San Mateo County Library
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Best of 2009
Children
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The magician's elephant
by Kate DiCamillo
When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortuneteller in the marketplace he embarks on a remarkable series of adventure.
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Down, down, down: a journey to the bottom of the sea
by Steve Jenkins
Provides a top-to-bottom look at the ocean, from birds and waves to thermal vents and ooze.
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Life in the boreal forest
by Brenda Guiberson
Follow a snowshoe hare, beavers, a lynx, and other animals as they survive a year in the endangered landscape of the Boreal forest.
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The boy who invented TV: the story of Philo Farnsworth
by  Kathleen Krull
This picture-book biography explains how Farnsworth held on to his dream to develop television and the scientific concepts behind it.
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Animals up close: zoom in on the world's most incredible creatures
by Igor Siwanowicz
This visually stunning natural history book features dramatically close-up images of animals from insects to reptiles to mammals to birds.
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Under siege!: three children at the Civil War battle for Vicksburg
by Andrea Warren
This book looks at the 1862-63 battle for Vicksburg through the eyes of three children.
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Extreme scientists: exploring nature's mysteries from perilous places
by Donna Jackson
Extreme scientists battle some of the Earth's most intense conditions, in order to save lives, preserve species, and help us to better understand the way our planet works.
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Plant secrets
by Emily Goodman
Learn the secrets of plant lifecycles, using four common (but very different) plants. Simple text and colorful illustrations show the major phases of plant growth: seed, plant, flower, and fruit.
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What's inside? Fascinating structures around the world
by Giles Laroche
Go on tour of some of the world's most unique buildings, turn the page and see what's inside, includes factual information.
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Even an ostrich needs a nest: where birds begin
by Irene Kelly
How does a bird make its nest? Very carefully! Many birds build intricate nests out of twigs, leaves, feathers, and mud, even dollar bills and clothespins.
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Evolution revolution
by Robert Winston
Explores the history of evolution and the evolution of the future.
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Coretta Scott
by Ntozake Shange
This extraordinary union of poetry and monumental artwork captures the movement for civil rights in the United States, and honors it most elegant inspiration, Coretta Scott.
Young Adult
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Catching fire
by Suzanne Collins
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark win the annual Hunger Games though defying the rules, they unwittingly becoming the faces of an impending rebellion.
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Leviathan
by Scott Westerfeld
In an alternate 1914 Europe, 15-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn.
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Wintergirls
by Laurie Anderson
Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.
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Shadowland
by Alyson Noel
Ever and Damen have fought off the world's darkest enemies to be together forever, but just as their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse threatens them.
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Secret scars: what you need to know about cutting
by Terry O'Neill
Nearly 5 percent of teens secretly cut themselves. This book includes information from teens and offers resources for those who want to help themselves or someone they know.
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Anger and anger management
by Charlie Quill
Covers the basics of anger. Reacting to anger, anger and self-esteem, family and anger, and understanding and managing your anger.
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The sweetness at the bottom of the pie
by C. Alan Bradley
Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, must exonerate her father of murder.
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Stitches: a memoir
by David Small
Caldecott-winning artist Small reveals the sad truths of his own childhood and the salvation that art provided amid an abusive home life.
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Hate crimes
by Noel Merino
Are hate crimes a serious problem? Do certain groups promote hate? How should society respond to hate crimes?
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HPV
by Peggy Parks
Researches the human papilloma viruses (HPVs) and answers questions that may be asked about them.
Adult
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Early spring: an ecologist and her children wake to a warming world
by Amy Seidl
An ecologist and mother brings the overwhelming problem of global warming to a personal level, with a mix of memoir and science.
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Reclaiming virtue: how we can develop the moral intelligence to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason
by John Bradshaw
Reclaiming and cultivating inborn moral intelligence by developing one's instinct for goodness in childhood and nurturing them through one's adult life to promote good character and moral responsibility.
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Stuffed: an insider's look at who's (really) making America fat
by Hank Cardello
Have board room decisions and slick marketing spurred the obesity epidemic and created the nation's most serious health crisis?
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The Wikipedia revolution: how a bunch of nobies created the world's greatest encyclopedia
by Andrew Lih
A Wikipedia expert tells the inside story of the trailblazing--and incredible popular--open source encyclopedia.
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The life you can save: acting now to end world poverty
by Peter Singer
Arguing that our current response to world poverty is not only insufficient but ethically indefensible, philosopher Peter Singer offers a seven-point plan.
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You are here: a portable history of the universe
by Chris Lyon
A dazzling exploration of the universe and our relationship to it, as seen through the lens of today's most cutting-edge scientific thinking.
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A people's history of Christianity: the other side of the story
by Diana Bass
Bass persuasively argues that corrective--even subversive--beliefs and practices have always been hallmarks of Christianity and are necessary to nourish communities of faith.
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Lost boy
by Brent W. Jeffs
Brent Jeff reveals both the terror and the love he experienced growing up on his prophet's compound--and the harsh exile existence that so many boys face once they have been expelled by the sect.
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Why evolution is true
by Jerry  Coyne
Presents the many threads of modern work in genetics, paleontology, geology, molecular biology, and anatomy that demonstrate the indelible stamp of the evolutionary processes first proposed by Darwin.
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Showing up for life: thoughts on the gifts of a lifetime
by William Gates
In a heartfelt, deeply personal book, Gates shares the values and principles he has instilled in his children, and continues to practice as the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Packing the court: the rise of judicial power and the coming crisis of the Supreme Court
by James MacGregor Burns
An illuminating critique of how an unstable, unaccountable, and frequently partisan Supreme Court has come to wield more power than the founding fathers ever intended.
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The book of William: how Shakespeare's first folio conquered the world
by Paul Collins
This "travelogue" follows the trail of the Folio's remarkable journey and Shakespeare's cross-cultural future as Asian buyers enter their Folio into the electronic ether.
Selected by Rhea Bradley San Carlos Library, 12.2009
 
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