July 2024 Prime Picks
Reviewer's Choice
Crazy Water, Pickled
Lemons
Diana Henry
Aster
9781783256297 $29.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Fans of Diana Henry’s
cookbooks well know they not only excel in foolproof recipes, but arrive with a
sense of enchanting contrasts between international influences and down-home
cooking.
Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons is no exception. Even though it’s a
reprint of the 2002 hit (and the first book Henry wrote), it holds an ongoing
attraction in its reissued format; especially since Henry has since enjoyed
much acclaim, making this out-of-print classic an important addition to any
cookbook collection.
Influences from the
Middle East, Mediterranean, and North Africa coalesce in a rich gathering of
dishes arranged by shared taste, scent, texture or color. From spices to fruits
and breads, each section comes with almost poetic reflections and lovely
full-page color photos. These make the book highly recommended as readers enjoy
concepts ranging from Stuffed Figs Dipped in Chocolate to Adam’s Café North
African Pickles spiced with lemon, thyme, oregano, and caraway and coriander
seeds.
Easy Indian
Vegetarian
Chetna Makan
Hamlyn
9780600637752 $32.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Easy Indian Vegetarian: Delicious Recipes for Every Day presents
some 70 vegetarian recipes from British Bake Off star Chetna Makan.
Step-by-step instructions
accompany menu planners in chapters divided by type of food (snacks, veg, dal,
rices and side dishes).
Full-page color
photos accompany such fare as Chickpea Curry, Mango Potatoes, and Asparagus
Dal, resulting in a delicious array of foods perfect for vegetarian pursuit.
Yes, there are many
Indian cookbooks on the market. Between its vegetarian focus and its easy
directions for novice cooks, Easy Indian
Vegetarian is a winner.
Greatest Hits
Harlan Ellison
Union Square &
Company
9781454953371 $19.99
www.unionsquareandco.com
Look in many an
online or local library for science fiction great Harlan Ellison and you may be
surprised to note that too many of his classic collections have fallen under
the library axe of weeding out old texts in favor of bright new covers and
authors.
This is why Greatest Hits deserves top billing for
any collection considering itself definitive in its science fiction coverage.
Packaged in a bright,
contemporary, appealingly colorful cover, enhanced by a forward by Neil Gaiman,
and edited by J. Michael Straczynski, such classic short stories as ‘“Repent,
Harlequin,” Said the Ticktok Man,’ ‘Jeffty is Five,’ and ‘The Beast That
Shouted Love at the Heart of the World’ represents Ellison’s most beloved, top
hits.
This is quite simply an
outstanding gathering worthy of acquisition, re-reading, and enjoyment by a
vast audience of newcomers to Ellison’s magic as well as prior fans who want a
fine sourcebook of his top wonders.
Made in Ibiza
Liam Aldous, et.al.
Merrell Publishing
9781858947136 $65.00
www.merrellpublishers.com
Made in Ibiza: A Journey into
the Creative Heart of the White Island pairs gorgeous full-page color
photos by Ana Lui and Salva López with observations of the
individuals and small companies that have made Ibiza a famous destination
notable for its array of creative local projects and individuals.
From the efforts of weaving
artist Aline de Laforcade to Ibizan liqueur maker Marí Mayans and ‘bespoke
carpentry’ Frenchman Carpintería Thierrry, a wide range of creations and endeavors
document workshops, makers, and purveyors dedicated to preserving Ibiza tradition.
The result will
interest a wide audience of artists and armchair travelers, and is especially
highly recommended for arts libraries, travel collections, and anyone
interested in the range of creative works of one small island.
Small Batch Cookies
Edd Kimber
Kyle Books
9781804191859 $26.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Think ‘small batch’
and half-recipes come to mind, but Edd Kimber takes the challenge down to bakes
for one to six people in his 70-recipe collection Small Batch Cookies.
The Sunday Times bestselling
author excels in not just small batches, but recipes packed with unusual flavor
combinations, from Crisp Lemon and Cardamom Cookies (a 4-cookie recipe) to
Sticky Toffee Sandwich Cookies (the recipe makes 5).
While solo cooks and
eaters will especially appreciate the opportunity to once again enjoy homemade
cookies without the daunting prospect of facing a 24- or 12-batch production,
the unique flavors and variety of this collection will make it just as
attractive to readers who look for flavor combinations and especially creative
fare not to be found elsewhere.
Stories Sell
Matthew Dicks
New World Library
9781608689040 $19.95
www.newworldlibrary.com
Stories Sell: Storyworthy Strategies to Grow Your Business and Brand
teaches the basics of embedding corporate pursuits with personal draws that
appeal to human brains wired for stories over data.
It raises the notion
that becoming a good storyteller can lend to success not just in business
pursuits, but in writing, marketing, teaching, and virtually every arena of
life.
Examples from his
business pursuits show how such stories can be fine-tuned to achieve marketing
objectives, provoking conversations, connections, and consumer interest.
Business libraries
and educators will find his approach unique, reinforcing a special blend of
artistic and business interests that join forces to promote success.
Young Adult/Children
Candlewick Press
www.candlewickpress.com
These new arrivals
from Candlewick provide elementary-level libraries, read-aloud adults, and
discriminating picture book readers with a host of fine, creative, well-done
options.
Sidura Ludgwig’s Rising (9781536225495, $18.99) receives
engaging drawings by Sophia Vincent Guy as it portrays a big ceramic bowl used
for making challah for Shabbat.
The blessings
involved, the rituals explored, and family and spiritual connections presented
will especially interest Jewish parents seeking to explore Shabbat for the very
young.
Stephenie Gibeault’s Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and
Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities (9781536230017,
$17.99) gives young learners an inviting introduction connecting math and
nature. The exploration will appeal to kids well beyond the picture book stage
who are attracted to bright, colorful illustrations (by Jaclyn Sinquett) paired
with equally inviting scientific explorations.
Activities that
accompany these insights invite kids to explore on their own, as well, as the
stories reinforce applied mathematical concepts.
Katherine Hocker’s I Was: The Stories of Animal Skulls
(9781536223132, $18.99) employs a very creative take on animal physiology and
skills, features exceptionally attractive, colorful illustrations by Natasha
Donovan, and invites kids to learn about and identify different animals by
their skulls.
The dialogues, such
as the one for the hummingbird (“See this
beak, slender and strong and sharp as a thorn? It was my probe. I was the seeker
of sweetness.”) excel in reflections both scientific and literary.
David Gibb and
Brizida Magro’s Two Wheels
(9781536231397, $17.99) considers a little boy’s desire not for a tricycle, but
a two-wheel bike. His wise father must get him ready to graduate to the next
level in this story of moving into a two-wheeled world and all the
opportunities it offers for shared family enjoyment.
Of special note is
that this story is narrated in the first person and embraces not just the
experience of two-wheel riding, as other picture books do, but the impact of
new opportunities and transformation on emotional growth, as well: “I feel taller than I have ever felt before.
I practice on my new bike A LOT.”
The Den That Octopus Built by Randi Sonenshine (9781536226546,
$18.99) receives especially notable, colorful illustration by Anne Hunter as it
follows an octopus that creates her den from found objects in the ocean in
preparation for motherhood.
Natural history
blends with fictional dramatic embellishments as the survey brings the octopus
and her world to life: “These are her
snaky, sucker-lined limbs, sniffing and probing for prey while she swims close
to the den that Octopus built.”
David LaRochelle’s Go and Get with Rex (9781536222067,
$17.99) features a game played by Jack, Jill, and Rex which holds simple rules
and the challenge of getting something that begins with a certain letter.
Mike Wohnoutka’s
simple yet whimsically engaging drawings accent a story that offers more than
rote learning opportunities about letters, but instructs the very young on how
to think outside the box when solving problems and viewing the world.
All are excellent
choices, highly recommended for discriminating library collections adults
seeking exceptional presentations.
Galápagos
Islands: The World’s Living Laboratory
Karen Romano Young
What on Earth Books
9781804661154 $21.99
www.whatonearthbooks.com
Galápagos Islands: The
World’s Living Laboratory will attract picture book readers from grades 3-5
with its lovely survey of the ecology and history of the Galápagos.
Paired with
exceptionally colorful and attractive illustrations by Amy Grimes, this book
introduces the science, scientific investigations, and meaning of islands which
are “…the last frontier, the
best-preserved place on Earth.”
Discussions range
between humans discovering this fact, these islands, and their findings to the
different creatures that call the Galápagos their home. Readers will
appreciate the vivid, exciting facts which embrace not just natural, but the human
history of this special ecosystem.
Monkey Moon
Demi
Wisdom Tales
9781957670065 $19.95
www.wisdomtalespress.com
Monkey Moon narrates a fine folktale for picture book readers ages
4-8, telling of a monkey who notices a moon at the bottom of the well and
decides it’s fallen in.
He engages a host of
monkeys on a rescue mission, but their efforts prove impossible. How can they
save the moon when trying to scoop it out of the water breaks it into pieces?
From the cooperative
efforts of a ‘monkey chain’ to reach their goal to the quandary presented by
the impossible rescue scenario, read-aloud parents that choose Monkey Moon will find Demi’s compelling
illustrations create a thoroughly compelling saga replete with underlying
messages about helping others, cooperative efforts, and thinking outside the
box.
Libraries and
read-aloud parents will find it a perfect match for its entertainment and
enlightenment value.
Penguin Books
www.penguin.com/kids
New picture book
publications from Penguin Books provide readers with exceptional stories that
should be on library lending shelves and on the radar of discriminating parents
looking for colorful and attractive read-alouds.
Cynthia Harmony’s A Flicker of Hope: A Story of Migration
(9780593525760, $18.99) is not just about monarch butterflies. It comes from
the perspective of young Luciá, whose annual ritual of watching
the butterflies with her father holds added impact this year, when her beloved
father heads north to work on farms to send money back to their family.
This year, the
monarchs thus represent further promises as Luciá interacts with her abuela
and others, taking part in rituals such as basket-weaving which have been
closely-held family traditions for her lifetime.
More than a tale of butterfly migration
alone, A Flicker of Hope brings
Latin culture, traditions, the migrant experience, and natural history to life.
Micha Archer’s What’s New, Daniel? (9780593461303,
$18.99) tells of a grandfather who asks his grandson a thoughtful question,
sparking the boy’s curiosity and interest in gaining new experiences so his
conversations with his grandfather will be more interesting.
From new wildlife
appearances at the local park to the boy’s association of animal growth with
his own evolutionary process, young readers will appreciate the vivid
illustrations that accompany this exploration of nature and realization of his
connections to it.
Hayley and John
Rocco’s Wild Places: The Life of
Naturalist David Attenborough (9780593618097, $19.99) enjoys exceptionally
vivid illustrations, beginning with cover art that invites immediate attention
from young picture book audiences.
From how David, as a
young boy, loved exploring wild places near his England home to how he
cultivates this interest into adulthood, easy language and detailed
descriptions of how wild places are shrinking not only portray Attenborough’s
life story, but incorporate the side story of how one man can make a difference
in saving the world (of nature, that is).
Libraries and
teachers will find that pointing young audiences to Wild Places will spark interesting debates on the overall subject
of wilderness preservation, making this book a top pick for more than just
biography book reports.
Ann Suk Wang’s The House Before Falling Into the Sea
(9780593530153, $18.99) takes place in Busan, on the southeastern shore of
Korea, and follows young Kyung Tak’s family’s dilemma when refugees fleeing the
war show up on their doorstep.
Lovely illustrations
by Hanna Cha reinforces the atmosphere and culture of Korea as the story
evolves.
The revised role of
their home as a last-ditch place for survival crowds the household, but
introduces new opportunities to Kyung as she comes to realize the importance of
cultivating kindness and giving in times of adversity and hardship.
Based on a true story
of the author’s family, this tale of sheltering refugees provides picture book
readers and read-aloud adults with much food for thought.
The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed (9780593406380, $18.99) is
a story about what happens when a rhyming attempt goes wry due to a sister’s
antics and interruptions.
How can a rhyme be
developed, given such a problem? Through imagination, fantasy, and cooperative
play.
Hatem Aly’s inviting
illustrations are a whimsical and fun accompaniment to the action.
Anoosha Syed’s Lost Stick (9780593495192, $18.99) tells
of a game of fetch gone awry when Louise’s game with dog Milo gives him the
idea that she loves Stick as much as he does.
When Stick is lost,
Milo embarks on a journey to find him, not realizing that Louse is also
searching for him. The problem is that all sticks look the same. How can he
nose out Louise’s special stick?
All are highly
recommended acquisitions.
Simon & Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com/kids
These new picture
book arrivals will attract young readers with exciting stories and approaches
that stand out from many.
Diane Kredensor’s Superbuns! Kindness to the Rescue (9781481490702,
$18.99) is not your typical superhero stories, because Superbuns has a special
mission—to insert kindness into her world.
Ages 4-8 will
appreciate a series of adventures which also embrace the notion that too much
good intention may be questionable … or, it is?
The action and
adventure explores other elements of kindness, from differences and acceptance
to the many ways kindness may be interpreted or presented in the world.
Daniela Sosa’s The Suitcase (9781665911498, $18.99) reviews
a summer with grandparents where there’s nothing to do … until the bored grandson
discovers a hidden suitcase in the attic that is filled with treasures and
mysteries.
Lovely illustrations
follow the first-person narrator’s foray into discovery and new worlds as he
amasses clues about its contents.
Cynthia Rylant and
Arthur Howard’s Hornbeam Gets It Done
(9781665924832, $18.99) follows a moose and his various animal friends as he
experiences pleasures, mishaps, and adventures.
Three chapters
(‘March Worries’, ‘Food-Shopping’, and ‘Game Night’) pose different problems
and challenges that Hornbeam and his friends face during the course of daily
living.
This will prove the
perfect transition to chapter books, holding the picture book’s slim appearance,
attraction and numerous illustrations—but with enhanced text that kids can use
to further their reading skills.
Frances Stickley and
Chris Chatterton’s Brian the Lion Who
Learned (9781665958202, $18.99) tells of the lord of the jungle who is
mighty, loved, and admired … but perhaps not so much as he thinks. He may feel
that the jungle is a friendly environment, but just because he plays well with
others doesn’t mean that they think the same of him.
In fact, many are
secretly afraid of his size and roar. How can Brian understand their
perspective and make changes to become a better friend?
Adults who choose Brian the Lion Who Learned for its
rollicking rhyming text and attractive artwork will find its underlying message
even more appealing.
Brynne Barnes’s When I See You (9781665914857, $18.99)
enjoys lovely illustrations by Brianna McCarthy as it gives picture book
readers ages 4-8 an exciting journey through an expectant mother’s eyes as she
imagines her child’s current milieu.
Verse combines with
imaginative illustrations and journeys to provide just the right combination of
whimsy and love that read-aloud parents will find particularly conducive to
introducing a young child to the idea of a new baby’s arrival.
Summer: A Solstice Story by Kelsey E. Gross (9781655929608, $17.99)
enjoys engaging, colorful illustrations by Renata Liwska as it surveys the
longest day of the year and what it means to the animals who celebrate it.
A gentle story of
love, giving, and celebration emerges as ages 4-8 receive a gentle story of
animals that each present their ‘loving wishes’ for the season and their lives,
concluding with a fine dance of appreciation.
Lucy Ruth Cummins
covers an unusual friendship in Dalmartian
(9781655911955, $18.99), a ‘Mars Rover’ story about unusual visitors who come
to Stephen’s yard one dark night. As they catalogue odd things, one becomes
Stephen’s guest. In the process of introducing this stranger to his life, an
unexpected friendship and truth evolve which will give young readers plenty to
muse about.
Vacation by Ame Dyckman and Mark Teague (9781665930444, $17.99) is
a new Bat, Cat & Rat chapter book
that revolves around competing vacation plans.
Three (and a half)
adventures are outlined through engaging, whimsical drawings as a
dialogue-driven story emerges to help readers transition from picture books.
Apryl Stott’s Ruby’s Tools for Making Friends
(9781665921640, $18.99) will reach picture book audiences ages 4-8 with its
lovely story about Ruby’s first day at a new school. Unlike most, she comes
armed with a tool kit of remedies for all kinds of emotional possibilities,
from tackling overwhelm and assumptions to the need to remain open to new
possibilities in life.
An egg drop
competition demands she employ these tools in a mindful way, resulting in
whimsical results that will delight picture book readers and read-aloud parents
with lovely illustrations and unpredictable scenarios of positive growth.
Trucky Roads by Lulu Miller (9781665919173, $18.99) features lovely
color illustrations by Hui Skipp as it explores different kinds of trucks. The
story will appeal to the very young and not only encourages kids to identify
the usual dump truck or garbage truck, but extrapolate on fantasy truck possibilities,
such as Cloud Rollers and Comet Mixers.
What can a truck
become? Anything the imagination wants.
All are appealing,
captivating picture book choices for libraries and young patrons and families
catering to them.
War of the Wind
Victoria Williamson
Neem Tree Press
9781915584618 $12.95
www.neemtreepres.com
War of the Wind blends ecological themes with a mystery that teens
will relish. Teen Max loses much of his hearing in a boating accident, and so must
navigate the world with new skill sets that include the confusion from wearing
hearing aids that only partially resolves his condition.
Placed in a special
ed class, Max struggles to build relationships with a group he once held in
distain while facing the possibilities that a new wind farm is not all that it
seems.
As people around him
begin acting strangely, Max’s fears blossom. But, how can a newly handicapped
kid enter into and resolve such adult concerns?
This fine story’s intrigue and engrossing insights into special needs and extraordinary adventure make it a winner.