Winter has descended with a bang here in the U.P., and it’s a great time to be snug and warm and inside reading one of our many new books!  If you like stories about adventure, history, and human interest combined with ice and snow, you will want to pick up a copy of “Dark Summit,” the true story of Everest’s most controversial season”, by Nick Heil.   Even if you’re afraid of heights like I am, you’ll be fascinated by the stories told in this book.  The author traces the history of the attempts to reach the top and all the failures along the way.  You’ll be learning and be enthralled at the same time.  There is also a picture supplemental section included.

This is the time of year a cozy night with an old movie and popcorn holds a lot of appeal.  One of the queens of yesteryear’s films was “golden girl”, Doris Day.  In our new non-fiction, you’ll find David Kaufman’s comprehensive biography, entitled: “Doris Day”, the Untold Story of the Girl Next Door”.  Kaufman has done his research and includes stories and interviews that reveal much that was unknown so far about the actress.  Life was not always kind to her, but she was a strong individual who persevered through several marriages, financial ruin and an untimely death of a loved one.  If you’re a fan of her music or films, you’ll want to check this book out!

A good mystery with a quilting theme fits right into a comfy wintry read.  Clare O’Donohue’s debut novel is entitled “The Lover’s Knot”.  Jilted shortly before her wedding, Nell Fitzgerald flees busy New York City for her quilt-enthusiast grandma’s home in Archers Rest.  The murder of a local handyman shortly after Nell’s arrival, combined with the sudden appearance in town of her ex-fiancé, and a growing attraction to the town’s police chief combine to make this a page-turning read!  Along the way, the ladies of Archers Rest manage to put together three quilts.  So, if you enjoy crafting, mysteries and romance, this may be the book to check out of our new mystery section.

Now, cooking and holidays definitely go together.  In new non-fiction, you’ll want to look for these next three gems:  “The Amish Cook at Home”, simple pleasures of food, family and faith”, by Lovina Eicher, “Food 2.0”, Secrets from the Chef who fed Google” by Charlie Akers, and “Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2009”. 

The first book in my list is a delightful photo essay and cookbook on the life of the Amish.  Known for their simple style and delicious “comfort food”, this book will not fail to give you ideas that will enrich your entertaining.  The picture of the homemade cherry pie on the cover alone will cause you to check it out. 

 “Food 2.0” by chef Charlie Akers is full of beautiful pictures, recipe ideas and ways to feed family and friends in a health producing, unfussy style.  In his attempts to get the Google staff to be more productive at work, he managed to invent some lovely entrees that tasted delicious and produced lots of creative energy in his clientele.  If you are interested in time saving tips, food on the run and using locally produced ingredients, this is the cookbook to investigate.

 “Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2009” is, of course, a compilation of the magazine’s most tried and true recipes for the year.  The various recipes are all organized for you under handy categories such as “Potluck Pleasers”, “My Mom’s Best Meal” and “Meals on a Budget”.  If you’ve never been much of a cook, you don’t need to worry with most of these recipes.  Ingredients are not fussy or strange sounding, and prep time is usually short and sweet!  Give it a whirl! 

The Christmas season is full of special worship events and a religion book currently in the new-nonfiction section is  N.T. Wright’s, “Surprised by Hope”, Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church”.  N.T. Wright is a top biblical scholar who serves as Bishop of Durham for the Church of England.  He has a beautiful writing style that reminded me a bit of C.S. Lewis in its humor and reasoning.  This is a mind-opening look at the Apostle Paul’s writings and definitely worth checking through.

Holiday travels will soon be upon us.  You can make the hours on the road go more quickly by listening to spoken audio books.  The library’s collection includes books on tape and CD for adults, children and teens.  Some recommended adult titles include:

A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry.  Read by Terrence Hardiman. 4 CDs. British Victorian mystery writer Anne Perry has been writing Christmas mystery novellas for several years now.  Dominic and Clarice Corde, who met and fell in love in Brunswick Gardens, journey to a quaint hamlet to replace the local vicar who is away on holiday.  The holiday takes a nasty turn when the vicar is discovered not to be away at all, but brutally murdered and stashed in the cellar.  So along with fulfilling the vicar’s duties, the Cordes are charged with solving his murder.  All the while the village is becoming dangerously snowbound, its residents trapped as a killer remains at large.  The crime’s surprising solution reveals not only the killer, but the true meaning of the Christmas message as well.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.  Read by Barbara Caruso, one of audio’s “golden voices”.  4 CDs. Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage - and a life, in good times and bad - that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child. Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana, fall ill with what seemed at first flu, then pneumonia, then complete septic shock. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later - the night before New Year's Eve - the Dunnes were just sitting down to dinner after visiting the hospital when John Gregory Dunne suffered a massive and fatal coronary. In a second, this close, symbiotic partnership of forty years was over. This book is Didion's attempt to make sense of the "weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness ... about marriage and children and memory ... about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself."

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Read by Tom Stechschulte.  6 CDs.  America is a barren landscape of smoldering ashes, devoid of life except for those people still struggling to scratch out some type of existence. Amidst the destruction, a father and his young son walk, always toward the coast, but with no real understanding that circumstances will improve once they arrive. Still they persevere, and their relationship comes to represent goodness in a world that is utterly devastated.   Tom Stechschulte’s reading of this Pulitzer Prize winner is moving and real.

The Way of Forgiveness by William Meninger. Read by the author.  2 cassettes.  Father William Meninger teaches that the fruits of forgiveness are profound: a life that is unburdened by old wounds, aware to the immediate needs and mission of life, and open to receive unconditional love. Why, then, is forgiveness so difficult? "The Way of Forgiveness" answers this question, guiding listeners through the healing process, with detailed sessions on the vehicles of recollection, reflection, and prayer.        

Izzy & Lenore by John Hart.  Read by Tom Stechschulte. 5 CDs. In his previous books, Katz introduced us to the menagerie at Bedlam Farm in upstate New York.  Katz rescues Izzy, a border collie who has spent his first three years in a fenced pasture. Affectionate and intuitive, Izzy is unlike any dog Katz has encountered, and the two undertake a journey Katz could not have imagined. As trained hospice volunteers visiting homes and nursing facilities, Katz and Izzy bring comfort to people who most need it. As Izzy bonds with patients and Katz focuses on their families, the author begins to come to terms with his own life, discovering dark realities he has never confronted.  Meanwhile a new companion, a spirited, bright-eyed black Labrador puppy named Lenore --quickly dubbed the Hound of Love--arrives at Bedlam. Her genial personality and boundless capacity for affection steer Katz out of the shadows, rekindle his love of working with dogs, and restore his connection to the farm and the animals and people around him.   

 T Is for Trespass by Sue Grafton.  Read by Judy Kaye.  10 CDs or 7 cassettes. Grafton tackles identity theft and elder abuse in her 20th Kinsey Millhone mystery. Gus Vronsky, Kinsey's elderly next-door neighbor, suffers a fall and needs in-home care. A health-care nurse named Solana Rojas is hired, and Kinsey even does the background check, finding nothing out of order. As Gus's condition deteriorates and Solana limits access to her patient, Kinsey and her landlord, Henry, suspect that something is a little off with Solana and "little off" doesn't fully describe this identity thief and true sociopath. Digging around more carefully, Kinsey unearths horrifying details of Solana's past and must act quickly to save Gus.  Judy Kaye offers a crisp, chillingly cold aural portrait of a sociopath capable of anything. Kaye's spot-on interpretation of the two very different leading characters would be praiseworthy enough, but she's just as effective in capturing the elderly men and women, the screechy landladies, the drawling rednecks, the velvet-tongued smooth operators, the fast talking lawyers and all the inhabitants of Kinsey's world.         

 The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke.  Read by Will Patton. 14 CDs.  The pain, dismay and anger brought on by the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina explodes from this new Dave Robicheaux novel. For nearly a quarter of a century, Burke has used this series, despite its dark subject matter, to show his obvious love of the land, the people and the cultures of the South and specifically New Orleans. There is a mystery for Robicheaux to solve, but it's the destruction of Burke's beloved New Orleans that resonates like thunder throughout the book. Will Patton, who has come to embody the heart and soul of Burke's weary, Southern knight, matches the author's prose in all its intensity and pain. Adept as he is at portraying the eccentric, the evil and the endearing characters found in Burke's books, it is the actor's reading of Burke's descriptive passages, whether it be a storm forming off the Louisiana coast or the shock of blood escaping from a gunshot wound, that creates a fully realized world for the listener.   The Tin Roof Blowdown won a 2008 Audie for the best audio recording of a mystery. 

Browsing through an advanced uncorrected proof of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time which is due to published next year, I was reminded of one of my favorites to recommend to couples traveling together.  The beginnings of the Nucor Steel Corporation may not sound as though it would be enthralling listening but George Wilson reading American Steel:  Hot Metal Men and the Resurrection of the Rust Belt by Richard Preston, 10 cassettes, is just that.  The story of how Kenneth Iverson started a new steel company using scrap metal in a dying industry in the 1980s is inspirational, showing how new production and management ideas can lead to financial and humanitarian success.  Including not only the history of the steel industry but also the fledgling auto industry, this story has Michigan roots with a message for our future. 

This Year It Will Be Different and Other Stories by Maeve Binchy. Read by Fionulla Flanagan. 4 cassettes.  Irish writer Binchy’s collection of Christmas-centered feel-good tales about love and family snarls provide a bit of sentimentality and a touch of romance along with humor and a hopeful turn.  Fionulla Flanagan’s charming Irish lilt will help to treat those cases of the holiday blues.  “Hard Core”, a tale of four irascible nursing home residents, has been made into the recently released film “How About You”. 

This month, the Peter White Public Library offers the following new non-fiction titles about all different sorts of “games”.

Roald Dahl, author of such children’s classics as James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda lived a life during WWII that was reminiscent of James Bond’s spy games. Dahl was already a Royal Air Force flying ace when he was assigned to the same covert outfit as James Bond series author Ian Fleming. The lesser known side of Dahl’s life is explored in The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington. At the time, the U.S. military was focused on the Pacific Theater. Dahl and other smooth-talking “irregular” commissions were assigned to the United States to protect British interests by making crucial contacts, and to persuade America’s full involvement in the war against Germany. Written by Jennet Conant. New adult non-fiction 940.5486 CO.

Before Placido Polanco, and long before Lou Whittaker, Charlie Gehringer played second base for the Detroit Tigers. John C. Skipper has written a new biography, Charlie Gehringer: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Tigers Second Baseman. He may have been the greatest second baseman ever. His effortless fielding ability landed him the nickname “The Mechanical Man”. His hitting earned him several batting titles. New adult non-fiction 796.357 SK.

The Columbus Crew won the Major League Soccer championship in late November. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions received more media attention for achieving a double-digit losing streak. Thus we have Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game. It tells the story of the long struggle for the acceptance of North American sports fans, whose attention is focused elsewhere. Written by David Wangerin. New adult non-fiction 796.334 WA.

Despite recent developments, people are still buying and selling homes. Your First Home: The Smart Way to Get It and Keep It, is a self-explanatory title to help the first timer cope with the real estate game. Included are strategies for different scenarios, an overview of the process, pitfalls to avoid, and specific steps to achieve the American Dream. Written by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox. New adult non-fiction 643.12 KH.

Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty.  Love them or hate them, the Dallas Cowboys have five Super Bowl championships to show for themselves. In the 1990s, they won more games than any other NFL team. With success on the field, came excess off the field. Boys Will Be Boys is the story of the cast of characters that made up the 90s era Dallas Cowboys. Written by Jeff Pearlman. New adult non-fiction 796.3326 PE.

Out west in San Francisco, Bill Walsh sculpted the 49ers into a major contender. The genius: How Bill Walsh Reinvented Football covers the coach’s rise to fame and the creation of an NFL dynasty. Walsh developed the revolutionary “West Coast” offense so common in the game today. Interviews with former players and others involved with the 49ers highlight this study of team-building. Written by David Harris. New adult non-fiction 796.332 HA.

Proving that not all competitive games require back injuries and torn rotator cuffs, Game Boys: Professional Videogaming's Rise from the Basement to the Big Time is a chronicle of how video games became serious business. The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) was formed in 1997. Covers the gaming scene and the personalities involved. Written by Michael Kane. New adult non-fiction 794.8 KA.

 Game theory is concerned with the decisions made in competitive situations. It is the underlying theory behind coaching sports, but also has a much farther reach. Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life illustrates how game theory plays into everyday life with real world examples and philosophical problems. Written by Len Fisher. New adult non-fiction 519.3 FI.

 How to Really Stink at Golf is the latest by comedian Jeff Foxworthy. Most people can stink at golf without trying, but Mr. Foxworthy will show you how to take it to the next level. As a longtime golfer, Foxworthy has a number of noteworthy tips to insure bad drives, missed putts, and a lifetime of general misery on the links. Jeff Foxworthy with Brian Hartt, illustrated by Layron DeJarnette. New adult non-fiction 818.5402 FO.

The Library’s Teen Advisory Board (TAB) meets monthly to plan teen events and make their library a more teen-friendly place.  All middle school and high school students are welcome to join!  Teens interested in checking us out are invited to attend the next meeting on Wednesday, December 10, at 4 PM in the Shiras Room. Every TAB meeting begins with the question, “Have you read any good books lately?”, so here is a selection of great titles recommended for teens by TAB members:

 Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, is a cautionary story about the consequences of even our smallest actions.  Before committing suicide, Hannah Baker sends a tape with thirteen connected stories to people she believes were instrumental in causing her suicide. Clay, the boy who had a crush on her, listens to Hannah’s tape with a broken heart.

In 47, by Walter Moseley, a mysterious runaway slave shows up at Corinthian Plantation, changing the life of a 14-year-old slave boy called “47.” Time-travel, shape-shifting and intergalactic conflict make this an unusual, and very powerful, slave narrative.

They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky by Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Alephonsian Deng, and Judy Bernstein tells the story of the Deng brothers and their cousin, who were not yet 7 years old when they were forced to flee their home after terrifying attacks on their village during the Sudanese Civil War. This collection of essays by the “boys” tells of their childhood, treacherous escape, and education in a refugee camp.

Entering his senior year, Shakespeare Shapiro has never had a girlfriend, his younger brother is cooler than he is, and his best friend’s favorite topic is bowel movements – not to mention the weird name his parents cursed him with. Read every mortifying detail in Spanking Shakespeare, by Jake Wizner and Richard Ewing, the hilarious, lewd, brilliant memoir Shapiro is writing for his senior English project.

Just before 17-year-old Shaun steps in front of a speeding truck, his body is invaded by Kiriel, a demon on a break from the fires of hell. The “fallen angel” Kiriel isn’t interested in causing trouble, he just wants to experience everything life has to offer. Read Repossessed, by A.M. Jenkins, and get a fresh take on Fruit Loops, baths, and the beauty of a girl’s hair and eyes.

 Lisa Shannon’sThe Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It  is narrated by 14-year-old Gemma, as she deals with her wacky family members, a hopeless crush, and the prospect of walking down the aisle in a swan costume at her sister’s wedding. 

 Go Ask Alice is the powerful, acclaimed first-person account of a teenage girl’s harrowing descent into the nightmarish world of drugs. Anonymously written, it is still relevant 36 years after publication.

One of the many joys of working at a library is getting to look over the brand new books. It is especially satisfying to discover another title by a cherished writer. Here are a few new books by favorite children’s authors.

Alice McGill, an award-winning author and storyteller, wrote Way Up and Over Everything, a story of five African slaves who escape bondage by flying into thin air. “Flying stories” were told by generations of slaves and their descendants as an expression of the desire for freedom. This story, illustrated in a folk-art like style by Jude Daly, was handed down by McGill’s great-great-grandmother, Jane.

Robie H. Harris’s previous books inform youth about emotions, the facts-of-life, and the grief experienced after the loss of a beloved pet in a straightforward manner. His new title, The Day Leo Said I HateYou!, reassures a young boy of his mother’s love after he angrily bursts out with three extremely hurtful words. The mother models strong parenting and anger management skills. Together, they discuss when it is appropriate to use the word hate. Molly Bang employs bright colors and fiery shapes to illustrate both Leo’s rage and his regret.

For nine years, young patrons have been asking when the third book of Bruce Coville’s Unicorn Chronicles will be published. Finally we can answer: Dark Whispers is here! Cara and her father are on separate quests. While Cara strives to solve the mystery of the war between the unicorns and the delvers, her father seeks to free her mother from the Rainbow Prison. Coville braids together various myths about unicorns in his tale set in the magical world of Luster. The wait for book four begins!

Omakayas and her family were forced from their home along Lake Superior. They spend 1852 traveling northern Minnesota’s rivers by canoe in search of a new life. Accompanied by a porcupine that sits on her brother’s head, the Ojibwe family’s journey is filled with hardship, danger and laughter. The Porcupine Year, written and illustrated by Louise Erdrich, continues the story begun in The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence.

Like Omakayas, Jane is twelve years-old and ready for adventures. She finds them one summer at the beach where she lives with her mother and siblings. Jane delivers bibles from a hot-air balloon, baby-sits a family of ill-mannered children, meets a fortune teller and a parade of her mother’s former boyfriends. My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath is beautifully written, peopled with unforgettable characters and peppered with classic Horvath wit.

The American Revolution is the setting for Laurie Halse Anderson’s new novel, Chains. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, thirteen-year-old Isabel and her little sister Ruth are sold to an abusive Loyalist couple in New York City in the summer of 1776.  Isabel begins to spy for the Patriots but is betrayed once again. Anderson researched the treatment of slaves by both sides in the Revolution and explores the meaning of freedom for individuals and a nation which held 20% of its people in chains.

Redwall’s animals fight the Doomwytes, vicious ravens led by Korvus Skurr, and dreaded snakes in Doomwyte, the twentieth tale in Brian Jacques’s Redwall series. Jacques continues to lead readers through treacherous journeys and ferocious battles interspersed with candlelit feasts, merry songs and convivial companions.

Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of the acclaimed Shadow Children series, gives us Found, book one of The Missing. Jonah and Chip know they are adopted. They discover they were found on an airplane that landed out of nowhere with 36 unaccompanied babies on board. Warning letters, the FBI, a smuggling operation and time travel contribute to the suspense of this new series.

The Newbery Medal-winning author Avi published two novels this year, both with 19^th century settings. In Seer of Shadows we meet Horace, a young photographer’s apprentice in New York City, who reluctantly becomes involved in his boss’ scheme to swindle a wealthy woman. When the ghost of the woman’s dead daughter is revealed on film, strange things begin to happen in this scary story of revenge, madness, murder and early photography. Avi’s Hard Gold recounts the adventures of thirteen-year-old Early Wittcomb who rushes off to Colorado via wagon train in 1859 to find gold, track down his impetuous uncle, and save the family farm from foreclosure. Formatted like a diary, this first-person account is illustrated with period reproductions, maps and photographs. 

Karen Hesse, another Newbery medalist, sets her latest novel, Brooklyn Bridge, during the summer of 1903. Joseph, the fourteen-year-old narrator, wants to play ball, sit around the table talking with his relatives, and visit the newly opened amusement park at Coney Island. His family, however, invents the teddy bear, and all Joseph has time for is work. What is Joseph’s connection to the poor children living under the bridge and a ghost, Radiant Boy, who appears when one of them dies? Hesse at her spellbinding best.

The election of 2008 was remarkable for many reasons, not the least of which was the prominent role women candidates held throughout this presidential race. Lest we forget the generations of women who helped bring about this moment in history, here are some exciting books to share with our sons and daughters about the history of women’s suffrage in America.

I Could Do That! – Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by author Linda Arms White and illustrator Nancy Carpenter is a picture book that tells the story of a little girl who was always saying “I could do that!”  Esther learned to sew early in life and eventually opened her first hat shop at the age of nineteen. Over time Esther married twice, traveling farther and farther west from her childhood home in New York, until she eventually moved to the Wyoming Territory in 1869.  After settling in South Pass City, Esther held a special tea at her home to which she invited all the candidates running for local office. She asked them if they would introduce a bill in the legislature that would allow women to vote. It passed and Governor John Campbell signed the bill into law on December 10, 1869.  When a local judge resigned as justice of the peace in protest over the new law, Esther applied as his replacement and became the first female judge and the first woman in the United States to hold political office.

Elizabeth Leads the Way – Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by author Tanya Lee Stone and illustrator Rebecca Gibbon is a colorful picture book that tells the story of an historic meeting in July of 1848 when a gathering of ladies issued a Declaration of Sentiments in hopes of making the lives of women better.  Elizabeth shocked some of the participants when she insisted that women be allowed to vote just like men. Her battle cry from that day forward was, “Have it, we must. Use it, we will.” This charming book is filled with simple illustrations and text that even very young readers will understand.

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Fritz is a book for middle grade readers that tells the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s struggle to balance her duties as wife and mother of seven children with her interests in women’s suffrage. Early on Lizzie formed lifelong friendships with Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony, both influential leaders in their own right, and often worked with them as a team. From 1869 to 1879 Lizzie spent eight months every year traveling from city to city speaking out for women’s rights.  Despite many disappointments along the way, Elizabeth Cady Stanton continued campaigning for women’s suffrage until the day she died in 1902.

With Courage and Cloth – Winning the Fight for a Woman’s Right to Vote by Ann Bausam is a book published by National Geographic for middle grade readers that is filled with many period photographs and quotes from first hand sources. Chapter headings include Parade (1913), Rights (1848-1906), Momentum (1906-1916), Protest (1917),  Prison (1917), Action (1918-1919) and Victory (1919-1920). Ann Bausam’s book has lots of fascinating historical data that will interest history buffs of all ages.

A Woman for President – The story of Victoria Woodhull by author Kathleen Krull and illustrator Jane Dyer is a picture book that tells the long lost story of an amazing little girl born in 1838 who broke free from a childhood of poverty to become a millionaire dedicated to improving the lives of women. Together with her sister, Tennessee, Victoria formed Woodhull, Claflin & Co., the first female-owned company in the business of buying and selling stocks. In time she joined other leading suffragists in speaking out for women's rights, and even announced herself as a candidate for presidency in 1870.  By the end of her campaign, Victoria Woodhull was able to finance and organize a convention of the Equal Rights Party. Energized by her fiery speech making, the crowd nominated her as their party’s presidential nominee and Frederick Douglass as her vice president. When President Ulysses S. Grant handily won re-election in 1872, she admittedly told reporters “I hardly expected to be elected. The truth is I am too many years ahead of this age…”  By the time she died in 1928, Victoria had lived long enough to see 27 million women gain full suffrage rights in America.

Madam President – The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics by author Catherine Thimmesh and illustrator Douglas B. Jones offers brief historical sketches on politically influential women.  Featured among them are familiar First Ladies Abigail Adams, Edith Bolling Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, and Hilary Rodham Clinton. Also highlighted are leading suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charlotte Woodward, and Susan B. Anthony, women who gathered in Seneca Falls, New York to sign the historic Declaration of Sentiments in 1848. The book also tells readers about more recent political movers and shakers such as Geraldine Ferraro, nominated by her party to be a vice presidential candidate and Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984. From a wider world perspective, the author also highlights women leaders such as Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland, and Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

While it's true that the graying population leads the way with large print, readers of all ages are discovering how much easier reading can be when the words are bigger on the page.   Exercisers find a better balance between the pace of their steps and the words in front of them with large print. Reluctant readers are encouraged as they turn pages more quickly, and studies show that their comprehension improves. And anyone with tired eyes after a long day at the office knows that small words do not make for an enjoyable read before bed.

We want to let all readers know that large print is a great--and easier--way to read the newest releases, as well as old favorites. Check out these latest additions or browse the large print collections in the adult, teen and children’s areas. If you don’t see what you want, ask our Reference staff to help you search for titles from other libraries. More great reads are just a few clicks away. Your eyes will thank you.

The Fire by Katherine Neville. Readers who enjoyed the Da Vinci Code will relish the multilayered secrets of Neville’s long-awaited sequel to  “The Eight." The original story involved a quest for a mystical chess service that once belonged to Charlemagne. The global adventure continues when Alexandra Solarin is summoned home to her family's ancestral Rocky Mountain hideaway to find that her mother is missing and a powerful piece of Charlemagne's service has suddenly resurfaced. The game begins again.

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen. Bestselling author Gerritsen delivers another electrifying thriller in her popular series that begins with "The Surgeon," featuring medical examiner Maura Isles and police detective Jane Rizzoli.

Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by  Alice Schroeder. Warren Buffett has never written a memoir, but the legendary investor allowed Schroeder unprecedented access to explore his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. Forbes magazine called it "The mandatory book to read in these treacherous times of financial crisis."

Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly. One day in 1957, in the third-grade classroom of St. Brigid's parochial school, an exasperated Sister Mary Lurana bent over a restless young William O'Reilly and said, "William, you are a bold, fresh piece of humanity." Little did she know that she was, early in his career as a troublemaker, defining the essence of Bill O'Reilly and providing him with the title of his brash and entertaining issues-based memoir.

Where the River Ends by Charles Martin. When Abbie faces a life-threatening illness, her husband Doss battles it with her every step of the way. Together they steal away in the middle of the night to embark upon a 130-mile trip down the St. Mary's River, a voyage Doss promised Abbie in the early days of their courtship.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. The novel by the Nobel Prize winning Columbian author involves a love triangle which endures for fifty years, revealed through a flashback from childhood to old age. A compelling, but not an easy read, it was made into a movie in 2007 and was recently selected as an “Oprah” book.

Palace Council  by  Stephen L Carter.  A couple uncover a plot to manipulate the President of the United States in this 1950’s period thriller. Layer upon layer of intrigue is uncovered on an odyssey that takes the reader from the wealthy drawing rooms of New York through the shady corners of radical politics, all the way to the Oval Office.

No Talking by Andrew Clements is in the Children’s large print collection and is recommended for middle readers. The noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a "no talking" contest.  Who will win?

The classic children’s book, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell won a Newbery Award in 1960. Based on a true story, the novel tells the story of a young Indian girl left alone on a beautiful, but isolated, island off the coast of California. She spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life. The film version of the book is also available at the Library.

Located in the Teen collection, Airman is the bestselling book by Eoin Colfer, the author of the popular Artemis Fowl Series. The story takes place in the late nineteenth century, when Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king. He is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and forced to mine for diamonds under brutal conditions. Conor plans a daring escape by way of a flying machine that he must design, build, and, hardest of all, trust to carry him to safety.

Also in the Teen Collection is Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all.

The Peter White Public Library’s Collection Development Librarian, Caroline Jordan, has set up a new display entitled “Prize-Winning Poets.” It is highlighting the work of our United States’ Poets Laureate and other award-winning poets. PWPL owns books by each of our sixteen Poets Laureate since 1986 when the title began. Prior to 1986 poets were recognized as “Consultants in Poetry to the Library of Congress.” The display kiosk is located on the second floor near the Reference Desk. 

Our current U.S. Poet Laureate, Californian Kay Ryan, writes with a quality of simplicity in her short poems. Each usually contains fewer than 20 lines and is rarely written in first person. Three of her collections, THE NIAGARA RIVER, SAY UNCLE and ELEPHANT ROCKS are in our Library and located on the special display kiosk ready for checkout.  

VALENTINES by Ted Kooser, 13^th U.S. Poet Laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, was a collection of poetry spanning 21 years. A tradition begun in 1986, Kooser wrote a valentine’s poem and mailed it to women friends. His mailing list grew from 50 in 1986 to over 2500 when he stopped sending the poems in 2001. These poems encompass all of valentine’s facets: love, hearts, candy, friendship and longing.

BRAIDED CREEK: A conversation in poetry by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser is a collection of poems composed by these two friends as they wrote each other letters. Each would create a short verse when writing to the other. It’s interesting to see the flow of their brief verses over topics of friendship and wisdom to celebrating the natural world and its everyday sameness.

Donald Hall, our 14^th U.S. Poet Laureate, compiled his latest collection, White apples and the taste of stone: selected poems 1946-2006 after fifteen unpublished years. Over 200 poems are included in this lifetime collection which presents his plain style that has changed little over his sixty years as a poet. Hall reads some of his favorites on the included CD of poetry readings.

Charles Simic, U.S. Poet Laureate from 2007-2008, author and professor of English was also the Pulitzer Prize Winner for Poetry in 1990. His latest collection of poetry, THAT LITTLE SOMETHING: poems is another example of his vivid imagery. This book joins other collections of Simic’s poetry found in memory piano (2006), THE METAPHYSICIAN IN THE DARK (2003) and others.

Celebrated poets other than Poets Laureate are highlighted on the display, too. NATIVE GUARD: poems by Natasha Tretheway recently won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. This collection pays homage to her mother, familial roots and recounts the role of Louisiana’s Native Guards, a black regiment during the Civil War. Ms. Tretheway reads her sad and mournful poetry on the included CD.

Contemporary poet Eavan Boland, a native of Ireland, has lived and worked within the United States for decades. Her latest collection, NEW COLLECTED POEMS, contains work from her previous nine volumes plus newly written poetry. Placed in chronological order within the book, her poetry illustrates how Boland has developed her craft over the decades as she writes about her views on feminism.

SISTE VIATOR: poems by Sarah Manguso is her second book. It is written from the point of view of a dead person, and the title is Latin for  “stop, traveler.” That’s exactly what some readers will do when confronted with Manguso’s mournful poetry that sometimes brushes the edge of the page with its long lines. But keep reading; it is good poetry. Her first book collection, The Captain Lands in Paradise (2002) was selected as a Village Voice Favorite Book of the Year. Her work also frequently appears in the Best American Poetry series and other poetry publications.

Jane Piirto’s SAUNAS is a collection of her poems dating from the 1970’s to the present. She writes about Finnish ancestors from icy cold environs of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, South Dakota and Ohio. Ms. Piirto creates lyrical story-poems of family, tradition and how the two blend together to connect with tomorrow’s world.

This week’s newest additions to the library’s collection include gifts from the Northern Vegans.  They have graciously given us the following books that are now available for checkout.

Food is one of the most intimate and telling connection both with the natural order and with our cultural heritage.  The World Peace Diet presents the outlines of a more empowering understanding of our world, based on comprehending the far-reaching implications of our food choices.  Incorporating teachings from mythology and religions and the human sciences, Will Tuttle offers a set of universal principles for all people of conscience, from any religious tradition, that show how we as a species can move our conscious forward.

In her third book, Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, Dreena Burton celebrates the “everyday” with imaginative, colorful, and delectable vegan fare perfect for festive parties, romantic dinners, or simple weekday meals.  This book includes 150 recipes and 16 full-color photographs with plenty of cooking notes and tips.  Her flair for creating delicious, savory and sweet recipes from wholesome, common ingredients has shown vegans and non-vegans alike how fabulous and easy it is to eat vegan.

In Bird Flu, Dr. Michael Greger traces the human role in the evolution of the intestinal virus of wild ducks, the influenza virus.  The virus has humble beginnings belie its transformation into a mutant strain that has the potential to become as terrible as Ebola and as contagious as the common cold.  In the face of the coming pandemic, Dr. Geger reveals what we can do to protect our families and what human society can do to reduce the likelihood of such catastrophes in both the immediate and long-term future.  His recommendations are practical and realistic, and breathtaking in their scope. 

If you have a gluten sensitivity or food allergy, you know how hard it is to eat well without feeling deprived.  With 150 recipes, gourmet cook Susan O’Brien makes it easier to get creative and healthy dinners on the table in her book The Gluten-Free Vegan.  Besides the recipes, O’Brien includes tips on food substitutions, raw and organic foods, quick preparation, and resources for easily finding ingredients.  This book offers solutions for anyone seeking a new—and delicious—approach to healthier eating.

Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary by Kathy Stevens, the founder of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, depicts a world in which distinctions between “human” and “animal” are meaningless and where care and affection triumph over years of neglect and abuse.  Animal lovers will find this book moving, amusing, at times a bit disturbing, but finally a wonderful tribute to animals large and small.  In this book you will meet so many memorable animals including Dino, a toothless pony who survived a fire, Rambo, a sheep to tells the staff when another animal is in trouble, Babe, a 900 pound pig, Paulie, a former cockfighting rooster, and many more memorable animals.  To the staff of loving humans, every life is of value.

Jennifer McCann proves that vegan lunches don’t have to be boring in her book Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-ups Will Love!.  Inspired by her son’s request for sushi on the first day of school McCann began creating lunches to help you pack nutritious, irresistible meals and snacks in no time.  Here she presents 130 recipes for raising happy, healthy vegan kids and a handy allergen index that identifies wheat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free recipes.

Guess who’s coming to the U.P. and the Peter White Public Library? Award winning author of middle school and teen fiction, Gary D. Schmidt, who can be found in the Community Room on Thursday, October 9^th at 7:00 P.M.  Come early for book signing at 6:30 P.M.  There will be books for sale at the door.  Schmidt is a Professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, and it shows by his expert use of vocabulary and sentence structure.  His stories, mostly historical fiction, are interesting and easy-to-read. 

Anson’s Way takes readers back to the early 1700’s when King George II relied on the Fencibles (something like the modern day National Guard) to enforce English laws in Ireland.  The main character, Anson, has just been assigned as a drummer to the regiment commanded by Colonel Stapylton, who just happens to be his father.  Since Colonel Stapylton has spent so much time away from home in service to his country, Anson has little knowledge of him and is a bit apprehensive.  Anson soon learns that the Fencibles lead a strict, orderly life, subject to the morality or cruelty of the commanding officers.  This conflicts with Anson’s conscience as he is divided between duty to the King of England and compassion toward the Irish townsfolk that he has come to know.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy weaves a fascinating tale of a young boy displaced from his hometown of Boston to small town Phippsburg, Maine.  Everyone thinks Turner Buckminster is backward because he’s never dug for clams or played baseball by Maine rules.  To make matters worse, he is also the son of the First Congregational Church’s new minister.  Turner finds an unlikely ally in Lizzie, a child of former slaves living in segregation on Malaga Island just outside of town.  Together they befriend Mrs. Cobb, a cranky old woman who hides her goodness under a rough exterior.  As Turner learns about the people and customs of the area, he also learns about the strength of racism and the politics of church and state. This powerful story was given the Newbery Honor Award for excellence in children’s literature (up to age 14) and the Printz Honor Award for excellence in teen literature in 2005.

The Wednesday Wars features a main character with the unforgettable name, Holling Hoodhood, a seventh grader during the 1967-1968 school year, who has the misfortune of being the only student in his class to stay on Wednesday afternoons while the rest of the class leaves for religious education.  The teacher, Mrs. Baker, who is clearly unhappy with having to plan curriculum for just one student, assigns him an independent study of Shakespeare’s plays to keep him busy.  As Holling progresses through the school year, he finds himself enjoying the literature and improving his relationship with Mrs. Baker.  The events of the 1960’s, including the Vietnam War, air raid drills, and diagramming sentences for English class give young readers a look back into contemporary history.  Schmidt, who earned a second Newbery Honor Award for The Wednesday Wars in 2008, writes about Holling’s humorous school adventures in a way that young readers and old will appreciate.

 Trouble begins with a quote from Henry Smith’s father, “If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.”  However, it finds the Smith family when Henry’s older brother Franklin is hit by a truck while jogging on the side of the road.  The truck driver is Chay Chouan, fellow high school student and son of Cambodian immigrants from the next town over. The incident increases tensions between the cultures of old New England families and Asian refugees establishing local businesses to provide a better life for their children.  When Henry tries to relax by taking his kayak out into open water, he ends up rescuing a black dog swimming to shore in choppy water – more trouble.  The stories of Henry and Chay, told from their own viewpoints, eventually mesh together to reveal what really happened the day of the accident that brought trouble to Henry’s small world.

 Other books by Gary Schmidt include First Boy, Straw into Gold, The Wonders of Donal ODonnell: a folktale of Ireland, and a retelling of Pilgrim’s Progress.

Today’s selection of new nonfiction books available at the Peter White Public Library is a random sampling of an armload of books off the waiting-to-be-shelved cart near the circulation desk.  This cart houses books that have been recently read and returned by patrons and are ready for shelving by library pages. You will find these titles in the new nonfiction shelves on the main floor of the library.

 First up was Goat Cheese by Maggie Foard with its mouthwatering cover photo of a Lemon Breakfast Tart.  In this cookbook, full of delicious recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts accompanied by luscious photographs, the author extols the virtues of goat’s milk as an alternative dairy product.  The author includes a primer on different types of goat cheese along with purchasing information. Find this book under the call number 641.673 FO.

Coincidentally, next to the previous volume, sat a small paperback book about the art of making cheese.  Author Kathy Biss and her husband operate a small processing dairy in Scotland where they teach courses on cheese making as well as produce a wide variety of cheese, yogurt and ice cream.  In Practical Cheesemaking, Biss describes the entire process including recipes, equipment, ingredients, and details for crafting different types of cheeses.  This book contains valuable information for the commercial producer and hobbyist and can be found under call number 637.3 BI.

In the horticulture section under call number 635.977 KO, browsers will find Growing Trees From Seed by Henry Kock.  Chock full of graceful pencil drawings and color photographs, this tome describes the process of raising native woody landscape plants from seed.  Author Kock delivers clear descriptions of species, propagation techniques, diseases and pests, and cultural information about how to grow trees, shrubs and vines.  There is enough information here to get you started on your own home landscape nursery for pennies.

Grouped together under the same call number of 728.37 are three new soft cover home plan books for dreaming by the fireside on cool fall evenings.  Stephen Fuller’s Traditional Home offers 167 classic American home designs complete with color photographs, drawings and floor plans.  A “small” house in this book is considered to be less than 2800 square feet, which, in this writer’s mind, is not that small. The book offers traditional designs of generously proportioned houses. 

Southern Living Style: Family Favorites offers 163 floor plans and descriptions of elegant homes ranging in size from 1,286 to 5,576 square feet.  The black and white drawings and accompanying color photographs often feature generous front porches and loads of family living space.

 Another volume from the publishers of Southern Living magazine is the Southern Living Classic Collection, showcasing more than 340 of their best house plans.  The homes pictured on these pages range in size from a tiny 412 square feet to a palatial 6,230.  This book offers a bit more deviation from the traditional styles, but nothing that would be described as contemporary or modern.  All three of these books offer plenty of ideas for planning your dream home.

Once a house plan is chosen, it is time to get practical with JLC’s Construction Tips & Techniques from the editors of The Journal of Light Construction. This book offers a question and answer format of information on residential construction geared toward the contractor.  Gleaned from 20 years of contractors’ questions to the periodical, this soft cover book offers loads of information organized in a logical order of construction sequence.  Expert advice for the professional as well as the do-it-yourselfer can be found under the call number 690.837 JL.

 Another home how-to-book is Tiling Complete from the Taunton Press, publishers of such quality magazines as Fine Homebuilding, Fine Woodworking, and Fine Gardening (all of which the library subscribes to.)  This book offers expert advice on all aspects of doing interior tile work, covering surface preparation, tile cutting, adhesives, grouting, repair, and tips on specific projects such as countertops, walls, or floors. Find this well illustrated, helpful guide can be found under call number 698 SC.

The final random selection of new nonfiction was a book with the disconcerting title, How Not To Look Old¸ by Charla Krupp.  Hitting a nerve with this writer, who just passed the half century mark, (especially since the author considers old to be over 40 years of age!)  but, sticking to the original plan of random selection, a flip through the pages revealed surprisingly helpful hints on updating your look through small changes in makeup, hair, clothes and accessories.  The recommendation of stiletto heels was too hard to swallow and the book was missing any recommendation on changes in lifestyle or attitude to enhance quality of life.  A bit too focused on appearance for this writer, this book can be found, for those who dare, under call number 646.7042 KR.

A quick look through the return cart near the circulation desk can reveal an interesting assortment of what new books Peter White Public Library Patrons are reading.  Enjoy!

Following is a list of recent additions to the Peter White Public Library Youth Services collection for readers and listeners of all ages who like a good laugh.

 Sharing a funny picture is a great way to get a baby to giggle.  Our sturdy board book collection holds many fun books for sharing with baby.  Even a newborn may respond to the black and white faces in Ba Ba Ha Ha by Zimm.  The typical baby antics depicted in Oh, David by David Shannon are both funny and loving. 

 Belinda Begins Ballet by Amy Young is a new picture book that uses humor in the face of adversary as the heroine of the story learns that having baguette-sized feet doesn’t mean she has play the clown for the rest of her life.  In another picture book, The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato, the youngest of three sisters learns to turn her older sisters’ practical joke around so the joke’s on them. 

 Beginning readers will enjoy No Sword Fighting in the House by Susanna Leonard Hill, a story  about a pair of brothers who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy, by Tedd Arnold, will tickle those early readers already familiar with the traditional song as they get an inside look at what actually happens when Buzz’s grandmother swallows a fly. 

Books in our Intermediate Collection provide a longer story for readers who have mastered the Easy Readers but aren’t quite ready for longer chapter books.  Maybelle in the Soup by Katie Speck, a new addition to this collection, tells the story of e pearl and hair bow wearing cockroach who risks daylight to pursue food better than that which has been dripped onto the floor.  The heroine of the Talented Clementine by Marla Frazee is faced with having to come up with something for the school talent show when she feels she has no talent.  In the end, she surprises everyone, especially herself. 

 Confident readers will enjoy A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban.  Ten-year-old Zoe dreams of being a concert pianist, but when her father gets distracted at the music store, he comes home with an organ instead of a baby grand.  How to Be a Pirate by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and translated from the Old Norse by Cressida Cowell offers a series of hair-raising and humorous escapades on the high seas.  Cheeky drawings in the style of grade-school doodles add to the appeal. 

 Can non-fiction books be funny?  Definitely.  That’s where patrons will find joke books, comic books and limericks.  The New Nonfiction Collection includes  Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex.  Inside this collection of humorous stories and cartoon one will find “Off the top of my heard,” the official blog of the Headless Horseman.  King George:  What Was His Problem? by Steve Sheinkin and illustrated by Tim Robinson  claims to offer readers “everything your schoolbooks didn’t tell you about the American Revolution.”  Written by an ex-textbook writer, the author includes all the funny but true information he couldn’t include before. 

            With summer days ending, a return to more serious reading resumes for many.  Peter White Public Library has some wonderful additions to the nonfiction shelves which should be of interest to history lovers and students of human nature. 

“Command of Honor” by H. Paul Jeffers, traces the path of a brave American hero, General Lucian Truscott.  General Truscott’s service to his country spanned forty years and resulted in his enlistment in World War I and continued service as a commander of troops in World War II.  In comparison to some of the more flamboyant leaders of his time, the general had a humble style and was known as a “soldier’s soldier”.  This book recounts his early beginnings growing up in a poor home in Texas and Oklahoma and spotlights his tenacious personality.  Considered one of the legends of World War II, General Truscott’s story should be inspiring reading!

If you love adventure and suspense, pick up Alex Kershaw’s latest, “Escape from the Deep”, the epic story of a legendary submarine and her courageous crew.  This is a truly fascinating account of what happened to the crew of the U.S. Navy submarine Tang during World War II.  A malfunctioning torpedo sunk the sub on the fifth mission out, and only nine members of the eighty-seven men crew survived.  After escaping from the submerged sub, and being picked up by a Japanese patrol boat, the nine men were imprisoned in a camp known as “Torture Farm”.  Refusing to give up any of their country’s secrets, they were finally liberated in August of 1945, weary and close to death.  A photo section of the survivors is included in this captivating new book.

            Richard Engle is a well-known face and voice on network news, broadcasting from all over the globe.  In his role as Middle East correspondent, he has been in on lots of headline news events.  Chronicling his days in Iraq, beginning with the capture of Saddam Hussein, Engel demonstrates his skill as a storyteller in print form.  Able to communicate in Arabic, Engel has reported on such milestones as the Iraqi election, the sentencing of Saddam and the U.S. troop surge deployment.  Filled with colorful stories of life in the trenches, you’ll be able to flesh out the news reports of today with help from this on-site observer.  The book is titled: “War Journal, My Five Years in Iraq”.

            Another national correspondent, Mike Leonard, pens our final new non-fiction release to be highlighted this week, entitled, “The Ride of Our Lives”.  In hilarious, Mike Leonard style, he recounts a month-long expedition with his aging parents and kids in a rented RV.  Taking them on a journey from past to present, home, school and work sites and concluding with the birth of the author’s grandchild, the book is full of funny tales and laugh-out- loud moments!  You may even shed a sentimental tear or two.  We guarantee though, there will be no sighs of boredom!

As the shadows grow longer and the dark of night arrives earlier, what better time of year to curl up with a new mystery from Peter White Public Library?

 Dead in Red by L.L. Bartlett welcomes back series regular Jeff Resnick to challenge his “sixth sense” to find the killer of the bartender at his favorite watering hole.  A receipt for custom-made shoes sets off a chain reaction of intrigue and danger.

 Chernobyl Murders by Michael Beres is a historic mystery tangled around the Chernobyl disaster.  Mihaly Horvath reveals to his brother, Kiev Militia detective Lazlo, scary secrets of Chernobyl and dies shortly thereafter in the blast.  As Lazlo questions his brother’s death, his life is further complicated by the Ukraine blanketed in radiation, a Soviet government on its last leg and madmen hungry for power.

 Carol Goodman introduces literature professor Rose Asher in The Sonnet Lover.  Asher receives a letter from a student with a tantalizing question, but can’t find the answer from the sender—he has apparently committed suicide.  Asher becomes enmeshed in a treacherous web of secrets and scandal as she sets out to find the answer. 

 Daniel Hecht delights with psychological thriller Land of Echoes.  Cree Black is back in the electrifying sequel to City of Masks.  Paranormal investigator Black is called upon to the case of Tommy Keeday who is could be just a sensitive teenager, suffering from an exotic brain disorder, or the victim of terrifying legendary Navajo skinwalkers and malevolent ghosts.  

The first book in John Galligan’s Fly Fishing Mystery series is The Blood Knot.  Our emotionally tortured protagonist Ned Oglivie (AKA Dog) is tramping through the woods one morning when he sees 10-year-old Deuce Kussmaul fire his kid-sized .22 into the body of "barn lady" Annie Adams lying in a stream.  After Duece’s mother, distraught with her own problems, tends to Dog’s beaver bite, he swears to prove Deuce didn’t kill Annie. 

 R.N. Morris brings back detective Porfiry Petrovich in A Vengeful Longing. During a hot, dusty St. Petersburg summer in the late 1860s. A doctor brings home a fancy box of chocolates for his family. Within an hour, they are dead, and the doctor is arrested. When further, apparently unconnected, murders occur on the other side of town, a subtle and surprising pattern starts to emerge. Porfiry is forced to follow a tenuous, uncertain trail that takes him into the hidden, squalid heart of the city and brings him face-to-face with incomprehensible horror and cruelty.

 The Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon is a tale of unexpected twists and turns.  Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress—she watches, unmoving, the kidnapping of a young girl.  Devastated by having done nothing, Rhonda joins the search and also happens upon the truth of what happened to another missing child:  her best friend who vanished years before. 

            Back to school time is here!  Curious people interested in learning can use public libraries as their own "people's universities."  Several publishers provide inexpensive series that tackle any topic that's complex, confusing, intimidating, or conjures up feelings of anxiety.  Back in the early days of computers (1991), DOS for Dummies was published to help explain a new tachnology - as my husband says - more understandable than the manufacturers' computer manuals did.  The For Dummies series caught on and, joined by The complete Idiot's Guides and the Demystified series, provide insightful and educational ways to make difficult material interesting and easy.  Some of the new titles the library has to check out include:

            iMac for Dummies by Mark L. Chambers is the perfect partner for your shiny new iMac, with just what you need to set it up, import files from your old computer, and make the switch from Windows.  Soon you'll have Mac OSX Leopard eating out of your hand and be browsing with Safari, staying in touch with friends and family, and enjoying the iLife, worry-free.

            Japanese Demystified by Eriko Sato.  Say sayonara to your fears of speaking Japanese!  Beginning with a review of Japanese writing systems, basic pronunciation, and everyday expressions, this book covers key grammar fundamentals such as particles, nouns, verb forms, and honorifics. You'll build your Japanese vocabulary with essential words and phrases and quickly master this challenging language. Test yourself at the end of every chapter for reinforcement that you're fast on your way to speaking, writing, and understanding Japanese. Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for a more experienced student, Japanese Demystified is your shortcut to mastering this complex language.  Other Demystified languages available at the library include German, French and Spanish.

            Green living is in the news!  Green Living for Dummies by Yvonne Jeffery and other experts is packed with realistic ways to help the environment and create a better home for you and your loved ones, from reducing energy use and waste and scaling back reliance on your car to making a difference in your diet, at work, and in the community. 

            The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles by Jack R. Nerad. The hybrid car has exploded into the fastest-growing segment of the American car industry. This book sorts out the dizzying array of choices faced by American motorists. In clear, jargon-free language, Nerad explains the nature of each kind of car and their advantages and disadvantages, so consumers can make a practical choice.  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motor Scooters by Bev Brinson.  With oil prices soaring and people looking for alternative means of commuter (and cruising) travel, motor scooters have exploded across the country as a viable means of transportation. Here’s the book for both scooter newbies and accustomed riders that includes a complete listing of scooters available by size and power, advice on evaluating and buying scooters, maintenance and customizing, and more.  

            Global Warming and Climate Change Demystified  by Jerry Silver.  This guide addresses the causes of global warming and its effects on the Earth's climate in bestselling Demystified format. You will learn about the physical science behind climate change, including the chemical processes that upset the Earth's thermal balance. The book makes a distinction between what is known for certain, what many scientists now believe to be true, and what is informed speculation, subject to further interpretation. It then presents a wide range of solutions which can be pursued by individuals, as well as society as a whole.

               Having the great idea, creating the magnificent work of art, or coming up with the next fad is only the first step to cashing in on your creativity and hard work. Next up is protecting your intellectual property.    Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks for Dummies by Henri Charmasson explains, in layman’s terms, the basic nature, function, and application of intellectual property (IP) rights, including how you can acquire those rights, wield them effectively against your competitors, or exploit them lucratively through licensing agreements and other rewarding adventures.  Bonus CD-Rom includes the entire body of U.S. patent laws, sample forms and application worksheets.

             Need help with math?  For Dummies, The Complete Idiot’s Guide, and Demystified series all have books to help make sense of math from the beginnings through calculus.  Geometry for Dummies by Mark Ryan invites you to make friend with lines and angles, theorems and postulates—and prove it.  Before you know it, you’ll be proving triangles congruent, calculating circumference, using formulas and serving up pi.

             Need a will, but have no idea where to start?  Wills & Trusts Kit for Dummies by Aaron Larson shows you how to prepare a legal will or trust—either on your own or with professional help.  You’ll handle everything from planning your bequests and writing and signing a will to selecting a trust and drafting your durable power of attorney.  The bonus CD-Rom contains sample wills and trusts, customizable templates and worksheets.

             The Complete Idiot's Guide to Financial Aid for College by David E. Rye helps parents and students create a plan to pay the costs of a college education. It is filled with practical advice about where to find low-interest loans, how to take advantage of tax laws, how to negotiate the best aid offer, and how to improve the chances of receiving financial aid.  The book also contains up-to-date aid forms and explains what credit history information to include.

The Library’s young adult books are shelved right next to adult fiction, but many people don’t realize how fine the line between these two categories of literature has become. Award-winning author Sherman Alexie recently said, “A lot of people have no idea that right now Y.A. is the Garden of Eden of literature.”  Readers in search of thought-provoking, well-written books with memorable characters should make their way to the teen shelves and prepare for a pleasant surprise.

 In the foreword to her compelling and powerful Bone By Bone By Bone, Tony Johnston does not apologize for the raw language used in her book. She says, “It is my father’s language and reflects a way of thinking that has troubled me my whole life.” In a small Tennessee town in the 1950’s, David, who is white, defies his fiercely racist father and carries on a blood-brother friendship with Malcolm, who is black. As the boys grow older and his father’s threats become uglier, David begins to fear for Malcolm’s life. Juxtaposing beautiful imagery and folksy dialogue against brutal expressions of racism, Johnston creates a complex and haunting story of the Jim Crow South.

 Eighteen-year-old New Yorker James Sveck has been accepted to Brown University but isn’t sure he wants to go to college. After all, he doesn’t like people, especially people his own age, and isn’t college full of them? What he’d really like to do is buy a house in the Midwest and read the books he wants to read and teach himself what he wants to learn. With his dedication to precise English, devotion to his D-list celebrity grandmother, and utter inability to fit in, James makes a hilariously irresistible narrator for Peter Cameron’s moving coming-of-age novel, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You.

 In The Invisible, by Mats Wahl, a small town in Sweden gets caught up in a mystery after a high school student goes missing. When Hilmer Eriksson discovers he has become invisible, he begins to realize something terrible has happened and the only hope of finding his body lies with the detective investigating his disappearance. Hilmer shadows the detective, as suspicions of foul play lead them to a group of teenage neo-Nazis and the dark secrets their town has been hiding.

 Years after her mother’s death Tracy still feels her presence, which she believes keeps her safe; but that safety is ripped from her on the last day of her seventh grade year, when she is forced into a car on her way home from school. Safe, by Susan Shaw, is the story of a young rape victim’s battle to regain her sense of safety, with the help of poetry and the piano, her father and loyal friends.

 In The Boy Who Dared, author Susan Bartoletti expands an episode from her Newbery Honor Book Hitler Youth into a suspenseful and thought-provoking novel. Sixteen-year-old Helmuth Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio and discovers that Germany is lying to its people. Outraged, Helmuth distributes leaflets to expose the truth, and then finds himself tried for treason and sentenced to death. The story is narrated in flashbacks from Helmuth’s jail cell, as he waits in fear to learn his fate.

 A nondescript man watches the five Herbert sisters with creepy fascination, while they go about their business as if nothing could ever harm them. The psychological thriller The Missing Girl, by Norma Fox Mazer, alternates between the voices of predator and prey, evil and innocence, inviting readers into the hearts and minds of every character and filling us with dread.

 Ben was fourteen years old when his father announced he was gay, throwing Ben into a tailspin that ended in his arrest three years later.  In The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon, Ben's father attempts to save him by yanking him from the big city and moving him to a hick town in Montana.  His spiky hair, skateboard habit, smart mouth, and two dads make Ben stick out like a sore thumb, but it's his search to discover the truth about the disturbed eleven-year-old boy next door that leads Ben to real trouble in his new town.

Each young reader at Peter White Public Library’s Summer Reading & Listening Program, and all their friends and relations can continue to “Be a Bookaneer” at the Downtown Marquette Pirate Festival beginning tonight at Lower Harbor Park. The ninety-two-foot tall ship, Madeline, will arrive in the Harbor about 6:00 p.m., depending on weather and wind conditions. Pirates on board the tall ship will attempt to attack Marquette’s decent citizenry and lovely shores. But our local homeland defense forces, a flotilla of local boats, a cannon, and Nick’s schooner, are prepared to defend the safety of Marquette’s citizenry.

In addition to the arrival of the Madeline, visitors to the Harbor may enjoy the Raingutter Regatta sponsored by the Boy Scouts of Hiawathaland Council 261 and join in pirate games organized by the YMCA. At 6:00 p.m., the UP Children’s Museum offers Pirate Jam School of Rock in the Museum’s courtyard. Pirates of all ages can bring their own instruments and rock! Lake Superior Theater presents the play Treasure Island: A Pirates’ Tale at 7:30 p.m. The Marquette County Fairgrounds hosts a Pirate Island Family Show. Take note of the pirate flags flying on downtown lampposts.

 Saturday, August 9 brings many piratical activities to downtown. Take a tour of the Madeline from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. or of Marquette’s Lighthouse from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. View Walk the Plank: A Pirate Inspired Art Exhibition. Youth entries are displayed in the Marquette Arts and Culture Center. Adult entries, including a treasure chest with forged coins, can be found upstairs in the Huron Mountain Club Gallery of the Peter White Public Library.

 The Pirate (Farmers) Market runs from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Commons. You may purchase locally grown produce, plants and meat in addition to pirate merchandise. T-shirts advertising the Pirate Festival are available for sale. A calypso fortuneteller will be there, as well as a unicyclist who is taking part in a charity unicycle ride from Houghton to Marquette to raise funds for two UP leukemia patients.

A treasure hunt with prizes for both youths and adults runs from noon until 6:00 p.m. Follow the clues to twenty-four downtown businesses and test your powers of deduction at this event! Orion Couling will conduct walking tours about the history of pirates on the Great Lakes. The tours last an hour an a half and begin at the Commons at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. CK Unlimited will take your pirate photo for a fee.

A Youth Pirate Carnival takes place on the lower level of the Masonic Center from 4:00-6:30 p.m. Lots of games and fun for all children. Pirates of all ages may enter the Pirate Costume Contest at the Commons. Registration is from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The contest runs from 6:30-8:00 p.m. (depending on the number of pirates who appear.) During the break, while the judges deliberate, pirates will be entertained by the Beladinas, Marquette’s Belly Dance troupe. From 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. pirates of all ages may dance to the music of the Jimmy Almen Band. Food prepared by pirates at Babycakes Muffin Company, the hotdog cart and Debacker’s ice cream truck will be available for purchase at the Commons.

 Throughout this weekend and next weekend, pirate golfers may play a round at Chocolay Downs for half price if they come in pirate costume.

 Sunday continues with many of the same activities mentioned above but really goes to the dogs. Pirate Puppies & Scallywags, a costume contest for dogs, begins at 2:00 p.m. at the UP Children’s Museum. Dog treats will be served by the Marquette Food Co-op. You may have your dog’s photo taken for a fee. Marquette County History Museum has jumped into the piratical fray with Argh! The Amazing Race Goes Historical: A County Wide Adult Scavenger Hunt to benefit their building project.

 Beginning Monday, Pirate Day Camp runs throughout the week at the YMCA. MooseWood Nature Center offers a week of Treasure Geocaching for families, children and adults. Pick up map and clue locations at MooseWood or Peter White Public Library and GPS at MooseWood. The UP Children’s Museum hosts the Galley Grub Food Event Monday from 5:00-8:00 p.m. A Pirate Open Mike for adults will be held at Flanigan’s Bar from 9:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. Brush up on your pirate talk! Many other events run daily throughout the week, too.

 Tuesday is set aside for pirates’ inner art side. ARRT for Buccaneers is taught by a real pirate at HOTplate from 1:00-3:00 p.m. The DeVos Art Museum at NMU is holding two Pirate Fabric Art Workshops, one for youth and one for adults, at 2:00 p.m. A Pirate Trivia Contest will take place at JT’s Shaft Tuesday evening.

Wednesday is swashbuckling day. Orion Couling and EDGE will perform theatrical swashbuckling with local youth at 1:00 p.m. at Peter White Public Library. Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams star in the outdoor screening of the film Hook at dusk at the Commons.

 Pirates can continue to expand their creative side on Thursday at Second Thursday Creative Series: Pirates at the UP Children’s Museum from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Song of the Lakes performs a family concert at Forest Roberts Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or beforehand at Peter White Public Library.

 It’s back to history on Friday with Life During the Golden Age of Pirates, a hands-on learning experience for youth from 10:00 a.m. until noon at the Marquette County History Museum. Costumes are encouraged.

 Many of the pirate activities are free of charge thanks to our many sponsors including Allyn Roberts, the Marquette Community Foundation, the Frazier Foundation, the Mary Ann Paulin Memorial Fund, the Carroll Paul Memorial Trust Fund, the Friends of the Peter White Public Library, the Michigan Humanities Council and the Marquette Arts and Culture Center.

 For a complete schedule of events visit www.pwpl.info or www.marquettecountry.org.

If summertime means your family is always on the go, these new juvenile books will be perfect for catching some quiet time with your youngsters at the end of a busy day.

Adam Rex’s picture book, Pssst!, offers a surprising twist when a little girl fills a wheelbarrow full of requests from the animals during her visit to the zoo.  She pays for it with a bag of coins the peacock has picked out of the fountains.  What will the penguins, bats, gorilla, turkeys, and sloths be doing with all this stuff after hours?  It isn’t what the animals have led her to believe.

 Bat faces a big dilemma in Bat’s Big Game, a story retold by Margaret Read MacDonald and illustrated by Eugenia Nobati.  Which team should he choose? He could play with either the “Animals” or the “Birds” soccer teams, but what he really wants is to play on the “winning” team.  Find out what happens when he attempts to switch sides.

In her picture book Bumpety Bump!, Pat Hutchins’ cherry illustrations and gently rhyming text showcase how much fun a grandpa and grandson can have harvesting vegetables from their garden.  Following them throughout the story is a little red hen who has an accomplishment of her own she wants to show off.

Willow Creek Press’ picture book, What Camping Can Teach Us, combines beautiful wildlife photography with famous quotations to evoke the pleasures and life lessons to be found in camping.  If your family is taking a camping trip this summer, this little book may be one you’ll want to bring along.

Let’s Go – The Story of Getting from There to Here, written by Lizann Flatt and illustrated by Scot Ritchie, shows how people have been getting from place to place in North America for thousands of years.  This simple history of the progression of travel by foot, canoe, ship, horse, wagon, steamer, train and rocket ship unfolds page by page in a way young readers will easily understand and enjoy.

The Museum Book – A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections, written by Jan Mark and illustrated by Richard Holland, has lots of information even grownups will be glad to learn. Designed with slightly older readers in mind, this picture book explains in eight chapters the history of how museums came into being, developed over time, and became specialized in their scope, purpose, and classification.

 William Low, a long time lover of trains and New York architecture, is the creator of a picture book called Old Penn Station.  Low’s glowing illustrations and text document the construction and destruction of one of New York City’s greatest architectural achievements.  In the author’s words, “Today, the memory of Penn Station’s destruction still lingers, and it has become a powerful symbol, a reminder that buildings are not just concrete and steel.  They are the heart and soul of all great cities.”  These are wise words to consider should a great city be one of your destinations this summer.

 For folks who will be sticking closer to home there is a raft of great summer music concerts coming up in the next few weeks.  On August 2 at 7:00 p.m. the Downtown Marquette Commons will be the site of The High Strung National Rock & Roll Library tour event featuring a Detroit based “Beatles-esque” garage rock band.  On August 14 the music group Song of the Lakes will offer Celtic & Scandinavian music at 7:30 p.m. in the Forest Roberts Theatre at NMU.  Song of the Lakes will also offer a free children’s program on August 15 at 1:00 p.m. in the PWPL Community Room. The music featured in this concert will be based on the classic book Paddle to the Sea.

Whether you're sitting on your deck, gone camping or waiting to catch a flight, a good book is an essential part of summer.  Here are a few great reads, old and new, from the collection of Peter White Public Library.

Amy Bloom delivers a fascinating story in Away. Arriving in America alone after her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom, Lillian learns that her daughter Sophie might still be alive. She embarks on an odyssey that takes her from New York toward Siberia to find the missing girl.

In Brick Lane : a novel, author Monica Ali traces the story of Nazneen, born in a Bangladeshi village and  transported to London at age eighteen to enter into an arranged marriage to a man twice her age. Instilled with a sense of fatalism from an early age, she nonetheless begins to wonder if she can control her own destiny.

The Book of Lost Things is a departure from the usual thriller by writer, John Connolly.  Taking refuge in fairy tales after the loss of his mother, twelve-year-old David finds himself violently propelled into an imaginary land in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality are melded.

In The Echo Maker by  Richard Powers, twenty-seven-year-old Mark has a rare brain disorder that causes him to believe his sister is an impostor. As she reluctantly leaves her home to care for him, the troubled man struggles to discover the cause of the truck accident that injured him.

Falling Man by Don DeLillo begins in the smoke and ash of 9/11 and follows the intimate lives of a small cast of characters as world events reconfigure their memories and perceptions of the world.

In A Free Life, author Ha Jin follows the fortunes of Nan Wu who drops out of a U.S. grad school after the repression of the democracy movement in China hoping to find his voice as a poet.

The Hamiliton Case, an accomplished second novel by Michelle de Kretser, is as much a haunting character study as it is an elusive murder mystery and a deep exploration of colonialism. At the heart of the story is Ceylon lawyer Sam Obeysekere, whose career has been guided by British culture and his Oxford education. He tackles a controversial murder trial mistakenly convinced that his reputation will shield him from the social unrest that the case has exposed.

 Nicole Krauss has delivered a postmodern story of haunting beauty in The History of Love. Sixty years after a book's publication, its author remembers his lost love and missing son, while a teenage girl named for one of the book's characters seeks her namesake.

Anya Ulinich's amazing debut novel,  Petropolis  is a coming-of-age story and a sharp satire about being an outsider in America.  Sasha Goldberg is an awkward, intelligent teenager from Siberia who becomes a mail-order bride and then embarks on a comic odyssey through the United States

Frustrated by years of unrequited love, an unemployed school teacher takes matters into his own hands in the compelling and romantic thriller Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman.

Gardening season is finally here and the Peter White Public Library has several new books to help you enjoy your time outdoors and reap the fruits and flowers of your labors in your little patch of earth.  These gardening books can be found in the new nonfiction section of the library under the Dewey Decimal System call numbers 600 to 635.

Growing plants outdoors in climate zones 3 to 6 can be challenging to say the least.  Certified Purdue University Advanced Master Gardener Rita Henehan tackles this subject in The Michigan Gardener’s Companion: an Insider’s Guide to Gardening in the Great Lakes State.  The author covers everything from vegetables, to lawns and flowers, giving tips on extending the season, combating invasive plants, plant and insect pests, and garden design ideas. Find this helpful guide for the expert or novice under the call number 635.0977 HE.

Under 635 FI you will find the Guide to Michigan Vegetable Gardening by James A. Fizzell.  The author covers all the basics of home growing in our northern climate as well as A to Z examinations of each type of vegetable, herb and fruit.  Clear how-to diagrams accompany the easy to follow text in addition to recommendations of specific varieties suited to our high latitude.  Use this book to try out a new variety or growing technique to get more out of your garden.

For those of you with more gardening experience, The Green Gardener’s Guide by Joe Lamp’l is chock full of ideas on garden tips that will help protect and preserve our planet.  Ideas abound on how to conserve water, reduce chemical use, composting to reduce waste and build soil, landscaping to reduce runoff and conserve home energy usage, planting for wildlife, and recycling and reusing materials in the garden in creative ways.  Learn more about environmental stewardship and eco-friendly resources on the author’s website, joegardener.com. Find the book under 635.0484 LA.

Get down and dirty with The Compete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant.  Everything you always wanted to know about producing your own soil amendments and saving money doing it is in this book found under call number 631.875 PL.  Compost can be used in all types of gardening even though the author focuses on raising tasty and nutritious vegetables. 

Are the bugs driving your crazy?  Head inside with George F. Van Patten’s book Gardening Indoors with Soil & Hydroponics. Perfect for the greenhouse gardener, this resource covers the technical aspects of growing plants with soil or without and how to deal with lighting, diseases, propagation, and flowering.  Loads of color photographs illustrate procedures on taking cuttings, starting seeds, setting up lights, choosing soil mixes, and dealing with plant pests.  The book is divided into color coded sections for quick reference with an extensive glossary and index to make finding the solution to your indoor garden problem easier. Find this under 636.965 VA.

In 1988 Barbara Damrosch published The Garden Primer with 673 pages of information on all aspects of growing just about anything.  In the library’s new nonfiction section under 635 DA you will find the second edition of this book published in 2008 which has been completely revised with 820 pages of updated horticultural information.  This volume is the definitive garden bible for all your reference questions.

A little further down the nonfiction row from the 635 horticulture section in the 638’s is a fascinating book on a related topic addressing vanishing honeybees and the effect on our food supply.  In A Spring without Bees Michael Schacker presents an investigative science detective story and explores ideas concerning regenerative agriculture to restore bee populations and maintain our planet.  Written in the tradition of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, this book serves as a wakeup call to the environmental consequences of our lifestyle. Call number 638.15 SC.

After a hard day’s labor in the garden, kick back and relax with a glass of wine and this book, From the Vine by Sharon Kegerreis and Lorri Hathaway.  Filled with beautiful photographs, contact information and maps, this book explores Michigan’s wineries and introduces the reader to the hardworking people who run these businesses. The book is divided into 5 sections each detailing a different road trip or “wine trail” and highlighting the wineries along the route.  Great ideas for weekend getaways in our home state with two stops in the Upper Peninsula. Find this book under the call number 641.22 KE.

If the price of gas is keeping you home bound, Flowering Plant Families of the World may satisfy that urge to travel the globe, even if from the comfort of your chaise lounge.  Written by three English botany professors and one taxonomist, this beautifully illustrated volume explores the world from a plant perspective, family by family. Maps accompany the botanical illustrations to help readers with the geographical location of these exotic species as well as their descriptions and economic uses.  Find this tome in the nonfiction botany section under 582.13 FL.

These selections from the library’s new nonfiction section on the main floor of the library should get you inspired and keep you informed.  Now if the weather would only warm up…..happy gardening!

“Be a Bookaneer!” the 2008 Summer Reading and Listening Program at Peter White Public Library runs June 16 through August 1. All ages are invited to read, listen to books and tales, write letters, poems, stories, attend plays, and join in this summer’s piratical fun. Programs are free. The more you read, the more chances you have to win prizes, and of course, learn.

Storytime for 2 & 3 year olds meets on Monday mornings at 10:00 with a seafaring theme. Four and five year olds learn about the everyday lives of pirates on Tuesdays from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Children between the ages of 6-10 explore the high seas through stories and art in the Marquette Arts and Culture Center on Wednesdays from 11:00-noon. Students in grades 4-6 are welcome to meet and discuss three exciting books this summer and enjoy treats in the Dandelion Cottage Room.

Special programs include a chance to learn about monarch butterflies and create your own book with local author Todd Carter on Thursday, June 26 at 1:00. Find out what animals leave behind on Friday, June 27 at 3:00. The Pine Mountain Music Festival’s Bergonzi String Quartet will entertain children of all ages with an interactive version of “Peter and the Wolf” on Saturday, June 28 at 1:00. Dress up as the characters in the opera if you wish. Are there any wolf pirates out there who love beautiful music?

Corinne Rockow, local singer and songwriter, sings “Tales and Tunes From the High Seas to the Low Seas” on Thursday, July 10 at 1:00. The nationally known Stevens Puppets brings us “Aladdin” on Tuesday, July 15 at 10:00. Local teacher and explorer, Kathryn Russell shares her adventures in the Galapagos Islands on Thursday, July 17 at 1:00. On Friday, July 25, the American Kennel Club teaches children how to stay safe around dogs. Lee Murdock brings us songs and maritime stories of the Great Lakes in two concerts on Thursday, July 31. His children’s concert is at 2:00 and his family concert begins at 7:00 at the Yacht Club next to Mattson Lower Harbor Park.

August brings a special production with local and internationally respected clown, Gale LaJoye. He will direct a crew of Marquette youth in a performance of “Imagination Circus” on Friday, August 1 at 7:00. Our annual ice cream social and prize drawing will be held Tuesday, August 5 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

The library thanks our sponsors, Allyn Roberts, Mary Ann Paulin Memorial Fund, Friends of the Peter White Public Library, Carroll Paul Memorial Trust Fund, and the Michigan Humanities Council for their support. Snowbound Books, Chapter Two, Book World, MooseWood Nature Center, Marquette Arts and Culture Center, the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, Target Stores, and Younkers partner with the library each summer. Working together allows us to bring you a wide variety of programs.

Arrrrr! Warning! The Pirate (Tall) Ship Madeline will attack Marquette from Mattson Lower Harbor Park on Friday, August 8. Watch for more Downtown Marquette Pirate Festival news in August.

To prepare for this summer of pirates and pirate activities, the library unearthed a treasure trove of pirate books. In Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail, a young boy falls asleep reading a library book. He wakes to find his bed surrounded by fierce pirates who threaten to make Edward walk the plank unless he hands over what they demand. Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC by June Sobel is a rollicking alphabet adventure. Roger was a lousy pirate with a nickname that didn’t scare anyone. Learn how Roger saves the day and the battle and earns respect for his name in Roger the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist.

Poet J. Patrick Lewis researched fact and myth for Blackbeard, The Pirate King for school age children. Patrick O’Brien retells the true and tragic story of the British ship that sailed from England to Tahiti in 1788 in The Mutiny on the Bounty. Dugald Steer’s Pirateology is full of envelopes tied with red string, maps, flaps, ships and jewels.

Many of us inherited a romantic view of pirates. However, truth be told, pirates, both men and women, were and are thieves and murderers who continue to plague people today with  smuggling, stealing, slavery and murder. Pirates & Smugglers by Moira Butterfield and Milton Meltzer’s Piracy & Plunder: A Murderous Business bring readers up to date about the nefarious world of piracy.  Visit the library this summer to discover the treasure found in books, film, sound and fun programs. Call 906-226-4323 or go to www.pwpl.info for more information. Land ho!

Happy Father’s Day to all the men in our lives that are there for us everyday.  All those dad’s deserve a good read while they relax and enjoy their summer—or at least their own holiday.  Here are some new picks from our non-fiction section.

An American summer is synonymous with baseball. Get behind the scenes with these two tell-all tales.  Author Tom Jones traveled ballpark to ballpark around the country to write Working At The Park:  The Fascinating Lives of Baseball People—From Peanut Vendors and Broadcasters to Players and Managers.  He asked those making a living in Major League Baseball three little questions:  What is your job?  How did you get into this line of work?  What does this job mean to you?  Nolan Ryan provides the forward. 

A different behind the scenes view into our national pastime is found in The Code:  Baseball’s Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-at-Your-Own-Risk Code of Conduct by Ross Bernstein.  Claiming to be an indispensable guide to the inner workings of baseball’s internal system of justice and sportsmanship, The Code is described by the men who’ve enforced it.  Topics covered include charging the mound, bench-clearing brawls, throwing inside, and the Umpire code. 

Another battleground enjoyed by many is the boxing ring.  Evander Holyfield’s memoir Becoming Holyfield:  A Fighter’s Journey tells the tale of Holyfield’s fight from poverty to becoming the four-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.  Also included are eight pages of full-color photographs. 

Your golf game should be in full-swing by now.  Pick up a few pointers this year from Mark Verstegen and Pete Williams in Core Performance Golf.  This full-color illustrated guide claims to help you increase your drive twenty-five yards, lower your score and play pain-free.  How about a little help from the ladies, fellas?  100 Classic Golf Tips From Leading Ladies’ Teaching and Touring Pros is edited by Christopher Obetz with drawings for every tip by Anthony Ravielli and forward by Kathy Whitworth. 

The Backpacker’s Handbook by Chris Townsend is sure to come in handy while enjoying our U.P. summer.  Backpacker Magazine says “every imaginable topic…is covered thoroughly and engagingly” in this guide.  Now in its third edition, Townsend covers all terrains and hiking styles including ultra-light and low impact methods as well as adventure and long-distance hiking. 

Finally, kick back on the dock and check out The Last Fish Tale:  The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America’s Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town by Mark Kurlansky.  Engagingly written and filled with rich history, delicious anecdotes, colorful characters and local recipes, this book is a heartfelt tribute to what Kurlansky calls “socio-diversity” and a lament that “each culture, each way of life that vanishes, diminishes the richness of civilization”. 

June ushers in the traditional “season of weddings”, and what better book to aid wedding planners than this new non-fiction selection, “Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes” by Martha Stewart with Wendy Kromer.  The book is an extravaganza for the eyes with beautifully photographed wedding cakes of all types, dimensions, colors and flavors.  If you want to try and bake your own cake, there are directions for each featured entry that look fairly easy to follow.  Or, you might just find the picture of the one that‘s right for you, and take that to a local bakery to try and replicate.  The book is so complete that it will give you an index of all the fillings, frostings and cake batters and tell you how much you’ll need for cakes of various sizes.  From traditional cakes to whimsical, Martha’s got some inspirational designs to view!

For a lighthearted Christian romance about the owner of a wedding dress boutique, check out “Blue Heart Blessed” by Susan Meissner.  This is one of our new fiction books published by Harvest House.  Our heroine, Daisy Murien, has her engagement broken off ten days before her wedding.  She copes by opening a shop which offers castoff wedding dresses.  Daisy learns some lessons along the way about unconditional love and God’s timing in relationships.  This is a cute tale with some good life lessons.

            An unbelievable story, that shocked the nation in 2006, is found between the pages of “Mistaken Identity”, a new non-fiction entry by co-authors, Don and Susie Van Ryn, Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak, and Mark Taub.  A horrible traffic accident taking the lives of five college students in Indiana traumatizes the school’s campus and the lives of the families involved.  Due to the confusion at the scene of the accident, a student survivor of the accident is misidentified as Laura Van Ryn, and her real identity of Whitney Cerak is not discovered until she begins coming out of her coma, some five weeks later. Both girls shared many physical similarities making the mix-up understandable.  However, family and friends become increasingly disturbed by little differences between the girls.  Dental records were finally the conclusive proof that a mistake in identification had, indeed, taken place.  Throughout this story of loss and heartache, the Van Ryns and Ceraks hold firm to their faith in God and their reliance on His strength in the center of their grief.  This is a beautiful account of joy in the midst of sorrow and grace under trial.

            Another story coming out of a news headline is captured in author Carolyn Jessop’s book, “Escape”.  Carolyn was born into a radical polygamist sect, and was later forced to marry at 18 and become the fourth wife of a fifty-year-old man.  She went on to have eight children by this man, before conditions became so abusive that she elected to attempt a daring escape with all of her children in tow.  Carolyn’s childhood, the events leading up to her decision to flee and her life coping with the outside world outside the FLDS community make for fascinating reading.  The author’s courage and determination to make a better life for her children are inspiring.

            “Made From Scratch”, by Sandra Lee is a memoir by another plucky lady which can be found in our new non-fiction selections at Peter White.  If you’re a fan of her cookbooks, which enable you to create wonderful entrees with little fuss by using culinary shortcuts, you’ll be interested in the woman behind these fresh ideas!