• Donovan's Literary Services
  • Recommended Reading
  • Pick of the Month
  • Author, Author!
  • Title, Title!
  • Author Comments & Accolades
  • How to Get Reviewed
  • Recommended Resources
  • Other Services
  • About
  • Copyright and Permissions
  • Contact
Donovan's Bookshelf

September Prime Picks

Biography & Autobiography
Crafts & Needlework
The Culinary Corner
Health Matters
Audiobooks
Novel New Novels
Reviewer's Choice
Reference Reads
Sizzling Social Issues
Young Adult / Teen Reads
 

Biography & Autobiography 

 
At the Broken Places
Mary Collins and Donald Collins
Beacon Press
9780807088357             $16.00
www.beacon.org 

When a child makes a life change, that child changes the family as well. Seldom is this dynamic so clearly captured as in the memoir, At the Broken Places: A Mother and Trans Son Pick Up the Pieces. 

Perhaps this is because it's a co-written memoir, alternating perspectives from a mother and her child's point of view. Together, both succeed in capturing the trans experience and, even more importantly, the responses, challenges, and effects transitioning has on the entire family as mother and son recall a son's transition from girl to a boy and how it nearly destroyed their relationship. 

Perhaps most revealing of all is the recovery process that not only helped heal, but brought the two to the point that they could co-write their experiences and perceptions in this co-authored book, very highly recommended as a 'must' for any collection including stories about transitioning. 


Evelyn Dove
Stephen Bourne
Jacaranda
9781909762350             $18.95
www.jacarandabooksartmusic.co.uk 

Evelyn Dove: Britain's Black Cabaret Queen was released several months ago, but deserves ongoing mention as the unique and involving story of one of Britain's pioneering singers, who became the first black female singer on BBC Radio and the first to work in America. 

Part of the compelling aspect of this story lies in vintage, previously unpublished photos from Dove's private collection, which here enjoy good-sized and full-page feature. 

Another plus to this book is its careful documentation of the rise and fall of her career. 

Any collection strong in black performers, British entertainment history, and cabaret figures will find Evelyn Dove: Britain's Black Cabaret Queen a powerful, lively coverage that requires no prior familiarity with Dove or the British cabaret world in order to prove compelling. 


George Romney: An American Life
Patrick Foster
Waldorf Publishing
9781684198382             $24.95
www.Waldorfpublishing.com 

George Romney: An American Life provides an excellent biography not only of the Romney era, but the rise of American Motors and its heyday, and is a highly recommended pick for readers interested in either American business history or America automotive developments. 

Chapters trace Romney's rise from a farmhand and carpenter to show how he became a big-name CEO, quitting college to woo a Hollywood starlet he loved while succeeding at his goals through hard work and sheer bravado. 

His story mirrors the rise of the American automotive industry and should be considered a 'must' for business and auto history readers alike. 


Gorbachev: His Life and Times
William Taubman
W.W. Norton
9780393647013      $39.95
www.wwnorton.com 

Gorbachev: His Life and Times comes from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who provides a sweeping biography not just of Gorbachev, but of the evolution of the Soviet Union and Russia under his rule, making for an acquisition which should be on the reading lists of any library with an interest in the region. 

No light read, Gorbachev: His Life and Times packs in over 800 pages of detail as it follows the Gorbachev's life, from childhood to his political impact on the world as leader of the Soviet Union, tracing his politics, partnerships, and the ideals and collapse of many of his policies. 

By including his country's evolution into the wider story of his personal political impact, this becomes more than a survey of one man's life, but traces the changes affecting the nation he led in a highly recommended title that no history library should be without. 


Saluting Our Grandmas: Women of World War II
Col. Cassie B. Barlow, USAF (ret) and Sue Hill Norrod
Pelican
9781455623198      $18.95 
www.pelicanpub.com 

Saluting Our Grandmas: Women of World War II documents the lives and military service of selected women, and is a fine addition to any World War II history collection seeking stories of women who participated in the armed forces, from boot camps to battlefields. 

Chapters review the history of women in military service, offering insights into why and how they participated and covering a range of opportunities and unusual circumstances and challenges each woman faced at different points in the war.

The result will interest both military history readers and those who want more specific insights into women's lives and military experiences. 


Crafts & Needlework 

 
Jewelry Designs with CzechMates Beads
Anna Elizabeth Draeger
Kalmbach Books
97812627003186    $21.99
www.jewelryandbeadingstore.com 

Jewelry Designs with CzechMates Beads covers the basics of stitching with these two- and four-hole beads, showing how to work with and add them to various projects from bracelets and necklaces to pendants. 

CzechMates beads can be used to create an infinite variety of components, and while this is an introduction and not a definitive coverage, it provides jewelry makers with some background in jewelry and little familiarity with CzechMates with a full range of options they can absorb and run with for future projects, offering enough diverse examples to explore all the possibilities. 

Easy, step-by-step directions and good-size color photos assure that even novices with little jewelry-making experience will be able to easily duplicate these varied projects. 


Stackpole Books
www.rowman.com 

Two excellent new needlework titles are top recommendations for collections looking for unique approaches. 

Sarah Hatton's The Knit Generation: 15 Great Patterns by 8 Hot Designers (9780811717854, $19.95) compiles patterns young knitters will like, inspiring them to try their hand at knitting trendy, modern designs that represent new takes on old designs. 

Thus, the socks, shawls, gloves, and more incorporate  intriguing textures and approaches from a range of designers who use specific Rowan yarns and add fine art embellishments to their end results, which are directed to new generations of knitters. 

Tom Knisley's Handwoven Table Linens: 27 Fabulous Projects from a Master Weaver (9780811716178, $22.95) turns his attention away from the rug and baby blankets he featured in his other titles to table linens, providing projects for placemats, runners, napkins, and more. 

His designs have their origins in china patterns, traditional weaving patterns, and designs seen throughout other countries such as Scandinavia. With these patterns, good-quality color photos, and step-by-step directions, newcomers to the idea of creating handwoven linens receive a treasure trove of ideas. 


The Culinary Corner

DaCapo Press
www.dacapopress.com 

Laura-Jane Koers's Cook Lively! 100 Quick and Easy Plant-Based Recipes for High Energy, Glowing Skin, and Vibrant Living - Using 10 Ingredients or Less (9780738219677, $24.99) toes the line between a health guide and a vegan cookbook; but is featured here because its emphasis on fresh, healthy ingredients common to any supermarket or kitchen and its advice on quick cooking makes it attractive to all cooks. 

It comes from a popular food blogger who shares her raw and vegan options for better living, focusing on basic ingredients that are available year-round, which will appeal to the entire family. 

Anyone who has associated such fare with odd-sounding, unappealing dishes need only consider the easy recipes for a Raspberry Chill Bowl, refreshing Watermelon Juice, or cashew parmesan Spaghetti Sauce to see that this offers something different. 

Pamela Salzman's Kitchen Matters (9780738219240, $22.99) packs in wholesome recipes that often conform to gluten- and dairy-free diets without being strict about these dominating the recipe, creating a cookbook of healthy foods that are high in flavor and which hold something for everyone. 

From a Winter Vegetable Slaw with Ginger and Lime that pairs cilantro, ginger, and onion with sliced cabbages and toasted almonds to Chicken Shawarma with a white yogurt sauce, marinated in cumin, cinnamon, garlic and more, each recipe notes at the top whether it is adaptable to gluten- or dairy-free diets, and each is packed with flavor.

Many come with color photos, too; but one pleasing aspect of Kitchen Matters is that many of its dishes are easy enough that photo embellishment is not a strict requirement; while others include "Ask Pamela" notes filled with tips and additional kitchen insights, such as using grape seed oil. 


The Food of the Philippines
Reynaldo G. Alejandro
Periplus Editions
9780794607913             $9.95
www.periplus.com 

The Food of the Philippines: 81 Easy and Delicious Recipes from the Pearl of the Orient pairs lovely, full-page color images by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni with classic dishes that reflect various ethnic influences on Philippine cuisine, featuring fare that uses ingredients familiar to Americans and which are easily located in any well-stocked supermarket.

Examples include One-Pot Rice with Chicken, Pork and Shrimp in Coconut Milk; the Chinese-influenced dish Chicken Vermicelli, made with glass noodles; and a Spanish-inherited Stuffed Beef Roll, made with beef flank steak rolled around Vienna sausages, carrot, sweet pickle relish and Cheddar cheese. 

The result is an accessible, delicious cookbook of dishes reflecting the historically diverse cultures that have influenced Philippine cuisine. 


Storey Publishing
www.storey.com 

Three new cookbooks are top picks for collections seeking exceptional recipes, bright color photos, and formats that lend an attractive appearance to a gathering of recipes for a wide range of cooks. 

Charles G. Reavis & Evelyn Battaglia work with Mary Reilly on the 4th updated edition of Home Sausage Making, a best-selling and authoritative survey of step-by-step instructions on how to create fresh, smoked, and dry-cured sausages.

The inclusion of tips from butchers and chefs, discussions of charcuterie techniques, and added directions on how to pair beer with the right sausage contribute further value to a book packed with color photos throughout as it explores such variations as a Herbes de Provence Chicken Sausage, a fresh Black Bean and Smoked Corn Sausage for vegetarians, or a Thai Sour Sausage. 

Some degree of exotic ingredients requires access to some specialty items, but there are resources and websites included in the back of the book, making Home Sausage Making a winner for cooks who want to do more than dabble in sausage making. 

Brittany Wood Nickerson's Recipes from The Herbalist's Kitchen: Delicious, Nourishing Food for Lifelong Health and Well-Being (9781612126906, $24.95) draws important connections between wholesome food and medical benefits, and comes from a herbalist who offers original recipes infused with lavender, dandelion, dill, oregano, and more. 

There are salads (such as Thyme and Jalapeño Picked Carrots) and vinaigrettes; Naan with Ghee, Garlic and Cilantro, Dandelion Greens with Garlic-Mustard Vinaigrette; and many more dishes illustrated with lush, full-color photos throughout, offering herbal gardeners and cooks a fine array of dishes with varied flavors and approaches. 

The Harvest Baker by Ken Haedrich (9781612127675, $19.95) features well over a hundred sweet and savory dishes that profile fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and is perfect for cooks who want to focus on a plant-based diet. 

The author's three decades of baking leads to such innovations as a Summer Squash Loaf with Olives and Cheese, Cauliflower Parmesan Pizza, and a Cherry Tomato, Bacon and Blue Cheese Tart. 

As an added bonus, many of the dishes include step-by-step, good-sized color photos to illustrate such processes as how to peel tomatoes the easy way, or how to better work with dough. 



Health Matters

The 36-Hour Day
Nancy L. Mace, MA and Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH
Johns Hopkins University Press
9781421422237             $19.95
www.press.jhu.edu 

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss is a powerful reference for dementia care which pairs the latest research into both diseases and therapies to prevent or cure dementia with surveys of strategies and devices that make life easier for suffers and their caregivers alike. 

As chapters review medical, legal, psychological and social issues involved in dementia care and maintain that a lot can be done to help improve the daily lives of those with dementia, they offer hope and powerful discussions about anxiety and restlessness, sleep disturbances, and a range of related subjects, such as how those who are not primary caregivers can help. 

The result should be in every collection where caregiving and memory issues are of interest, offering an invaluable and wide-ranging survey for families and health practitioners alike. 


Dietary Lipids for Healthy Brain Function
Claude Leray
CRC Press
9781138035256             $129.95
www.crcpress.com 

The latest research on psychological disorders has found that nutrition plays a bigger role than previously suspected in various ailments from bipolar disorder and depression to schizophrenia and Alzheimer's, among other conditions.

For this reason alone, the information in Dietary Lipids for Healthy Brain Function is recommended reading for mental and physical health students and professionals who would better understand the latest findings on dietary lipids and brain functioning. 

From lipid sources and roles and how lipids affect the nervous system to improved brain development and activity in young people and slowing down age-related brain conditions through nutritional choices, Dietary Lipids for Healthy Brain Function is packed with intervention study results, analysis, discussions of vitamin D and fatty acids, and more. 

No health collection or professional reference library should be without this collection of the latest studies from around the world: they hold vast implications for a range of conditions. 


Flower Essences
Linda Perry
Hampton Roads
9781571747655             $14.95
www.redwheelweiser.com 

Flower Essences: What They Are and How to Use Them discusses herbal infusions made from the flowering parts of plants and how they can be incorporated into mental and emotional wellness routines. The first 39 flower remedies were developed by a British physician in the 1930s, but this book goes beyond the usual focus on Bach to probe new remedies from other types of plants. 

From choosing between them and bottling essences to case studies of how they helped, this updated modern discussion covers some 60 essences and their therapeutic applications, and is a 'must' for any interested in flower and aromatherapy potentials. 


The Harvard Medical School Guide Guide to Yoga
Marlynn Wei, MD, JD & James E. Groves, MD
Da Capo Lifelong
9780738219363             $19.99
www.dacapopress.com 

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga: 8 Weeks to Strength, Awareness, and Flexibility offers a clear, practical guide to yoga which is recommended reading for any with a prior interest - even those who may have little familiarity with yoga routines or their benefits. 

This audience receives an 8-week course whose only requirement is time and a prior desire to integrate a yoga routine into one's lifestyle. 

From the basics of yoga safety and sequences which are adaptable to differing needs to the science behind yoga and discussions of how yoga changes brain and body functions, The Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga covers all the fundamentals and surveys how yoga can help improve a range of conditions. Visual diagrams of yoga positions offer clear insights and leave nothing to wonder. 

Also included is a survey of how to find the right yoga teacher and how to assess yoga routines for their overall impact, making The Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga a 'must read' especially recommended for newcomers to yoga who would integrate yoga practices with an overall self-help regimen. 


Jessica Kingsley Publishers
www.jkp.com 

Five new publications from Jessica Kingley offer both health and general-interest libraries some important keys to understanding therapies, disability issues, care processes and choices, and health awareness, and are highly recommended picks for any collection seeking enlightenment in all these areas. 

Luke J. Tanner's Embracing Touch in Dementia Care: A Person-Centred Approach to Touch and Relationships (9781785921094, $29.95) discusses the idea of meaningful touch and its role in supporting relationships and therapy alike. 

This might seem an especially volatile issue in professional circles because there are right and wrong methods of applying touch, and so many controversies surrounding it that many professionals eschew it completely. Massage therapist and body psychotherapist Tanner describes safeguards, tells how to maximize the benefits of touch, and shows how to minimize its dangers in a powerful survey therapists will want to consider. 

Julia Segal's The Trouble With Illness: How Illness and Disability Affect Relationships (9781785923326, $19.95) is especially recommended for its powerful insights into the isolating and distancing qualities involved in disability or prolonged illness, and uses personal accounts to reveal not only common responses to illness in partners and others, but how they can be directed into more positive areas. 

From parents and kids' relationships to how a loss of capacity instigates grieving in partners, this delves into many different types of conditions affecting different age group relationships in a powerful account that should not be limited to therapists alone. 

The Clinician's Guide to Forensic Music Therapy (9781849057103, $60.00) by Stella Compton Dickinson and Laurien Hakvoort offers therapists a collection of treatment manuals for group cognitive analytic music therapy and music therapy anger management, providing specific information on delivering and applying therapy using these two approaches. 

These aren't ideals, but clinically tested treatment manuals designed for music therapists working in prison and secure hospital settings, and come from two practitioners whose backgrounds in the forensic music discipline lend to many specifics. 

Dr. Fiona Zandt and Dr. Suzanne Barrett's Creative Ways to Help Children Manage Big Feelings: A Therapist's Guide to Working with Preschool and Primary Children (9781785920745, $29.95) was written with both new and experienced therapists in mind, and crosses disciplines to address the special needs of children facing frightening feelings. 

It provides a therapist's toolkit of activities (nearly fifty of them) structured in such a manner that therapists can apply different tools to particular approaches depending on the emotion a child is experiencing. 

Therapists working with ages 4-12 will find it a treasure trove of tested processes. 

Creating Autism Champions: Autism Awareness Training for Key Stage 1 and 2 by Joy Beaney (9781785921698, $29.95) features black and white illustrations  by Haitham Al-Ghani throughout, along with photocopiable materials, and encourages schools to foster an environment supporting autism students. 

Both pupils and staff receive a set of training tools that can be used with adults and kids alike, including worksheets, presentations for staff training, peer-awareness lessons, and more; all applicable to different age groups and the involvement of both teachers and parents. 

All are important, involving books that should be a part of any serious health or education collection. 


Audiobooks 


Highbridge Audio
www.highbridgeaudio.com 

Two excellent new releases are highly recommended picks for audiobook listeners, each offering solid narrative styles and involving stories. 

Finn Murphy's The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road (9781681686516, $29.99) is read by Danny Campbell, who brings to life the engrossing story of a truck driver who's literally covered thousands of miles hauling people's possessions across the country. 

Some of his stories are funny and revolve around customer quirks and oddities while others involve encounters on the road and challenges experienced during the long haul. 

The result reads like an adventure novel but provides  precise and often thought-provoking reviews of the long-haul trucker's experience. 

David Weigel's The Show That never Ends: the Rise and Fall of Prog Rock (9781681686059, $34.99) comes from a national reporter for The Washington Post and is narrated by Rudy Sanda, who contributes a solid and engrossing voice to this story of the rise and fall of rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and more. 

Reporter Weigel had access to all the key players in the prog-rock movement, and his survey explains how it evolved from psychedelic and heavy metal roots to provide a different sound and approach. 

It's a story that comes nicely to full life, thanks to audio embellishment. 


Novel New Novels 

 
Aardvark Bureau/Gallic Books
www.aardvarkbureau.com 

Two excellent debut novels reveal the talents and strengths of new authors who each deserve attention and commendation. 

Rowena MacDonald's The Threat Level Remains Severe (9781910709133, $15.95) comes from a short story writer who is a creative writing teacher, and who has won several prizes for her short fiction. This story features a protagonist who feels stuck in her life and in her job, which she's held for a decade. 

When a new office worker decides to make some challenges and changes to her job description, she begins to make some decisions that will challenge her comfort zone and, ultimately, the course of her life. 

The protagonist, Gracie, is involving, the setting of the Houses of Parliament seem real (perhaps because the author works there herself), and the situation is compelling and intriguing. 

Lucy Treloar's Salt Creek (978191079351, $15.95) was originally published in Australia and is set for release in the Fall of 2017. Its protagonist is Hester, a fifteen-year-old who lives in 1855, when her family moves to the wilds of rural South Australia in search of fortune and new meaning in life. 

From family relationships and environmental challenges to Hester's growth, Salt Creek is historical literary fiction at its best and is highly recommended reading for any who like their stories vivid, unique, and well-written. 


Almost Sisters
Joshilyn Jackson
William Morrow
9780062105714      $26.99
www.harpercollins.com 

Almost Sisters tells of Leia, a graphic novelist who becomes pregnant out of wedlock after a convention fling, and who faces telling her traditional white Southern family that she's going to raise a biracial child. 

But this intention is overshadowed by her stepsister's news of a failing marriage and her grandmother's hidden but increasingly evident dementia - and a further family secret that makes all these experiences pale in comparison. 

On one level, Almost Sisters seems a circular focus on interconnected family relationships and angst; but add a dash of identity crisis, underlying secrets, and circumstances which force everyone to put all their cards on the table and you have a Southern family story that is compelling, engrossing, and which examines the boundaries of connectivity. 


Harper
www.harpercollins.com 

Two fine stories are highly recommended picks for discriminating literary readers seeking stories that are well-written and compellingly different. 

Christopher Brown's Tropic of Kansas (9780062563811, $15.99) sounds as though it belongs in a sci-fi collection, but is presented as a novel because, despite its futuristic setting, it's filled with compelling elements that will reach beyond sci-fi genre readers to attract those who like stories filled with social and political insights. 

The setting is the future, where the U.S. has broken down into fighting territories with its center a wasteland known as the Tropic of Kansas. Wrecked and neglected, this wasteland breeds people who are fighters and fugitives, and the story follows two of them: Sig, an orphan, and his foster sister Tania, a government investigator whose search for Sig leads her on an unexpected personal journey. 

Engrossing and revealing, Tropic of Kansas is fast-paced and hard to put down. 

Linnea Hartsuyker's The Half-Drowned King (9780062563699, $27.99) is a fine work of historical fiction that revolves around Ragnvald Eysteinsson, a descendant of kings who has long believed he would one day become chief of his family's lands. When he is betrayed and left for dead while coming home from a raiding trip to Ireland, he finds his course in life changed as he embarks on a journey of revenge in an effort to reclaim his honor. 

Romance, revenge, and political struggle embraces the world of the early Vikings and brings readers into a compelling story backed by historical events. 


The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
Neal Stephenson & Nicola Galland
William Morrow
9780062409164             $35.00
www.harpercollins.com 

It's difficult to easily peg The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.: while Neal Stephenson typically produces sci-fi reads, this story is co-authored with historical novelist Nicole Galland, and the two together produce a riveting thriller blending history, science, mystery, magic, and more. 

Picture a time-travel story replete with steampunk elements, add a sorceress and quantum physics, throw in some witchcraft and journal entries, and add a dose of Norse poetry for a gripping adventure that's not only hard to put down, but difficult to describe. 

Fantasy readers, those who love thrillers and mysteries and those who like challenging stories of confrontation and conflict will find The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. satisfyingly unpredictable and thoroughly engrossing. 



Reference Reads

How to Research Trends
Els Dragt
BIS Publishers
9063694333           $34.95
www.bispublishers.com 

How to Research Trends: Move Beyond Trendwatching to Kickstart Innovation is written for anyone interested in business innovation, following and understanding executive trends, and those interested in research related to sociology and innovation, and shows how to blend analytics with intuitive insights about the meaning of trends. 

From understanding and employing executive trend research using a 3-step approach to applying its results to various purposes and considering how these trends predict and influence change, How to Research Trends is a powerful, top recommendation for any reference collection strong in business, sociology, and analytics, offering concrete keys to better understanding. 


Install Your Own Solar Panels
Joseph Burdick & Philip Schmidt
Storey
9781612127252             $19.95
www.storey.com 

Install Your Own Solar Panels: Designing and Installing a Photovoltaic System to Power Your Home may, at first glance, seem to be a specialty guide designed for a technical audience of DIY homeowners; but even though it comes from a veteran solar installer and builder, it's designed to inform those with relatively little expertise on or familiarity with the subject. 

Step-by-step photos and discussions of the building process and typical homeowner questions and issues involved in selecting and installing solar panels make it easy to absorb the basics, from choosing a solar system and assembling it to creating off-grid systems and understanding wiring processes and power requirements. 

Diagrams, sidebars of information on goals, tools, and materials, surveys of layouts and mounting specifics, and testing and troubleshooting systems are all accompanied by color photos and charts that make it a snap to understand various options and best practices. 

DIY homeowners with a minimum of prior solar energy experience will find Install Your Own Solar Panels one of the better, easier to understand discussions on the market. 


Sizzling Social Issues 

In Search of the Lost Chord
Danny Goldberg
Akashic Books
9781617756153             $25.95
www.akashicbooks.com 

In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea offers a subjective history of the era from the point of view of author Danny Goldberg, who graduated from high school that year, and who not only researched his subject but gathered interviews with some of the major figures of the times, from Ram Dass and Grace Slick to Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary. 

In effect, In Search of the Lost Chord is a recreation of the politics, culture, ideals and colorful experiences of an era now part of American history, providing modern readers with an intimate sense of the bigger picture of the hippie movement in relationship to its times. 

While it joins many other books that chronicle the era, it's a standout for its approach, which documents the experiences of events, people, and the changing tides which swept the nation and changed its direction forever, and is recommended reading for its "you are here" approach. 


Mestizos Come Home!
Robert Con Davis-Undiano
University of Oklahoma Press
9780806157191             $29.95
www.oupress.com 

Mestizos Come Home! Making and Claiming Mexican American Identity couldn't have arrived at a better time, as immigration issues become headline, and as immigrants are being challenged every day. 

Robert Con Davis-Undiano makes a case for the many contributions Latinos and Latinas are making in this country, documenting the influence of mestizos in the American Southwest and showing how Mexican Americans have embraced both their own and American culture. 

Now more than ever is the time for readers to understand the many changes mestizos have brought to this country, the identity they hold, and the relationship of indigenous peoples to the Americas. 

History blends with social observation in a survey that identifies, recognizes and celebrates these changes. 


Out of Oakland
Sean L. Malloy
Cornell University Press
9781501713422             $24.95
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu 

Out of Oakland: Black Panther Party Internationalism During the Cold War will hold special interest to California audiences and collections because many still recall the evolution and struggles of the Black Panther Party, founded in Oakland in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobble Seale. 

The Panthers, a party that began as a small group of individuals, quickly evolved into a symbol of black power and revolt which focused on local issues in a vigilante group that sought to protect black neighborhoods from police brutality and oppressive forces by any means possible - including violence. 

This history goes beyond a focus on the group to consider the evolution of black power, the group's influence on other regional struggles in the U.S., and its evolution into an international force - a facet that may not be known even today by many who well recall the local group's lasting impact in the past. 

In following the party's international expansion and influences, Malloy fills in many gaps and provides a much broader survey of the Panther's evolution than most, making Out of Oakland a 'must' for not only California collections, but international studies holdings, as well.


Reviewer's Choice 

Beyond Beauty
Alexandra Villarroel Abrego
SelectBooks Inc.
9781590793848             $16.95
www.selectbooks.com 

Anyone seeking a basic primer on beauty might think that this book would be filled with beauty tips; but Beyond Beauty: A Guide to Self-Love, Self-Confidence, and Full Feminine Power's purpose goes beyond beauty perceptions or products to delve into how modern women should be looking for more than physical good looks. 

It's a discussion of the beauty industry and the culture surrounding perceptions of self-worth and image that surveys the cultural and social messages about value that is implied by a preoccupation with physical beauty. 

This engrossing discussion is highly recommended for all women; but especially for young women just coming into their own. 


The Camel Regiment
W. Scott Bell
Pelican
9781455623075         
www.pelicanpub.com 

The Camel Regiment: A History of the Bloody 43rd Mississippi Volunteer Infantry, CSA 1862-65 isn't about a war fought with camels on American soil, but is the history of a regiment of Confederate soldiers who consisted largely of farmers who feared the long-term effects the Civil War would have on their lands and livelihoods. 

W. Scott Bell is a descendant of a member of this infantry who gathers primary source materials and writings of officers and soldiers who were concerned about their homes, livelihoods, and the impact of war upon their futures. 

The 43rd was known as the Camel Regiment because of one camel whose involvement was inspired by the government's Camel Corps experiments, who became a mascot for the beleaguered regiment. It's also the name of this book because this powerful investigation of a tragic national conflict follows the concerns and choices of one unit and bridges the too-common gap between personal experience and political and military perspectives. 

While readers expecting an in-depth coverage of camel history in the U.S. may be disappointed to find the camel is, here, a tertiary adjunct; those who partake of the story through an attraction to its title will be in for a surprise, receiving a Civil War experience like no other in a highly recommended documentation of some lesser-known aspects of the war and the lives of its participants. 


Carroll Shelby: A Collection of My Favorite Racing Photos
Art Evans with Carroll Shelby
CarTech
9781613253229             $34.95
www.cartchbooks.com 

Carroll Shelby: A Collection of My Favorite Racing Photos represents an unusual collaborative effort between friends who formed a publishing partnership after working together on two prior automotive books. 

Their first joint book was The Shelby American Story; and then Carroll Shelby decided he wanted to write the story of his life. Declining eyesight made text difficult to read, but he still was able to enjoy photos; and so evolved a collaborative effort that was to produce the photo-based blend of autobiography and car history that is Carroll Shelby: A Collection of My Favorite Racing Photos. 

Race car fans are in for a special treat because this project transcended its original intention of being either an autobiography or a car history and become a bit of both, benefiting from other family members and friends' contributions from their own private collections. 

Shelby died before the project was completed, but this scrapbook remains a testimony to his life and times in a powerful collection of vintage images paired with personal insights about cars and prototypes, auto history and car evolution, and more. 

No collection serious about auto history should be without this uniquely personal portrait of one man's involvement in and lasting impact upon the history of auto racing.


Quotes That Will Change Your Life
Russ Kick, Editor
Conari
9781573246941      $15.95
www.redwheelweiser.com 

There are many, many quote books on the market, and many websites that gather quotes by subject; but Quotes That Will Change Your Life: A Curated Colelction of Mind-Blowing Wisdom features something a bit different in an approach that gathers powerful wisdom from a variety of sources, from scientists, musicians and philosophers to politicians, writers, and more. 

It comes from a self-proclaimed 'quotation junkie' who has long gravitated towards quotation books and cultivated a familiarity with their contents that lends well to a competing title that collects the cream of the quotation crop. 

Any who enjoy inspirational quotes will want to consult this diverse, strong collection. 

Shooting Better Movies
Paul Dudbridge
Michael Wiese Productions
9781615932719             $26.95
www.mwp.com 

Shooting Better Movies: the Student Filmmakers' Guide is loaded with information and advice from pros, but is directed to aspiring student filmmakers who have talent, but who need more nuts and bolts information about film skills development and approaches to getting experience on the set. 

With chapters covering everything from lighting, camera movements and choices, sound gear, and budgeting concerns to producing shot lists and storyboards, there's little left to wonder about the mechanics and best practices of filmmaking in Shooting Better Movies, a title that's loaded with images, examples, and concrete discussions any new filmmaker will appreciate. 


The Vanishing Stepwells Of India
Victoria Lautman and Divay Gupta
Merrell Publishers
978-1-8589-4658-0         $60.00
www.merrellpublishers.com 

At first glance, The Vanishing Stepwells of India would seem to hold quite a narrow specialty area of interest. After all, Indian architectural works have been widely covered in both general interest and arts collections; so how could a singular focus on stepwells alone gain a wide audience? 

Thumb through the lush images of this book and read journalist Victoria Lautman's history, however, and it will be quickly become evident that The Vanishing Stepwells of India will appeal to a diverse audience, from those already familiar with India's architectural marvels (but who likely have had little previous information about these stepwells) to general-interest readers with an overall affection for India's cultural past. 

It's surprising to note that despite all the attention given to India's temples and tourist places, almost no books have previously appeared that focus on the stepwells of the country. Journalist Lautman herself stumbled on the subject when she chanced to glance over a wall; there to observe a unique architectural marvel that descended into the earth rather than soaring into the heavens. 

Since that moment, she's spent many years documenting some 200 nearly lost stepwells throughout the country, and the fruits of her research make for an extraordinary, eye-opening historical piece recommended not just for arts and architecture holdings, but for any interested in India's little-known, impressive subterranean marvels and history. 

Very, very highly recommended as a unique, 'most have' acquisition. 


Vulgar Tongues
Max Decharne
Pegasus Books
9781681774640      $26.95
www.pegasusbooks.com 

Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of English Slang is an unexpectedly lively romp through the English language's oddities and the evolution of slang over the years, and considers how slang develops, starting with Elizabethan London and moving up to modern times. 

It would have been all too easy to have made Vulgar Tongues into a dictionary of word origins, but the delight of Max Decharne's approach lies in his focus on how words and phrases evolve and change over time and how different disciplines, pursuits, and social changes affect the kinds of slang that developed to become part of everyday American vernacular. 

This process is detailed in chapters that juxtapose the first recorded uses of terms with the surrounding social and political environments in which they were born. 

No English language scholar should be without this enlightening, fun survey which makes history and English delightfully involving. 



Young Adult/Teen Reads 

Flying Eye Books
www.flyingeyebooks.com 

Jim Stoten writes and illustrates Mr. Tweed and the Band in Need (9781911171294, $18.95), the picture book story of a jazz band whose members are scattered across the zoo. It's up to Mr. Tweed - and young picture book fans who love Where's Waldo? - to help find them. 

The pages which are packed with detail about missing band members contrast nicely with less busy pages depicting Mr. Tweed's friends and their search. 

Kids will appreciate a story that keeps its central focus of a treasure hunt while maintaining a plot that keeps everyone guessing. 

Joe Todd-Stanton's The Secret of Black Rock (9781911171256, $16.95) tells of young Erin, who is attracted to the legend of Black Rock, a dark and threatening mass that destroys boats that come too close to it. 

Determined to uncover the truth about Black Rock, Erin sneaks aboard her mother's fishing boat and finds herself in trouble when fog and a near disaster bring her closer to her goal than she'd imagined. 

Both picture books offer original, intriguing stories perfect for either read-aloud adventure or those with blossoming reading skills. 


Here Comes Teacher Cat
Deborah Underwood
Penguin
9780399539053             $16.99
www.penguin.com 

Claudia Rueda illustrates a new adventure about the NY Times-bestselling feline who here brings his antics into the classroom in a story recommended for both prior fans of Cat and newcomers ages 3-5 who enjoy cat stories with simple words and bigger pictures. 

Cat becomes an unwilling substitute teacher in this adventure, charged with overseeing a schoolroom full of kittens. He's willing to try to teach them, but chaos ensues. Can he become an adequate teacher - and, in the end, what is he learning about himself, in the process? 

Don't let the simple words or the thickness of this book fool you: Here Comes Teacher Cat is loaded with fun and will prove a special attraction to any young picture book reader who loves cats. 


One for Sorrow
Mary Downing Hahn
Clarion Books
9780544818095      $16.99
www.hmhco.com

One for Sorrow provides young adult readers with an involving ghost story set in 1918 that at first doesn't seem to be your typical haunting account; but the story of two girls. Annie is new in school when Elsie claims her as her best friend ... friendless Elsie, that is, who is despised by the others in her class for being a liar and thief. 

As Annie gets to know Elsie better, she begins to agree with them and distances herself despite Elsie's determination to win her over; but when Elsie dies from Spanish influenza, matters don't end there. 

Now Annie and her friends are being haunted by a vengeful teenager determined to be Annie's friend, and trouble evolves as Annie must find new ways to thwart her haunting stalker. 

There are many ghost stories on the market that assume formula writing proportions with too much predictability - not so One for Sorrow, which offers an approach that cultivates satisfying differences and surprises from beginning to end, making it a standout in the young adult ghost story genre. 


Simon and Schuster/Atheneum Books
www.simonandschuster.com 

Three new picture book stories are top recommendations for readers and libraries looking for different, innovative productions. 

Adam Lehrhaupt's This Is a Good Story (9781481429351, $17.99) features drawings by Magali Le Huche and offers insights into how a story is created, adopting the unusual approach of taking a story apart and encouraging readers to piece it back together. A child draws the pictures, a narrator walks her through events, and the elements of the story wind gracefully into a wider plot that helps kids understand the creative writing process through a fun tale of discovery. 

Kelly DiPucchio's Super Manny Stands Up! (9781481459600, $17.99) is illustrated by Stephanie Graegin and tells of an unlikely hero who tends to freeze up in dangerous situations. 

Every day after school, Manny the raccoon saves the world in his imagination, where he is brave and fearless. But can he translate his heroic alter-ego into his own mild-mannered, often-fearful personality, aside from his dreams? 

This engaging story offers a different take on courage and how it is fostered in a fine tale of self-discovery and bravery against all odds. 

Linda Ravin Lodding and Cale Atkinson's Little Red Riding Sheep (9781481457484, $17.99) tells of a little creature in a red hood - only this Riding Hood happens to be Arnold, a sheep that doesn't quite fit the main character. 

He wants to star in this production, but he's too big to play the key role - not to mention, he's afraid of the woods. Can he convince the author of Little Red Riding Hood to make some minor adjustments to accommodate his biggest dream? And why aren't sheep ever the heroes in fairy tales, anyway? 

A fun and winning story brings a new twist to the Red Riding Hood tale by introducing a sheep's determination to be a winner despite his woolly ways. 

These are excellent, different picture book picks that stand out from the crowd.


Sleeping Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com 

Brad Herzog's Murphy's Ticket: The Goofy Start and Glorious End of the Chicago Cubs Billy Goat Curse (9781585363872, $16.99) is illustrated by David Leonard and captures local baseball lore in the story of a 108-year losing streak that began with a man, his goat, and a curse that he laid upon the Cubs when his goat was refused entrance to the 1945 World Series. 

Poetry, humor, and baseball lore combine in a fun tale that will engross young sports fans who appreciate both rhyme and a zany tale which has its foundations in the real world. 

Eve Bunting's Ghost Cat (9781585369935, $16.99) is illustrated by Kevin M. Barry and tells of a female lighthouse keeper who has never missed a night's work, and who has faithfully kept the light going. The townspeople worry that she's lonely, but she has an odd friend in Sailor Boy, a ghost cat who has helped her for years. 

When a terrible storm hits and Miss Maggie is injured in the midst of it, it's up to Sailor Boy to rescue everyone in this warm story, told from the ghost cat's perspective. 

Kurt Cyrus' Invisible Lizard (9781585363780, $16.99) presents Napoleon the Chameleon, who is almost invisible when he wants to hide. There's only one problem: Napoleon is also invisible when he doesn't want to hide and wants to make friends. 

He does everything he can to gain attention, but none of his tricks works. How can an invisible lizard have any friends? 

Andy Atkins produces gorgeous, unique drawings that add to the appeal of this lovely production, highly recommended for all. 

Courtney Sheinmel's Zacktastic: Twinsanity (9781585369362, $11.99) is second in the Zacktastic series and reveals Zack's life just a few days after his 10th birthday, when he discovers he's a genie. 

In this second book, he's still brand new to the idea and to attending genie school, but when his twin sister begins exhibiting strange symptoms, he finds he may not be alone in a second shocking event that he barely absorbs before she is kidnapped by an evil genie. 

Zack's learned just a little at school - but is it enough to save his sister? 

An engrossing story emerges, especially recommended for prior fans of Zack's changed life. 


Waldorf Publishing
www.waldorfpublishing.com 

Two excellent picture book stories should be considered for any collection serious about high-quality, original children's stories. 

Barbara Terry, Beth Ann Stifflemire and Vladimir Kirichenko's The Spectacular World of Waldorf: Mr. Waldorf Travels to the Empire State of New York (9781684192601, $12.95) adds another addition to the World of Waldorf stories that encourage kids to explore new places in the USA as they follow a Labrador dog's journeys across the country. 

Here, he continues the search for his missing spectacles as he makes new friends and learns about American places and history. 

From the Big Apple to the Adirondacks and becoming part of a Broadway show, Mr. Waldorf has fun, and his adventures are reflected in big, brightly colored drawings. 

Karin McCay's Magic Mommy Stories: Marvin and the Giant Bubble (9781945176203, $14.95) is illustrated by Vova Kirichenko and requires either good reading skills from picture book followers or parental read-aloud assistance as it tells of a 'magic mother' who has the solution for many things, and a brother who needs to inherit some of her skills when trouble strikes. 

Marvin and his sister Melissa Ann play both together and separately, but when Marvin discovers a giant bubble blower and produces a giant bubble that envelops Melissa Ann on her way down the slide, perhaps even a magic mother can't help. 

Melissa is floating away when Mother calls them in to dinner. Can Marvin call upon his own creative problem-solving skills to get his little sister back before supper? 

A fun story evolves, with an unpredictable conclusion kids will relish - and won't anticipate.