Shelf Talk, April 4

Here are some reading recommendations from the Dripping Springs Community Library for the first week of April, chatted up by Century News columnist Alice Adams.

CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT

THE RUNAWAY PANCAKE by Mairi Mackinnon. From the USBORNE First Reading Series, this book takes me back to personal first reading experiences where some books were read on 78 records with the book allowing us to follow along. This is one of eight titles in the popular "First Reading" series re-issued with hardback covers and audio CDs inserted into a wallet inside the back cover, making this book and CD easy to store together. "The Young Reading" series is developed with reading expert Alison Kelly from Roehampton University to help young readers grow in confidence and ability.

I’M NOT READING! by Jonathan Allen.  Adorable, irresistible Baby Owl (I'm Not Sleepy!) is back—and now in board! This time, he has a beloved book in hand and he's eager to begin. But then along comes Tiny Chick, who begs Baby Owl to read to him. Before you can say “once upon a time,” they're joined by a crowd: Tiny Chick's brothers and sisters and cousins and friends all want a story, too. Soon Baby Owl is smothered by lots of fluffy chicks. How can he EVER read? Fantastic fun with a favorite character.

YOUNG ADULT DEPARTMENT

96 WORDSFor Love by Rachel Roy and Ava Dash.  Ever since her acceptance to UCLA, 17-year-old Raya Liston has been quietly freaking out. She feels simultaneously lost and trapped by a future already mapped out for her.Then her beloved grandmother dies, and Raya jumps at the chance to spend her last free summer at the ashram in India where her grandmother met and fell in love with her grandfather. Raya hopes to find her center and her true path. But she didn't expect to fall in love... with a country of beautiful contradictions, her fiercely loyal cousin, a local girl with a passion for reading, and a boy who teaches her that in Sanskrit, there are 96 different ways to say the word "love."A modern retelling of the classic Indian legend of Shakuntala and Dushyanta, 96 Words for Love is a coming-of-age story about finding yourself in unexpected places.

SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson. From Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reckoners series, Words of Radiance, and the internationally bestselling Mistborn series, comes the first book in an epic new series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war for humanity's future.
Spensa's world has been under attack for decades. Now pilots are the heroes of what's left of the human race, and becoming one has always been Spensa's dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring skyward and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father's--a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa's chances of attending flight school at slim to none.
No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, yet fate works in mysterious ways. Flight school might be a long shot, but she is determined to fly. And an accidental discovery in a long-forgotten cavern might just provide her with a way to claim the stars.

ADULT DEPARTMENT

GOOD RIDANCE by Elinor Lipman.  Daphne Maritch doesn't quite know what to make of the heavily annotated high school yearbook she inherits from her mother, who held this relic dear. Too dear. Mom, the late June Winter Maritch was the teacher to whom the class of '68 had dedicated its yearbook, and in turn she went on to attend every reunion, scribbling notes and observations after each one—not always charitably—and noting who overstepped boundaries of many kinds.
In a fit of decluttering, Daphne discards it when she moves to a small New York City apartment. But when it's found in the recycling bin by a busybody neighbor/documentary filmmaker, the yearbook's mysteries—not to mention her own family's—take on a whole new urgency, and Daphne finds herself entangled in a series of events both poignant and absurd. Good Riddance is a pitch-perfect, whip-smart new novel from an "enchanting, infinitely witty yet serious, exceptionally intelligent, wholly original, and Austen-like stylist" (Washington Post). 

HENTOPIA: CREATING A HASSLE-FREE HABITAT FOR HAPPY CHICKENS – 21 INNOVATIVE PROJECTS by Frank Hyman. More eggs, less work! And more enjoyment for both the chickens and their keeper! That’s the promise of Frank Hyman’s Hentopia.From the Vending Machine Feeder to the Refilling Rainwaterer, Hyman’s innovative building projects are designed to save time and money while keeping chickens safe, healthy, clean, and well fed. Featuring easy-to-follow instructions and colorful photos, the 21 projects for the chicken yard range from creative doorways, nest boxes, fencing, and roosts to a predator-proof pen, a “Chunnel” chicken run, and a sturdy but inexpensive coop made from wooden pallets. With a lively, humorous voice, Hyman generously shares his expert advice on all aspects of chicken-keeping. Requiring minimal previous carpentry experience and using many salvaged or found materials, Hentopiais within reach of every aspiring chicken-keeper.