Tag Archives: animals

eBook Friday: The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate:

Winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller, this stirring and unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendships. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated novel is told from the point of view of Ivan himself.

Having spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

The One and Only Ivan was hailed as a best book of the year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Amazon, demonstrating it is a true classic in the making. In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.

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Every Friday, we highlight a title from our collection at
http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com
.  Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

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eBook Friday: Eating Animals

Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer:

Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his teenage and college years oscillating between omnivore and vegetarian. But on the brink of fatherhood–facing the prospect of having to make dietary choices on a child’s behalf–his casual questioning took on an urgency. His quest for answers ultimately required him to visit factory farms in the middle of the night, dissect the emotional ingredients of meals from his childhood, and probe some of his most primal instincts about right and wrong. Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits–from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth–and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting. Marked by Foer’s profound moral ferocity and unvarying generosity, as well as the vibrant style and creativity that made his previous books, Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, widely loved, Eating Animals is a celebration and a reckoning, a story about the stories we’ve told-and the stories we now need to tell.

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Every Friday, we highlight an eBook from our collection at
http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com
.  Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

Free eBook Friday: The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein:

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn’t simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life’s ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny’s wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it.

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Every Friday, we highlight an eBook from our collection at
http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com
.  Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

Free eBook Friday! Traveling with Your Pet

Traveling with Your Pet: The AAA PetBook

Annual updates make this the most complete travel guide for those taking their pets along on trips. Find more than 14,000 pet-friendly, AAA-Approved lodgings and campgrounds across the U.S. and Canada. Discover plenty of places for a family frolic including dog parks and pet-friendly national public lands and attractions.

The easy-to-use guide packs a wealth of useful features:
• Reservation options for convenient booking at AAA-Approved accommodations
• Essential lodging details, including pet requirements and fees
• Extensive list of animal clinics
• Tips for preparing dogs and cats for automobile and air travel
• Practical advice about packing, safety and health
• Information for disabled travelers with service animals
• List of animal and pet-related organizations
• U.S./Canada border crossing procedures  (From the book description)

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Every Friday, we highlight an eBook from our collection at http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com.  Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

Free eBook Friday: Animal Adventures in North Carolina

Every Friday, we’ll highlight an eBook from our collection at http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com.  Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

Animal Adventures in North Carolina, by  Jennifer Bean Bower:

Weekend and day trips are always fun. Combine them with attractions that allow the viewing, touching, and feeding of animals and such excursions suddenly become adventures. If you have ever dreamed of feeding reindeer, listening to the howls of a New Guinea singing dog, trekking through the mountains beside a llama, or seeing your first Siberian chipmunk, then Animal Adventures in North Carolina is the guidebook for you—and you won’t even need a passport.

Throughout North Carolina, facilities dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation of various animal species abound. Some of the fun to be found in Animal Adventures in North Carolina:

• Visit a wolf sanctuary in Bakersville where you can pet Cherokee White Rose, an Arctic wolf
• Get an up-close view of Radar and Lil Wayne, two ligers (a hybrid cross between a tiger and a lion) at Tiger World in Rockwell
• Meet Igor, a Brahma bull that travels the Eastern Seaboard attending fairs and agricultural events, at Sunny Slopes Farm in Asheboro