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Books Reviewed in
2005 and 2006
Here are the Book of the Month Selections
reviewed to-date in 2005 and 2006. Interested in previous Book of the Month Selections? See our index by year since we started in 1997 or search on your own.
M Is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet by
Cynthia Furlong Reynolds, Ginny Joyner (illustrator)
In New England Vermonters welcomed
its state alphabet book, titled M is for Maple Syrup. With
colorful pages that focus the spotlight on the flora and fauna specific
to Vermont (and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream), the book utilizes a two-tiered
educational format where the rhyming verse appeals to younger readers
the substantive expository text proves an engaging tool for older
students. In Vermont, L is for Lake Champlain and R is for the Red
Clover, H is for Hermit Thrush and D is for Dairy.
Read what one reviewer, who ranked
the book with ,
has to say about this book:
I am an elementary school teacher and found this
book to be a great way to introduce Vermont to my students as part of
our fifty states theme unit. We've had fun learning new facts about each
of the states and this book, as part of the Discover America Alphabet
Series, is an ideal way to share the diversity of our states, their
traditions and to learn interesting facts about each one. The pictures
in this book are vivid and are great for sharing a special viewpoint of
Vermont. The facts are interesting and encourage and promote a child's
interest in the state. I highly recommend this book!
Great for ages 4-8.
My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson
A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man by Mary Bahr Fritts, Mary Bahr,
Laura Jacobsen (illustrator)
Following in the footsteps of
Jacqueline Briggs Martin's Snowflake Bentley (Houghton, 1998), this
picture-book biography covers the life of Bentley at a similar reading
level, but with a slightly different approach. Bahr's text, told from
the point of view of Bentley's older brother, goes for the emotional
heart of the story rather than a straight telling of the facts about the
man's life and work. As seen through Charlie's eyes, Wilson's pioneering
work in photographing snowflakes becomes secondary to the human
qualities that led him to persist in what many called a pointless task:
"That's the way I'll remember my brother. Always seeing the beauty.
Always sharing it. Always taking care not to hurt anything." Jacobsen's
illustrations have softer colors and less chunky lines than Mary
Azarian's woodcuts for Martin's book. Multiple boxed scenes on each
spread move the story along, and snowflakes spill joyfully through the
borders. An author's note gives additional information about Wilson
Bentley, but does not mention his brother at all, and it is not clear
where the information included in this "imaginary reminiscence" was
gathered. Still, the choice to use Charlie's voice creates an
affectionate and moving portrait of a dedicated man, and, for all its
similarities to Martin's book, this biography has a unique charm of its
own.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia
Great for ages 4-8.
Knee-Deep in Blazing Snow: Growing Up in
Vermont by James Hayford, X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy,
Michael McCurdy (illustrator)
Nobody
wrote better poems of Vermont life than the late James Hayford, beloved
in his home state and too little known elsewhere. "Distilled genius,"
says J. Patrick Lewis. This book collects the ones we think children
will go for, arranged by the four seasons: about such things as
nighttime milking, swims in a secret pond, the bliss of putting on
snow-soaked socks warmed on a radiator. Michael McCurdy, widely
acclaimed for his wood engravings and scratchboard work, supplies 27
black-and-white illustrations of starkly detailed beauty. Photograph of
Hayford, biographical sketch, and introduction by the Kennedys.
Read what one reviewer, who ranked
the book with,
has to say about this collection of poetry:
This gentle book of poetry is
wonderful and would make a good gift for anyone fond of New England and
the outdoors, be they child or adult. James Hayford was encouraged by
meeting Robert Frost when young, and went on to be an evocative, if
unjustly overlooked, poet. The title of the book suggests his grasp of
imagery, and skilful rhyme and meter predominate throughout. In the
Frost tradition, Hayford's style is not flowery, but simple and direct.
In four sections (one devoted to each season, as expertly selected by
the book's editors), he celebrates the simple joys of jumping in hay,
spotting wildlife, playing in snow, trains in the distance, etc.
Gorgeous black and white scratchboard illustrations by Michael McCurdy
add to the quiet enjoyment.
Great for ages 9 -12.
A Christmas Like Helen's by Natalie
Kinsey-Warnock, Mary Azarian
Children (and their parents!) will
delight in this story of Christmas long ago, set on a Vermont farm
before cars, telephones or electricity. The story is rich with images of
a life so different from today, complemented by Mary Azarian's beautiful
hand-colored woodcuts. the farmhouse, barn, one-room schoolhouse and
horse-drawn sleigh all come to life on the page. A wonderful book to
read aloud. Ages 4 to 8.
January 2005:
Cursed in New England: Stories of Damned Yankees by
Joseph A. Citro
A salty profanity uttered by a
taciturn old Yankee is generally more humorous than menacing, but can a
curse really be used as a weapon? In Cursed in New England,
renowned storyteller Joe Citro recounts seventeen tales of genuine
maledictions intended to invoke evil, injury, or total destruction
against others.
Inside these pages you'll read
about curses that were followed by mysterious afflictions in
Massachusetts, a ghostly presence in a church in Rhode Island, a river
of death in Maine, an unaccountable blight in New Hampshire, unexplained
madness in Connecticut, and other eerie happenings from New England's
colorful history.
Citro vividly brings these stories
to life, letting you decide whether the resulting tragedies were simply
bad luck, coincidences...or something far more sinister.
Here is what one Amazon.com
reviewer wrote: "Joe Citro has
written an entertaining and enlightening book, about the dark side of
the paranormal, the little discussed vexations and scourges of places
and people, with wit and humor. Journey with him, for example, across
time and space, from the 1700s' jinxed Salem witchcraft mania to the
21st century's drownings in the cursed Saco River. It felt like Citro
was in my front room, talking to me about these stories, his style is
that comforting. I especially liked his 'Author's Notes' at the end of
each section, where he gives his candid and often frank overviews of the
events just surveyed. Highly recommended."
-- Loren Coleman
This book was given
 by
Amazon.com reviewers.
See our INDEX by year
since we started reviewing in 1997.
If you are interested in ordering these
books, they are available in our Country
Bookstore. Click on the link
above to view more
descriptive information, pricing and/or order from the Amazon.com catalog or search on your own.
If you would
like to review a Vermont book for us, send us email.
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