Several silly ads about long shopping lines took me back to this book: Line Up for Murder, by Marian Babson. Seems there is a store in London that has an amazing New Year's sale ... so amazing that people get in line days ahead of time. During this time you get to know the others in line, and, perhaps, some are not so nice, or seem to be 'up to something' ... I remember an 'evil plot' (perhaps an attempt at murder) and the use of ipecac. The book is out of print but if you can track down a copy, it's a great cozy!

From the magazine Faces: People, Places, and Cultures comes the January 2016 issue all about the New Year Around the World. Find out where it is traditional to wear red underwear! And why you should only eat round fruit (and a few other foods) on New Year's Eve. Or why you shouldn't eat chicken (or crab and lobster) either. Who started the tradition of the ball that drops in Times Square? And why? Not everyone celebrates at the same time (see post from December 31, 2015). Just a nice read. And quick! :-)

Happy New Year!

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From Lorna Barrett comes the next in her Booktown Mystery series: Title Wave. This time the setting is a cruise ship. It is a gathering of book store owners (mostly those who sell mysteries) and authors (mostly those who write mysteries). The weather is good, the sea is calm, the food is excellent, what could go wrong? ;-) This is a fun series (usually) set in a small town in New Hampshire that has created a destination location for book lovers. Each store has a theme, cooking, for example. It sells cookbooks, cooking gadgets, and hosts cooking events. Start with Murder is Binding.

Now here's a first! The first female detective in fiction! (Or so they think, it's discussed in the introduction). The Female Detective, by Andrew Forrester, was first published in 1864. Working mainly undercover (since there were no women working with the police at that time), she is able to go places and learn things that men and/or the police could not access. A very interesting read!

The second book in the Magical Bakery Mystery series, by Bailey Cates, was just as much fun as the first. Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti starts just a few days before Halloween. A body is found, with an unusual tattoo, which leads to a secret society (of course!). Relationships change, people are not what (or who) they seem and the suspense builds as midnight on Halloween draws near.

And (a big sigh here), the last (for now) of the Lady Darby mysteries: As Death Draws Near, by Anna Lee Huber. Kiera and Gage are on their honeymoon when a letter sends them off to investigate the murder of a nun. There are secret tunnels, and secret lives and townsfolk who are reluctant to help outsiders. All the necessary elements for a wonderful mystery. Love the period details!

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This just might be a way to teach numbers to kids ... you get to eat the results at the end of the book! The m&m's ® brand counting book, by Barbara Barbieri McGrath teaches counting up to 12, then sets (of 2, 4, etc)., then addition, shapes, and subtraction. Wish this was around when I was struggling with math!

Wandering Reader gave me Down Cut Shin Creek (see the April 12, 2014 post) about the horseback librarians of Kentucky, which quickly became a favorite, so I was pleased to find That Book Woman, by Heather Henson with pictures by David Small. Cal (not the oldest of the children, but the oldest son) is the first to hear the sound of hoofbeats coming up the steep trail to their remote family home. Wondering why a peddler would come so far he is even more surprised when all she has to offer is a small stack of books ... for free. Not only that, she'll come back every two weeks to swap them out! True to her word, she comes in all kinds of weather. Little did Cal know at first what a change it would make in his life.

Here's another entry from the Images of America series I like so much. This time it's The 1939 - 1940 New York World's Fair, by Bill Cotter. Coming after Great Depression, the main theme was one of hope for the future. Built on the grounds of a former garbage dump (tons had to be removed before the construction could be started, dozens of nations and companies offered their view of 'tomorrow.' (My grandmother had a plastic salt and pepper shaker of the Trylon and Perisphere). As always with this series, there are wonderful pictures. A few of the buildings are still in use.

Many years ago there was a wonderful show on PBS called Connections .... Kiwi and I just finished watching it on dvd. It has held up extremely well we enjoyed it thoroughly. The companion book for it is Connections, by James Burke. While an excellent read, you miss Burkes wit and enthusiasm as he hosts the tv series. This got me looking for something else by him and came upon American Connections: the Founding Fathers. Networked. Here, he connects each signer of the Declaration of Independence with a present day (up to about 2005) person of the same name. Sort of a 'six degrees of separation' journey, it was great fun! Burke is also the author and host of the book and PBS series The Day the Universe Changed.

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Not only is today Christmas Eve, it is also Eggnog Day!

If you love eggnog then I suggest you have a glass or two before you read Eggnog Murder. It's actually three mysteries in one volume: Eggnog Murder, by Leslie Meier; Death by Eggnog, by Lee Hollis; and Nogged Off by Barbara Ross. Three cozy stories all using eggnog as the cause of death, this is a great read for a stormy winter afternoon. Maybe with hot chocolate or mulled cider ..... ;-)

Remember Musher's Night Before Christmas from the March 15th post? Once I'd read that I started to notice many other versions of the old standard, from one set in Cajun country and the Ozarks, to ones for truckers or teachers. Because I have friends with family who work for their local fire department (here and Canada) I went for Firefighter's Night Before Christmas, by Kimbra Cutlip and illustrated by James Rice. What starts out as a quiet night for those working the Christmas shift becomes anything but when a mysterious snow blowing fire truck appears, and they are called out in response to the alarm. Again, be sure to read this one out loud!

Harold and his purple crayon are back in Harold at the North Pole, by Crockett Johnson. It's Christmas Eve and there are problems ... Harold still needs a tree, Santa is snowed in, what's to be done? I've often thought I would have enjoyed watching Mr. Johnson at work!

Here is an interactive book that requires no batteries, tablet, smart phone, etc. (It's also part of a series, so if you like it, check for other titles). Can You See What I See? Night Before Christmas. Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve, by Walter Wick. And while I enjoyed it, I'm not sure today's youngsters would, but I can always hope! :-)

It's Christmas Eve and the barnyard is anything but quiet. Could they ever all be friends and get along again? The Barnyard Night Before Christmas, by Beth Terrill and illustrated by Greg Newbold will answer that for you.

This time the poem is traditional (and in the complete form) as are the illustrations ... well, sort of! The Night Before Christmas: a Brick Story, by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Amanda Brack is the familiar poem done with Lego bricks! Amazing!

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I read Holiday Lights: Brilliant Displays to Inspire Your Christmas Celebration by David Seidman just after watching the 2016 'Light Fight' so the displays looked a bit tame! However, watching how outside displays have grown over the years was interesting as they went from simple to complex, having a theme, or adding music and motion. There's even an igloo with lights (a lot of them!) which made me worry a bit. ;-)

The Christmas Message from the King or Queen of England began in 1932, here the message from the President began in 1927 with Calvin Coolidge. Many of these speeches are collected in Christmas Greetings from the Presidents. Each entry starts with a synopsis of what is going on at that time ... the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of JFK, or, rarely (it seems), relative peace ... and this makes the speech all the more meaningful.

The Great Spruce, by John Duvall and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon is based on something that really happened, for a while at least. When their tree is chosen to be the Christmas tree in the city square., Alec stops the crew from chopping it down and suggests they dig it up and plant it instead. This is done (and done again until it became too expensive). At the end there are instructions as to how to transplant a tree. Loved watching the tree move from country to city via barge, and horse drawn sleigh!

Keep an eye out for the British Library Crime Classics! They are reprints of books that were popular back in the 1930's or so, and the ones I've read have been wonderful! A bit slower paced than we might be used too these days, but great settings and character development. The one I just finished is Mystery in White: a Christmas Crime Story, by J. Jefferson Farjeon. When the train they are in is stalled by deep snow, several of the passengers get off, hoping to be able to walk to the next station and continue their journey. (And you know that's not going to happen)! What they find is a house with an unlocked door, fires cheerfully burning in the rooms, the table laid for tea, the tea kettle boiling on the stove ... and no one home.

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Two books from Sandra Boynton now. Bob and 6 more Christmas stories is a board book with stories about parties and a star, Christmas morning, and more. My favorite is the title character, Bob, the reindeer. :-) Then, check out who (or, perhaps, what) is celebrating the holiday in Christmas Parade. Are you ready? (Boom biddy boom biddy boom boom boom)!

Based on real people and true events, Christmas After All: the Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, by Kathryn Lasky follows a young girl living in Indianapolis for one month ... November 25 - December 25, 1932 ... and how her family survives, and even celebrates Christmas. There's a nice inclusion of historical events here, and some good photos at the end.

For another trip along memory lane, try Midcentury Christmas: Holiday Fads, Fancies, and Fun from 1945 to 1970, by Sarah Archer. It's fun seeing the hottest toy (Slinky, Easy-Bake Oven), or the newest things in trees (think aluminum). How wrapping paper has changed, and so on. A nice read with my Mitch Miller Christmas CD (once an LP) in the background.

It seems fans have been asking Victoria Thompson to write a Gaslight Mystery involving the secondary characters, and she did just that in Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue. It was thought that Una O'Neill married well ... until she is found sitting on the floor next to her dead husband. With Frank and Sarah Malloy on their honeymoon, the job of finding out what happened and why if up to Maeve, Gino and Mr. and Mrs. Decker. If you've been reading this series, this is a wonderful addition! (And a nice winter cozy, too).

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I've long loved the song "Christmas in the Trenches" on the CD Winter Solstice by John McCutcheon so was not surprised when I also liked Shooting at the Stars: the Christmas Truce of 1914, by John Hendrix. The author/illustrator used letters and notes from interviews with soldiers as his inspiration for the story of the ordinary men, in the trenches, cold, hungry and far from home who had little (if anything) to do with the 'higher ups' that directed the fighting. Sad and moving.

Silent Night: the Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, by Stanley Weintraub, is an adult read. Fewer pictures, more serious text, but a gripping story nevertheless. Grim descriptions of the battlefield, and the living conditions there. How the truce spread from simple lights, to singing, a football game to exchanging photos and family stories. When ordered back to the fighting, many men shot up into the air. Those higher in rank wanted to bring disciplinary actions against those who took part. A rather grim read sometimes, but worth it.

Sleigh Bells and Snowflakes: a Celebration of Christmas, compiled and illustrated by Linda Bronson is a wonderful collection of carols and Bronson's 3-D art. I love her use of texture and unusual objects to create a picture for each song.

The Little Drummer Boy, with illustrations by Ezra Jack Keats, (words and music by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone) came with Seattle Reader's email of favorite picture books, but I decided to put it here, with Christmas books. It's one of my favorite seasonal songs and the illustrations here are Keats usual blend of the traditional and the unexpected. Nicely done.

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