Board books are such fun! Good Night Alaska, by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper, with illustrations by Cooper Kelly came with an unexpected surprise ... about two pages in, and upside down, were two pages from another 'Good Night' book! (I'm thinking Texas). Still, I got the 'flavor' of Alaska with the polar bears and dog teams and northern lights and so on. :-)

For something closer to home there was Good Night Seattle, by Jay Steere with illustrations by Joe Veno. All the expected landmarks are here, from the Space Needle to the house boats on Lake Union to the Museum of Flight and more. A simple, fun book!

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This is my most favorite read in some time! It only took me the span of two days to read because I started so late in the day! The Keeper of Lost Things, by Ruth Hogan is a gem of a book. We learn a bit about the lost things, where they were found, how they were lost, etc. Some 'lost' people are found again, too. And there is a wonderful connection between the beginning and the end. Simply grand!

The second book in the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade mysteries is Playing With Fire, by J.J. Cook. Bones have been found behind a false wall in the fire hall, which sparks an investigation, which leads, of course, to trouble! Temporary fire chief Stella Griffin deals with old legends, politicians, and secrets some want to remain hidden. Again, a nice cozy of a mystery. Warning: this book ended with even more of a cliff hanger than the first book!

Jumping right into the third book, In Hot Water, was the thing to do (although I did have to feed the dog first)! A fire (and a death) at the local 'planned community' provide a reason for getting a fire boat. There is a conflict over who should provide, it though, The death is suspicious so the state investigators are called in. Evidence disappears. And one citizen (who feels threatened by the ghost) is determined to destroy the house he haunts (the one Stella is living in). So much going on! The author, J.J. Cook, has a talent for ending chapters in such a way as you want to read on.

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Does it seem that the world is a rude place these days? What happened to manners? From Kiwi comes this 'teen approved' book about just that subject! How Rude! The Teen Guide to Good Manners, Proper Behavior, and Not Grossing People Out (revised and updated edition) by Alex J. Packer. There is so much here! (almost 500 pages). Good manners are explained for every imaginable circumstance, along with a bit of history as to why we do something, as well as manners from other cultures. There's even a chapter for the parents of the teen reader, and, finally, a chapter on being polite to yourself. Lots of good information and humor!

According to Flo Wadlow, author of Over a Hot Stove: a Kitchen Maid's Story, shows such as Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey "got it wrong". Now, I've never watched either show, so I cannot speak to that, but this is a delightful memoir about what it was like to work in the big houses in England in the1930's. If any of you have watched these shows, give this book a try and see what is different. :-)

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A 'long night moon' is a night with a full moon. There are many names for these moons and some of them are featured in a wonderful picture book by that very title: long night moon, by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Mark Siegel. As much as the artist loved the text, he was unsure just what he'd use (he tried water colors, etc.). He started walking out at night which inspired him to use charcoal! Check out this wonderful book! (My favorite name for a full moon was not included. It is "moon of the shedding ponies" for May from the Lakota Sioux). :-)

A recommendation from Canadian Reader now: Tidy, by Emily Gravett. It seems that Pete, the badger, likes things tidy. Really tidy. He takes on the job of cleaning up the forest. Does he go too far? Great pictures!

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Murder in the Bowery, by Victoria Thompson is the newest in the Gaslight Mystery series. As always, full of period events (explained in the afterword) and details, these are always a great read. This time, however, do be advised that the crime is a result of disturbing events. A few nice twists and delightful character development. This is a favorite series of mine, it has been consistently good.

Al Richardson is contemplating his upcoming retirement to the small town that he loves, in the house he and his wife have fixed up over the years. He is content. Until his wife decides to buy the empty Victorian (a fixer upper in the extreme), there is a huge controversy over the painting of the local water tower, and his least favorite co-worker moves to town. The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade, by Virginia Smith was a fun, quick read of a cozy.

Tall Reader came to visit the other day, bringing still warm cookies from the oven, and a stack of books! In that stack was the first in a new-to-us mystery series, A Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery titled That Old Flame of Mine, by J.J. Cook. Stella Griffin is helping the small town of Sweet Pepper get their volunteer fire crew up and running as she recovers from a shoulder injury. While there she is met with several things that shake up her life, the least of which is a ghost. An opinionated ghost. Nice story, good twists, and an ending that makes me happy the second book is also in the stack from Tall Reader! :-)

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Here's a fun book of trivia and (maybe) little known facts. There are several in the series, but this time the subject is music: The Greatest Music Stories Never Told: 100 Tales From Music History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy, by Rick Beyer. A favorite song of the south, for example, was actually with by a Northerner! Something then new saved a breakfast cereal (it was singing commercials). "Do, re, mi" is older than you think!

Is Arthur Fiedler the reason we hear the 1812 Overture (or at least part of it) around the 4th of July? Could be! And just how did a local (Tacoma) orchestra provide the cannon sounds for an indoor concert on a low budget? Who Knew?: Answers to Questions about Classical Music You Never Thought to Ask, by Robert A. Cutietta has the answers and more. This was just a great read! Lots of fun, great variety to the questions, easy to read writing style, this would be of interest those who know a lot about classical music as well as those who know very little. :-)

I have found that books about books are almost always fun, and The Secret Library: a Book-Lovers' Journey Through Curiosities of History, by Oliver Tearle is no exception. He ties common themes between books down through the ages with surprising insights on the 'first' ... vampire book, cook book, and so forth. I was reading this about the same time as America's First Daughter (August 12, 2017, post) and had learned that Jefferson started each morning with plunging his feet into ice water so was intrigued by an observation that if you keep your feet warm you can avoid headaches. Jefferson suffered from terrible headaches!

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While this area was not quite as hot as that depicted in Come On, Rain!, by Karen Hesse and pictures by Jon J. Muth, I certainly agreed with the title! After a record breaking number of dry days here in the PNW, I was ready for a cloudy, drippy day! So were the characters in the book. Loved the dance they did!

Blue Sky White Stars, by Sarvinder Naberhaus and illustrated by Kadir Nelson is an amazing combination of words that describe both our country and flag. What a wonderful imagination at work here! This is a picture book to read slowly. And more than once.

This is one of those amazing seasonal books I have been enjoying recently. This time it is about the sounds of each time of year. Look for specific things for each season, too (there are clues at the end). As with many of the books for the kiddies, Listen, Listen, written by Phillis Gershator and illustrated by Alison Jay, is best when read out loud.

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Extreme Cakeovers: Making Showstopping Desserts from Store-Bought Ingredients, by Rick and Sasha Reichart, is just that ... cakes taken so far away from 'cake' you might not believe what you see ... well, at least for the early ones! Check out the cheeseburger and fries! While I will admit to mostly looking at the pictures and not reading the recipes, I actually did so here to be sure this was really done with cake! Don't miss the 'neon' jukebox or the motherboard! I enjoyed looking through this book, I cannot say how easy (or not) making these creations is. ;-)

Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores: True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers, by Bob Eckstein is an armchair tour of wonderful and quirky bookstores from, well, as the title suggests, all over the world. There's a bookstore in a mini-van, and one in what used to be a theater (think the Mt. Baker theater, like that), and one in a private house. There are some so tiny just one person can enter at a time, and others than can house hundreds at once. Loved the stories as to just who buys books (there are names you will recognize). :-)

Tall Reader recently loaned me the first of the Susan Elia Macneal Maggie Hope mysteries: Mr. Churchill's Secretary, and what a read it was! I started with a later book (see post for June 6, 2017) so it was nice to go back and see how everything got started. Again, there are spies, but also this time secret codes (in ads in newspapers of all places) and a father long thought to be dead. Good descriptions of London during the war, I thought.

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I'll admit to a fondness for books of 'bits' of information ... trivia, anecdotes, etc. on, well, just about any subject. This time it was Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Strange Stories and Shocking Trivia from Inside the White House, by Cormac O'Brien. (It's not as lurid as it sounds). There's good and bad here about all the presidents (even a short entry on the current one). So many familiar themes: bribes, adultery, scandal ... ! And the criticism! That's not new, either. Why anyone wants to be president is a mystery to me! :-)

And, just to balance things out here, try Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House, also by Cormac O'Brien. The author included short entries about the wives who died before their husband became president, a nice touch, I thought. And while a wife may have publicly supported her husband, behind the scenes they did not want to live in the capitol. In the early years several said they'd rather live on the frontier (think canvas tents)! I suggest reading these books at the same time, reading about both of them together.

Tall Reader loaned me America's First Daughter, by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie. It's written from Patsy Jefferson's view of her father's life. Well researched and with a nice writing style (with one glaring grammatical error throughout that probably only bothers me), it was an interesting read. That being said, I did not warm up to any of the characters, and it was time when husbands could, and did, beat their wives and children (not Jefferson, but the husbands of his daughters did). It's long been known that Jefferson died leaving a huge debt, but turns out it was not all his doing. As a good Virginian he'd taken on the debts of his sons-in-law. Also new to me was that Sally Hemmings (with whom he had several children) was the half-sister to his (deceased) wife. As I said, an interesting read!

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When I finished City Dog, Country Frog, with words by Mo Willems and pictures by Jon J. Muth I wondered if it would be something a parent would read to their child. It is about friendship, and loss. I shared it with Kiwi, who absolutely loved it! Thought it was great for reading to and with children, might even get a copy for the shelf in the house. (It really is a wonderful book, but it did make me cry)! This is also a four season book, and the illustrations are wonderful. I'd say, give it a try! :-) (Later: Tall Reader agreed with Kiwi). :-)

Here's another charming picture book from Wong Herbert Yee: Who Likes Rain? Follow a little girl, and her yellow umbrella, as she discovers who needs rain, who dislikes rain, and who loves the rain. Delightful!

Follow along as a fox looks for some place dry in Watersong, by Tim McCanna and illustrated by Richard Smythe. As with so many picture books, it's best when you read it out loud. I loved the sound of the words.

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I first spotted Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast Through Cross-Cultural Marriages, by Candace Wellman on a desk at the Archives where I volunteer. It was local and looked most interesting! Since native peoples were often NOT included in the census (or other records) the necessary research to write this book boggles the mind. This area avoided some of the violent confrontations seen elsewhere when settlers moved into an area where native tribes had lived for generations by virtue of the cross-cultural marriages. Some were good (the book follows four women) but there was still abandonment when white males moved back home (and often then had a 'proper' marriage to someone there). While I thought this was a bit dry from time to time, I did enjoy the local feel of it, and some wonderful descriptions of this area. And I admired these women, who were so strong and intelligent.

If you ever wondered about the Peace Arch up there in Blaine, then this is the book for you: Sam Hill's Peace Arch: Remembrance of Dreams Past, by Richard Clark. From an idea, to construction, dedication and on through to an appendix filled with poetry it inspired, this is a book filled with information! Early on, when a call went out for volunteers to help with construction, the foreman laughed when two young (and small) girls from White Rock showed up. He soon learned they were strong, and worked hard. They volunteered in honor of those who did not return from WWI. There are explanations for the words inscribed on either side, and the gates on the inside. Many groups held services and celebrations there. One Easter service was actually canceled due to rain. (!) And one by the scare of poliomyelitis. There is a chronology all all these events, as well as one for the groups so I will admit I skimmed along here, slowing down for the ones that most interested me. There actually had to be a discussion as to whether or not to provide public restrooms! There have been political rallies, and nativity scenes, and more. Really, an interesting book (with just a bit of skimming). :-)

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I love books on words, and A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi: Words We Pinched from Other Languages, by Chloe Rhodes was one of the best of my recent reads. Many of the words included will be familiar, some will be new, and a few, you will learn, don't mean what we think they do ... at least not originally.

Our language is full of so many ways of saying things, and I enjoy finding the perfect word when I'm writing a letter, email, post, or short story. Which means, I love my thesaurus! There are many available, and mine is probably dated now, but I have been known to pick up Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form (edited by the Princeton Language Institute, Barbara Ann Kipfer, Ph.D., Head Lexicographer) and just browse!

Language is not static, it changes all the time, which means many people have many opinions on what words are 'proper' and so on. I could not pass up a book with such a great title as Bad English: a History of Linguistic Aggravation, by Ammon Shea! Did you know that OMG (then it was O.M. G.) was used as early as 1917? Or emoticons as early as 1887 (and possibly before)? My favorite chapter, though, was about words that were once frowned upon: use 'limb' never (gasp) leg. Use pantaloons, not pants. And "it's" ? well, that is just plan vulgar, use 'Tis! Although that came from 1767, I think I agree, I much prefer 'tis! :-)

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I had some mixed feelings about this book. I was taught to treat any book with care, not break the spine, not to write in it, and so on. Here, in the opening pages you are told to write your name in the book, read it until the pages fall out and to leave your fingerprints in it! What a different approach from my upbringing! Still, I did enjoy The Book No One Ever Read, by Cornelia Funke. Seems books want to be read! Watch for familiar authors and titles. :-)

This book is about acceptance, something seemingly lacking these days. Jacob likes dresses, and wants to wear one to school. He is teased, but the teacher tells the students that there was a time when girls could not wear pants (been there, done that, so glad it changed), so why couldn't a boy wear a dress? Thanks to Constant Reader for suggesting Jacob's New Dress, by Sarah and Ian Hoffman, illustrated by Chris Case.

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The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers, by Elizabeth Cobbs was a fascinating and frustrating read. In 1917 telephones were connected with wire and required an operator to connect calls. Seems men were not all that good at such a job, and as they were needed for 'more important jobs', the military needed someone to work the phones. Women were the answer. Educated, bilingual (French) women. Dozens, hundreds, of women volunteered. They were given uniforms, a modicum of training, and sent overseas (many wanted to be as close to the front lines as possible). They served with honor and dignity under horrifying conditions. And yet, when they came home, the Army denied them any benefits at all, saying they weren't actually part of the military (as in not soldiers). It took decades to rectify this. Good read, but as I said, frustrating!

Alan Pinkerton was a man ahead of his times. Practically from the day his detective agency opened he hired women as operatives, not office staff. The Pinks: the First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, by Chris Eness tells about several of them. They worked undercover, behind enemy lines, and in dangerous situations (think assassination attempts). What an exciting read!

There is not much to be found on Kate Warne, the records of her time at the Pinkerton Agency were destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871, but using what is available, and her talents as an author, Greer Macallister has written a most readable historical novel. It was fun reading Girl in Disguise so soon after The Pinks because the cases were still fresh in my mind. I enjoyed the possibilities of what might have happened, and what might have been said. Hard to put down!

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