The story is written from the viewpoint of eight year old Blue Mann, who lives in the small all white Midwestern town of Walker in 1950's America. When a black family arrives in Walker, Blue and his family struggle with their own and their communities' prejudices, hatred and ignorance. As the story begins, Blue believes the residents of Walker are the most loving and caring individuals in the world, but as the residents of the community let their hatred and prejudice consume them, Blue struggles … [Read more...] about Growing Up In America: A Million Years Ago by Konopka
Cinnamon Girl by Lawrence Kessenich
If you've ever wondered what living in the crazy late 1960s was like, Cinnamon Girl captures it vividly in a dramatic and engaging love story that involves family conflict, love, sex, drugs, and protest. It is exactly 50 years ago, 1969, the summer of Woodstock, and after nearly getting his head bashed in at a demonstration on Milwaukee’s East Side, John Meyer crashes down a hillside with fellow student Tony Russo. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, until John meets Tony’s … [Read more...] about Cinnamon Girl by Lawrence Kessenich
Tornados, Rattlesnakes & Oil — A Wildcatter’s Memories of Hunting for Black Gold by Thomas E. Cochrane, Geologist
“Black Gold”…OIL…the magic bullet of liquid petroleum not only propels all manner of people-movers globally, it’s also a component of more than 6,000 products—everything from motorcycle helmets, to vitamin capsules, to ink. But who DISCOVERS these critical—and elusive—fossil fuels of oil & gas? Meet a wildcatter whose back-in-the-day journey from the hills of New York, to the ice fields of Alaska, to the plains of the Midwest brings the reader along on this complex quest to SEE underground. … [Read more...] about Tornados, Rattlesnakes & Oil — A Wildcatter’s Memories of Hunting for Black Gold by Thomas E. Cochrane, Geologist
Olivia, Mourning by Yael Politis
Olivia, Mourning by Yael Politis Olivia wants the 80 acres in far off Michigan that her father left to whichever of his offspring wants to stake a claim. As Olivia says, “I’m sprung off him just as much as Avis or Tobey.” The problem: she’s seventeen, female, and it’s 1841. Mourning Free knows how to run a farm and Olivia has complete trust in him. The problem: he’s the orphaned son of runaway slaves and reluctant to travel and work with a white girl. He especially fears the slave catchers … [Read more...] about Olivia, Mourning by Yael Politis
