Special to the Enquirer

Title: “The Four Winds” 

Author: Kristin Hannah 

This is an in-depth view of the 1930s Dust Bowl, told by Elsa Martinelli and her daughter Loreda.   

Elsa was unloved as a child and has hope that once she marries Rafe, she will finally be happy.  

Life is hard on the farm they tend with her in-laws, but Elsa is mostly content. Then the Great Depression hit, and times got harder. Then the dust came, and life was unbearable for many – including her husband.   

After staying to fight for the land as long as she could, Elsa finally agreed to head to California, where everyone has promised opportunity.   

Thousands of miles traveled only to be stuck living in a field under a tent with other “Okies,” and life is harder than it’s ever been.   

Elsa gets her hopes up when she gets a job picking cotton for the largest farmer in the area, only to realize they are abusing their workers by offering lines of credit as payment. This, in turn, only makes them go into debt, with no hope of becoming free.   

Everyone has a breaking point, and Elsa is quickly approaching hers. Will she ever be free and happy, or is her life just one struggle after another?   

This is a fictitious story of a real tragedy in American history that we will be discussing at the next book club meeting at the library, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. 

Special to the Enquirer

Title: “There’s an Elf in Your Book” 

Author: Tom Fletcher 

Illustrator: Greg Abbott 

Age: 3-7   

Everyone knows Santa has a naughty and nice list, but do you have what it takes to make it onto the nice list? Elf gives a test to see if you can follow the instructions.  

You have to do all the nice things, but watch out for the naughty ones. Elf will try and trip you up. Don’t worry! It’s a fun and easy test.  

Kids will laugh and giggle while reading this fun interactive book. It will surely put the whole family in the Christmas spirit. Elf is a silly creature and keeps kids’ attention all the way through.  

Stop by the library to pick it up along with other all the other wonderful Christmas books to enjoy this holiday season.