If any of you readers have had teenaged daughters at home beginning around 2005 and beyond, you may know something about book entitled The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  I am betting several teachers out there are probably familiar with the series.  Maybe you have even seen the movie version of the book.  That single book has grown into a series of five titles and long the way the characters have grown older.

Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby all have known each other since they were first born and are about to turn 30 years old when you meet them again in Sisterhood Everlasting (2011) by Ann Brashares.  While they are still great friends, their lives have taken them in different directions.  They keep in touch, but all miss each other and how close they used to be.

Lena is an artist and teaches at the university level.  Responsible Carmen lives in NYC and is an actress in a popular TV series.  Loyal Tibby now lives in Australia with her boyfriend Brian.  And restless Bridget lives in San Francisco with boyfriend Eric.

Tibby reaches out to each of the Sisterhood.  She wants the four of them to get together.  She made it easy by sending them each a plane ticket to meet in Greece.  The personalities of the “Septembers” as they are known, certainly have matured over the years.  At the same time, they are not all completely satisfied with the lives they are living.  The trip to Greece is the perfect break in routine they all can use.

Obviously, they are all very excited.  Plans are made.  All went as planned.  The only issue occurred upon their arrival at the airport in Greece. They are confronted with a tragedy.  The girls and their families are devasted. Their lives as they have lived them for 30 years has been touched in a way their never expected.

Sisterhood Everlasting was a fast, a very touching read.  The book definitely targets adult readers.  I enjoyed reading the others years ago as a high school librarian.  If you really want to get to know Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby when they were younger, Tanglewood’s library has the entire series.

I just told you about five potential books you might enjoy, now these next two books that have landed in Tanglewood’s Library will give you a peek into the life of someone will surely recognize…Dolly Parton.  But just how much do you know about her?  She Come by It Natural (2020) by Sarah Smarsh is a series of four journal articles written by Smarsh about Dolly’s life and the music she wrote.  The music that took the singer from poverty to becoming a recognizable superstar on many levels.  If you are a fan of Dolly’s, you probably know she wrote her first song when she was 13 years old.  Her list of works has grown to over 3000!

Dolly wrote Dream More in 2012.  Dolly describes what she sees as her dreams for everyone.  This small book is actually an expanded version of a commencement speech “The Queen of Country Music” gave at the University of Tennessee.

Using examples from her own life, she would like everyone to do four things:  Dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.  Good advice for each of us.  Both of those books are small in size but fill with lots of information and wisdom.

Dream More is a pleasant little read.  It is uplifting, funny, and feels very honest.  You can almost “hear” her saying the words as you are reading.  Dolly certainly is doing her part to get books into the hands of kids in hope of increasing the literacy rates.

Take advantage of those comfy chairs in the library and the air conditioning.  It is a perfect place to get to know a little something more about Dolly. If these particular books are unavailable, enjoy your time perusing Tanglewood’s library shelves where you will surely find a book written just for you.