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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
It’s official: summer is here. Although the annual deluge of summer titles properly started in May, June sees the arrival of seasonal favorites like Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe, and no shortage of thriller titles. But if a beach read isn’t your thing, there is no shortage of other crisp new options hitting shelves this month.
This photo-illustrated book encourages the youngest readers to pay attention to the natural world that surrounds them in their urban neighborhoods. Animals such as squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks and ducks are featured with young toddlers close by. Because the featured animals are common enough to spot while out and about, this book provides an opportunity for parents to help toddlers to make connections between the book world and the real world.
The Greek tragedy Alcestis by Euripides provides the backdrop for a painter named Alicia Berenson who has been institutionalized at The Grove after murdering her husband. Alicia shoots her husband five times in the face and never speaks another word. Her only communication after the murder is to paint a self-portrait entitled Alcestis. In the play, Alcestis sacrifices her life in order that her husband, King Admetus, may live. After a trip to Hades, Alcestis returns to the living and Admetus minus her voice.
I started out reading this book in the hardcover edition the year it was published but kept thinking how great it would be to actually hear the Boss tell his story in his own words and own voice. So, when I discovered it was available as a downloadable audio, I decided to get it and then wait for a long car trip to listen to the book. I am glad I did it that way, because if ever a book was meant to be listened to, this was the one.
Based on a little known plot by secessionists to ambush and kill Abraham Lincoln on his way to Washington D.C. before he could be sworn in as president. This fantastically illustrated picture book tells the story of Allen Pinkerton, one of America’s greatest detectives. From humble beginnings to forming Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency (whose eyeball logo inspired the term “private eye.”) This book takes us on a historical journey using a graphic novel style.
I tend to read a lot of pop psychology or conduct of life books and when I saw that Dave Barry's new book was about life lessons from his geriatric dog, of course I was going to read it and love it.
From the Firefly ‘verse -- the show that was cancelled after only one season, but has a cult following that just won’t quit --comes Big Damn Hero.
Arfy really wants his “fur-ever” home. He invites himself politely via mail to every resident on Butternut Street. Each invitee declines Arfy’s offer of being their dog. Just when Arfy thinks he’s stuck in the leaky cardboard box at the end of the alley forever, he receives a letter. The mail carrier on Butternut Street is in need of a friend. Would Arfy be interested in having her as his person? Joy ensues as Arfy jubilantly accepts. The illustrations are the real treat of this story. They are large, bright and full of emotion. Kids will cheer with Arfy as his dream comes true.
It’s not often that the best and worst day in your life is one and the same, but for Margaret Jacobsen the protagonist and narrator in this remarkable novel it is. To achieve your dream job and a proposal by the man you adore, makes her believe that a wonderful picture-perfect life is just around the corner. But in one moment all of that is shattered as she finds herself at the beginning of a very different reality. All of which starts when Margaret wakes up in a hospital and slowly learns how much has changed.
