Libraries come in all shapes and sizes, from the very small to the large and grand. One library straddles the border! The Haskell Free Library and Opera House may be found along the Vermont/Quebec border in Derby Line. Robert Dawson has photographed many wonderful libraries and put them in a book: The Public Library: a Photographic Essay. Also included are comments from Bill Moyers, Isaac Asimov, Dr. Seuss and many others.

While looking for Twisted Cakes to get for a gift I found this: Scone with the Wind: Cakes and Bakes with a Literary Twist, by Miss Victoria Sponge, and what a find it was! Clever and witty, it will go as a gift, too! There are recipes for things like The Pie Who Loved Me, The Three Mousse-Keteers, Banana Karenina, and so on, each with a paragraph or two spoofing the literary work. Absolutely delightful! Oh, and the recipes look delicious. :-) (See also Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist, from the February 9, 2016 post).

I was expecting a few more 'seasonal' ideas in A Year of Gingerbread Houses: Making and Decorating Gingerbread Houses for All Seasons, by Kristine Samwell, but overall, I really was not disappointed ... there is a lot of fun stuff here! (More so, I'm sure, if you understand all the baking hints.) ;-) There are instructions for making all sorts of trees and flowers and, well, detail on your gingerbread houses here, just amazing effects for bricks, stones, water features ... linger over the pictures of the final designs!

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It is raining and a young boy wants to go out and play, but his grandfather says to wait. Hours pass before the grandfather agrees it is time to go out. Was it worth the wait? See what you think. Rain, by Sam Usher.

Not many words here, mostly just some wonderful pictures of a child and a wolf cub lost in the snow and how they get home. Wolf in the Snow, by Matthew Cordell.

I have decided to include this book here because even though it's not a picture book, it is about childhood. Forty-four, to be exact. forty-four american boys: short histories of presidential childhoods, by william walsh is a collection of short entries collected from a wide variety of sources about each of the U.S. presidents. The author did a nice job on finding the information, but the book is full of grammar and spelling errors (the most jarring for me was "rains" instead of "reins") and a proof reading would have been a huge asset. I almost didn't include the book because of this. My suggestion? Due knot relay awn yore spiel Czech!

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What would you do if you learned that the man you thought was your father wasn't? At least in the biological sense? When author Bill Griffeth learned this, it took him on a quest to learn more about his family (after the initial shock wore off). The Stranger in My Genes is part mystery, part history, part travel journal ... and all in all just a very hard book to put down. Thanks go to Constant Reader for sending it my way. :-)

It's been ages since I've seen the movie Arsenic and Old Lace, but now I may have to do so, and all because of a book ... a mystery by Parnell Hall titled Arsenic and Old Puzzles. The Guilford sisters run a small inn. All seems well until the bodies start piling up, and all with a puzzle on or near the body. What is the connection? A nice nod (I'm pretty sure) to classic film. :-)

Here's another entry in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series: Of Books and Bagpipes, by Paige Shelton. Delaney is sent to pick up a package and finds a body instead. This paves the way for a mystery that started with something that happened decades ago, a secret society, and questions that no one will answer. (This was frustrating at first, but the story develops nicely and soon I was pulled in). :-)

When I said I was reading The Zig Zag Girl, by Elly Griffiths, Canadian Reader told me she'd recently read it, too! Set in England not too long after the end of WWII, members of a special unit (the Magic Men) have been murdered, and in ways that mimic a magic trick gone horribly wrong. Why? Nice period details, and I smiled over things like 'tv is just a passing fad' or 'the play The Mousetrap (Agatha Christie) will have a short run.' (It was first performed in 1952 and is still running to this very day ... it is the longest running play of all time). :-)

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Ever wonder how the borders between the states got they way they are? Some were established by royal decree, some by rivers or mountains, some to give access to a river or ocean, some by battles ... and more! There is a tv show, and a book, both with the same name: How the States Got Their Shapes (by Mark Stein). One border changed as recently as 1993 when New Jersey claimed part of Ellis Island. Seems New York had added land to the island with fill and New Jersey said it was on their side because of the underwater borderline!

I have often thought much of what is considered 'fashionable' to be, well, silly, or uncomfortable. Seems author Karen Bowman did as well! Follow some of the craziest fads in Corsets & Codpieces: a History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era. Early on many styles were designed to restrict women from moving freely. Styles of hair were once so high they had to kneel in a carriage rather than sit on the seat. I knew (but did not understand) the language of fans, but for beauty spots? First used to cover scars from the pox, that was soon abandoned and the beauty spots were used to send messages which varied depending on their shape and location on the face. There were hoop skirts so wide the wearer had to turn sideways to get through doors. And crinoline .. layers and layers ... really? Something so flammable in an age where heat and light came from fire? All in all an enjoyable read!

The ads for the movie for this book puzzle me ... it looks like a rather light, cheerful movie ... but The Zookeeper's Wife: a War Story, by Diane Ackerman, was anything but. That being said, there were some wonderful, positive moments, and an ending that could be considered a triumph, but given the time and place (WWII, Warsaw), it was dark, and brutal in places. Well written, with great notes for each chapter and a worthy bibliography, it was powerful read ... but I am curious about the movie. :-)

If you are looking for something of a lighter nature, then read Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog: the Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman, by Lisa Scottoline. There are reflections on so many things here! From religion to empty nests to pets to going braless, this was a 'chuckle' of a read!

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I seem to have fallen off a bit with my picture book reading ... I will take steps to fix this 'problem'. :-)

This is an alphabet book, board book, and period piece all in one: R is for Railway: an Industrial Revolution Alphabet, by Greg Paprocki. Wonderful, detailed pictures for each letter have an industrial revolution feel about them. Most enjoyable.

Here's a book to read on the floor, where there is lots of room! The Street Beneath My Feet, by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer is a fold out book .... and I do mean fold out! Work your way down to the earth's core, and then back to the surface again. Discover pipes, and sewers, fossils, rocks ... all those things that are beneath our feet with every step we take. If you want to read this sitting in a chair, that's okay too, it also reads well as a traditional book. :-)

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Some time ago Constant Reader recommended Somewhere in France: a Novel of the Great War, by Jennifer Robson to me and I am finally getting around to reading it. A bit more of a romance than I usually read, I did appreciate the vivid descriptions of driving an ambulance or working in a surgery so close to the front lines. And of the ever present mud. And while not a scandalous* woman (except maybe to her parents) the main character does go against the norm to learn to drive (and maintain) the ambulance she drives. (* See the April 15 post).

Here's a tour book ... of sorts ... sometimes there isn't so much a destination here as an idea of place and maybe a sign on a building: London's Lost Rivers, by Paul Talling. A nice little history book, great photos.

There are lots of books out about the Lewis & Clark expedition, including a few about the Newfoundland dog that accompanied them. The difference here is that Bound for the Western Sea: the Canine Account of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, by Laura Lee Yates, is written from Seaman's point of view. It was good, but the journey was a hard one with all kinds of challenges and dangers and I was exhausted at the end of the book! It would have been nice to have had a bibliography, but overall, it sure kept me reading. I enjoyed the doggy view of things. :-)

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This book is exactly what it says it is: Homework for Grown Ups: Everything You Learned in School and Promptly Forgot. E. Foley and B. Coates have gathered together what we all probably knew at some point ... and yes, there are tests! The fun thing was that I could skip both the tests and the chapter on math!

For decades now I've avoided chocolate as it triggers migraines, but that doesn't mean I don't like to read about it! Great Moments in Chocolate History, by Howard-Yana Shapiro starts in the 1500's ends in 2014. Fun tidbits of history, with great photos, and then a collection of recipes. Read with a cup of cocoa. :-)

So much for being quiet and demure! Read all about boisterous and shameless females in Scandalous Women: the Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women, by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon. Loved the description on the back of the book: "created a ruckus" and "making waves." !! In addition to the bibliography there are also suggestions for further reading and films.

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Here's one from long ago ... one that I found sweet and charming ... and sadly, it is no longer available. My Mother is Lost, story and pictures by Bernice Myers is a story told from the view of a child, in other words, from the waist down! Told to hang on to his mother's hand (gloved), he does, only to arrive at the top floor (via escalators) holding only that glove! He sets out to find his mother, but it's a big store ... and there are ... distractions!

Ella's favorite color is yellow. She loves the sunshine but feels sad and a bit frightened at sunset. Find out how she learns to love the night in the moon inside, by Sandra V. Feder with pictures by Aimee Sicuro. I think this book would go beautifully with Switch on the Night, by Ray Bradbury. (August 16, 2014 post).

The Easter Bunny needs help in delivering all those eggs. There are many who offer, each with a special skill or talent. Who will be chosen? Find out in The Easter Bunny's Helpers, by Anne Mangan and illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie.

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In times past a computer was a person, one who was good with numbers (obviously!) and many of them worked for the government. First it was to build better and faster planes quickly in WWII. Then it was to build planes that could break the sound barrier. Then it was to build rockets that could, eventually, leave orbit and take man to the moon and back. (John Glenn requested that a human computer check the figures for his flight ... he didn't completely trust the 'machine computer' yet). The little known fact was that these computers were women. And many were black. HIdden Figures: the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, by Margot Lee Shetterly is their story. It's impressive, and depressing at the same time (think of the time period ...) Read it!

Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan? Or know someone who is? Then I think you will really enjoy the book from DK titled The Sherlock Holmes Book. (David Stuart Davies appears as the consultant editor and may show as the author in some library collections). Like the other books I've read from DK on Doctor Who and Star Trek, it's full of pictures, character and plot descriptions, and, in this case, a synopsis of each book or story. At the end is a chapter about some of the many other versions, from comics, to parodies, plays, animated features, tv series and so forth. Most interesting! Thanks go to Kiwi for sharing this book. :-)

Just when I was ready to give up on ever seeing this book, it appeared! The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook (revised): 40 ways to cook crickets, grasshoppers, ants, water bugs, spiders, centipedes, and their kin, by David George Gordon was both fascinating and a bit repulsive at the same time. (I thought about using that word, after all, most folks are much more adventurous eaters than I am!). What was fun was the author's (who is the bug chef) enthusiasm for his topic. :-) He includes tips on where to get the various bugs, what wine to use, and so forth. Would you eat a bug?

Here's a cookbook about books! Cara Nicoletti is a reader who has always noticed the food in the books she reads. It often takes her on a quest to learn more about them, how they are prepared, etc. She shares both in Voracious: a Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books. How many of these books have you read? Did you notice the food (I didn't). ;-)

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This was a fun little find: Around the Sound: Amusing Thoughts and Tales From Washington's Puget Sound, by Josh Kilen. You might chuckle, you might roll your eyes, you might even decide to take a road trip because of the essays in this book! Topics range from various small towns to laundromats, malls, and an embarrassing parent.

Here's one from the Images of America series I like so much: Foss Maritime Company, by Mark Stork. It all started with rowboats and is now a business with a world wide market. As always, there are wonderful pictures with interesting text. Don't miss Annie the cow! She was a favorite of many a captain and crew since, on foggy days, she'd moo in response to their whistle!

This is just the sort of book I'd use as a gift for my friends and relatives who live far away: Nooksack Wanderings: Images from Mount Baker to Bellingham Bay, by Bob Kandiko. Stunning photos, although personally I wouldn't have minded a few with gray clouds or a bit of rain. (It's worth noting I am a cloudy day sort of person) :-)

Here's another book about the rainforest up in British Columbia: The Salmon Bears: Giants of the Great Bear Rainforest, by Ian McAllister & Nicholas Read. As with Sea Wolves (see the post from February 16, 2017) the photography is wonderful. It is a story of the balance of life between the salmon and grizzly, black, and spirit bears. Follow along through the seasons in this unique place where life is abundant, and delicate.

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I loved the teaser for this book! Just what does happen when you combine an architect who bakes with a pastry chef with a flair (or rather "obsession") with houses? You get a book like The Gingerbread Architect: Recipes and Blueprints for Twelve Classic American Homes, by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman. Beautiful houses (all edible), hints on how to do the details that give them a period flair, with gingerbread house blueprints at the end.

For more ideas I moved on to Making Great Gingerbread Houses:Delicious Designs from Cabins to Castles, from Lighthouses to Tree Houses, by Aaron Morgan and Paige Gilchrist. I loved some of the ideas included here ... from leaving the back open so you could see what was inside (which means crafting tables, lamps, beds, sofas and more) to using shredded wheat for a thatched roof.

While searching

for books about gingerbread houses, something strange popped up! Take a look at Twisted Cakes: Deliciously Evil Designs for Every Occasion, by Debbie Goard. Here you'll find dead mouse cakes, heart shaped boxes (the real heart shape, not the one you find on cards, etc)!, severed hand cakes ... boxes of eyeball cupcakes, and other odd and macabre designs. Creepy and fun!

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If you enjoy reading about words, grammar, that sort of thing then give Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, by Bill Bryson a try! It's a delightful collection of words that have been used incorrectly, or spelled incorrectly, often with humorous results. One of those books with short entries that makes it so easy to read during the ads on tv. ;-)

Sometimes, when I'm looking for one thing, I find something else completely, and so it was with Tawdry Knickers and Other Unfortunate Ways to Be Remembered: a Saucy and Spirited History of Ninety Notorious Namesakes, by Alex Novak. Would you want to be connected with, say, the guillotine? The descendants of Joseph-Ignace Guillotin tried for years to get the government to change the name and when that didn't happen, they changed their name instead. I had no idea so many names are part of our language! A most interesting read.

Here's one of those titles that catches your eye ... Carnal Knowledge ... but it's not what you're thinking! The full title is Carnal Knowledge: a Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia, by Charles Hodgson and it is both a dictionary and history of the words for all parts of the human body. Slang terms are included as well as fun things like what, say, "knocked up" means in American English and British English (very different)! There are also emoticons (created with punctuation marks) for various shapes of the derriere. ;-)

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What starts as a wonderful promotion for an upcoming book signing at the Death on Demand bookshop goes horribly wrong when copycat fliers appear all over town announcing a contest with clues pertaining to earlier deaths in the community. This results in two deaths which Annie and Max again set out to solve. I've not read Carolyn Hart in the past, but April Fool Dead may just change that! A nice cozy, good twists and turns to the plot and ... a seasonal tweak at the end.

Just how did April Fool's Day get started? I was surprised! Find out in Black Cats and April Fools: Origins of Old Wives Tales and Superstitions in Our Daily Lives, by Harry Oliver (with illustrations by Mike Mosedale). If you are going to play a prank on someone, be sure to do it before midday, otherwise it's bad luck.

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