The Lineup: Baseball Biographies & Movies

The 2020 season of Major League Baseball is officially here! While this season is going to look a lot differently, we’re just happy to see baseball back in action. In celebration of the return of baseball, we’ve rounded up our favorite biographies and films to get you ready to cheer on your favorite team.

  • All of the titles featured here we have in our collection. To see if an item is available to check out or place on hold, click the cover image.

Baseball Books — Biographies

Films About Baseball

Want more recommendations?

 

You can check out all of our online booklists (for kids and for adults), or reach out to us! Our staff is ready and willing to make reading, listening, or viewing recommendations to you! Email us at reference@benlib.org or contact us via our online form!

What’s New: Thrillers for 2020

Do you love a gripping page-turner that you just can’t put down? Below are a handful of our picks for the best new thrillers of 2020, hand-picked by our Adult Services Department staff. All of the titles featured here we have in our collection. To see if an item is available to check out or place on hold, click the cover image or button to the right of the description.

The Missing American

by Kwei Quartey

After her dreams of becoming a police officer come crashing down, Emma starts working for a private detective agency in Accra. Anxious about her uncertain future and career in the city, she soon finds herself investigating the case of a missing American citizen in Ghana. In a plot that expands continents and the secrets of two countries, Emma must navigate a convoluted world of international scams, fetish priests, and the mysteries of the dead.

The Majesties

by Tiffany Tsao

Gwendolyn and Estella have always been as close as sisters can be. Growing up in a wealthy, eminent, and sometimes deceitful family, they’ve relied on each other for support and confidence. But now Gwendolyn is lying in a coma, the sole survivor of Estella’s poisoning of their whole clan. As Gwendolyn struggles to regain consciousness, she desperately retraces her memories, trying to uncover the moment that led to this shocking and brutal act. Was it their aunt’s mysterious death at sea? Estella’s unhappy marriage to a dangerously brutish man? Or were the shifting loyalties and unspoken resentments at the heart of their opulent world too much to bear? Can Gwendolyn, at last, confront the carefully buried mysteries in their family’s past and the truth about who she and her sister really are?

A Good Man

by Ani Katz

Paul Martin was a devoted family man who had all the trappings of an enviable life: a beautiful wife and daughter, a well-appointed home on Long Island’s north shore, a job at a prestigious Manhattan advertising firm. He was also a devoted son and brother, shielding the women in his orbit from the everyday horrors of the world. But what happens when Paul’s fragile ego is rocked? After committing an unspeakable act–that he can never undo–Paul grapples with his sense of self. Sometimes he casts himself as a victim and, at other times, a monster. All he ever did was try to be a good man, but he may actually be a very, very bad man.

The Holdout

by Graham Moore

Maya Seale believes that Bobby Nock is innocent, so she becomes determined to persuade her fellow jurors of it. Ten years after the trial and Maya’s successful campaign for his innocence, a documentary crew starts to look into what happened between the jurors behind closed doors. Maya, now a defense attorney, finds her life under scrutiny, as a body of one of her fellow jurors is found in her apartment.

The Rabbit Hunter

by Lars Kepler

Ten little rabbits, all dressed in white tried to get to heaven on the end of a kite. Kite string got broken, down they all fell, Instead of going to heaven, they all went to… It begins with a nursery rhyme. Nineteen minutes later you die. A masked stranger stands in the shadows. He watches his victim through the window. He will kill him slowly–make him pay. Soon the Rabbit Hunter has claimed another three victims. This predator will stop at nothing to reap his ultimate revenge. It’s up to Joona Linna and Saga Bauer to untangle one of the most complex cases of their career, and follow the killer’s trail of destruction back to one horrific night of violence.

Hi Five

by Joe Ide

Isaiah Quintabe, the genius PI who combines book smarts, street smarts, and enough blistering action to melt the pavement of East Long Beach, is back with a new adventure. Fresh off the beating he took at the hands of a gang of ex-Abu Ghraib thugs working as paramilitary contractors, IQ is determined to build a life for himself with his new girlfriend, Grace. For once, he wants to be normal–a normal guy, with a normal PI business, doing the best he can. But this is IQ, and trouble is never far behind him. Joined by his faithful band of fast-talking, sharp-tongued partners, Deronda and Dodson, the cases are wild, the mysteries twisty, and the driving fast.

The Janes

by Louisa Luna

On the outskirts of San Diego, the bodies of two young women are discovered. They have no names, no IDs, and no family looking for them. Fearing the possibility of a human trafficking ring, the police and FBI reach out to Alice Vega, a private investigator known for finding the missing, for help in finding out who the Janes were – and finding the others who are missing. Alice Vega is a powerful woman whose determination is matched only by her intellect, and, along with her partner Cap, she will stop at nothing to find the Janes before it is too late.

Deep State

by Chris Hauty

Recently elected President Richard Monroe–populist, controversial, and divisive–is at the center of an increasingly polarized Washington, DC. Never has the partisan drama been so tense or the paranoia so rampant. In the midst of contentious political turf wars, the White House chief of staff is found dead in his house. A tenacious intern discovers a single, ominous clue that suggests he died from something other than natural causes, and that a wide-ranging conspiracy is running beneath the surface of everyday events: powerful government figures are scheming to undermine the rule of law–and democracy itself. The unthinkable is happening. The Deep State is real. Who will die to keep its secrets and who will kill to uncover the truth?

Want more recommendations?

 

You can check out all of our online booklists (for kids and for adults), or reach out to us! Our staff is ready and willing to make reading, listening, or viewing recommendations to you! Email us at reference@benlib.org or contact us via our online form!

“Be Yourself” Booklist | For Kids

Miss Diane from the Youth Services Department has hand-picked her favorite picture books encouraging kids to “be yourself”!

  • All of the books featured here are books that we have in our collection. To see if an item is available to check out or place on hold, click the cover image or button to the right of the description.

Miss D's "Be Yourself" Picks

Giraffes Can't Dance

by Giles Andreae

Gerald the giraffe wants nothing more then to dance but all the animals laugh at him…that is until he learns to dance to his own tune.

AGES: 4 to 8 years old

The Story of Ferdinand

by Munro Leaf

Ferdinand isn’t like the other bulls. He just wants to sit and smell the flowers. So, what do you think happen when he’s picked for the bullfights in Madrid?

AGES: 4 to 8 years old

The Little White Owl

by Tracey Corderoy

The little white owl meets some colorful owls and wants to share his happy stories, and his toast, with them. They’re not interested in a plain white owl and that’s when the magic begins!

AGES: 3 to 7 years old

Elmer

by David McKee

All the other elephants are grey, but Elmer is a patchwork of colors and he hates it! Find out what happens when he sets off one day to make a change.

AGES: 4 to 8 years old

More favorites... Click the cover to view in our online catalog!

Perfectly Norman

by Tom Percival

Norman is perfectly normal, until one day when he grows wings! He loves his wings but will everyone else? See what he does to hide who he really is.

AGES: 3 to 7 years old

Tacky the Penguin

by Helen Lester

Tacky is pretty odd compared to the other pretty penguins. But, when hunters show up, being different can save the day!

AGES: 3 to 7 years old

How to Be a Lion

by Ed Vere

Leonard the lion and Marianne the duck are best friends. But the other bully lions say a lion a duck can’t be friends, ducks are for eating! How many ways exactly are there to be a lion?

AGES: 3 to 7 years old

Spoon

by Amy Krouse Rosethal

Spoon was always a happy utensil, until one day when he decides fork, knife and chopsticks are much cooler. But wait until you read what they think about that!

AGES: 3 to 6 years old

Founding Families | The Lesters

Welcome to “Founding Families”, a local history series that highlights and features a founding family of Bensenville through ancestry, photos, and more. Stay tuned for more Founding Families to be featured on our website and as a part of our “Flashback Friday” series on Facebook. In the meantime, be sure to browse the Bensenville Historical Collection on the Illinois Digital Archives for more local history information.

Frederick E. Lester, son of Edward Lester, was born July 3, 1828, in Clinton County, New York. Edward’s third son John, made a claim at what is now Irving Park Rd and Salt Creek in 1834, at the northern end of  Dunklee’s Grove. In 1835, his father Edward brought the rest of their family to the DuPage County claim, arriving November 1st. The Lester family were parents Edward and Hannah, five boys and two girls. Louis, Marshall, John, Daniel, Frederick, Julie, and Acinthia.

Their first shanty was 14×16, which served as living quarters through their first winter. A 30×40 block house was erected in the spring of 1836. Oldest daughter Julie ran the first Addison Township school in 1836, housed in a log cabin. 

Frederick Lester was the youngest son and went on a threshing tours up the Fox River for eight seasons, until his leg was crushed and amputated when he was 18. After recovering, he began driving cattle, and was married to Julia A. Dunklee, daughter of one of the first settlers, Ebenezer Dunklee, in 1854. Frederick and Julia had four boys and four girls.

In 1873 Frederick Lester gave the Chicago & Pacific Rail Road right of way and ground for a new station (in present day Wood Dale), paying for much of the construction after the single line railroad from Chicago to Elgin was completed. Soon after, Frederick Lester and Frederick Heuer built the first industry in the area, a cheese and butter factory next to the station.

A post office was established in Salt Creek in 1874, with Frederick Lester being appointed postmaster by Gen. U.S. Grant, President. Frederick Lester died shortly after the station he helped build, was moved for a new general store and saloon, in 1891.

Our Digital Librarian & Archivist has been reorganizing and preserving the Library’s physical local history collection and digitizing resources for the Illinois Digital Archive. To start browsing the Bensenville Historical Collection on the Illinois Digital Archives, please visit: benlib.org/local-history-online.

Local history questions? Please contact Digital Librarian & Archivist, Elizabeth Morris, at emorris@benlib.org.

Sources:

  • 1874 Atlas & History of DuPage County, Illinois
  • DuPage County Historical Society Website, Wood Dale History, by Mary Lou Mittel

Now Recommending: Great Eats & Cool Treats

Need some new recipe ideas and inspirations for your summertime cooking? Look no further! Whether you prefer to be behind the grill, or if you’d rather stay cool in the kitchen, we’ve got a variety of cookbooks in our collection — grilling, barbecuing, salads, sandwiches, and sweet treats — all perfect for summertime fun and good eating.

Want more recommendations?

 

You can check out all of our online booklists (for kids and for adults), or reach out to us! Our staff is ready and willing to make reading, listening, or viewing recommendations to you! Email us at reference@benlib.org or contact us via our online form!