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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