First Posted: 3/14/2012

A timely new 30-volume series, “Baseball: the Great American Game,” written for children age 9 to 12 years old, is on display in the Children’s Room at the Abington Community Library. Readers will learn the full history of each team in baseball’s major leagues, from the up-and-coming Tampa Bay Rays to the 142-year-old Cincinnati Reds. Each volume spotlights the team’s greatest players and most memorable moments while spectacular photos capture all the hard-hitting action. Another new series for young readers is “Countries Around the World,” a 49-volume set also on display in the Children’s Room. Each book contains full coverage of each country, including maps, graphs, recipes, foreign language phrases, flags, a quick reference fact file, timeline and suggestions for further research. Aimed at elementary level students, this high-interest, fully illustrated series offers comprehensive coverage of countries around the globe. Young readers will discover a diverse range of landscapes, peoples and cultures, explore the landmarks and food of different regions, follow the current affairs and personalities shaping nations, and learn about the wildlife and environmental issues affecting our planet.

New Additions to the Adult Collection

“That Woman,” by Anne Sebba. The author, a distinguished historian and biographer, turns her focus on Wallis Warfield Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, who ensnared King Edward VIII and destabilized the monarchy in the 1930s. Born in Baltimore in 1896, Bessie Wallis Warfield endured an impoverished childhood and grew up to live by her wit and her wits, becoming one of the most talked-about women of her generation. Based on new material discovered by the author, this new biography provides fresh insight on the character and motivations of a powerful and complex woman.

“Death Comes to Pemberley,” by P. D. James. The author, an acclaimed mystery writer, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem. Elizabeth and Darcy are living a peaceful, orderly life with their two young sons at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate, and preparations are underway for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball. Then, on the eve of the ball, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, Lydia, who with her husband, Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley, arrives in a state of hysteria, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. While re-creating the world of Jane Austen, P. D. James adds the excitement and suspense of a cleverly crafted crime story.