In his new novel, “Bird of a Thousand Stories,” which is billed as young adult, but which all adults will find charming, Kiyash Monsef continues the story he began in “Once There Was.” It’s the tale of Marjan, who comes from a long line of Persian healers of fantastical animals. Marjan didn’t realize her talents until her father died, and those who needed her services came for her.
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This is a wonderful and disparate collection of nonfiction picture books, and they all deserve attention for many reasons. Librarians and teachers should consider these because of the important subject matter, the quality of the writing, and the engaging nature of the illustrations. From information about animal homes to facts about the elusive narwhal, there’s a lot of learning that will go on when kids peruse these books. They would also make great additions to a classroom library, a school (or public) library, or a child’s bookshelf at home. These are about animals, and therefore sure to be a kid magnet.
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Legions of children, teachers, librarians, and parents love picture books by Loren Long for the fabulous stories, the colorful, clever illustrations, and the heartwarming messages each contains. “The Yellow Bus,” his latest creation, is no different. This time the illustrations are ingeniously created so that the yellow bus, the star of the story, is the only thing in the story that has color. Everything else is drawn in black and white and grey.
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“What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird” is written by one of the world’s most famous writers of essays and books about animals. Sy Montgomery has written about hummingbirds, hawks, octopuses, pigs, moon bears, dolphins, tigers and more. She’s also written about Temple Grandin. Montgomery knows animals, and through her writing, we understand that she holds animals in high esteem. Her newest little book is about chickens; she raised them for decades.
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In Sarah Beth Durst’s latest novel, “The Spellshop,” she clearly demonstrates her amazing ability to write across a variety of genres and for a variety of readers. She can write children’s middle grade fiction, young adult fantasy, or adult fantasy; and here she’s written a sweet, warm adult novel that has magic and quirky characters. It’s a love story, but not “just” a romance. When the main character, Kiela, flees the library where she has worked as a librarian for over a decade, immersed and literally living at the library, she travels to the distant island where she was born.
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While I normally group picture books together by theme, “Whose Tail?” by Agathe Hennig is such a visually stunning book that it merits being featured on its own. The watercolor images of the animals are pieces of art on their own, but combined with the clever riddles, the careful folding of the pages to reveal only the tail at first glance, and the heavy rich feel to each page, all make this a must-have book for children.
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“Mouse & His Dog” by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko follows “Dogtown” in the adventures of dogs at a private dog shelter called, of course, Dogtown, as narrated by the mouse who lives there. This mouse loves the dogs in Dogtown, and he desperately tries to find them homes before they end up on “the list.” In this beautifully written, touching novel that is both an ode to the joy of loving dogs and a plea to rescue one, we meet several dogs who are typical of dogs we might really meet in a shelter.
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Sophie Jordan is not only a prolific writer; her creativity spans genres. In this new romantasy series, “A Fire in the Sky,” she returns to a fantasy world filled with dragons, witches, and other magical creatures. The world that she creates will enchant new readers and bring back fond memories for those who have read the Firelight series that inspired her to create this prologue which is, due to some steamy scenes, very adult in nature. In this new series, dragons have disappeared from the skies of this alternate world, killed by mankind. And after the dragons were all slain, or so people thought, the people killed the witches. But as we find out in this story, and to our delight, not all dragons nor all witches were murdered.
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In the latest mystery in the Mercy Carr series, “The Night Woods,” main character Mercy and her husband Troy have settled into their new historic home, Grackle Tree Farm, and are waiting for the birth of their first child. Mercy is restless, and as her delivery date nears, she worries more and more about being a mother. Will a baby change her? Will she be unable to continue working and solving murders? Will she be a decent mother? Will her baby be a dainty feminine girl with whom she will have nothing in common? (She’s hoping for a boy.)
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Reading the title of this book, “Cowpuppy,” one might wonder what exactly Gregory Berns is writing about. To really understand this endeavor, you must read the fine print. “Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows” If you aren’t interested in animals, this is not a book for you. If you are worried that this is a book espousing veganism, Berns doesn’t do that, either. In fact, he admits to occasionally eating meat, and he feeds meat to his dogs. But he writes about his cattle from not just a scientist’s point of view, but as a behaviorist. His cows, we learn, are not just farm animals or tools, they are his friends.
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In this, the thirtieth entry in David Rosenfelt’s “Andy Carpenter Mystery” series, “The More the Terrier,” the dog, we are happy to report, actually plays an important role in the unfolding of the plot. Murphy, apparently a Yorkie mix, shows up out of nowhere at Andy’s house and is soon recognized as a little guy whom Andy and his family and friends had rescued sometime before his new appearance at their doorstep. They remember the family who had adopted him, and they return him to the Bremers’ home. Mrs. Bremer is thrilled to have him back, yet she is terribly sad. Her son, BJ, has been arrested for murder.
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It’s difficult to write nonfiction that is so engrossing and relatable that it reads like fiction, yet that is just what veterinarian Dr. Amy Attas manages to do in her book “Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian.” This collection of anecdotes and personal history ranges from the why—the reason Attas wanted to become a veterinarian and how she accomplished that—to the many famous people who were/are her clients. From Joan Rivers to Billy Joel, we read about the connections that the uber rich and famous have with their pets. But we also read about those not in that stratosphere of economic wealth, and how money doesn’t dictate how much we love our four-legged (and sometimes three-legged) pets.
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