Songs of Willow Frost. By Jamie Ford. (New York: Ballantine Books, 2013.)

Recommendation submitted by:
Will Stuivenga, Cooperative Projects Manager, Washington State Library, Tumwater, WA.

Our protagonist is William Eng, a 12-year-old living at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in 1930’s Seattle. He’s been there since he was seven; no one is interested in adopting a Chinese boy. Only, he remembers his beloved mother, a singer and a dancer, and he remembers finding her slumped in the bathtub, and how she was carried off to the hospital, and he never saw her again.

But now he sees her on the screen in a vaudeville show preview down at the local movie theater—he’s certain it’s her—and he sets off, together with the blind girl, Charlotte, fellow outcast, and his best friend, to find Liu Song, aka Willow Frost, his mother.

The book recounts this seemingly impossible quest, as well as Liu Song’s own tragic story, and how she came to give up her precious child. Will they be reunited to make a life together? We’re kept in suspense until the final page.

Full of old Seattle scenes and images, this poignant tale will tug at your heart-strings, while filling in a chapter in our nation’s regrettable history of the prejudice suffered by its people of Chinese heritage.

ISBN: 978-0-345-52202-3

Available at the Washington State Library, NW 813.6 FORD 2013
Available as an eBook.
Downloadable talking book available through NLS and WTBBL.

Truth Like the Sun. By Jim Lynch. (New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.)

Recommendation submitted by:
Will Stuivenga, Cooperative Projects Manager, Washington State Library, Tumwater, WA.

Jim Lynch’s third novel, Truth Like the Sun, set in Seattle, bounces back and forth between 1962 and 2001, telling us a story that revolves around the Seattle World’s Fair and its fictional chief mover and shaker, one Robert Morgan, a.k.a. Mr. Seattle, a high-flying, entrepreneurial city booster, who maybe loves wine, women and gambling a little more than is good for him, but is largely responsible for building the iconic Space Needle, and for much of the success of the fair. Through his eyes, we witness the excitement of the fair, and its famous visitors, including Elvis Presley, President Kennedy, Ed Sullivan, John Glenn, and many more.

Back in the more recent present era, we follow the efforts of Helen Gulanos, would-be hotshot reporter, who’s recently arrived in town, and who hopes to secure her career with a hard-hitting, fully researched exposé of Mr. Morgan, who has just decided to run for mayor, after all these many years. Helen’s life is complicated by her single mother status, and the fact that she finds her target to be oddly compelling, and begins to develop a grudging respect for the guy, still charismatic after all these years, even as she strives to dig the dirt on him.

Native son author Lynch seems to be moving ever closer to main-stream fiction with each new novel. His first effort, The Highest Tide, a remarkable coming of age story set in the Olympia area, had an other-worldly almost SciFi aspect to the natural wonders it depicted.

His second attempt, Border Songs, still had more than a hint of the fantastic with its larger-than-life primary character, and its chain of slightly off-kilter, not-quite-believable series of events.

Now, in this third literary foray, the Space Needle itself seems to be the most fantastic element, as we move ever more firmly into the realm of big-city politics and finance as they are in real life. Truth Like the Sun is a great read, but misses some of that element of the fantastical that was so central to Lynch’s earlier novels. Nevertheless, strongly recommended, especially for those who enjoy fiction set in the Pacific NW.

ISBN: 978-0-307-95868-6

Available at the Washington State Library, NW 813.6 LYNCH 2012
Available as an eBook
Downloadable talking book and Braille editions through NLS and  WTBBL.

Washington Reads – A Sudden Light by Garth Stein (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. 416 pp.)

Recommendation by Mary Paynton Schaff, Reference Librarian, Washington State Library

Fall means ghosts, creepy old houses, and stories about families scarred by tragedy. So now’s the perfect opportunity to gather up your afghan, sit by the fire with a cup of hot cider, and dive into Garth Stein’s newest book, “A Sudden Light.”

Fourteen-year-old narrator Trevor is brought to crumbling Riddell House in north Seattle by his father in the summer of 1990. Trevor’s father Jones has a lot on his plate: settle the Riddell family estate, get his father into a nursing home, make amends to his sister Serena who has spent the better part of her life nursing their father, and make his peace with the untimely death of their mother. Last but not least, Trevor is hoping his father can find a way to repair his marriage to Trevor’s mother, despite the fact they are currently separated by thousands of miles. As Jones begins to wrestle with these issues, Trevor is drawn into the history of the storied Riddell family and the monumentally fascinating but literally decomposing Riddell House. Trevor is aided in his exploration of the house, and his family history, by an unlikely guide who reveals to him further betrayals, tragedies, and opportunities.

The Washington setting of “A Sudden Light” plays a crucial role in Trevor’s coming of age story. The Riddells make their fortune in logging, as many Northwest pioneers did. Each of Trevor’s ancestors has a relationship to the trees; cutting them, climbing them, or building something out of the wood. As the profits from the trees roll in, the Riddells became the fashionable aristocracy of Seattle society. Lumber barons make deals with railroad magnates. And when Trevor’s guide steers him to John Muir’s “The Mountains of California,” Trevor begins to wonder what costs might have incurred as the family chopped and bargained its way to the top.

There’s an enjoyable gothic overtone to “A Sudden Light.” Exploring an old haunted house has been a favorite literary device from Jane Eyre to Rebecca to Scooby Doo. The library, ballroom, locked trunks, and secret stairways you hope Trevor will find are all there. Adding to this reading satisfaction, Stein further layers in a generational family saga, lost journals in leather bindings, the relationship between fathers and sons, pairs of doomed lovers, conflicting promises, and the sublime joy that can be found in nature. (This librarian experienced such joy simply reading Stein’s description of historical research undertaken in a pre-internet public library, using microfilm no less!)

So rest your bones and dig into this satisfying Northwest work of fiction.

ISBN-10: 1439187037

Available at the Washington State Library
Audio book available through the publisher.

A Tale for the Time Being. By Ruth Ozeki (New York : Viking, 2013. 422 pp.)

From the desk of Sean Lanksbury, PNW & Special Collections Librarian

When a diary sails across the Pacific in a Hello Kitty lunchbox to the shore of an island in British Columbia, it is recovered by a novelist named Ruth recently relocated from New York City.  In this diary a teenage girl finds sanctuary, purging into its pages her daily trials as she adjusts and copes with brutal Japanese classmates and a youth culture alien to her, musing on her relocation from the United States, ranting about and reflecting upon the failings of her parents, and making personal revelations catalyzed by her Great-Grandmother, Jiko, a Zen Buddhist Priest.  Ruth (the character) serves as the primary witness to Nao’s sufferings as Ruth herself manages her own grief, isolation, writer’s block, and hindered sense of self alongside her drive to discover the mysterious fate of this child author.

The book within the book grapples bullying, culture shock, economic hard times, and asks questions of ethical duty and the potential price a family pays to reconcile the legacy they share.  The author of Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki, like the story’s great-grandmother, is a Zen Buddhist Priest and was ordained in 2010.  She divides her time between the Pacific Northwest and New York City. Whatever parallels you wish to draw from this are up to you.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013, this is a highly recommended read.  The book on the whole plays with history, time, and biography pulling and snapping back each element like narrative putty.  It is refreshingly unsentimental in its humanistic approach, and the tale’s stylistically bold design is jeweled with relatable characters.

Ms. Ozeki will also be in Washington as the opening speaker for the 2014-15 Artist and Lecture Series at South Puget Sound Community College, on Oct 9th.

ISBN-13: 9780670026630

Available at the State Library’s Pacific Northwest Collections, NW 813.6 OZEKI 2013

and as a physical and downloadable talking book through NLS and WTBBL

From the desk of Sean Lanksbury, PNW & Special Collections Librarian

A small selection of resources tracing 50 years of preserving and exploring in the North Cascades of Washington.

On September 3, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the wilderness act as a result of pressure from national and state level citizens and organizations who shared similar concerns about the protection of the United States uninhabited environments amidst increasing industrialization and population growth.  Four years following that act, the North Cascades National Park was created.  The State Library maintains copies of the hearings that led to its creation within its Federal Publication Collection,

The North Cascades. Hearings, Ninetieth Congress, second session (Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1968. 3 vols. 985 p. Illustrations, maps.) These hearings held April 19-Sept. 4, 1968 in various cities.

 “Serial no. 90-24.”

Y 4.In 8/14:90-8970/ pt.1 thru 3 (call ahead to have these volumes pulled for on-site review)

“H.R. 8970 and related bills, a bill to establish the North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake national recreation area, to designate the Pasayten Wilderness and to modify the Glacier Peak Wilderness in the State of Washington, and for other purposes.”

A less-traveled jewel of Washington’s wilderness regions and one of the nation’s least visited attractions, North Cascades National Park is arguably the crown jewel, the largest block of protected wilderness along the U.S. – Canadian border.  It is largely a roadless area, though it is accessible via the North Cascades highway (WA-20), which commenced prior to Johnson’s administration with appropriated funds in 1958 and completed with a final connection to State Route 153 in 1972.

Washington Highways: North Cascades Highway Dedication Issue. (Olympia, Wash.: Washington State Dept. of Highways, 1964-1972.

WA 388 H531ne 1964 copy three available for checkout

 But don’t be dissuaded by the relative scarcity of roads, there are plenty of road trips for the automotive enthusiast that exploit the natural beauty and opportunities for RV and tent camping that do not require a large-scaling hiking adventure!

The North Cascades Highway: A Roadside Guide to America’s Alps. By Jack McLeod. (Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, 2013. 104 pp. Color illustrations, maps, bibliographical references and index.)

NW 917.975 MCLEOD 2013

 Camping Washington: The Best Public Campground for Tents & RVs, Rated & Reviewed. By Ron C. Judd. (Seattle, Wash.: Mountaineers Books, c2009. 325 pp. Illustrations, maps.)

NW 917.9706 JUDD 2009

Even the casual appreciator finds themselves knocked back by the North Cascades raw beauty.  From top to bottom it’s a stunner: steep peaks beset with translucent blue glaciers that melt into dramatic waterfalls streaming into alpine meadows and deep and lovely lakes cannot help but wow.  Such untrammeled gorgeousness has led many to dub it the Alps of North America, but it is its own wonderful vision.  A vision so singular that it held members of the Beat Generation in thrall

Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen & Jack Kerouac in the North Cascades. Text and Photographs by John Suiter. (Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, c2002. 340 pp. Illustrations, bibliographical references and index.)

NW 811.54 SUITER 2002                  AVAILABLE

If you cannot visit soon but wish to get a glimpse, you can see its beauty captured in photographs by checking out

Lake Chelan and the North Cascades: A Pictorial Tour. Text and photos by Mike and Nancy Barnhart; edited by Ana Maria Spagna. (Stehekin, WA: Bridge Creek Pub., c2000. 52 pp. Illustrations, maps.)

NW 917.977 BARNHAR 2000

Shortly after the park’s creation, local author Frank Darvill and the Mountaineers of Washington State each created a collection of maps and routes to aide interested hikers

A Pocket Guide to Selected Trails of the North Cascades National Park and Associated Recreational Complex. By Fred T. Darvill, Jr. (Mount Vernon, Wash. (P.O. Box 636, 98273): F.T.Darvill, c1968.)  52 pp.: illustrations, map.)

NW 917.9773 DARVILL 1968

Hiker’s Map of the North Cascades; Routes and Rocks in the Mt. Challenger Quadrangle. By Rowland W. Tabor and Dwight Farnsworth Crowder. Drawings by Ed Hanson.(Seattle, The Mountaineers 1968. 47 p. Illustrations, maps, bibliographic references.)

R 917.9724 TABOR 1968 (Library Use Only)

Since then there have been additional works created to guide those who wish to wander through the northern woods.  The Mountaineers’ guide has added many more hikes of varying difficulty and length since that early guide

100 Hikes in Washington’s North Cascades National Park Region. (Seattle, WA: Mountaineers, c2000-

NW 917.9773 ONE HUN 2000

You can spend just a single day hiking.  If you are interested in doing so, try consulting

Day Hike! North Cascades, 3rd Edition: The Best Trails You Can Hike in a Day. By Mike McQuaide (Seattle, Wash: Sasquatch Books 2014. 240 pp.)

NW 796.5109 MCQUAID 2014

Longtime Puget Sound area residents may remember Television personality Don McCune (who also played children’s show host “Captain Puget”) hosted a series called “Exploration Northwest.” In that series he hosted a three episode special split into 30-minute-segments on the North Cascades.  Well, as luck would have it, the State Library has those available for your viewing pleasure as well:

North Cascades [videorecording] / KOMO TV. (Woodinville, WA: Don McCune Library, c2005.

1 videodisc (90 min.): sd., col. with b&w sequences; 4 3/4 in.

NW DVD 979.773 NORTH C 2005

In the first segment, the history of the four-year construction of the north cross-state highway is documented. The second segment presents the story of injured eagles care of wounded eagles and their eventual return to their native Skagit Valley habitat. In the third segment, climbers scale pinnacles in the North Cascades and demonstrate free-climbing skills.

There is wildlife galore to encounter in the North Cascades.  Bird lovers will discover tons of bird watching opportunities,

Birds of the Northwestern National Parks: A Birder’s Perspective. By Roland H. Wauer; drawings by Mimi Hoppe Wolf. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000. 137 pp. Illustrations.)

NW 598.0723 WAUER 2000

And all sorts of mammals ranging from elk, wolves and wolverines to the always controversial Grizzly Bear presence can be sighted.  In fact the North Cascades are one of the few areas in Washington State where the Grizzly, while listed as endangered in this state, can still be encountered.  Be observant and – as always – take care, especially if you are going fishing in the late summer or autumn.

Wolves in the Land of Salmon. By David Moskowitz. (Portland, OR: Timber Press, c2013. 334 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliographical references and index.)

NW 599.773 MOSKOWI 2013

North Cascade (Nooksack) Elk Herd. Prepared by Michael A. Davison. (Olympia, WA: Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Program, [2002] 53 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliographical references.)

WA 639.2 F62nor c2 2002 c.2         AVAILABLE

Click on the following to:

View online from Washington State Library as a PDF Document – Adobe Acrobat Reader Required

http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Record/ViewMedia/542A3D7A97762AE702EB8673A66FEB2A?_ga=1.46557220.2028710183.1406221241

A Preliminary Study of Historic and Recent Reports of Grizzly Bears, Ursus Arctos, in the North Cascades Area of Washington.  By Paul T. Sullivan. (Olympia, Wash.: Washington Dept. of Game, [1983]

WA 799 G141pre s1 1983 c.1

North Cascades Grizzly Bear Ecosystem Evaluation: Final Report. By Jon A. Almack, William L. Gaines, Robert H. Naney … [et al.] (Denver, Colo.: Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, 1993.

Washington State Docs WA 799 W64nor c2 1993

Grizzly Wars: The Public Fight over the Great Bear. By David Knibb; foreword by Lance Craighead. (Spokane: Eastern Washington University Press, c2008. 284 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliographical references, and index.)

NW 333.9597 KNIBB 2008

There are pieces of history tucked away in the park as well, for the curious historians and archaeology buffs:

Historic Structures Inventory: North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Compiled by Gretchen A. Luxenberg. (Seattle, Wash.: Cultural Resources Division, Pacific Northwest Region, National Park Service, [1984]  108pp. Illustrations, maps, forms, bibliographical references, and index.)

“Goat Lake Trail: A Hike into Mining History.” By Richard C. McCollum. (Seattle, Wash.: Northwest Press, [1981], 2 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliographical references.) As part of the journal, Northwest discovery; v. 2, no. 5. pp. 270-330

NW 979.5 NORTHWE 1981 May

Not only is history to found in the park but it has been made there, particularly in the field of fire control:

Spittin’ in the Wind. Bk. 1, History & Tales: North Cascades Smokejumper Base: The Birthplace Of Smokejumping, 1939-2007. By Bill Moody and Larry Longley. (2007. 256 pp. Illustrations)

NW 634.9618 SPITTIN 2007

As with so many natural spaces, tense debates regarding best practices on how to maintain the lands, and how to best balance human interactions with the environment with the needs of the environment as a whole, persist.

Wilderness Alps: Conservation and Conflict in Washington’s North Cascades. By Harvey Manning with the North Cascades Conservation Council; edited by Ken Wilcox; foreword by David R. Brower. (Bellingham, Wash.: Northwest Wild Books, 2007. 479 pp. Illustrations, bibliographical references, and index.)

NW 979.773 MANNING 2007

We invite you to join us in celebrating this Washington treasure.  Please consider taking a road trip into this marvelous region of our state, and maybe as you’re planning a trip you’ll feel like picking up some resources at your State or local library along the way.

From the desk of Kathryn Devine

April 30 marks Día, the culmination of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day).

Dia is an initiative started by the American Library Association to “emphasize the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.”

For more information about Día, check out the ALA website.

In the spirit of Día, we hope you enjoy these titles and others at the Washington State Library.

Storm Boy. By Paul Owen Lewis

Beautifully illustrated in Haida style, this is a story of a chief’s son who is lost at sea and finds himself washed ashore in a strange village of enormous–but friendly—people.

The Great Migration. By Jacob Lawrence

Artist Jacob Lawrence illustrates the experiences of African Americans who migrated from the South to the northern industrial cities in search of work beginning around the time of World War I.

“’And the migrants kept coming’ is a refrain of triumph over adversity. My family and others left the South on a quest for freedom, justice, and dignity. If our story rings true for you today, then it must still strike a chord in our American experience.” –Jacob Lawrence

Shu-Li and Tamara. By Paul Yee.

Shu-Li is a young Chinese immigrant living in Vancouver, Canada. Working at her parents’ deli she is regularly embarrassed by her mother’s English in front of the neighborhood kids.

She strikes up a friendship with her new neighbor Tamara. When rumors spread about Tamara, Shu-Li must decide whether she should stand by her new friend or follow the crowd.

The circle of equilibrium: poems of conscience and leadership by Native, Latino, African and Asian American youth

Collection of poems written by middle school and high school students from Oregon and Washington.

Color: Latino voices in the Pacific Northwest

A collection of one-page stories told by recent immigrants to the U.S. about their experiences here.

I am Sacajawea, I am York: Our Journey with Lewis and Clark. By Claire Rudolf Murphy.

A children’s book about the Lewis and Clark expedition, alternately told in the voices of Sacajawea and York.

Seeking light in each dark room: those who make a way, young Latino writers in Yakima = Buscando luz en cada cuarto oscuro: por los abrecaminos

“The stories and poems in this book were written by writers who call themselves abrecaminos, enrolled in a year-long Latino literature and writing course at Davis High School in Yakima, Washington using bilingual texts from the great works of Latin American writers.” –From Acknowledgements

Nosotros: the Hispanic people of Oregon : essays and recollections

Packed with pictures, stories, and essays about Hispanic history, culture, and people of Oregon.

In 1892, there was a hotly contested election in Washington State…for a flower.

Tacoma Daily News July 16 1892

The 1893 World’s Fair was fast approaching, and the state flower would be part of the exhibit for Washington State.

It came down to Clover vs. Rhododendron, and it was decided that the women of the state would vote…and only the women.

They didn’t have the right to vote in any other election until 1910, but this time it was the men who were not allowed to cast a ballot…even if they were gardeners.

Tacoma Daily News June 17 1892

The campaign was hard fought.

Some people didn’t like the name of the rhododendron.  It was too long and too hard to spell.

Others claimed they had never seen one before, and the state flower should be grown all over the state.

Tacoma Daily News July 14 1892

Polls opened across the state and thousands of women voted.

After the polls closed on August 1, the Rhododendron had won.

These are some of the books about Rhododendrons that you can find at the Washington State Library.

The Pacific Coast Rhododendron Story, and Rhododenrons in the Landscape are both written by Sonja Nelson, who was an editor of the Journal American Rhododendron Society.

The first title is more of a history, with descriptions of the different varieties.

In the second book, she provides extensive advice on how to use rhododendrons in different styles of landscaping.

Rhododendrons in America by Ted Van Veen, provides a nice introduction to gardening with rhododendrons.

He has a list of the different hybrids created as of 1969, and color photographs on every page.

Come and visit us at the Washington State Library, or browse our catalog, if you’re looking for books about Rhododendrons, or newspaper articles that tell the story of how it became our state flower.

From the desk of Kathryn Devine

Every year, the Thursday of National Library Week, April 17th  this year, is set aside as Teen Literature Day.

Check out these teen books at the Washington State Library.

Meet Hannah West—smart, resilient, slightly sarcastic, and sometimes too
nosy for her own good.

She’s a young Seattleite whose favorite pastimes include watching the Crime Network, Law & Order, Monk, Columbo, or any mystery show really.
All of which provide a solid education when she tries to untangle her first real mystery in her own (temporary) home in Hannah West in the Belltown Towers.

Not to give too much away—but there are missing paintings, a ubiquitous bike messenger, and a shady artist who may be involved.

This is a fun read peppered with references to Seattle locations and culture.
Linda Johns, author and librarian at the Seattle Public Library, has created a wonderful character to spend some time with.

You can follow Hannah’s other adventures, all set in the Seattle area:

Hannah West in Deep Water (2006)

Hannah West in the Center of the Universe (2007)

Hannah West on Millionaire’s Row (2007)

Here are a few other series for teens, also at the Washington State Library.

Dear America

1. West to a Land of Plenty 

2. Across the wide and lonesome prairie: the Oregon Trail Diary

3. The Fences Between Us (Kirby Larson) 

Carl Deuker Sports fiction for Teens

1. On the Devil’s Court (1988)

2. Painting the black (1997)

3. Night hoops (2000)

4. High Heat (2003)

5. Runner (2005)

6. Gym Candy (2007)

7. Payback Times (2010)

Come and visit us, or browse the catalog, if you’re  looking for teen fiction written in or about the Pacific Northwest.

If you haven’t read poetry in a while, now is the perfect time to start again – April is National Poetry Month.

In his National Poetry Month proclamation, Governor Inslee called on

“…all the people of Washington to observe National Poetry Month in a more meaningful, personal way…as a means to offer comfort and solace to those who are suffering as a result of the Oso mudslide.”

One way to do so is to submit a poem yourself to the Art with a Heart – Response to Oso tumblr forum.

The Washington State Arts Commission runs the forum.  Among the poems you can find there is one written by Elizabeth Austen, the Washington State Poet Laureate.

If you would like to read poetry written by other Washington state poets, browse the Washington State Library’s collection for the poetry books listed in our catalog.

Here are just a few excerpts from that collection that might, as the governor said, “offer comfort and solace.”

Grace Abounding
I’m saved in this big world by unforeseen
friends, or times when only a glance
from a passenger beside me, or just the tired
branch of a willow inclining toward earth,
may teach me how to join earth and sky.
Even in Quiet Places by William Stafford (1996)

Nooksack Valley
At the far end of a trip north
In a berry-pickers cabin
At the edge of a wide muddy field
Stretching to the woods and cloudy mountains,
Feeding the stove all afternoon with cedar,
Watching the dark sky darken, a heron flap by,
Riprap, & Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder (1965)

 Riverbed
We walk on round stones, all flawlessly bedded,
Where water drags the cracked dome of the sky
Riverbed by David Wagoner (1972)

His Father’s Whistle
For hours the boy fought sleep,
strained against the whir of cicadas, moths
at the screens bumbling, night’s
blue breezes, to hear out on the country road
his father’s car rumbling in gravel.
Earthly Meditations by Robert Wrigley (2006)

Northern Lights
Once more it’s the rainbow leaps
and foldings of the old process,
a whole border of pink roses
growing wild on the horizon.
The Dark Path of Our Names by Joan Swift (1985)

Mount Alaska Stream
In the pines
where the sun never shines
a small, damp fire filled mountains
green lungs of each century
Orcas Island by Don Wilsun (1980)

Untitled by Nasira Alma
in cascades
down the blooming rocks
yesterday’s rain
Sunlight through Rain: A Northwest Haiku Year (1996)

Come and visit us, or browse the catalog, if you’re  looking for a poetry book written in or about the Pacific Northwest.

Double Trouble in Walla Walla.

The Adventure on Klickitat Island

What do these titles have in common?

Well, they contain two of Washington State’s very unique place names.  Walla Walla and Klickitat are just fun to say.

They are also part of our collection of children’s books here at the Washington State Library.

We don’t just have history books and microfilm here at the State Library.  We collect any book written about, or set in, Washington State.  That includes picture books.

Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements is a wonderful tongue twister of a tale that is great fun to read aloud.

In Lulu’s English class one morning, there is an outbreak of “lippity-loppity jibber-jabber.”

Everyone is double talking – the students, the teachers, the nurse and even the principal.

He tries to deny it by saying “Tut-tut, sounds like silly-willy hocus pocus to me”.

It seems he has caught the double talk bug too.

Adventure on Klickitat Island by Hilary Horder Hippely is a beautifully illustrated nighttime adventure.  A little boy and his bear head out to help animals on the island who are wet and cold in a thunderstorm.

“On Klickitat Island
just think of the rains,
now soaking the otters
and poor baby cranes”

Once they get to the island, all of the animals work with him to build a shelter.  They triumph over the cold rainy night.

“With deer hauling driftwood
and cranes helping sort,
soon standing up tall
was a Klickitat fort!”

Come and visit us, or browse our catalog, if you’re  looking for a children’s book set in, or written about, Washington State.