May 2021 Prime Picks
Reviewer's Choice
The
Culinary Corner
America's
Test
Kitchen
www.americastestkitchen.com
Two new
cookbooks from
a publisher that vettes virtually every recipe to assure they are
foolproof are
highly recommended picks for discriminating cooks and collections
catering to
them.
The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook
(9781948703581, $29.99) bills its
cookbook as the item of choice for busy home cooks who want to cook a
week of
meals from one grocery list, with no waste.
It
accomplishes this
goal by presenting meal plans based on the weeknight dinner, working
through
recipes built from that main meal that apply to other, different meals
in
subsequent nights.
Short
shopping lists,
make-head options, and fast cooking times lend to streamlined
cook-from-scratch
efforts and results that use fresh ingredients daily.
These meal
plans also
embrace international fare, including such diverse flavors as as
Meatballs and
Lemon Orzo with Mint and Dill or Teriyaki Stir-Fried Beef with Green
Beans.
The key to
using this
book successfully lies in the sections covering 'why this meal plan
works',
which often includes tips for the entire family's participation in the
meal's
success. Color photos abound, adding to the simple recipes' appeal.
Cook for Your Gut Health (9781948703529,
$29.99) is co-written by
Alicia A. Romano, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC, and focuses on flavorful fare that
is a
source of fiber and nutrients supporting gut health.
Readers who
follow a gluten-free
or dairy-free diet will find ample recipes and flavors designed to be
kind to
one's stomach. These invite the taste buds with diverse flavors such as
Chipolte-Braised Pork and Rice or Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with
Vermouth Pan
Sauce.
Color photos
throughout and an attention to explaining the health benefits of each
dish make
for an especially inviting cookbook for those who want a specific focus
on
gut-friendly meals.
Both are
highly
recommended picks for all levels of cooks and readers who want good,
flavorful,
healthy foods.
Zero Proof:
Drinks
& More
Maureen Petrosky
Robert Rose
9780778806752
$24.95
www.robertrose.ca
Zero Proof: Drinks & More
provides a hundred recipes for
mocktails and low-alcohol cocktails, and is an exceptional collection
of ideas
for those who would reduce alcohol intake or eliminate it entirely from
their
entertainment efforts.
These
recipes don't
need alcohol to prove appealing. One example is a Blueberry Lavender
Spritz
which comes from homemade blueberry lavender syrup, club soda, and
fresh
blueberries. Another is a Strawberry Basil Lemonade which is perfect
for summer
refreshment.
Many of
these
ingredients can come from a home garden, while the homemade syrups and
mixes
are a snap to produce.
Another
plus: the
recipes make one drink, so it's easy to put together a zero proof drink
just
for oneself.
Full-page
color
photos of each drink add to its pleasure and appeal in a mocktail
recipe
collection that stands out from the crowd.
Reviewer's Choice
Around the
World in
80 Plants
Jonathan Drori
Laurence King
Publishing
9781786272300
$24.99
www.laurenceking.com
Around the World in 80 Plants takes a
global romp through the plant
world as it presents inviting botanical stories about plants that have
affected
human lives and history.
All kinds of
plants
are included here, from flowers and herbs to vegetables, wild plants,
and
oddities that intersect with human lives in unusual ways.
From the
botanical
natural history of the coffee plant and its importance not just to
human lives
but animals attracted to it to the slow-growing Indonesian nutmeg's
journey
around the world and its reputation for stimulating male interests
(which
prompted men to carry nutmegs with them), this lively survey is
accompanied by outstandingly
gorgeous color drawings by Lucille Clere.
Around the World in 80 Plants's tone and
colorful presentation will
prove eye-catching to more than science or history buffs alone, making
it a top
recommendation for not just natural history collections, but any
general
lending library.
The
Bookseller of
Florence
Ross King
Atlantic Monthly
Press
9780802158529
$30.00
www.groveatlantic.com
History
buffs with a
special interest in book history will find The
Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated
the
Renaissance to be especially inviting. It details the
influence on the book
world of a 1400s man, Vespasiano da Bisticci, who came to be known as
"the
king of the world's booksellers."
He produced
hundreds
of books over four decades, selling handmade artistic productions from
a
bookshop which became a literary focus of discussions about books. His
influence made him not just a notable patron of the arts, but a
powerful
merchant who embraced new innovations in the bookmaking world.
Readers who
like
Renaissance history, books, or business history will find the lively
tone and
details of The Bookseller of Florence
engrossing.
It's a
production
that should appeal beyond the boundaries of the usual history reader to
reach
general-interest audiences with a lively chronicle that surveys not
just one
man's influence, but the early history of bookmaking revolutions.
Celebrating
Birds
Natalina Rojas, Ana
Maria Martinez, & Cornell Lab of Ornithology
HarperDesign
9780063045743
$29.99
www.hc.com
Celebrating Birds: An Interactive Field Guide
Featuring Art from
Wingspan is a birder's book like few others, designed to be
used not at the
kitchen table, but in the field.
Gorgeous,
full-page
color illustrations by Natalina Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez were
inspired by
the Wingspan board game. They capture almost two hundred North American
birds.
The idea is to challenge readers to find and identify the birds
pictured in
this book.
Text from
the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology adds details and facts needed to understand each
bird's
habitat, natural history, and threats to its existence.
The result
is a
beautiful compilation of bird images and facts that encourages amateurs
to go
outdoors and observe, providing an organization and details designed to
excite
readers (particularly newcomers to birding) with rich images and
inviting
facts.
This book is
more
inviting and lively than competitors.
It's the
perfect gift
for an amateur birder, a game player of Wingspan, or a young person
just
beginning to observe birds in the wild.
Glass Half
Broken
Colleen Ammerman and
Boris Groysberg
Harvard Business
Review Press
9781633695931
$30.00
www.hbr.org
Glass Half Broken: Shattering the Barriers That
Still Hold Women Back
at Work is a business book and women's issues account that
moves beyond
most discussions of the glass barrier to gather proven techniques on
how to
break into positions of power in an organization.
While it
discusses
how and why gender-based inequities remain in a working system long
after
they've been identified, the meat of this book lies in interviews with
hundreds
of women and men around the world, who revel how to address gender gaps.
From
managers
committed to combating gender inequality in their workplaces to women
who are
mentoring other women and HR personnel committed to revising management
policies, chapters survey corporate developments, operations, and
diverse
approaches to addressing the glass ceiling limiting women's
opportunities.
No business
or
women's issues collection should be without this important survey.
The Life and
Times of
Jo Mora
Peter Hiller
Gibbs Smith
9781423657354
$30.00
www.gibbs-smith.com
The Life and Times of Jo Mora: Iconic Artist of the
American West
considers the range of his art, from sculptures to maps, dioramas, and
paintings, reviewing Mora's travels, influences, and body of visual
works that
depicted the American West's peoples and lifestyles.
Unlike many
artists
of his times, Mora traveled throughout Arizona and California,
capturing all
these iconic places and peoples. More than searching for artistic
inspiration,
Mora was interested in the history and cultures of the world, spoke
multiple
languages, and worked in an unusually wide range of mediums.
He lived
from
1876-1947, settling and working in California and becoming not just an
illustrator, but a writer.
His written
works are
excerpted here, his visuals are presented in good-sized color images,
and his art
is analyzed in an an outstanding coverage that links Mora's life to his
times
and achievements.
No arts
library
should be without this in-depth survey of his world.
My Robot
Gets Me
Carla Diana
Harvard Business
Review Press
9781633694422
$30.00
www.hbr.org
My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can Make New
Products More Human
gives business, technology, and social issues readers alike a solid
appraisal
of smart products, their ability to interact with humans in a new
manner, and
how businesses foster loyalty through increased human/machine
connections.
The effort
to produce
such winning designs involves interactions between designers,
technologists,
psychologists, and marketers charged with working together in a new way
to make
these new products more accessible and appealing to consumers.
Product
design expert
Carla Diana considers all the issues involved in crafting such
interactions and
encouraging consumer bonding with products.
Examples of
successes
from modern life, from robot vacuum cleaners to Amazon Echo, spice a
survey of
social, physical, and psychological contexts that will prove essential
for
anyone involved in new technology development and its marketing.
At first
glance, a
reader might believe My Robot Gets Me
belongs in a science collection; but its importance to business,
psychology,
and social issues readers makes it a winning recommendation for a much
wider
audience.
Plant: House
Plants
Gynelle Leon
Mitchell
Beazley/Octopus Publishing
9781784727062
$19.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Plant: House Plants: Choosing, Styling, Caring
showcases the best
plants for different home environments, including care requirements,
lighting,
and décor. It comes from a horticultural expert who focuses on plants
that are
readily available, affordable, and easy to care for.
Plenty of
books about
houseplants are on the market, but Gynelle Leon's focus on blending
house
plants into overall interior designs and including detailed profiles of
each
plant's growth, special needs, and appropriate placement in the home
creates a
standout on the subject.
Each plant
receives
at-a-glance care instructions, a good-sized color photo, and a short
history of
its development and use in the home.
Those
contemplating
adding appropriate house plants for specific atmosphere or purposes
will find Plant: House Plants: Choosing,
Styling,
Caring a very easy reference to consult.
Radical
Remedies
Brittany Ducham
Roost Books/Shambhala
Publications
9781611806724
$24.95
www.roostbooks.com
Radical Remedies: An Herbalist's Guide to Empowered
Self-Care comes
from a herbalist who goes beyond the usual survey of tinctures and
formulas to
consider how a closer relationship with nature and herbs can remedy
modern ills
ranging from emotional problems to overall bodily dysfunctions.
Brittany
Ducham
selects some thirty of the best herbs for accomplishing this goal,
pairing them
with discussions of nutrition and including 'suggested preparations'
and 'words
to the wise' about their formulation, applications, and pros and cons.
Including
lifestyle
tips and changes in the usual discussion, Ducham points out where it
can be
tricky to apply a 'one formula fits all' approach to herbal solutions
and
applications, often taking a practical approach to making lifestyle
adjustments: "If you'd like to give
up coffee without saying goodbye to caffeine altogether, try this
infusion.
With the stimulating blend of aromatic herbs like ginger, damiana, and
rosemary, the nourishing qualities of nettle and holly basil that build
up
tired nerves; and antioxidant-rich green tea, you will find yourself
happily
grabbing for this every morning."
No herbal
remedy or
health library should be without Radical
Remedies and its review of the hardest-hitting, most
effective herbs
around.
Reinventing
Food
Banks and Pantries
Katie S. Martin
Island Press
9781642831535
$28.00
www.islandpress.org
Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to
End Hunger comes
from the Executive Director of the Foodshare Institute for Hunger
Research
& Solutions, who discusses food inequalities, insecurities, and
a revised
view of food pantries as community hubs that offer more than just food.
It focuses
on the
kinds of strategies that lend to client empowerment, promoting a new
way of
designing food banks and pantries to be not just more accessible, but
more
widely supportive of nutrition and other social services for the needy.
Stories of
food banks
and pantries that have revamped their operations to provide a more
satisfying
client experience give plenty of real-world examples about these
various
processes and how and why they work.
No social
issues
collection should be without this practical assessment of food
distribution
choices and their accompanying potential for community support and
change.
Young Adult/Children
All About
Mermaids
Izzy Quinn
Crown
9780593307151
$17.99
www.rhcbooks.com
Young
picture book readers
interested in the subject of mermaids will find no better introduction
than All About Mermaids, which
features
engaging, large-size drawings by Vlad Stakovic that bring alive the
mermaid
milieu and legend.
Text
explores the
myth and reality (yes, there is a reality) about mermaids as it
explores the
Steller's sea cow, dugong, mermaids, and interrelated creatures of
legend.
Young
readers
attracted to fantasy and fun picture book tales will find this
large-sized book
attractive and engaging, filled with legends, lore, and pictures that
draw the
eye and invite reading.
Candlewick
Press
www.candlewickpress.com
Four new
picture book
titles and two middle grade readers are top recommendations from the
latest publications
from Candlewick Press.
Advanced
elementary
to early middle grade readers will relish Carlie Sorosiak's Leonard (My Life As A Cat)(9781536207705,
$17.99), which provides the whimsical sci-fi story of an alien sent to
earth
and given the body of a stray cat.
Luckily,
he's rescued
by an animal lover, which allows him to more close study humans.
Unluckily, he
is charged with an impossible journey if he ever wants to be picked up
by his
alien people rather than living his life stuck in a cat's body.
The story
that
evolves is unexpected and compelling.
Nancy
Werlin's Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good (9781536214734,
$17.99) will appeal into high school reader circles with the story of
Zoe, who
is determined to stick with her boyfriend Simon no matter where he goes
to
college.
Zoe
cultivates an
ability to ignore her own interests and desires, always putting Simon's
loftier-seeming goals above her own. But when she attends a sci-fi
convention
surrounding her favorite TV show, her life begins to change.
This focus
on a high
school girl's evolving independence holds an especially astute message
for
girls who find their own careers and interests fading during a romance.
All ages
receive a
fine nonfiction survey in the oversized Fungarium,
curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya (9781536217094, $35.00). This
gorgeous
exploration of a museum of fungi offers both microscopic and full-sized
pictures
of fungi, exploring their biology, growth, mycorrhizal networks, and
interactions with insects and species.
Full-page
color
science drawings accompany many natural history details that will
appeal from
middle grade into adult circles.
Elizabeth
Rusch's Zee Grows a Tree
(9780763697549, $17.99)
is illustrated by Will Hillenbrand, who provides fine drawings that
follow a
young girl's affection for a little Douglas fir tree at her family's
Christmas
tree farm.
As tree and
child
grow up together, readers receive a gentle natural history that
reflects the
different stages and growth processes of each.
Mary Lyn
Ray's The House of Grass and Sky
(9781536200973, $17.99) receives warm drawings by E.B. Goodale as it
surveys
the passage of time as experienced by a house which has people coming
and going
from its world.
The house
remembers
the children who lived within it during happier times and longs for a
family
again. Being empty is small comfort, but the house holds hope, and
change does
happen in this gentle story of growth.
Nicola
O'Byrne's Bad Cat! (9781536217285,
$16.99) tells
of the troublesome Fluffykins, who loves to wreck havoc in the home.
Will he
always be a
bad kitty?
Very easy
descriptions and attractive, large-size drawings invite laughter and,
for those
who own cats, a degree of recognition over a bad kitty who just can't
resist
getting into trouble.
All are fine
books
recommended for discriminating children's book collections.
Colors of
Habitats
Magdalena Konečná,
Jana Sedláčková, Štĕpánka
Sekanimová
Albatros
9788000059341
$14.95
www.albatrosbooks.com
The
oversized Colors of Habitats is a
lovely survey of
world habitats and their colorful appearances, and will appeal to young
naturalists with good reading skills who want to learn about different
habitats
and their inhabitants.
Gorgeous
colors
throughout create eye-catching pages that invite leisure browsing as
well as
research, as these creatures and their worlds come to life.
There are
plenty of
picture books on the market about habitats; but few offer the artistic
and
visual attraction of Colors of Habitats,
which lends particularly well to attracting reluctant readers and whose
who
find superior visual displays essential for learning.
Mr. Tiger,
Betsy, and
the Sea Dragon
Sally Gardner
Penguin
9780593095850
$16.99
www.penguin.com/kids
Mr. Tiger,
Betsy, and
the Sea Dragon is a vivid adventure recommended for ages 8-12, and
tells of a
wicked pirate captain blown off course to an island which shows on no
map.
His mission
is to
uncover the gold apples from a sea dragon's underwater orchard. Mr.
Tiger and
Betsy K. Glory are also setting sail into another adventure to help
locate a
sea dragon's missing egg...an unusual dilemma, because nothing has ever
been
stolen before, on the island.
As the
disparate adventurers
encounter one another and struggles begin, readers are treated to a
whimsical
mermaid folk story that features a princess, mermaids, and more.
Prior
familiarity
with Mr. Tiger and Betsy's world will lend an immediate familiarity to
their
milieu and connections in this satisfying, fun fantasy.
Now That
Night is
Near
Astrid Lindgren and
Marit Törnqvist
Floris Books
97811782506751
$17.95
www.florisbooks.co.uk
Now That Night is Near is a picture book
story from the creator of Pippi Longstocking
with lovely
illustrations by award-winning artist Marit Törnqvist. It's a
lovely, gentle bedtime story about the world going to sleep when night
arrives.
From cows
and calves
sleeping in the fields to rabbits and lambs who lay down to rest, the
story
reinforces the fact that all creatures need to sleep.
Even cats,
which are
notorious for staying up at night.
These are
delightful
new books that discriminating collections and young readers will find
inviting
and unique.
Peachtree
Publishers
www.peachtree-online.com
Readers ages
8-12
will relish Henry Cole's Homer on the
Case, which brings to mind the children's animal stories by
Jean Craighead
George as it follows the adventures of a homing pigeon.
Unlike
George's
natural history-based stories, Homer is a smart bird who has taught
himself to
read, and he is interested in human news.
When he
witnesses a
theft, he must draw upon his investigative skills and resolve his
communication
issues with humans with the aid of parrot friend Lulu.
A fun
detective/bird
story evolves.
Satoshi
Kitamura's The Smile Shop
(9781682632250, $17.99) tells
of a small boy who heads to market to carefully spend the money he's
saved up
for something special.
When he
suddenly
loses all his money, he is crushed, until he enters a Smile Shop and
makes a
new discovery.
Ages 4-8
will delight
in this story of a dilemma and its resolution.
Both are
unique
stories that stand out from the crowd.
Sleeping
Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com
Suzanne
Slade's June Almeida, Virus Detective! The
Woman Who
Discovered the First Human Coronavirus (9781534111325,
$16.99) is the true
story of a scientist who discovered the first coronavirus, and surveys
not just
June Almeida's life and discovery, but the process of research to
develop
medicines and vaccines to fight coronavirus.
It reads
with the
descriptions and lively approach of fiction, but includes many
biographical
details and insights into science, as well, to engage reluctant readers
in the story
of one woman's important approach to problem-solving in the lab.
Kids
interested in
virus research and women's biographies will find June
Almeida, Virus Detective! a fine story about both.
Frank Murphy
and
Barbara Dan's A Teacher Like You
(9781534111134, $16.99) is written by and for teachers, providing a
story for
kids about how teachers can change young lives through their approach
to
education.
From
innovative new
ideas to kindness and patience, A Teacher
Like You celebrates the different ways teachers affect a
student's world
both inside and outside the classroom.
While the
story
celebrates teachers, it also gives kids reason to better understand the
importance
of teaching.
Kayla
Harren's
colorful drawings capture the teaching experience and compliment the
enthusiastic descriptions of teaching and learning processes.
Kia Heise
and
Christopher D. Park's Little Sock Makes a
Friend (9781534111264, $14.99) tells of a small sock that
leads a big life
outside the drawer, visiting Sock City via the clothes dryer, where he
has
adventures alone.
It would be
more fun
to have a matching sock to pair up with, but Little Sock doesn’t know
how to
make a friend. And every sock is different.
A fun story
evolves
for ages 4-6, offering an easy reader about friendship that will appeal
to
either read-aloud parents or youngsters embarking on their own reading
experience.
The Problem
with
Pierre
C.K. Smouha
Cicada
9781908714855
$16.95
www.cicadabooks.co.uk
The Problem with Pierre is an engaging
picture book tale that tells
of a cat and two neighbor friends who are very different.
Neighbor
Bertram gets
a cat, Pierre, who defies the neat, organized life Bertram has created
for
himself. Pierre also prefers friend and neighbor Alan's messy house.
Bertram is
not happy about either situation.
How can Alan
and
Bertram make both Pierre and themselves happy? A series of efforts and
compromises brings the friends closer together in this whimsical story
of a cat
that changes those around him.
Young cat
enthusiasts
receive a warm lesson on friendship, compromise, and kitty care which
is
engagingly different.
Stupid Baby
Stephanie Blake
Gecko Press
9781877579318
$17.99
www.geckopress.com
Stupid Baby is about little rabbit Simon,
who has built a very tall
rocket, as the story opens. It makes a lot of noise when it goes off,
disturbing the new baby in the house.
"Go back
where
you came from, stupid baby," Simon advises his new sibling. And he
worries
about many things...that the baby is there to stay forever, and that he
will be
required to make many changes to accommodate him.
When the
specter of
big bad wolves threatens him, Simon can't find solace with his parents.
What is
a big brother to do?
A fun story emerges that makes for the perfect introduction to handling and developing feelings for and connections to a new sibling in the family.