Stark, Summit library selections for Dec. 5

FICTION

Children

“Bulldozer’s Christmas Dig,” by Candace Fleming – It’s Christmas Eve, and Dump Truck is carrying … carrying … carrying garland. Digger Truck is stringing … stringing … stringing lights. Crane Truck is lifting … lifting … lifting wreaths. And Bulldozer is worrying … worrying … worrying. He doesn’t have any presents for his friends – not one! And time is running out. Does he need a Christmas miracle, or just a little ingenuity, and some digging, digging, digging?

Teens

“Freedom Swimmer,” by Wai Chim – A powerful story of friendship, bravery, and a desperate bid for freedom, inspired by true events. Ming survived the famine that killed his parents during China's "Great Leap Forward", and lives a hard but adequate life, working in the fields. When a group of city boys comes to the village as part of a Communist Party re-education program, Ming and his friends aren't sure what to make of the new arrivals. They're not used to hard labor and village life. But despite his reservations, Ming befriends a charming city boy called Li. The two couldn't be more different, but slowly they form a bond over evening swims and shared dreams. But as the bitterness of life under the Party begins to take its toll on both boys, they begin to imagine the impossible: Freedom.

Adult

“Beasts of a Little Land,” by Juhea Kim – In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer from an attacking tiger. In an instant, their fates are connected – and from this encounter unfolds a saga that spans half a century. In the aftermath, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss Silver’s courtesan school, an act of desperation that will cement her place in the lowest social status. When she befriends an orphan, boy named JungHo, who scrapes together a living begging on the streets of Seoul, they form a deep friendship. As they come of age, JungHo is swept up in the revolutionary fight for independence, and Jade becomes a sought-after performer with a new romantic prospect of noble birth. Soon Jade must decide whether she will risk everything for the one who would do the same for her.

NONFICTION

Children

“Mimic Makers: Biomimicry Inventors Inspired by Nature,” by Kristen Nordstrom – In biomimicry, scientists imitate traits found in nature. An engineer shapes the nose of his bullet train like a kingfisher's beak. A scientist models her solar cell on the mighty leaf. Discover how 10 inventors were inspired by animals and plants to create cutting-edge technology.

Teens

“Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South,” by Wade Hudson – Born in 1946 in Mansfield, Louisiana, Wade Hudson came of age against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. From their home on Mary Street, his close-knit family watched as the country grappled with desegregation, as the Klan targeted the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and as systemic racism struck across the nation and in their hometown. Amidst it all, Wade was growing up. Getting into scuffles, playing baseball, immersing himself in his church community, and starting to write. Most important, Wade learned how to find his voice and use it. From his family, his community, and his college classmates, Wade learned the importance of fighting for change by confronting the laws and customs that marginalized and demeaned people.

Adults

“Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive,” by Phillip Dettmer – You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. The Immune system is second only to the human brain in its complexity, it is one of the oldest and most critical facets of life on Earth. Without it, you would die within days. In Immune, Philipp Dettmer takes readers on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses. There is a constant battle of staggering scale raging within us, full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice. In fact, in the time you’ve been reading this, your immune system has probably identified and eradicated a cancer cell that started to grow in your body.