January 3, 2004


Library Corner...
Do you know a youngster who loves X-treme sports? "Blades, Boards & Scooters" by Keltie Thomas is a wonderfully informative guide. The author examines all aspects of these thrilling activities with humor and delightful illustrations. even couch potatoes will enjoy reading this. Stained glass is a beautifully decorative art form. If you're inclined to give a try, oriel Hicks' "Beginner's Guide to Stained & Decorative Glass" is a wonderful vechile to jump-start your creativity. This craft is like no other and involves a variety of techniques that are easily mastered. Stories of the Old West always include a chapter about the Pony Express. Author Christopher Corbett has cut through the myths and revealed the truth in "Orphans Preferred." This is an entertaining account of that famous trail from St. Joesph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Historians take note. Do you ever wonder about unusual case histories that therapists encounter? "the Mummy at the Dining Room Table" is a study in human behavior that reflects some incredible life stories. This book is human psychology at its most bizarre. Jeffrey A. kottler and Jon Carlson offer solutions to their patients' problems in a compassionate and heartwarming manner. It's never too soon to begin planning your garden for next season. Lewis and Nancy Hill's "The Flower Gardener's Bible" will definately get you in the mood for spring and summer. Learn how to prepare your soil, fight diseases and design abolutely gorgeous outdoor spaces. If winter comes, can spring be far behind?


Leslie's Tips for Parents and Children:
"John Muir and Stickeen" by Elizabeth Koehler -Pentacoff with illustrations by Karl Swanson. The author captures Muir's wide eyed eagerness to experience nature and his exhilaration in wi.ld country and fierce weather. The illustrator captures the cold, rugged feel of the glacial area, where there are lots of colors but they are muted by snow and stormy skies. A great book to read while settled in your favorite comfortable chair, warm ad safe. Then, you can let your mind soar on a wild walk with Muir and Stickeen. "a Christmas Stocking Story" by Hilary Knight. The author and illustrator of Eloise is equally engaging in this Christams story reprint from 1963. Here the character are all animals and they all have wrong stockings, but they hang them anyway, and, sure enough, they are all filled with inappropriate items. The friends sort it out so there is a happy ending for them and a very funny book for us. "CDC" by William Steig; This is a new edition of the 1984 book. It would be easy to say the new and improved edition, because the pages are bigger and the pictures are in color. The engaging fun of the book needs no improvement. Steig's wacky humor and right-on drawings create a delghtful book.


Librarian's Pick of the Week:
"Dead Familiar" by Carol O'Connor. O' Connor's dective is Kathy Mallory, a sociopath who relates to few people, but whose fierce love for some individuals causes her to do some outrageous things. Her case this time concerns a dead FBI agent found in a psychiatrist's waiting room? Is Ian Zachary, now a shock jock, involved in the murders of the discover the thruth. One More Pick: "empires of Light" by Jill Jones, about the race to electrify 19th century america. Three figures dominate this history of electricity available to mansions and communities, and the changing opinions about the efficacy and danger of electrical current. Jones makes the most of this highly-charged story, citing the battles between the electrical companies, the changing opinions about the safety of the American poeple when faced with deaths by "wire," and the growing number of billionairesanxious to buy stock in this new, use intention. Who comes out on top? Read, read, read! Also new and recommened: "Fatal Remains" by Eleanor Bland; "The Death You Deserve" by David Bowker; "Highland Fling" by Katie Fforde; "The Disappearing Duke" by Tom Freeman-Keel; "The Weaver and the Factory Maid" by Deborah Grabien; "Pompeii" by Robert Harris; "The Blue Widows" by Jon Land; "The Touch" by Colleen McCullough; "Blood Relations" by Rett MacPherson; and "Kliars and Saints" by Maile Meloy. New in non-fiction: "A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestor" by Franklin Smith; "The Flower Gardener's Bible" by lewis Will; "A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market" by John Paulos; "Good Morning Midnight" by Chip Brown; "Rocket Dreams" by Marina Benjamin; "Mountains of the Mind" by robert Macfarlane; and "Evil" by Lance Morrow.


Eleanor's Good Stuff:
All about Snow
American Masters
Fact Monster
From Jesus Christ To The First Christians
Professional Pasta
Zoom Into Maps