Once again, crazy December days in the bookstore have me thinking books 24/7; from my customers' lists, to my own shopping lists, to the book-idea requests from friends that arrive in my inbox. I would not have it any other way. With little time to write, I wanted to drop you a quick list of new gift books for 2012.

The Insomniacs (Wolf)
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (Willems)
This Moose Belongs to Me (Jeffers)

For adults:
The Night Circus (Morgenstern)

And, as I say to all my customers: happy reading!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mockingbird . . . I wonder

I'd put money on it that (in a random poll), Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird would sweep the Book Most Often Named 'My Favorite' Book category. Not for nothing is it a book (and author) surrounded by speculation and myth, mocked (pardon the pun) and parodied, required and studied . . . and probably even avoided--by students who'd rather just watch the movie. It's most recent tribute comes from Paul Acampora's book I Kill the Mockingbird . Three students who adore Lee's novel decide to go renegade and start a reading revolution--by "disappearing" copies of the book in libraries and bookstores across their state. While they don't actually steal the books, things get out of hand as their revolution goes viral--books do get stolen, and the real reason behind their revolution gets muddied and confused. Acampora is great with dialogue, the book moves quickly and feels very honest and realistic. It's in the teen section, but I didn't s
Read more

The Last Unicorn: Collecting Immortality

I have six copies of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle on my shelf. I used to collect them under the pretense of "giving them away"--and indeed, I have--everyone who knows me has a copy. However, my current six copies have become part of my being and are unlikely to be gifted. The Last Unicorn is the story of the world's last unicorn and her journey to discover why she is the last. You may remember the old movie (soundtrack by America, voiced by Mia Farrow and Angela Landsbury , among others), both haunting and silly. However, far from being just a children's book The Last Unicorn is a story for children and adults that pushes us to explore a fantasy world--and the world inside our own dreams and hearts. What is immortality worth? Can we capture it and hold it? Does true magic exist? Are we fooling ourselves out of magic and beauty every day in our attempts to define? From page one, we become aware that Beagle is a masterful word conjurer: "[the unicorn]
Read more

An Ode to Orange Vegetables

If ever I were to become attached to a vegetable, it would surely be a squash. Or a sweet potato. Which is why Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller became an instant favorite. Sophie's parents find the perfect squash at the farmers' market--perfect for cuddling, doing somersaults, rocking to sleep at night--in Sophie's opinion. Of course, as Sophie's love for her little baby grows, her squash grows a little old, a little . . . mushy . . . At the advice of a farmer, Sophie puts her squash to sleep under a bed of leaves for the winter. You can imagine her surprise in the spring! The illustrations are adorable, the humor is charming (Sophie defends her squash as having "freckles" when classmates comment on its less-than-ideal appearance), and the story is a nice message about the circle of plantlife. I look forward to reading this book to my little pumpkin godbaby.
Read more