We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library.

This season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge!

This week we admire Scott County. This county is home to the Elko Speedway. To celebrate this, we suggest that you read a book about cars or racing.

We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all – including a nice book – Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE!

If I Built a Car (If I Built Series), by Chris Van Dusen
Young Jack is giving an eye-opening tour of the car he’d like to build. There’s a snack bar, a pool, and even a robot named Robert to act as chauffeur. With Jack’s soaring imagination in the driver’s seat, we’re deep-sea diving one minute and flying high above traffic the next in this whimsical, tantalizing take on the car of the future. Illustrations packed with witty detail, bright colors, and chrome recall the fabulous fifties and an era of classic American automobiles. Infectious rhythm and clever invention make this wonderful read-aloud a launch pad for imaginative fun.

The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane, by Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley

Meet Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley: the former number-one McLaren mechanic, and the brains behind some of Formula One’s greatest ever drivers.

Revealing the most outrageous secrets and fiercest rivalries, The Mechanic follows Priestley as he travels the world working in the high-octane atmosphere of the F1 pit lane. While the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers, the mechanics are the guys who make every World Champion, and any mistakes can have critical consequences.

However, these highly skilled engineers don’t just fine-tune machinery and crunch data through high-spec computers. These boys can seriously let their hair down. Whether it’s partying on luxury yachts or gravity-defying photos aboard aeroplanes, this is a world which thrills on and off the track.

The Car, by Gary Paulsen

At fourteen, Terry Anders finds himself abandoned by both of his parents. Left alone in their home, he has nothing but an empty refrigerator and his father’s unfinished Blakely Bearcat kit car—abandoned just like Terry. And that gives him an idea.

After getting the car road-ready, Terry takes it out to the highway and heads west. Leaving Cleveland behind, his plan is to track down an uncle he once met who lives somewhere in Oregon. But along the way, Terry makes friends, sees parts of his country he never knew about, and learns a thing or two about life, survival, and himself.

Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer

Meet Jenna Boller, star employee at Gladstone’s Shoe Store in Chicago. Standing a gawky 5’11” at 16 years old, Jenna is the kind of girl most likely to stand out in the crowd for all the wrong reasons. But that doesn’t stop Madeline Gladstone, the president of Gladstone’s Shoes 176 outlets in 37 states, from hiring Jenna to drive her cross country in a last ditch effort to stop Elden Gladstone from taking over his mother’s company and turning a quality business into a shop-and-schlock empire. Now Jenna Boller shoe salesperson is about to become a shoe-store spy as she joins her crusty old employer for an eye-opening adventure that will teach them both the rules of the road…and the rules of life.  

Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy E. Shaw
Here they come, a flock of rollicking sheep in their sturdy red jeep. Will their outing be a success?

Jeep goes splash! Jeep goes thud! Jeep goes deep in gooey mud!

Here is a lively, funny tale, perfect for reading aloud. The youngest lap sitters will quickly learn to chant along with the reader as the brisk story unfolds, and they’ll delight in the colorful portrayal of the hapless sheep.

This proven winner for sharing and circle time will have your little ones giggling along.

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What It Says About Us, by Tom Vanderbilt

In this brilliant, lively, and eye-opening investigation, Tom Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots.Traffic is about more than driving: it’s about human nature. It will change the way we see ourselves and the world around us, and it may even make us better drivers. 

CONCLUSION:

Thanks for joining us! We’ll be back next week with a look at the next county and the next book prompt!