July 2020 Prime Picks
The
Culinary Corner
America's
Test
Kitchen
www.americastestkitchen.com
Two
excellent new
cookbooks are recommended picks for their tested recipes and different
approaches that make cooking not just accessible, but virtually
foolproof to
those with little experience.
Parents
looking to
start the learning process early will find My
First Cookbook (9781948793222, $19.99) excels in dishes kids
will have fun
making, which include rolling, squishing, and mixing activities that
have been
kid-tested.
Parents can
present
cooking as a shared indoors activity with this book, which approaches
recipes
as projects and includes such diverse offerings as kid-friendly snacks,
Rice
Noodle Bowls, easy cookies, and more.
Fun facts
and
equipment and ingredient lists are backed by color photos and appealing
drawings, as well as photo step-by-step instructions that assume no
prior cooking
experience.
There are
other
kid-friendly cookbooks on the market which advocate collaborative
cooking, but
few hold the visual impact and the promised success of each tested
recipe as My First Cookbook,
recommended for young
cooks ages 5-8 and their parents.
The Complete Summer Cookbook
(9781948703147, $32.99) provides some
500 recipes perfect for handling the heat of summertime, and will
appeal to
cooks interested in trying new ingredients and recipes which often
embrace an
international flare and influences in dishes such as Korean Sizzling
Beef
Lettuce Wraps or Nettle Soup.
Color photos
abound,
attention is given to using equipment which doesn't add to the summer
heat like
an oven would (the slow cooker recipes take such classics as Barbecued
Spareribs and adds another dimension to them), and there's an
exceptionally
wide range of cooking techniques, from grilling beef kebabs to making a
South
Carolina Shrimp Boil or creating an Italian-inspired Florentine Freeze
with
campari, gin, and frozen orange juice.
The combined
focus on
heat-beating dishes and tested recipes, paired with lovely color photos
of
completed dishes throughout, makes The
Complete Summer Cookbook a highly recommended winner.
Feasting Wild
Gina Rae La Cerva
Greystone Books
9781771645331
$26.95
www.greystonebooks.com
Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food
comes not from a
culinary chef but a geographer and anthropologist who considers
humanity's
relationship to wild foods and what happens when these are adapted for
commercial distribution.
Something is
lost, in
this process. This survey of wild foods, the process of loss that
happens when
food is commercialized and mass produced, and how to preserve
biodiversity for
future generations is explored in a story that ferrets out the world's
remaining wild foods which have not yet been touched and changed by
commercial
interests.
Much in the
manner of
Anthony Bourdain, Gina Rae La Cerva undertakes a world journey to seek
out and
taste these foods, moving between countries around the world from the
Congo and
Asia to Europe in search of the truly wild dining experience.
Her lively
descriptions of these foods, the threats to their survival, and their
beneficial attributes makes a powerful case for supporting not just
wildlife
and their environments, but the wild foods of the world, and the
ideology of
their protection.
Vegetables:
The
Ultimate Cookbook
Laura Sorkin
Cider Mill Press
9781604339642
$35.00
www.cidermillpress.com
Vegetables: The Ultimate Cookbook comes
from a chef and farmer who
provides not just a cookbook, but a culinary history of where
vegetables
originated, which countries used them in different dishes and ways, and
how to
make the most of vegetables which are presented in an A-Z compendium of
over 50
varieties.
As such,
it's a
recommended pick not just for cooks, but those who would enjoy
accompanying
information about culinary and cultivation history, accompanied by
lovely color
photos and original illustrations throughout.
Recipes tend
to be
easy fare any cook can quickly produce, such as Sauteed Swiss Chard or
Blue
Cheese & Honey Toast Crisps (for a quick appetizer) to Roasted
Cauliflower
Au Gratin. Most take 15-20 minutes to prepare, which makes this
collection
particularly recommended for busy cooks who don't want to spend hours
in the
kitchen. But there are also dishes such as a Lamb & Peas Curry,
which can
take 30 minutes or more to put together.
Cooks who
want an
all-in-one cookbook packed with international flavors and influences,
and
dishes which are appealing, will find Vegetables:
The Ultimate Cookbook an outstanding survey.
Reviewer's Choice
God and Guns
in
America
Michael W. Austin
Wm B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co.
9780802876430
$21.99
www.eerdmans.com
God and Guns in America is a Christian
argument for gun control
that offers a middle ground between gun rights activists and those who
would
ban them. It uses Biblical perspectives to support the idea that
Christians
should become peacemakers in a different way.
Followers
interested
in the gun debate and Biblical perspectives will find God
and Guns in America a fine discussion that accepts the
divergent
viewpoints of both sides while considering their different arguments
and the
middle, Bible-based ground where both can meet.
The result
should not
just be in Christian book collections, but should prompt discussions
between
normally divergent groups on best practices and options for staying
true to
Biblical precedent while helping change the world.
Hiking
Lassen
Volcanic National Park
Tracy Salcedo
Falcon Guides
9781493044047
$24.95
www.falcon.com
Hiking Lassen Volcanic National Park: A Guide to
the Park's Greatest
Hiking Adventures pairs color photos and maps with detailed
trail
descriptions and tips for planning a customized hiking experience,
covering
both common and lesser-known hikes throughout the park.
Discussions
of
various opportunities take into account different abilities, from
climbing
mountain peaks to level, flat walks around lakes, as they outline some
fifty
hikes that include miles, directions, tips on locating trailheads, and
more.
Visitors to
California's
Lassen National Park, one of the least-visited parks in the nation's
system,
are in for a treat in a hiking guide packed not just with take-along
information, but accompanying historical and geological details.
My Vanishing
Country:
A Memoir
Bakari Sellers
Amistad
9780062917454
$26.99
www.harpercollins.com
My Vanishing Country: A Memoir is not
strictly a memoir, but blends
historical and cultural insights as it moves through the American South
and its
history, from Civil Rights issues and figures to the author's heritage
and
roots in South Carolina's town of Denmark.
Bakari
Sellers is a
CNN political analyst who uses his own background and family history to
trace
the evolution of civil rights, Southern heritage, and the rise of
social issues
in modern America.
By
considering his
own father's background and lessons and the children he is, in turn,
passing
lessons to, Seller creates an inspirational and eye-opening examination
of the
foundations of freedom and oppression alike, crafting a memoir that is
a poignant,
personal, and political history all under one cover.
Very highly
recommended as a striking survey of modern social change.
Up All Night
Lisa Napoli
Abrams Press
9781419743061
$27.00
www.abramspress.com
Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of
24-Hour News should
be in any media studies collection and provides a solid history of the
birth of
CNN and the idea of 24-hour news shows and dedicated news channels.
It considers
the
state of news broadcasting prior to CNN and the new model for network
and cable
television programming that was fostered by a team of thinkers who
developed a
different model for delivering news to the American people. It also
surveys the
social, technological, economic, and political challenges CNN faced as
it
developed its model for the first all-news channel.
Students of
media and
business history alike will relish this in-depth survey of all the
interpersonal interactions on various levels, from reporters and
broadcasters
to other media entities, that came into play during the creation and
marketing
of CNN.
The lively
coverage,
spiced with these conversations and special challenges, is hard to put
down.
You're Not
Special
Meghan Rienks
Gallery Books
9781982110109
$26.00
www.simonandschuster.com
You're Not Special: A (Sort-of) Memoir
comes from an actress and
YouTube personality who provides a review of her life's ups and downs.
It serves as
both an
autobiography for those who already know Meghan Rienks and as a
delightful
series of escapades and realizations which offer wisdom and food for
thought to
those who struggle on and through the road to adulthood.
From
wide-ranging
advice such as 'how to talk to your crush' to tricking others into
thinking you
are not struggling with life and have everything together, this blend
of wry
humor, life insights, and practical advice will prove especially
appealing to
young adults who will find Meghan Rienks and her advice both
humorous
and pointed.
Young Adult/Children
Candlewick
Press
www.candlewick.com
Three
excellent new
picture books are highly recommended new arrivals for libraries seeking
lasting
lends for elementary-level readers.
Paul
Fleischman's Alpha Maniacs: Builders of 26
Wonders of the
World (9780763690663, $19.99) features art by Melissa Sweet
and pairs
language, sounds, and words with art, using an adventure focus that
encourages
kids to appreciate word obsessives and their connection to the art
world.
From how
artists
solve problems and variations on letters to designers of calligraphy
and speed
writing with the goal of writing more books than anyone else, this
blend of
biographical profiles, art, wordsmiths, and their lasting impact on
language
will appeal to advanced elementary to adult readers with its lively,
unique
celebration of the language of adventure.
If You Take Away the Otter by Susannah
Buhrman-Deever
(9780763689346, $16.99) receives lovely, large-size drawings by Matthew
Trueman
as it explores the world of otters and marine life on the Pacific coast
of
North America.
It traces
the history
of human interactions with otters, strategies for their protection, and
their
natural history in a lively, beautifully illustrated blend of pictures
and word
that requires only basic reading skills and an interest in ocean life
to prove
inviting.
Tricia
Springstubb's Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the
Backyard Treasures
(9781536203066, $16.99) receives appealing drawings by Elaheh Taherian
as it
surveys the very different approaches to life between Khalil, who lives
in an
upstairs apartment with a big, noisy family, and Mr. Hagerty, the
downstairs
resident who is quiet. A hot summer day brings the two outdoors and
encountering each other as Mr. Hagerty gardens and Khalil looks for
buried
treasure in the backyard.
The roots of
a
friendship which crosses age barriers and cultures makes for an
engaging story
of understanding.
All are
excellent
picture book choices that young readers will appreciate.
Peachtree
www.peachtree-online.com
Two leisure
reads for
middle grades stand out from the myriad of publications this Spring,
and are
recommended picks for discriminating elementary-grade collections.
Alison
Hart's Finder: Coal Mine Dog (9781682631638,
$7.99) tells of Thomas, who is forced to work in the mines with his
hunting dog
Finder.
The mines
are
dangerous and include the threat of fire as well as cave-ins, and when
Thomas
and Finder become trapped, they must rely on ingenuity and each other
to
survive.
Middle grade
readers
are in for a treat with this historical piece, which combines a dog
story with
real-life history.
Alex T.
Smith's Mr. Penguin: The Lost Treasure
(9781682631706, $9.99) tells of a penguin adventurer who is excited
about his
first adventure, which falls into his lap when Boudicca Bones, from the
museum,
asks for his help in locating a missing treasure.
Advanced
elementary
to early middle grades will appreciate the two-color illustrations
throughout
as Mr. Penguin faces hungry alligators and waterfalls, secret passages,
and
certain death, discovering that adventuring may not be all it's cracked
up to
be.
Both are fun
leisure
choices that offer strong writing and fun story lines to draw even
reluctant
readers into action-packed tales.
You Can Do
It, Noisy
Nora!
Rosemary Wells
Viking Penguin
9781101999233
$16.99
www.penguin.com
You Can Do It, Noisy Nora! presents the
picture book story of a
little mouse who is learning to play the violin. Nora is enthusiastic
about her
newfound ability to play a special song.
Usually
Nora's
tenacity is celebrated, but her newfound fascination with an instrument
that
only produces awful sounds has her family covering their ears during
the
initial weeks of scraping, squeaking, screeching sounds.
A gentle
rhyme
illustrates the little mouse's persistence and her family's solution to
her
grating new passion.
Fans of the
prior
Noisy Nora book will find this gentle story a fine addition to what
will likely
be a compelling new series.
Vote for Me!
Martin Baltscheit and
Marc Boutavant
Eerdmans Books
9780802855435
$17.99
www.eerdmans.com/youngreaders
Vote for Me! is a fine picture book
exploration of the election
process that is particularly suitable to the 2020 year as it explores a
lion
who loves winning elections—until he confronts a mouse who decides to
be a
mighty contender.
At first the
lion
isn't worried about such a small candidate, but as each animal offers
their own
alternate in a big election, too many options muddle the process.
How can the
animal
kingdom vote on the best animal for the job?
Marc Boutavant's lovely drawings accompany a fine, fun story that excels in both humor and easy, pointed messages about winning, politics, and representation.