Recommended Reads

Cover image of Anna's Book

Anna's Book
By Barbara Vine
DB 37442, available as a BARD download
Anna is a young Danish woman in 1905, transplanted by her husband to England where she awaits the birth of (she is sure) her daughter. Her husband, whom she cares little for, is away and her young sons bore her, so she begins a diary. Years later, after Anna's death, her daughter, Swanny, discovers the voluminous diaries and publishes them. Upon Swanny's death, her niece discovers that Swanny may have removed pages pertaining to her own birth. 1993. Download Anna's Book, DB 37442

Cover image of Captured

Captured: From the Frontier Diary of Infant Danny Duly
By Gregory Lalire
LT 17888
Even before his birth, Danny Duly relates his life story as his mother leaves his father in a Chicago asylum in 1866 and heads for her sister's home in the boomtown of Virginia City, encountering many colorful characters and giving birth to Danny along the way. 2014.

Cover image of Cleopatra VII

Cleopatra VII, Daughter of the Nile
By Kristiana Gregory
DB 53737, available as a BARD download
Twelve-year-old Cleopatra records in her diary how she fears for her own safety, especially since her father is in hiding after experiencing attempts on his life. She also confides her hopes to survive and become Queen of Egypt. For grades 5-8. 1999. Download Cleopatra VII, DB 53737

Cover image of Coast to Coast with Alice

Coast to Coast with Alice
By Patricia Rusch Hyatt
DB 43386, available as a BARD download
A fictional journal sixteen-year-old Minna might have written during a two-month auto trip in 1909. Auto enthusiast Alice Ramsey, twenty-one, is asked by the Maxwell car company to be the first woman to drive across the United States. Minna and Alice's two sisters-in-law come along. For grades 3-6. 1995. Download Coast to Coast with Alice, DB 43386

Cover image of Dakota Dreams

Dakota Dreams: Fannie Sabra Howe's Own Story, 1881-1884
By Janet Townsley
BRC 1103, available as a BARD download
Excerpts from a diary, with background information, tell a story of a young woman witness to her family's courageous homestead move from Wisconsin to the Dakota Territory. 2003. Download Braille, Dakota Dreams, BRC 1103

Cover image of Diary of H. L. Mencken

Diary of H. L. Mencken
By H. L. Mencken
DB 31073, available as a BARD download
Journalist H. L. Mencken, who died in January, 1956, requested that his diary be sealed from public view for twenty-five years after his death. These are his personal jottings covering the years from 1930 to 1948. They reveal the man, his attitudes toward both his friends and his enemies, his prejudices, and his deep love for his wife, who died of tuberculosis after only four years of marriage. 1991. Download Diary of H. L. Mencken, DB 31073

Cover image of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
By Jeff Kinney
DBC 7146, BR 19566, JL 688, available as a BARD download
When his town organizes an electronics-free event, a disgusted Greg Heffley struggles to survive life in a community without modern conveniences. Meanwhile, tension builds among kids struggling to enjoy the activities of past generations. Commercial audiobook. For grades 3-6 and older readers. 2015. Download Diary of a Wimpy Kid, DBC 7146
, Download Braille, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, BR 19566

Cover image of The Diary of a Young Girl

The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
By Anne Frank
DB 40424, BR 10113, LT 26169, available as a BARD download
This notebook kept by a German-born Jewish girl includes material that was omitted from the first edition in 1947. Begun on her thirteenth birthday, the diary is a personal, sometimes humorous, account of years spent with her family in a Dutch attic hiding from the Nazis. After Anne heard a radio appeal about the importance of such papers, she expanded the scope of her entries. For high school and older readers. 1995. Download The Diary of a Young Girl, DB 40424
, Download Braille, The Diary of a Young Girl, BR 10113

Cover image of Ellen Anders on Her Own

Ellen Anders on Her Own
By Karen Hirsch
DB 41233, available as a BARD download
Eleven-year-old Ellen feels very much alone after her mother dies in an accident and her best friend prefers the company of the popular girls in sixth grade. Then Ellen discovers a diary begun by her mother when she was about the same age Ellen is now. Ellen is surprised by what she reads and finally talks it over with her father. For grades 3-6. 1994. Download Ellen Anders on Her Own, DB 41233

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