It should come as no surprise that I loved books as a child. They were pretty much all I ever wanted for gifts (to heck with socks and such!) The hard thing to do here is select which books to list, so there may be several back trails to books from my youth. ;-)

My introduction to Dr. Seuss was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I read this book until I had it memorized. (I'm sure my folks loved that)! My favorite was the one about the Wet Pet.

I think purple may be one of my favorite colors because of Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. Harold has a magic crayon ... whatever he draws becomes real and he goes on amazing adventures. I love the simple illustrations. As I remember, you can follow the one line of the crayon through them all.

I met up again with The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf when I was in college. The illustrations grace the wall of the small ice cream parlor on the campus of Washington State University that offered amazing ice cream. Ferdinand was supposed to be a fighting bull (the story is set in Spain) but he'd rather sit under a tree and smell the flower. There is an unfortunate interaction with a bee causing a momentary lapse in his peaceful attitude and he finds himself in the bull ring. Even then, he was a pacifist before his time.

The King Who Rained was an after college discovery. Written and illustrated by Fred Gwynne (yes, the actor from 'The Munsters') it is a charming book of word play. The illustrations show how a little girl imagines such things as the king who rained, how her mother can be a little hoarse, or what a fork in the road might look like. Be sure to look for A Chocolate Moose for Dinner, and A Little Pigeon Toad, too.

Then, as a, um, mature adult, a new friend (a master gardener) showed me one of her favorite books. Simply called Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney. Miss Rumphius lives in a house overlooking the ocean. She wants to make the world a more beautiful place, so she scatters lupine seeds wherever she goes. I learned at a later time that there was a real 'lupine lady' and that the lupine blooming along in Maine coastline are her legacy. The illustrations are beautiful and subtle.

We all know that Humpty Dumpty had a great fall ... or .... was he pushed? Follow the trail and learn the truth in What Really Happened to Humpty? (as told by Joe Humpty to Jeanie Franz Ransom and illustrated by Stephen Axelson).

Reread your childhood favorites, look for new ones, it's worth it!

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For these 'trails down under' I'm actually working backwards. I usually start with the book I read first that launched me on a subject or author, but in this case a book I was reading made me think back on other Aussie books I'd read.

Most recently it's been the Kerry Greenwood 'Phryne Fisher' books. Born poor, Phryne and her family come into money when enough men are killed in the War that her father is recognized as the next in line of a wealthy English family. A woman of independent thinking, she learns to fly, and shoot (and otherwise defend herself). She returns to Australia and works as a private investigator. There are more than a dozen books in the series, starting with Cocaine Blues. Great fun!

(And don't forget Greenwood's other series, about Corinna Chapman mentioned in an earlier blog).

A recommendation from a Canadian friend took me to Arthur Upfield and Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, a half-caste Aborigine (to use the lingo of the era), working in Australia in the 1930's. 'Bony' was an amazing tracker and a man with incredible patience (he once waited several years until a drought exposed a plane 'hidden' in a lake). These books can be hard to find, so start with any that you find. A few of the many titles are: The Sands of Windee, An Author Bites the Dust, and Death of a Lake.

The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough was a best seller, a multi-generational sweeping sage, filled with romance, passion, betrayal (all those necessary things). I remember the descriptions of the plantation and the outback being quite good. Needless to say, was made into a mini-series that held the nation's attention when it aired.

The movie "The Man From Snowy River" started out as a 'little' movie and ended up being a huge hit. I've seen it so many times I've lost count! It is based on a bush ballad of the same name by Banjo Paterson, who also wrote "Waltzing Matilda", one of Australia’s most popular songs. The movie inspired me to look for a book of Paterson's poetry and I found The Collected Verse of A.B. Paterson It includes a poem of another character in the movie 'Clancy of the Overflow' (and, of course, 'Waltzing Matilda'). Listen carefully to the music for the movie, by Bruce Rowland, in addition to the wonderful main themes you'll hear phrases from 'Waltzing Matilda' ...!

My first introduction to Australia came from two books by Elyne Mitchell: The Silver Brumby, and The Snow Filly. From them I learned that a brumby was a wild horse, that Thowra (the silver brumby) meant wind, and Kunama (the snow filly) meant snow. The horses are able to carry on detailed conversations with each other, but other than than act very horse like (which I liked, no animals in human clothing for me!) For a while I thought I'd try and track down copies to read again, but late came to the conclusion I'd rather keep the memories of two wonderful reads.

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I have a good friend who loves searching for books ... at library sales, estate sales, online and in person. Every so often, when something unique to my interests is found, I am the lucky recipient. That is the case with The Drums Would Roll: a Pictorial History of U.S. Army Bands on the American Frontier 1866 - 1900, by Thomas C. Railsback and John P. Langellier. It always seemed to me like the American frontier was a vast and empty place, but I am learning that it was actually very busy! (More on this in a later post). After the Revolutionary War the Army pretty much disbanded. The numbers would ebb and flow as needed, but until WWI it struggled for existence. Mostly it was used as military and law enforcement on the expanding frontier, but it seems there was always a band, too. Army bands provided the music for parades, ceremonies, dances and concerts. It was felt they offered some 'class' to stark frontier life. I enjoyed this book, it offered a nice change from books about battles and massacres.

Another friend is a Titanic buff and is usually aware of all of the most recent publications so I was extremely pleased with myself when I found this first. It made for the perfect gift! The Band That Played On: the Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic, by Steven Turner. Most people are aware of the story of how the band continued to play as the ship sank, but nothing about the actual musicians. Who were they? What were they like? How did they end up on the Titanic? Turner tracked down and talked to relatives, former friends and employers, and read letters in his quest to learn the answers. As readers of my blog may remember, I love a book with a great bibliography and this one does not disappoint.

In 1798 President John Adams signed the Act of Congress that included the authorization of a fife and drum band. From this humble start the world famous Marine Band, known as 'the President's Own' would evolve. It has played at every inauguration since Thomas Jefferson. The members never see combat so the Band is able to seek out the very best musicians. While women were never officially prohibited from auditioning, they were not actively recruited until the 1970's. Ruth Johnson was the first, she played French Horn. The best known director was John Philip Sousa, the composer of 'Semper Fi'. Read the complete history in Historical Perspective of the President's Own U.S. Marine Band by Master Gunnery Sergeant P. Michael Ressler, USMC. Note: it's much better than the title sounds!

This book is a celebration ... in 1907 Washington was still a fairly young state. Roads were being paved, cars were replacing the horse and buggy, homes are being fitted with electric lights, and, in Walla Walla, a small orchestra was started. Some of the concerts aired on the radio so more people could hear the music. Unlike so many of the older orchestras 'back east' there was a woman conductor. Alice Fischer. She would hold this position for eight years! A Dream Fulfilled: One Hundred Years of the Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra by Dan Schultz is a most enjoyable collection of pictures, programs, history, biographies and trivia. I especially enjoyed the pictures showing entire families who were members of the symphony.

Support live music!

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Here there be dragons! Once a warning at the end of the (flat) earth maps, dragons now come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, friendly and otherwise, winged and earth bound. Some are from Oriental myths, others are more recent creations. Here are some of the best of the best.

Anne McCaffrey is known for her wonderful Dragonrider series set on the planet of Pern. Wonderful, winged, fire-breathing dragons, who, when hatched, bond with a human. Among other things, they protect the planet from the dreaded 'thread' which periodically falls from the sky. There is also a strong musical theme to these stories, which I love. There are dozens of books in the series, start with these: Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon for older readers, and Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums for younger readers.

For more information about the dragons of Pern, try The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, by Jody Lynne Nye with Anne McCaffrey. Todd Cameron Hamilton did the illustrations, and James Clouse did the maps (and some of illustrations as well). Learn about the people of Pern, the Forts, Crafthalls, and Weyrs, the seasons of Threadfall and more.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight is the first of the Dragonlance Chronicles books. The 'dragon' books form a trilogy, but there are dozens of books overall. And although I've never tried them, I think there are online games, too! Authors Margaret Weisman and Tracy Hickman created a wonderful fantasy world filled with adventure, sword and sorcery type action, and believable characters. It's been years now, since I read this trilogy, but they sit on my 'favorite' book shelf and will be read again at some point. :-)

Another book I need to reread is Dragon Prince, by Melanie Rawn. Also the start of a trilogy, this is a big, detailed book (sort of like Frank Herbert's Dune). It is a classic fantasy story (young Rohan is determined to restore peace to his kingdom), but very well done. Sioned, the female, is a Sunrunner ... she can weave sunlight into messages and then send them. (She's good enough to do this with moonlight, too, which is much harder).

For a nice break after the complex reading of the above books, go to The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, poems by Jack Prelutsky and pictures by Peter Sis. Read the poems out loud! I like so many of them I am unable to pick a favorite. Spend some time looking at the illustrations, they are worth it.

Learn about the history of dragons, feel a bit of dragon skin, study dragon anatomy, watch a dragon hatch. This quietly interactive book (as opposed to the ones that beep, chirp, talk back and so forth) is just plain fun! Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology: the Complete Book of Dragons is edited by Dugald A. Steer.

I usually put my book recommendations in the order in which I read them, but in this case, even though I read this book decades ago (and many, many times since), I'm leaving it for last because it is one of my absolute all time most favorites. I used it as a gift many times, and, since it's a short read, even encouraged those who do not normally read fantasy to do so this one time (most of them liked it). Tea With the Black Dragon, by R.A MacAvoy is a delightful blend of fantasy and mystery and even a bit of romance.

I believe in dragons, do you?

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Summer is coming, and with it thoughts of vacations. While I am a hermit happy to stay home with my dog, I do enjoy a travel book from time to time. In the past year or so, it's been books about road trips.

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: the True Story of a Great American Road Trip, by Matthew Algeo. Imagine working at a gas station or cafe somewhere between Missouri and New York when the former president appears! In spite of trying to keep a low profile, Harry and Bess were recognized every where they went. And, on one of his traditional morning walks, Harry even managed to appear on a new tv show called "Today"! Join them on this 'excellent adventure', it's a great read.

David Rosenfelt writes a wonderful mystery series involving Tara, a Golden Retriever. Like the characters in his books, he and his wife rescue dogs ... larger dogs, and often ones with health problems. (The Tara Foundation really exists). At some point they decided to move from California back to their home turf in Maine. With 25 dogs. They thought they had everything planned out. Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RV's on a Canine Cross-Country Adventure is the story of how the journey really went.

It Takes A Dog to Raise a Village: True Stories of Remarkable Canine Vagabonds, by Ruth Gordon with illustrations by Pete Ring came to me as a gift from another dog lover. It tells of dogs who instead of having one family, had communities looking after them. There's Owney (featured on a U.S. Postage Stamp) who traveled the country by train in the mail cars. Lampo did something similar in Italy, while Patsy Ann greeted tourists arriving in Junea, Alaska. And, of course, Grayfriars Bobby, the loyal Skye Terrier who returned to his master's grave every day for the rest of his life.

A Barker's Dozen is a book inspired by a shelter rescue dog who was brought into the Humane Shelter as a stray. She was micro-chipped, but that information was out of date .. and from Georgia! How she got clear across the country developed into a 'whimsical westward journey', part fiction, part fact. Thirteen true stories of other shelter rescue dogs who found their forever home complete the book. A Barker's Dozen: 13 Stories About Shelter Rescue Dogs Plus Wise Words From Sage, a Dog on A Whimsical Westward Journey, All With Happy Endings and New Forever Homes, by Pat Leedy, may be found at lulu.com.

And lastly, a novel that is a bit more than a road trip, but well worth mentioning. The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson. At what should have been a routine physical, Ambrose Zephyr is told that he has a month to live. The result is a whirlwind tour of the places he wanted to visit (in alphabetical order). A sweet, sad read.

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Some non-fiction books read like fiction. Good fiction. The sort of book that keeps you reading hour after hour. Here are a few:

The Secret Rooms: a True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret, by Catherine Bailey. A room was sealed in 1940 ... why? Sixty years later the author was one of the first historians allowed in ... and discovered a mystery. The 9th Duke had carefully collected and organized all the records covering generations of his family, but with a gap of three years during his own life time ... why? The search for the records and the answer takes the author on a journey across time and paperwork (!) as she discovers just what happened.

The story of art fraud, possibly the greatest scam of all time, is told in Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo. I read this after a recommendation came from Constant Reader and what a read it was! John Drewe was a charming con man. Much of his success with selling forgeries was due to the excellent provenance he could provide .... provenance he had created by sneaking paperwork into archives where he had been given access. Some of the forgeries he sold still hang in museums and art galleries today.

While this is a book about WWII, something I read about often, it's a departure from my usual books in that it takes place in the Pacific. Vanished: the Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II, by Wil S. Hinton. A B-24 Bomber was shot down in 1944, and little more was reported, the crew merely listed as MIA. What starts as a fun vacation for Hilton, becomes an obsession taking ten years to resolve. Sixty years after the plane went down, the families finally had answers to what happened. Thanks go to a friend I met 'way back in my college days for this recommendation. :-)

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A new book started this trail because after reading it, I wandered through some of my favorite movie books again. ;-)

Hollywood Musicals: Year by Year, by Stanley Green. From 1927 to 1989, including animated films, this is a great index of the musicals. It's one of my favorite reference books.

Walt Disney's Bambi: the Story and the Film, by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. One of my favorite all time Disney movies, the original book by Felix Salten is also very good. This book is filled with the artwork, including sketches and how they developed into moving images. It is as fun to read as it is to just look at the pictures.

The same may be said for Walt Disney's Fantasia, by John Culhane. I remember seeing this movie in the theater and wanting to see it again and again. Now that I have the dvd I may do so whenever I want! As with Bambi, the book explains how the film was made, how the music was selected, and how they got that wonderful 3-D effect when the monks were walking through the woods with the candles. All without the use of computers!

I used to watch "The Muppet Show" every week, so when 'Dark Crystal' came out, I was one of the first in line. What an amazing movie! I was just as thrilled with The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film, with text by Christopher Finch. It shows how the sets (incredibly detailed) were designed, the critters (big and small) were created and how the puppeteers worked their magic. For the Landstriders they were running on their hands and feet, on stilts!

'Tron' was almost as intriguing to me ... not only is it about computers and those who work with them, but it takes place inside the computer! The Art of Tron, by Michael Bonifer explains just how this was done.

When 'Jurassic Park' came out, I'd like to think it wowed everyone who saw it ... from the amazing score by John Williams, to the wonderful work by the actors, to those awesome (using the original definition of the word) dinosaurs, it was a movie worth seeing on the big screen more than once. The Making Of Jurassic Park: an Adventure 65 Million Years in the Making by Don Shay and Jody Duncan explains it all, from start to finish.

And, finally, the book that started me back on this trail: Mom in the Movies: the Iconic Screen Mothers You love (And a Few You Love to Hate) by Richard Corliss. They're all here ... good moms, bad moms, overbearing moms, supportive moms, science-fiction moms ... This is a great romp through the mothers (and sometimes aunts or step-mothers) of the silver screen from the silent films through 2013, complete with a wonderful collection of photographs. (Not to mention, a timely read for Mother's Day).

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The Hyzy books have put me on the trail back to the White House. Another book by Margaret Truman to start with: The President's House. This is a fascinating look at what it's like to live in the White House from someone who has 'been there, done that.' The White House has been ransacked, burned, redecorated and remodeled. Truman tells of Teddy Roosevelt's children shooting spit wads at the presidential portraits, and of the ghosts that have been spotted walking the halls. Well written and easy to read. :-)

On to Best Little Stories From the White House: More Than 100 True Stories by C. Brian Kelly with Ingride Smyer. A wonderful collection of stories --- from the familiar (the Rose Garden) to the lesser known (Lady Bird Johnson locked herself out one night). Short entries, quick and easy to read ... you know, during commercials when watching TV! At the end is a nice collection of brief biographies on the First Ladies.

Next I sort of wandered over to a few more books about the Presidents. What happened when Grover Cleveland vanished for five days? Find out in Matthew Algeo's The President is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth. The country was facing a possible financial crisis and it was felt that if the public knew the president had cancer chaos would ensue, so the decision was made to do the necessary surgery in secret. The president boarded a friend's yacht (which he had done many times in the past) and had the tumor removed while out at sea.

The song "What do you do with a general (when he stops being a general)" from the movie White Christmas came to mind with this next book. Citizen-in-Chief: the Second Lives of the American Presidents by Leonard Venardo and Jennifer Weiss. From George Washington forward, it tells what each of the presidents did after they left the Oval Office. (They weren't all happy endings.)

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A few years ago I came across a title I just couldn't resist: State of the Onion. It was the first in what has become a favorite cozy mystery series by Julie Hyzy featuring the White House chef. The main character packs a mean frying pan! For a fun, behind the scenes look at what cooking at the White House is like, give this series a try. As with many of the mysteries with a cooking theme, there are recipes at the back.

A nice twist on said cooking mysteries may be found in the J.B.Stanley series about a diet club. These folks have gathered together to support each other in their quest to drop a few pounds. Naturally, they end up solving mysteries. The first in the series is Carbs and Cadavers. J.B.Stanley writes under many names so be sure to check out Ellery Adams, Lucy Arlington and Jennifer Stanley for other cozies.

Next came a wonderful recommendation from Constant Reader. The Corinna Chapman books, starting with Earthly Delights. Set in Melbourne, Australia, Corinna, once an accountant is now a baker of amazing treats. She lives in an older apartment building with a Roman design, wonderful (mostly) neighbors, and an incredible roof top garden. The cats alone are worth the read! The author, Kerry Greenwood, has another delightful series as well, but that's a topic for a later post.

The Power of Poppy Pendle by Natasha Lowe continues the 'baking trail' this time. It's a tween read about a young girl born with witching powers. After skipping not one, but two generations, her parents are determined she will go to the local (and famous) school for witches and follow in her ancestors foot steps. One problem, Polly doesn't want to be a witch, she wants to be a baker. This book won't take you very long to read, so it might be a good fit for the afternoon following a morning of yard work. ;-)

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