Spotlight On... Poetry for Children

--by Hanje Richards

April is National Poetry Month. Here is a selection of poetry books for children. Read them to kids, have kids read them to you. Kids may want to try some poetry writing and illustrating themselves! Celebrate Poetry in April! Have your children try some of the techniques used in these books: haiku, concrete poetry, a game of poetry, poems about seasons, or something in nature. Or try your hand. There are some great ideas here! Have some fun with Poetry in April.

Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 (Ernest L. Thayer) - "And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out." Those lines have echoed through the decades, the final stanza of Casey at the Bat, a poem published pseudonymously in the June 3, 1888, issue of the San Francisco Examiner. Christopher Bing's magnificent version of this immortal ballad of the flailing 19th-century baseball star is rendered as though it had been newly discovered in a hundred-year-old scrapbook. Bing seamlessly weaves real and trompe l'oeil reproductions of artifacts — period baseball cards, tickets, advertisements, and a host of other memorabilia — into the narrative to present a rich and multifaceted panorama of a bygone era.

A Child’s Calendar (John Updike) - First published in 1965, Updike's calendar presents a child-centered poem for each month of the year. Hyman's colorful illustrations portray a multiracial family living in rural New Hampshire through the changes of seasons. But, the landscape and weather are only backdrops for the activities that define the seasons for young people: sledding, kite flying, planting, watching baseball on TV, wading in the creek, picnicking, swimming, choosing apples, trick-or-treating, giving thanks around the table, and waiting for Christmas.

Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape (J. Patrick Lewis) - An inventive collection of concrete poems. In each selection, the essence of the subject is captured in the typeface used for the words, the shape in which the lines are arranged, and through Desimini's brilliant mixed-media collages.

Gargoyle on the Roof (Jack Prelutsky) - With vim and darkly musical verse, Prelutsky introduces gremlins, griffins, goblins, basilisks, and their kinfolk, playing readers like stringed instruments, keeping them rapt with quick changes in tempo and by varying the architecture of his poems. Some start out silky and charming. Others inject dread into the bones from the opening gate: Sis' artwork is a perfect companion to the verse, gratifyingly sinister with its Transylvanian landscapes and crabbed, clawed surfaces. Both poet and illustrator know, however, how to bevel the effects to make the chills a pleasure: Sis makes his troll roly-poly, and Prelutsky defangs a werewolf.

I Am Writing A Poem About…: A Game of Poetry (Myra Cohn Livingston) - As a teacher of poetry at UCLA, Myra Cohn Livingstone's first assignment to her class was to use one given word in a poem: the second was to use three given words; and the final one was to use six words. From these poems, Mrs. Livingstone chose this collection.

Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits - Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer Wynton Marsalis teams with cutting edge graphic artist Paul Rogers, and together they create this elegant tribute to twenty-six stellar jazz performers. Marsalis harmonizes his love and knowledge of jazz’s most celebrated artists with an astounding diversity of poetic forms — from simple blues (Count Basie) to a complex pantoum (Charlie Parker), from a tender sonnet (Sarah Vaughan) to a performance poem snapping the rhythms of Art Blakey to life. Complementing Marsalis’ musical cadences is the bold, poster-style art of Paul Rogers. The art’s vibrant, nostalgic feel is echoed in an exquisite design.

Monster Goose (Judy Sierra and Jack E. Davis) - Old Monster Goose has turned Mother Goose’s world of nursery rhymes inside out! Here she presents twenty-five deliciously disgusting new poems, filled with rodents and maggots, zombies and ghouls, spiders and, of course, monsters. Remember King Cole? That terrible troll washes his feet in the toilet bowl. And poor Mistress Mary, her garden’s quite scary — its killer potatoes ate all her tomatoes and now are out looking for Mary!

Please Don’t Squeeze Your Boa, Noah (Marilyn Singer) - Witty, observant verses about various unusual pets and their loving owners are accompanied by off-beat portrayals of the eccentric creatures, in illustrations that pay homage to some great artists.

Poetry Speaks to Children (CD) - On this CD (with accompanying book), 50 poems are brought to life — most read by the poets themselves — allowing the reader to hear the words as the poets intended. Hear Gwendolyn Brooks growl her rhyming verse poem "The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves, or, What You Are You Are" with verve and inflection — relaying the story of the striped cat who "rushed to the jungle fair for something fine to wear," much to the hoots of his jungle peers. Amid jeers, sneers and sighs, the tiger eventually learns to be comfortable in his own striped skin (or fur as it were!). Follow Ogden Nash as he tells of the brave little Isabel, who "didn't worry, didn't scream or scurry" when confronted with a ravenous bear, a one-eyed giant, or a troublesome doctor. Her clever solutions to problems ("She turned the witch into milk and drank her") will keep even the most reluctant readers interested. Listen to James Berry, who quells a little girl's anxieties about her color by celebrating the marriage of "night and light," emphasizing how all colors are necessary in nature, in "Okay, Brown Girl, Okay."

Poetry Speaks to Children (Book) - This book (with accompanying CD) reaches into the world of poetry and pulls out the elements children love: rhyme, rhythm, fun and, every once in a while, a little mischief. More than 90 poems, for children ages six and up, celebrate the written word and feature a star-studded lineup of beloved poets, including: Roald Dahl; J. R. R. Tolkien; Robert Frost; Gwendolyn Brooks; Ogden Nash; John Ciardi; Langston Hughes; Sonia Sanchez; Seamus Heaney; Canada's best-loved children's poet, Dennis Lee; Rita Dove; Billy Collins; Nikki Giovanni and X. J. Kennedy.

Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (Joyce Sidman) - From spring’s first thaw to autumn’s chill, the world of the pond is a dramatic place. Though seemingly quiet, ponds are teeming with life and full of surprises. Their denizens — from peepers to painted turtles, duckweed to diving beetles — lead secret and fascinating lives. A unique blend of whimsy, science, poetry, and hand-colored woodcuts, this collection invites us to take a closer look at our hidden ponds and wetlands. Here is a celebration of their beauty and their mystery.

Today and Today (Kobayashi Issa) - Brian Karas has always been moved and inspired by the haiku poetry of Issa, whose work is taught in schools and loved by children around the world. Here, Karas has selected 22 of his favorite poems to tell the story of a year in the life of a family — a year in which they will experience the loss of their beloved grandfather, and also the renewal that comes from healing after loss. With stunning mixed media artwork that represents a major breakout for this acclaimed artist, Today And Today offers an authentic, reassuring look at life's many cycles — and the small miracles that occur each day.

Monday Mix: Explore Arizona - Hike, Bike, Drive

--by Hanje Richards

Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter. Any season is a good time to explore Arizona, but it seems like Spring is the very best. These books show all kinds of tips and tricks and secret places for hiking, biking and driving in the southwest in general and in Arizona in particular. If you are new to the state, or have visitors from elsewhere, or are an old timer, you may have missed some of the special spots.

There are books featuring trips with kids and trips without kids. There are trips to hot springs and to rock art. Enjoy exploring Arizona for the first time or the 50th with these Explore Arizona books.

Arizona Journey Guide: A Driving And Hiking Guide to Ruins, Rock Art, Fossils And Formations - Seek out Arizona's best spots with this easy-to-use guide. Residents, tourists and snowbirds will value this great, all-in-one resource. The star rating scale ensures that you won't miss the wow sites.

Arizona, Off the Beaten Path - Whatever you do when you travel, get off the interstate. Who needs more bland rest stops and fast food? Devoted to travelers with a taste for the unique, this easy-to-use guide helps you discover the hidden places in Arizona that most tourists miss --unsung, unspoiled, and out-of-the-way finds that liven up a week's vacation, a day trip, or an afternoon.

Awesome Arizona Places for Curious Kids - Plan a family vacation that's totally fun for kids. This guide pinpoints the top destination in the state. Your guide to 20 destinations sure to pique a child's natural curiosity. User friendly icons highlight facts about geology, ancient history, wildlife and much more, making your vacation a fun learning experience.

Best Hikes With Dogs: Arizona - The author and her canine companions have hiked more than 700 miles together in Arizona. Now they share their favorite trails, presented through dog-centric eyes. On most trails, you'll encounter few people to dodge. Most hikes offer shade, if not water, to help keep your dog cool in extreme Arizona conditions. They emphasize terrain that's easy on the paws and give advance warning, trail by trail, on canine hazards to watch for. There are also tips on dealing with canine emergencies and for hiking with minimum dog-impact on the environment.

Ranging from short day hikes to extended backpacking trips, many trails included are clustered around urban areas including Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Sedona/Prescott, and other communities in Mogollon Rim country. There are hikes as far-flung as the Mexican border and in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona.

Chasing Wildflowers: A Mad Search for Wild Gardens - Author Scott Calhoun invites you to join him on a rollicking adventure through Utah, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and into Sonora, Mexico. Along the way, learn how red chile on a white T-shirt can look like a gunshot wound, and how a man driving a VW Jetta with 100,000 miles on it can feel "richer than a Hollywood divorce lawyer" while he searches for the elusive beauty of blooming wildflowers. Why? Because "there are some temptations that are too great for a renegade gardener to resist." 36 full-color photographs.

Cycling Arizona: The Statewide Road Biking Guide - From trips long the Grand Canyon's rim to roller coaster rides through the Sonoita Wine Country, this book contains 106 routes within day-trip range from cities throughout the state. Whether you're a skilled cyclist looking for a challenge or a casual rider in search of scenery, this guide provides all the information you need. Each ride is accompanied by an elevation profile, as well as a guide to mileage, difficulty, and peak cycling periods. Find out where to stay and where to eat and plan your trek using regional and local maps. .

Desert Sense: Camping, Hiking & biking in Hot, Dry Climates - Like any desert aficionado, Bruce Grubbs is obsessed with water: how much to bring, how to carry it, how to conserve it, and how to find it in the backcountry. But desert exploration involves much more. Grubbs provides the knowledge and skills you need to move through this landscape with confidence.

In addition to techniques for hiking and mountain biking special to desert conditions, Grubbs tells how to prepare your vehicle for remote desert roads and how to avoid getting stuck in sand or busting a tire. He discusses navigating in the desert, "dry camping" skills, and techniques for minimum impact on this starkly beautiful but fragile environment. There are tips for dealing with desert heat -- and cold -- and other challenges (sharp spiny plants and venomous snakes are easy to avoid with a little preparation and know-how). But just in case, Grubbs troubleshoots the worst-case scenarios. Throughout, he gives an understanding of desert climate and seasons and the unique plants and creatures at home in it.

Gem Trails of Arizona - Arizona is known the world over for its rich abundance of rocks and minerals. This guide covers well-known sites, and uncovers many lesser-known areas as well. These sites vary from arid desert to pine covered peaks. Detailed text describes where to go and what to look for at each collecting area. Maps for each site lead the rockhound to an almost limitless supply of specimens. Black and white photographs picture the collecting area.

Hidden Highways Arizona - Shows the way to adventure along lost highways, through small towns, and in wilderness areas. It introduces the traveler to back-road adventures that follow carefully planned routes. Travelers will be guided down secluded side roads and onto dirt roads to find ghost towns, red rock canyons, and other areas of forgotten Arizona. Eight routes, including the popular Grand Canyon loop drive and the little-traveled Hopi Mesa Trail, are detailed. The book features the most distinctive or unusual places to stay, including one of only two surviving wigwam-style roadside motels. Presented in a multidimensional layout with illustrations, photos, maps, and sidebars, each chapter follows a single route, as the itinerary moves swiftly from point to point.

Hiking Arizona’s Cactus Country - Explores a broad swath of the Sonoran Desert that extends northward across the Mexican border and encompasses the southern third of Arizona. This comprehensive guide features hikes in Saguaro National Park, Organ Pipe National Monument, the Chiricahua Mountains, and Sky Islands of Coronado National Forest, including thirteen new hikes to total ninety-eight. The trails through Arizona's cactus country provide hiking opportunities and challenges for visitors with a wide range of abilities and skills, from easier day hikes to strenuous multi-day backpack trips. .

Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen - There are ancient treasures hidden across the American Southwest. Tucked away in remote canyons are hundreds of ruins, cultural treasures that provide a wealth of information about the past -- and most people never visit them. This book is your ticket to these enchanted, little-known sites. It will lead you on wonderful day hikes and overnight trips to some of the most spectacular areas of the Southwest. For amateur archaeologists and those who enjoy heading into the wilderness, it contains maps and detailed directions to remote sites, provides water availability information, and points out hazards on the way. A description of each archaeological site is provided, along with notes on the scenery and wildlife of the area. All of the ruins and rock-art sites highlighted here are located off the beaten path and are relatively unknown to the public.

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Hot Springs and Hot Pools of the Southwest - Springs are listed as commercial or "wild" type springs, and also categorized by water temperature and ease of access.

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Motorcycle Arizona - This book has some useful touring information presented with a sense of humor. Overall, it will save the reader some time in planning a motorcycle trip to Arizona and is worth reading. .

100 Classic Hikes: Arizona - Includes a mix of trails from easy day trips, to never-dull loop hikes, to more remote long-distance treks. No hiking guide captures the beautifully complex and varied landscape of Arizona like Scott Warren's. Thoroughly updated and expanded with useful topographic maps and elevation trail profiles, this third edition offers a wide range of the state's most scenic hiking trails. You can stand in a mile deep canyon one day, hike through a saguaro cactus forest the next, and stand on a nearly 10,000 foot "sky island" in the Chiricahua Mountains yet another day. You can hike Lenox Crater, an actual volcano with a nearby lava flow, or lose yourself on Dutchman's Trail, a solitary long distance trek in the fabled Superstition Mountains.

Rock Art Along the Way - Ancient artists carved and painted their work upon the rocks of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and California. This guide introduces you to more than 55 outdoor art galleries. Sensitive to legal and environmental regulations, Janet Farnsworth and Bernadette Heath provide all the necessary information needed to visit these public-accessible sites. They include historical and archaeological background on Western rock art, detailed directions to sites, information on fees, and suggestions for many other fun-filled adventures nearby. 180 color photos, maps.

Scenic Driving Arizona - Pack up the car and enjoy thirty separate drives through the deep canyons, cacti-spotted desert plains, and grassy prairies of Arizona. This indispensable highway companion maps out day trips that explore the Grand Canyon State. Discover Arizona’s multicultural history, geographic diversity, and awe-inspiring scenery along highways and back roads from the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert to the volcanic White Mountains and the Apache Trail Scenic Byway. Along the way, stop and explore the ruins of Indian villages, watery playgrounds such as Lake Mead, the natural delights of national parklands, and the ghost towns and abandoned gold mines of Arizona’s pioneer days.

Southern Arizona Trails - Jagged desert peaks, awesome gaping canyons, wildflower-dotted alpine meadows and more entice hikers and backpackers to adventure in central and southern Arizona. From short dayhikes to multi-day backpacking trips, this book features 84 routes for beginning to skilled backpackers (excludes Grand Canyon hikes).

Ultimate Desert Handbook: A Manual for Desert Hikers, Campers and Travelers - Comprehensive handbook on desert travel and exploration. Assuming no prior desert know-how, this detailed guide is intended for hikers, backpackers, campers, and 4WD vehicle travelers, along with a wide range of other adventure enthusiasts pursuing their chosen activities into the desert -- rock climbers, birding enthusiasts, pilots, nature lovers, and wildlife/landscape photographers. Even dayhikers and occasional visitors to desert destinations will find the book easy to understand and extremely useful. It is packed with information and includes descriptions and histories of deserts around the world; a complete survey of the North American deserts, their indigenous peoples, plants, and wildlife; expert advice, including historical background.

Also included are chapters on desert mountain biking, first aid, wildlife observation & photography, desert hazards & survival, finding & treating water from all manner of desert sources, as well as preparing and using desert vehicles and animal transport. Last but not least is the most thorough section on desert navigation ever published and easy-to-follow advice on everything from selecting a low-impact campsite to signaling and rescue communications.

Friday Fiction: "Real" Characters in Fiction

--by Hanje Richards

Some authors undertake what I would consider either a brave or foolish task. They write novels that include real life characters. Some of these novels are fictional, with the exception of the “real” characters (i.e., The Alienist and The Dante Club). Some are more like biography (i.e., The Executioner’s Song and Blonde), although the author gives us a more fiction-like peek into the minds and hearts of the protagonists. This selection includes both types of fiction or a combination of the two. Where possible I have bolded the “real” characters’ names.

The Alienist (Caleb Carr) - The year is 1896; the place is New York City. On a cold March night, New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels.

The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology — amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before and will kill again before the hunt is over. Historical figures such as Lincoln Steffens, Jacob Riis, Anthony Comstock, and J. Pierpont Morgan appear briefly in the novel and interact with the fictional characters.

The Angel of Darkness (Caleb Carr) - Sequel to The Alienist. The place is New York City. The story is narrated by 13-year-old, streetwise Stevie Taggart, who is a member of a team of detecting irregulars. The kidnapping of an 18-month-old child sets the story in motion. The ongoing investigation uncovers a sociopath named Libby Hatch, who is a suspect in the deaths of a frightening number of children, including her own. Using the relatively new fields of forensics and psychoanalysis, and calling on the assistance of some well-known "names" (Teddy Roosevelt, Franz Boaz, Cornelius Vanderbuilt), the team runs Libby Hatch to earth. But where is the child she recently abducted?

Arthur and George (Julian Barnes) - This novel tells the tale of two real men: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, and George Edalji, an English lawyer of Indian descent. Their lives crossed when Edalji asked Doyle for help following Edalji's unjust conviction for mutilating horses. The narrative moves toward that point, which is in many ways merely the framework that allows Barnes to develop the interior stories of two unusual figures in Victorian and Edwardian England. His Doyle is a latter-day knight-errant, with all the failings and foibles one might expect; Edalji is the model Englishman with an inherent faith in the legal system, and race is something that he cannot imagine could matter. Barnes has created two fully realized characters, and readers cannot help but sympathize with them.

Blonde (Joyce Carol Oates) - Joyce Carol Oates boldly reimagines the inner, poetic, and spiritual life of Norma Jean Baker — the child, the woman, the fated celebrity and idolized blonde the world came to know as Marilyn Monroe. In a voice startlingly intimate and rich, Norma Jean tells her own story of an emblematic American artist — intensely conflicted and driven — who had lost her way. A powerful portrait of Hollywood's myth and an extraordinary woman's heartbreaking reality, Blonde is a sweeping epic that pays tribute to the elusive magic and devastation behind the creation of the great twentieth-century American star.

Castle in the Forest (Norman Mailer) - Mailer offers what may be his consummate literary endeavor: He has set out to explore the evil of Adolf Hitler. The narrator, a mysterious SS man who is later revealed to be an exceptional presence, gives us young Adolf from birth, as well as Hitler’s father and mother, his sisters and brothers, and the intimate details of his childhood and adolescence.

A tapestry of unforgettable characters, The Castle in the Forest delivers its playful twists and surprises with astonishing insight into the nature of the struggle between good and evil that exists in us all. At its core is a hypothesis that propels this novel and makes it a work of stunning originality.

Cloudsplitter (Russell Banks) - Cloudsplitter is narrated by the enigmatic Owen Brown, last surviving son of America's most famous and still controversial political terrorist and martyr, John Brown. Deeply researched, brilliantly plotted, and peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters both historical and wholly invented, Cloudsplitter is dazzling in its re-creation of the political and social landscape of our history during the years before the Civil War, when slavery was tearing the country apart. But within this broader scope, Russell Banks has given us a riveting, suspenseful, heartbreaking narrative filled with intimate scenes of domestic life, of violence and action in battle, of romance and familial life and death that make the reader feel in astonishing ways what it is like to be alive in that time.
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The Dante Club (Matthew Pearl) - Boston, 1865. A series of murders, all of them inspired by scenes in Dante’s Inferno. Only an elite group of America’s first Dante scholars — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and J. T. Fields — can solve the mystery. With the police baffled, more lives endangered, and Dante’s literary future at stake, the Dante Club must shed its sheltered literary existence and find the killer.


Devil’s Dream (Madison Smartt Bell) - A novel about Nathan Bedford Forrest, the most reviled, celebrated, and legendary of Civil War generals. With the same eloquence, dramatic energy, and grasp of history that marked his award-winning fictional trilogy of the Haitian Revolution, Madison Smartt Bell now turns his gaze to America’s Civil War. We see Forrest on and off the battlefield, in less familiar but no less revealing moments of his life; we see him treating his slaves humanely even as he fights to ensure their continued enslavement; we see his knack for keeping his enemy unsettled, his instinct for the unexpected, and his relentless stamina. As Devil's Dream moves back and forth in time, a vivid portrait comes into focus: a rough, fierce man with a life full of contradictions.

Drood (Dan Simmons) - On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens — at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world (and perhaps in the history of the world) — hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever. Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research... or something more terrifying?

Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens' life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens' friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), Drood explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens' final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

The Executioner’s Song (Norman Mailer) - Mailer follows the short, blighted career of Gary Gilmore, an intractably violent product of America's prisons who became notorious for two reasons: first, for robbing two men in 1976, then killing them in cold blood; and, second, after being tried and convicted, for insisting on dying for his crime. To do so, he had to fight a system that seemed paradoxically intent on keeping him alive long after it had sentenced him to death.

Mailer tells Gilmore's story — and those of the men and women caught up in his procession toward the firing squad — with implacable authority, steely compassion, and a restraint that evokes the parched landscapes and stern theology of Gilmore's Utah. The Executioner's Song is a trip down the wrong side of the tracks to the deepest sources of American loneliness and violence.

The Indian Clerk (David Leavitt) - Based on the remarkable true story of the strange and ultimately tragic relationship between an esteemed British mathematician and an unknown — and unschooled — mathematical genius, and populated with such luminaries such as D. H. Lawrence, Bertrand Russell, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Indian Clerk takes this extraordinary slice of history and transforms it into an emotional and spell-binding story about the fragility of human connection and our need to find order in the world.

On a January morning in 1913, G. H. Hardy — eccentric, charismatic and, at thirty-seven, already considered the greatest British mathematician of his age — receives in the mail a mysterious envelope covered with Indian stamps. Inside, he finds a rambling letter from a self-professed mathematical genius who claims to be on the brink of solving the most important unsolved mathematical problem of all time. Some of his Cambridge colleagues dismiss the letter as a hoax, but Hardy becomes convinced that the Indian clerk who has written it — Srinivasa Ramanujan — deserves to be taken seriously. Aided by his collaborator, Littlewood, and a young don named Neville who is about to depart for Madras with his wife, Alice, he determines to learn more about the mysterious Ramanujan and, if possible, persuade him to come to Cambridge. It is a decision that will profoundly affect not only his own life, and that of his friends, but the entire history of mathematics.

Loving Frank (Nancy Horan) - In the early 1900s, married architect Frank Lloyd Wright eloped to Europe with the wife of one of his clients. The scandal rocked the suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. Years later, Mamah Cheney, the other half of the scandalous couple, was brutally murdered at Wright's Taliesen retreat. Horan blends fact and fiction to try to make the century-old scandal relevant to modern readers. Today, Cheney and Wright would have little trouble obtaining divorces and would probably not be pursued by the press. However, their feelings of confusion and doubt about leaving their spouses and children would most likely remain the same. The novel has something for everyone — a romance, a history of architecture, and a philosophical and political debate on the role of women.

The Poe Shadow (Matthew Pearl) - Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a passionate crusade to salvage Poe’s.

As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances of Poe’s demise, he discovers that the writer’s last days are riddled with unanswered questions the police are possibly willfully ignoring. Just when Poe’s death seems destined to remain a mystery, forever sealing his ignominy, inspiration strikes Quentin — in the form of Poe’s own stories. The young attorney realizes that he must find the one person who can solve the strange case of Poe’s death: the real-life model for Poe’s brilliant fictional detective character, C. Auguste Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection.

In short order, Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving political agents, a female assassin, the corrupt Baltimore slave trade, and the lost secrets of Poe’s final hours. With his own future hanging in the balance, Quentin Clark must turn master investigator himself to unchain his now imperiled fate from that of Poe’s.

Spotlight On... Young Adult Trilogies

--by Hanje Richards

Lots of Young Adult fiction these days crosses over into Adult fiction, especially fantasy and science fiction. Another trend in Young Adult fiction is to write series, which is an idea I love, because when I find myself in a literary world that I am intrigued by, I can stay there a little longer. Often the series appear in threes. So, this week, we are featuring some trilogies by very popular authors of Young Adult fiction. We think that Young Adult titles might be interesting to lots of other readers as well. Enjoy!
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Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran. As a child, Clare traveled frequently, spending time in Switzerland, England, and France. She returned to Los Angeles for high school, and from then on split her time between California and New York, where she worked at various entertainment magazines and tabloids.

Mortal Instruments Trilogy

..City of Bones - When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the Earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours, Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary Mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

..City of Ashes - Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

..City of Glass - To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters — never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City — whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
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Suzanne Collins began her career in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows, including several for Nickelodeon. In September 2008, Scholastic Press released the The Hunger Games, the first book of a new trilogy by Collins. The Hunger Games was partly inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Another inspiration was her father's career in the Air Force, which allowed her to better understand poverty, starvation, and the effects of war.
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The Hunger Games Trilogy.

..The Hunger Games - In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one girl and one boy between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she decides to take her sister's place as representative of their district in the Games. But Katniss has also resolved to outwit the creators of the games. To do that, she will have to be the last person standing at the end of the deadly ordeal, and that will take every ounce of strength and cunning she has...

..Catching Fire - Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But, there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge..
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..Mockingjay - Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss' family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins' groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.




Scott Westerfeld is an American author of science fiction. He was born in Texas and now divides his time between Sydney, Australia and New York City.






The Midnighters Trilogy

..The Secret Hour - A few nights after Jessica Day arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, she wakes up at midnight to find the entire world frozen, except for her and a few others who call themselves "Midnighters." Dark things haunt this midnight hour — dark things with a mysterious interest in Jessica. The question is why? This novel is a compelling tale of dark secrets, midnight romance, eerie creatures, courage, destiny, and unexpected peril.




..Touching Darkness - Bixby, Oklahoma, is full of secrets. Some come out at midnight; some should stay hidden. As the Midnighters search for the truth about the secret hour, they uncover terrifying mysteries woven into the very fabric of Bixby’s history and a conspiracy that touches the world of daylight. This time, Jessica Day is not the only Midnighter in mortal danger, and if the group can’t find a way to come together, they could lose one of their own... forever.

..Blue Noon - The five teenage Midnighters of Bixby, Oklahoma, thought they understood the secret midnight hour — until one morning when time freezes in the middle of the day. The noise of school stops. Cheerleaders are frozen in midair. Everything is the haunted blue color of the midnight hour. As the Midnighters scramble for answers, they discover that the walls between the secret hour and real time are crumbling. Soon the dark creatures will break through to feed at last... unless these five teenagers can find a way to stop them.