Surprise! Surprise!

Surprise! Surprise!
by
Gyo Fujikawa
board book
ages 18 months - 4 years

Rabbit is a trickster and the other animals don't trust him. Animals are frolicking around one day and trying to decided what to do to entertain themselves. They decide to jump over a fence and see what is on the other side. Surprise! You have to read the story to find out what is on the other side of the fence.

Unfortunately, the ending is ruined because the publisher put a picture of the ending on the front cover. So much for the surprise. What were they thinking?

Overall I enjoyed the pictures of the animals more than the text. The scruffy dog was my favorite picture.

I can't help but read the title as if someone from Mayberry was saying it.

Family Storms

Family Storms
by
V. C. Andrews
(ghostwriter, V. C. Andrews has been dead for some time now)
young adult/adult fiction

Family Storms by V. C. Andrews. V. C. Andrews has been dead for some time now, so this is ghostwritten. Sasha's life is at a low - she and her mother are homeless. It sinks lower when her mother is killed by a druggie driver. Her luck changes when she is taken in as a foster child, but rich families are not all they seem and the foster mother and sister both have sinister agendas...

I have not read any V. C. Andrews' books for a while. I was disappointed that this book was not as creepy as I had hoped. There was some secret/menacing stuff, but not as bad as the incest and other topics in previous works.

Alice I Have Been

Alice I Have Been
by
Melanie Benjamin

adult historical fiction

The author has done a lot of research on Lewic Carroll, Oxford, and the girl that inspired Alice in Wonderland. She has written a realistic novel that speaks of the conventions of the day and the proper upbringing of an Oxford Don's daughter. Alice is always being told to be "prim and proper and for heaven's sake, don't run or soil your dress. Be a lady at all times".
One of the fascinating plot points is a photograph that was taken by Lewis Carroll of the real Alice. She is dressed up like a wild, tattered, gypsy child. One can only guess how this photo managed to be taken. Alice must have slipped out of the grasp of her governess for a while.
Alice leads a life of boring parties, sedate catered affairs, and later, managing a household, but does she sometimes dream?
Because of the lasting popularity of Alice and Lewis Carroll, I recommend this book for larger public libraries.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by
Jamie Ford
adult historical/romance fiction

Henry is Chinese American, born in Seattle, Washington twelve years ago. Keiko is Japanese American, also born in Seattle twelve years ago. They are the only Asian students in their public school in 1942. As such, they are both outsiders and ridiculed. Their friendship develops as the school year goes on and as World War II escalates Keiko's family is increasingly ostracized. Henry's father is one person who can not stand that his son, whom he sees as Chinese, not American, can possibly be friends with the enemy. Japan is not only at war with the U.S.A. but with China. Even before WWII Japan had been bombing China.
Henry and Keiko see themselves first as Americans. Why can't other people understand this? In addition to the hatred between the Chinese and the Japanese, the children enjoy Black music - specifically Seattle based jazz. Again, they don't see a problem with this.
This book is, as the title implies, a sweet and bitter story. These children who are on the verge of adulthood are innocent and naive, but the world is spinning out of their control. Keiko is taken away to an internment camp. Henry is expected to go to China to study after the war dies down. Can their fledgling friendship, or is it love, survive?
This is a very well written novel I would recommend for teenagers, adults, and senior citizens alike. It is more likely to appeal to females, but men like it for the jazz scene or other aspects of the book. I can safely recommend this to our gentle readers who do not want sex or violence in their reading.

Still Alice

Still Alice
by
Lisa Genova
adult fiction

Alice is a successful professor at Harvard. She has a good family life and takes care of herself. None of this matters to the disease that confronts her. She is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. The unique take on this book is that it is told from the patient's viewpoint. She knows she will be going downhill and has to prepare for this. She is still herself, but knows that she will be forgetting more and more.
It is heartbreaking and a book that is hard to put down. I stayed up late reading it - each time thinking "no!" as she declines in health.
A discussion guide and interview with the author are included. This is a must read book for family, friends, and patients dealing with dementia.
A fellow librarian noted the lovely cover with the blue butterfly and the pages with butterfly silhouettes.

The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy

The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West: Popular Culture and Philosophy
by Randall E. Auxier and Phillip S. Seng
adult nonfiction.

Being a Wonderful Wizard of Oz fan I thought I would enjoy this book. The problem is that this book is a series of serious essays about philosophy as seen in the MGM movie "The Wizard of Oz".
I now realize that I know NOTHING about philosophy. In college I took psychology and world religions and those met my liberal arts requirements so I didn't take a philosophy class. Right away the authors start discussing Plato and Socrates and Langer and Kant. I had no idea what they were talking about.
This is probably a perfectly fine book for a philosophy major or someone who has read a medium to large amount of information about philosophy. That wasn't me. I gave up on the book after browsing a number of essays. The essay about "The Wiz" looked pretty good, but I would have to watch the movie again to remind myself what happened in that film.

Let Them Eat Cake

Let Them Eat Cake
by
Sandra Byrd
Adult Christian Fiction
Alexandra (Lexi) is out of college and still trying to find her way in life. She is a Christian, but doesn't know what to do with God. Is he still out there? Is he directing her life? A little direction would help, God!
She tries a few jobs, but none seem like the right thing for her. She dates some, but doesn't want to give her heart to the wrong man. She is looking for an apartment, but that isn't working out so well, either.
Like many people of her age (mid twenties) she is drifting. Things start to look up when she takes a low paying job in a French bakery. As a French culture studies major she has always wanted to go to France, but the closest she got was French Canada. Could this bakery job be the break for which she has been waiting? Her boss is a very cute French guy, too. Might he be the one?
I found that I could completely relate to Lexi's situation - been there, done that!
The note on the back of the book says that she is know for writing teen fiction. It looks like her characters have grown up with her readers.
This is a light, pleasant read and better than many others on the Christian Fiction shelf next to it. Even if the reader has left her twenties behind her, it is still good to be reminded that we don't all know where we are going - we just need to keep on relying on God. I won't tell you the ending, but I was proud of the author for not going for the standard, predictable ending.
This book can be read by men, but it is intended for a female audience.
Now that I look at the cover, I see that this is by WaterBrook Press - one of my three favorite publishers (Tor and Daw are the others).
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/

Postmistress

Postmistress: A Novel
by
Sarah Blake
adult historical fiction

I was a bit reluctant to pick up yet another romance/chick lit book set during WWII or the Civil War. I think these stories are overdone and I would rather explore a different time period. How about the Korean War? Crimean War? Spanish Civil War? War of 1812? Texas Independence? Give me something original!
That being said, this was a perfectly fine novel that follows three ladies - a gung ho American reporter that goes to London to cover the news, a doctor's wife who is left wondering about her husband working in London, and the postmistress at home in Massachusetts. They are all looking for order and sense in this seemingly senseless war. The reporter is trying to figure out what the Nazis plans for the Jews are.
I recommend this for the wide audience of 18-100 year old lady readers, but I wish she had chosen a less-explored time period. Maybe her next book will be more original.
Kudos to the author for letting her postmistress be a postmistress instead of dumbing down our language to make all females exactly the same as males. I think postmistress and aviatrix and executrix and actress are perfectly fine words that do not need to be abandoned.
- A word from the Library MISTRESS

Margarets

Margarets
by
Sheri Tepper
Adult Science Fiction

I saw this book on a number of Best lists, but when I browsed it I saw that the author used a lot of sci fi weird names, so that put me off. Do you know what I mean? Weird sci fi names use the K' and T' and a whole lot of consonants in a row like a Slavic language.
Since it had been highly recommended, I decided to try it anyway. The plot is original and fascinating. One girl - Margaret - somehow splits off into being 7 different people on 7 colonies of Earth. In the end, the Margarets must work together to combat a great evil that threatens to wipe out humanity. The discussable part is how we can become different people based on the decisions we make about our lives. One Margaret marries a doctor and they go off to be medical missionaries on a low tech planet. One does not marry. They then become two different people.
This is a very rewarding book, but I would not recommend it to people who don't like sci fi already. Not everyone enjoy the cat aliens, the waygates, and other sci fi machinations.

Barbie in a Mermaid Tale

Barbie in a Mermaid Tale
Step into Reading, Reading with Help, Step 2
(Preschool - Grade 1)
adapted by Christy Webster
based on the original screenplay by Elise Allen
illustrated by Ulkutay Design Group and Pat Kakula
children's fiction
ages 4-7

This 32 page adaptation from a direct to video Barbie film uses large, easy to read fonts, and colorful cartooning. Surfer girl, Merliah, goes on a big adventure under the sea with her trusty sidekick, the dolphin, Zuma.
The good news for feminists is that Merliah is not consumed with fashion, but having adventures and rescuing the ocean from certain doom.
For some reason the back cover says "What this book is about.. Barbie in a Mermaid Tale (tm) Marisa is a mermaid princess. Can she save the ocean from her evil sister?"
The main character is Merliah, not Marisa, so the cover got that wrong.
The evil mermaid is her aunt, not her sister, so the cover got that wrong, too.
Reading thirty two pages was too much to ask of the cover editor?

Buzby

Buzby (an I Can Read book)
by
Julia Hoban and John Himmelman
audiocassette and book
ages 4-7
Buzby the cat wants a job. He figures that the want ad asking for a Busboy really means they want him - Buzby. The book seems like a Laurel and Hardy or Three Stooges skit. Buzby means well, but misinterprets so many things! The book is goofy fun for young readers.

Little Island

Little Island
by
Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard
first published under the pseudonym Golden McDonald
Children's Fiction, ages 4-6.
Caldecott Winner. Published in 1946.

I figured since I don't have much time right now for reading, I would try to do some quality reading of children's picture books like Caldecott winners or maybe read some books for older readers that have won the Newbery award.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal.cfm
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberywinners/medalwinners.cfm
This is quiet, thoughtful book good for bedtime or other calm reading times. An island experiences chances during the four seasons. The tide rolls in. The tide rolls out. The drawings use only a few colors but very effectively convey the ebb and flow of life and time on an island.
If you grew up on an island this might remind you of home. If you have vacationed on an island you can reminisce. If neither, then that is what books are for - dreaming!
I don't remember the exact words to this book, but I find myself reciting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -
The tide rises,
The tide falls,
The twilight darkens,
The curlew calls...

Oh, yes. Twelfth grade American Literature class.