By Jan Pease
I’m not sure what got me on that tangent, but
I think Liz Braswell is to blame. She
has a degree in Egyptology and spent ten years producing video games. She sounds like the kind of quirky person I
would like to have as a friend. Her new
books are what she calls “Twisted Tales” as they are Disney stories with an
unusual twist. For example, what if Belle’s
mother was the one who cursed the beast?
How would that change “Beauty and the Beast?” What if Aladdin had never found the
lamp? Watch for the titles “A Whole New
World,” and “As Old as Time,” both published by Disney Press.
Nicholas Gannon asks “Have you ever wanted to
hold a piece of the impossible?” His new
book, “The Doldrums,” itself looks like an impossible thing. This is a long book (340 pages) with
beautiful, full-color illustrations, which are rare in “chapter books.” Three friends, Archer, Adelaide, and Oliver
try to go on an adventure which never quite gets off the ground. This is a slow moving book that would be a
perfect companion for a rainy, cold day this spring.
What do you get when your writing team
consists of a former NFL star defensive player with a degree in English and a
law degree plus a legendary All Star and World Series baseball player? It means your writing team is Tim Green and
Derek Jeter. They have collaborated on a new book, “Baseball Genius,” that
looks like the start of a new series featuring a character that has the ability
to tell what pitch a pitcher will throw.
The second book in the series is “Baseball Genius #2: Double Play.” I’m sure that Tim Green’s writing ability
added to Derek Jeter’s character and baseball knowledge will be a winning
combination.
Sometimes books are written in answer to the question
“what if?” Randall Munroe, a former NASA
employee and blogger published a book titled, “What If: Serious Scientific
Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Question.” His blog is called xkcd.com, and includes very funny web comics and answers to silly questions asked by real readers. An example is, "Would a toaster still work in a freezer?"The book is available here
at Litchfield library and several other libraries in Pioneerland Library
System. The answer is, yes, but it might make the freezer overheat, since
toasters toast at about 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
I’m not sure what got me on that tangent, but
I think Liz Braswell is to blame. She
has a degree in Egyptology and spent ten years producing video games. She sounds like the kind of quirky person I
would like to have as a friend. Her new
books are what she calls “Twisted Tales” as they are Disney stories with an
unusual twist. For example, what if Belle’s
mother was the one who cursed the beast?
How would that change “Beauty and the Beast?” What if Aladdin had never found the
lamp? Watch for the titles “A Whole New
World,” and “As Old as Time,” both published by Disney Press. 
Nicholas Gannon asks “Have you ever wanted to
hold a piece of the impossible?” His new
book, “The Doldrums,” itself looks like an impossible thing. This is a long book (340 pages) with
beautiful, full-color illustrations, which are rare in “chapter books.” Three friends, Archer, Adelaide, and Oliver
try to go on an adventure which never quite gets off the ground. This is a slow moving book that would be a
perfect companion for a rainy, cold day this spring.
What do you get when your writing team
consists of a former NFL star defensive player with a degree in English and a
law degree plus a legendary All Star and World Series baseball player? It means your writing team is Tim Green and
Derek Jeter. They have collaborated on a new book, “Baseball Genius,” that
looks like the start of a new series featuring a character that has the ability
to tell what pitch a pitcher will throw.
The second book in the series is “Baseball Genius #2: Double Play.” I’m sure that Tim Green’s writing ability
added to Derek Jeter’s character and baseball knowledge will be a winning
combination.
Look for beautiful new copies of Lois Lowry’s
book, “Number the Stars,” and E.L. Konisburg’s book, “From the Mixed-up Files
of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.” Copies of
these books had been loved to death, so we purchased replacements. We also replaced the first four Nancy Drew
mysteries, and the first four Hardy Boys Mysteries. To read more books in those series, please
request them through the Pioneerland Library catalog.
