Since January is the beginning of a new year, what a great time to showcase books and items that start with the last letter of the alphabet? With so many things organized alphabetically, the “Zs” don’t always get a lot of love. So here are some books on a variety of topics, but they all have the letter “Z” in common. These items and more can be found at the Chatham Area Public Library.
These nonfiction books cover the search for a fabled civilization and a revolutionary woman. The Lost City of Z by David Grann tells of the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett, who ventured into the Amazon jungle in 1925, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called "The Lost City of Z." Wonder Girl by Don Van Natta describes the exceptional life and times of LPGA founder Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the Texas woman who achieved All-American status in basketball, won gold medals in track and field in the 1932 Olympics, and became the first woman to play against men in a PGA tournament.
Enjoy these fiction novels for a literary love or a suspenseful thriller. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler is a fictional story inspired by the marriage of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. It follows their union in defiance of her father's opposition and her abandonment of the provincial finery of her upbringing in favor of a scandalous flapper identity that gains her entry into the literary party scenes of New York, Paris and the French Riviera. Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge is a fast paced thriller where animals start brutally attacking people. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear. With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it is too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.
Travel to different parts of this world and other worlds altogether with these zappy young adult novels. Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali is a novel about eighteen-year-old Muslims Adam and Zayneb who meet in Doha, Qatar, during spring break and fall in love as both struggle to find a way to live their own truths. Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee is a science fiction novel about seventeen-year-old Carr ‘the Raptor’ Luka who rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing. Then he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations.
The youngest readers might enjoy Zagazoo by Quentin Blake. The postman brings George and Bella a delightful pink creature, who suddenly turns into a vulture, a warthog, a dragon, a hairy monster, and other destructive and annoying creatures. The Zealous Zebecs from the Midnight Ocean's Zenith by Lisa Baker-King joins an imaginative story with intense alliteration, and engages children in a seek-and-find to celebrate the spoken sound of the written word. Each letter of the alphabet creates a humorous symphony of sounds and encourages the child and their loved ones to experience language together.
Celebrate the “Z” this month with these books any many more from the Chatham Area Public Library.