jack Seabrook and Lorraine Seabrook
Rare images gathered from the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and local residents make up this monumental pictorial journey. Hopewell Valley combines the famous and not-so-famous elements of these communities nestled between the Delaware River and the Sourland Mountains.

Fiction

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny
The latest in an HPL patrons favorite mystery series!
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, travels from the beloved Three Pines Canadian village, to visit family in Paris – and uncovers a sinister plot in the City of Light. (Of course!) Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies, deceit, and family secrets!

Dune by Frank Herbert
A Sci-Fi classic originally published in 1965.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. When his house is betrayed, the destruction of his family will set the heir on a journey towards humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
A new motion picture is in the works.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
One of the most celebrated classics of the twentieth century. In it, Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching. A startling and haunting novel, Orwell’s cautionary tale of a man trapped under the gaze of an authoritarian state feels more relevant now than ever before

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
A favorite author of HPL patrons!
A new novel that captures the current political era with Hiaasen's inimitable savage humor and wonderful, eccentric characters. A murder-mystery complete with demagoguery, politicized crises, immigrant hordes, and bizarre conspiracies Squeeze Me is full of vim and vigor, and as irreverent as can be. Completely of the moment, full of vim and vigor, and as irreverent as can be, Squeeze Me is pure, unadulterated Hiaasen.

From the Non-Fiction Shelves

The Odyssey by Homer; translated by Emily Wilson
In this fresh, authoritative version―the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman―this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Wilson’s Odyssey captures the beauty and enchantment of this classic ancient poem, as well as the suspense and drama of its narrative.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
This brilliant book gives a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, Caste argues how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Ex Libris : 100 Books to Read and Reread by Michiko Kakutani; illustrated by Dana Tanamachi
In this collection of essays, readers will discover novels and memoirs by some of the most gifted writers working today; favorite classics worth reading or rereading; and nonfiction works, both old and new, that illuminate our social and political landscape and some of today’s most pressing issues.

The Illustrated A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Originally published in 1988, the book was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the nature of the universe. Since then there have been extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds – confirming many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions. Including new knowledge revealed by these observations for this expanded edition, Hawking has prepared a new introduction.

The Best of Me by David Sedaris
Stories that reveal the wonder and delight humorist Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected - it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder - but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful. Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms - at long last - with the other. Full of joy, generosity, incisive humor.

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
For this book, comedian Jerry Seinfeld has selected his favorite material, organized decade by decade. In page after hilarious page, one brilliantly crafted observation after another, readers will witness the evolution of one of the great comedians of our time and gain new insights into the thrilling but unforgiving art of writing stand-up comedy.

Children's Books

Picture Books

The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folktale adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett
A young boy drops his white mitten in the snow. While he searches for it, the creatures of the forest, one by one, squeeze into the mitten looking for warmth. Readers enjoy the silliness of so many large animals fitting in a child-sized mitten. The intricate pictures that frame the full-size pages allow us to anticipate what is coming next, make this a book that children often return to again and again.

The Wish Tree by Kyo MacLean
Ignoring those older and wiser than he, a little boy,(Charlie) enjoys a daylong woodland trek, with his sled, looking for a very special tree. The toboggan, (Boggan) is a good friend to Charlie, with its rope resembling a friendly smile. Along the way, Charlie and Boggan help the forest creatures they meet get ready for winter. The book ends with a magical celebration and our weary heroes making their way home by the light of the moon.

Renato and the Lion by local author Barbara DiLorenzo
The touching, magical story of a boy in a war-torn country and the stone lion that rescues him. Renato loves his home in Florence, Italy. He loves playing with his friends, walking home by the beautiful buildings and fountains with his father, and he especially loves the stone lion who seems to smile at him from a pedestal in the piazza. But his father tells him that their family must leave. Their country is at war, and they will be safer in America. Renato can only think of his lion. Who will keep him safe? With luminous watercolor paintings, local author Barbara DiLorenzo captures the beauty of Florence in this heartwarming and ultimately magical picture book.

Brave Irene by William Steig
This is a classic - a winner of the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award in 1986. Courage, perseverance, and determination are all on display as a seamstress’ young daughter does her best to get that very special dress to the palace in time for the ball.

I am a Thief! by local author Abigail Rayner; illustrated by Molly Ruttan
When Eliza Jane Murphy impulsively pockets a sparkly green stone from her classroom's "Exploring Green" display table, her heart crumples. My heart stopped singing. My letters went wonky. I was too heavy to swing! I wanted to put it back. But when she discovers that nearly everyone in her family took something once in their lives, Eliza overcomes her shame to make things right. A hilarious and heartfelt story about stealing and finding the courage to do the right thing from local author Abigail Rayner.

Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins
A book about mistaken identity, friendship and cake. What could be better?

Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares
Red and Lulu make their nest in a particularly beautiful evergreen tree. It shades them in the hot months and keeps them cozy in the cold months, and once a year the people who live nearby string lights on their tree and sing a special song: But one day, something unthinkable happens, and Red and Lulu are separated. It will take a miracle for them to find each other again. Luckily, it's just the season for miracles.

Moth: An Evolution Story by Isabel Thomas; illustrated by Daniel Igneus
This nonfiction picture book explains evolution and natural selection in a way that very young children can understand. A newly-emerged peppered moth blends in with other speckled-winged moths on lichen-covered tree branches. Over time, as soot from man-made machines settles on the trees turning them black, black winged moths emerge and begin to predominate.

The Puddle Garden by local author Jared Rosenbaum; illustrated by Laura Rosenbaum
In this children’s story full of native plants and wildlife, learn how lonely Bear Cub invited friends to his new home– by creating a Puddle Garden. Bear Cub plants cardinal flower, swamp milkweed, blue flag iris, elderberry, and more. His garden quickly fills with grateful wildlife. His home landscape is no longer lonely! Children and parents alike will be inspired by this story to create homes for butterflies, hummingbirds, turtles, frogs and other wildlife, using native wildflowers and shrubs that provide shelter and sustenance.

If You Come To Earth by Sophie Blackall
A boy writes a letter to an imagined alien, explaining all the things he will need to know about Earth and the people who live here--and adding a postscript asking what the alien might look like.

Beginning Readers

Charlie and Mouse by Laurel Snyder
The Charlie & Mouse stories are short funny chapter books, with quirky and well drawn characters. Charlie and Mouse are brothers whose every day family lives parents and children will find very familiar.

Ages 8 - 12

Echo Mountain by Laura Wolk
When twelve-year-old Ellie and her family lose their livelihood and move to a mountain cabin in Maine in 1934, Ellie learns from the forest around her and an old woman who some believe is a witch how to become a healer.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Twelve year old Peter and his pet fox, Pax have been separated. As they both search for each other in a dangerous, unfamiliar world, they each learn to trust themselves and others. Long listed for the National Book Award this book has a poetic, fable like quality that draws in both children and adults.

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Generations of human and animal families grow and change, seen from the point of view of the "Wishing Tree" that shelters them all. When a threat against an immigrant family is carved into the tree's trunk, Red, a 200 year old oak, and his crow friend, Bongo, help their human neighbors to understand each other.

Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by local author Laurie Wallmark
The riveting story of a trailblazing woman. Grace Hopper coined the term "computer bug" and taught computers to "speak English." Throughout her life, Hopper succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly was "Amazing Grace" . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys. With a wealth of witty quotes, and richly detailed illustrations, Laurie Wallmark's book brings Hopper's incredible accomplishments to life.

Gold Rush Girl by Avi
Tory longs to live a life as adventurous and independent as that of her heroine, Jane Eyre. When Tory's father loses his job and decides to seek a share of the newly discovered gold in California, Tory stows away on the westbound ship carrying her father and younger brother, Jacob.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village in China, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly, on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River. A Newbery award winner.

Changeling - from the Oddmire series by WiIliam Ritter
Two brothers are raised as twins in the Wild Wood but one is a goblin. An adventure story full of mischievous fun and fantasy creatures unspools as the brothers journey through the Wild Wood, Oddmire and the Deep Dark.

Chains - from the Seeds of America series (Chains, Forge, Ashes) by Laurie Halse Anderson
National Book Award finalist Laurie Halse Anderson writes an historical trilogy about the War for independence as it unfolds in the mid-Atlantic states. Told from the perspective of both a young enslaved girl in the household of a wealthy loyalist family and an older enslaved boy who works for an American soldier, readers learn of the difficult choices that people of color on both sides of the conflict made as they weighed the chances for their own emancipation as well as that of the country as a whole. Anderson includes a bibliography for those wishing to know more.

Young Adult

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
This classic fantasy adventure tale tells of Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who is visited by Gandalf, the wizard, and asked to help find a hoard of treasure. Many adventures ensue as Bilbo makes his way in the magical world Tolkien depicts so vividly.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Semi-autobiographical, this novel set in Civil War era Boston, tells the story of the lively March family who are awaiting their chaplain father’s return from war. The four girls- commonsensical Meg, feisty Jo, dreamy Beth, artistic Amy and their resolute mother, Marmee keep the home fires burning, trying to get by on the little money they have, while helping those in greater need. The characters of the girls are finely and vividly portrayed as they grow from girlhood into adolescence.

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
The Robinsons, two parents and four sons, are shipwrecked on a tropical island far from any help. They are able to rescue items from their ship and together live for 10 years on the island, learning much about the natural world and their own capabilities in the process.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by A. Conan Doyle
Set in the late Victorian era, these short stories tell of Sherlock Holmes, an eccentric private investigator, and his friend and assistant, Dr. Watson recently returned from the Afghan Wars. The two men solve the mysteries that Londoners bring to their famous doorstep at 221 Baker Street, occasionally also doing battle directly with the shadowy, evil Moriarty.