8/18: New at the library this week

DVDs:

• Stone cold

Books:

• The secrets of a fire king / Kim Edwards — In this, her first collection of stories-now with three new stories added-she explores the lives of those who exist on the fringes of society: a fire-eater, an American and his Korean war bride, Madame Curie's maid, and others.
• The Visual dictionary of everyday things / Dorling Kindersley Limited — Here is an entirely new kind of dictionary — one that is packed iwth vivid photogrpahs and thousands of names for the components that make up familiar objects. The Visual Dictionary of Everyday Things will give you instant access to the specialist vocabulary used in furniture making, clock making, tailoring, bookbinding, and manufacturing a multitude of everyday objects.
• Eyewitness question & answer book / John Farndon
• Seashore / Steve Parker — Here is an original and exciting new look at the fascinating natural world of the seashore. Stunning real-life photographs of crabs, lobsters, tide pools, fish, seals, seabirds and more offer a unique "eyewitness" view of life on the seashore. (table of contents)
• Crystal & gem / R. F. Symes — Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the amazing world of crystals and gems. Superb color photographs of crystals, jewels and gemstones of every color, size and shape offer a unique "eyewitness" insight into their extraordinary beauty and variety. (table of contents)
• Making things : the handbook of creative discovery / Ann Sayre Wiseman — A compilation of the "best selections" from Making Things and Making Things 2, published in the 1970s, this book has many inspirational quotes, philosophical tidbits, and a wealth of creative ideas.
• The beastly book : 100 of the world's most dangerous creatures / Jeanne K. Hanson
• The adventures of Tom Sawyer / Mark Twain — The adventures of a mischievous young boy and his friends growing up in a Mississippi River town in the nineteenth century.
• The Twits / Roald Dahl — How do you outwit a Twit? Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything -- except playing mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. They don't just want out, they want revenge. (Age Range: 9 to 12)
• Esio trot / Roald Dahl — Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but her heart belongs to Alfie, her pet tortoise. Mr. Hoppy is too shy to approach Mrs. Silver, until one day he comes up with a brilliant idea to win her heart. If Mr. Hoppy's plan works, Mrs. Silver will certainly fall in love with him. But it's going to take one hundred and forty tortoises, an ancient spell, and a little bit of magic. (Age Range: 8 to 12)
• The Borrowers afloat / Mary Norton — The Borrowers, a family of miniature people, journey down a drain, live briefly in a teakettle, and are swept away in a flood before finding a new home. Sequel to "The Borrowers Afield." (Age Range: 9 to 12)
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm / Nancy Farmer — The year is 2194, and Tendai, his brother, and his sister -- the children of Zimbabwei's chief of security -- have escaped from their father's estate to explore the dangerous city of Harare. The Ear, the Eye and the Arm was a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Notable Children's Book, a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, and received a Golden Kite Award, and a Parents' Choice Award. (Age Range: 7 to 10)
• The family under the bridge / Natalie Carlson — This is the delightfully warm and enjoyable story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them. But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. And it did not take Armand very long to realize that he had gotten himself ready-made family; one that he loved with all his heart, and one for whom he would have to find a better home than the bridge. (Age Range: 7 to 11; read an exerpt)
• The door in the wall / Marguerite De Angeli — Ever since he can remember, Robin, son of Sir John de Bureford, has been told what is expected of him as the son of a nobleman. He must learn the ways of knighthood. But Robin's destiny is changed in one stroke when he falls ill and loses the use of his legs. Fearing a plague, his servants abandon him and Robin is left alone.
• Abel's island / William Steig — Abel's place in his familiar, mouse world has always been secure; he had an allowance from his mother, a comfortable home, and a lovely wife, Amanda. But one stormy August day, furious flood water carry him off and dump him on an uninhabited island. Despite his determination and stubborn resourcefulness--he tried crossing the river with boats and ropes and even on stepping-stones--Abel can't find a way to get back home. (Age Range: 8 to 12)
• Mrs. Frisby and the rats of Nimh / Robert C. O'Brien — Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma. And Mrs. Frisby in turn renders them a great service. (Age Range: 9 to 12; on this year's Battle of the Books list)
• No reservations required / Ellen Hart — Twin Cities businessman Ken Loy is the first to die; shot between the eyes during a sunset bike ride. Half an hour later, Bob Fabian, the rich and handsome owner of the Minneapolis Times Register, meets a similar fate. It was a year ago when Loy broadsided the VW Beetle driven by Fabian’s wife, Valerie, killing her instantly. Coincidence? Sleuthing food critic Sophie Greenway doesn’t buy it. (Culinary Mystery Series)
• Call the devil by his oldest name / Sallie Bissell — Haunted by the death of her mother and tortured by the secret that died upon her best friend's lips, assistant district attorney Mary Crow is obsessed with finding the man who holds the key to both those tragedies. (Mary Crow Series, #3; read an exerpt)
• Land of burning heat / Judith Van Gieson — An ancient religion, a family's hidden past, and a modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier in her search for a priceless document. A young woman named Isabel Santos discovers a faded scrap of paper buried for hundreds of years under her family's adobe house. It could be the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic condemned to death by the Inquisition in Mexico City in 1596. (Claire Reynier Series, #4)
• Death angel / Martha Powers — When Kate and Richard Warner's ten-year-old daughter is murdered, the normal world disappears into a nightmare of heartbreak, fear and grief. Kate struggles to keep her own sanity and fight against the rising tide of suspicions. Eventually she realizes that the only way to discover the truth is to join forces with the police, digging through the facts of the crime in order to help bring the murderer to justice.
• Unpaid dues / Barbara Seranella — Munch Mancini is one of those fictional characters who jump off the page and into readers' hearts. Mechanic, limo driver, mom, Munch -- short for Miranda -- has lived a hard life and done it all: sex, drugs, you name it. But now she has her adopted eight-year-old daughter, Asia; she has a house; she has a job she loves. And she has trouble. (Munch Mancini Series, #6; read an exerpt)
• Ordinary heroes / Scott Turow — Stewart Dubinsky knew his father had served in World War II. And he'd been told how David Dubin (as his father had Americanized the name that Stewart later reclaimed) had rescued Stewart's mother from the horror of the Balingen concentration camp. But when he discovers, after his father's death, a packet of wartime letters to a former fiancée, and learns of his father's court-martial and imprisonment, he is plunged into the mystery of his family's secret history and driven to uncover the truth about this enigmatic, distant man who'd always refused to talk about his war.

12/9: New at the library this week

Books:

• Rise and shine / Anna Quindlen — It's an otherwise ordinary Monday when Meghan Fitzmaurice's perfect life hits a wall. A household name as the host of Rise and Shine, the country's highest-rated morning talk show, Meghan cuts to a commercial break-but not before she mutters two forbidden words into her open mike. In an instant, it's the end of an era, not only for Meghan, who is unaccustomed to dealing with adversity, but also for her younger sister, Bridget, a social worker in the Bronx who has always lived in Meghan's long shadow. The effect of Meghan's on-air truth telling reverberates through both their lives, affecting Meghan's son, husband, friends, and fans, as well as Bridget's perception of her sister, their complex childhood, and herself.
• Judge & jury / James Patterson — Senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante is closing in on the notorious mob boss "The Electrician," when the scheduled sting goes spectacularly awry. Two FBI agents are dead, the boss is wounded, and Pellisante vows the Electrician's next move will be from a jail cell. Andie Echeverra, a part-time actress and a single, full-time mom, is assigned her next role as Juror #11 in the landmark trial against Mafia Don Dominic Cavello. Everybody is on edge. No one has ever crossed the man whose orders have made entire families disappear.
• Motor mouth / Janet Evanovich — A woman with a taste for speed and a talent for breaking the rules, Barney also knows a little too much about cheating. First there was Hooker and that salesclerk. Now she's convinced one of the competitors is up to no good on the track. Snooping to find evidence, Hooker and Barney "borrow" a NASCAR hauler. Turns out, the hauler is carrying two race cars and a dead guy. Now Barney and Hooker are facing multiple counts of grand theft auto and homicide.
• Triptych / Karin Slaughter — From Atlanta's wealthiest suburbs to its stark inner-city housing projects, a killer has crossed the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries, too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread- and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael's lover before she became his enemy. But unbeknownst to both of them, another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trail in the most coincidental of ways- and who may be the key to breaking the case wide open.
• Thirteen moons / Charles Frazier — At the age of twelve, under the Wind moon, Will is given a horse, a key, and a map, and sent alone into the Indian Nation to run a trading post as a bound boy. It is during this time that he grows into a man, learning, as he does, of the raw power it takes to create a life, to find a home. In a card game with a white Indian named Featherstone, Will wins - for a brief moment - a mysterious girl named Claire, and his passion and desire for her spans this novel.
• Pirate Island adventure / Peggy Parish — Summer vacation at Pirate Island! Liza, Bill, and Jed can't believe their grandparents' wonderful surprise. The excitement begins even before they reach the island, as Grandpa gives the first clue to the unsolved mystery of a long-lost family "treasure." (Age Range: 7 to 10)
• Chomps, Flea, and Gray Cat (that's me!) / Carol Wallace — Jealous? Me? Well...maybe a little. My people got a new white puppy named Chomps. That's because he bits at everything, especially flies. What could a gray cat—me—want with a Scottish terrier, anyway? The little nipper got into some trouble with the big rats in the barn. It was partly my fault. So...I had to save him. Problem is, now I can't get rid of him. What am I supposed to do with a dog who's determined to get himself into trouble. (Thats Me Series; Age Range: 8 to 10) (read a sample chapter)
• Carlotta's kittens and the Club of Mysteries / Phyllis Reynolds Naylor — It is the coldest part of winter and all of the male cats in the Club of Mysteries — which meets over Murphy's garage — have one thing on their minds: Carlotta. Has anyone seen the she-cat that they all adore? Has she had her kittens yet? Because they all know that once Carlotta and her kittens appear, it will be their job not only to protect the young ones from the dangers of the world — including being discovered and taken to the pound — but also to teach them the skills they'll need to survive. (Cat Pack Series; Age Range: 8 to 10)
• The Van Gogh Cafe / Cynthia Rylant — The Van Gogh Cafe, located in Flowers, Kansas, has magic in its walls, causing strange and mysterious events to occur there. (Age Range: 8 to 12)
• Akiko on the planet Smoo / Mark Crilley — When fourth grader Akiko finds a spacecraft hovering outside her window one night, she begins the adventure of a lifetime. She is whisked off to the planet Smoo to lead a team searching for the King of Smoo's kidnapped son. Akiko the head of a rescue mission? She's afraid to be on the school's safety patrol! (what's a graphic novel?)
• The chameleon wore chartreuse : from the tattered casebook of Chet Gecko, private eye / Bruce Hale — Chet Gecko loves a good mystery. Almost more than he loves his fee —stinkbug pie. So when fellow fourth grader Shirley Chameleon asks him to find her missing brother, Billy, Chet expects the case to be as easy as pie. But Billy's disappearance is part of a larger plot, one that involves the Rat Sisters, a riddling junkyard dog, and a vicious Gila monster named Herman. If Chet doesn't solve the case fast, the entire school could be humiliated. Worst of all, Chet might not get his fee. And Chet's hungry.... (Chet Gecko Mysteries Series; Age Range: Young Adult)
• The trouble with Tuck / Theodore Taylor — Helen adored her beautiful golden Labrador from the first moment he was placed in her arms, a squirming fat sausage of creamy yellow fur. As her best friend, Friar Tuck waited daily for Helen to come home from school and play. He guarded her through the long, scary hours of the dark night. Twice he even saved her life. Now it's Helen's turn. No one can say exactly when Tuck began to go blind. Probably the light began to fail for him long before the alarming day when he raced after some cats and crashed through the screen door, apparently never seeing it. But from that day on, Tuck's trouble—and how to cope with it—becomes the focus of Helen's life. (Age Range: 9 to 12) (read an excerpt)
• The seven treasure hunts / Betsy Byars — Two boys make up a series of treasure hunts for each other, with disastrous and hilarious results. (Age Range: 9) (read an excerpt)
• Our only May Amelia / Jennifer L. Holm — It isn't easy being a pioneer in the state of Washington in 1899, but it's particularly hard when you are the only girl ever born in the new settlement. With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can't seem to abide her family's insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. Not when there's fishing to be done, sheep to be herded, and real live murderers to be captured! May is sure she could manage better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama's going to have a baby, maybe there's hope.... (Age Range: 9 to 12) (read an excerpt)