September 2023 Prime Picks
The
Culinary Corner
Gatherings
America's Test
Kitchen
America's Test
Kitchen, Publisher
9781954210141 $35.00
www.americastestkitchen.com
Gatherings: Casual-Fancy Meals to Share takes a different approach
than many America's Test Kitchen titles, inviting cooks from their various
departments to share favorite ways of entertaining family and friends at home.
It arrives at a
perfect time (when COVID isolation is ending and many are considering
entertaining at home for the first time in years) and reinvents the notion of
entertaining with meals and dishes cooks can produce that give them the freedom
to attend their own parties.
From Goetta (pork
shoulder simmered with onion, herbs and spices, shredded and mixed into a loaf
with steel-cut oats and fried until golden) to a Sweet Potato and Lentil Salad
with Fried Shallots, recipes that lend to more than a few celebrants feature
the hallmark foolproof testing of America's Test Kitchen, the personal comments
of cooks who have successfully used these dishes to entertain, and the
attraction that comes from comfort food that holds widespread appeal.
Libraries and home
cooks will find Gatherings easy to
use.
Hamlyn/Octopus
Publishing
www.octopusbooksusa.com
These new vegan
cookbooks will expand a vegan cook's possibilities, offering exciting new
innovations and approaches not to be found in other vegan cookbooks.
Mildreds Easy Vegan: Exciting Food, Simply Cooked (9780600638056,
$32.99) shares dishes from the restaurant that emphasizes the simplicity of
vegan cooking, promoting this healthy eating style.
Chapters open with
brunch ideas such as Cherry Pistachio Porridge or Chocolate Hazelnut Crepes and
move to international influences in all kinds of meals, from a Harissa Patatas
Bravas and Iranian Shirazi Saladmade with mint, cucumbers, tomatoes, and spices
to a baked Leek and Pine Nut Gnocchi Gratin packed with texture and flavors.
The result elevates
vegan food to the level of comfort food, equating it with an ease of
preparation that will prove inviting to all cooks.
Sam Dixon's A Very Vegan Christmas (9780600638032,
$19.99) proves that those on a plant-based diet needn't miss the familiar
trappings of the holidays in which people gather around food, even if meat,
cheese and chocolate aren't part of the vegan diet.
Recipes for party
foods include cocktails, appetizers, and festive main dishes which excel in
both appearance (emphasized by the color photos throughout) and creative
embellishment.
Here are Mincemeat
Pancakes, Mushroom & Chestnut Stuffing, and Cranberry & Lentil Filo
Christmas Crackers—all of which promise an inviting, celebratory feel perfect
for holidays where vegan and meat-eaters look for bright, colorful, inviting
foods.
These fine, creative
collections should be featured in any library's vegan cookbook holding, and on
the shelves of any aspiring vegan cook.
More Daily Veg
Joe Woodhouse
Kyle Books
9781804190845 $36.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
More Daily Veg: No Fuss or Frills, Just Great Vegetarian Food is a
companion to Joe Woodhouse's already-acclaimed Your Daily Veg. It captures international influences on vegetable
cooking, offering modern updates of traditional vegetarian dishes to make them
both healthier and more widely appealing.
The grouping by
ingredient allows vegetarian cooks easy access to dishes which work with
seasonal availability, while easy instructions to re-crafted dishes such as
Celeriac Puff Pie or Biang Biang Noodles makes them accessible to all home
cooks.
Facing pages of color
photos add the inviting appeal needed to make these vegetable-based dishes
attractive to a wide audience of both vegetarian cooks and meat-eaters looking
for appealing additions to the table.
Mitchell Beazley
www.octopusbooksusa.com
These new recipe
books should be on the shelves of libraries interested in expanding their
collections of techniques and innovative approaches to cooking.
Sebastian
Hamilton-Mudge, Natalia Garcia Bourke, and Andy Shannon's How to Make Better Cocktails: Cocktail Techniques, Pro-Tips and Recipes
is recommended for those with some prior experience in cocktails who are
looking to expand their repertoires.
It covers not only
recipes, but basic insights on how superior cocktails are created, discussing
balance, dilution, and foaming. Some 70 classic and unique recipes are profiled
in an attraction for any cocktail drinker who would become a drinks creator.
Blanche Vaughan's A Year in the Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes for
Everyday Pleasure (9781784728953, $44.99) excels in colorful full-page
photos paired with recipes that will attract a wide audience.
From Boneless Chicken
with Lemon and Thyme Salt to Baked Pumpkin Soup and Warming Madagascan Curry
with Coconut Rice, these seasonal dishes are replete in international influences
and produce-based ingredients, perfect for seasonal cooking that embraces the
harvests of the year.
Roast Figs, Sugar
Snow
Diana Henry
Aster/Octopus
Publishing
9781783255764 $29.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to Warm the Soul is a new edition of a
winning cookbook that focuses on cold-weather dishes, pairing spices with
seasonal fall and winter fare that remains an attraction some 20 years after
the book's first appearance.
This revision
includes seven new recipes, a foreword by Nigel Slater, and attractive
full-page color photos of such dishes as Styrian Venison with Chestnuts,
Cranberries and Wild Mushrooms, Danish Roast Pork with Pickled Prunes and Sweet
Cucumber, and Roasted Shoulder Steaks with Pears, Onions and Melting
Gorgonzola.
The result is classic
Diana Henry, packed with attraction and foolproof results.
Reviewer's Choice
Dancing On Eggshells
John Whaite
Kyle Books
9781804191491 $29.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Dancing On Eggshells: Kitchen, Ballroom & the Messy Inbetween
is a dance memoir written by the third-series winner of The Great British Bake
Off and runner up to Strictly Come Dancing with his same-sex dancing partner,
and offers many flavors memoirs typically don't embrace under one cover.
John Whaite came out
on Bake Off, but before that event he struggled with bulimia, mental health
challenges, and his parents' separation.
It's unusual to see a
book that blends food and cultural focuses with insights on gay people and
baking alike, but Dancing on Eggshells
hold the unusual ability to bring a wide range of seemingly disparate subjects
together under one cover.
That it does so in a
lively tone that considers changing relationship influences, growth, and
personal and professional transformation alike is tribute to its special blend
of recipes, competition stories, and emotional examination. Dancing on Eggshells should be in any
library strong in gay memoirs, culinary experiences, and psychological growth.
Free Spirit
Tanya Sarne
Mitchell
Beazley/Octopus Publishing
9781784728465 $26.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com
Free Spirit: A Memoir of a Extraordinary Life tells of the
successes and challenges of author Tanya Sarne's life. The founder of Ghost,
Sarne is best known for the entrepreneurial fashion sense which led to her
success and fame—but her story is so much more than that of building a
business.
It captures the
milieu of the 1960s and 70s fashion world, rubs elbows with artists in other
genres, reveals some close calls (as when she was invited to stay with Sharon
Tate the night of the Manson murders), and presents a vivid globe-hopping story
of growth and discovery which is absolutely riveting.
Black and white
photos of Ghost models and creations pair well with personal images of her life,
adding visual flavor and value to a story highly recommended for any library
strong in memoirs, the arts, and women's experiences.
Farrow & Ball How
to Redecorate
Joa Studholme &
Charlotte Cosby
Mitchell
Beazley/Octopus Publishing
9781784728991 $44.99
www.octopuspublishingusa.com
Farrow & Ball How to Redecorate follows the previous success How to Decorate with a new focus on redecorating possibilities. Over three
hundred photos and illustrations accompany practical advice on handling colors,
building themes and logical pairings of interior design, and 'how to'
instructions that are quite specific, such as how to paint a paneled door in
three colors.
Full-page color
photos accompany these insights and efforts to provide clarity to discussions
that cover everything from using cornices and mouldings to understanding how
architectural neutrals can reinforce the desired industrial feel of a home.
In short, Farrow & Ball How to Redecorate
should be the first step used by a potential designer or renovator. Thus, it
should be in any library that appeals to homeowners, interior designers, and
those who would redecorate with a more informed attention to modern trends and
appearances.
Jessica Kingsley
Publishers
www.jkp.com
The second updated
edition of Dierdre V. Lovecky's Different Minds: Gifted Children with ADHD,
ASD, and Other Dual Exceptionalities (9781849059244, $47.00) compiles works that help identify dual exceptionalities
and insights into gifted children's special needs. This continues to offer
parents and educators a range of insights, options, and specific approaches to
children with ADHD and autism, from diagnosis to meeting ongoing needs.
From suggestions for
improving social communication skills to enhancing motivation and monitoring
this group, a wide audience receives the concrete blend of analysis and
application that makes Different Minds
a key acquisition for libraries or
readers interested in the latest insights into gifted children who also have
special needs.
Yenn Purkis and Barb
Cook's Planning Your Career Through
Intense Interests: A Guide for Autistic People (9781839973529, $17.95) is a
practical resource for autistic teens who are facing transitions to work or
higher education opportunities. It pairs practical advice with real-life
examples to help those on the spectrum plan a career around their special
interests and abilities.
From ascertaining
personal strengths and presenting these in a positive light to identifying
support needs, crafting a support plan around them, and understanding new kinds
of relationships as they develop at work and in school, Planning Your Career Through Intense Interests offers hope,
opportunity, and specific game plans that are fine-tuned with the autistic
reader in mind.
The resulting set of
guidelines and insights should be in any collection reaching autistic young
people who have an eye on their future goals and possibilities.
Young Adult/Children
Candlewick Press
www.candlewickpress.com
Candlewick's bright new
titles are recommended for picture book leisure readers seeking fun, appealing
stories.
Katrina Germein's My Dad Thinks He's a Pirate
(9781536225020, $18.99) is illustrated by Tom Jellett, and tells of an unusual
father's propensity for humor.
A child considers how
his father somehow thinks he's a pirate, learning to "speak parrot"
and hoisting the "angry flag" of skull and crossbones.
The blend of fantasy,
humor, and a child's observation of his playful father makes for an involving
story.
Briony May Smith's A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant (9781536228489,
$18.99) tells of a lovely little bird that lives in a forest, but can't seem to
cross a busy road.
The solution seems to
lie in an interesting woman wearing a bright yellow uniform, who harbors the
magic of stopping cars. Philippa has never seen such a thing. What gives this
woman the power to command vehicles? Whatever it is, Philippa aspires to be the
same.
Especially lovely
artwork accompanies a whimsical animal story that will attract kids and
read-aloud parents with something truly special and original.
Grandpa is Here! by Tanya Rosie (9781536231267, $18.99) follows the
visit of a grandfather who brings a suitcase of flavors from his foreign home.
As grandfather and
child share their very different worlds and the delights to be found within
them, readers receive a warm tale powered by Chuck Groenink's attractive
illustrations and a sense of discovery Rosie reinforces as they present the
growing connections between generations.
These creative
stories will stand out as inviting leisure reads and read-aloud options for all
ages.
Dear Stray
Kirsten Hubbard
Penguin
9780593110003 $18.99
www.penguin.com/kids
In Dear Stray, a little girl is given the
choice to adopt a kitten, but chooses the prickliest one she can find ... one
filled with fury. Why choose a kitten that is "sticky, scratchy,
spiky"?
The little girl who
narrates this story of her choice exhibits a wisdom beyond her years as she considers
her attraction to the little beast and reflects that "maybe we needed each other."
A lovely story of
adaptation, change, and growing love marks the story of a girl and a cat who
find, in each other, new possibilities for understanding and growth.
Wm. B. Eerdmans
www.eerdmans.com
The Biggest Mistake by Camila Pinotonato (9780802856111, $17.99) is
translated by Debbie Bibo and tells of a little lion cub charged with catching
his own gazelle. He thinks it will be easy, but what evolves is a series of
mishaps as his attempts to snag a gazelle keep failing.
This picture book
treatise on "really good and really bad" decisions is a seemingly-simple
read that sports big messages about problem-solving, perseverance, and courage.
Adults who choose The Biggest Mistake as a fun story will
find it also holds much value by reinforcing many different concepts for the
very young.
Darshana Khiani and
Dow Phumiruk's Building a Dream: How the
Boys of Koh Panyee Became Champions (9780802855473, $18.99) is a fine story
of Thailand and the floating village of Koh Panyee, where a group of
soccer-loving boys who had nowhere to practice became a formidable team, with a
little innovative thinking.
The boys built a
platform for practice that resulted in the world's first floating field, facing
environmental and social challenges in the process of joining together to
achieve their goal.
Illustrator Dow
Phumiruk's digital images enhance the story with a lovely tribute to culture and
colorful solutions that incorporate advice on how to play differently from the
mainland boys to make the most of a special world.
Bette Westera and
Mattias De Leeuw's Later, When I'm Big
(9780802856104, $17.99) is a fine picture book reflection that follows a
child's dreams of what she will do when she is older.
Everything is
possible, from dancing with jellyfish to flying to the stars.
For now, however, she
must gain courage to face some personal challenges that scare her as much as
her dreams encourage her to be her best.
Both are fine
stories, highly recommended for young readers seeking stories of courage and
creative thinking.
The Grand Hotel of
Feelings
Lidia Branković
Cicada Books Ltd.
9781800660410
www.lidiabrankovic.com
The Grand Hotel of Feelings introduces the manager of an unusual
hotel who helps the feelings that come to stay in the building.
As the picture book
explores the stays of Sadness, Anger, Anxiety and other emotions, it also
reveals the underlying layers of these feelings and how, quite often, they can
lead to others.
This is the perfect
item of choice for adults to use when encouraging the young to discuss their
emotions and explain often-confusing connections between them, using a
whimsical overlay to address serious subjects and spark conversations among all
ages.
How the New Seven
Wonders of the World Were Built
Jiří
Bartůněk, Tom Velčovský,
and Jan Šrámek
Albatros
9788000068435 $17.95
www.albatrosbooks.com
How the New Seven Wonders of the World Were Built presents a
revised list of world wonders selected by some 600 million people who voted for
structures from 2000 to 2017.
Thus, young readers
will discover not just ancient architecture, but modern wonders chosen not by
privileged scholars, but by ordinary people.
The Roman Colosseum,
Petra of Jordon, and South America's Machu Picchu thus receive profile, along with
a world-hopping opportunities to consider structures that represent a broader
cross-section of world architecture than the usual views of seven wonders.
History, cultural
revelations, and colorful drawings backed with detail bring these achievements
to life in a picture book highly recommended for libraries interested in a
broader range of wonders based on revised modern perceptions of what makes for
a great architectural creation.
Pajama Press
www.pajamapress.ca
Sylvie Daigneault's The Imaginary Alphabet (9781772782998,
$22.95) is a delightfully ornate, original representation of ABC fantasy that
moves well beyond the familiar, inviting young learners, read-aloud parents,
and educators to add whimsy into the effort to learn one's alphabet.
From Jumping
Jackrabbits Juggling Jars of Jellybeans to Perky Penguins Painting Pretty
Pictures, the book creates a medley of impossible, fantastic, and visually
alluring scenarios that adds delight to the alphabetical learning task in a
very different manner.
Michelle Kadarusman's
We the Sea Turtles: A Collection of
Island Stories (9781772782851, $18.95) will appeal to advanced elementary
to middle grade readers with its tales of nine island children who face
life-changing moments that embrace both ecological and personal challenges.
These lovely writings
present positive, enlightening scenarios as they depict the very different
lives and approaches of island residents around the world, from Manhattan to
Komodo Island in Indonesia. This makes for a collection that is diverse in its
environments, but unified in its messages of positive growth.
Both are standouts
highly recommended for libraries catering to young readers.
Simon & Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com
These new arrivals
from Simon and Schuster provide young picture book readers and adults choosing
for them with an appealing set of experiences and fun stories.
Our Pool by Lucy Ruth Cummins (9781534499232 , $18.99) is a picture book exploration of a hot day in the city which
will appeal to readers who want to vicariously enjoy the sights, sounds, and
experience of jumping into a community pool.
From observing different
skin types at the pool and handling sunburns to the young and old folks who obtain
equal enjoyment from cooling off in the City pool's waters, Lucy Ruth Cummins
paints a charming story of interactive pool experiences which will reach out to
any kid interested in water play and fun.
Sophia N. Lee's Lolo's Sari-Sari Store (9781534494473,
$18.99) will especially appeal to libraries looking for multicultural picture
book tales.
Christine Almeda illustrates
the appealing story of a girl who used to spend her summers helping Lolo run
his sari-sari store, which holds wide neighborhood appeal and variety in the
Philippines.
Now that she's far
from home, she misses both her grandfather and the store. How can she translate
these opportunities for connection and friendship into a very different
setting?
Jackie Azúa
Kramer and Lenny Wen's Empanadas for
Everyone (9781665914581, $18.99) tells of a Saturday ritual in which Carina
visits Tía Mimi in her barrio to make empanadas with her aunt.
One Saturday, her
aunt volunteers at the neighborhood food center instead. She asks Carina to
make them alone. How can a young girl help contribute such an important dish to
the community?
Parents who choose
this story for read-aloud will find it holds much magic and many opportunities
for discussing all kinds of subjects, from attempting new things to participating
in community work.
Saira Mir's Always Sisters: A Story of Loss and Love
(9781665901567, $18.99) can be used to help youngsters understand the grief
brought about by pregnancy loss.
Raya can't wait for
her baby sister to arrive, and has all kinds of plans. One day, Mama returns
home to inform her that the young sister won't be appearing after all.
How can Raya cope
with a sibling who never really appeared, and the dreams that were dashed?
Shahrzad Maydani's
illustrations are gentle accompaniments to this picture book story of a special
and different kind of sibling loss.
The Welcome Home by Amy June Bates (9781534492325, $18.99) is a
warm story about inclusion and friendship which tells of a quiet couple seeking
change in their life.
What better way of
doing so than introducing a new pet into their world? But, what kind of pet?
One by one, they try out
and accept all manner of creature into their lives, from snails to elephants,
finding that each offers new possibilities to challenge their set rituals and
lives.
Engaging drawings
enlivens this story of love, acceptance, and change.
All are top
recommendations for libraries and parents seeking standout picture book
stories.
Tiger Tales
www.tigertalesbooks.com
Two uplifting, fun
picture books offer young leisure readers compelling stories.
Steve Smallman's Doggy Dance-Off (9781664300255, $18.99)
is illustrated by Robert Starling, who captures a host of dancing dogs in a
celebratory story that contrasts different dance styles and fun. Kids attracted
to dance and lively themes of dogs at play will find the dance-off focus and
whimsical tales to be attractive.
Suzy Senior's Santarella (9781664300323, $18.99)
features an engaging twist on two classic themes: Cinderella and Santa Claus.
Lucy Semple's
colorful and detailed, playful drawings enliven the spin on a Cinderella
experience which takes place at Christmas and involves not a fairy godmothers,
but Santa's intervention in her life.
Christmas is more
about jobs and gift-giving, however, as Cinderella lends a hand and discovers
unexpected results from her efforts.
Both are original and attractive creations highly recommended for picture book leisure readers and read-aloud adults.