Always Copycub by Richard Edwards

 

Copycub was a young bear who loved playing hide and seek with his Mother. But wherever he hid, his Mother always found him.

One day, he slipped away when his Mother wasn’t looking and found a really good hiding place. And his Mother didn’t find him. But when he came out, he couldn’t find his Mother. He was lost! And a little scared.

It took a while, but his Mother did find him, and Copycub made her promise to always find him. And she did.

Preschool and up

32 pages

Food in Missouri, a Cultural Stew by Madeline Matson

 I am converting some older Missouri Heritage Readers from analog to digital, and this is one of them. I got interested in it (I didn’t read it the first time around – I let the volunteers handle it), but I read it this time. It was quite interesting.

It was written by Madeline Matson, who worked in the State Library for many years.  This isn’t a cookbook; it is a history of this state's food, from the hunting and farming methods of the area's earliest inhabitants. Beginning with Native Americans, she proceeds to the early settlers, which include the French, Spanish, German and English. She includes African-American influences, and addresses how food was produced, marketed, transported, and by whom it was consumed.

Tracing the history of food preparation, preservation, and marketing, while highlighting the cultural traditions that engendered each change, Matson shows how advances in farming methods, the invention of the electric range, the development of cookbooks, and three waves of immigration have profoundly influenced what Missourians eat today. Along the way, she highlights some of the key people, places, and institutions in Missouri's food history.

168 pages

The Round House by Louise Edrich

Looking back, Joe Coutts, an Ojibwe lawyer, recalls the summer of his 13th year. He was the only child of the tribal judge and tribal clerk of the Ojibwe nation; a beloved child in a warm and happy family. Until his mother is raped, and the brutal rapist attempts to kill her. Although she escapes, she cannot recover from the experience, never leaving her bedroom. The lives of the entire family are disrupted.

Joe becomes obsessed with getting his mother "back," determined to find and punish the rapist on his own. He is scared and angry, and wants revenge. Joe and his friends start playing detective, though his father, wanting to protect him as much as possible, tries to warn him away. The rapist is identified, but the location of the rape on the reservation means that tribal courts are in charge, but Caucasians cannot be prosecuted.

Though this is a crime story, it also is a search for justice, and an examination of life on the reservation. The land can no long support them, and the culture has been compromised as they have been forced to live in the confines of the reservation .Legal jurisdiction over crimes involving Native Americans now involves tribal officials, state police, and even the FBI. It is a labyrinth of tangled laws and jurisdictions, and Joe decides to take matters into his own hands.

A powerful novel.

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

When Sonia Sotomayor was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 8, she realized that if she was to be able to function in a world in which the adults around her were unreliable, she would have to learn to give herself the insulin shots she needed every day.


That determination and focus would lead her to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton, law school at Yale, and eventually to the Supreme Court of the United States as the first Hispanic and third woman member.

Born in New York into a large Puerto Rican family, she was surrounded by a large and loving family. But her father was alcoholic and her mother's emotional response kept their family in turmoil until her father died when she was 9.  The family was very poor, living in housing projects in the Bronx. Her mother stressed education as the way to improve their lives and give them the skills they needed to make a better life.

And the rest, as they say, is history.


353 pages

Double Play by Robert B. Parker

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

He was a wounded war veteran. Long recovery period and rehab put him back on the road. His wife left him and the only job he could find was as a bodyguard.  His last two were protecting a gangster's daughter and protecting the first African American baseball player, Jackie Robinson. 

Audio:  6 hrs. 34 min.

Print:  304 pages.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

A YA novel with a female heroine in a dystopian future, made into a popular movie - sound familiar?  I actually picked this up because I thought the movie trailer was interesting.  I didn't find this to be as compelling as the Hunger Games trilogy, especially the characters.  There are many of the same elements - female heroine, competing groups, teens fighting each other, although this time it's for an initiation into one of the society's factions - the Dauntless.  I felt that we needed more setup and background to the situation to get to know the main character before we were thrown headlong into the plot.  The book cover says 'One choice can transform you', referring to a ceremony in which teens choose which one of five factions they will belong to as adults.  The factions purport to uphold different views of how to best resolve society's problems in a peaceful way, but several are devolving into a power struggle over control of the society.   Lots of action, but not many real surprises. 487 pages.

Citizenville: How to take the town square digital and reinvent government by Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco and current California Lieutenant Governor, would like to make citizen participation in government easier and more effective.  If millions of people play Farmville, why not make citizen participation in government more like a game?  Voting via smartphone, town hall meetings online, crime statistics in real time, are just a few of the ways Newsom suggests making participation in governing easier and more game-like. Of course, making government data more easily available to the public poses enormous security risks.  And then there is the perception that government hosted technology is outdated and even not functional-cue the healthcare.gov website! But anyone interested in improving how government functions will find some interesting ideas here.  272 pages.

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith

Quirky titles are just the icing on the light, fluffy, cupcakes that Alexander McCall Smith dishes out in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.  I was so happy to catch up with Precious Ramotswe and her associate Grace Makutsi in this latest installment. Grace is out on maternity leave and Precious realizes how much she relies on her company to make the work days more interesting and to help solve cases. The book is a beautiful testimony to the bonds of friendship. Another enjoyable read! 242 pages

Dekker Cozy Mystery Series by Steve Demaree

Cy Dekker and Lou Murdock are semi-retired from the Hilldale Police Department. They only come back to active duty when a murder has been committed - which seems to happen with regularity! In book 2 of the series, Murder in Winter (204 pages), Cy and Lou must track down the person who is killing a group of actors. In book 3, Murder in the Library (246 pages), Cy and Lou must figure out who killed their friend and mentor, Colonel James Buckham Hardesty. This is a lighthearted, cozy, Christian mystery series that is a little slow at times, but I found myself compelled to read to the end to find out whodunit.

Three Wishes by Stephanie Bond

Ladden discovers a tarnished lamp when cleaning his antiques store. As he rubs the lamp to restore its luster, his store starts to shake as if in the midst of an earthquake. A mysterious homeless man appears, thanks him for freeing him and then offers to grant three wishes. I think you get the picture. This is a retelling of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, set in modern times. A fun, light, romance with a bit of magic thrown in. 142 pages.

The Advocate's Betrayal by Teresa Burrell

Sabre is a child court attorney who steps in to help her friend Betty when she is accused of murdering her husband. As Sabre and friends investigate the crime, it quickly becomes apparent that Betty is hiding a BIG secret - along with quite a few others in the cast of characters. Book 2 in the Advocate series. A fast-paced mystery with some holes, but none-the-less a good read. 320 pages.

Ocean Waves by Terri Thayer

Dewey Pellicano owns a quilt shop, but feels inadequate in her quilting skills. So, she signs up to attend the Sewing-By-The-Sea Symposium in Asilomar, California. Getting away from it all to concentrate on quilting doesn't quite work out though as mystery and murder follow her there. This is book 3 in Terri Thayer's Quilting Mysteries series. It wasn't my favorite in the series since I think the character of Dewey is better when she is surrounded by her family and friends at QP Paradiso, but it made for some light reading on a cold day. 264 pages.

Gone by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Michael Bennett has 10 adopted kids and a nanny.  They are all in the witness protection program.  A crime lord that he sent to jail broke out and has vowed to kill them, and knows where they are. 

Audio:  7 hrs. 57 min.

Print:   416 pages

A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Cal Weaver private investigator who lost his son and investigates. He drives home a rain-soaked young girl who is running and hiding with her boyfriend. A crime is covered up for 7 years and people get murdered.

Audio:  12 hrs. 38 min.
Print:  503 pages