This year has brought in a small bounty of science fiction and fantasy books to the Peter White Public Library. Some of our new books are reprints of some fantasy favourites, including R. A. Salvatore’s Drizzt series. Others are brand-new releases for this year. Among these are:

Elfland by Freda Warrington. The narration in this book is well written, which is a must for any good fantasy book. It follows the adventures of those of the Otherworld born into this world and their lives as they try to understand why Lawrence Wilder, also an Otherworlder, or Aetherial in the book, and Gatekeeper to the other realms. In the beginning of the book, one becomes acquainted with his personal demons and constantly wonders at his decision to no longer open the doors to the worlds that give his people and Earth its powers. Centring around the children of these powerful, but also ordinary, beings it begs the question of in which world one fits, in the world of modern men or in the worlds that shift in an out of our own.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Staring out with general pessimistic view of Earth’s future, it begins talking about seed stockpiles and new diseases that have wiped out many plants that have become so common place today. Anderson, the first person with whom the reader becomes acquainted, is astonished that in Bangkok people have been able to bring back from extinction such foodstuffs as potatoes, chillies, eggplant and even exotic fruits while the rest of the world is suffering with food shortages. It is slightly later in the book when one meet the character who gives name to the book. She was created to help offset worker shortages in Japan, and is both human and not. Now, she and others like her are treated as less than animals, used for the amusements of normal humans. It is an interesting book, no doubt, that takes another look at possibilities of Earth’s future while still adding that spark of wonder.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Set in the late 1800s, Boneshaker is a steam punk novel set to rewrite the history of the Klondike gold rush. When Russia contemplates that perhaps it does not want to sell Alaska because of the gold, they try to devise ways to reach it. Thus, enters Leviticus Blue. He promises that he can build a machine that break through the ice and reach the gold veins and he does, to the detriment of Seattle. His machine reeks havoc and soon a fatal gas makes its way through the city. Those who have not died leave. Fifteen years later, it is just his widow and son trying to eke out a living. In a bid to clear his father’s name, young Ezekiel heads back to the scene of the disaster.

Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox. Between mainland and islands there is a straight where it is said that a dragon has been chained down. The fog that rolls in is her breath and everyone is afraid of it. Dragon in Chains involves primarily around two central figures: Han, the pirates’ slave and Chien Hua, the young emperor on the run. It seems that both of their fates are to revolve around the dragon and her lair. 

Whiskey and Water by Elizabeth Bear. The story in this book deals with ideas of mortals, Fae, angels and demons, all within the confines of New York City and other dimensions. Matthew Szczegielniak, professor by day and mage by night, is charged with keeping the denizens of the Big Apple safe, whether they deserve it or not, especially as there had been a great war, Mage vs Otherworld not seven years prior. Tensions are slowly building up, as talk of war and loves lost bubble under the surface.

Traveling over the holidays always goes faster for me while listening to audiobooks.  Several new titles the library has received may make your travels more enjoyable or add another dimension to holiday preparations—cleaning, wrapping, cooking, exercising can all be done while enjoying an audiobook.  The library also has audiobooks available to download on your computer, burn on CD, or load on your iPod or other device as part of the Great Lakes Digital Library—http://digitalmedia.gldl.info. 

Whoever thought a book about a library cat would make the New York Times Bestseller list?  Dewey: the Small-town Library Cat who Touched the World by Vicki Myron is the heart-warming story of a small kitten found in the book return one frigid morning at the Spencer Public Library.  Adopted by the library staff, Dewey makes his way into the hearts of Spencer, Iowa residents as well as library director Myron.  Adding Spencer, Iowa’s history to her own story, Myron combines her love of Dewey Readmore Books and the library into a very inviting tale.  Reader Suzanne Toren’s slight southern accent adds to the pleasure of the story.

If you’re looking for a suspenseful story, listening to Nelson DeMille’s Night Fall will keep you on the edge of your seat.  It's summer 2001, five years since TWA Flight 800 went down in the ocean under mysterious circumstances. The official explanation is mechanical failure, but John Corey and wife Kate Mayfield (last seen in The Lion's Game) suspect a cover-up involving a steamy videotape and a guided missile. Even though both Corey and Mayfield work for an antiterrorist task force made up of cops and CIA and FBI agents, there is resistance to their finding anything to contradict the official reports. As usual, DeMille spins a well-crafted, timely, and exciting tale. Corey is a cynical and sarcastic ex-cop who's been around the block at least once too often, while Mayfield is a straight-arrow FBI lawyer who wants desperately to do right for the dead of Flight 800. To do so, they must deal with sinister forces within their own government as they unknowingly count down to 9/11.  Scott Brick reads this tale with just the right world-weary air.  He’s one of audio’s golden voices—and has read other Demille thrillers.

Listening to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows makes it readily apparent how this epistolary novel has made the best seller list.  In London, January 1946, emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. She finds it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island.  Several readers introduce us to these characters—listening to the letters and wires flying back and forth between Guernsey book club readers, Juliet and her friends make us feel a part of London literary society and  Guernsey—both in war and finally in peace.  Books can and do introduce readers to the whole world.  This audiobook can be downloaded—check it out with your library card at http://digitalmedia.gldl.info.  For assistance, please call the Reference desk at the library, 226-4311.

The time is quickly approaching when we will be staying inside more due to the weather outside. One of my favorite pastimes is to read and learn something. I selected just a few of the new additions to the Library to highlight for you.

You don’t have to be a senior citizen to benefit from  Windows 7 for Seniors : for senior citizens who want to start using computers by Studio Visual Steps. This book can help anyone who has upgraded to Windows 7 as the operating system for the computer, or just has a new computer. Its large, oversize pictures help explain how to start using your computer—whether it is a desktop computer or a laptop. It visually walks the reader through beginning functions like turning on the computer through copying and pasting text in a document plus web searching on the Internet.  

 PWPL have several new, updated books on the game of Bridge. The one that interested me the most was entitled BIDDING in the 21^st century by Audrey Grant. This spiral book takes you through exercises that will assist your game. It includes such basics as how to hold your “hand,” responses to different bids, sample deals and point counting, and how to play a real game. The spiral format allows the book to lay open and is easy to look at while going through its paces.

Three more books by Audrey Grant cover basics in three topics. Their titles are Bridge Basics 1: An Introduction,  Bridge Basics 2: Competitive Bidding, and Bridge Basics 3: Popular Conventions.  This series will include another two titles when completed. Each book covers a different topic of Bridge and includes summaries and practice hands. Grant is the world’s foremost author of bridge textbooks and thousands have benefited from her teaching methods for years.

Grandparenting with Love & Logic : practical solutions to today’s grandparenting challenges by Jim Fay and Foster W. Cline, M.D. was an interesting book for me since I am a  grandparent. The authors divide grandparents into three types: a helicopter which hovers, a drill sergeant who makes a lot of noise and the consultant who listens and offers choices. Near the end of the book, they offer “Pearls,” or suggestions, for dealing with specific issues. Some pearls of interest were behaviors of young and old,  inheritance and heirlooms as gifts, expectations of everyone and how house rules can differ between home and grandparents’ home.

Jonathan Safran Foer's new book, Eating Animals, explores why we try to justify our eating habits and why the majority of the world is omnivore and not vegetarian.  At this time of year when the holiday meal revolves around turkey, ham, standing-rib roasts or a venison roast from the latest deer hunt, Foer uses fact and humor to enlighten tghe reader on how to make his or her own informed decisions on whether to eat animal or not.

Fan Fare : a playbook of great recipes for tailgating or watching the game at home by Debbie Moose is a sport-lover’s guide to party-time. It includes some good helps on the prior planning to the game day then progresses to snacks and appetizers. Recipes from all over the U.S. made my mouth water—eight-layer dip with tortilla chips, chicken poppers, cheese straws, mimosa and smokin’ Mary drinks, sauerkraut stew, bite-size quiches and spicy beef, and all kinds of sweets. I can hardly wait for Super Bowl Sunday to come to try these recipes out! 

Lastly I want to mention Meg Leach’s new book, Knitted Finger Puppets : 34 easy-to-make toys. This book is loaded with pictures and easy patterns for finger puppets that the children—or grandchildren—in your life with love. It includes patterns for circus animals, a dragon and other enchanted animals, Goldilocks and her bears, the three pigs, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, elves, a prince, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and several others.

John Wooden, famous American basketball coach once said, “Sports, do not build character, they reveal it.” This may be true, and there are certainly a wide array of books that go beyond classic sports writing examining the amazing stories behinds the games. Here are several tantalizing choices that your library offers in this genre: 

1.       The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, by Michael Lewis

            “The Blind Side”, written by Michael Lewis a non fiction and financial writer, tells the unlikely true story of             Michael Oher, an impoverished young man who is taken in by the  upper class white family, the Tuohey's, who encourage him to play football. The book examines the changes in American defensive football over the past thirty years while describing Oher's rise to becoming one of the greatest players in college football.

2.       The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

Written by Garth Stein, “The Art of Racing in the Rain” tells the story through the eyes and ears of beloved Golden Retriever, Enzo and his relationship with his master, a professional race car driver named Denny Swift. On the day he is to die, this philosophical pup reflects on the tragedies the Swift family has had to deal with and how the principles of race car driving can help anyone, man or mutt, cope with whatever life has to throw at them.

3.       Open, by Andre Agassi

A brand new autobiography, “Open” is written by famous Tennis master, Andre Agassi, in which he reveals some startling admissions. From claims of crystal meth use to his doomed marriage to actress, Brooke Shields, Agassi lays his past out on the line for the judgment of both fan and critic alike. Further, he reflects upon the game he loves so much, how it has changed, and how it has shaped his life.

4.       Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine, by Tom Jordon

Steve Prefontaine, a college runner who didn't live past his 24^th birthday became a quintessential figure in   long distance running during the mid 1970's despite his physical and personal flaws. “Pre” by Tom Jordan examines Prefontaine's brief life, while highlighting on Pre's indomitable spirit, incredible drive and unlikely skill. Further, it touches on his relationship with famed coach, Bill Bowerman and how that effected his running.

5.       Seabiscuit: An American Legend, by Laura Hillenbrand

A nonfiction story about the unlikely horse champion, Seabiscuit, Laua Hillenbrand tells a story of one of the greatest ages in horse racing through the narratives of  three lives that racehorse Seabiscuit touched: his grieving owner, his  troubled jockey, and his mute trainer. What follows is a deeply moving, and incredibly uplifting true story about three down on their luck horsemen who dared to believe in horse the world forgot.

6.       Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, A Dream, by H.G. Bissinger

Hardly a book on football has been written that has had the kind of cult following as “Friday Night Lights”. “Lights”. Written by H.G. Bissinger, “Lights” follows the Permian High School Panthers as they attempt to win a Texas State Championship. Bissinger, who set out to write a book about football, instead became so enthralled by the teams town, Odessa, Texas, that the book became as a much a human interest as it was a sports story. What follows is Bissinger's belief that Odessa put football before academics which helped to shape the towns overall consciousness.

7.       A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean

Written by Norman Maclean, “A River Runs Through It” tells the story of the author's family: Norman, his younger brother, Paul and their Presbyterian minister father. While the story focuses mainly on the Maclean family's attempts to reach their troubled son, Paul, the relationship is anchored by the family's love of fly fishing in Montana around 1937. A classic read for those interested in both fly fishing and family centered stories.

The Peter White Public library’s annual holiday display of decorated trees and wreaths, which debuts on December 6, showcases the diverse and creative talents of community members. If you are inspired to try your hand at a new craft, make a gift, or even sign up to decorate a tree for the 2009 Winter Wonderland Walk, these new to the library nonfiction titles might get your creative juices flowing. 

Uniquely Felt by Christine White goes way beyond the typical felt figures of childhood story times at the flannel board. Colorful photographs and detailed descriptions bring the reader through a basic introduction to the medium with beginner projects to more advanced techniques creating garments and running felting workshops for others. 746.0463 WH. 

Beading enthusiast will find plenty of inspiration in Designing Jewelry with Glass Beads by Stephanie Sersich. The author uses a rich assortment of interesting handmade beads and found objects to create one of a kind pieces that would make terrific gift items. Each project is clearly illustrated with full color photographs and drawings. 745.5942 SE. 

A literal new twist on crafting comes from the authors of Paper Yarn. Techniques of weaving, sewing, knitting, crocheting, braiding and wrapping with twisted paper are employed to produce mats, hats, baskets, boxes, cases, pillows and soft sculpture- all with a fresh and funky appeal. A new approach to a traditional material offers a whole new mode of expression for the creative process. 745.54 PA 

The avant-garde seamstress might enjoy browsing through 49 Sensational Skirts by Alison Willoughby for ideas on creating fanciful clothing. Using fabric embellishments that employ appliqué and piecing techniques, tapestry and embroidery stitches, buttons, printing techniques, and even hat pins, Willoughby creates wearable works of art. Patterns are included with the book. 646.437 WI 

If you are not into fiber art, Ready, Set, Weld! by Kimberli Matin is full of ideas for the home workshop. The author teaches the basics of metal welding techniques and details how to create wonderful gifts from picture frames and garden stakes to tables and chairs. Try your hand at creating that exceptional piece for the home or garden. 739.14 MA 

Those readers who have a shop full of woodworking tools will enjoy the fresh inspiration provided by Kerry Pierce in The Wood Stash Project Book. Using leftover scrap wood from previous projects, the author provides designs that will inspire stockings full of small projects from beads to spoons, cutting boards to trinket boxes. Detailed drawings and photographs accompany the step by step directions. 684.08 PI

The college student in the household might enjoy the creations of Theresa Gonzalez and Nicole Smith in Dorm Décor. From bedding to laundry, this book brings a personal touch to dorm life. Using simple handcrafting techniques of sewing, gluing, computer skills, and painting the authors create new pieces and personalize store bought items to add a special touch to that home away from home. Patterns are included with the book.746 GO

Fiber Gathering by Joanne Seiff is part travelogue, part craft book. Focusing on America’s fiber festivals, this book will inspire your next vacation to learn about the art and craft of spinning and dying wool. Festival events such as wool bearing animal shows, dog herding trials, sheep shearing, and vendor booths are highlighted in addition to project details on what to create with that handspun wool. Rich photography and clear descriptions make for warm inspiration on a chilly fall evening. 746 SE

When searching for these and other books in the library’s online catalog, take a moment to write a review to pass on recommendations to other readers. It’s easy. Just click on “write a review” in the item’s catalog record, take a second to create an account, and share your thoughts on all your favorite library material.  What ever your interest, make it homemade this holiday!

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, so why not come into Peter White Public Library to learn more about this growing disease.  The Library carries many books for patrons or caretakers who would like to learn more about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. 

Understanding Diabetes: A handbook for people who are living with diabetes. 11^th ed. By H. Peter Chase, MD.  This is a must-read handbook for teens or parents of children newly diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.  Dr. Chase discusses the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, the important role of blood sugar monitoring and how insulin works in the body. 

487 Really Cool Tips for Kids with Diabetes by Spike Nasmyth Loy and Bo Nasmyth Loy.   When two young brothers were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at ages 6 and 7 years old, their parents put together some great ideas for preschoolers to college student living with diabetes.  Also check out their other book, Getting a Grip on Diabetes : quick tips and techniques for kids and teens.

My Life as a Pancreas  by Priscilla Call Essert.  You will laugh and cry with the author of this book.  Essert writes from the heart while reflecting on her life as a caregiver for her son with Type 1 diabetes.  This is a great read for any parent living and loving their diabetic child.

Check out these children’s books to help your child with diabetes or their classmates to understand what their friend is going through:  Why Am I So Tired?: A first look at childhood diabetes  by Thomas Pat and Even Superhero’s get Diabetes by Sue Ganz-Schmitt.  These books help explain diabetes so children can understand, while focusing on the inner strength of a person to deal with a life long disease.

Snack play is an important role in diabetes and here are two great cookbooks.  Diabetes Snacks, Treats and Easy Eats : 130 recipes you’ll make again and again by Barbara Grunes with Linda R. Youkam is one. My favorite, The Diabetes Munch Nibble Nosh Book 3^rd ed. by Ruth Glick, is the second.  You will never run out of ideas for tasty treats with these two cookbooks. Each recipe also lists calories, fat and carbohydrate counts.

The Editors of Prevention magazine have also published two helpful books for diabetics.  Get your questions answered in Diabetes Breakthroughs 2009 : expert answers and advice. You can find some fabulous desserts to work into your diet plan in Diabetes Breakthroughs 2009: Decadent Desserts.

If you need to give your eyes a rest from reading, check out these DVDs:  Diabetes Hero Video : five unique Upper Peninsula Michigan residents share their stories of living with Diabetes; for parents who need supportive advice check out Moving Forward—with Diabetes: insights from parents of children with Diabetes by Arnold Creek Productions; or to help your child learn more about nutrition watch Learn Nutrition by Standard Deviants.

Get a treat by using this trick on your computer.  Library card holders at Peter White Public Library can check out and download digital audiobook titles anytime, anywhere by visiting the Great Lakes Digital Libraries Overdrive collection at digitalmedia.gldl.info.  Links can be found on the Library’s web page at www.pwpl.info or when using the Library’s online catalog.

Users can browse our growing collection of best-selling and classic titles. To check out a digital title, patrons will need a valid library card, personal computer and Internet connection. Once downloaded, digital titles can be enjoyed on the computer or transferred to supported mobile devices, such as your Ipod or other mp3 player.  Many audio titles can be burned to CD to enjoy in the car. At the end of the seven-day lending period, titles will automatically expire and are returned to the digital collection. There are never late fees or damaged items.  Check out these newly added goodies in our digital collection.  Trick or treat!

Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman - In the half-built skeleton of a monstrously vulgar mansion in one of L.A.’s toniest neighborhoods, a watchman stumbles on the bodies of a young couple–murdered in flagrante and left in a gruesome postmortem embrace. Though he’s cracked some of the city’s worst slayings, veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is still shocked at the grisly sight: a twisted crime that only Milo’s killer instincts–and psychologist Alex Delaware’s keen insights–can hope to solve.

The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwall - A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta—despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN—to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events.

A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve - Margaret and Patrick have been married just a few months when they set off on what they hope will be a great adventure-a year living in Kenya. Margaret quickly realizes there is a great deal she doesn't know about the complex mores of her new home, and about her own husband.

How to Raise the Perfect Dog by Cesar Millan - For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, "Yes, you can raise the perfect dog!" It all starts with the proper foundation in the early years. Here, Cesar tells you everything you need to know to create the best environment for a well-balanced dog in order to avoid behavior issues in the future, and shows you how to correct the most common behavior issues for young dogs.

13 ½ by Neveda Barr - In 1971, the state of Minnesota was rocked by the “Butcher Boy” incident, as coverage of a family brutally murdered by one of their own swept across newspapers and television screens nationwide.  Now, in present-day New Orleans, Polly Deschamps finds herself at yet another lonely crossroads in her life. No stranger to tragedy, Polly was a runaway at the age of fifteen, escaping a nightmarish Mississippi childhood.  Lonely, that is, until she encounters architect Marshall Marchand and eventually marries him.  Lurking over Polly is an ominous prediction by a New Orleans tarot card reader, one that may shatter the happiness she has forever prayed for.

Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger - When a charter plane carrying Cork O'Connor's wife, Jo, goes missing in a snowstorm over the Wyoming Rockies, Cork must accept the terrible truth that his wife is gone forever. But is she? In Heaven's Keep, celebrated author William Kent Krueger puts his intrepid hero through the most harrowing mission of his life.

Strength in What Remains:  Remains A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder - Kidder once again delivers the masterful story of a hero for these modern times.   Deo grew up in the mountains of Burundi, and survived a civil war and genocide before seeking a new life in America. In New York City he lived homeless in Central Park before finding his way to Columbia University. But Deo’s story really begins with his will to turn his life into something truly remarkable; he returns to his native country to help people there, as well as people in the United States.

If you love to read non-fiction or are willing to take a break from your favorite novel, consider reading one of the variety of books in the Peter White Public Library non-fiction collection. Choices range from financial advice to true stories of intriguing people.  If the book you want is checked out, place a hold online on the Library catalog at www.pwpl.info or ask for other great reading suggestions.

100 Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know  by John D. Barrow. This fascinating book uses basic mathematics to answer puzzling, everyday questions such as such as the odds of winning the lottery, how batting averages are figured, and why you always seem to get stuck in the longest line.

10,001 Ways To Live Large On A Small Budget from the popular personal finance blog, Wise Bread, offers timely and useful tips on everything from getting the best airfare and reducing your mortgage to the basics of saving and getting all the freebies you can. 

Barbie and Ruth : The Story Of The World's Most Famous Doll And The Woman Who Created Her  by Robin Gerber.   Ruth Handler turned the toy industry upside down with the 1959 introduction of Barbie, a child's doll with adult curves.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. The author left her home for a year to find out what it was like to live on poverty-level wages. Although it is a bit gimmicky, her story is compelling and sobering.

Not Quite What I Was Planning : Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous And Obscure by  Rachel Fershleiser and Smith magazine.  This fascinating collection of six-word memoirs may well have inspired Twitter and illustrates how evocative a few words can be. One example captures an entire bittersweet romance, “Found true love, married someone else.”

The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History Of Four Meals. Author Michael Pollan investigates the origins of the food that make up our national diet through four different meals: a burger and fries from McDonald's, an organic meal from Whole Foods, a dinner from a sustainable farm, and a meal derived from food shot and foraged. Pollan describes the environmental and health consequences that result from our food choices.

Outliers : The Story Of Success by  Malcolm Gladwell. The best-selling author of Blink identifies the qualities of successful people in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires, why certain cultures are associated with better academic performance, and why the Beatles earned their fame. This title is available as hardcover book and through the Library’s collection of downloadable audiobooks.

Play : How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart L. Brown . According to Dr. Brown, play is as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition and may be the single most important factor in determining our success and happiness. Brown maintains life-long play is essential to our social skills, intelligence, creativity, and our ability to problem solve.

Spent : End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again by Frank Lipman. If you often find yourself too tired to face the day, you are not alone. Many Americans are plagued by fatigue, joint pain, irritability, insomnia, and digestive problems that seem to defy explanation. Lipman sets forth a series of simple actions --such as sleep, diet, exercise, nutrition, meditation, and relaxation-- to help people repair their stressed systems and nourish their bodies and  minds.

Thinking In Pictures : And Other Reports From My Life With Autism by Temple Grandin. A  high-functioning autistic, Grandin is also a renowned designer of livestock systems. Her unique empathy for animals has allowed her to create systems which are humane and cruelty free. Here she presents linked articles on her life and her work as an animal scientist.

New teen nonfiction is shelved in the Teen Area for a short period and is then sent upstairs to be incorporated into the adult collection. A teen nonfiction book can be distinguished from adult by the YA (Young Adult) sticker on its spine, and by the designation “Teen Nonfiction – Shelved With Adult Nonfiction” in the library’s online catalog. These six excellent nonfiction titles, which can still be found on the “New Teen” bookshelf, are directed at young people in search of creative outlets:

A fun read for aspiring musicians or anyone curious about what goes on behind the scenes at a rock band show, Travis Nichols’ Punk Rock Etiquette: the ultimate how-to guide for DIY, punk, indie, and underground bands combines insider humor with helpful information on everything from choosing bandmates to recording music to proper stage etiquette. Bands wondering how to take their act out of the garage and onto the road can check out this book for some very entertaining advice.

Teens interested in non-musical stage performance will find a treasure trove of audition monologues in Janet B. Milstein’s The Ultimate Audition Book for Teens: 111 one-minute monologues. Categorized as “Comedic” or “Dramatic,” and divided into “Male”, “Female” and “Male or Female” sections, these original, award-winning monologues were written specifically for today’s teens.

Readers can take a short course in illustration with Jessica Able & Matt Madden in Drawing Words & Writing Pictures: a definitive course from concept to comic in 15 lessons. A solid resource for teens and adults who want to create their own manga, graphic novels and comics, this step-by-step course will help the budding cartoonist master such elements as panel transitions, lettering, story structure, page layout, and character development.

Aspiring young digital artists will appreciate Ron Miller’s introduction to the medium in Digital Art: painting with pixels. Miller, a professional digital artist, addresses the questions of what digital art is, where it came from, how it works, and whether it is actually art at all. The final chapter gives a brief overview of related careers, along with advice on how to get started.

Anyone wishing to make a personal statement through the shoes they wear can find inspiration in the hundreds of wild designs offered by MAKI in Custom Kicks. Featuring footwear customized by artists from every continent, using a wide variety of techniques and styles, Custom Kicks also contains shoe-art tips for the absolute beginner operating on a shoestring budget.

Socially conscious teens might prefer to apply their creative energy toward promoting positive change in their world.  PeaceJam: a billion simple acts of peace, by Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle, highlights the goals of the PeaceJam Global Call to Action, which pairs the influence of eleven Nobel Laureates with the drive and enthusiasm of youth around the world.  The book and companion DVD present firsthand accounts of the youths’ successful work, as well as concrete advice on how to take local action on issues of peace, social justice and the environment.

We’ve seen the summer end here in the U.P., and after all that glorious vacation food, it may be time for a waistline shape-up.  The Peter White Public Library has just the thing to help you fit into your working clothes again.  The #1 New York Times Bestseller, “Cook Yourself Thin” is on the shelves of our new non-fiction releases.  The book shares author time between three lovely ladies, Candice Kumai, Harry Eastwood and Allison Fishman.  The book bills itself as quick, healthy cooking that can help you drop a dress size in no time and appeal to your taste buds.  Recipes and beautifully pictured meals will inspire you to head to the kitchen but not overeat when you get there.   The book has a helpful calorie count section, as well as a quick quiz to diagnose your dieting trip-ups.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks each have separate chapters for easy go-to menus.  If you like vegetables, you’ll enjoy seeing how a mouthwatering dessert like apple cinnamon cake can include grated sweet potato. 

The next three book previews are also from our new non-fiction section.  The first, “Left at the Altar” by Kimberley Kennedy, is a true account of a newswoman’s heartbreak and renewal as she battles back from rejection.  The author, an Emmy award winning  and television broadcaster, writes about her beautifully planned wedding being turned upside down at the last minute by her fiancé backing out before the wedding rehearsal.   Being such a public personality, put her private life in the spotlight and Kennedy tells how she fought her way back from depression and illness to take charge of her life once again.  A woman of faith, she turned to her Bible and other Christian resources to gain strength in recovery.  This book is a valuable tool for anyone who has known the hurt of failed relationships.

 Another tale of pressure events and intertwining lives is told in the new book by Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Tom Howes, entitled, “Out of Captivity”, Surviving 1,967 Days in the Columbian Jungle.  This trio was taken hostage by Columbian FARC guerillas, when the plane they were in crashed while on a reconnaissance mission to help eradicate the coca fields.  It was their good luck to survive the crash, but immensely unfortunate that their landing place was shortly surrounded by a guerrilla band.  Employed by a private company, the men were seen as potentially lucrative exchanges for money, or guerillas being held prisoner by the Columbian government.  The three take turns telling their story of forced marches, inhumane treatment, jungle disease and individual methods of surviving the madness.  Each of the men grew to appreciate their supporting families back home and their bond as brothers enduring harsh conditions on a daily basis.  The story has a happy ending, fortunately, and the clever plot of the men’s rescue would make for a good movie script. 

 A very pertinent book for world events is a new release by Roger Benimoff, entitled, “Faith Under Fire”.  Roger pens a memoir of his battle with post traumatic stress syndrome after his return from serving as an army chaplain in Iraq.  After two tours of duty there, Roger is assigned to counsel and work with returning soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  As he struggles to minister to the needs of these hurting servicemen, he recognizes that he is in need himself.  This book gives some first hand experiences from the wards of Walter Reed and a look at our country’s response to our hurting servicemen.

Good books have the ability to carry you away to foreign lands, long ago times, and unlikely advenures. These new juvenile books from the Youth Services Department offer excitement and adventure for readers of all ages.

Amy MacDonald’s book, Nor More Nasty, tells what happens when Simon Maxwell’s Great-Aunt-Matilda takes over for Mrs. Biggs with only five weeks left in the school year. Combining the best qualities of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Mary Poppins, Great-Aunt-Mattie helps Simon’s class win first prize in the Science Fair with an original project called The Mighty Muculent Egg-Breaking and Breakfast-Making Morning-Waking Machine!

Steven Herrick’s book, Naked Bunyip Dancing, is a novel written in verse that tells the tale of another classroom transformation. Dubbed “Carey the Hairy” by his new students, Mr. Carey ‘s unorthodox teaching methods lead Class 6C to develop new talents that are showcased in the end-of-year talent show. This is a poetry book that is easy and fun to read. Steven Herrick is an award-winning poet who lives near Sydney, Australia, and his book, Naked Bunyip Dancing, was named a Notable Book in the Younger Readers Category by the Children’s Book Council of Australia.

Andrew Clements’ book, Extra Credit, tells what happens when a Midwesterner, Abby Carson, engages a pen pal from Afghanistan to earn extra credit so that she can be promoted into the seventh grade. Abby chooses a pen pal in Afghanistan because she likes to rock climb and there are mountains in Afghanistan, aren’t there? Although Sadeed Bayat is considered the best student in his village, it is his younger sister, Amir, who is chosen to write a reply with Sadeed’s help. When a turban-clad stranger threatens Sadeed’s village over the arrangement, the village council ends the letter exchange, but not before valuable lessons have been learned by classmates on both sides of the cultural divide.

Jennifer Allison’s book, Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, begins when Gilda boasts she’ll be spending vacation in San Francisco while working on her novel, a lie that sounds far more exciting than her previous plan of spying on Hector/Plaid Pants all summer. After she wrangles an invitation to visit an estranged uncle, Lester Splinter, and his daughter, Gilda packs her old typewriter, several disguises, and a how-to psychic guidebook. The cousins immediately start unlocking the mystery surrounding  the ghostly footsteps they hear each night behind the locked tower door.

The Postcard by Tony Abbott  begins when Jason is sent to St. Petersburg to help his father settle his grandmother’s affairs and to attend her funeral. A mysterious postcard leads Jason try try to figure out fact from fiction as he pieces together the long lost love story between his grandmother and a gentleman known as Emerson Beale from the hidden short story fragments written decades earlier.

You’ll enjoy Kelly Easton’s book, The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes, if you like books by Lemony Snicket.  Libby's life of drudgery ends the day she discovers secret potions in her father's laboratory that enable her to float away to a series of amazing adventures.  In the process, Liberty learns to live up to her name and helps bring justice to everyone trapped by her father's malevolent and twisted ways. 

In Neal Shusterman’s book, Antsy Does Time, thirteen-year-old Anthony, “Antsy” Bonano offers to give away one month of his life to his friend, Gunnar, who has confided to Antsy that he has only six months to live. Soon everyone at school is donating time to Gunnar and a community rally is being organized in his honor. With Antsy scheduled to make the keynote address, Antsy discovers too late that Gunnar has misdiagnosed himself using “Dr. Gigabyte’s” site on the internet and realizes that the rally will be a huge mistake. What happens next comes as a complete surprise but brings the events of the story quickly into perspective. 

Newberry award-winning author of The Higher Power of Lucky, Susan Patron has now written a sequel called Lucky Breaks.  It starts on the eve of Lucky’s eleventh birthday when she meets a potential new best friend who has come to the Hard Pan Café for lunch with a group of geologists. Worried about what Paloma will think of the unusual characters that inhabit her small town, Lucky actively discourages Lincoln and Miles from hanging around too much. When Lucky finds herself in a tough spot, however, it is Paloma and Lincoln together who teach Lucky the true meaning of friendship.

One Book One Community is an annual literacy effort whereby area residents and friends are invited to read the same book, meet to discuss it, and attend related programs at Northern Michigan University, Peter White Public Library and Snowbound Books. This fall’s book selection is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. O’Brien will speak at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center’s Great Lakes Rooms on October 7.

The Great Michigan Read is a similar program, that is biennial, and reaches across the whole state. The book choice for GMR relates to Michigan through authorship, subject matter, or location. The current selection is Stealing Buddha’s Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen.

Both selections regard the Vietnam War. O’Brien served as a soldier in Vietnam. His novel examines soldiers in action, and both short and long term effects of war on those soldiers and himself. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and fled to the United States with most of her family members as a result of the conflict. Food became the vehicle by which Nguyen assimilated into American culture in Grand Rapids, MI during the 1980s. For information about events and book discussions related to these two programs, call 226-4323 or visit www.nmu.edu/onebook or www.pwpl.info.

The following are books for youth dealing with Vietnam or the war.

It is 1977 and the Voyager 2 space probe is being prepared for launch. Theo and his classmates are given the assignment of describing the very best thing about being a human on Earth. This effort launches Theo’s search for his father who did not come back from Vietnam. Greetings From Planet Earth by Barbara Kerley portrays our country in the aftermath of the Vietnam conflict and explores the effects of the war on returning soldiers.

Paul, a Minnesota farm boy, takes a job in town at the Shell service station in the summer of 1965. The locals and tourists he meets include a high school beauty whose boyfriend is headed to Vietnam and a family of hippies who camp on his farm when their peace van breaks down. Paul, brought up in a sheltered religious community, discovers much about life, morality, secrets, and America’s involvement in the Vietnam War in Will Weaver’s novel Full Service.

Cracker, a German shepherd, and her handler Rick, a teenage American soldier, are sent to Vietnam where they search for bombs, booby traps and ambushes. Told through the voices of Rick, Cracker, and the young boy who offered her to the army, Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kaddhata portrays the dangerous conditions experienced by soldiers in Vietnam and the role of the military canine unit.

At twelve years old, Tree does stand tall. He’s 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches in height, cannot play basketball like his older brothers, and is trying to cope with the recent divorce of his parents. Tree makes friends with a new, outspoken girl at school and helps his Grandfather, an amputee scarred by his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam, learn to walk again. These relationships help Tree learn to deal with loss and develop the confidence to rely on his height when a devastating flood strikes their town in Joan Bauer’s Stand Tall.

 After graduating from Saigon University, Hyunh Quand Nhuong was drafted into the South Vietnamese army and paralyzed by a bullet wound. He came to the U.S. for medical treatment and has made the U.S. his home. His first book for children, The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam, tells of his childhood in a hamlet in the central highlands of Vietnam and the birds, monkeys, tigers, crocodiles, wild hogs and snakes surrounding his jungle home.

 Mr. Hyunh’s memoir, Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam, focuses on his relationship with Tank, one of the family’s water buffaloes. The fierce Tank, Nhuong’s best friend and leader of the village buffaloes, fights off the tigers and wild hogs who threaten the hamlet. Tank can’t fight everything, however, and tragedy results when French forces and Ho Chi Minh’s resistance fighters bring the war to Nhuong’s beloved hamlet.

Leaving Vietnam: The Journey  of Tuan Ngo, a Boat Boy by Sarah S. Kilborne, can be enjoyed by beginning readers. The story explains the difficult and dangerous journey many people, including Tuan Ngo, undertook to escape Vietnam; their days at sea, the months of waiting in refugee camps, and finally the flight to the United States, Canada, or Australia where they could begin new lives.

 Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith describes the new life of one family who escaped Vietnam in Hoang Anh: A Vietnamese-American Boy.  The book covers Hoang Anh’s daily life at home and school and his family’s preparations for the festival of TET, the Vietnamese New Year. Hoang Anh favors pizza, traditional Vietnamese foods, and the crab his father, a fisherman, brings home.

Two titles, Sue Townsend and Caroline Young’s Vietnam and Cooking the Vietnamese Way by Chi Nguyen and Judy Monroe offer young people a variety Vietnamese recipes. Colorful photographs enhance both books. The latter title includes diagrams showing how to eat with chopsticks and wrap spring rolls.

The library offers readers and cooks many books on Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the Hmong, the war, PTSD, immigration, and the efforts of  Southeast Asians to rebuild their lives in America.

The Peter White Public Library offers these new non-fiction titles.

Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook by Mary Ann Dragan.

The December winds will bellow and blow, but you can be as warm as a September tomato. This book shows novices how to make their own canned goods with minimal effort or special equipment.  New non-fiction 641.852 DR

Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945 by Randall Hansen.

Nearly two million tons of bombs were dropped on Germany during WWII. Fire and Fury tells the story through the eyes of German citizens and the allied pilots who flew the missions. It also gives perspective into the decisions behind the campaigns.  New non-fiction 940.5421 HA

Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America by John Earl Haynes, et. al.

“Spies” is an account of Soviet espionage in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. The authors have used recently uncovered documents from Stalin-era Soviet Union. The result is startling revelations, including unaccounted for nuclear spies.  New non-fiction 327.1247 HA

Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell.

Pricing of products can spark emotion in the buyer, causing people to make personal and political decisions they might not otherwise make. But what are the real costs of “cheap” goods? The author uses a set of examples to illustrate the unintended consequences of the discount world. She also tries to answer the question, are discount stores really cheaper?  New non-fiction 381.149 SH

The Ultimate Man's Survival Guide by Frank Miniter.

Beyond mere wilderness survival, this volume is broken down into numerous categories. Chapters include: Survivor, Provider, Athlete, Hero, Gentleman, and Philosopher. Concisely covers topics ranging from performing CPR, fishing strategy, and tying a Windsor knot.  New non-fiction 155.332 MI

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes.

In late 18^th and early 19^th century Britain, there were fantastic opportunities for scientific discovery. The times were marked by grandiose expeditions to exotic locations, as well as self-educated scientists who made discoveries much closer to home. Science was a quest, furiously debated, and the world was viewed through a completely different lens as a result.  New non-fiction 509.4109 HO

            Just in time for the new school year, the Library is subscribing to some new databases to help students and other curious folks find information both in the library and at home.  Gale/Cengage Learning has been producing outstanding reference books for many years. High school students in Marquette are familiar with Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, The Dictionary of Literary Biography and other resources to use for English class assignments.  Local book club members and other readers use these works to find information to enrich their understanding of an author’s writings and life.  Now with online Literature Resources from Gale, students and others can find information about an author with one search using the Literature Resources from Gale search box on the library’s homepage at <http://www.pwpl.info>. Biographies, critical reviews, news articles, and more are available with just one search.  All you need to access this from home is your Peter White library card.

You will also notice the new PowerSearch search box on our homepage.  Now when you’re down to the wire looking for information you can access all of the Gale/Cengage online resources available from MEL with one search - either at the library or at home 24/7 with your Peter White library card.  You’ll find information for school assignments, health, business, and legal information, current events and more from magazines, newspapers and reference books.   Once you’ve entered your search you can click on the “Change Databases” tab at the top of the page to search other specialized subject collections and resources such as ChiltonLibrary.com and Literature Resources from Gale.

Coming soon--the library will have access to the Biography Resource Center from our webpage.  You’ll be able to type in a name and find out all kinds of information about a person.

Check out the Peter White webpage to find Tough Times Library Lifelines, a collection of resources for Upper Peninsula residents to utilize during hard economic times:  Find help under the “Resources” tab about

• Filing an Unemployment Claim
• Health Insurance Options
• Finding a New Job
• Homeownership Preservation
• Credit Repair and Maintenance
• Additional Assistance Programs.

School is the time for students to take those dreaded ACT and SAT tests.  The Michigan Electronic Library (MEL) has a great resource to use to practice for those tests, brush up on basic skills, practice for the GED, ASVAB tests, and others.  Everyone from primary age on up can find practice exams to prepare for school and careers at Learning Express Library.  To find this resource, click on the “Resources” tab on the Peter White webpage.  Choose Mel Databases where you’ll find the Learning Express Library listed.  You’ll be able to use this site with your library card number or your Michigan Driver’s License number.  Enjoy your free access to the MEL databases—a great value from federal grant money and the Library of Michigan.  If you need help getting started or searching, please call the Reference staff at 226-4311.   

 As summer is starting to draw to a close and fall is rolling in, it is always nice to curl up with a good mystery. Historically based mysteries usually have a wonderfully chilling aspect to them, as they explore the darker side of cities and events. The Peter White Public Library offers a host of historical mysteries for the choosing, with a bit of something for everyone’s preferences in time.

Consequences of Sin is a coming out novel for new author Clare Langley-Hawthorne. From the twisting streets of turn-of-the-century London to the muggy and mysterious jungles of South America, heroine Ursula Marlow strives to prove her friend’s innocence in a murder that provides widespread scandal. Her investigations, coupled with those of her father’s lawyer, Lord Wortham, uncover a deeper mystery that delves not only into the deceased family’s past but that of her own. This she does while at the same time working with the suffragettes and dealing with death as it closes in around her. Although the book does start off a bit slowly, and uses a few clichéd phrases, it is actually a fairly good book with an interesting story. For some one who enjoys history, mystery, and a sprinkling of romance, this would be the book for you.

The Necropolis Railway is third in the Jim Stringer series by Andrew Martin. The book opens with young Mr. Stringer moving into Waterloo in London, England. He has just been brought down to work as a cleaner and foot-man at the Nine Elms Locomotive Shed, bearing letters from the elusive Roland Smith. As he is given his duties, he finds he is the replacement for another young man who has mysteriously disappeared. Soon, more murders and oddities begin to pop up around the singular line that he works on, a graveyard line. Stringer feels he must find out what is behind these mysteries before he is the one next in line for death. The Peter White Public Library also has two other books in this mystery series: The Blackpool Highflyer and The Lost Luggage Porter for those who would like to start at the beginning.

Jason Goodwin’s new novel, The Bellini Card, starts the story in the year 1840. Beginning with the end of a murder the tone is set at a maudlin pace, the unfortunate victim sinking slowly into watery depths. Afterward, the reader is introduced to Yashim, a detective, who has been charged to find and retrieve a painting of his Sultan’s ancestor. He is sent to Venice, where rumors had last mentioned the painting. He is led to a darker side of Venice, where murders are occurring that seem connected to his mission. How are the murders and the painting connected become the mysteries Yashim must puzzle out.

     If any of these have piqued your interest, here are a few more history mysteries that you might like as well:

    -The Fire Kimono - Character Sano Ichiro must deal with not only a mystery of whom has tried to kill his wife but with that of a decades old murder that has recently resurfaced in the thirteenth novel in this series by Laura Joh Rowland.
    - The Queen’s Gambit by Diane A.S. Stuckat- Starring Leonardo da Vinci, this novel takes place in Milan and revolves around the murder of an ambassador from France and a live chess game.
    - The Empty Mirror by J. Sydney Jones- A string of murders in Vienna, Austria point to artist Gustav Klimt as the culprit. To prove his innocence, Klimt’s lawyer enlists the help of Hans Gross as the two work to uncover who has done the crimes, even at the cost of social ties.

Meandering through the new bookshelves recently, I found some books of interest. Hopefully, they will interest you, too.

Late summer always brings soccer to mind as my sons played the game in high school. We have a new volume of the Dummies series involving soccer entitled COACHING SOCCER FOR DUMMIES. The National Alliance for Youth Sports and its Director of Communication Greg Bach have created another super edition in the series. It will assist the new volunteer coach in learning the rules and fundamentals plus provide drills and team encouragement for all coaches. 

DOWN CAME THE RAIN: My Journey through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields tells her experiences following the birth of her first daughter. In this memoir Ms. Shields goes through her own story of infertility, high self expectations of her job as a mother, the problems brought on by her sinking depression afterwards then through the therapies and medications she used to get her life back on a normal track. This candid book can help women going through postpartum depression to know they are not alone in their emotions. It is also a good book for insight into one of Hollywood’s young women.

Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is the main character in Nora Roberts’ book entitled VISION IN WHITE. She is the photographer in an all-inclusive wedding service that is owned by herself and her three best friends. Scurrying to an appointment, Mac literally bumps into a former acquaintance, Carter Maguire,  who is at Vows with his bride-to-be sister. Maguire, an English teacher and Shakespeare buff, immediately falls in love with Mac and slowly works on her defenses against marriage. This is the first in a new romance series by Roberts entitled Bride Quartet and is also available at PWPL in Large Print. 

 New paperbacks are on a lower shelf of one kiosk near the regular paperback section. Among them are the latest books in two different series. Nina Wright writes about a female real estate agent in her Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series. Set in the small lakeside town of Magnet Springs, MI, Whiskey and her afghan dog named Abra solve murders. Whiskey and Abra attend a dog show in northern Indiana after being asked to attend as an example of what happens when bad training is given to your dog. They arrive after a double shooting-- two dog breeders are shot at while in their car and a third breeder is murdered. Find out how they go to work and solve this murder in WHISKEY WITH A TWIST. 

Laura Caldwell is the author of the Izzy McNeil mystery series. Ms. McNeil is a Chicago lawyer turned TV trial show host turned private investigator. Izzy goes undercover and into the underworld of the mob in this thriller. She jets around the globe to Rome and back looking for answers from anyone who can help her to understand the family connection she’s found to the Camorras. RED, WHITE AND DEAD is the final book in this fresh, “red,” trilogy that depicts a modern female role. 

Stephen Fishman edited the latest updated edition of THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: How to find and use copyright-free writings, music, art and more. It is a guidebook to hundreds of resources to help find that certain creative work when working on projects large and small. It aids the user in locating what can be copied and freely used without paying permission fees. The book’s chapters cover writings, works of art and music, maps, videos and films, computer software and much more. It’s indispensable as a resource. 

THE TWITTER BOOK by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein is a colorful, fun book that explains one of the newer online social networking functions. Information covers everything from how to get started, listening in and the proper way to reveal oneself. Join thousands of others using their hand-held devices to keep up-to-date on everyday activities as well as business happenings. 

Whether you’re looking to explore Marquette County, the world, or interested in vicarious adventures, Peter White Public Library carries a variety of new materials for your reading pleasure. 

In North Country Cache:  Adventures on a National Scenic Trail, author Joan Young serves up an eclectic collection of essays chronicling 2300 miles of hikes on the North Country National Scenic Trail, including the section that traverses Marquette County.  Written for hikers and non-hikers alike, Young describes many hardships, but there are always enough spectacular mountain-top views, secret lakes, and tales of both canine and human goodness to keep the author and her friends walking, and the reader turning pages.

Motorcycling Across Michigan:  A Guide, 2nd edition by William Murphy, takes the motorcycle rider through rural countryside and small towns on the back roads of Michigan. An appendix provides web sites for motorcycle clubs and events, repair shops, and emergency numbers making this book a handy reference when you're on the road.

Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail (5th edition) details over 280 miles of wilderness footpath on the North Shore of Lake Superior.  Mile by mile descriptions lead the casual hiker or ardent backpacker through a region thriving with spectacular wildflowers and diverse wildlife.  This guide provides information on trailhead access, parking accommodations, and campsites.  Complete maps are included with each section. 

Freewheeling Homes by David Pearson offers color photographs and the stories behind a range of original and inspiring customized examples from wheeled-home enthusiasts all around the world. These vary from converted trucks, buses, and ambulances to old rail wagons and a lovingly restored deluxe Airstream.  The book provides both inspiration and practical tips on how you can custom-make your own wheeled home to your individual tastes and requirements.

Use Camping with Kids:  The Complete Guide to Car, Tent, and RV Camping by Goldie Gendler Silverman to learn the basics of family camping.  Whether car, tent, or RV-camping, you will find everything from preparing your family for a camping trip, to setting up camp, to what to do if things should go awry.   It also tells you how to step beyond car camping into backpacking, canoe touring, and other extended adventures.

In the seventh edition, USA by Rail by John Pitt has been fully updated to take into account route and timetable changes. Rugged charm sets the train apart from more mundane means of transport and its ecological soundness is again in fashion. Though you can’t ride the train out of Marquette, you can still travel from coast to coast, explore the Rocky Mountains and ride directly alongside two oceans. Often less expensive than flying and more comfortable than the bus, the train keeps you relaxed and in touch with an ever-changing landscape as the world becomes a framed but moving picture.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria : How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life by Eve Brown-Waite is a personal memoir chronicling the author’s experience with the Peace Corps in Ecuador, her courtship with her recruiter and then their adventures as aide workers in Uganda. With an appealing, down-to-earth voice, Brown-Waite shares her adventures abroad in an accessible, humorous tone sure to appeal.

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman is another coming of age travel memoir; this time the goals of the travelers are not as altruistic.  Gilman and her trust-funded friend set-off to travel the world after graduating from college in 1986.  Their pre-trip visions of adventure do not meet the reality the world presents.

If you are planning ahead for winter or traveling to Patagonia this summer, you may be interested in the new AMC Guide to Winter Hiking & Camping:  Everything You Need to Plan Your Next Cold Weather Adventure by Yemaya Maurer and Lucas St. Clair. This guide emphasizes preparation, safety, outdoor stewardship, and fun.  You’ll learn when to go, what latest gear and clothing to bring, and the essentials of staying warm and dry.  Also included are sections on navigation and what to eat while hiking in winter weather.

In the Independence Day issue of the New York Times, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof expressed concern that students can fall as much as two months behind in their reading levels during summer. While summer vacation is full of learning new things like traveling to faraway places, trying new sports, enjoying family reunions, exploring the forest and the lake, and expanding construction and gardening talents, it is also a time to maintain and improve reading skills. Public libraries offer summer reading & listening programs to make this fun for students and their families. Programs welcome everyone and are free of charge.  Kristof provides a baker’s dozen of his favorite, mostly older, titles to encourage summer reading. Here are a baker’s dozen of my newer favorites.

Edward, a self-centered yet beloved china rabbit, is tossed from an ocean liner by a group of rowdy boys. In Kate DiCamillo’s old fashioned story, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, the long journey home teaches Edward about life, grief, and love.

A new mystery series set in 1790 London stars Cat Royal, an orphan brought up in the theater by its owner Mr. Sheridan. The strong cast of characters includes Pedro, a violinist and former slave; Johnny, a cartoonist with a secret of his own; Lord Francis and his sister Lady Elizabeth, who embrace friendship with Cat and Pedro; a butcher who protects (and loves?) Cat; and Billy Boil, a rival gang leader. Scenes take the reader around the theater, through the dirty streets and market stalls of London, to a pawnshop, boxing ring and dank jail cell. Luckily for us, The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding is the first of four Cat Royal adventures. 

Rose, locked in the zoo, spends the night in the arctic foxes shed. The dangerous escapade brings her artistic family together in a very satisfying conclusion to English author Hilary McKay’s delightful series about the eccentric and loving Casson family, most of whom are named after colors. The titles include Saffy’s Angel, Indigo’s Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After, and Forever Rose. 

Hate That Cat continues Sharon Creech’s novels in verse about Jack, a young boy whose teacher, Miss Stretchberry, encourages him to read and write poetry. 

Mr. Benedict has been kidnapped. Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance, recent graduates of the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, embark on a dangerous adventure following hidden clues and riddles left by Benedict himself. Will the children be in time to rescue their sponsor from his evil twin Mr. Curtain?  Read The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart to find out. 

Amy Barrows, author of the Ivy and Bean books, introduces Miri, a middle sister between two sets of twins, in her book The Magic Half. Miri travels back in time by peering through a broken lens she discovers taped to the purple wall of her new bedroom. She meets Molly, who could be her own twin, and discovers that “magic is really just a way of setting things right.” For interested adult readers, Barrows assisted her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer in writing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in which a book club is formed to protect its members from German soldiers occupying their island during World War II.

Minnesota author William Durbin writes about the Russian invasion of Finland during the harsh winter of 1939-1940 in The Winter War. Despite legs weakened by polio, Marko volunteers as a messenger on the front line. This young boy skiing in white camouflage helps save his village and country against great odds. 

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson imagines Anne Shirley’s early life and her journey from one foster family to another before she arrives at the train station on Prince Edward Island, where she steps “into her new life” with the Cuthbert siblings, Marilla and Matthew. Wilson penned his prequel with permission from the heirs of L. M. Montgomery.  

Our Farm: Four Seasons With Five Kids on One Family’s Farm by Michael J. Rosen takes a year-long look at the Bennett family’s 150-acre farm in Ohio. Photographs show the daily activities of the family members as they work hard, get dirty, and play on their land, raising cows, alfalfa, chickens and vegetables.

Tally’s father sends her to Delderton, a progressive boarding school, to keep her safe during the London Blitz. She organizes a folkdance troupe to be held in Bergania, a small country whose king continues to defy the Nazis. In Eva Ibbotson’s latest novel for youth, The Dragonfly Pool, Tally and her schoolmates help young Prince Karil escape to England when the king is assassinated. 

In My One Hundred Adventures, author Polly Horvath introduces another of her many memorable characters, Jane Fielding, who longs for adventure (100 of them, in fact) during her twelfth summer living with her mom and siblings on the Massachusetts shore.

Father and son, Thomas B. Allen and Roger MacBride Allen, reveal Abraham Lincoln as the driving force behind the North’s use of developing technologies such as railroads, surveillance balloons and high-powered weapons to win the Civil War. Learn how Lincoln helped revolutionized warfare in Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War. 

Ranger, a hound dog chained to a house in a bayou, befriends a calico cat and invites her to raise her kittens underneath the porch. However, they must stay hidden from Gar-Face, the man upstairs, who will use them as alligator bait if they are discovered. Kathi Appelt gives the reader a story of love, hate, and redemption in The Underneath.

Autobiographies and biographies are always popular reading. They allow the reader to delve into the lives of the famous and not so famous. Biographies can inform, entertain and inspire. This collection of new biographies and autobiographies will provide reading enjoyment for all tastes.

Taking the Hill, From Philly to Baghdad to the United States Congress by Patrick J. Murphy is the story of the first and only Iraq War veteran to be elected to the U.S. congress. With $322 in his personal bank account, Murphy launched a campaign to represent Pennsylvania's eighth district. He took on a popular Republican incumbent and won the hotly contested race by less than 1 percent of the vote. His philosophy of service is to change the U.S. course in Iraq and honor the memory of his 19 fellow paratroopers killed during his tour of Iraq.

At 82 years old, Cloris Leachman is still as spunky as ever. She recounts the high points and low of her life in an honest and breezy manner in Chloris. The book, written with the assistance of her son, George Englund, reads like a who's who of the rich and famous Leachman has met during her career on Broadway, television and film.

Leachman's co-star on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show," has a new autobiography out also. Growing Up Again is the story of Moore's 40-year struggle with Type 1 diabetes. Moore talks about her evolution from an actress to activist working to educate people about Diabetes. She covers her successes and failures as an actress, mother, businesswoman and fund raiser. She talks frankly of her vision impairment due to diabetes and the new research and treatments that can make life easier.

Another powerful Washington woman, Frances Perkins, is featured in The Woman Behind the New Deal, the Life of Frances Perkins FDR's Secretary of Labor and his Moral Conscience. Perkins was one of the most influential woman of the 20th century. As the first female Cabinet secretary she fought to improve the lives of America's working people while juggling her own family responsibilities. The mother of the Works Progress Administration programs transformed labor during the Great Depression.

Paula Deen is known as the queen of southern cooking, but her life has not been a bed of roses. Her memoir It Ain't All About the Cooking is an inspirational tale of a woman beset with bad luck and adversity who turned her life around in order to make a better life for her two sons. The good, bad and ugly of Deen's life are featured in this readable biography that also features down home cooking recipes.

In American Prince, Tony Curtis, one of Hollywood's most popular leading men, honestly recounts his life in the brash style for which he is known. Curtis moved to Hollywood at 23 after an unhappy poverty-stricken childhood. His Hollywood career spans almost 60 years. In this memoir, he explains the highs and the lows in his life, and his developed a new career as an artist and about assisting his wife Jill with her horse rescue ranch.

Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver was a fictional account of the murder of Mike Chenoweth in Big Bay, Mich., in 1952. Traver, pen name for John D. Voelker, represented the defendant Coleman Peterson in the subsequent trial. Had the book been written today, it may have been a non-fiction account of the crime and trial, rather than fictional.

In Cold Blood is considered, by many, to be the first true-crime account written as non-fiction. Author Truman Capote recounts the brutal murders of Herbert Clutter and his family in 1959 by two drifters. Capote moved to Kansas to research the book, published in 1966. The murderers were captured and convicted of the crimes. They were hung in 1965.

Another work that increased the popularity of true crime writing was Helter Skelter written by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry. This work written by the man who prosecuted Charles Manson and his followers for the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate. The bestseller was published in 1974 and was the basis for two movies.

The popularity of In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter has resulted in the true crime genre of literature. Authors now research and publish works about any case that captures the public's imagination. Michigan has a number of true crime stories that have been published.

Washtenaw County, Mich., was the scene of seven brutal murders of coeds in the summers of 1967, 1968 and 1969. Edward Keyes recounts the terror and confusion felt in the college towns of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti during that period in his account of The Michigan Murders. John Norman Collins was convicted of the murder of coed Karen Sue Beckmann in 1970; he now resides at Marquette Branch Prison.

Local historian and author Fred Stonehouse details the rough and tumble criminal world of the Great Lakes in Great Lakes Crime I and II. Murder, mayhem, booze and broads are fully covered in these volumes, including the 1938 mysterious death of Danny Dodge, son of John Dodge, one of the founders of the Dodge Brothers Co. on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron.

The murder of Mike Chenoweth is recounted in Murder, Michigan by Gary W. Barfknecht, published in 1983. Unfortunately, Barfknecht gave the fictionalized account of the murder using the names from the book and film, leaving the actual victim unnamed. Brief entries on 70 different murders are included in this book.

Larry Wakefield, writer for the Grand Rapids Press, The Detroit News and Traverse City Record-Eagle, has researched 13 murders in Michigan from the Civil War to the 1930s. Included in Butcher's Dozen is The Mad Bomber of Bath, Andrew Kehoe, an unsuccessful farmer and spiteful school board member who set off a bomb in 1927 that killed 39 and injured almost 100 people.

In 1968, northern lower Michigan was shocked by the mass murder of the Robinsons, a Detroit area family of six, killed by an unknown murderer in their summer home in Good Hart. This cold case has captivated law enforcement officers and authors. Judith Guest wrote a fictionalized account of the murders in her best seller The Tarnished Eye. Mardi Link, whose aunt lived near the Robinsons, has written the latest account of the mystery in When Evil Came to Good Hart.

Dave Distel and his wife, Lynn, met with publishing success with The Sweater Letter. This true crime story set in the Ontonagon area has been reprinted with the title Hunt to Kill. The death of Judy Blake Moilanen looked like a tragic hunting accident, but the more law enforcement officers looked at the case, the more suspicious it became. A year later, a jury convicted Judy's husband, Bruce Moilanen, of murder.

Death's Door by Steve Lehto is the story of the 1913 Italian Hall disaster in Calumet. After exhaustive research, Lehto is convinced that the death of 73 could easily be called mass murder. Lehto sets the scene for this tragedy against the brutal strike by miners that stopped copper production. This book is not only an account of the murders, but a good way to understand social conditions of the time.

As with all areas of the country, Michigan has its colorful characters and tragic deaths. The 50th anniversary of Anatomy of a Murder offers an opportunity to explore other crimes set in our state and to read some great true crime stories.

The first bikes of the 2009 Superior Bike Fest roll out next Friday June 26 at 4:00 p.m. in downtown Marquette.  Get into the Bike Fest spirit with these items from the Peter White Public Library.

Superior Bike Fest race announcer, road racing blogger, and 2009 Michigan Notable Book author, Jamie Smith, explains the crazy world of bike racing through his book, “Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer”.  The author unravels the mysteries of why bike racers shave their legs, wear such garish clothes, and have a garages full of bikes worth more than cars. Twenty five years of bike racing and race announcing have made Smith adept at translating both race action and the odd habits of roadies into terms that non-cyclists can understand and roadie will appreciate.  

Jamie Smith will be at PWPL to discuss his book Thursday June 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the PWPL Community Room.  There is no charge for admission.  Copies of his book will be available for purchase. 

“Major:  A Black Athlete, A White Era, & the Fight to be the World’s Fastest Human Being” by Todd Balf is the gripping true story of a superstar nobody saw coming—a classic underdog, aided by an unlikely crew:  It is also the account of a fierce rivalry that would become an archetypal tale of white versus black in the 20^th century.  796.6 BA

Nikki Giovanni brings us “Bicycles”, a collection of love poems that serves as a companion to her 1997 “Love Poems”.  The three-time NAACP Image Award winner is the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award and holds the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry.  Giovanni’s dedication reads, “Bicycles:  because love requires trust and balance.” 811.54 GI

Children can ride over to PWPL and check out “Bicycle Race” by Donald Crews.  This a counting book for the youngest—filled with motion, excitement, and suspense.  Twelve riders compete in a bicycle race.  Who will win?  A word to the wise:  keep your eye on Number 9!

Early readers will enjoy “Dodsworth In Paris” by Tim Egan.  Dodsworth and Duck have just arrived in Paris.  They are ready for some adventures magnifique!  They see mimes, painters, and folks wearing berets.  They climb the Eiffel Tower.  But trouble never strays far from a misbehaving Duck and Dodsworth soon finds himself riding a stage of the Tour de France!

Off season training tools can also be found at PWPL.  Get your bike on the trainer next winter and take a Madison, Wisconsin training ride with the DVD from “On The Road, Volume 4” or head west and do “On The Road’s Volume 2, Lake Placid Training Ride”.  The “On The Road” series is sure to help your season go better once you hit the real roads here.  DVD 613.711 VI

Pop the cork off a bottle some French wine and enjoy the wildly inventive and highly original animated feature, “The Triplets of Belleville” on your next movie night.  Kidnapped by mysterious, square-shouldered henchmen, a Tour de France cyclist named Champion is spirited across the ocean to the teeming metropolis of Belleville.  His grandmother and faithful dog follow his trail and are taken in by a trio of eccentric jazz-era divas.  The motley sleuths follow the clues to an underground betting parlor and now the chase is on!

“Be Creative @ Your Library” is the 2009 theme for our Summer Reading & Listening Program which runs June 15 through August 14. Registration begins Monday June 15 at the “Be Creative Carnival”, an evening of fun activities, games and refreshments. This year there’s a new twist. We are hosting an adult component to the usual youth-oriented Summer Reading Program. So register, read, and enter the prize drawings. All are welcome.

 We are celebrating creativity in many guises including storytimes, puppetry, music, wildlife, bookbinding, food, nature crafts, opera, archaeology, drumming, fiber arts, Shakespeare, ventriloquism, and the foundation of creativity, our imagination. Special guests include Cinderella, Paul Rintala, Betsy Rutz, the Bergonzi String Quartet, Corinne Rockow, Unkle Ake, PaleoJoe, Barefoot & Mucklucked, Kathryn Norton, Red Bays and Jeff Spenser of Vertigo Theatre, Skippy & Dave, and Gale LaJoye. All our programs are free of charge. You may create your own ice cream sundae during the prize drawing on August 17.

For more information about Peter White Public Library’s Summer Reading & Listening Program call 226-4323 (youth) or 226-4318 (adult) or visit www.pwpl.info. Most libraries sponsor summer reading programs so check out your nearest public library for their program information if you live outside our service area.

Biographies of creative people inspire us to dream bigger plans for our lives than we might have thought possible. Young Vinnie Ream and her family moved to Washington, D.C. at the start of the Civil War. She studied graveyard statues hoping, someday, to create sculptures of her own, and dreaming especially of sculpting Lincoln. Interested in a self-taught artist raised in a log cabin, Lincoln sat for Vinnie the last five months of his life. After his death, Congress wanted a memorial statue made. Would Congress vote for a sixteen year-old female artist? How did Congress want Lincoln portrayed? As a warrior, a saint, or the kind and gentle man Vinnie knew? Read Vinnie and Abraham by Dawn FitzGerald for the story behind the statue in our Capitol’s rotunda.

A sculpture of Hercules inspired a skinny kid named Angelo to create a fitness routine of exercise, stretching and healthy dietary and sleep habits that transformed him into Charlie Atlas, “the World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man.” Using fun cartoons, Meghan McCarthy illustrates her book, Strong Man: The Story of Charles Atlas.

Robert Burleigh’s Napoleon: The Story of the Little Corporal, explores the life and career of the man who became Emperor of France and ruled over much of Western Europe in the first quarter of the 1800s. For Napoleon, the word impossible did not exist in French, yet it sums up his achievements as a military leader and statesman. Burleigh’s book is beautifully illustrated with maps and period artworks.

Friendship and respect grow between people who walk together to create a climate where justice and equality can take root and grow. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel grew up in loving families but within cultures that did not welcome them because of Martin’s skin color and Abraham’s religion. Martin organized a march for voting rights in Alabama and called for all God’s children to join in. The two religious leaders prayed, stomped their feet and took the first step together in the march toward freedom in Richard Michelson’s book, As Good As Anybody.

In Coretta Scott, writer Ntozake Shange and illustrator Kadir Nelson create a stunning poem honoring the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the faith and fervor she courageously maintained throughout the nonviolent struggle for civil rights in America.

A creative woman who plants seeds of hope today is Wangari Maathai, an environmentalist awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. The Kenya of Wangari’s youth was green and fertile. After graduating from university in America, Wangari returned to a deforested homeland and resulting desertification that affected the daily life of all Kenyans, especially rural women. Wangari planted trees in her own backyard and convinced village women to do the same. In spite of ridicule and jail time, Wangari started Green Belt Movement Kenya, which has assisted in planting over thirty million trees, bringing green back to Africa. Two lovely books tell this story, Wangari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter and Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire Nivola.

One of the most creative efforts of humankind has been our journey to the moon. The book Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston describes a farm family’s excitement as they follow the flight of Apollo 11 one summer Sunday in July 1969. Starting with morning prayers at church, an afternoon spent building a spaceship from scraps, then watching the landing and, that night, the moon walk on T.V., a young girl is inspired in her own dreams of becoming an astronaut.  Visit your library this summer and read to spark your creative dreams.

            Looking for a combination of good recipes and a mystery, too?  Look no further!  We have what you want on the new adult mystery shelf at the Peter White Public Library.  Diane Mott Davidson’s newest entry in the saga of caterer Goldy Schulz’s culinary adventures is loaded with action, yummy party food ideas and suspense.  “Fatally Flaky” details Goldy’s exploits investigating a suspicious death of a beloved town doctor.  The action centers on the town’s health spa and it’s up to Goldy to pin down the killer and somehow cater and manage her family affairs at the same time.  As usual, Goldy has all the energy required and is nurtured on with the help of her copper husband Tom, who shares her love for quality cooking.  The recipes at the end of the book look mouthwatering!  Anyone for “chilled curried chicken salad”, or how about a “summer frittata”?  Check out the book and delight your friends at your next party!

            While we’re on the subject of parties, “Emily Post’s Wedding Parties”, by Anna Post, is a new adult non-fiction selection which may also prove helpful.   The book is written in a very handy format, with frequently asked questions answered for brides and grooms and guests by Ms. Post.  Anna Post is a great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post, and seems to combine her wisdom with the common sense approach of a different age and time frame.  If you are at the hair-pulling stage in planning or helping with a friend or relative’s nuptials, this book may just be the ticket to avoid a breakdown!   From flower choices to gift table set-up, the author covers the bases and then some. 

            Perhaps your life is not running at a hectic pace this spring, and you have time for a little backyard poetry reading.  “The Landscapist” by Pierre Martory is a new collection in non-fiction that combines the original French poetry with helpful translations. I was drawn to the book because “tis the season” for working on our U.P. landscaping.  The titles intrigue and draw you into what follows.  “Under the Elm”, “Sundays and Holidays”, and “After the Storm” are just a few samples.  As each poem translation is printed on the adjoining page, you can revive any old French lessons you’ve had and see what you can understand and what you need English for.  What a fun way to learn French and relax under the trees at the same time!

            And speaking of yards, have we got the planning guide for you in “Backyards”, a Sunset Design Guide by Bridget Biscotti Bradley and the editors of Sunset Books.  It even includes a disc with landscape design software.  Small, medium and large, the book takes into consideration your yard dimensions and offers innovative plans for making the most of the space you have.   Play spaces, courtyards, water gardens, and pot decorating are just several areas addressed.  This is a beautifully photographed guide to inspire you in trying something new outdoors.

            If you’re a political junkie and you been going through withdrawal since the election, you might want to pick up a copy of newsman and author, Bernard Goldberg’s latest, “A Slobbering Love Affair”.  In the book, Goldberg reviews the performance of the press and his view of their coverage of events and candidates.  In pushing for impartial news casting, the author shows statistics and direct examples from television and newspaper coverage that point to a need for change.  He’s an entertaining writer with some serious points to consider.  This book is in our new non-fiction selections.

If you’ve been inspired by this summer’s latest Star Trek movie, the Peter White Public Library has lots of new Science Fiction titles that can offer hours of summertime reading pleasure. 

Into The Storm, the first book of the Destroyermen trilogy, is an imaginative debut novel written by Taylor Anderson. Soon after Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick heads his ship into a squall, it becomes clear the crewmen of the USS Walker have left behind the Pacific Theatre of WWII and entered an alternate reality. The seas around their ship teem with monstrous fish and herds of dinosaurs graze on the plains of Bali, and everything is at war.

The Ashes of Worlds, by the New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, is the seventh and final installment of the Saga of Seven Suns series; a series that has been named as one of the most spectacular science fiction epics of the past decade. This book contains all the romance, action, and aliens a Science Fiction fan could want. 

This is Not a Game, by Walter Jon Williams, mixes world wide gaming, high finance and murder in an intriguing Sci-Fi thriller. The story begins as Dagmar, a game designer, finds herself trapped in Jakarta with riots raging in the streets and buildings burning all around her hotel. When rescue proves unlikely through conventional means, Dagmar appeals to a vast network of millions of gamers to find solutions for her escape. They respond in spades and are there to help when two of Dagmar’s college gaming friends are killed and it appears that she is next in line.

Steal Across The Sky, by author Nancy Kress, tells the story of a handful of human volunteers who have been chosen by an Alien race called the Atoners to observe the results of a crime the Atoners committed against humans ten thousand years earlier. From their travels across the universe the witnesses bring back knowledge that will change the course of civilization forever.

Marsbound, by author Joe Haldeman. tells the story of Carmen Dula and her family who emigrate to Mars.  Carmen seems to be adapting well to life on the Red Planet, until one night when she ventures outside alone and an accident brings her to the point of death. Luckily, she is saved by an angel—“an angel with too many arms and legs and a head that looks like a potato gone bad”.  Carmen’s angel has an urgent message for the colonists: “We were here first.”

All the Windwracked Stars, by Hugo-winning author, Elizabeth Bear tells the story of Muire, who is the last of the Valkyrie, and her Valraven, a many-formed, winged steed, who chose Muire as his rider in the destruction following of the Last Battle of the Children of Light.  Together these two have come to the city of Valdyrgard in the last days of civilization where Muire is surprised to find something she didn’t expect to see again –traces of another Child of the Light.

The Temporal Void, by Peter F. Hamilton, is the second book in Hamilton’s Commonwealth saga which began with the book, The Dreaming Void.  Long ago Inigo, an astrophysicist, began dreaming about a human named Edeard who once lived in a self-contained microuniverse at the center of the galaxy.  Edeard was an extremely gifted psychic who was determined to bring about freedom and justice to a world where criminal violence and corruption ruled. Based on Inigo’s dreams, a new religion has formed called the “Living Dream”.  Complications arise when a second dreamer appears who seems to trigger the expansion of the Void.  Interstellar war seems evitable when a small group make plans to travel on a pilgrimage into the Void.

Readers in search of adventure, intrigue and mystery should proceed directly to the PWPL teen fiction shelves. Here are a few page-turners, packed with suspense and memorable characters, to engross both teens and adults alike.

In Shift, by Jennifer Bradbury, two lifelong buddies head out on a cross-country bicycle trip to celebrate their high school graduation, but only one returns. Chris is shocked when the FBI shows up at his college asking questions about Win's disappearance and, as Chris remembers the trip, readers are treated to colorful details of the lonesome places and fascinating people the boys met along the way. Shift explores the many facets of friendship and leaves readers wondering how well we really know even our best friends.

Suzanne Collins’ post-apocalyptic thriller The Hunger Games takes the dangers of mindless television to the Nth degree, pitting child gladiators against one another in a reality show that will continue until only one of them remains alive. To save her younger sister from certain death, tough-as-nails huntress Katniss volunteers herself for the Hunger Games, entering an arena of violence, adventure and political intrigue, with a dose of romance that only serves to increase the suspense.

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, blurs the lines between current technology and its future possibilities, as computer geek Marcus plots a techno-revolution when San Francisco becomes a police state in the wake of a terrorist attack. Marcus skips school and winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time, grabbed by the police and mercilessly interrogated for two days. A little bit scary and a lot of fun, readers will revel in the details of how one smart teenage hacker fights back against a government out of control.

Waking from a year-long coma, Jenna cannot remember her past life and feels no real connection to her parents. In The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson explores the ethics of bioengineering as Jenna slowly remembers her past and discovers the horrific, illegal measures her scientist father has taken to save her. With only ten percent of her original brain remaining, who is Jenna, really, and how far should we go to save someone we love?

A fifteen-year-old New Yorker named Daisy tells her story of hatred, fierce love and survival in How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff. To escape the vindictive stepmother she detests, Daisy moves in with her cousins on a remote farm in England just before terrorists invade and occupy the country. With her peacenik aunt stranded in Oslo, Daisy and her cousins must find ways to cope on their own, while the panic and paranoia of a 21st century world war creep into their lives and send them reeling. Daisy’s voice rings true, as this self-absorbed teenager witnesses the tragedies of war and becomes determined to save herself and her youngest cousin.

There’s an upside and a downside to mountain climbing, and Roland Smith’s novel Peak illuminates both. To avoid jail time after he’s caught scaling and defacing skyscrapers, Peak Marcello agrees to leave town and join his estranged father in China. Imagine Peak’s surprise when his famous mountaineer father whisks him off to Tibet, in the hope that he can become the youngest person to reach Mt. Everest’s summit. Mixing issues of climb-related pollution and Chinese-Tibetan politics with the exhilaration and horrors of climbing Everest, Peak shows readers what it really takes to reach the summit.

            Vacation travel is a great time to catch up on your “reading” by listening to audiobooks while traveling down the road or flying through the air.  As part of the Great Lakes Digital Library, the Peter White Public Library has added downloadable audiobooks to its collection for patrons to download to their computer, ipod, MP3 player or other device.  Some of the titles can also be burned to a CD.  Many new titles are being added to that collection.  The Digital Library can be accessed from the Library’s homepage, pwpl.info, by clicking on the Online Catalog.  For more information, please call the Reference Desk at 226-4311.

            The Library has just added new CD Book titles to its own circulating collection.  Available to check out for summer travel are: 

The Horse Boy:  A Father’s Quest to Heal His Son by Rupert Isaacson. Read by the author.  .   When Rupert’s son Rowan is diagnosed with autism, his father wonders if he will be able to share his lifelong love of horses and horsemanship.  Discovering that his unreachable son had a real connection to horses, Rupert begins taking him for rides and after his son improves, plans the adventure of a lifetime.  Traveling with his wife Kristin, Rupert takes Rowan through the untamed landscape of Outer Mongolia on horseback, meeting traditional healers there.  This is a story that shows how the magical and the mundane can come together to transform lives. 9 CDs.

NPR listeners and others new to NPR will enjoy these new titles.  NPR Road Trips: National Park Adventures  allows you to venture behind the awe-inspiring scenery at America’s most popular—and unusual—National Parks. 1 CD.  NPR Driveway Moments:  Moms. 1 CD.  Host Peter Sagal presents NPR’s most inspirational, heartfelt and funny stories, all capturing the essence of motherhood. 

Michael J. Fox has become an inspiration for Parkinson’s disease sufferers.  In Always Looking Up:  The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, his exit from a very demanding, very public arena offered Michael the opportunity to take a journey of self-discovery and reinvention becoming a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life. Read by the author.  5 CDs.

Author of Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival, Ravens in Winter, and other titles, Bernd Heinrich, a biology professor at the University of Vermont, chronicles in Summer World:  A Season of Bounty his detailed observations of nature around his camp in Maine and his home in Vermont.   Read by Mel Foster. 7 CDs.

In Codependent No More, Melody Beattie introduced the world to the term codependency.  In her follow-up volume, The New Codependency, she clears up misconceptions, identifies how codependent behavior has changed and proves a new generation with a road map to wellness.  Read by Lorna Raver.  9 CDs.

All of Alexander McCall Smith’s fans have been awaiting his tenth No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novel Tea Time for the Traditionally Built on CD.  Reader Lisetta Lecat makes Precious Ramotswe’s sleuthing adventures in Botswana come alive.  7 CDs.

Best selling author Mary Higgins Clark’s Just Take My Heart is her latest of her audio thrillers.  When her best childhood friend Natalie goes onto life support after an awful accident, Emily O'Connor, a 34-year-old professor at Boston Layman College, begs the hospital to use her dying friend's heart in a transplant-- the transplant recipient, Emily's other best childhood friend, Alice. But with Natalie's death and Alice's heart surgery comes a series of unsettling and complex discoveries that may put Emily's own life in danger.  Reader Jan Maxwell keeps suspense high in all of Clark’s audiobooks.  7 CDs

Well known for his short stories, Ron Carlson’s first novel The Signal is a compelling tale of a marriage in peril.  Beleaguered rancher Mack has taken to crime in order to preserve his family land, and his wife Connie feels her love eroding.  Their backpacking trip into the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming is meant to be a farewell from one another.  Yet as they wind their way through familiar trails, they begin to see their marriage in a new light.  Reader T. Ryder Smith gives a sterling performance.  5 CDs.

Just in case your trip isn’t exciting enough, Road Rage combines two novellas—Duel by Richard Matheson and Throttle by Stephen King and Joe Box.  In Duel a businessman finds himself pitted against an anonymous truck driver in a deadly game of cat and mouse on a California highway.  In Throttle a faceless trucker is pitted against a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in the simmering Nevada desert.  Their battle is fought out on twenty miles of the loneliest road in the country.  Listening to these should be a surefire way to stay awake on the road.  Read by Stephen Lang.  2 CDs.

House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street by William D. Cohan.

An account of the ten days in March of 2008 that brought down Bear Stearns, a global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm. Founded in 1923, the company seemed to be on solid ground. As it turned out, the company was insolvent, and a buyout by JPMorgan Chase was arranged by the federal government.  New non-fiction 332.66 CO

But Wait-- There's More! : Tighten Your Abs, Make Millions, and Learn How the $100 Billion Infomercial Industry Sold Us Everything But the Kitchen Sink by Remy Stern.

What industry makes over $300 billion dollars, more than the film, music, and video game industries combined? Answer: direct-response marketing. Author Stern takes an often funny look at the business model, the products, and the psychology behind the infomercials.  New non-fiction 659.143 ST

Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live by Sarah Susanka.

The author/architect has been an advocate for “building better, not bigger”. This time, she focuses on remodeling in three categories: working within the existing footprint, creating room “bump-outs” to make up small space gains in a room, and cost-effective room additions.  New non-fiction 643.7 SU

 Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti.

In 1911 the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci was stolen from the Louvre in Paris and remained missing until 1913. No one noticed the painting was missing for 24 hours, and suspects included Pablo Picasso. Vanished smile tells the tale of the nearly century old heist, affords a look at old Paris, the birth of modern forensics, and the story of the painting itself.  New non-fiction 759.5 SC

Featherwing & Hackle Flies for Salmon & Steelhead by Chris Mann.

The art of handmade flies is making a comeback. European and American designs are featured in this volume. Detailed instructions of traditional methods and colorful illustrations show how to tie flies that will be attractive to fish and human alike.  New non-fiction 799.124 MA

Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation by David Burch.

Now in its fourth printing, this authoritative source helps small-craft pilots navigate. Methods and scenarios include use of compass, dead-reckoning, current crossing, use of tides, navigating at night and in fog, in boat and ship traffic, planning, and the use of the latest tech gear. Also provides info on harbor restrictions instituted after 9-11.  New non-fiction 797.1224 BU

 Sultana: Surviving Civil War, Prison, and the Worst Maritime Disaster in American History by Alan Huffman.

The Mississippi riverboat Sultana was grossly overloaded with 2,400 people when three of its four boilers exploded on April 27^th, 1865. 1,700 passengers were killed, mainly Union soldiers returning from Confederate POW camps. It is still the worst maritime disaster in US history. Before telling the story of the disaster, Huffman gives a biographical sketch of some of the soldiers who were aboard.  New non-fiction 973.771 HU

Continuing into May and June, the Peter White Public Library and several other sponsors are presenting programs, creating exhibits, and having a health fair to further the theme “Your Mind Matters: Raising Awareness of Mental Health.” The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill or NAMI is one of the sponsors. NAMI recently donated new books to enhance the upcoming topics and some of those books are listed below.

A BALANCED LIFE: nine strategies for coping with the mental health problems of a loved one by Tom Smith is a book to help families and loved ones to find a way to cope with a mental problem. Smith, who lost his daughter to suicide during a deep depression, blends real stories into a useful discussion guide that lends itself to groups or individual reflections.

Patrick Tracey wrote STALKING IRISH MADNESS: Searching for the roots of my family’s schizophrenia. It is the story of his personal search for answers to why schizophrenia ran in his maternal ancestors. Tracey goes to Ireland to investigate the reason why so many persons were institutionalized with the disease that has become the legendary Irish curse. He speaks to Irish doctors who have discovered the gene code that may be linked to this genetic disease.

An easy-to-read book, HEALING FROM TRAUMA: a survivor’s guide to understanding your symptoms and reclaiming your life, was written by Jasmin Lee Cori, a licensed psychotherapist who has worked in public and private practice. This holistic guide to healing trauma can help anyone reclaim his/her life. By learning to understand what trauma is and how it manifests itself, patients can use the included exercises and resources to aid recovery.   

HELPING TEENS WHO CUT: understanding and ending self-injury is a well-written resource by Michael Hollander, PhD. Compiled with parents in mind, this assists involved adults by providing answers, information, and help to deal with a child who self-injures through cutting. Hollander offers practical advice to help parents better understand and communicate more effectively with their child. He clearly explains what is known about cutting behavior, addresses its causes, and identifies effective treatment options.

LIVING IN STORMS is a compilation of poetry by eighty poets who have, in some way, been touched by manic-depression. Edited by Thom Schramm, these contemporary poems are metaphoric images detailing the ups and downs and multi-changes of life that are experienced by millions of Americans with this disease also known as bipolar disorder. The book also includes a brief bio on all of the contributors.

Ruta Nonacs, M.D., PhD is author of A DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE: a woman’s guide to recognizing and treating depression in her childbearing years. Doctor Nonacs explains that although depression may strike at any time, the hormonal changes of pregnancy create a higher vulnerability during a woman’s childbearing years. She identifies symptoms, treatments and cures for this surprisingly common emotional conditions. Information on coping with other stresses in a woman’s life is also included.

There are only so many plot twists, character types, settings and scenarios in the world. Inevitably, the same stories are going to be told over and over, but with a variation. Maybe Cinderella's evil stepsister wants to clear her name, or Ophelia would like to be known as more than the girl who drowns herself over Hamlet. Perhaps Romeo and Juliet are needed outside of Vienna to be reincarnated as an interfaith or interracial couple to show the bias of our times. Catherine Ryan Hyde, the author of Pay it Forward, tells another incredible story, or rather retells one, in Chasing Windmills. Hyde retells "West Side Story" with Maria, a single mother of two with an abusive boyfriend, and Sebastian, a teenager whose father gives him absolutely no freedom. To escape, they both ride the subway all night long anxiously. When they meet life seems brighter and full of possibilities, like running away to be near the windmills Sebastian remembers in the Mojave Desert. Ah, but Hyde would not be a great storyteller if she simply retold an old story with new faces. What appears to the reader as a simple love story hits on bigger idealistic issues of unselfish love and breaking free from the cycles we are born into. It is beautifully done right to its conclusion. Hyde makes this classic story transcend time and speak to another generation in way that may be more memorable than the original.

Like the great story lines, immigrant stories are ones we tell over and over. Tales of families learning to live and love in America while balancing the opportunity versus the deep longing for family left behind. The movie version of The Namesake by Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri is a beautiful new addition to the library's collection. When Ashima and Ashoke move to America, they leave their stories and traditions behind, such as when Ashima gives birth to a son and the hospital won't let him leave without a name. It is common practice in India for a child to go by a pet name until he is registered for school and given a "good name." Completely unprepared to give their son his good name on the spot, they name him Gogol, after Russian writer Nicolai Gogol who influenced Ashoke's decision to leave India. Protagonist Gogol is American, the stories and traditions of his family seem so far removed from him and further still from his younger sister Sonia. He struggles to find an important balance between assimilation and keeping sacred the history and culture of his Bengali parents. This movie paints a portrait of a family torn between old and new. Hal Penn portrays Gogol, and it's a breath of fresh air to see him in a serious role.

We retell stories so often they become familiar as an old sweater, worn and comforting. The plotlines become so familiar we could almost recite them before we begin them. This is also true of teen books, with a set of resonating classics. Ellen Wittlinger's Printz Honor Book Hard Love is a classic story about a boy who falls for a beautiful, talented girl - the girl he knows quite well is a lesbian. Wittlinger continues the adventures of her well-loved characters in Love and Lies, a story about the girl, Marisol, deferring college to write her novel and fall in love. For the many fans of "Hard Love" it is a much appreciated continuation to see a much-loved character from the first book return older, wiser, but still vulnerable. It is not to be missed if, like me, you have read and re-read "Hard Love."

The Michigan Reading Association’s Great Lakes Great Books Award is given annually to five books chosen by Michigan students in grades K-12.  The winning titles are chosen from a ballot of eight books per grade level, all of which were nominated by students, teachers, and librarians who are interested in quality books for children and teens.  Five of the books from the new 2009-2010 ballot are featured here.  Find out more about Great Lakes Great Books at www.michiganreading.org under the Student Involvement tab.

 The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato is a story about Henrietta, the youngest child in her family.  Henrietta’s older sisters loved to tease her and told her one night that she was a chicken.  They said that she had to be plucked each night and her eggs gathered each morning before breakfast.  Henrietta was doubtful, until the next morning when she woke up with feathers and an egg in her bed.  Feeling like she didn’t belong to her own family, Henrietta left home to join a flock of chickens in their fenced-in farm yard.  Soon her sisters found her and begged her to return home.  After all, they were in trouble with their parents for teasing Henrietta in the first place.  But it would take some sensitivity on the part of her sisters to get Henrietta back home.  The relationships between oldest, middle and youngest child are playfully portrayed through facial expressions, as well as text, and will appeal to readers in kindergarten and first grade.  Delphine Durand’s illustrations feature simplistic and colorful characters with huge round eyes that draw your attention to the faces.

Second and third graders will enjoy reading Nurk by Ursula Vernon.  When a plea for help arrives in the mail addressed to his long-lost grandmother, Nurk finds himself drawn to the lure of the open road.  He wonders if such a quiet shrew as himself could possibly answer the call and fill the shoes of his adventuresome grandmother, Surka, described as “a fighter, a dishwasher, and a pirate queen.”  After finding and teaming up with  Scatterwings, the dragonfly princesses who sent the letter for help, Nurk sets off on a quest similar to those found in Brian Jacques’ Redwall series of fantasy adventures.  The author, also the illustrator, enhances the text by weaving her black and white drawings into the story.  You’ll find a picture of talking salmon hanging from tree branches in Chapter Eight, and a creepy likeness of a star mole named Grizzlemole, the villain in the story.  Armed with witty quotes from his grandmother’s travel diary, Nurk confronts Grizzlemole, helps out Scatterwings, and becomes the shrew he thinks he can be.  Could there be more adventures on the horizon?

Jean Alicia Elster’s historical fiction for fourth and fifth graders titled, Who’s Jim Hines?, is based on the life of Douglas Ford, Jr., a twelve year-old boy from Detroit.  The time period is the 1930’s when civil rights are unheard of and many men, usually the wage earners for their families, are out of work.  The Ford family is lucky enough to own a wood delivery business and they work hard to make sure Doug and his siblings get a good education.  When Doug loses his books on the way home from school, his parents decide to let him work at the family business to pay for new school books.  He learns the etiquette of home deliveries in white neighborhoods, the backbreaking work involved in hauling wood, and solves the mystery of the elusive Jim Hines, one of his father’s employees – or is he?  The story allows readers to experience family relationships, racism, the Great Depression, and Michigan history, all rolled into one. There are actual photographs of the Douglas Ford family in the center of the book, lending authenticity to the story, and an epilogue about Doug’s success in later life.

Polly Horvath takes middle school readers on fourteen adventures, in as many chapters, in My One Hundred Adventures.  Twelve year-old Jane Fielding is looking to fill her summer with more interesting experiences than the quiet life her poet mother and three siblings can offer.  Jane encounters some larger-than-life characters, such as the self-absorbed preacher, Nellie Phillips, the unscrupulous Gourd family, and a series of men who used to date her mother - all potential fathers for Jane.   She prays for adventure and finds, instead, that it’s what you learn from your experiences that really counts.  As always, Polly Horvath knows how to turn a phrase, such as this one promoting the concept of summer reading, “The library in summer is the most wonderful thing because there you get books on any subject and read them each for only as long as they hold your interest,...halfway or a quarter of the way through if you like, and store up all that knowledge in the happy corners of your mind for your own self and not to show off how much you know or spit it back at your teacher on a test paper." 

Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron is the story of James Sveck, a product of a civilized divorce between two career oriented parents, who lives in New York City and finds himself rebelling against the Ivy League college plans laid out for him at birth.  He finds it painful to interact with his mother, his father, people at school and, at the same time, follow all the rules of polite society.  James agrees to work in his mother’s art gallery for the summer at a job that doesn’t interest him.  But her gay assistant, who looks for dates online, piques his curiosity and inspires James to create a perfect date for his new friend.  His good intentions lead to disastrous results.  It seems that James is always in trouble with someone in his life.  All he really wants to do is buy a house in the Midwest and escape the city to lead a simple life, avoiding the social angst of personal relationships.  His saving grace is his grandmother, who listens to him and leads the sane, routine life that he finds so comforting.  The author conveys James’ thoughts and adolescent logic with clarity.  Teens in Grades 9-12 will relate to the situations found throughout the story and appreciate the humor with which they’re told.

            Yes, indeed, it is spring here in the Upper Peninsula, and if you’ve a mind to read a book about birds and bird watching, we have a new one that you’ll find very entertaining on the shelves at the Peter White Public Library.  “A Supremely Bad Idea:  Three Mad Birders and their Quest to See it All”, by Luke Dempsey will entertain and inform and possibly get you hooked on bird watching, too!  The author is a British transplant who works a day job as an editor in New York City.  His other passion, besides books, would seem to be photography and viewing as many birds as possible.  This is his hilarious account of road trips undertaken with two companions who are equally obsessed with all things feathered!  There is a beautiful photography section, as well. This book will inspire you to get those binoculars dusted and head to the woods to see what nature has in store for you in the U.P.

            In an effort to fit in your springtime attire, you may be revving up your exercise program.  Another way to help would be to check out two new books here at Peter White, “Eat This, Not That!” by David Zinczenko, and “Fish Without a Doubt:  250 Simple Seafood Recipes” by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore.  The first title tells it all…what would constitute your best food choice in any situation!  The book lists alphabetically a huge selection of restaurant chains and presents, side by side, a good choice versus a poor choice when ordering.  Each page has the entrees pictured and descriptive prose and caloric and nutritional counts.  This book proves that not everything that sounds healthy is healthy!   This would be a fabulous book to take on a trip to avoid the perils of “fast food” maladies.  There are also sections on what to buy at the supermarket, what to serve for special occasions, what to drink, and research on what foods and beverages produce desired effects on the body.  You will learn a lot as you look through these photos and pages!  We’ve just put out this second healthy food book by coauthors, Moonen and Finamore.  “Fish Without a Doubt” is an absolutely lovely book and, if you like seafood, you should check it out.  The cover photo, alone, will make you want to open up its pages.  You’ll first receive instruction in preparing and cleaning fish and a helpful glossary of fish types available.  If you’ve never cooked seafood, other than the frozen, boxed variety, this will enable you to be more adventurous in future purchases.  The recipes include common ingredients like Bisquick, and yet, mange to turn the entrees into exotic cuisine.  Instructions seem easy to follow.  Amaze your friends and family by serving them some catfish tacos, clam fritters or jerk tuna with mango sauce! 

            The last two books I’d like to mention are by prolific author Debbie Macomber and second time author and Superbowl winning coach, Tony Dungy.  These selections offer healthy mind and heart solutions for daily living.  Debbie Macomber, known for her light romantic novels, has produced a non-fiction selection, “Knit Together”, Discover God’s Pattern for Your Life”.  Debbie shares about her early beginnings as an aspiring author and how God gave her the determination to keep trying to get published.  She includes sections on seeking balance in home and work responsibilities and her thoughts on what we’ve each been created for.  Extra bonuses in the book include a prayer shawl pattern and a reading group guide.  My final book choice for this week is titled “Uncommon”, Finding Your Path to Significance, by Tony Dungy.  Dungy’s first book rose to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller’s list. The football coach proves he has definite ability behind the typewriter as well as on the football field with this most recent effort.

            Friendships, fatherhood, how to treat women, and eternal self-esteem are just a few of the topics addressed.  If you've had questions for Coach Dungy that haven't been answered in other media interviews, you'll be delighted with the length Q & A section at the end of the book.

Readers ready to graduate from juvenile titles to fiction with more grown-up themes may find the teen section is just the right place to relax in a comfortable chair and read some great new books.  Here is a sampling of several new teen titles you can find within arm’s reach in the teen fiction area.

Chalice by Robin McKinley tells the tale of a humble beekeeper, named Mirasol, who is thrust into the unlikely role as newly-appointed Chalice.  As a member of the Master’s Circle, Mirasol must somehow magically teach herself the ancient arts which will safeguard her kingdom and help the new Master repel a growing threat that could plunge Willowlands into chaos.  The smoldering romantic alliance between Chalice and Master suggests there may be more sizzling installments to come in this popular fantasy series.

Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne explores what happens when 13-year-old Leonard Pelkey comes to stay with his 15-year-old cousin, Phoebe, and her family in a small town New Jersey community and shows up wearing “Capri pants (pink and lime-green plaid) and a too-small T-shirt, which exposed his midriff” in addition to two-inch high platform sandals and pierced ears. Although Leonard soon wins over the affections of his aunt and her beauty salon clients with inspired makeover ideas, Leonard remains for Phoebe the bane of her existence. The plot thickens when Phoebe finds herself linked to Leonard’s disappearance when her cousin fails to come home from Drama Club one afternoon.

This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff tells the story of LaVaughn, a young black woman who has worked hard to get out of the projects by winning a spot in a highly selective “Women in Medical Science” program.  What takes place next tests LaVaughn’s conscience as she struggles to “act according to your conscience/even when you don’t want to”.  Fans of Wolff’s earlier books, Make Lemonade and True Believer, will find this book provides a warm and wise ending to Wolff’s trilogy.

 Nation by Terry Pratchett chronicles the events that take place when Mau, a young islander and sole survivor after a giant wave destroys his village, meets Daphne, a young English girl whose sailing ship has been destroyed by the same wave.  In the aftermath of the catastrophe, Mau and Daphne valiantly band together fellow refugees and, in the process, defy ancestral spirits, challenge death and uncover long-hidden secrets that literally turn their world upside down.

 Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta tells the story of 17-year-old Taylor Markham, who was abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when Taylor was eleven years old.  As a reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, Taylor has a job of fitting the puzzle pieces of her life together, as she tries to find the answers to questions about the five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, the stranger who whispered mysteriously in her ear, the boy in her dreams, her mother’s departure then and now, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs.  If she’s successful, Taylor may be able to change the direction of her future.

 The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart takes a peek into the life of a co-ed attending an exclusive New England prep school named Alabaster. As a 14-year-old freshman, Frances Rose Landau-Banks may have been over-shadowed by her socially prominent, older sister, Zada, but by the age of 16 Frankie has turned into a possibly criminal mastermind with a knockout figure who is hard to ignore. Especially if you are a member of the Loyal Order of Basset Hounds, a secret society that does not allow women into its ranks. What ensues is memorable and hilarious.

Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford is a fictionalized memoir told in a collection of poems that highlight this famous jazz vocalist’s transformation from a young girl named Eleanora Fagan growing up in Baltimore to the uniquely talented singer we know today as Billie Holiday.  Each of the poems in this award-winning book has been given the title of one of Billie Holiday’s songs and captures openly the heartache and triumph of her early years. For readers who want to learn more, there are 21 short biographies of other jazz artists and a listing of references and further reading suggestions in the back of the book.

 Peace – The Biography of a Symbol by Ken Kolsbun with Michael S. Sweeney is a fascinating look at the history behind the peace sign.  The book’s text in combination with lots of archival photographs eloquently captures the emergence of the peace sign as a symbol for nuclear disarmament in the 1950’s to its current relevance as a symbol for peace today. For baby boomers like myself, this book is an especially nostalgic look at the world we grew up in, but its colorful graphics and compact size will appeal to readers of every generation.

This March we celebrated Women’s History Month at the library with a display of books from our nonfiction section.  Some of our new books about women, their lives,  and their accomplishments include:

             Here’s The Story:  Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice by Maureen McCormick is a behind-the-scenes memoir by the actress best known for her portrayal of Marcia Brady. Describing the painful disparity between her on-screen persona and her real life, she recounts the dark secret that overshadowed her relationship with her mother and siblings and her own struggles with depression, addiction, and eating disorders.  After fifty years Maureen has finally learned what it means to love the person you are—a struggle that too many women still make.

             The thorny topic of rehabilitating offenders in the American penal system remains front and center in Dreams from the Monster Factory by Sunny Schwartz, an expert in criminal justice reform in the San Francisco area, and TV writer and producer David Boodell. Schwartz asks a central question: What do we do with the people who get out of jail and come back to communities? Using real stories of former convicts and their victims, Schwartz concludes that the horrible conditions in prisons, the monster factories of the title, create people incapable of empathy or compassion who return to society and commit more crimes. She helps to spearhead the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (RSVP) in San Francisco to create a prison that doesn't reinforce violence and that joins offenders and victims in a union of empowerment and accountability.

            In Little Pink House: a Story of Defiance and Courage Jeff Benedict has taken a complicated court case centered on eminent domain and turned it into a page-turner with a conscience. In 1997, an EMT named Susette Kelo left her husband, bought a cottage and started over in the economically depressed Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Conn. In February 1998, the New London Development Corporation began trying to muscle the neighborhood into selling homes to make way for a Pfizer research complex. The fight escalated when the city tried exercising eminent domain to seize the homes of Kelo and others who refused to sell, leading to the case, Kelo v. City of New London, reaching the Supreme Court in 2005. Raising important questions about the use of economic development as a justification for displacing citizens, this book will leave readers indignant and inspired.

            No individual not even Eleanor Roosevelt exerted more influence over the formulation of FDR's New Deal or did more to implement his programs than Frances Perkins. As former Washington Post staff writer Kirstin Downey makes plain in The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience the first female Cabinet member was the primary shaper of such new concepts as unemployment insurance, the 40-hour work week and last but not least Social Security. At a time when the United States stands at the brink of another economic meltdown calling for sweeping federal interventions, Downey provides not only a superb rendering of history but also a large dose of inspiration drawn from Perkins's clearheaded, decisive work with FDR to solve urgent problems diligently and to succeed in the face of what seemed insurmountable odds.

            In Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl, Susan McCorkindale, former marketing director at Family Circle, takes a lighthearted look at the abrupt change in lifestyle she experienced when she quit her job and moved with her husband and their two sons from bustling Ridgewood, New Jersey, to "beautiful, anything but bustling" Upperville, Virginia. Though admittedly weary of the corporate rat race, she wasn't prepared for the huge cultural differences she encounters living on their 500-acre beef-cattle farm. In chapters packed with droll humor (and numerous unnecessary footnotes), she addresses fashion, public versus private schools, horseback riding versus football, and Saturdays in suburbia versus Saturdays in the sticks.  McCorkindale's memoir is a witty take on what happens when you try to "take the girl out of New Jersey."

            Last Night I Dreamed of Peace, Dang Thuy Tram's extraordinary diary which remained concealed in an American soldier's file cabinet for more than 30 years, brings to light the history, politics, trauma, and tragedy of the Vietnam War. It begins when Tram was 25 and covers two years, ending two days before she was shot by American troops. A doctor from a loving, urbane, and socialistic family in Hanoi, Tram decided to contribute her services for the war effort. Traveling deep into the jungle of Quang Ngai Province, she worked at a series of inadequate clinics. Passionate about life while confronting bombs, immense and unalterable suffering, and the daily possibility of her own demise, Tram’s words and presence linger long after the last page is finished.

The annual Michigan Notable Books list features 20 books published in the previous year that are set in Michigan or on the Great Lakes or written by a native or resident of Michigan. The 20 titles, whether fiction or non-fiction, highlight some of the diversity and culture of Michigan and the Great Lakes region.  Our library tries to have copies of all these titles.  Lists of each year’s honorees can be found at by searching for Michigan Notable Books on the Library of Michigan’s website www.michigan.gov/hal. 

Each year we host a visit from one of the authors that is funded with a grant from Michigan Notable Books sponsors.  Co-hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association-Upper Peninsula Chapter,  Mary Ellen Geist, the author of Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, a Daughter's Return, will be in Marquette on April 30^th at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at the library. In her tender memoir Geist deftly describes the painful hardships of the disease and the factors that influenced her decision to return home to Northern Michigan to take care of her father stricken with Alzheimer’s.  She shares the blessings of growing closer to both her parents.

Other Notable Books this year include:

Wreck of the Carl D.: A True Story of Loss, Survival, and Rescue at Sea by Michael Schumacher.  2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley. Caught in one of the most violent storms in history on Lake Michigan, the Bradley sank on Nov. 18, 1958. Intended as a tribute to the men who died aboard the ship, Schumacher's powerful narrative explores the circumstances of the shipwreck itself and the resulting devastating impact on the small community of Rogers City, the home of many crewmembers.

The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry by Don Faber.  Long before their legendary battles on the gridiron, Michigan and Ohio fought over a narrow slice of land in 1835 known as the Toledo Strip. Utilizing newspaper accounts from the era, Faber expertly explores the roots of the conflict, the politically charged environment contributing to Michigan's delayed admission to the Union, and the many fascinating personalities involved. Although Ohio technically "won" by maintaining possession of the strip, Michigan received a large portion of the Upper Peninsula as a consolation, thereby answering the popular trivia question, "Why is the U.P. part of Michigan?"

Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer by Jamie Smith. Illustrated by Jef Mallett.  With a keen sense of humor and a wealth of experience as a cyclist, Smith explains the wonderfully addicting but equally strange world of bicycle racing, including many of its charming habits and obsessive practices. Training, diet, several of the Michigan courses, cycle repairs, race strategies, and the puzzling question of why cyclists wear Lycra are all outlined in this unique book. Mallett's comic illustrations perfectly complement the narrative.

War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest by Michael Rosenberg.  The greatest years of the storied football rivalry between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s amidst campus unrest, Vietnam War protests and great political and social upheaval. More than just a history of the rivalry, Rosenberg integrates the story of the two iconic head coaches with the unfolding national dramas of the era.

A Picturesque Situation: Mackinac Before Photography, 1615-1860 by Brian Leigh Dunnigan.  Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Mackinac Island and the people that have lived there, Dunnigan's impressive collection of pre-photographic images of the Mackinac region draws from decades of research. Rare maps, plans, drawings, sketches, engravings and paintings, all in full color, are enhanced by the highly readable text.

The Expeditions: A Novel by Karl Iagnemma.  This debut novel by suburban Detroit native Karl Iagnemma is set in historic Michigan during the 1840s. Elisha Stone, a 16-year-old runaway, heads to Detroit to get away from trouble at home. He winds up working with a party of naturalists, embarking on a voyage to the Upper Peninsula to both discover treasure and prove theories about the origins of man. Iagnemma skillfully displays the interactions of the unstable research party, richly describes the historical attitudes and conditions of this frontier era, and reveals the interaction between father and son, as Elisha's father comes in search of his prodigal son.

The English Major by Jim Harrison.  Harrison's 14th book of fiction is a humorous novel exploring a man's journey to self-discovery. After being dumped by his wife, Cliff, a 60-ish former English teacher turned farmer, hits the road in his old Ford Taurus with a plan of renaming all the birds and all the states. Told in a believable first-person voice, the story describes Cliff's attempt to shed his former life, by crossing the boundaries of as many states of the Union as he can reach in a year. The novel revisits many of Harrison's longtime interests: travel, literature, food and man's interaction in the natural world.

Looking for Hickories: The Forgotten Wildness of the Rural Midwest by Tom Springer. Looking for Hickories is Springer's ode to the people and the natural world found in the heart of the Great Lakes region. Often beginning with amusement and ending with wisdom, his touching essays explore topics and issues unique to the upper Midwest, including building barns, land preservation, wild fruit, fossils and the death of the small town salesman. 

The Peter White Public Library offers the following new non-fiction titles as late-winter diversions.

The Best of Instructables, Volume 1. From the staff and editors of MAKE and instructables.com. These are the best of the various do it yourself build projects as seen on the website.  
By Eric J. Wilhelm. New Non-Fiction 600 WE.

Building a Shed. If your spring plans include a new small building for your backyard, check out this new book. Plans in this volume include a variety of sheds with specific purposes. We have numerous books with building and design ideas. 
By Joseph Truini. New Non-Fiction 690.89 TR.

It Looked Good on Paper: Bizarre Inventions, Design Disasters, and Engineering Follies. A humorous account of 67 ideas that were a little off. Includes military, scientific, commercial, and infrastructure follies. A collection of mankind’s ideas that would have turned out much better with the addition of a few key bits of knowledge or common sense. Examples include: the lead water pipes of Rome, and a Mars probe that failed because of simple math mistakes. 
By Bill Fawcett. New Non-Fiction 508.7 IT.

No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels. It has been 42 years since Hunter S. Thompson’s groundbreaking Hells Angels was published. Jay Dobyns spent two years with the group, resulting in a brutally honest look at the modern face of the Hells Angels. 
By Jay Dobyns. New Non-Fiction 364.1066 DO.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. In 1925, British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett and two companions plunged into the Amazon jungle in search of the legendary lost city of “Z”. Their party was small, they traveled light, but their quest was grandiose. The lost city was purported to contain not only a lost civilization, but also riches of gold (sought by early Spanish explorers as El Dorado). No members of the team were ever heard from again. 
By David Grann. New Non-Fiction 918.1104 GR.

Back in the Days. A History of the Early Hip-hop Days of the 1980s. Everyday photos from the boroughs of New York portray the fashion and culture of the times from a photographer who has been featured at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. 
Jamel Shabazz. New Non-Fiction 974.71 SH.

Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. This 2008 book coincided with the 40^th anniversary of the first Led Zeppelin album. Stories, trivia, and never before seen pictures fill nearly 300 pages. Also see: Hammer of the gods: the Led Zeppelin saga by Stephen Davis. 
By Jon Bream. New Non-Fiction 780.92 LE.

The Peter White Public Library is “Going Green”. A little over a year ago, we started sending email reminders three days before items became due. This proved so popular that we are looking to get more email addresses in our system for sending library-related content to your inbox. As always, we do not share your contact information with anybody, and only send you library-related messages. See our web page, www.pwpl.info to sign up for any of these electronic bulletins: notices related to your library account, the library newsletter, or to receive an emails about films playing at the library.

I recently joined the Lincoln-bicentennial-birthday craze and read a new volume about his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. In MRS LINCOLN: A Life, Catherine Clinton expounds on Mrs. Lincoln’s background as a Southern-born woman, fighting within herself to deal with personal struggles brought on by Civil War ideologies.  Many primary and secondary sources are used to explore conflicts caused by the deaths of two sons, her President-husband’s assassination and her own eccentricities.

Our current First Lady is introduced to the public in MICHELLE: A Biography by Lisa Mundy. Mundy’s description of Michelle Obama portrays her as an educated lawyer, a mother of two daughters as well as an organized list-maker who loves to tease. Color photos show Michelle growing up, cherishing moments with family and working on the recent Presidential campaign trail. This book illustrates her as a dynamic woman who will boost her husband’s new place in world politics.

Amy Dickinson, writer of the “Ask Amy” column and a contributor to NPR, writes her memoirs in THE MIGHTY QUEENS OF FREEVILLE. Her personal stories tell of family--mostly women, who are raising their children as single parents and live in the same small town. It relates how their strengths and support help Amy and her daughter learn to cope and survive. Although Amy has lived in many places, Freeville has always called her and her daughter home. Home to the love, family and support that only the small town can.    

AMERICAN WIDOW by Alissa Torres isn’t in the non-fiction section; this biography is in the graphic novels. Ms. Torres worked with illustrator Sungyoon Choi to create a compelling, new approach to the biography format. Her new graphic-novel style draws even the casual reader into her recollection of her life since September 11, 2001 when she found herself a young, pregnant widow. This quick read tells another story of the effects of this tragedy-filled day. (Graphic novel)

Two other Washington, D.C. icons have new biographies which are now in PWPL’s collection. John McCain recently came out with a new family memoir entitled FAITH OF MY FATHERS.  In this volume he writes about his grandfather and father and how their military bearing taught him to honor country. He relates stories of these “imperfect men” and himself as the McCain family has faced public and private turmoil.

Joe Biden’s PROMISES TO KEEP provides us with a candid picture of the man who is now our Vice President. He relates stories of how his classmates nicknamed him “Joe Impedimenta” or “DASH” not because he was quick on the football field, but for his dot-dot-dot manner of speech. Joe had a bad stutter that reared its head when he was in unknown or stressful situations. Biden continues his story by detailing a staunch Catholic upbringing of strong values along with the obligation to make people’s lives better. The very lessons that led him into 35 years of public service in support of the American promise.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN: American Original gathers essays about the famed conductor of the New York Philharmonic by distinguished members of music’s elite. Authors Burton Bernstein, Leonard’s brother, and Barbara B. Haws, current New York Philharmonic archivist and historian, also include black & white photographs of Bernstein as he conducted the orchestra and his life. A chronology creates a selective timeline from his birth in 1918 through his music career with the Philharmonic that began in 1943 to 1990 and his last concert with the famous orchestra. Music-related biographies such as this one are catalogued under the Dewey Decimal number 780.92. (780.92 BE)

Randy Owen, songwriter and lead singer of the Country Western music group “Alabama,” has a new bio out entitled BORN COUNTRY: How Faith, Family and Music Brought Me Home. Written by himself with Allen Rucker, Owen talks of his Christian upbringing in northeast Alabama and how it grounds him. He takes the reader through touring with his band, supporting U.S. troops with concerts and leading the country music industry in its support of St. Jude’s children’s Hospital. This book contains color photographs and is also found with music biographies in 780.92. (780.92 OW)

Columnist and film critic Roger Ebert is the author of SCORSESE by EBERT, a book about film director, Martin Scorsese. Ebert has been a fan of Scorsese since 1967 when both of their careers were beginning. Personal interviews between the two men are reproduced in this volume and add information about individual directorial works as well as the entirety of Scorsese’s films.  An index aids in finding topics of interest.

RESTLESS GENIUS by Richard J. Tofel tells the story of Barney (Bernard) Kilgore, "the man who transformed The Wall Street Journal and modern media."  Kilgore is the legendary managing editor, jorunalist, and forward-thinking businessman who took a troubled trade newspaper and made it into the world-renowned business icon that it is today.  His ideas of how a front page should look, the length of stories, advertising, circulation and distribution revolutionized the newspaper and magazine business.  This is a good read for those interested in today's troubles print market where newspaper conglomerates are downsizing their product and even failing.

The first computer programmer, Agusta Ada, hypothesized computers could be used to play elaborate pieces of music in the 1800s. I'm not sure electronic music is exactly what she envisioned, but today this style of music uses the same computer loops she created to play creative and sometimes complex music.

The Boards of Canada CD Campfire Headphase is a great example. This electronica band from Scotland layers music, sound clips, electric interments, speech and music fragments to create a very relaxed atmosphere. Pop it into the player and sit back.

On the other side of the spectrum we have one form of electronic dance music started right here in Michigan. Techno began humbly the mid '80s in Detroit as an experimental genre combining African American music styles on European synthesizers. A highly creative genre, it's mostly improvised and doesn't follow normal harmonies.

Homework is a good CD to get a feel for techno. It's by Daft Punk, a French duo that became popular in the '90s. This one you'll want to get up and move to.

Since electronic music relays a lot of improvisation and just being in the moment to create a certain atmosphere, see it live when the local techno band, World, comprised of two Marquette Senior High School students, performs at the March 20th Teen Advisory Board band show.

Ready to dance? An all ages techno dance party is planned from 8 to 10 p.m. March 27 at the library with a costume theme (hey, it's the middle of winter, where else are you going to wear that Halloween costume?). Come as you are or come as someone else and bust out of the winter doldrums with dance.  See you there.

As sled dog fever spreads through Marquette, the Peter White Public Library is ready to provide patrons with a ready supply of materials for U.P. 200 fans of all ages.

Riding the Runners: The Annual Heartbeat of Marquette, Michigan by Jan M. Sabin, gives an inside look at all the details that make the U.P. 200 happen.  Sabin includes equipment lists, maps, photographs, commentary and poetry to give readers a complete look at the race.

The Disney movie, Balto, will be shown tomorrow at 1:00 in the library’s Community Room and is available for checkout on both VHS and DVD.  Based on a true story, Balto is the lead dog for a dogsled team that must travel over 50 miles to deliver serum to help combat a diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska.  Beginning readers who are interested in this story will enjoy the book, The Bravest Dog Ever: the True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford. 

 In The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail, Debbie Miller tells the story from a more historical point of view.  This picture book for older children tells how the run was actually a relay, completed by many mushers and teams (a chart showing the name of the musher and the distance covered is included in the back of the book).  The picture book Togo by Robert Blake, tells the story from the point of view of a lead dog who ran a larger section of the trail (350 miles to Balto’s 53 miles).

he latest Disney dogsled movie, Snow Buddies, will entertain the younger set.  It features five retriever puppies who travel to Alaska and befriend a young dog musher and his husky puppy, Shasta.

The Youth Services Department has copies of three picture book titles by local author and musher, Jackie Winkowski.  Her books, Miki’s Challenge, Miki’s Race and Smokey’s Run, feature photographs from her kennel in Sands Township, Snowy Plains.

Wind-Wild Dog by Barbara Joose and illustrated by Kate Kiesler tells the story of Ziva, a skittish pup, who is taken in and trained by a wilderness dog musher.  The beautiful painted illustrations help create an engaging picture book for kindergarten through third graders.

Older children interested in adventure, will enjoy Roddy Doyle’s Wilderness.  Set in Finland, two brothers embark on a dog sledding tour and make a daring dash to rescue their mother when she goes missing.

Adults interested in a little escapist fiction with a dog mushing theme will enjoy On Thin Ice by Cherry Adair.  As the veterinarian heroine prepares to run the Iditarod, she is being wooed by rancher/secret agent and past race champion, Derek Wright.  Is he as she suspects, actually Mr. Wrong or will he win her heart?

The adult nonfiction collection houses several real life dog sledding adventures.  Titles include Alone Across the Arctic: One Woman's Epic Journey by Dog Team by Pam Flowers, Yukon Alone: the World's Toughest Adventure Race by John Balzar, and Honest Dogs: a Story of Triumph and Regret From the World's Toughest Sled Dog Race by Brian Patrick O'Donoghue.

For those interested in learning the latest from the experts on how to raise and train a team of their own, the library maintains a subscription to Mushing Magazine.

Celebrate the extravagant music-filled cinema of India at the 6^th annual Bollywood Night at the Peter White Public Library scheduled for Friday, February 13 at 6:30 pm in the Library Community Room.  The evening includes a screening of Om Shanti Om, the story of an aspiring actor who is murdered and immediately reincarnated.  This year’s Bollywood Night includes an appearance by the Belladonnas, Marquette’s own belly dancing troupe. South Asian Snacks are served during the intermission. Seating is limited and donations are appreciated.

The Library’s annual Bollywood Night celebration has resulted in a growing Marquette area fan base for the Indian musical film genre known affectionately as Bollywood. The Peter White Public Library is constantly adding new Bollywood titles to its DVD collection. Here are just few of our favorites.

Carry on Munnabhai is an amusing, but meaningful, film following the trials of an engaging Mumbai gangster who tries to pass himself off as a professor of Gandhian studies to win the heart of a radio talk show host.

Devdas is the classic tragic story of Devdas' inability to marry his childhood sweetheart followed by his descent into alcoholism, death, and eventual redemption.

In Dilwale dulhania le jayenge (The Brave-Heart Will Take The Bride), Raj and Simran are second generation British Asians who meet and fall in love one summer, but Simran's traditional father has arranged for her to marry the son of an old friend from India.

Jodhaa Akbar is an epic telling of the sixteenth century marriage between the Mogul emperor, Akbar, and the Rajput princess, Jodhaa.

Mughal-e-Azam is a spectacular drama set in the time of the Mughals at the height of their power and splendor.

In Swades, a bright young scientist working at NASA returns to rural India on a quest to find his childhood nanny and is drawn into the village life and problems.

Bollywood Night is just part of the Peter White Public Library’s CineArts Film Series featuring international and independent films. The winter series began in January with Everlasting Piece, which tells the improbable and humorous story of a Catholic and a Protestant barber who join forces to corner the toupee market in Belfast, Ireland. The DVD is available to check out.

CineArts continues with Ushpizin, (Friday, March 6 at 7:00 pm) a heartwarming and humorous Israeli drama set in the customarily closed world of ultra-Orthodox Jews. A married couple pray for relief of their financial crisis, but instead of a miracle, two suspicious strangers with criminal pasts appear on their doorstep.

In the Belgium film, Eldorado, (Wednesday March 18 at 7:00 pm) a young burglar tries to rob a 40-year-old car dealer who becomes strangely attached to the would-be thief and agrees to drive him home to his parents.

The Israeli film, The Band’s Visit, (Friday April 3 at 7:00 pm) tells the story of a small Egyptian Police band who arrive in Israel for a concert, but are left stranded at the airport. The band finds shelter and surprising friendships in a desolate Israeli village..

In The Counterfeiters, (Wednesday April 15 at 7:00 pm) the Nazis round up dozens of skilled Jewish craftsmen from concentration camps to create perfect counterfeits of British and U.S. currency in a last-ditch ploy to wreck the economies of the two allies. This film from Austria won a 2008 Oscar  for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

After being shown, most films in the CineArts series can be checked out of the Library’s collection of DVDs. Check these and other films at www.pwpl.info.

Everyone loves stories. Whether it’s a child recounting his or her day or a professional storyteller on stage, we need stories in our lives. Stories help us understand ourselves and teach us compassion for others. Stories connect us to our past and future and help us make sense of our present. Storytelling is an ancient art. Generations ago, with the advent of the Industrial age and compulsory education, storytelling was relegated to a child’s bedside. The past few decades have brought with them a recognition of the value of storytelling as an art, and as a tool for healing, teaching and affirming spirituality.

In February, the Peter White Public Library will present the Global Tales Storytelling Festival. The centerpiece of the festival is the Storytelling Olio, a live, variety performance beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, and, the following day, a commemoration of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War by Emmy Award winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk. On Sunday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m., Norfolk portrays Jacob, a freed slave, who highlights the key people, events and politics of the Civil War. Lincoln is a central figure in Norfolk’s performance which is appropriate for grades three and up.

The Olio is designed for ages 8 and up. In addition to Bobby Norfolk, three local storytellers will entertain. Jessica “Red” Bays portrays “Mrs. Sorken” and acts as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Jim Edwards spins the tales of Taliesin, an ancient Welsh bard. Corinne Rockow incorporates history into her musical storytelling with “True Grit: Stories of Persistence and Pluck to Grease Your Grin.” Bobby Norfolk will conclude the Olio.

Storytelling events for all ages include a puppet show, films, a Valentine’s Day celebration with a South Asian flair, and Laurel Premo in concert with the Kivajat Children’s Finnish-American Folk Dance Group. All events are free and open to the public.

The library offers a variety of books to assist storytellers. Some are full of tales to tell. Others provide help with the telling. Still more teach ways to add variety to the presentation of a story. Margaret Read MacDonald, a storyteller, librarian, and folklorist, has authored numerous books to assist storytellers including, The Storyteller’s Start-Up Book: Finding, Learning, Performing and Using Folktales, Including Twelve Tellable Tales. This book offers practical information and advice for both beginner and veteran storytellers.

Teachers, public speakers, tour guides and anyone else who needs to hold a group’s attention for a few minutes can make use of Three Minute Tales: Stories From Around the World to Tell or Read When Time is Short, also by MacDonald. The Parent’s Guide to Storytelling: How to Make Up New Stories and Retell Old Favorites is another MacDonald offering. In addition to how-to books, MacDonald retells folktales in such a way that others can learn to tell them. Examples are Fat Cat: a Danish Folktale, Mabela the Clever (an African tale), and Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale.

Jerry J. Mallett has gathered two books of “tell and do” stories, Stories to Draw, and, Fold and Cut Stories. These collections help teachers, librarians, parents and other tellers expand their storytelling for children in attention-getting ways. Megan McDonald uses storyknifing, a traditional Yup’ik technique of scratching pictures on the ground while telling a story, in her picture book, Tundra Mouse.

Joining In: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories and How to Tell Them, compiled by Teresa Miller, and Storytelling Games by Doug Lipman provide more storytelling variations.

Teaching guides include Children Tell Stories by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, Creative Storytelling: Building Community, Changing Lives by Jack Zipes, and Every Child a Storyteller: A Handbook of Ideas by Harriet R Kinghorn and Mary Helen Pelton. Storytelling For the Fun of It: A Handbook for Children by Vivian Dubrovin speaks directly to young storytellers but can be appreciated by adults too.

Of course, public libraries everywhere are full of stories just waiting for the telling.

January is a time for new beginnings and getting back to the basics.  For young children, learning the alphabet is the beginning of a lifetime of reading.  The lower floor of the library houses 345 alphabet books, cleverly composed, beautifully illustrated, and written for all levels of readers. Type the word “alphabet” into our online catalog as a subject search and take your pick of titles.  Some of the newest alphabet books are:   

A IS FOR ART: AN ABSTRACT ALPHABET by Stephen Johnson is an example of the basic alphabet book enhanced by Johnson’s photographic art.  Readers will find a hidden alphabet letter in each picture, if they look closely and turn the book in every direction.  The answers are found on the last two pages, in case you miss a clue.   Each picture is described by complete sentences of alliterative vocabulary using the appropriate alphabet letter.  Using the same creative flair, Johnson also wrote ALPHABET CITY in 1996, earning a Caldecott Honor Award for best art in children’s books.

THE ABC BOOK OF AMERICAN HOMES by Michael Shoulders describes houses found around the corner and around the world, such as farmhouses, houseboats, pueblos, and yurts. The watercolor illustrations by Sarah Brannen are detailed and accurate.  One illustration of a Sears, Roebuck and Company build-it-yourself home is done in black and white to look like an old photograph that’s been glued to the page.

 ALL ABOARD! A TRAVELING ALPHABET by Chris Demarest revisits the modes of transportation used in the early twentieth century, such as ships, trains, planes, and even a zeppelin.  Each stylized illustration by Bill Mayer looks like a 1920’s travel poster with a single word imbedded in the picture.  An alphabet letter is also hidden there.  If you simply cannot find the letter G in the Gondola illustration, flip to the last page for a hint.

ANIMAL ANTICS A to Z by Anita Lobel takes readers from A to Z with the help of bouncing bears, playful pigs, and zany zebras, to name just a few.  Detailed and colorful illustrations of animals doing tricks give readers the sense of being at the circus.  At the same time, acrobats bend their flexible bodies to form all twenty-six letters of the alphabet.  To help readers find out more about some of the unusual animals in the book, such as ibexes and nyalas, Lobel has included a summary page with a short paragraph about each animal.

 FORESTRY A-Z by Kathleen Cook Waldron and Ann Walsh is full of information about the modern logging industry, with some bits of logging history.  Photographer Bob Warick captures people and places that bring forestry to life.  The text is beautifully set on handmade paper in pastel colors, layered on top of and in between several photographs.  Each page is a visual treat. 

 P IS FOR PEANUT by Lisa Gelber is another alphabet book featuring photographs, this time in black and white.  If K is for kooky, then you can appreciate the unusual selection of vintage photography used to illustrate the alphabet letters.  An index of each photograph includes information about the subject, photographer, and date taken.  All photos are from the J. Paul Getty Museum collection. 

“R” IS FOR RESEARCH by Toni Buzzeo introduces basic research concepts to students who need to find resources in the library.  In addition to looking for printed materials such as books and journals, the author encourages use of the internet and organizational tools for composing a report.  Nicole Wong’s vivid black line illustrations are filled with extra hand-written information, including a timeline, rules for effective PowerPoint presentations, and an example of possible search terms for the word, “cat.”

When the winter months get so long and snowy, try cuddling up to a new biography or a true adventure tale available at the library.  These new books are about people and places you may or may not know.

My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Atiel Sabar tells the story of the author's father and the culture in which he was raised and lived in Kurdish Iraq. Yona Sabar was born to one of the lost tribes of Israel in the northern mountains of Iraq.  The Kurdish Jews here were so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic. Caught unaware of the tensions in the Middle East after World War II, these Jews were taken to the new state of Israel in the 1950s, their traditional life doomed to extinction.  The author knew very little of his father's history and this book is Ariel's quest to reconcile his past with the present.

The Longest Winter: The Incredible Survival of Captain Scott's Lost Party by Katherine Lambert is one of the greatest unknown survival stories to come out of the age of polar exploration. It may also be considered one of the best survival stories ever. In 1912, English explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott was leading his team back from their race to the South Pole, a six-member scientific team was lost several hundred miles to the north.  The book is based on the unpublished diaries of the men who went through this ordeal.

Joseph Epstein's Fred Astaire is a portrait of America's most graceful dancer and how he came to represent the essence of style, suavity and charm.  Tracing Astaire's life from his birth in Omaha to his death in his late 80s in Hollywood, the book looks at his early days with his sister, his gifts as a singer, and his many movie dance partners. This is a fascinating view of an American era, seen through the accomplishments of Fred Astaire.

The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst by Kenneth Whyte is a re-examination of the early work of William Randolph Hearst. More than a century ago a young Hearst stormed the New York Journal and became a dominating force in the most hotly contested newspaper market the world had known.  In three short years, Hearst was able to build the foundation for one of America's most dominating media empires.

Race to the Polar Sea: The Heroic Adventures of Elisha Kent Kane is the story of another race to explore the Arctic regions near the North Pole. Ken McGoogan tells the story of Elisha Kent Kane and his trip to find Sir John Franklin in the Arctic Circle, where he was trapped by the polar ice. While there Kane forged a unique alliance with the Inuit and so survived two terrible winters in Arctic history. Drawing on manuscripts that had been lost for more than 150 years, this is a story of heroism, courage and conspiracy.

These new non-fiction works are available at the library.

Unfortunately, the news of late seems to be gloomy at best. The economy seems bent on imploding and bad news just gets worse and worse. Harry S. Dent Jr. predicts that we haven't seen the worst. The Great Depression Ahead is a guide to prospering in the crash that is following the greatest boom in history. Dent ties the upcoming economic climate to trends to explain why 2009, 2010 and 2011 will continue to buffet the world's economy. Dent's book The Great Boom Ahead accurately forecasted the unprecedented boom of the 1990s. His latest book outlines the strategies investors should use to prosper from the upcoming economic turmoil.

Hometown Appetites by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris is the story of Clementine Paddleford, who transformed the way food was written about and celebrated in the United States. During her 40-year career she revealed the pleasures of regional American food. Paddleford was a whirlwind workaholic who flew her own plane and enjoyed life to the fullest. The book also contains a variety of Paddleford recipes.

John Chatterton and Richie Kohler are back in another underwater adventure, Titanic's Last Secrets by Brad Matsen. These two divers featured in Robert Kurson's Shadow Divers continue their investigative diving to explore why the Titanic sank so quickly. Their dives to the Titanic and her sister ship Britannic reveal that compromises made during the construction of Titanic resulted in the death of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.

Amanda Ripley, senior journalist at Time Magazine, investigates why some people survive natural or manmade disasters while others perish. The Unthinkable discusses what in the human brain makes a survivor and also explains how an individual can train his brain to make the right decisions in case of an emergency.

A Season in Mecca by Abdellah Hammoudi is the recounting of the author's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1999. Hammoudi went to observe the hajj as an anthropologist and to tell Muslims and non-Muslims about the experience. He captures the complexity of the pilgrimage as well as what the journey means spiritually.

As the United States started to overshadow England as a world power at the end of the 19th century, Americans stated to purchase European works of art and bring them home. Old Masters, New World by Cynthia Saltzman chronicles America's raid on Europe's great pictures. The Gilded Age comes alive as Saltzman conveys the thrill of the chase, the cutthroat competition, financial maneuvering, intrigue and double crossing that went on between dealers and collectors.

Whisper of Fear by Rhonda B. Saunders and Stephen G. Michaud tells the story of Saunders, who wrote the law on stalking and then devoted herself to prosecuting offenders. In 1992, Saunders was assigned her first stalking case, and during the next 15 years used her experiences to advocate for changes in California state laws that would make prosecution possible. In the process she set the standard for laws in other states.

Florence, Italy was ravished by a flood in 1966. This disaster affected residents and took its toll on the artistic treasures synonymous with Florence. Forty years later, Dark Water, Flood and Redemption in the City of Masterpieces by Robert Clark captures the story of the artists who created these masterpieces and the art experts and the volunteer "mud angels" who saved them.

Apartment Therapy by Maxwell Gillngham-Ryan is an inspirational look at the design solutions found in 40 real homes in more than 400 photographs. Tiny urban rentals, lofts, mini mansions and ranch homes are all featured. The design ideas are easily replicated, and the book gives the reader many ideas to try in his or her own space.

Legend says the Gudrid, a Viking woman explorer, discovered Leif Eiriksson's Vinland 500 years before Columbus sailed. The Far Traveler by Nancy Marie Brown uses modern technology to reconstruct the travels of this intrepid explorer. Science, literature, history and travel combine to reveal a life even more extraordinary than the legends portray. 

The Afternoon Classic Film series at the Peter White Public Library screens two older films per month on the library’s large projection screen.  Many of the featured films are from the library’s extensive VHS collection donated by the family of the late David Goldsmith.  Well known titles such as “The Quiet Man,” “You Can’t Take It With You” and “On the Waterfront” showcase the talents of John Wayne, Lionel Barrymore, Marlon Brando, Maureen O’Hara, Claudette Colbert and other great actors of Hollywood’s golden age. 

A new twist on the old classics is the availability of these perennial favorites in DVD format.  Peter White Public Library boasts a growing collection of these classic American films to be viewed anytime by all generations.  The following films can be found by a title search in the DVD section on the main floor of the library.

“Life With Father” starring William Powell and Irene Dunne premiered in 1947 and is based on the writings of Clarence Day Jr. about growing up with his stern father attempting to manage a chaotic household.  This hilarious comedy earned four Academy Award nominations including best actor for William Powell.

Premiering in 1943, “Lassie Come Home” stars a young Roddy McDowell and 11 year old Elizabeth Taylor. Heartwarming and moving, this is the original Lassie adventure based on the Eric Knight novel. Young Roddy McDowell and Elizabeth Taylor head an outstanding cast in this story of a poor family forced to sell their beloved dog. The real star, of course, is Lassie, who undertakes a courageous journey to rejoin the family.

For western buffs, “High Noon” starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly will fit the bill. This winner of four Academy Awards tells the story of Marshal Will Kane (Cooper) who stands alone to defend a town of cowardly citizens against a revenge seeking enemy in a classic western showdown. This movie was the first starring role for a young Grace Kelly.

Winner of six Academy Awards, the film that stunned America in 1966, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” brought together the nation's most electrifying cinema personalities Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton with the country's most important dramatist, Edward Albee and famed stage director Mike Nichols. It is the story of Martha and George and their embittered, embattled marriage on the campus of a New England college. The film’s incredible power and unflinching truth made it a pivotal picture in American cinema.

The Hollywood masterpiece, “Singin’ In the Rain” stars Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds and premiered in 1952. Considered by many to be the finest musical comedy of all-time, Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote this wonderful film about the time when movies were changing from silent to talkies. The songs range from the hilarious "Make 'Em Laugh" performed by O'Connor, to the delicate "You Were Meant for Me" and the show-stopping classic "Singin' in the Rain" solo by Gene Kelly.

Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert star in the 1939 film, “Drums Along the Mohawk,” based on the best selling novel by Walter D. Edmonds.  Fonda stars as farmer, Gil Martin, who moves his new bride out west into the yet unsettled Mohawk Valley. This sweeping piece of cinema celebrates the strength of frontier men and women in the time of the American Revolution.  Nominated for two Academy Awards, this film is the work of great American director, John Ford.

This is just a small sampling of the growing collection of classic films on DVD available for checkout at the Peter White Public Library.  Rent one to watch at home or come to the Afternoon Classic film series at the library to see these well loved favorites on the big screen.  Visit www.pwpl.info or call 228-9510 for upcoming film screening dates.

The holiday parties are over, the trees are coming down and the playgrounds are still covered in snow; it’s natural to look at the remaining four months of winter with utter dread, especially if you’re a parent of energetic children.  The following new titles are full of ideas for keeping your children entertained.  They can all be found in the Youth Services Department on the lower level of the Peter White Public Library. 

When the little ones are underfoot in the kitchen, include them in the action.  The Toddler Cookbook by Annabel Karmel contains a collection of simple recipes that toddlers can make themselves or assist in preparing.

Baking Bread with Children by Warren Lee Cohen is an invitation to share the magic of baking bread with children of all ages.  It contains everything you need to get started: bread basics for beginners, a variety of delicious recipes, and a rich store of multicultural stories, songs and blessings to enliven the whole experience.

Young artists looking for ideas will find dozens of books to choose from in the arts and handicrafts section.  Each craft in Step-by Step Crafts for Winter by Kathy Ross is made from readily available materials, including household recyclables.

My Indoor Garden by Carol Lerner discusses how to care for plants indoors, including such aspects as light, temperature, humidity, pests, diseases, equipment, and how to choose and grow your own plants.

Winter is a great time to learn a new skill.  Extreme Balloon Tying by Shar Levine and Michael Ouchi promises readers that with a little practice, you'll be able to make an incredible killer whale; a spectacular T-Rex; a shake, rattle, and rolling rattlesnake; a spooky skeleton; and a glow-in-the-dark space sword.

Knitting with Gigi by Karen Thalacker gives simple step by step instructions and eight cool patterns your child will be proud to complete on her own. 

With only a few materials and easy to learn skills, Calligrahy for Kids by Eleanor Winters can help children learn to make fabulous party invitations, signs, and other exciting projects.

Winter is the best time to gaze at the stars.  The Night Sky by Eduardo Banqueri introduces the amazing world of comets, meteors, asteroids, planets, stars, galaxies and other celestial phenomena in a clear and engaging way.  It provides simple advice on using binoculars and simple telescopes, to help you make the best of your evening explorations even if you don’t have the highest tech gear. 

The library has a nice collection of books on winter sport from bobsledding to ice-fishing.  New titles include Snow Boarding by Clive Gifford and Let's Downhill Ski by Carol Kindeen.  Both titles offer photographs of real kids in action, terms, techniques, and the rundown on latest equipment.