December 2020 Prime Picks
Science, Nature & Technology
The Cougar
Conundrum
Mark Elbroch
Island Press
9781610919982
$30.00
www.islandpress.org
More
importantly,
this book addresses how humans and cougars can peacefully share the
same
environment, offering insights on the value of perceiving them as more
than a
danger or a pest.
Chapters
cover
everything from sharing prey with a mountain lion to understanding how
hunting
increases support for mountain lions among houndsmen and houndswomen.
Reports
about the
characteristics of hunters and prey, different approaches to mountain
lion and
habitat management, and the process of humans coexisting with mountain
lions
provide a combination of insight, theory, and tested efforts against a
backdrop
of history and ecological facts.
The result
is a
powerful survey especially recommended for those who live in areas
where
cougars are making a comeback.
Monarchs of
the Sea
Dana Staaf
The Experiment
9781615197408
$15.95
www.theexperimentpublishing.com
Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary
500-Million-Year History of
Cephalopods is an ecological history of a class of sea
creature that
includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses, among others.
It comes
from a
marine biologist who provides an overview of known facts about their
evolution
and their connections to paleontological history and modern man. Monarchs of the Sea contrasts the
creative theories that have evolved, along with them, about their
natural
history, considering how they have impacted human researchers and lives
alike.
Dana Staaf's
writing
style is not the dry scientific approach one might anticipate from such
a
journey. Her lively review of cephalopods is tantalizing, whether she's
surveying
their shared characteristics, their mystery, or their remarkable
abilities.
No other
book covers
the heyday of their rule as 'monarchs of the sea', setting this survey
apart
from others and adding a delightful, lively note to the literature
about them.
Reviewer's Choice
Chile
Peppers: A
Global History
Dave DeWitt
University of New
Mexico Press
9780826361806
$29.95
www.unmpress.com
Chile Peppers: A Global History: A Worldwide
Culinary Tour &
Cookbook differs from any other chile pepper book by blending
a travelogue
and a cookbook under one cover, adding a healthy dose of historical and
literary
inspection for added flavor.
It hops
around the
world, exploring different cuisines and how they have incorporated the
chile
pepper into their dishes, from Texas to Hungary and Africa. It also
assumes a
lively investigative tone as it considers the presence and impact of
the chile
even in countries that normally aren't associated with fiery food, such
as
France.
Color photos
and
recipes pepper the history and culinary review, from a Trinidad
Johnny's Food
Haven Pepper Sauce to a South African Cape Malay traditional beef dish
called
Babotie.
The
color-coded pages
make it a snap to locate just the recipes, for cooks seeking only a
cookbook—but
it would be a shame to use this as a cookbook alone. Much history is
embedded
in the production, and should not be passed over, making Chile
Peppers: A Global History an outstanding addition not just
for cookbook collections, but anyone interested in culinary history,
travelogues, and lively writing.
Dark, Salt,
Clear
Lamorna Ash
Bloomsbury Publishing
9781635576153
$27.00
www.bloomsbury.com
Dark, Salt, Clear: The Life of a Fishing Town
blends a memoir with
a study of changing fishing town culture and life, creating a
captivating story
of a changing Cornish fishing community and a woman's attempts to join
a
fishing expedition, traditionally a male occupation.
Lamorna Ash
was told
that no fisherman wanted women along for the journey. She persisted,
gained a
job on a fishing trawler, and observed not only commercial fishing, but
the
threats to its continuation.
She captures
these
experiences and the personal, social, and political transformations
facing the
world fishing community as a whole in a powerful story that contains
personal
insights from fellow fishermen, along with her own story and the
community's
evolution: "For fishermen, this
sense of an endless rebounding between work and respite is brought into
even
sharper focus by their oscillation between the sea and the land."
This lovely
chronicle
deserves a place in any natural history or sports collection, as well
as many a
women's biography collection, for its astute observations of a number
of issues
relating to women's changing roles and the fisherman's changing place
in the
world.
Epic Mexico
Terry Rugeley
University of
Oklahoma Press
9780806167077
$24.95
www.oupress.com
Epic Mexico: A History from Earliest Times
reviews Mexico's history
from prehistory to modern times, providing the foundation for better
understanding the country's evolution, growth, social and political
processes,
and modern incarnation today.
The key to
enjoying Epic Mexico also lies in
acknowledging
the word 'epic' in the title. This is no dry review of facts and
statistics,
but a lively portrait of Mexico's peoples and history which injects a
passionate voice into its survey: "Change
hurts. Diaz and his supporters understood perfectly that their reforms
would
disrupt the lives of a broad stretch of Mexican society. Moreover, they
feared
a repeat of the instability and political violence that had so marred
the early
national years. To answer such fears, they developed methods of
administration
and policing to contain unrest."
The result
is a
compelling read that delves into not just facts, but the evolution of
Mexican
culture as a whole and its many influences along the way.
In Bohemia
Katie Swenson
Schiffer Publishing
9780764359972
$24.99
www.schifferbooks.com
In Bohemia: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Kindness should be part of any collection
strong in stories of loss
and grief. It documents a journey that began the day after Katie
Swenson's
fiancé Tommy Niles died suddenly of a heart attack.
Her response
was to
write this book. She retreated to their loft home ("Bohemia") to
write, producing a blend of testimony to his life, their lives
together, her
future, and celebration of their love. All these facets come to life in
a story
that traverses these and other topics of life, death, and everything in
between.
As readers
absorb In Bohemia, they receive a
lovely,
evocative survey of moving through grief: "It's
hard to be forever the fiancé, rather than the wife that Tommy wanted
me to be.
I know the truth of us, as do his friends and family, but the fact
remains that
we were not yet married. I had no legal status."
This
reflective piece
should be in the collections of anyone interested in moving through the
day-by-day passage of time after the death of a loved one.
Murder is a
Must
Marty Wingate
Berkeley Prime Crime
9781984804136
$26.00
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
In Murder is a Must, Hayley Burke is the
new curator of the Fist Edition Library in Middlebank House, which
features
Lady Fowling's mystery collection. She's settling into her job and
faces
challenges in developing an exhibition of the works and dealing with
those who
have been privy to Lady Fowling's inner circle.
She also is
on the
hunt for a missing priceless edition. Her pursuit reveals clues that
it's
located somewhere in the library. Ooona Atherton, Hayley's former boss,
is
convinced that she's located the book, but she's murdered before Hayley
can get
the information.
This sends
Hayley on
a treasure hunt for both a priceless book and a killer in a powerful
story
filled with satisfying book history and details, twists and turns over
a
murderer's special interests, and a dangerous truth about the
collection and
her role in exploring it, that could change everything.
Mystery
readers are
in for a treat; especially those interested in antique books.
Pretty Good
Advice
Leslie Blodgett
Abrams Image
9781419742149
$19.99
www.abramsbooks.com
Pretty Good Advice for People Who Dream Big and
Work Harder offers
candid advice on beauty, business, and life. It comes from an author
who
changed how makeup was sold and who created a community brand,
bareMinerals,
that offered fresh new approaches to beauty concepts and products.
Her book
takes the
form of various admonitions for success, from living up to parental
expectations to accepting flaws, trying not to be a jerk, writing
letters that
cultivate connections in life, and taking risks that feel right.
It's hard to
easily
categorize this set of admonitions. Part business advice and part life
guide,
with a dash of autobiography added for emphasis and enhancement, Pretty Good Advice for People Who Dream Big
and Work Harder offers an inspirational and business read not
to be missed.
A Sound Mind
Paul Morley
Bloomsbury Publishing
9781635570267
$30.00
www.bloomsbury.com
A Sound Mind: How I Fell in Love with Classical
Music (and Decided to
Rewrite its Entire History) comes from an unlikely source: a
rock 'n roll
journalist who found himself drawn to classical music with the advent
of new
streaming platforms and services that introduced him to all the pieces
written
by the classical masters.
His probe of
the
history and culture of classical music provides descriptions, insights,
and
exciting play lists of pieces that invite readers to embark on their
own
journey into this world, even if they arrive with relatively little
familiarity
with it, as did Paul Morley.
The
excitement lies
in this book's ability to capture the nuances of orchestrated sound,
its
appreciation, and its culture. His journey around the world embraces
classical
players from other countries such as Iceland, covering both the
familiar and
the obscure with an attention to detail that will delight classical
musicians
and novices alike.
The result
is a
lovely celebration that requires no previous familiarity or expertise
with the
subject in order to prove accessible and enlightening to all.
Tiny Hotels
Florian Siebeck
Prestel
9783791386720
$25.00
www.prestel.com
Tiny Hotels profiles some 40 tiny hotels
around the world and is
especially recommended for post-COVID travel, as it outlines the
attractions of
smaller establishments which are user-friendly without being crowded.
From the
six-room
Villa Antionette in Semmering, Austria, with its lovely chalet-like
appearance
and its origins as a small rustic snack bar turned into a chalet hotel,
to the
6-villa Bisate Lodge at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, located on
the slope
of an extinct volcano in the hills, Tiny
Hotels features select, beautiful establishments.
It includes
appealing
color photos of every hotel, in-depth descriptions of the
establishment's
layout and attractions, and lovely photos of interiors, from rooms to
lobby to
outside setting.
Tiny Hotels will appeal to armchair
readers interested in learning
about hotel architecture through lovely images, as well as to
destination-oriented readers who will find the addresses and contact
information at the book's conclusion leaves nothing to wonder.
We Do Not
Want the
Gates Closed Between Us
Justin Gage
University of
Oklahoma Press
9780806167251
$45.00
www.oupress.com
We Do Not Want the Gates Closed Between Us: Native
Networks and the
Spread of the Ghost Dance belongs in any collection strong in
Native
American history and culture. It surveys how Native Americans resisted
the
effort to limit their world to the reservations the U.S. government
forced them
onto in the 1860s and 1870s.
The Native
American
community built intertribal networks of communication and relationships
through
letters and visits, resisting the U.S. government's effort to keep them
isolated from each other, and they mobilized to take charge of their
information, destiny, and futures as much as possible.
Other books
cover
reservation history, but Justin Gage focuses on these resistance
efforts and
attempts to forge connections against U.S. government repression. This
creates
a powerful survey that uses new materials, including a hundred letters
written
by 19th-century Native Americans, to document the defiance of American
colonialism over the decades.
The focus on
the
Ghost Dance and its spread follows this networking process and provides
a
valuable testimony to Native activism and how it was kept alive through
various
means and approaches to survival.
No Native
American
history holding should be without this hard-hitting testimony to
resilience and
resistance.
Young Adult/Children
The Complete
DIY
Cookbook for Young Chefs
America's Test
Kitchen
America's Test
Kitchen
9781948703246
$19.99
www.americastestkitchen.com
The Complete DIY Cookbook for Young Chefs
should be the first cookbook
provided to young readers seeking simple, appealing, kid-friendly
recipes to
try, and focuses on familiar recipes for store-bought food that kids
will find
easy.
This
cookbook has
been 'kid-tested', which means that America's Test Kitchen has adjusted
many of
its strategies for producing foolproof results to the child's-eye view
of the
kitchen.
Color images
throughout show kids in the kitchen producing such dishes as Pumpkin
Spice Mix,
Strawberry Pop Tarts, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, and Fresh Tomato
Salsa.
Kids and
parents will
find The Complete DIY Cookbook for Young
Chefs a bright, fun, appealing cookbook that not only holds
recipes, but
keys to understanding more about what recipes work well, and why.
EK Books
www.ekbooks.org
Two fine new
releases
from EK Books offer more than just leisure reading entertainment, and
are
recommended picks for adults who would help children learn.
Brooke
Graham and
Robin Tatlow-Lord's Go Away, Worry
Monster (9781925820393, $18.99) is the perfect tool for
helping kids cope
with anxiety, using tested strategies from psychotherapy to help kids
understand anxiety and how to cope with it.
Parents,
teachers,
and caregivers will want to use Go Away,
Worry Monster as an interactive opportunity for discussing
coping
strategies, as the story tells of a Worry Monster who loves 'helping'
Archie
worry. Archie's only recourse is to make this monster vanish. But, how?
Large,
colorful
drawings detail this monster's influence and Archie's ability to
vanquish it
with a little help and insight.
Raymond
Huber and
Sandra Severgnini's Tree Beings
(9781925820539, $24.99) is the perfect story of choice for adults who
want to
teach kids about trees and how to protect them. It covers the
scientists,
explorers, and history of tree protection around the world.
Good reading
skills
are required from grades 2-3 to enjoy these detailed descriptions of
life in
trees, tree preservation activists, tree history, and rainforest power,
among
many other topics.
The
gorgeous,
oversized color illustrations are a fine plus to this appealing
educational
survey of the history and science of trees and their importance.
Peachtree
www.peachtree-online.com
Advanced
elementary
to early middle grade readers ages 8-12 will find Lavie Tidhar's The Candy Mafia (9781682631973, $16.99)
an inviting, fun story set in a city where all candy has been outlawed,
leading
children to go on the lam via a black market candy ring.
Young
readers who
enjoy investigative pieces will relish this story of a missing teddy
bear, a vanished
owner, and an investigation which leads Nelle and her fellow sleuths
into an
underworld of candy smuggling.
The lively
tale is
hard to put down and will delight fans of Encyclopedia Brown and other
sleuthing mysteries, providing a taste of something different.
Mara
Rockliff's The Grudge Keeper
(9781564157298,
$16.95) receives delightful drawings by Eliza Wheeler as it tells of a
town
free of grudges—except for one notable grudge-holder, Cornelius, who
manages to
keep them all squirreled away until a storm sends them flying free.
Can
Cornelius
maintain his role in the town, or is it doomed to experiences grudges
from then
on?
Good reading
skills
or parental assistance will enhance enjoyment of this concept of
grudges, their
lasting impact, and what happens when they vanish, only to return in
force.
These fine
books are
recommended for individual purchase and library acquisition alike.
Penguin
www.penguin.com/kids
Penguin's
new
arrivals are highly recommended picks for young leisure readers who
enjoy
picture books that excel in image and story.
Misty
Copeland's Bunheads (9780399547645,
$17.99)
receives fine drawings by Setor Fiadzigbey and requires either good
reading
skills or parental assistance as it tells of young Misty, who becomes
captivated by the world of dance through the ballet Coppelia, about a
toymaker's dangerous creation.
Misty has
never
danced ballet before she decides to audition for the role, but her
exploration
of this world introduces readers to its processes, terminology, and the
routines of training for a ballet production. A lovely story evolves,
especially recommended for youngsters newly involved in the world of
dance.
Jonathan
Bentley's
colorful, whimsical drawings accompany P. Crumble's jaunty story of
animal
equality in We Are All Equal
(9780593202555, $17.99), in which animals do more than just tolerate
each
other, joining together to celebrate their differences.
The basic
ideals of
independence, freedom, and differences in America is covered in a fun
and easy
reader parents will want to use to teach kids about the fundamentals of
what
constitutes equality.
Rachel
Larsen, Adam
Reid, and Ozi Akturk's The Tiny Chef and
da Mishing Weshipee Blook (9780593115053, $18.99) tells of a
chef's dilemma
when his favorite recipe book goes missing.
Could it be
because
his kitchen is such a mess that he can't find it?
The Chef is
furious
and frustrated, but he decides to channel his anger in a different way,
and his
discoveries lead to information that enhances his cooking.
The gorgeous
full-page color art is especially striking in this story, drawing
readers into
a world of problem-solving and a small chef's success.
The Racers
Neal Bascomb
Scholastic,
Inc.
9781338277418
$18.99
www.scholastic.com
Although The
Racers: How an Outcast Driver, An American
Heiress, and a Legendary Car Challenged Hitler's Best is written for a young
adult audience of race
car enthusiasts, this book is a top recommendation for many an adult
race car
reader, who will find much of the racing and historical references new
to them.
Even the
most avid
racing fan will find this a powerful story of how Hitler's Grand Prix
driver
was thwarted by 32-year-old French Jewish driver Rene Dreyfus, who
found a
sponsor in American heiress Lucy Schell and went on to prove that the
Third
Reich wasn't the greatest at everything in the world.
This
powerful story,
set against the backdrop of an evolving world war, will simply delight
all ages
with a compelling and unusual story, which hasn't received much (if
any)
discussion in either adult or young adult circles before, making it a
'must'
for all ages interested in history and car racing.
Simon and
Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com/kids
Two fine new
books
are top recommendations for middle grade leisure readers, offering
different
topics and compelling stories.
Ages 9-12
will
appreciate Summer Rachel Short's The
Mutant Mushroom Takeover (9781534468658, $17.99), which tells
of Magnolia
Stone's life in her gramma's mobile home with a grumpy older brother.
Determined
to change
this scenario, Magnolia wants to win a naturalist merit award that will
help
her reconnect with her scientist father.
Doing so involves an investigation of a rare
bioluminescent fungus, but
evolves into a real mystery when the fungus spreads and brings
infection and
danger to Shady Pines.
Kids who
enjoy
science and mystery will relish this unexpectedly compelling adventure.
Stuart
Gibbs' Spy School Revolution
(9781534443785,
$17.99) will appeal to a slightly younger audience (ages 8-12) with the
story
of young agent Ben Ripley, who is determined to clear Erica Hale's name
by
investigating the Croatoan who are blackmailing his friend.
His mission
is to
defy the CIA's notion that this group is mythical, and to locate
evidence of
its involvement and Erica's innocence alike.
Kids who
enjoy spy
stories will find this an engaging tale.
Sleeping
Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com
Two new
arrivals are
top recommendations for picture book leisure readers, providing warm
stories
that lend particularly well to parental read-aloud.
Clayton
Anderson's Letters from Space
(9781534110748,
$16.99) is illustrated by Susan Batori and blends science and humor
about
space. It comes from a retired astronaut who examines life on the
International
Space Station, and uses fun letters to impart science lessons and
insights on
space living.
The sequence
of
letters explores experiences from the third day to leaving the station
152 days
later, following STEAM content specifications as it provides ages 4-8
with
insights on everything from spacewalking to space suits and personal
experiences.
Helen Foster
James creates
a keepsake edition of Welcome to the
World (9781534110120, $16.99) that includes an additional
page for a baby's
photo as it provides a gift for new parents and their babies.
Petra
Brown's
gorgeous, sweet animal drawings follow doting parents as they enjoy
their new
arrival, from "singing songs to make you smile" to a fun bubble bath.
Parents will
relish
this sweet, inviting, fun picture book.
Wash Your
Hands!
Steve Behling
Disney Press
9781368071550
$4.95
www.disneybooks.com
Wash Your Hands! gives young picture book
readers a basic primer
about hand-washing, telling of a doctor who washes her hands when she
goes to
the clinic.
Based on the
series
created by Chris Nee, this story features bright, colorful images,
requires
either good reading skills or parental assistance, and involves a
variety of
creatures in Doc's display of hand-washing and germ prevention.
Parents looking for a lively primer on cleanliness which turns the task of hand washing into an educational adventure will find Wash Your Hands! a compelling, attractive choice.