Sarah Lamstein, author of the new book “Big Night for Salamanders,” will join us in the store for our Children’s Story Hour Saturday, March 13 at noon. Lamstein is a Detroit native with a multifaceted background – a parent, grandparent, former teacher and librarian, and as a puppeteer who enjoys delighting children with stories. Lamstein’s other books include “I like Your Buttons,” “Hunger Moon,” “Annie’s Shabbat,” “Letter on the Wind: A Chanukah Tale” and “From the Mango Tree and Other Folktales from Nepal.”
“Big Night for Salamanders” is about a boy named Evan who wants to help his beloved salamanders. Evan can hardly wait for the Big Night. During the first warm night, he spots salamanders by the hundreds crawling out of the woods and down to a natural pool across the road. There they will breed and lay their eggs. How can Evan and his parents help these delicate creatures cross the road in safety? Evan has the solution. Lamstein delivers a moving story of genuine caring. Carol Benioff’s colorful and animated illustrations transport the reader into Evan’s world, where a child can do small yet wonderful things to help other creatures.
Author Chris-Tia Donaldson came by the store recently to tell us her “hairstory.”
Store Highlights
Women’s History Month continues here at the store, and we have a great selection of books by and about smart and interesting women. One of those books is about Precious Jones, an illiterate, 16 years old who is impregnated by her father with her second child. She meets a caring teacher who takes her on a journey of transformation and redemption. Push was written by Sapphire over a decade ago, and filmmaker Lee Daniels adapted it for his Oscar-winning film “Precious.” Push is loosely based on the author’s own experience with teaching troubled youth. During a recent NPR interview, Sapphire said she hopes people will read the book, see the movie and be inspired by the “Preciouses” in their own lives. Sapphire also said in the interview that she was approached by a white woman who told her that after seeing the film that she would never look at an overweight black woman the same way again.
“After seeing this film, she had to deal with an obese black woman as a feeling, intelligent person as a person who dreams, as a person who wants the things that she wants. So we brought up a stereotype, and we cracked it open, and a human being comes forth.”
