Community Corner
Patch Picks: Five Great Books To Read
In the dog days of winter, cozy up with these novels recommended by Brookfield Public Library staff.
Our latest Patch Picks installment lists five books recommended for adults by the Brookfield Public Library, 1900 N. Calhoun Rd. The library staff encourages adults, youth and children to be active in picking up a book, reading it and telling others about it.
Here are five books to consider reading:
1. “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen
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The novel centers on Jacob Jankowski, a 93-year-old man who lives in a nursing home, and his experiences in a traveling circus called “The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.” Gruen originally wrote the novel as part of National Novel Writing Month.
2. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte
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This novel is a first-person narrative of the title character. First published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co., the novel goes through five distinct stages of Eyre's life. The book deals with social criticism and is considered a work ahead of its time.
3. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
The author published this novel in 1960. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old. The novel is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality.
4. “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The garden is the book's central symbol. The secret garden at Misselthwaite Manor is the site of both the near-destruction and the subsequent regeneration of a family. Using the garden concept, the author explores the healing power inherent in living things.
5. “Emily's Story – The Brave Journey of an Orphan Train Rider” by Clark Kidder
The author writes about his grandmother's experiences on Orphan trains that brought her from New York to the Midwest in 1906. Kidder explains how extraordinary it is that nearly 200,000 children at that time would be loaded on trains in large U.S. cities, sent to the rural Midwest and presented “for the picking” to anyone who expressed interest in them.
