Will Goes to the Beach, Will’s New Cap, Will Goes to the Post office, Will Gets a Haircut by Olof and Lena Landstrom
This endearing series of picture books from Sweden features a little boy named Will. The delight of these books is their simplicity - they focus on absolutely ordinary activities (a trip to the beach, the purchase of a cap, a visit to the post office) and seem to perfectly capture the pace and viewpoint of a small child. The books are suffused with gentleness, beauty, humor, and calm, without falling into the trap of being saccharine. (Erik Jorgensen)
Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck by Lisa Westberg Peters, Illustrated by Sam Williams
“One miserable and frozen spring (brisk, brisk, brisk), a cold little duck flew in (brack, brack, brack)….” Plenty of opportunities for sound effects abound in this story of a duck who came too early to her pond one year. Finding it icy and being advised by a nearby bear to return home, she instead closes her eyes and remembers what spring was like. This richly illustrated book (available as a board book) shows many aspects of a young duck’s life, from splashing and dunking in the classic upside-down pose, to waddling through newly-blossomed crocuses, and is sure to be a favorite for a budding naturalist under three. (Diane Magras)
Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan
Do you have a horse fanatic in your circle of friends? Hand them a paperback copy of this book, loosely based on the life of stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst, born Charlotte Parkhurst in 1812. How does a penniless orphan, a woman who wants to work horses for a living, manage to attain her dream in the nineteenth century? Enough heart and adventure for even the most indifferent reader. Riding Freedom appears in the Freedom Series for New Books, New Readers. (Carolyn Sloan)
Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler
Oracle Bones provides a glimpse into the curiosities and challenges of the transformation now taking place in China, and the centuries of history and culture that have led up to this period of change. Formed into a series of stories drawn mainly from his time as an expatriate journalist and teacher there in the 1990’s, the stories are both captivating and beautifully rendered, full of humor and fascinating characters. (Erik Jorgensen)
The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
Charles Pooter is the quintessential middle class suburban Englishman. He commutes by bus daily to the job he is devoted to, deals politely but firmly with the workmen who are repairing parts of his house (and in the process forget pieces of equipment that everyone trips over), and attempts to find the correct balance in dealing with his 20-year-old son Willy (who has just left his job and dropped his first name, to be known from here on as Lupin). This book, told as a diary from quite a charming person who, while not a “Somebody,” is certainly worth listening to, chronicles a keen and funny snapshot of Victorian life. Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados may recognize the author’s name; he was also an actor, best known these days as the celebrated creator of such roles as Koko, the Lord High Chancellor, and the Major General. His wit in performing these characters comes through in this lovely little book. (Diane Magras)
The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier.
How far back can we go to the origin of the Big Bang? Where and how do we get stem cells? Exactly how old do we think the universe is? How does matter operate at the nuclear level? Are you a humanities major who now wishes you had taken more science? Natalie Angier, who writes for the Science section of the New York Times, will take you through the basics of all the sciences, updating you on the theories that have become the “Canon” and helping you understand them with humorous analogies and language that charms as well as edifies. It’s only available in hardback, but it would be a great gift for a high school student interested in science, your favorite science teacher, and anyone interested in science who would like to be able to understand articles in Nature. This book is being used in the MHC Community Seminar in Falmouth. (Carolyn Sloan)
Notes from an Open Book welcomes feedback from its readers. Please contact Diane Magras by email at diane@mainehumanities.org or by phone at (207)773-5051 ext. 208 (toll-free 1-866-637-3233, ext. 208) to respond.