Tulsa
event guide
INSIDE! December 2015
Book Review 5
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST
C H E C K
Chowderland Ultimate comfort food Page 2
9
I T
After Alice Wander into Wonderland
O U T
Page 4
Black Widow Marvel’s elusive superhero
10 12
Page 9
Winning the War
The Guns at Last Light By Rick Atkinson Henry Holt, $40.00, 877 pages Meet Rick Atkinson, winner of the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, on Dec. 5 at Hardesty Regional Library. See Page 8 for more details. It would seem that everything about World War II between D-Day and the fall of Berlin in Western Europe has been said. But in the final volume of Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy, he proves that old adage wrong. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 follows previous volumes concerning the U.S. Armed Forces in North Africa and Italy. As in the earlier works, this
book’s best attributes are: great characters, exquisite details, and the dichotomy of past and present European history. “War is never linear,” Atkinson writes, “but rather a chaotic, desultory enterprise of reversal and advance, blunder and élan, despair and elation.” As it was, the suspense is undercut by the mismatch between the Germans and the Allies. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel called it “the unequal struggle.” For instance, the Allies controlled the air and sea. Rommel needed 200 million land mines but only had 6 million at his disposal. The German Group “B,” which was the main See Last Light, cont’d on page 14
1,411 Quite Interesting Facts Better than buttered popcorn Page 12
More Than Honey Nature’s golden nectar Page 14
59 Reviews INSIDE!
Book Reviews
Category
Cooking, Food & Wine SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Chowderland: Hearty Soups & Stews With Sides & Salads to Match By Brooke Dojny Storey Publishing, LLC, $14.95, 144 pages Check this out! Potatoes, onions and other vegetables; fish or animal protein; and milk or broth make a chowder. In Chowderland, author Brooke Dojny describes how to make magic happen to transform those ingredients, and a few others, into hearty, delicious meals. She details many different clam chowders- Boston Style, Semi-Clear, Maine Steamer, Manhattan Style, Red Point and Rhode Island Style - each with their differences and unique flavors. Other chowders using different fish, corn, turkey, chicken, salt pork, or corned beef round out the chowder section. Soups and stews follow. A double delight are the recipes for breads, sides and traditional desserts, including pies, cobblers and cakes. The recipes are easy to prepare, nothing harder than dicing potatoes or chopping clams. Some of the recipe variations are minor, but most of the dishes are decidedly different enough to justify a separate page. The illustrations are well-done, giving a good idea of what the finished product should look like. The recipes we have tried have been wonderful. This is a recipe book to pull out on a blustery day, make a batch of chowder, a batch of the Salt and Pepper Biscuits or cornbread, and let the cold wind howl outside. Reviewed by Ralph Peterson Nuts: 50 Tasty Recipes, From Crunchy to Creamy and Savory to Sweet By Patrick Evans-Hylton Sasquatch Books, $19.95, 133 pages Check this out! Single-topic cookbooks are not very useful for most cooks, and Patrick Evans-Hylton’s small-format cookbook Nuts is no exception. We were hoping this would be particularly good for vegans and vegetarians since one of their predominant protein source is nuts. But no luck: many of the recipes contain nonvegan and many nonvegetarian ingredients. This is a pretty cookbook nicely illustrated with professional photos. In the introduction Evans-Hylton gives a good discussion about nuts and preparing them in
the kitchen, which most home cooks and bakers already know. The recipe collection is not exciting, and neither is the many sidebars scattered throughout the text. This also ap- plies to his recipe headnotes lacking interesting or useful information. Most of the recipes you are likely to find in one of your cookbooks in similar forms and many are standard: banana bread, granola, rum balls, bread pudding, peanut brittle and so on. The author also likes to give strange titles to his recipes like Comatose by Chocolate Brownies, Nutty Fella Martini. Reviewed by George Erdosh Crabs & Oysters: A Savor the South Cookbook By Bill Smith The University of North Carolina Press, $19.00, 111 pages Check this out! North Carolina restaurant chef Bill Smith successfully translates his recipes into the home kitchen in Crabs & Oysters. The recipes are typical of Southern cuisine, and his small-format cookbook is excellent. In the 12page introduction, we learn a little bit about Smith’s background and his love of fresh seafood, but also for the all-important kitchen safety when dealing with crabs and oysters. He gives good instructions on cleaning of different kinds of crabs, and opening and cleaning oysters. The layout of recipes is excellent, with the cook in mind; no page turning while following his instructions. This cookbook is not for beginners his instructions are simple and basic, not quite enough for a novice. Yet the instructions are good and precise, and anyone reasonably good at the kitchen stove should have no problem. Recipes come from all over the South; some his own, some from older cookbooks, some even from the Junior Auxiliary collection. Reviewed by George Erdosh
Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 2
BESTSELLERS COMING SOON
TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at www.TulsaLibrary.org to reserve your copies now.
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Book Review Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323
IN THIS ISSUE Cooking, Food & Wine....................................2
EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com
Fiction........................................................ 4, 5
EDITOR/COORDINATOR Jackie Hill Tulsa City-County Library
Picture Books............................................. 6, 7
GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Steph Rodriguez COPY EDITORS Michelle Baker Heather Osborne
History...........................................................8
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Christopher Hayden Faith Lewis Serena Vogel
WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com
Teens..............................................................9
Kids’ Books...................................................10
Tweens.........................................................11
Nonfiction.............................................. 12, 13
FROM THE GUEST PUBLISHER The busyness of the gift-giving Christmas and holiday season is upon us, and in this issue the Tulsa City-County Library has a few suggestions. But first, let me ask, what is the best gift you’ve ever received? Was it something shiny, a tech gadget, or perhaps it was a homemade card from your son or daughter? Now, let me ask, what is your favorite gift to give? My go-to gift is usually something that leaves a lasting memory. In fact, many of the most meaningful gifts that I have given or received were something that couldn’t be bought. For example, one year, my teenage daughter and I spent the week before Christmas together reading John Grisham’s laugh-out-loud book Skipping Christmas. That was a time I’ll always treasure, and she still remembers it with great fondness. Fond memories also are built by creating traditions. In this month’s Tulsa Book Review we invite you to celebrate the season with your Tulsa City-County Library and begin a new tradition. Start by spending the first Saturday morning in December at Hardesty Regional Library where we celebrate the annual Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award winner. This year’s recipient is three-time Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist and military historian Rick Atkinson. He’ll speak at the free public event at 10:30 a.m. on December 5 and then at a black-tie gala that evening. Or bring the family to “Delights of December” at noon on Thursday, December 3 at Hardesty Regional Library, and enjoy a variety of music, poetry and stories to kick of Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. KJRH Channel 2 news anchor Karen Larsen emcees this annual tradition. Also, this month we’re highlighting our free Freegal Movies and Television streaming service. Use your library card to watch a holiday movie today from your PC or mobile device, or visit your neighborhood library and take home a holiday book or music CD that your family and friends are sure to enjoy. Everyone at the library wishes you and your family the best during this holiday season. We hope to see you at the library soon! Warm regards,
The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by City Book Review. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or City Book Review advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2015, City Book Review
Science & Nature........................................... 14
Speculative Fiction.......................................15 Kim Johnson Tulsa City-County Library COO
Book Reviews
Category
who the authors were, and I found out that two of them were my favorite romance authors of all time. Readers will be lured deeply into the four hot reads. On the Naughty List will not only capture your inner good side, but also bring out the naughty side of you that you never knew was there. Every writer will have their characters’ stories wrapped around both your heart and your finger. I highly recommend these breathless reads that will fire up any night. Reviewed by Danielle Urban
Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Diary of an Accidental Wallflower: The Seduction Diaries By Jennifer McQuiston Avon, $7.99, 384 pages Check this out! By the Regency era’s standards for “good catches,” Daniel Merial’s a totally unsuitable man. He’s a poor struggling doctor and half-Romany to boot. He’s only caught glimpses of high society while caring for Lady Austerley, a lonely patient who throws extravagant parties even when she’s deadly ill. During one of these occasions, Daniel meets Clare Westmore, a viscount’s daughter who’s determined to marry a ducal heir. Too bad for Clare that she twisted her ankle right before her big chance to waltz with her mark, and she’s now captured Daniel’s attention, a man who’s only the hired medical help. (Oh, the horrors!) Now, some romance novels suffer from bland heroines. This book, however, suffers from a terribly unlikable heroine, a shallow debutante so caught up with social climbing that she’s oblivious to many facts. When her inevitable downfall comes, it’s difficult to feel sorry for her loss of face. Oddly enough, my favorite moments of Diary of an Accidental Wallflower involve Daniel’s medical experiments. The amount of historically accurate detail is inspiring. It’s awesome to encounter a romantic lead who employs the scientific method! Too bad he uses his heart, not his brain, to attain his happily ever after. Reviewed by Rachel Anne Calabia On the Naughty List By Lori Foster, Carly Phillips, Sugar Jamison, Beth Ciotta St. Martin’s Paperbacks, $7.99, 352 pages Check this out! On the Naughty List contains four stunning reads entitled Christmas Bonus, Naughty Under the Mistletoe, Some Kind of Wonderful and Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas. Christmas Bonus is written by none other than the famous Lori Foster. She definitely
knows how to hook her readers from the beginning and keep them trapped until the end. Two characters have a dilemma. One is the daughter of a businessman, who thinks his daughter’s crush is nothing but a teenage thing. Now, with her father passed away, she finds that her desire and feelings have only gotten stronger. The one man who has wanted her since she was young thought he should wait until she was older before he let his feelings out for her. However, complications just got worse. She’s now his boss, and she has started a seduction that neither of them can ignore. Will their passion bloom into a future, or will they let barriers and their feelings wilt away? Next is Naughty Under the Mistletoe, written by Carly Phillips. Her novels are addictive, and so is this new holiday romance. One character finally gets up the courage to seduce her boss, since she will be moving into another office. What harm could a one-night stand be with the man she desires? However, when the boss’ twin brother shows up to the Christmas party, he’s bored. Until, he hears bells ringing, and then sees a sexy Santa elf bending over by the Christmas tree. Next thing he knows the sexy elf goes up on her toes and kisses him! Stunned but happy, he gives her exactly what she desires and more. Breathless, she breaks away to notice that she didn’t kiss her boss, but the man sure looked identical to him. Can the boss’ twin brother find out all the elf’s secrets, and convince that they’re meant to be or will Santa not deliver? Some Kind of Wonderful is about two old friends who find themselves falling deeply in love with each other. The last story is about a mother, who just gave birth to a baby boy and demands money to help take care of her child only to find that the father is dead and the brother is willing to help. Only he wants her to marry him. Can she marry him and will he love her and the baby as his own? On the Naughty List caught my eye because of the title alone. Then, I glanced at
The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel By Nina George Crown, $25.00, 400 pages Check this out! Bookseller Jean Perdu has a gift. He is able to determine the deepest problems of any curious shopper who ventures into his floating bookshop on the Seine, and he can recommend the perfect book that will solve those troubles and improve the person’s life. Time and again, he wins over even the most skeptical customers. His own personal life, however, seems unfixable. His heart remains unhealed from a love affair with Manon, a married woman who ultimately left him without any warning. Even a burgeoning relationship with Catherine, a new neighbor in Perdu’s apartment building, can’t ease the thoughts of Manon and her betrayal. When Catherine finds a letter from Manon stuck in an old table that Perdu gave her, Perdu’s assumptions about Manon’s motives—and his heart-rending doubts about her love for him—collapse. With a reluctant literary wunderkind, Max Jordan, by his side, Monsieur Perdu sets his floating bookshop free at last and begins a journey that will open his heart—and unveil his future. It’s a story that reflects all the romance and sweetness of Paris itself. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell The Girl Who Wrote in Silk By Kelli Estes Sourcebooks Landmark, $14.99, 400 pages Check this out! In 1886, more than 300 Chinese residents of Seattle were driven from their homes and the city. In The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, Mei Lien is a fictional character who is one of these citizens forced from her home, along with her father and grandmother. In the story, they are put on a ship sup-
Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 4
posedly bound for China, but they actually are all marked for death. Mei Lien escapes and finds a home with a kind man who eventually becomes her husband. In the present day, Inara is a descendant of an influential settler and business owner. Her great-aunt has just died and left her a large old family home on an island near Seattle. When she discovers a sleeve filled with intricately embroidered story pictures hidden in the house, it leads her to a handsome Chinese university professor and the unraveling of a story that will impact her and her family. How can she possibly choose between protecting her family, new love and her own desires for the future? Kelli Estes’ novel is a lovely story of love and loss, of family, of the horrible human toll of racism. It’s beautifully written, and readers won’t soon forget the story or the compelling characters. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim After Alice: A Novel By Gregory Maguire William Morrow, $26.99, 288 pages Check this out! What if Alice was not the only one to wander into Wonderland? Not only that, but what did everyone else experience when Alice fell down the rabbit hole? After Alice explores the goings on of the people close to Alice, especially those of Ada, who also finds herself falling down the rabbit hole, cleverly incorporating events and characters from Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Gregory Maguire’s style of writing – use of obscure words, garrulous descriptions and almost archaic prose – can be challenging to follow at times. However, once a reader settles into the story, Maguire’s style takes on an almost lyrical quality. In After Alice, Maguire masterfully mimics the quick, witty and often nonsensical dialogue of Carroll’s original story. After Alice follows Ada’s adventures in Wonderland as she searches for Alice, and Victorian Oxfordshire as Lydia, Alice’s sister, and Ada’s governess search for the missing girls. Maguire revisits Carroll’s cast of characters as Ada encounters them providing their perspective of their encounters with Alice. Once again, Maguire focuses on the peripheral characters of a classic story, providing an insight and perspective, not by retelling the classic, but by creating a companion story told from a different perspective. Reviewed by Tarina Speidel The Other Daughter: A Novel By Lauren Willig St. Martin’s Press, $25.99, 304 pages Check this out! The title of this book tells very little of what the story holds. With a book like this,
Book Reviews however, it could have no title at all, and I would still read it again and again. Rachel Woodley leads a simple life. She grew up with her loving mother by her side after her father’s sudden death. They didn’t have much, but they made the most of what they did have. When Rachel is called home by a telegram, her life changes forever. As the young woman uncovers hidden secrets from her past, she questions all that she is and whom she can trust. Lauren Willig’s The Other Daughter is very much a story about loss and finding oneself. There is humor, adventure and scandal along the way, but in the end, Rachel gets answers, whether she likes them or not. This story has a definitive snowball effect; it starts slow, yet steady, and then continues into something greater that has the reader glued to the book, hanging onto every word. The diverse characteristics of each person in this story keeps the story even more exciting and unpredictable. I would recommend this book to anyone who can enjoy a book with a heavily detailed beginning, and an action-packed middle and ending. This is a story that readers young and old would both enjoy! Reviewed by Jenna Beattie Death and Mr. Pickwick: A Novel By Stephen Jarvis Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30.00, 816 pages Check this out! Pickwick. One name, two syllables and a world of influence. The Pickwick Papers, or, as the serialized work was originally titled, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was by far the most popular work of its time, one that launched the career of writer Charles Dickens into the stratosphere and the career of illustrator Robert Seymour into an early grave. Death and Mr. Pickwick is a lavishly detailed, fictionalized account of how The Pickwick Papers came to be. But it’s also a novel about influences and associations, about the many characters, large and small, major and inconsequential, who contribute to a life, a project or a legacy. This is an epic work about an epic work, one that deftly blurs the line between reporting and storytelling. Much like any Dickens work, this novel is indulgent in the extreme. Every player, no matter how minor, gets their due, and as a reading experience, at times, it’s exhausting. But it is an impressive, ambitious work that inspires such exhaustion, a novel that aspires to
Fiction the lofty echelon of “literature,” and very much deserves it. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas The Small Backs of Children: A Novel By Lidia Yuknavitch Harper, $24.99, 240 pages Check this out! An American photographer, covering the war in Eastern Europe, one day finds herself with an image even more haunting than the usual footage of war: a young girl, 6 years old, leaping away from a bomb blast that kills her entire family. A writer friend of the photographer vows to find her, and a group of artist friends band together to help. From there the novel accelerates into gruesome, unsettling questions about friendship, sex, art, violence, war, personal history, and the queasy, unstable boundaries between writer and audience, truth and fiction. The separation between Lidia Yuknavitch, the writer, and the unnamed writer in the novel is blurry at best, and among the toughest, most harrowing parts of this novel are the recollections of the narrator/author’s stillborn daughter. The prose is beautiful and gripping, even through scenes of sex and loss that are almost always tinged with terrible violence. Yuknavitch doesn’t flinch from the brutal realities of her tale; but readers most certainly will. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell Let Me Explain You: A Novel By Annie Liontas Scribner, $26.00, 352 pages Check this out! Stavros Stavros Mavrakis immigrated from Greece to America “with three hundred dollars in his pocket, a beard, and a wife.” Having dreamed of his death, Stavros believes he’s at the end of his journey, and has begun to question the value of his life, both before and after his arrival in America. He writes an email to the women in his family, his exwife and three daughters, purporting to understand them better than they understand themselves. “Let me explain you something,” he offers, and kicks off storm of doubt, self-evaluation and memory that envelops Stavros and everyone around him. Will he really die in 10 days? If so, how will his loved ones feel? Will the struggle have been worth it? Let Me Explain You is a story of a broken family, of tentative relationships and of immigrant challenges. By the end of the novel, I was as confused about my feelings for Stavros as the
rest of the characters. Whatever you feel about the protagonist and his dysfunctional family, it’s hard not to feel the sense of displacement he suffered in a new home, his helplessness in relating to his dependents and his fierce pride in his accomplishments. Liontas has created a character I won’t soon forget. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney The Incarnations: A Novel By Susan Barker Touchstone, $26.00, 384 pages Check this out! Driver Wang is unhappy. Though he loves his wife and daughter, the long, mindless hours of driving his taxi and the unrelieved monotony of his days cause him to feel he is living his life while asleep. Then Wang finds a letter telling the tragic history of an estranged father and daughter who lived in the time of the Tang Dynasty, AD 632. This is the story of Wang’s first life, the writer claims, and purports to be the long-ago daughter. The writer has been watching Wang, has been watching Wang’s family and will be writing more. Frightened and disturbed, Wang questions friends and acquaintances, searching for the letter writer, but “history is knocking for [him]” and Wang cannot escape. With The Incarnations, Barker spins two tales: one follows the progress of an average man with a long-lived soul, while the other describes the violent and fraught history of China. The two are so skillfully twined that it is difficult to separate the two. Like Wang, I found myself pursued by the relentless and inevitable force of the narrative, while being horrified by the violence he can’t seem to escape. Are these stories true? Are all of Wang’s lives destined to end in disaster? Reviewed by Tammy McCartney Purity By Jonathan Franzen Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28.00, 563 pages Check this out! Jonathan Franzen is a contemporary writer who clearly works under the mantra ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ First, there’s his consistency in assigning one-word titles to novels that, by their length alone, if not their thematic complexity, would seem to deserve at least a few more descriptors. On the other hand, as a writer of novels both popular and critically acclaimed— a rare combination in today’s world— he clearly knows what he is doing. As he once wrote in a 2002 New Yorker essay on the novel, there are two options for the ambitious writer. He or she can
Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 5
write a “status” novel, one whose difficulty and unreadability for the general public makes it all the more popular among those sporting black turtlenecks in ivory towers, or adhere to the “contract” model, whereby “the novel represents a compact between the writer and the reader and sustains the reader’s trust” by providing a good read. Franzen took the latter path in his earlier novels, Freedom and The Corrections, as well as in his latest, Purity, abandoning his climb up the ivory tower and instead extending respect to the intelligence of his reading public. Another consistency in Franzen’s novels is a thematic interest in issues involving the modern family in all its dysfunctional complexities. In Purity, the novel opens and closes with its main character, Pip, a young woman living in California who is obsessed with her mysterious family origins, most specifically an absent father her mother will tell her nothing about. Although Franzen writes with his usual combination of comedy and pathos, Pip’s life is itself dysfunctional and depressing. She shares living space in San Francisco with squatters who come from all over the world to parade the perennial angst of the young. She’s needy and neurotic and works a cubicle job that has nothing to do with her college degrees. It is the overwhelming financial burden of college loans that spur her on all the more in her search for her father, hopefully a rich one. This latter detail is one of many sad examples of a world in disconnect, one whose family members view each other as means to bigger and better things rather than as ends in themselves. Her mother is even more of a mess and refuses to divulge who the father is. In her search, Pip eventually absconds to Bolivia and the Sunlight Project, a Wiki-leaks like organization, whose smooth-talking founder, Andreas Wolf, promises to find her father. The haunting secrets of Wolf’s past life in East Germany growing up during the Cold War, along with Pip’s search for her father, are the two major plotlines through the book, and as one would suspect, the secrets of Wolf and Pip’s search coincide in ways the reviewer shouldn’t spoil here. Suffice it to say, there are surprises and fun plot twists in this novel that Dickens himself would have envied. The novel unfolds in seven sections that jump back and forth across time, space and perspective, with each one told in the distinct style of different characters. In fearing her deranged mother will end up “defining” her own existence, Pip joins a long list of Franzen characters who realize the bonds of family are sometimes more constrictive than consoling. This is what Franzen is perhaps best at: while looking inward through Pip’s eyes to the family dynamics of love, betrayal and indifference, Franzen also looks outward to the fiefdoms of corporate power and corrupt politics. In the end, he reveals the complex and fascinating dysfunctions of family and society and how they intertwine and blur in an era where everyone is both connected and disconnected. In spite of the complex plot, Franzen does deliver on the “contract” he pledged by presenting a novel that is both complex in theme and also entertaining, even sometimes haunting. Reviewed by Duggan Phillips, Circulation Department, Central Library
Book Reviews
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Picture Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Good Night, Knight (I Like to Read) By Betsy Lewin Holiday House, $14.95, 24 pages Check this out! Knight and Horse were friends and went to sleep after wishing each other good night. Knight had a dream about golden cookies, so he woke up Horse and they went off to find golden cookies. They looked just about everywhere: inside a tree, inside bushes, inside a pond. Every time, Knight would climb on Horse and they would trot to the next place, but they found no golden cookies. W hen Knight got tired, he asked Horse to go home and sleep. W hen Horse woke up Knight, Knight remembered that there was a jar of cookies in the house. They ate their cookies happily. W hen they got tired, they went to sleep again. This time Horse had a dream about golden apples and woke up Knight so that they could start a new adventure together to find golden apples. I loved this book! The horse is very funny looking and makes me laugh. A lso, the lightbulb on Knight’s head made me laugh really hard. Some words in this book were easy to read, like clank-clank and clip-clop, and I had fun reading them out loud and figuring out the noise they would be making. I have never thought of words making noise before. Reviewed by Brian, age 4 Scritch Scratch Scraww Plop By Kitty Crowther Enchanted Lion Books, $16.95, 40 pages Check this out! Jeremy is afraid of the dark and has a hard time sleeping alone, so a series of strange noises in the night sends him back to his parents bed over and over again. His dad repeatedly downplays the noises until he hears them for himself, and then it’s up to the two frogs to solve the mystery of the mys-
terious noises together. Author and illustrator Kitty Crowther has been creating picture books for children for many years, and her latest, Scritch Scratch Scraww Plop! is certain to be well-loved by youngsters and parents everywhere. Fear of the dark, especially of the strange sounds heard at nighttime, happens to many children at some point in time or another, and Crowther delves into this topic with understanding and empathy. Children will identify with Jeremy’s need to stretch bedtime out as long as possible, as well as the way he feels most secure when nestled into bed beside his parents. Parents will see themselves in those extra hugs and kisses, the mild exasperation over repeated trips back to bed. Crowther’s illustrations stand out from the bright colors and smooth lines so prevalent in many modern children’s books; hers are pencil drawings that add extra depth to the emotions of the story, with colors that truly capture the scenes. This is a fun book that may be helpful to families everywhere that struggle with fear of the dark. Reviewed by Holly Scudero When Sophie’s Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt By Molly Bang The Blue Sky Press, $17.99, 40 pages Check this out! One day at school the teacher asks the children to go look for a tree and memorize all about it, as the next day they are going to make a painting of it. Sophie has a favorite tree, a beech that she loves climbing because it makes her feel strong and happy.
The next day, she starts painting it and finds that the grey trunk looks so dull and sad, so she decides to paint it bright blue. Then she picks orange for the sky, mixes yellow and green for the leaves, and draws a yellow line all over the tree, to make it shiny. Andrew, another student, starts making fun of her painting, as he says all the colors are wrong. Sophie starts crying. The teacher asks Sophie to explain to the entire class why she chose those colors. Sophie gets to say how happy the tree makes her, and how beautiful and shiny it is. The teacher has Andrew explain why his tree, on the other hand, has curv y roots that seem to hold on to the ground. These were his feelings when he was painting it. So all children learn to like each other’s painting, and that everyone can see things differently and express different feelings when painting. It is OK to be different. Sophie goes home happy to be herself. Reviewed by Brian, age 5 Curious George Discovers Space (science storybook) By Monica Perez HMH Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 32 pages Check this out! Curious George and the man with the yellow hat had to restock the food supply on the Inter nat iona l Space Station because the astronauts only had one peanut left to eat. The man with the yellow hat couldn’t help because someone had to be able to push four buttons at once. However, George was just the monkey for the job! Up in space, George started playing with the supplies and missed the drop at the space station. Oh no! He gets all the supplies cleaned up, back in their boxes and sent to the space station. W hen George returns to Earth, there is a new problem: the controls for the Mars Rover are sticking! George falls asleep and dreams about visiting Mars along with the Rover. He sees the Valles Marineris and the Olympus Mons, which is the highest volcano in our solar system. W hat an amazing sight! W hile exploring Mars in his dream, the Rover gets stuck, and George figures out the solution. W hat a clever little monkey! I love how this book uses an interesting story to teach facts about space and our solar system. If you want to explore space with Curious George, then read this book! Reviewed by Elena, age 7
Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 6
I (Don’t) Like Snakes By Nicola Davies, Luciano Lozano (illustrator) Candlewick, $15.99, 32 pages Check this out! There was a girl who didn’t like snakes. But her family loved snakes! They had a lot of snakes for pets! One day the girl said, “I really, really, really don’t like snakes!†Her family asked her why. She said she didn’t like the way they slither. But her family told her they have to slither, and they can climb, and swim, and some can even f ly! Then the girl said she didn’t like snakes’ slimy skin. But her family told her that snakes aren’t slimy. Then every time she said something she didn’t like about snakes, her family told her why a snake was like that, and she thought that was neat. Then she found out something about them herself. So then she decided she really did like snakes after all! I like the pictures, and I love to look at snakes. It was really fun to learn about them because they are very interesting. I liked how you could learn about the snakes while you were reading the story about the girl. I also liked how the girl changed her mind that first she didn’t like snakes, but then she did when she found out more about them. Reviewed by Liesel, age 4 Leopold the Lion By Denise Brennan-Nelson, Ruth McNally Barshaw (illustrator) Sleeping Bear Press, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! Leopold the Lion is a book about a lion. There are two children, a boy and a girl, that are brother and sister. They find the lion and take it home. Their mom is busy, so she doesn’t see them, and their dad doesn’t care that much if they have a lion. Their grandpa, he knows, but he is going to let them keep it in their room. So they feed the lion lots of good food, like pop and chips and candy. Then they are off to school. The lion is by himself, and is feeling lonely. The kids don’t notice though. The grandpa tells them the lion is missing from the circus. The kids bring the lion to the circus, and they laugh at the lion because he can’t do any tricks. The kids take the lion home and start to train him. They feed him good food from the grocery store,
Book Reviews and they tell him to play outside. The grandpa helps to train the lion while the kids are at school. He lets him jump through hoops and combs his hair. Then the kids can have a circus in their backyard! Reviewed by Tallulah, age 6 A Dog Wearing Shoes By Sangmi Ko Schwartz & Wade, $16.99, 40 pages Check this out! This book is about a dog that wears yellow shoes. One day the little girl is in the car with her mom, who is bad at driving. She stops the car and makes the girl feel crazy. Then the girl finds a dog. She loves the dog. He is nice to her and loves her too. But when the dog gets home he doesn’t like the girl any more. He misses his real home. The girl goes crazy again and takes the dog for a walk. A ll the other dogs think the yellow shoes are nice. The other people think the dog is really good. He can do lots of tricks. He runs away. The dog runs and disappears. The next day the girl is sad and she goes to the pound. She finds the dog but doesn’t want to keep him, because he doesn’t belong to her. The girl puts signs all over the street to find the dogs real owner, then she finds him. The real owner is very happy and takes his dog home with him. He has yellow on too, that’s how you know he is the real owner. Then the girl goes to the pound again to find a dog that matches her. She gets a new yellow skirt to match her dog. Then they go for a walk and are really happy. Reviewed by Maverick, age 8 The Little Snowplow By Lora Koehler, Jake Parker (illustrator) Candlewick, $15.99, 32 pages Check this out! In The Little Snowplow, the eponymous plow is told by the larger trucks to focus on little tasks. And that’s what the good-natured plow does. He even works out to prepare for winter. Even- tually, a snow storm hits, and a big truck is buried by an avalanche. The indefatigable plow digs it out, and is fully accepted by the other trucks. The story offers positive themes of hard work and self-confidence in the face of doubters. Unfortunately, ele-
Picture Books ments of the plot were predictable (the snow storm, the plow being the unlikely hero), and the tale has been told before. Instead of ending on a high note or with an unexpected twist, the story simply fades. Little snowplow is tired from the day’s efforts and wants to sleep. Throughout the story, the trucks speak and move independently. So, it seemed odd that during the snow storm, the plow suddenly required a human driver. That point aside, the artwork is terrific. The trucks’ facial expressions effectively convey emotions, and the art does a fantastic job capturing the mood and feel of a snow storm. Reviewed by Henry L. Herz Toys Meet Snow: Being the Wintertime Adventures of a Curious Stuffed Buffalo, a Sensitive Plush Stingray, and a Book-loving Rubber Ball By Emily Jenkins Schwartz & Wade, $17.99, 40 pages Check this out! Toys Meet Snow is about three toys: a plush stingray named StingRay, a rubber ball named Plastic and a stuffed buffalo named Lumphy. Their little girl is away on winter vacation and the toys are looking out the window at the snow. They are very curious about the snow and Lumphy asks many questions, while StingRay and Plastic each give their own answer. The toys go outside to play in the snow. They look at snowf lakes, try to build a snowman and make snow angels. They watch the sunset, then decide to go back inside. I liked Toys Meet Snow because it was a nice story with great illustrations. I liked the names of the pets, and I thought it was funny that the rubber ball was called Plastic. The illustrations were beautiful and detailed. I loved how the illustrator drew the ballerina snowf lake, and showed the snow angels that each toy made. I love Emily Jenkins’ book, A Fine Dessert, and I was very excited to review this book. Toys Meet Snow is part of a series, and I can’t wait to look for the other Toys books at my library. Reviewed by Jewel, age 7 Thank You and Good Night By Patrick McDonnell Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $15.99, 40 pages Check this out! Maggie helps Clement get into his striped pajamas. The door bell rings and when Maggie opens the door she
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find Clement’s friends Jean and A lan A lexander. They are both in their pajamas. It is a surprise pajama party for Clement. The three of them jump on the bed for a while, but it’s still not time for bed. They learn a new dance. They have a funny-face contest. They play lots of games of hide-andseek, but it is still not time for bed. After lots of activities and a late snack, it is finally time for bedtime stories and being thankful for all the good things they have had that day. Award-winning author and illustrator Patrick McDonnell has created a most charming bedtime story. It is fun and sweet and winds the listeners up a little and then down perfectly for sleep. The enchanting pastel illustrations full of fun details will have little ones clambering for this book to become a nightly staple and probably for more than one read through each night. This delightful book is very likely destined to become as beloved as Good Night, Moon. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Green Lizards vs. Red Rectangles By Steve Antony Scholastic Press, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! I like the part where the small, little guy gets smashed. The lizards were fighting the red rectangles, but then at last they made peace forever. The best part was when they were fighting and making war, the rectangles were trying to beat the lizards but they didn’t win. Nobody won, they just stopped fighting instead. It’s good, it’s really good. Even if they just keep on fighting, they won’t because they want to be friends and just live together in that building city made of red stuff. The lizard people can sleep there and get Band-Aids there. It’s good. Reviewed by Maverick, age 8
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comprehension of the text), who cannot help but be thrilled as the young, destitute Temujin rises from owning little more than the clothes on his back to a position of ultimate sovereignty, the Khan of Khans? McLynn’s work is f lawless. Even if readers are not interested in a history, Genghis Khan would stand on its own as a masterwork novel of intrigue and conquest. Reviewed by Peterson, age 17
History SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy By Frank McLynn Da Capo Press, $32.50, 704 pages Check this out! Only two men have ever come close to conquering the world, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Yet the average American knows little more about the latter, other than his name. Thankfully, in this monumental masterpiece, veteran historian Frank McLynn charts Genghis Khan’s dramatic rise to the position of Great Khan, and his political, tactical and strategic genius, which allowed him to impose total hegemony over Asia.
Genghis Khan is no mere dry history book; the subject matter is so fascinating that, despite few attempts to spice things up, one cannot help but be engrossed in the tale of one of history’s greatest protagonists. Despite being filled with countless explanations of various clans, people, customs and history (all of which are absolutely necessary to the average individual ’s
Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls: A Handbook of Unapologetic Living By Jes Baker Seal Press, $16.00, 224 pages Check this out! Jes Baker reminds readers they need not feel ashamed, bullied, embarrassed, or unworthy of living the full, happy life everyone deserves right now. Baker wants them to reclaim their self-love and personal happiness, whatever their size. It is a great message, and essential for anyone, of any size or gender, who feels like they don’t measure up, or who has trouble accepting and loving their own bodies for the way they are. In her quest to shatter ‘fat people’ stereotypes, Ms. Baker falls into one herself – the ‘ hypersexualized, sassy fat chick.’ She swears, constantly, which is distracting, unprofessional, wearying
Meet Rick Atkinson Winner of the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2015 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award Free Public Presentation and Book Signing Saturday, Dec. 5 • 10:30 a.m. Hardesty Regional Library, Connor’s Cove • 8316 E. 93rd St. A three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and military historian, Rick Atkinson is best known for his epic Liberation Trilogy about the U.S. military’s role in the liberation of Europe in World War II. The first volume, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, received the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. It was followed by The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, in 2007, and concluded with the No. 1 New York Times bestseller The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945, released in 2013. Prior to turning full-time author, Atkinson served as a reporter, foreign correspondent and senior editor at The Washington Post for 25 years. After his presentation, Atkinson will answer questions from the audience and sign books. Copies of his works will be available for purchasing.
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and completely u n n e c e s s a r y. Baker yells at her readers – like an alwayson cheerleader – always in support and encouragement; but you feel, after finishing the book, like you’ve been bludgeoned about the head and shoulders by a well-meaning, but exhausting, BFF. However, Baker is inclusive and compassionate, nonjudgmental and enthusiastic. The book is engaging and upbeat, briskly paced, informative and even inspiring, filled with personal struggles and triumphs interspersed with guest essays by alternate and marginalized voices. This is a helpful, and even groundbreaking, book for those trying to accept that each of our bodies is perfect just as it is. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner
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DECEMBER 2015
A FREE MONTHLY GUIDE TO YOUR COMMUNITY LIBRARY, ITS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH
adults & all ages BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY Book-A-Librarian Dec. 1-31 • Get individualized instruction from professional library staff. Book-ALibrarian appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis and generally last 30-60 minutes. Topics include navigating the library's website, database research, career services, and audio and eBook tutorials. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7500 to schedule an appointment. For adults. Yours Ever, Jane Dec. 1-31 • Join us for a monthlong celebration of Jane Austen. Stop in for quizzes, contests and crafts celebrating Austen's lasting impact on the literary world. We'll give away fun prizes! For adults. Sponsored by the Friend of the Helmerich Library. Open Book Discussion Group Tuesday, Dec. 1 • 6:30-7:45 p.m. Join us as we discuss "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Gaines. For adults. Participants should read the book prior to the program. Yours Ever, Jane: Reading Jane Saturday, Dec. 5 • 2-4 p.m. Although she lived a quiet life in relative obscurity, Jane Austen made a lasting mark upon the literary world. Join us for a Regency-era tea and a presentation by the ever-engaging Dr. Joshua Grasso who will explore how and why Jane Austen’s characters and themes continue to capture our imaginations today. For teens and adults. Sponsored by the Friends of the Helmerich Library.
L I B R A R Y
Great Decisions: The Rich History of Tulsa Aviation Wednesday, Dec. 2 • 12:30-2:30 p.m. From balloons in 1897 to the spaceage technology of today, Tulsa continues to soar in the aviation field. Join Ken Brust as he presents a fascinating look at the history of Tulsa aviation. A former Marine pilot and retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Brust had a long civilian career in aviation and has volunteered at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum for 10 years. For adults.
BROOKSIDE LIBRARY Brookside Book Discussion Monday, Dec. 14 • 1:30-3 p.m. Read "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY All Thumbs Knitters Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 noon-2 p.m. • All levels of knitting expertise are welcome to join us for this fun and instructional afternoon. Collinsville Book Discussion Tuesday, Dec. 8 • noon-1 p.m. Read "The Cold Dish" by Craig Johnson and then join this fun group of readers for a lively discussion. Patchworkers Tuesday, Dec. 8 • 6:30-8 p.m. If you want to learn to quilt or are already an experienced quilter, join us for a fun and informative evening. For adults.
GLENPOOL LIBRARY Second Saturday Fiber Arts Saturday, Dec. 12 • 1-3 p.m. Bring your own project to work on, visit with friends and enjoy a cup of
C L O S I N G S
All regional libraries will be closed on Sundays, Dec. 13, 20 and 27. All libraries will close at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21-Wednesday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 28-Wednesday, Dec. 30. All libraries will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 24 for Christmas Eve and Friday, Dec. 25 for Christmas. All libraries will close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31.
coffee. Roz will share the craft of Victorian Paper Embroidery. We'll work on a card. All supplies will be provided, but please bring scissors and an embroidery needle. Please let us know if you plan to attend so that we'll have enough supplies. For adults.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Delights of December Thursday, Dec. 3 • noon-1:30 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Enjoy music, poetry and stories celebrating the holidays in December with emcee Karen Larsen, KJRH Channel 2 news anchor. Kick off Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa in style. Light refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. For all ages. Simple Steps for Starting Your Business: Start-Up Basics Thursday, Dec. 3 • 6:30-8:30 p.m. Location: Pecan Room • Learn the essentials of business start-ups, get action steps for your business and receive one-to-one mentoring. This workshop is presented by SCORE, a nonprofit association of volunteer business experts. Registration is required. Go to www.tulsa.score.org to register. For adults. Meet Rick Atkinson, Winner of the Tulsa Library Trust's 2015 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award Saturday, Dec. 5 • 10:30 a.m.-noon Location: Connor's Cove Rick Atkinson, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and military historian, is best known for his epic Liberation Trilogy about the U.S. military's role in the liberation of Europe in World War II. Atkinson will speak, answer questions from the audience and sign books. Copies of his works will be available for purchasing. For adults and teens. DIY for Adults: Book Crafts Tuesday, Dec. 8 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. Location: Ash Room • Turn your old, unwanted books into a Hearing loop available. Switch hearing aid to T-coil.
work of art! Bring an old book, be it hardcover or paperback, and fold, cut, decoupage, paint or glue it into a beautiful new masterpiece. Craft materials and some old books will be provided.
HELMERICH LIBRARY Books People Are Talking About Wednesday, Dec. 16 • 12:15-1:15 p.m. Join us for a discussion of favorite travel memoirs. We'll experience the world through the eyes of intrepid travelers as they encounter different cultures, seek new experiences and arrive at some surprising conclusions. Bring a favorite holiday treat to share at our annual holiday party. For adults.
JENKS LIBRARY Jenks Library Book Discussion Group Thursday, Dec. 17 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. You should read the selected book prior to the program. Call 918-5497570 for book title. For adults.
LIBRARIUM Holiday Mini-Maker Faire Monday, Dec. 21 • 2-4 p.m. We will have a special guest for our reading of "The Polar Express" before enjoying refreshments and making holiday crafts. For all ages.
OWASSO LIBRARY Radical Home Economics: Homemade Gifts Saturday, Dec. 5 • 10-11:30 a.m. We will make coconut body scrub, hot cocoa ornaments and more. All supplies are provided and you will get to take home the items you make. For adults. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7624 to register. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust and Sprouts Farmers Market.
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RUDISILL REGIONAL LIBRARY Simple Steps for Starting Your Business Workshops: Start-Up Basics Saturday, Dec. 19 • 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: Greenwood Room In this overview designed to give insight about the tools, advice and information you need to succeed, you will learn the essentials of business start-ups, get action steps for your business and receive one-to-one mentoring. Registration is required. Visit Tulsa SCORE's website at www. tulsa.score.org to register. For adults.
SCHUSTERMAN-BENSON LIBRARY Mystery Readers Roundtable Thursday, Dec. 3 • 2-3 p.m. Come for coffee and tell us what you've been reading. For adults.
SKIATOOK LIBRARY Osage Language Class Thursdays, Dec. 3, 10, 17 6:30-7:30 p.m. • The Osage Nation Language Department will teach participants the basics of the Osage language. For all ages. Sponsored by American Indian Resource Center.
SUBURBAN ACRES LIBRARY Holiday Open House Saturday, Dec. 19 • noon-3 p.m. Drop by for library tours, games, activities, holiday movies with popcorn, and cocoa or warm apple cider. For all ages.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Osage Language Class Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9, 16 6:30-7:30 p.m. • The Osage Nation Language Department will teach participants the basics of the Osage language. For all ages. Sponsored by American Indian Resource Center.
teens & tweens BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY BATAB Tuesday, Dec. 8 • 5:30-6:45 p.m. Join us for Broken Arrow's Teen Advisory Board, where teens give their input on future library displays and programming while enjoying snacks and activities. This month we will learn about and train for our Adopt-a-Shelf program, where teens
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BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH
Teen Advisory Board Friday, Dec. 4 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. Work on a fun craft project while discussing programming ideas, book recommendations and volunteer opportunities at the library. Snacks are provided, and you'll receive volunteer hours for attending! For ages 12-18. In the Middle Book Group Monday, Dec. 14 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Find out what the best books of 2015 are for kids ages 9-12, according to Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal ... and Miss Laura! We'll have refreshments, games and door prizes.
BROOKSIDE LIBRARY Wrapaganza Saturday, Dec. 12 • 1-3 p.m. Learn how to wrap gift boxes, and then how to decorate with bows and ribbon for the ultimate look! Supplies are provided. For ages 6-14.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY Sukikyo! Anime Club Wednesday, Dec. 9 • 3-4:30 p.m. Meet up with other manga and anime fans to discuss your favorite books, movies, characters and plot twists. For ages 12-18. Fun With Crossword Puzzles Monday, Dec. 14 • 3-4 p.m. We will learn tips and tricks to solve crossword puzzles using Internet resources. For ages 10-18.
GLENPOOL LIBRARY Teen Lounge Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 16 • 4-5 p.m. Join us for Wii and board games, plus popcorn too. For ages 10-18.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Minecraft Gaming Thursday, Dec. 3 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Put your imagination to the test building your own world in the popular game Minecraft. For ages 12-18. Hardesty Teen Anime/Manga Club Saturday, Dec. 12 • 1-2:30 p.m. Location: Digital Lounge • Discuss your favorite manga characters and books, plus make a holiday craft while enjoying snacks. For ages 12-18. Celebrate "Star Wars" Wednesday, Dec. 30 • 2:30-3:30 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Calling all Jedis in training. What does Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader have in common? "Star Wars," of
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course! Join us as we make some crafts and play some games with a "Star Wars" theme. For ages 12-18.
HELMERICH LIBRARY Teens h-tag# Tuesday Tuesday, Dec. 8 • 4:15-6 p.m. Join us for our teen advisory board year-end meeting! We'll have crafts, games and snacks. Jedi Training: Celebrate "Star Wars" Tuesday, Dec. 15 • 4:30-6:30 p.m. Drop in for Jedi training, make a lightsaber, pick a book from the Jedi Library, make a craft or destroy the Death Star! Costumes are welcome! For ages 8-18. Take a Holiday Break @ your library Tuesday, Dec. 29 • 1:30-3 p.m. Make a pop-up card or paper craft item. We'll have board games too! For teens.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY Teen Time Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 16 • 4-5 p.m. Location: Auditorium Play Wii on the big auditorium screen! For ages 10-18. Minecraft Wednesday, Dec. 9 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Develop your survival skills at our Minecraft program. For ages 10-18. Class is limited to 12 on a first-come, first-served basis.
MAXWELL PARK LIBRARY Crafting for the Holidays Saturday, Dec. 5 • 2-3 p.m. Make and take home holiday ornaments and wreaths. Supplies are limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. For ages 5-13. Children ages 7 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Sponsored by the Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association.
SCHUSTERMAN-BENSON LIBRARY Grandparent and Me Thursday, Dec. 17 • 6-7 p.m. Build a gingerbread house with your grandparent! For ages 5-15. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7670 to register.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Minecraft Night Thursday, Dec. 17 • 6-7 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Put your imagination to the test building your own world in the popular computer game Minecraft! For ages 10-18. Seating is limited.
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digital services HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY MS Excel 1 Tuesday, Dec. 1 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab • This class shows how to create formulas, use automatic fill and change basic formatting. You should take MS Word 2 and have some experience using a mouse prior to taking this class. For adults. Class size is limited. 3-D Printer Demonstration Saturday, Dec. 5 • 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 ● 7-8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21 ● 3-4 p.m. Location: Digital Lounge • See a demonstration of the Ultimaker2 3-D printer. For all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. MS Excel 2 Tuesday, Dec. 8 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab • This class shows how to create and edit formulas, and apply functions and advanced formatting to your spreadsheets and workbooks. You should take MS Excel 1 prior to taking this class. For adults. Class size is limited. MS Excel 3 Tuesday, Dec. 15 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab • This class shows how to create charts, apply conditional formatting and control the appearance of printed spreadsheets. You should take MS Excel 2 prior to taking this class. For adults. Class size is limited.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY MS Word 1 Saturday, Dec. 5 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab • This class shows how to use toolbars and menus, set margins, apply spell check, and preview, save and print documents. You should have some experience using a computer keyboard and mouse prior to taking this class. For adults. Class size is limited. MS Word 2 Saturday, Dec. 12 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab • This class shows how to create and format tables, use bulleted and numbered lists, and apply and format columns in a document. You should take MS Word 1 prior to attending. For adults. Class size is limited.
c o m p u t e r s , MS Word 3 Saturday, Dec. 19 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab • This class shows how to create and use borders and shading, headers and footers, page numbering and drawing tools. You should take MS Word 2 prior to taking this class. For adults. Class size is limited.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY eBook Office Hours Wednesday, Dec. 9 • 1:30-3:30 p.m. Get one-to-one assistance on accessing all the wonderful free digital content available from your library including eBooks, audiobooks, music, movies and more. Bring your device and we will walk you through setup and answer all your questions. General questions about using your mobile device? Bring those too! For adults. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7683 to register. Really Basic Computer Class Wednesday, Dec. 30 • 1:30-3 p.m. Location: Computer Lab • This class is designed for new computer users who have little or no previous experience using computers, Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms. For adults. Class size is limited.
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Preschool Storytime Monday, Dec. 7 • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 3-5. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Dec. 9 • 4-5 p.m. For ages 5-12. Class size is limited.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH Preschool Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 2-5. Stay and Play Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 11-11:30 a.m. After our regularly scheduled storytime, join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 2-5. My First Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 10:30-11 a.m. For newborns to 3-year-olds and their caregivers. Santa! Santa! Santa! Tuesday, Dec. 15 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Enjoy crafts and stories while you wait to see the jolly old elf. For all ages. PAWS for Reading Friday, Dec. 18 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. For ages 5-12.
BROOKSIDE LIBRARY Preschool Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 10:15-10:45 a.m. • For ages 2-5.
children PRESCHOOL STORYTIME The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. MY FIRST STORYTIME Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. PAWS FOR READING Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY
My First Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 11-11:20 a.m. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Wrapaganza Saturday, Dec. 12 • 1-3 p.m. Learn how to wrap gift boxes, and then how to decorate with bows and ribbon for the ultimate look! Supplies are provided. For ages 6-14. PAWS for Reading Friday, Dec. 18 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. For ages 5-12. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7507 to register.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Dec. 16 • 3-4 p.m. For ages 5-12.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY
My First Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 10:30-10:50 a.m. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.
My First Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 10-10:20 a.m. Monday, Dec. 7 • 10-10:20 a.m. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.
Explore and Play Thursdays, Dec. 3, 10 • 10:30-11 a.m. Join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 1-5 and their caregivers.
Toddler Time Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 11-11:20 a.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 11-11:20 a.m. Enjoy stories, rhymes, flannels, music, bubbles and meeting
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other toddlers. For ages 2-3 and their parents/caregivers. Santa Storytime Tuesday, Dec. 8 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Guess who's coming to storytime? For all ages. Celebrate "Star Wars" Tuesday, Dec. 29 • 2:30-3:30 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Calling all Jedis in training. What does Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader have in common? "Star Wars," of course! Join us as we make crafts and play games with a "Star Wars" theme. For ages 5-11.
HELMERICH LIBRARY Family Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 10:30-11 a.m. For all ages.
HERMAN AND KATE KAISER LIBRARY Preschool Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8, 15 10:30-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 2-5. My First Storytime Thursdays, Dec. 3, 10, 17 10:30-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For newborns to 2-yearolds and their caregivers. Family Fun Friday Friday, Dec. 4 • 2:30-4 p.m. Enjoy holiday stories, songs and poems, along with crafts and fun science experiments. For ages 5-12. Polar Express Pajama Storytime Monday, Dec. 7 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Join us for a holiday storytime along with special science demonstrations, crafts and carols guaranteed to give everyone a bit of holiday joy! For ages 2-9. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Dec. 9 • 3:30-5 p.m. For ages 5-12. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7542 to register. Sensory Storytime Saturday, Dec. 12 • 10:30 a.m.-noon Does your child have difficulty sitting through storytime? If so, this inclusive, interactive program of stories, songs and activities may be just what you are looking for! Sensory Storytime focuses on learning with all five senses and is especially designed for children with a variety of learning styles or sensory integration challenges. Registration is required. Register online at http:// kids.tulsalibrary.org/sensorystorytime or by calling 918-549-7542.
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JENKS LIBRARY My First Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 10-10:15 a.m. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 3-5.
JUDY Z. KISHNER LIBRARY Terrific Tuesday: Dinosaurs in December Tuesday, Dec. 1 • 6-7 p.m. Join us for dino-designed crafts and activities. For ages 5-10.
LIBRARIUM Holiday Mini-Maker Faire Monday, Dec. 21 • 2-4 p.m. We will have a special guest for our reading of "The Polar Express" before enjoying refreshments and making holiday crafts. For all ages.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY "Star Wars" Storytime Wednesday, Dec. 16 • 4-4:30 p.m. For ages 3-12. Stuffed-Animal Sleepover Monday, Dec. 28 • 6:30-7 p.m. Put on your jammies and bring your stuffed animal. When storytime is over, your stuffed animal is invited to spend the night in the library. The librarians have lots of fun activities planned for their special guests! For ages 3-7. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7590 to register. Origami Time Tuesday, Dec. 29 • 3-4 p.m. Make fun origami crafts! Registration is required. We will start taking registrations Dec. 21. Call 918-5497595 to register. For ages 7-12. Yoga Storytime Wednesday, Dec. 30 11-11:30 a.m. • 3-3:30 p.m. Join Miss Sarah for storytime with fun yoga poses, stretches and music. For ages 5-12. Class size is limited.
MAXWELL PARK LIBRARY Crafting for the Holidays Saturday, Dec. 5 • 2-3 p.m. Make and take home holiday ornaments and wreaths. Supplies are limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. For ages 5-13. Children ages 7 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Sponsored by the Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association.
NATHAN HALE LIBRARY Mrs. Cindy's Storytime Thursdays, Dec. 3, 10, 17 • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 7 and younger.
TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY EVENT GUIDE
DECEMBER 2015
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OWASSO LIBRARY My First Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 10-10:25 a.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 10-10:25 a.m. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.
Winter Break Lego Lab Tuesday, Dec. 29 • 2-3:30 p.m. Join us for Lego-building fun! We will supply the Legos and you supply the creativity. For ages 5-10.
PRATT LIBRARY
Preschool Storytime Tuesday, Dec. 1, 8 • 10:30-11 a.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 3-5.
Miss Connie's Preschool Storytime Thursdays, Dec. 3, 10, 17 10:30-11:15 a.m. • For ages 5 and younger with a caregiver.
Stay and Play Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 11-11:30 a.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 • 11-11:30 a.m. After our regularly scheduled storytime, join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers.
SCHUSTERMANBENSON LIBRARY
Homeschool Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 2-2:45 p.m. Join us as we read stories and make a craft. For ages 5-9.
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Preschool Storytime Tuesdays, Dec. 1, 8 • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 3-5. My First Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 10-10:20 a.m. •10:30-10:50 a.m. For newborns to 3-year-olds and their caregivers.
PAWS for Reading Monday, Dec. 14 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. For ages 5-12. Santa Pajama Jam Tuesday, Dec. 15 • 6-7 p.m. Put on your best holiday pj's and join us for songs, stories and Santa! For ages 6 and younger with their caregivers. Grandparent and Me Thursday, Dec. 17 • 6-7 p.m. Build a gingerbread house with your grandparent! For ages 5-15. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7670 to register. Mad Science Monday Monday, Dec. 21 • 4-4:45 p.m. Join us for fun experiments from things that you may have around your house. For ages 5-12.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Stay and Play Storytime Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9 10:30-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy stories, songs and rhymes, and then stay after for games and activities that foster early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger. PAWS for Reading Saturday, Dec. 5 • 2-3 p.m. For ages 5-12.
Free and Open to the Public • If you are hearing-impaired and need a qualified interpreter, please call the library 48 hours in advance of the program. The Tulsa Book Review and Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide are printed on partially recycled paper.
tulsa city-county library locations 25 Bixby Library 20 E. Breckenridge, 74008 • 918-549-7514 M-W, 10-6; Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 11-5 19 Broken Arrow Library 300 W. Broadway, 74012 • 918-549-7500 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 23 Broken Arrow Library/South 3600 S. Chestnut, 74011 • 918-549-7662 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 17 Brookside Library 1207 E. 45th Place, 74105 • 918-549-7507 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 9 Central Library Closed for renovation 400 Civic Center, 74103 • 918-549-7323 8 Charles Page Library 551 E. Fourth St., Sand Springs, 74063 918-549-7521 • M, 10-6; T, 10-8; W-Fri., 10-6; Sat., 11-5 2 Collinsville Library 1223 Main, 74021 • 918-549-7528 M, 10-6; T, 12-8; W-Th, 10-6; Fri., 11-6; Sat., 10-5 24 Glenpool Library 730 E. 141st St., 74033 • 918-549-7535 M, 10-6; T, 12-8; W-Th, 10-6; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 11-5 22 Hardesty Regional Library and Genealogy Center 8316 E. 93rd St., 74133 • 918-549-7550 M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 21 Helmerich Library 5131 E. 91st St., 74137 • 918-549-7631 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 18 Herman and Kate Kaiser Library 5202 S. Hudson Ave., Suite B, 74135 918-549-7542 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 20 Jenks Library 523 W. B St., 74037 • 918-549-7570 M-W, 10-6; Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 11-5 3 Judy Z. Kishner Library 10150 N. Cincinnati Ave. E., Sperry 74073 • 918-549-7577 M, 10-6; T, 12-8; W-Th, 10-6; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 11-5
11 Kendall-Whittier Library 21 S. Lewis, 74104 • 918-549-7584 M-Th, 10-6; Fri., 11-6; Sat., 10-5 10 Librarium 1110 S. Denver Ave., 74119 • 918-549-7349 M-Th, 9-7; Fri.-Sat., 9-5 15 Martin Regional Library and Hispanic Resource Center 2601 S. Garnett Road, 74129 • 918-549-7590 M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 7 Maxwell Park Library 1313 N. Canton, 74115 • 918-549-7610 M-Th, 10-6; Fri., 11-6; Sat., 10-5 14 Nathan Hale Library 6038 E. 23rd St., 74114 • 918-549-7617 M-Th, 10-6; Fri., 11-6; Sat., 10-5 4 Owasso Library 103 W. Broadway, 74055 • 918-549-7624 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 12 Pratt Library 3219 S. 113th W. Ave., Sand Springs, 74063 • 918-549-7638 M-W, 10-6; Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 11-5 6 Rudisill Regional Library and African-American Resource Center 1520 N. Hartford, 74106 • 918-549-7645 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 13 Schusterman-Benson Library 3333 E. 32nd Place, 74135 918-549-7670 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 1 Skiatook Library 316 E. Rogers, 74070 • 918-549-7676 M-W, 10-6; Th, 12-8; Fri., 11-6; Sat., 10-5 5 Suburban Acres Library 4606 N. Garrison, 74126 • 918-549-7655 M-Th, 10-6; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 11-5 16 Zarrow Regional Library and American Indian Resource Center 2224 W. 51st St., 74107 • 918-549-7683 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5
www.TulsaLibrary.org
The Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide is produced by the Public Relations Office of the Tulsa City-County Library. For questions or concerns, call 918-549-7389.
Book Reviews
Category
Teens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Velvet Undercover By Teri Brown Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 336 pages Check this out! Velvet Undercover takes place during the First World War, where spies and secret agents run amok. Enter Samantha Donaldson. All of her life she’s been solving puzzles with her father, unknowingly training to be one of the next spies in La Dame Blanche, a mostly female organization (an oddity for its time). However, one day, her father mysteriously vanishes, leaving Samantha and her mother barely hanging on. Electing to take a mission to get information on her father’s whereabouts, Samantha is plunged undercover as Sophia Therese Von Schonburg, a distant relative to one of Germany’s duchesses. Now, she must locate and extract another agent, code-named Velvet. However, there’s one tiny problem: there’s no known information about Velvet, or who she could possibly be. It’s up to Sam to decide who she can trust, and she had better choose wisely. Velvet Undercover was absolutely amazing to read. Each character had his or her own little quirks, and it brought the book to life in great detail. Also, near the end, there was an awesome little twist so completely unexpected I couldn’t stop smiling for the remainder of the book. Reviewed by Lauren Rademacher Illuminae By Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff Knopf Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 608 pages Check this out! Holy moly! Illuminae is one of the most unique and best books I’ve read this year. I’ve never come across a book half as cool as this one. Upon starting the first page, I was skeptical with how this story would be pulled off. If you haven’t read or heard about it, the book is told through emails, texts, etc. How on earth world the au-
thors pull this off? Have no fear, they pulled it off and then some. Kady has just broken up with her boyfriend, Ezra, when the planet gets invaded. As we delve deeper into the story, the more sinister and dramatic things get. I think it’s safe to say the authors have ruined me. I couldn’t pick up a book after reading this space opera that will appeal to all sci-fi fans alike. Need a story that isn’t all about a girl crying for a boy? Look no further. Here we have a strong and independent heroine who could put even Katniss to shame. Need a book that has tons of action from page one? Wow, are you in for a surprise! There wasn’t a dull moment to be found in the wonderful pages of the story. I want more. Repeat it with me, I want more! Readers, don’t miss out on the epic book and do yourself a favor and get the hardback. The book is gorgeous, and I don’t think the digital version will do it justice. Reviewed by Breanna, age 15
of Fin’s charm, including Georgia’s family and Lucky’s girlfriend. Then Fin gets a job at the same bed and breakfast where Georgia works. Things aren’t adding up and Georgia decides to go off her medication in order to think more clearly and figure out just what is going on with Fin. She risks everything, her job, her future and even her own life, to speak on behalf of her brother who no longer can. If You’re Lucky is a thrilling pageturner in the YA world, where award-winning author Yvonne Prinz isn’t afraid to explore topics, including those along the lines of mental health in teens. Reviewed by Ashley Horning Black Widow Forever Red (A Marvel YA Novel) By Margaret Stohl Marvel Press, $17.99, 416 pages Check this out! If you’re a huge fan of Marvel Comics and Black Widow respectively, I would suggest going into this with an open mind. Yes, the story has Anastasia Romanov in it, but the story isn’t really about her. The story is about Ava Orlova, an orphan who had been saved by Black Widow herself, when she was a young girl. Once Romanov saved her, Ava was raised as an American and cared for by the government. That is until she ran
away/escaped to New York City and jumped around from shelter to shelter. Another character that’s introduced is Alex, whom Ava constantly dreams about; even though she’s never met him. The two form a lovey-dovey relationship that I wasn’t fully convinced of. It was okay, but not the central point of the story. Though full of action, just like a marvel movie, I still felt like something was missing. I wanted more, and in the end, I was a little bit disappointed. Overall, I still think the writing was good, and the story was compelling in a way that kept you reading. I do recommend this to those who are looking for a fresh new read, just don’t expect too much to happen. Reviewed by Breanna, age 15
YOUTH NONFICTION NEW AND COMING SOON
TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at www.TulsaLibrary.org to reserve your copies now.
If You’re Lucky By Yvonne Prinz Algonquin Young Readers, $17.95, 288 pages Check this out! When Georgia’s brother, Lucky, dies in a tragic surfing accident, her world falls apart. A lifelong t h r i l l- see ker, Lucky wasn’t the kind of guy to go and make hasty mistakes that would risk his life. Friends from all over the world come to mourn her brother’s death, including new friend Fin, who begins to show up all over town weeks after the funeral. Georgia can’t shake the unsettling feeling Fin gives her, but the rest of her quiet California town can’t get enough Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 9
A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying by Jim Dutcher • The sweet tale of
Lakota, the shy wolf pup, is sure to touch the heart of any animal lover. Readers will marvel at Lakota’s strength growing up as the lowest-ranking and frequently picked-on member of a wolf pack until he finally finds that supportive and nurturing friend he’s always wanted.
Diary of a Time Traveler by David Long and Nicholas Stevenson (illustrator) • Meet some of history’s most illustrious and interesting characters in this book that visits key moments of the past from around the world. When young Augustus falls asleep in history class, Professor Tempo decides to teach him a lesson and show him that history isn’t boring at all! She hands him a magic diary; all he needs to do is write the time and place to travel there. Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game By John Coy • In
1944, Coach John McLendon orchestrated a secret basketball game between the best players from a white college and his team from a black college. At a time of widespread segregation and rampant racism, this illegal gathering changed basketball forever.
Book Reviews
Category
Kids’ Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Girl Who Could Not Dream By Sarah Beth Durst HMH Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 384 pages Check this out! Sophie doesn’t dream. But that’s okay, because all the dreams she could ever want can be found in the basement of her parents’ bookstore, where her parents distill and create dreams for sale, away from the peering eyes of the Watchmen. But one day, her parents and their equipment disappear. What happened to them? Are they okay? Did the Watchmen get them? Can Sophie, accompanied by her friendly pet Monster, unravel the mystery? Durst has a knack for marrying the fantastic with the everyday, and she’s done it again with style in The Girl Who Could Not Dream. The rules of Sophie’s dream magic are internally consistent (and wonderfully realized), and the cast of unexpected allies and treacherous miscreants adds to a fun and frothy read. Although Sophie’s investigation lags at points, the story soon picks up with greater urgency, making up for those scant few middling sections. The best part was that the big swerve I’d been expecting for most of the book, which would’ve provided the classic YA 11th-hour twist, never arrived. The story was allowed to grow and develop on its own merits and strengths, and the reading experience was better for it. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality: From Alchemy to Avatars By Maria Birmingham, Josh Holinaty (illustrator) Owlkids Books, $16.95, 48 pages Check this out! A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality recounts the history of humanity’s attempts at immortality. It includes myths about how you could become immortal in the olden days. By the olden days, I mean medieval times and Ancient Egypt. But it also includes current ideas, like being frozen until science can resurrect you. The book is organized into five different categories: alchemy (elixirs), using or being a god, visiting
a m a g i c a l place, using science, and using future technology to bring you back to life or uploading your brain into a computer. I liked the alchemy part the most because it was interest- ing to see all the different chemicals and mixtures people used to use. It has a lot of interesting facts that range from ancient myths, like the Fountain of Youth, to current cultural references, like Indiana Jones and Peter Pan. The pictures in the book are very nice, and I liked that all of the humans had comically undersized heads. The colors used in the book were very vivid, and each section’s color was unique and very eye-catching. Overall, it was a good book and an interesting read. I actually would have liked for it to be longer! Reviewed by Noah, age 12 Koala Hospital (Wildlife Rescue) By Suzi Eszterhas Owlkids Books, $17.95, 48 pages Check this out! A Koala Hospital is a place far away in Australia, where people take care of the koalas that are sick, injured or hurt. The hospital is run by a lady doctor named Cheyne, and she makes sure koalas get better and returned to their life. Most injured koalas end up at the hospital because of car accidents, or incident with pet dogs. Sometimes they get infections or diseases, and they stay at the hospital as they need to get medicines and feel better. Some koalas end up at the hospital as puppies. The puppies are called joeys, and cannot take care of themselves if they lose their mom. They are marsupials, like kangaroos, which means they go to their mom’s pouches when they are born, and they stay there for six months. If joeys have no mom, the hospital gives them to foster-care mommies who feed them, take care of them and teach them how to climb. Koalas can climb very fast, thanks to their strong claws. But they are overall very slowmoving animals, and they sleep a lot. This is because their main food is eucalyptus leaves, and
they take a lot of energy to be digested. I was excited to learn so much about koalas! Reviewed by Brian, age 5 Amphibians and Reptiles: A Compare and Contrast Book By Katharine Hall Arbordale Publishing, $17.95, 32 pages Check this out! This book compares amphibians and reptiles, which are animals that live all around us. There are three types of amphibians and four types of reptiles. Both types are cold-blooded, which means they seek the warm sun often and try to keep their skin moist. But there are a lot of differences. Amphibians’ eggs hatch in water, and they are often jelly-like. The hatchlings do not look like the adults they are going to be when they are born. Reptiles’s eggs hatch in land, and when the hatchlings are born they resemble their adult shape much more closely. Amphibians start breathing in water, then they grow up and start breathing in air. Reptiles breath in air from the moment they are born. The part I liked the most was the one teaching about poisonous snakes as I had never seen a picture of a snake showing its teeth and venom before. Reviewed by Brian, age 5 The Lucky Litter: Wolf Pups Rescued From Wildfire By Jennifer Keats Curtis, John Gomes (illustrator) Arbordale Publishing, $17.95, 32 pages Check this out! The Lucky Litter: Wolf Pups Rescued From Wildfire follows the rescue of five wolf pups who were found in the wild. They were found by a firefighter. They were not being taken care of by their mother, so a biologist took them to the Alaska Zoo. The vets gave them special milk and medicine. As the pups grew up, they moved to live outdoors, where they played, explored and chewed on sticks. The pups grew quickly, and by the time they were nine weeks old, they moved to the Minnesota Zoo where they will live the rest of their lives as a pack. I really liked The Lucky Litter. It was so neat that the book was full of photos of the pups while they were being rescued and cared for at the zoos. There is information, at the back of the book, about wildlife rescue, wildfires, wolves and growing bodies. This helps teach more about some things in the book. I found it interesting that the wolf pups grew into their own pack, with two becoming the pack leader, without having any adult wolves to teach them how. I think kids who like animals will love this book. Reviewed by Jewel, age 7
Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 10
They Just Know: Animal Instincts By Robin Yardi Arbordale Publishing, $17.95, 32 pages Check this out! A caterpillar does not need to be told to eat its leaves. A butterfly does not need to be held by the wing to start flying. When it is time, they all know what to do. A horn shark is not told to be careful swimming until he is ready to do it on his own and does not need a nightlight when it is dark. A young ladybug needs time for her shell to harden, but she does not need to be told to be careful or to wear a helmet. Turtles do not need to be held by hand as they reach for the ocean for the first time. And snakes do not need help when they shed their old skin to grow a new one. For all these animals, their mothers just lay the eggs and go away. When the eggs hatch, the little hatchlings know what to do. It is called instinct. Little children, instead, need help, love, hugs and toys … and their parents. This book was very interesting because I never thought about the fact that animals do not have parents or teachers helping them or teaching them, like us kids. Reviewed by Brian, age 5 Fur, Fins, and Feathers: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo By Cassandre Maxwell Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, $17.00, 34 pages Check this out! Fur, Fins and Feathers: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo is the story of a man who loved animals so much and wanted to make their lives better in zoos. In the early 1800s, Abraham was a little boy, and his father knew someone who owned wild animals. Those animals lived in bare cages, and people would line up to see them. Abraham felt sorry for how the animals had to live in cages. Eventually, Abraham became the superintendent of the London Zoo. He made exhibits for the animals that were like their homes in the wild, and they had space to explore, hide and be happy. Abraham Dee Bartlett wanted all the animals to feel at home. I really enjoyed this book. I am so glad that Abraham got the idea to post signs on all exhibits to explain about the animals. This was the first time a zoo did this. I really liked the timeline in the back of the book. I think others would like Fur, Fins and Feathers: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo. Reviewed by Jewel, age 7
Book Reviews
Category
Tweens
YOUTH FICTION COMING SOON
TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at www.TulsaLibrary.org to reserve your copies now.
SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Sky Key: An Endgame Novel by James Frey
Tales of a Fifth-Grade Knight (Middle-grade Novels) By Douglas Gibson, Jez Tuya (contributor) Capstone Young Readers, $10.95, 160 pages Check this out! I think the book Tales of a Fifth-Grade Knight is a good book. It’s about a boy named Issac and his best friends, Max and Emma. They go to a school in the dungeon of a castle. Besides the fact that the school is in the dungeon of a castle, it’s a regular school in a regular town. Issac, Max and Emma are in a school play, and Issac’s little sister, Lily, has to stay with him so their mother can pick them up at the same time. When they are leaving, Lily loses the “Jewel Gem” that was on her doll’s crown, and they have to look for it. They look everywhere, but they can’t find it. Then, they look in the janitor’s closet, but end up getting locked in. Lily crawls through a dark tunnel and disappears. So Issac, Max and Emma decide to go through the tunnel, and soon, find a whole new world! They meet a bat, named Acro, and a boy who take them to Underground Town. It was very beautiful there, but they had to find Lily quickly, because they were told if humans stay in the Underground Town too long, they’ll start “weirding” into elves! They meet a firefly lady, “Acro-rats,” an elf king and even an ear with legs! They find Lily, but unfortunately that isn’t until Issac, Max and Emma are sent to the dungeon (where Lily was). Lily had already started “weirding.” They find a way to escape and Acro safely gets them all back home. What an adventure! I think that this is a good book for ages 9-11. Reviewed by Farrah, age 9
A Sliver of Stardust By Marissa Burt HarperCollins, $16.99, 384 pages Check this out! Wren and her fellow homeschool student Simon are at a science competition when a woman with a large bird comes into the room, leaves a packet of papers and disappears in a puff of shimmering smoke. No one else sees what they did, of course, and it’s just the beginning of a new world for the two young people, who have the ability to manipulate stardust as “Fiddlers,” or, simply put, science-loving magicians. They become apprentices to learn more about their abilities and futures, but they also arrive at just the most dangerous time, when a strong and power-hungry magician whom many had thought dead for a century and a half is trying to make a comeback. A Sliver of Stardust is a fun magical adventure for young readers that incorporates Mother Goose rhymes; they are supposedly slightly changed versions of the Fiddlers’ “spells.” The idea is clever but it isn’t quite convincing enough; it feels like a bit of a stretch. The back cover also says the book is “perfect” for fans of A Wrinkle in Time, which is a high bar to set for readers’ expectations. It does not clear it, either, by a long shot. Though entertaining, this book is not one that will enchant readers of all ages and become a longtime favorite. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim
Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 11
Two keys remain after Earth Key has been found, and the remaining nine players of Endgame will stop at nothing to retrieve the Sky Key.
Moth Flight’s Vision by Erin Hunter
Strange visions drive a young WindClan cat named Moth Flight to leave her home on a journey that will change the future of the new warrior clans forever.
Bridget Wilder, Spy-in-Training by Jonathan Bernstein
An adopted middle child receives an unexpected package on an otherwise unremarkable birthday inviting her to join a super-secret division of the CIA.
Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot Vs. the Stupid Stinkbugs From Saturn by Dav Pilkey
Ricky Ricotta, his Mighty Robot, cousin Lucy and some friends set out to save mousekind from Stupid Stinkbugs from Saturn, with a little help from some special gum and taffy.
The Book of Shane: A Spirit Animals Novel by Nick Eliopulos
This collection of stories sheds light on the past, present and future of Shane, a would-be conqueror who has resolved to do whatever it takes to free his people.
The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester
In the wake of a prophecy that says they have the power to bring about great change, genius Conrad Harrington III teams up with Piper McCloud, the girl who could fly, to try to save the world and themselves.
How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue by Jess Keating
As her 13th birthday nears, Ana is very happily making a behind-the-scenes documentary at the zoo her parents run and delighted that her best friend, Liv, is visiting from New Zealand, but things start to fall apart when she brings her old and new friends together.
Book Reviews
Category
Nonfiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs By Andrew Gant Nelson Books, $19.99, 224 pages Check this out! Every song has a story, and some of the most interesting stories are those about Christmas carols. Andrew Gant is a musician, choirmaster, composer, university teacher and writer, who seems to have a particular love of carols and their history, and the expertise to bring those stories alive for the rest of us. Gant chose 20 Christmas carols to study, most of which are very familiar to most people in this country. He has included a very complete write-up of each, including the origin, composer if known, original lyrics, how the carol has evolved over the years and whatever other historical information he has been able to discover. He also includes the music and lyrics as a written score. Not all of these familiar songs started their musical lives as anything to do with Christmas. Some were pagan paeans or simply winter holiday songs before being adopted for Christmas and, in some cases, largely rewritten. While this is a very scholarly work, it doesn’t prevent Gant from flashing a wonderful sense of humor in his writing that keeps what could be very dry subject matter from becoming so. Anyone interested in music will enjoy reading this impressive work. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Soul to Soul: Poems, Prayers and Stories to End a Yoga Class By Compiled by John Mundahl Red Elixir, $16.95, 202 pages Check this out! Practicing yoga can be many different things to many different people, but there is no denying that for most, it’s a deeply introspective experience. Yoga classes especially can often border on spiritual for many practitioners, and that experience
can be furthered depending on how the instructor chooses to end the session. With a book like Soul to Soul, everyone is certain to leave class with something to think about. This book is a fantastic collection of poems, stories and other writings thoughtfully compiled by John Mundahl, a longtime yoga teacher. The works encompass a wide range of names, some well-known and others less-known. Each of these writings is a perfect way to conclude a yoga class, and many of the passages include inspirational quotes as well. This beautiful collection can benefit even those who do not teach classes by providing a focal point for at-home practice, or even those who prefer other types of mindfulness practices over yoga, as each passage would make a lovely focal-point for meditation. This is a beautiful collection that easily can be appreciated by many. Reviewed by Holly Scudero A Guide for Grown-ups: Essential Wisdom From the Collected Works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince) By Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $13.00, 96 pages Check this out! Though The Little Prince is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s most famous book, he wrote many more, and all are filled with philosophical and insightful quotations. His works have been translated into over a 100 languages and shared all over the world. This little volume is divided into six sections covering quotes that address Happiness, Friendship, Love, Responsibility, Fortitude and What Is Essential. Read-
ers can turn to any page and find something to inspire them, and it only takes a moment as each page contains only one quote. The shortest of these quotations is a mere six words in length. The longest is less than a half page. Yet each is something that will cause readers to become reflective about some aspect of their everyday lives. While this pithy little collection was first published in 2002, the publisher has brought out a new gift edition with a nice cardinal-red cloth cover with white-and-gold lettering and decoration. This is something that will make a welcome gift for many occasions, such as graduations, milestone birthdays and even weddings. One need not be a fan of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to find some real joy in reading this book. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck 1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways By John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, James Harkin W. W. Norton & Company, $15.95, 416 pages Check this out! Wouldn’t it be fun to have a compact little book chock-full of weird and fascinating factoids to carry around everywhere you go, to fill those odd moments with something more interesting than cellphone solitaire? The perfect answer to that question is here. This little book is just the right size to slip into your pocket, purse, briefcase or backpack. You might want to keep a copy in the car for long trips and maybe one in the bathroom or keep one on hand for parties. Would it surprise you to know Mozart kept a fart diary? He did. Did you know it is legal in 44 states to eat dogs? Ugh. It is. There’s even a little something in here about ladybugs having sex. The fun and engrossing facts found in this little gem are sometimes repulsive, sometimes lurid, sometimes goofy, but always interesting. One of the really nice things is there is a very comprehensive index so you can find everything, for instance, that is written about snakes (seven references) or eyes (eight references) or anything else you might be interested in. This is sure to become a favorite for a lot of readers. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck The Pleasure of Reading: 43 Writers on the Discovery of Reading and the Books That Inspired Them By Edited by Antonia Fraser Bloomsbury USA, $18.00, 352 pages Check this out! Reading is a kind of magic that harnesses and then unleashes the imagination, allowing entrance into myriad realms of thought and fantasy. In this collection of interviews,
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43 writers, primarily of British origin, reflect on how and when they first learned to read, the impact that the printed word had on their lives, and then, reluctantly, listed their 10 favorite books. In youth, many were encouraged, but others were discouraged from this pastime. Some of the authors speak of their attraction to the appearance of the book, some by the content and others simply by the mysterious symbols making up the words. Libraries were revered places to find treasured tomes. Many speak of their childhood admiration of the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, and Mark Twain with his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Through maturity, changed tastes and different books commanded consideration. The Bible is one reading that is consistently mentioned. Authors such as Ruth Rendell, Margaret Atwood, Tom Stoddard, Jan Morris and others reflect on these queries, and respond concisely or in thoughtful nostalgic detail. The reader will delight in comparing and relating to the reading habits and preferences of these professional providers of reading material. Reviewed by Aron Row Village of Immigrants: Latinos in an Emerging America (Rivergate Regionals Collection) By Diana R. Gordon Rutgers University Press, $27.95, 256 pages Check this out! America is a society of immigrants, from the founding of this country to modern day. And over time, we are going to become a majority-minority society, one in which no ethnic group will be the overwhelming majority. This book looks at one particular town on Long Island, New York, to explore how it has changed over the centuries as a place for immigrants to settle, and a place for Hispanics to work and live in the latter half of the 20th century into the 21st century, including their struggles, dreams and hopes for the future. This book continues to the rise of local microhistories. These are narratives that look at a particular community and try to interweave that community into the larger narrative, and, in this case, weave it into the immigration narrative. Diana Gordon does a good job bringing these immigrants to life, giving them a voice. By showing that they struggle to learn the language, get by in school and find
Book Reviews
meaningful employment, they are trying to make the American dream happen. But as with all stories of immigrants, there are those who do not want them around, and Mrs. Gordon does a good job showing that they exist as well. Reviewed by Kevin Winter Short Row Knits: A Master Workshop With 20 Learn-as-You-Knit Projects By Carol Feller Potter Craft, $22.99, 160 pages Check this out! Many have had the experience of receiving a lovely sweater, carefully handmade by a beloved grandmother or aunt. The yarn is beautiful and soft, the stitching even and complex, but still it looks as if she had used a cardboard box as a dress form. Wouldn’t it be great if that knitter had learned a method to put curves into the knitted fabric, allowing the finished garment to fit a person nicely? Well, this book is just the ticket for advanced knitters who wish to make garments that drape, flow and contour in ways that will make both the knitter and the recipient happy. The 20 projects in the book are completely explained with photographs, instructive drawings and specifically written patterns. The methods explained are Wrap & Turn, Japanese Short Row, Yarn-Over Short Row and German Short Row. The three sections – Short Row Techniques, Short Row Shaping and Short Rows in Garments – each include instructive sections, such as Basic Shapes or Shaping Bust Darts, as well as multiple projects using what the section teaches. Author Carol Feller is a designer and teacher, who has published three other books on knitting and has created more than 100 patterns published elsewhere. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Inside the Machine: Art and Invention in the Electronic Age By Megan Prelinger W. W. Norton & Company, $35.00, 272 pages Check this out! Cultural historian Megan Prelinger did an exceptional job with her new book Inside the Machine. With great writing, it’s perfectly suitable to the average interested lay reader as well as scientists, artists, technicians, computer programmers, all electronic gurus and everyone else in the electronic field. The two main topics of her subject are history of electronics from its early start in the 1880s (Edison’s Mazda lightbulb) through the ear-
Nonfiction ly days of computing in the 1960s and how artists illustrated the progress. The art was almost entirely commercial graphic art, and Prelinger illustrates her book with a large number of artwork mostly commissioned by major corporations for advertising. We see commercial advertising and posters created during the period, and their art was strongly influenced by many European artists who fled to the U.S. prior to World War II. These artists depicted the invisible and intangible of electronics into art form. We see connections between art and science, art and technology through these illustrations. Prelinger breaks the text into short sections for easy readability, and nine chapters according to topics from the early tubes to space electronics. She includes an extensive set of notes, references to figures and a good index. Reviewed by George Erdosh Charity Detox: What Charity Would Look Like If We Cared About Results By Robert D. Lupton HarperOne, $24.99, 208 pages Check this out! It’s been 51 years since then President Lyndon Johnson launched the war on poverty with $20 trillion of taxpayer money. And yet the overall percentage of people in poverty in this country has declined only slightly. Today, about 50 million Americans live below the poverty line. In Charity Detox, author Robert D. Lupton writes, “We have been led to believe that our volunteer service alleviates poverty … This is wrong. We cannot serve people out of poverty. If we truly do want to see the poor thrive, our entire way of thinking must change.” Lupton has invested more than 40 years in work to rebuild innercity neighborhoods in Atlanta. He is founder and president of Focused Community Strategies Urban Ministries, and has written extensively on well-meaning charitable work that doesn’t achieve results. “The reality is,” Lupton writes, “that without for-profit, wealth-generating businesses, the poor will remain at a subsistence level, scratching out an existence, their hopes and dreams shackled to the daily pressures of survival.” In this book, he describes programs that work and the lessons learned by those leading such programs. He writes about the critical need to partner with businesses, the benefits of investing rather than helping, and how social entrepreneurs are driven to find sustainable solutions to social problems. Charity Detox carries a message of great hope: Incorporating practices and goals
of well-run businesses can mean a better future for all of us. Reviewed by Molly Culbertson The Only Woman in the Room: Episodes in My Life and Career as a Television Writer By Rita Lakin Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, $29.99, 304 pages Check this out! TV writers’ rooms have typically been the domain of men. Even nowadays, men dominate the TV writing scene. So imagine what it was like trying to break into TV writing as a woman in the 1960s. Rita Lakin smashed her way through and succeeded where many expected her to fail, going on to thrive for decades as a respected, award-nominated, groundbreaking talent. The Only Woman in the Room chronicles her journey from heartbroken widow and aspiring writer to trailblazing TV show producer, writer, creator and showrunner (a job she helped define along the way). Through stormy relationships, institutionalized sexism and a monstrously competitive market, she created worthwhile, thoughtful hours of television that stand the test of time. Everyone could learn something from Lakin’s brutally honest look at her life, her triumphs and her struggles. Honestly, the only part I didn’t like was the part she confessed to conjuring herself: the framing device of the fictitious interviewer. It felt clunky and obtrusive, especially compared to her sincere, flowing narrative. The Only Woman in the Room is arguably more relevant now than ever. I hope many aspiring TV writers take a page from Lakin’s playbook. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Outside the Box: Hand-Drawn Packaging From Around the World By Gail Anderson Princeton Architectural Press, $40.00, 256 pages Check this out! Stop by a roadside stand and pick up a jar of raspberry jam. That hand-lettered label will charm the dollars out of your pocket. Small businesses have long found hand lettering a part of their success. Now, handlettered and designed labels and packaging are becoming big business. This delightful book takes a long, hard look
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at this phenomenon, and the beautiful work resulting from this trend. Author Gail Anderson, former senior art director for Rolling Stone and a partner in an award-winning design firm, studies 40 product or product line designs. For each, she has interviewed the design firm or person responsible, and readers are able to understand the process from concept to finished work. There is a short write-up on the designer or firm, a project description and questions very specific to each project — not the same questions for each one. In addition, there are several pages of close-up photographs of the project work, from the sketch stage to the finished product. All of this is beautifully rendered on heavy paper, in an 8-by-10-inch format. This belongs in the library of every design firm, packaging company, design class and advertising agency. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear By Elizabeth Gilbert Riverhead Books, $24.95, 276 pages Check this out! Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, Big Magic, returns with the marvelous voice used in Eat, Pray, Love. Gilbert brings creativity to life as an expression of the universe, as real and necessary as every individual, plant, thought or idea. Gilbert postulates that fear is an inevitable and constant companion, as real and palpable as individuality and creativity. Instead of trying to vanquish fear, the key is to accept it and give it space, and then proceed with an intrepidly brave spirit. When we allow this “Big Magic” within ourselves, we create a place for inspiration to appear. Gilbert uses personal examples to illustrate how inspiration struck her and flowed naturally to inspire her to create a new and marvelous story. Other times, she began a story only to put it aside. When she returned to her creation, she found the magic had left her and found another author to tell the story. Gilbert could have felt cheated that “her” story had been stolen. Instead she looked at the inspiration in its truest sense, an idea looking for someone with creativity to bring it to life. When she couldn’t, the idea traveled on to someone who could. Immensely readable, Big Magic introduces a fresh perspective on creativity and inspiration, showing the benefits of bravely acknowledging your fears and persevering. Gilbert doesn’t promise that big magic will deliver the next cultural shift, or bring fame and wealth. But she does assert that we can increase our own happiness and productivity as part of a wondrous, magical universe. Why should you read Big Magic? Because it just might help you overcome the numerous fears that stand between you and creativity. Reviewed by Kael Marsh, Customer Service assistant, Hardesty Regional Library
Book Reviews
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Science & Nature SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe By Lisa Randall Ecco, $29.99, 256 pages Check this out! Lisa Randall teaches us the secrets that dark matter holds in her new book, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs. She does this with the help of earlier astronomers and scholars who made certain obser vations that could not explain the way galaxies are held together by the then conventional mechanisms of cosmological theory. Through Randall’s brilliant research we see a universe unfold that is far grander than anyone at any time could have imagined. Her research and work help support a new view of the cosmos—one in which ideas today arose from what appeared to be fantasies of the past. She is a progressive thinker, a visionary capable of bridging the vast gulf between speculation and reality science, the forms of which have always been the spark that ignites new ideas and pushes thinkers progressively further along. The work is a compilation of these speculative views, yielding hope for a new generation of quest seekers to uncover these elusive truths about our untold universe. I applaud this professor of theoretical particle physics and cosmology. She is setting the course straight for future explorations of this amazing topic. She is a bright star in the cosmological constellation. Reviewed by D. Wayne Dworsky The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion By Wendy Williams Scientific American, $26.00, 320 pages Check this out! Horse-ranch owners, horse owner, horse lovers, large-animal veterinarians and all animal lovers must add The Horse to their collections. Although this is a
science book, author Wendy Williams is a journalist, with exceptional writing skill that resembles nothing like dry academic science writing. Her book reads almost like a good novel, filled with fascinating stories—dozens and scores of them, each one is a good reading, each one centered on horses. We learn about horses’ long evolution (over 56 million years), details of its physiology, psychology, survival under unusual conditions (thriving on a small uninhabited island in Canada’s far north left there 250 years ago), their training, their long partnership with humans, how light- and dark-colored horses survived under different climates and landscapes and so on. For example, as most horse owners know, acorns are toxic to horses but eating them is addictive, and under some local climatic conditions entire herds of wild horses die after a feast. Williams considered everything in their evolution, even geology and tectonics. She included relatively few illustrations. Many people consider wild-horse watching like others do whale watching. As befitting to a scientific publication, the book ends with extensive chapter-by-chapter notes. Reviewed by George Erdosh More Than Honey: The Survival of Bees and the Future of Our World By Markus Imhoof, Claus-Peter Lieckfeld Greystone Books, $19.95, 152 pages Check this out! Bees have been our allies since the dawn of man. Now their very existence is threatened, and by what? Filmmaker of the documentary More Than Honey, Markus Imhoof, and cofounder of the German ecological magazine
Natur, Claus-Peter Lieckfeld, joined to compose More Than Honey—the Survival of Bees and the Future of Our World. With brilliant, close-up photography and impeccable prose, this documentary comes to life. In addition to the authors’ portraying bees as the bases for big business in the food industry, their position in the ecology is welcoming and necessary. The authors consider the phylogeny of bees and where they are headed in the human world an extremely important investment of our human endeavors. Our dependence on them has been expanding all during man’s existence. Now, we appear to be arriving at a central crossroads, in which it would be devastating for human life to continue without their humble servant. I applaud the researchers who tirelessly represent the welfare of these dynamic creatures, and have come to appreciate their participation in our own well-being. We need more devoted scholarly servants who see the world through the needs of our existence. Reviewed by D. Wayne Dworsky
Last Light cont’d from Cover army defending Normandy, had more horses than tanks. Rommel’s troops were either too young or too old. When the Allies broke out of the Normandy beachhead, they had a 2-to-1 edge in combat troops and a 30-to-1 advantage in tanks. As much as Atkinson shares many tales of bravery and cunning by troops from both sides, the war in Europe was ultimately won by supply and logistics. For example, between 1942 and 1944, German-controlled oil refineries produced 23 million tons of fuel. In the same time frame, the U.S. produced 800 million tons of fuel. But Atkinson closes the final volume in the trilogy by reminding the reader of that which soldiers for millennia have known, that they fight for each other and their own survival; not necessarily altruistic values, but soldierly brotherhood. Reviewed by Mark Cotner, reference/ research librarian, Herman and Kate Kaiser Library
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Book Reviews
Category
Speculative Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Sustenance: A Novel of the Count SaintGermain By Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Tor, $29.99, 480 pages Check this out! Long the Grande Dame of historical fiction, letting us see the past through the sympathetic, superlatively intelligent eyes of her ethical vampire, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro takes us now into a world of overhyped counterintelligence. Following the Second World War, the latest incarnation of our observer, the Grof Szent-Germain, and his assistant, now Rogers, are in Copenhagen. And the anticommunist hysteria of some parts of the American government is seeping through the expatriate community. Often simply advocates for civil liberties, sometimes sympathetic to what they saw as the goodness of communism, that group, in the majority, were academics. Szent-Germain’s publishing houses, just regaining their footing after the war, become refuges for some of the expats, barred from print and income elsewhere. Among them is Professor Charis Treat, whose research into historical property solutions has seen her hounded from her university, her family and her country. Her relationship with the Grof is a true romance, with more than the usual openness regarding his obligate vampirism. Always superlatively researched and detailed, Yarbro’s novels are worth reading just for the history. Here, the different points of view slow the read down and do confuse a bit. I will reread nonetheless. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton Bell Weather: A Novel By Dennis Mahoney Henry Holt, $28.00, 400 pages Check this out! Dennis Mahoney’s first novel, Fellow Mortals, was published to fantastic reviews, named to Booklist’s “Top First Novel” list of 2013 and was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers selection. While Fellow Mortals was literary fiction, Mahoney assimilates into the world of magical realism, infusing his 18thcentury fantastical world (called Floria) with a
heaping of historical fiction. And he does so to great effect. Much like Jim Carrey’s character washing up ashore in Lawson, Calif., with amnesia in The Majestic, Bell Weather begins with protagonist, and the settlement of Root’s tavern keeper, Tom Orange, finding an amnesiac woman going in and out of consciousness by the river. As Tom takes her to the town doctor, it comes to light that she recently gave birth. Outside of that, there isn’t much known of the stranger—Molly, she’s called. However, as Bell Weather progresses, the secrets of Molly’s past come tumbling out. Bell Weather isn’t for all readers, but the world Mahoney has created—akin to Marquez’ Macondo, with a dash of Ron Rash’s The Cove, painted in colonial hue—is undeniably alive and animated, thanks to Mahoney’s lush imagery. The main characters Tom and Molly have palpable chemistry, and they’re certainly intriguing enough to keep the story going through its near 400-page total. No small feat, there. If you’re looking to escape the real world for a little while, fully immersed in a fantastical mystery, Bell Weather might be right for you. Reviewed by Dan Hajducky
molestation – all while Jane grows increasingly closer to giving birth to their child. Of Noble Family contains an incredibly, even eerily accurate description of a young husband’s anxiety over his wife during childbirth; Kowal caught those emotions and captured them perfectly. The continuing relationship of Vincent and Jane provides a satisfying love story, and all of the tension, drama and use of language for which Kowal has justly become successful are on display. That said, depictions of race in Of Noble Birth are a problem for the work. Kowal errs on the side of respect and caution - which is certainly the safer route when describing very sensitive subjects – but surely not every slave could speak with the education and polish of Olaudah Equiano, or display such remarkable resilience to constant physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Kowal’s depictions of race are resolved far too neatly and cleanly for any era, let alone a Caribbean slave plantation of the early 1800s. Still, Of Noble Family is a satisfying end to a very enjoyable series; fans of Kowal’s other work will similarly enjoy this one, as will most readers interested in historical fiction or Regency romance. Reviewed by Brett Peterson Half a War (Shattered Sea) By Joe Abercrombie Del Rey, $26.00, 384 pages Check this out! Half A War by Joe Abercrombie is the third book in the Shattered Sea series, and continues
Of Noble Family By Mary Robinette Kowal Tor Books, $26.99, 576 pages Check this out! Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal is the fifth and final installment in her Glamourist series, where Regency-era characters weave strands of magic into illusory glamours. Of Noble Family takes protagonists Jane and Vincent to Vincent’s estranged family’s slave plantations in the Caribbean. There, the protago- nists struggle to reconcile their own abolitionist sentiments with Vincent’s familial legacy of abuse and Tulsa Book Review • December 2015 • 15
the saga of Yarvi as he and his kingdom fall into the boiling pit of outright war. Yarvi has come a long way from the boy sold into slavery. Although his crippled hand still marks him as different in his often brutal world, his wits set him apart. And he has joined forces with a girl who will be a warrior at all costs. The saga continues in this page-urner of a fantasy novel that is often compared to George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson. Joe Abercrombie weaves a gritty, brutal world in this series. Yarvi is a sympathetic character, who grows from a naive boy to a cunning man through these pages. In this third book, we find Yarvi much matured, having faced and overcome much in his years. The book is fast-paced and thrilling, though the repeated use of “Mother This” and “Father That” by way of referring to both the gods and the advisers of kings on Earth gets tedious at certain points, but this is a mild criticism in an otherwise adventurous and wellexecuted book. Reviewed by Axie Barclay
39th annual adult
writing contest 2016 deadline: Jan. 31 • cash prizes awarded Children’s fiction • informal essay • poetry • short story entry forms are available at all tulsa city-county library locations or online at www.tulsalibrary.org/friends. sponsored by the friends of the tulsa city-county libraries.
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