Constant Reader was right to recommend Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen when I asked about picture books, it is delightful! It starts with Annabelle finding a box of yarn ... there's a nasty archduke, and a bit of magic,and wonderful, gentle illustrations. From County Reader came Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton (see March 19, 2016), and The Adventures of Tin-Tin, by Herge a series of (I've learned) 24 comic books! Mom had some of these, too, but her copies were in French.

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Just how do dogs view our holidays? Do they have special days of their own? Find out in Every Day's a Dog's Day: a Year in Poems, by Marilyn Singer and pictures by Miki Sakamoto. I loved the poem for July 4th, where, from the dog's perspective, the humans are making noise, and yet, if the dogs bark, they are told to be quiet!

It's probably about time I did something about cats, yes? So, I read Cat People: a Hilariously Entertaining Look at the World of Cat Lovers and Their Obsessive Devotion to Their Pets, by Michael Korda and Margaret Korda. (Michael also did the nice illustrations). It was laugh out loud funny in spots, sad, too, of course, and one event that I felt just did not to be included at all. I loved the 'discussion' on how cats and dogs differ.

The first two books in today's post were fun, this one, An Echo Through the Snow, by Andrea Thalasinos while well written, was a much harder read. Cruelty, abuse, neglect, but also survival, rescue, and return (for lack of a better word on my part). In 1929 the Chukchi people of Siberia gave up their dogs (known as the Guardians) in order to save them. More than 60 years later one Elder hopes for their return. Two interwoven stories fill in the years in between. Thanks to County Reader for the nudge on this book ... looking at the cover I was sure I'd read it, but I hadn't! Look for mention of the Beargrease Sled Dog Race! Books about that, and the man it is named for (John Beargrease, mail carrier) have been in earlier posts. :-)

Looking for favorite picture books (see the post for September 8, 2016) I came across one I'd not seen in decades! Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gag is not (to me anyway) a picture book .. too many words! However, I thought it would be perfect here. And, the story was still fun, and I still loved the repetition of "Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats." :-)

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It seems author Kylie Logan loves old mysteries, and that has inspired a new series: the League of Literary Ladies. (Setting is a small town, on an island). There's a twist here: these women do NOT like each other! They are neighbors with .... issues ... and are often confronting each other in court. When it comes to the attention of the judge that the small local library will have to close without a regular book group (you'll have to read why this is so) he assigns the three to be that book club! Mayhem at the Orient Express is a retelling of the old classic. Some things are the same ... snowstorm, 13 people trapped together, a murder ... and then there are some new elements for a more modern story. Not bad! :-)

Off Kilter is the first in a new series for Hannah Reed. While I liked the mystery (there were some nice twists), I did not warm up to any of the characters. It did keep me reading until the end, though, so I thought I'd include it here. :-)

Malice at the Palace, by Rhys Bowen, is another in the Royal Spyness mysteries. As part of the royal family (she's 35th in line) it wouldn't be proper for Lady Georgiana to work even though at this distance from the throne, no 'family' money comes her way, either. Fortunately she is a favorite of Queen Mary, who often sends her off on 'little projects'. This time it's escorting the future bride of Prince George around London as she prepares for the wedding. The murder of a former mistress requires a quiet investigation (it simply cannot show up in the newspapers!) makes for an enjoyable read.

The year is 1830. Lady Darby has taken refuge in her sister's castle in Northern Scotland. Her husband, a physician, has died and a scandal has been discovered .... he has been dissecting bodies and she has been drawing them. (He was too cheap to pay for an artist, so he married one). At a house party (for the most elite) there is a murder (and worse, the victim was pregnant ... and her husband has been in India for months). Rumors and gossip fly as Lady Darby is drawn into the investigaion. Thanks to Canadian Reader for the recommendation for The Anatomist's Wife, by Anna Lee Huber.. CR tells me the next four books in the series are also excellent!.

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Autumn, my favorite time of year, starts today. There will be more books coming, but I wanted to do a post, even one so small, to celebrate!

The leaves are falling, school is over for the day, and there is nothing better than going outside to play! Join this happy gaggle of kids (and one dog) as they celebrate autumn in Fall Ball, by Peter McCarty.

For a look at fall in a faraway and forbidding location (for most of us, anyway), read arctic autumn: a Journey to Season's Edge, by Pete Dunne. Part journal, part natural history with wonderful descriptions of encounters with wolves and polar bears and so on. Some nice pictures, too. :-)

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While 50 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S., by Brent D. Glass could be used to decide where to go on your next vacation, it was also a wonderful book for this armchair traveler. I loved that the selections were not necessarily the most well known, and that a bit of history was included with each.

This is more a journey across time rather than a tour you can actually take: We Interrupt This Broadcast: the Events That Stopped Our Lives ... from the Hindenburg Explosion to the Attacks of September 11 (updated third edition), by Joe Garner. There are CDs included here, so you can hear the actual broadcast, but the text and pictures were enough for me. Emotional!

If you collect stamps then you'll get more out of Put a Stamp On It!: Seventy-Seven Sparkling Stories Showcasing How Stamps Have Intercepted Historical Events, by Herman Herst, Jr., than I did, I think ... some of the names, etc. were a puzzlement, but otherwise it was an enjoyable read. There was a time, when the 'bad guy' was making a getaway (usually on foot and under the cover of darkness) when a warning sent out to neighboring towns with a penny postcard got there first! And in WWII a clever forgery of a stamp let spies know if the message they were reading were real orders or not.

It's been bad, really bad for us ... it could lead to the use of alcohol. It's been good, really good for us ... it could be used as a meal, (A quarter pound Baby Ruth bar with milk was considered a balanced meal). Then it was bad again, it could make us all fat. (For a time, smoking was offered as a safe, non-fattening, alternative). Candy: a Century of Panic and Pleasure, by Samira Kawash, is a ... um ... yo-yo of journey through the history of (obviously) candy. And it all started with a comment made when someone saw the author giving her child jelly beans!

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Pay attention to the subtitle here: Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, by Michael Schulman! I was surprised when the book ended without any mention of Out of Africa, Bridges of Madison County, Iron Lady ... and on and on ... then I 'got' the title ... this is those years before we really knew who she was. :-) Nicely done, but heavens, what nasty teachers (and others) there were! It was enjoyable learning how she becomes whomever she is playing.

Although Sing It! A Biography of Pete Seeger, by Meryl Danziger was written for young readers, I really enjoyed it. There's just the right amount about his early life, music, political activism, etc. to make for an interesting read. One of our quiet heroes.

Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, and Little-Known Stories From History, by Tricia Martineau Wagner is a nice collection a short biographies. Included are Isom Dart (I first heard of him from Perry, see the August 18, 2016 post), and Bill Pickett who is the 'father' of the bulldogging event in rodeos. He added his own unique twist, however. Charley Willis penned one of the most loved cowboy songs of all time, and George McJunkin made an amazing archeological find. Born into slavery, these men (and more) made their way to a better life with hard work and determination (given the physical abuse of that work I found it amazing they didn't die at a younger age)!

Not all women of the Victorian Age were demure and modest, and here's proof: Wild Women: Crusaders, Curmudgeons and Completely Corsetless Ladies in the Otherwise Virtuous Victorian Era, by Autumn Stephens. A nice collection of short biographies of women who did NOT behave themselves and often shocked those around them.

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Before Waldo there was Wallace, an orangutang who liked going on adventures around town whenever the gate to his cage was left open. County Reader tells me that Where's Wallace, by Hillary Knight, got a lot of use when the kids were little. So did many of the Richard Scarry books which were so detailed they'd make a game out of finding things on each page.

The wonderful illustrations in Curious George also inspired heavy use and frequent rereads. Written and illustrated by H.A. and Margaret Rey, Margaret's name was left off the cover of the first edition because the publisher thought the world of children's literature was too heavily dominated by women. (1941) Curious George was a character in an earlier Rey book and they thought he deserved his own book. The result was an instant success and inspired a series of tales about the mischievous monkey.

A favorite of mine was Flip, with story and pictures by Wesley Dennis. There were several tales of this curious colt, and I read all of them, but I learned just recently that this one, the first, was the book that caught the eye of Marguerite Henry and so was born the best pairing ever of author and illustrator! (Okay, yes, I am biased here). ;-)

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Looking out over my yard (but certainly not motivated to go out and actually work in it) I wandered back down the weed and thistle trail. :-)

Follow seven seeds and find out where they land in Dandelion Adventures, by L. Patricia Kite and illustrated by Anca Hariton. Wonderful pictures and simple text explain how seeds are scattered and grow in a new place.

When her father mows over the 'weeds' in his lawn, his daughter is upset, so he takes her on a delightful, fanciful adventure in Dandelions, by Katrina McKelvey and Kirrili Lonergan.

Even as a non-gardener I found Just Weeds: History, Myths, and Uses, by Pamela Jones, with illustrations by Bob Johnson to be a good read. There are many wonderful uses for weeds and some gardeners actually grow many of them for use in salads, stews, medicines and so forth. Seems pigs enjoy stinging nettles, but they must be boiled first.

Ever wonder why weeds are so successful? Find out in Weeds Find a Way, words by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, pictures by Carolyn Fisher. Learn how they travel, how they survive a drought, or a cold winter ... and don't miss the more detailed descriptions of a variety of weeds at the end.

I think weeds deserve some respect!

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There are certain books (and subjects) which can bring tears to my eyes and this is one of them: the stories they tell: artifacts from the national september 11 memorial museum: a journey of remembrance, edited by Clifford Chanin and Alice M. Greenwald. From chunks of the building, a staircase preserved in tact, to wings from a flight attendant uniform and more, these are some of the items in the 9/11 museum. Some were found at ground zero, the Pentagon, or the field in Pennsylvania, others were donated by the families of the lost. There was one American who was not on earth that day, he was working on the International Space Station. The photo he took (and is included here) shows a ribbon of smoke coming from one of the towers as it went down. His friend was the pilot of the plane that hit the Pentagon. He brought his trumpet with him into space and one September day, shortly after the attacks, floating in the Quest airlock, he played Taps.

Fireboat: the Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey, by Maria Kalman is the true story that starts in 1931. The largest of the NY Fireboats, she patrolled the harbor waters until 1995. Destined to be sold for scrap, she was saved by a group of friends who bought and refurbished her and used her for just for fun. Until September 11, 2001 that is.

Kimeli Naiyomah was a student studying in the United States on September 11, 2001. His home was far away, in Kenya, and when he returned for a visit, he told the village of the terrible tragedy. They wanted to do something and soon contact the U.S. Embassy in Narobi. The diplomat, thinking he is coming to meet with the elders he was completely surprised by what actually happened. 14 Cows for America, by Carmen Agra Deedy, in collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, and illustrations byThomas Gonzalez, is a true story of kindness and generosity from a small tribe to a huge nation. Powerful.

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I was never very clever with Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, and so forth. Fortunately I did not go into engineering! For those who did, and who were very successful, read Dreams of Iron and Steel: Seven Wonders of the Nineteenth Century, from the Building of the London Sewers to the Panama Canal, by Deborah Cadbury. Six of the seven are still in use. Built under horrible conditions, with serious chance of injury or death, these would have been amazing if built today so be sure to think of when they were designed and constructed as you read. Amazing! Hard to put down, more pictures would have been nice, but there are other books (and the internet) for that! :-)

From newspaper articles, to copies of the actual plans, and wonderful photos, A Bridge Over Troubled Water: the Legend of Deception Pass, by Dorothy Neil is the history of a nearby crossing. Some were not in favor of a bridge (think the owners of the ferry boat), and there is a delightful spin on the poem "The Village Blacksmith" (Longfellow) honoring a local smithy.

To see an absolutely amazing bridge, Google the Tarn Valley bridge in France. (And if you get the show Impossible Engineering, look for the episode on this bridge). To see other bridges, read Bridges That Changed the World, by Bernhard Graf. One bridge is so old no one is sure just when it was built (best guess is 206 B.C. - 219 A.D.) A nice journey around the world and through time.

Once they were quite common, now, there are just a few left. For a look at the ones around here, read Covered Bridges of the West: a History and Illustrated Guide: Washington, Oregon, and California, by Kramer A. Adams. Wonderful photos, chapters on how they were built, and what they are used for today. This book came out in 1963, so check before following the maps included to be sure the bridge is still there!

When the Brooklyn Bridge was completed, it was considered to be the most beautiful bridge ever built. People would look at it, but were reluctant to cross ... was it really safe (bridges had been known to fall)? P. T. Barnum heard about this, and decided to turn it into an opportunity (as well as some excellent advertising). In May of 1884 he crossed the bridge ... with his elephants ... all twenty-one of them! Read all about this in Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing, written by April Jones Prince and illustrated by Francois Roca.

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For now, at least, the 'what we read as kids' posts are complete and I've been thinking of what might be next for Thursdays. Officially (if it can be called that) it's an extra day for me to post something. Sometimes I have lots of books ready to go, sometimes it's a 'special' day of some sort but sometimes I might just need something 'extra' to put here. :-)

As I was looking for picture books I read when very young I discovered that many of these are no longer in print, some even unavailable. Still, the nice memory lingers on so I thought it might be fun to mention them. Others have smiled when I mention picture books, so I'm sure there will be recommendations coming my way soon, too! And, of course, I will continue to look at new picture books when I visit my favorite book store. ;-)

I'll start with Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey. It was published 75 years ago this past April. I read where the author used real ducklings to be sure he got them right. These ducklings were in a large pan in his Boston apartment! And, while I'm thinking of Mr. McCloskey, I'll add Blueberries for Sal here. The little girl was modeled on his daughter.

One of my most favorite picture books was (and is, actually) Red Light, Green Light. It was written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. (Sometimes you'll see the name Golden MacDonald on the cover, that's a pen name Brown sometimes used). I love the soft colors and the 'view from above' as you look across the country side to see a street light in the city.

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I may have started a new trail here! Lullabies! I did a quick search of past blogs with no results, but you never know, there easily could be one or two in past posts! At any rate, this trail is either starting or continuing with May the Stars Drip Down, by Jeremy Chatelain and illustrated by Nikki McClure. Beautiful paper cut designs here, and a mother's soft lullaby as her child drifts off to sleep.

Here's a Pete Seeger song I was not familiar with: One Grain of Sand: a Lullaby (words and music by Seeger) with paintings by Linda Wingerter. (Be sure to read the information included about her, she's not the first in the family to do illustrations for Pete Seeger). A nice journey around the world.

Instead of the child being lulled to sleep in Northern Lullaby, by Nancy White Carlstrom and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, this time he is saying good night to the natural world around him. Wonderful illustrations.

Just how does a baby sleep in the city? Very well it seems ... until ... sorry, no spoilers here! Be sure to read City Lullaby, by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Carll Cneut, out loud, it has a nice rhythm.

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Here's a book along the 'strong women' trail of some of my earlier posts, only this one has a twist. These women were strong and bad! Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the American West, by Michael Rutter is a collection of tales about serial murderers, cattle rustlers, bank robbers, and even one who imported young girls for brothels. Quite the interesting read!

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of books on where to go on a vacation, but just a few on where not to go. Visit Sunny Chernobyl (May 7, 2016 post) is one and Atlas of Cursed Places: a Travel Guide to Dangerous and Frightful Destinations, by Olivier Le Carrer is another. Full of descriptions of towns being covered by sand, beautiful tourist sites creating islands of garbage, underground coal mine fires consuming houses, huge (really huge) waves, nearby active volcanoes ... it's enough to encourage one to stay home. (Okay, so in my case that wouldn't take much). Wonderful descriptions, but I would have enjoyed some pictures. (Although, to be fair, the title did say atlas, and there were maps). ;-)

Here's a book that could fit on several past trails: dogs, Alaska, walking, vacations! Walking My Dog, Jane: From Valdez to Prudhoe Bay Along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, by Ned Rozell tells of the summer he and Jane hiked (mostly) along the Alaska Pipeline. Not as easy as you might think, given not only the terrain but also a vast amount of paperwork! Sometimes friends joined the pair for a day or two, sometimes not. Some of the people (and animals) they met were friendly, sometimes not! Nice descriptions, a bit of history, and an interesting personal account of the Exxon Valdez clean-up.

And as I've done before, I'll end with a cozy mystery. The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco is actually the first in The Bookclub Mystery Series, by Laura DiSilverio (see the July 9, 2016 post). I liked the second book a bit better here, but then, to be honest, I am more familiar with Agatha Christie than Dashiell Hammett, and that could be the why. :-)

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September 1st is Emma Nutt Day. She was the first female telephone operator and is mentioned briefly in The Telephone, by Rebecca Stefoff, a nice history of 'telephony'. Communication across an ever increasing distance has always been important and while this book is written for younger readers, I found it nicely detailed and very interesting. (And, hey, it fit the trail for today)! ;-)

While somewhat dated now Toilets, Toasters & Telephones: the How and Why of Everyday Objects, by Susan Goldman Rubin with illustrations by Elsa Warnick proved to be just a fun read. Looking back at some of the earlier models here made me very glad to be here now, at this time!

School will starting soon now (if it hasn't already). Do students still bring apples to teachers? I am thinking not, but Apple for the Teacher: Thirty Songs for Singing While You Work, collected and introduced by Jane Yolen, with music arranged by Adam Stemple has a song about doing just that. I was not familiar with many of the songs, but I had great fun sitting at the piano and picking out them out!

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