August 2023 Prime Picks
Young Adult / Children
The
Culinary Corner
Hamlyn
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Natalie Thomson's The Grazing Table: How to Create Beautiful
Butter Boards, Food Platters & More (9780600637967, $24.99) features
all kinds of food 'boards' that expand the common notion of a meat-and-cheese-based
side board of snacks.
Some sixty recipes profile
various themes, from fruit platters and dessert boards to charcuterie and
antipasti, providing a wealth of ideas and recipes. Color photos display how
such boards can be put together to visually enhance their contents and appeal.
The result is highly
recommended as a superior, creative twist on other cookbooks that have highlighted
food boards for entertaining.
Jeremy Pang's Simple Family Feasts (9780600637776,
$26.99) holds some 80 recipes for family feasting that gathers influences from
across Asia.
Color photos on
facing pages enhance the appeal of such dishes as Vietnamese Coconut Pork Belly
& Eggs or the Garlic Fried Rice known as 'Filipino power'.
The term 'feast' may
translate to 'effort' in a cook's mind, but another value to this book is that
it makes dishes easy to produce at home and not overly time-consuming.
With access to a good
Asian market for some of the ingredients, cooks will find new ways to introduce
and integrate Asian fare into a family dinner.
Both are top
recommendations.
Reviewer's Choice
How to Say Goodbye
Wendy MacNaughton
Bloomsbury Publishing
9781639730858 $19.00
www.bloomsbury.com
How to Say Goodbye is an illustrated guide to final moments in
life, adding the watercolors of best-selling New York Times artist Wendy
MacNaughton that bring to life the process of creating a positive experience
for end of life.
It teaches how to
have loving conversations during these times, providing not a single path of
conclusion, but a wide array of approaches to last days, from arranging space
and rooms to granting final wishes.
Poignant and
practical, How to Say Goodbye should
be in the library collections and minds of anyone interested in end-of-life
conversations and approaches.
I Can Hear the Cuckoo
Kiran Sidhu
Gaia/Octopus Publishing
9781856755009 $19.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
I Can Hear the Cuckoo: Life in the Wilds of Wales follows the experiences
of author Kiran Sidhu, who left London and her life there after her mother died
to enter the milieu of Cellan, a remote Welsh village.
There, she both
experienced and came to appreciate the countryside and how local people both
survived in and relished the nature around them.
The combination of
philosophical reflection, nature observation, and thoughts about grief,
recovery, and family that make up this journey will appeal to a wide range of
readers, from those with a special interest in Wales to others who look for uplifting
memoirs of discovery.
The Little Frog's
Guide to Self-Care
Maybell Eequay
Summersdale
9781837991013 $11.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
The Little Frog's Guide to Self-Care gathers positive affirmations
and presents them from a mushroom-capped frog created by California artist
Maybell Eequay, which has proven an internet icon to many followers.
Many other books
discuss self-care, but this whimsical reminder of strategies to help identify,
tailor, and fine-tune self-support and emotional states of mind provides those
mired in turmoil with an easy, appealing way of adapting many of these ideas
without the complexity of typical self-care guides.
Attractive and fun, The Little Frog's Guide to Self-Care is
highly recommended for those in the throes of emotional and physical challenges
who need these reminders couched in a light-hearted, accessible form.
New World Library
www.newworldlibrary.com
Three new arrivals
from New World Library offer delightfully educational surveys of different
subjects that should appeal widely to general-interest libraries.
Estelle Erasmus's Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a
Better Storyteller, Get Published (9781608688364, $19.95) differs from the
wealth of writer's 'how-to' books on the market by gathering tips and examples that
can apply to all kinds of writing.
The focus is on not
just honing exceptional pieces, but getting published. Advice turns from
perfecting the finer art of creative writing to understanding how to identify
and pitch a piece to the appropriate place, providing an upbeat series of
examples on how, exactly, to achieve the goal of publishing an outstanding work.
Sam Horn's Talking on Eggshells: Soft Skills for Hard
Conversations (9781608688494, $19.95) promotes character-reinforcing
conversations and situations that contain samples of how to strongly make a
point in talking under all kinds of conditions.
From email to remote
work to learning how to speak up in a more effective manner, Talking on Eggshells presents a powerful
set of communication scenarios which tend to be common, educating readers about
more effective ways of dealing with them.
Any struggling with
communication challenges will find this a powerful series of important lessons.
Marc Bekoff's Dogs Demystified: An A-to-A Guide to All
Things Canine (9781608688166, $19.95) comes from a scientist and dog lover
who covers everything from basic dog care and behavior to best ways of
training, interacting with, and overseeing a dog's life.
Canine questions come
with lovely illustrations that add visual value to a practical set of insights
on dog behavior that ranges from social relationships and traits to responses
and training procedures.
Readers will
appreciate all these guides not just for their practical information, but for
their uniformly lively presentation.
Radar/Octopus
Publishing
www.octopuspublishing.com
Two new books from
the Radar imprint provide uplifting sagas of friendship and adventure which
generate healing and soothing feelings in the reader. Both are highly
recommended for general-interest libraries and for readers under the gun who
would receive a comforting package of distraction and insight in the guise of
adventure.
Travis Nelson's Sigrid Rides: The Story of an Extraordinary
Friendship and An Adventure on Two Wheels (9781804191149, $26.99) is the
journey of a software engineer and his deaf Norwegian Forest cat Sigrid, and
opens as COVID-19 shuts down his new job in London and challenges his life with
lockdowns.
During this time,
Travis decided to buy a bike and explore London with his cat. Surprisingly (to
him), the adventures he documented on the internet proved an unexpected
attraction to a wide audience of fellow would-be adventurers who were also
locked down. His posts of the pair's rides on social media drew those who would
find opportunity and promise in a world of hurt.
Any general-interest
library seeing popularity in inspiring stories of cats and people journeying
together will find Sigrid Rides a
compelling tale.
Suzie Fletcher's The Sun Over the Mountains: A Story of Hope,
Healing and Restoration (9781804190579, $24.99) is also inspiring and
uplifting, but takes a very different approach to the subject. Fletcher's
weekly program 'The Repair Shop' reflects her prowess at leatherwork and fixing
things, but here she reveals her life story (involving her move from England to
Colorado and back again) and how she overcame many life challenges to hone both
her art and her love of horses.
Her memoir about
losing loved ones (both family and pets) and moving on into life offers hope
and familiar feelings to any who would absorb her spirited tale of dreams,
reality, and the life that evolves in-between.
Libraries interested
in uplifting memories of discovery and recovery will welcome her words.
Young Adult/Children
Candlewick Press
www.candlewickpress.com
These new picture
book arrivals from Candlewick feature engaging stories and illustrations that
deserve prominent placement on any library bookshelf.
Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion: A True Story by Dave
Eggers (9781536215885, $19.99) enjoys vivid illustrations by Júlia
Sardá and joins a very select circle of books about moving buildings which
are rarely evidenced for adults, much less kids.
What does a love of pig have to do with
choosing to move a large mansion? Plenty, as kids will discover in this
exceptionally whimsical history that explores the whys and hows of
house-moving.
Catherine Rayner's Molly, Olive, and Dexter Play Hide-and-Seek (9781536228410, $17.99)
tells of three friends who play Molly's favorite game ... the wrong way.
It's up to Molly to teach her friends. Perhaps she teaches them all too well. A
fun story evolves about friendship, lessons, and life.
Tom Brenner's And Then Comes School (9781536209136,
$17.99) is illustrated by Jen Hill and provides a positive, fun ode to getting
ready for a new school year, whether it be for the first time or after a
vacation respite.
The story of
preparations for a new school year gives kids an overview of familiar rituals
for getting ready for predictable changes.
Jaime Kim's Shy Robin and the First Day of School
(9781536209297, $17.99) tells of a little hippo that can be brave at home, but
is shy and scared in public.
Her mother gives her
a new purple headband for her first day at school so she can find her bravery,
but Robin promptly loses it. How can she find her courage all alone?
Lovely illustrations
enhance this compelling tale of finding not just courage, but new connections.
Oti Mabuse's Dance With Oti: The Bird Jive
(9781536225006, $17.99) receives enthusiastic and colorful illustrations by
Samara Hardy as it explores sparkly, fun experiences in Mrs. Oti's dance class.
Various students
exhibit different skills for getting into the dance groove when a new visitor
disrupts the class and threatens to introduce chaos. Can Mrs. Oti embrace such
a change? Sure, she can!
The lively story is
filled with dance steps and fun.
I Am Hungry by Michael Rosen (9781536225105, $14.99) receives fun
drawings by Robert Starling as it considers a hungry squirrel who exhibits an
uncommon appetite for everything from popcorn to peas and peanuts.
The zany story gets
bigger and bigger as a squirrel's eyes prove larger than his stomach, right up
to an unexpected conclusion that will keep read-aloud parents and kids
entertained.
All are exceptional
picture books highly recommended for young audiences looking for original,
refreshingly different reads.
10 Cats
Emily Gravett
Boxer Books/Union
Square & Co.
9781914912580 $16.99
www.boxerbooks.com
Ten Cats profiles a family of playful kittens that have fun through
number and color associations, allowing picture book readers to both enjoy a
whimsical cat-filled adventure and absorb the rudiments of an early education
at the same time.
The ten cats include
one white cat, two black cats, three cats with stripes, and more.
Read-aloud parents
and kids looking for feline fun will find Ten
Cats a whimsical attraction perfect
for beginners learning their numbers and colors.
Simon & Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com
Life lessons and
skills are imparted in Simon and Schuster's latest picture book roundup, which
encourages kids to be all they can be and are recommended for basic library
inclusion.
Salima Alikhan's I Can Be All Three (9781665901840,
$18.99) is illustrated by Noor Sofi, who provides lovely, colorful
embellishments to the tale of a young girl who tries to prepare for
Multicultural Day at school to capture who she is and where she comes from.
Hers is no singular
pursuit, she finds, as she considers the three major cultural influences that
make up who she is, and discovers how best to translate them in a way her peers
can understand.
The addition of
various students who also employ unique ways to explain their heritages is
lovely and understandable.
Kaz Windness's Bitsy Bat, School Star (9781665905053,
$18.99) Bitsy is a little bat with big dreams, and is ready to make new friends
at school.
There's one problem—her
batty ways differ heavily from human habits. In fact, everything she is or
wants to do is different from any student around her.
A major meltdown
results, and then she doesn't want anything more to do with a school in which
she stands out in too many ways. It takes a wise family to not just convince
her to return, but to help her arrive at a game plan for achieving friendship
and connection.
Adults can easily use
Bitsy's example to illustrate kindness, perseverance, and understanding, along
with other topics of problem-solving and adaptation.
Mark Teague's We Are Going to Be Pals! (9781665911863,
$18.99) tells of a rhino and egret who seemingly can't be more different in their
makeup and interests. How can such disparate creatures be friends?
A symbiotic
relationship between the two contributes to connections which are unexpected
and valuable for both in this engaging tale, which is based on real nature
history.
Anita Lobel's Playful Pigs from A to Z (9781534495036,
$18.99) tells of 28 pigs who are ready for the day's events.
An oinking good time
evolves from an alphabet adventure that offers a fun and different way to learn
ABCs, enhanced by engaging full-page illustrations and compelling actions.
Jonny Leighton's Does a Bear Poo in the Woods?
(9781665903479, $18.99) is illustrated by Mike Byrne and asks where a shy
outdoor bear can poo in private.
The woods are
unexpectedly teaming with life and observers, and it seems that a large bear
can find no place to hide, or poo, there.
An engaging,
unexpected problem-solving story evolves which entertains and proves
thought-provoking.
Rosemary Wells
provides a fine story about kindergarten worries that Milo experiences in On the Night Before Kindergarten
(9781665924894, $18.99).
Milo falls asleep and
dreams of what the school experience will bring, from showing up wearing only
his red rubber boots (which earns laughter from his classmates) to runaway
school buses that don't stop to pick him up at his house.
Reality contrasts
with these worries in an enchanting manner as Milo and his family learn to
overcome school fears.
Robert Quackenbush's Henry's School Days (9781534415560,
$18.99) tells of Little Henry the Duck, who always seems to be in trouble at
school over problems he inadvertently causes.
As a series of
mishaps and misadventures challenge Henry and those who are involved with
school, Quackenbush provides a zany series of adventures that illustrate how
Henry keeps getting into trouble despite the best efforts of adults to guide
him.
You Go First by Ariel Bernstein (9781665911511, $18.99) is
illustrated by Marc Rosenthal and tells of good friends Cat and Duck, who look
forward to playing on an extra-large slide. But, what if it's too big?
As worries overtake
fun and challenge the friendship with new experiences, Cat and Duck discover different
ways to view and overcome obstacles, including their own imaginations, in this entertaining
story of friends at play.
Picture book readers ages 4-8 will find each of these stories original and engaging.