Book of the Week (6/27/2022) and more...

NH author Linda Reilly returns with the second book in her "Grilled Cheese Mysteries" series!

"The second book in a delicious culinary cozy series—the muensters have arrived in Balsam Dell in this Halloween cozy mystery featuring a grilled cheese shop owner turned amateur sleuth.

After a long hot summer in Balsam Dell, Carly Hale is ready for crisp Vermont weather and gourmet grilled cheeses at her Grilled Cheese Eatery. And the upcoming Halloween food competition is the perfect way to impress the locals.

But Ferris Menard, the owner of Sub-a-Dub-Sub, is nursing a serious grudge against Carly. Two days before the competition, one of Carly's employees quit his part-time gig at Menard's sub shop, sending Menard into a serious snit. In a confrontation at the Eatery, Menard accused Carly of sabotage and vowed to bring her down.

That's when Menard's body is found in his kitchen the morning after the competition, a steak knife sticking out of his heart. But Menard had a slew of enemies, and if Carly doesn't figure out which one is the culprit, she might find herself—or someone she cares about—serving grilled cheese sandwiches under lock and brie!" --Publisher's blurb

   

 A tale about self-confidence and taking a leap of faith, starring a kingfisher. Sometimes, you might fall down, down, down, before you learn to fly up, up, up…

This book was selected as an ALA Notable Children’s Book and a Caldecott Honor Book.

About Corey R. Tabor

Corey R. Tabor is the author and illustrator of, among other titles, Snail Crossing which won the 2021 Ladybug Picture Book Award. He lives in Seattle with his wife and son and spends his time making pictures and stories. His website is  http://www.coreyrtabor.com

Activities & Links

• Watch the author read his book for Barnes & Noble Storytime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ5mRq9g4es
• Publisher's activity guides: https://b0f646cfbd7462424f7a-f9758a43fb7c33cc8adda0fd36101899.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/activity-guides/AG-9780062878014.pdf
  
• Learn about kingfishers: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/kingfisher

We will be posting information about a different nominee each Friday throughout the summer and will issue a pdf voters guide featuring all ten titles at Labor Day.

   

"A father’s grief for his son. A daughter’s grief for her father. And a love story that crossed continents and an ocean, coming to rest in a tiny New Hampshire town. This small state has more than enough heart, sending men and women to fight for freedom around the world. New Hampshire military personnel have distinguished themselves in every war from the French and Indian War to the dusty mountains of Afghanistan. The Granite State continues to honor their sacrifices, memorializing their stories in statues, bridges, buildings and highways. Join Kathleen and Sheila Bailey as they recount the stories behind the stones." --Publisher's blurb

   

In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book by presidential inaugural poet and activist Amanda Gorman, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes--big or small--in the world, in their communities, and, most importantly, in themselves. Change Sings is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference.

About Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, she began writing at only a few years of age.  Her website is  https://www.theamandagorman.com/

About Loren Long

Loren Long is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Otis picture books, the first of which was nominated for the Ladybug Picture Book Award in 2010. He has also illustrated several other previous Ladybug nominees. The Otis series has been developed as an animated television series, Get Rolling With Otis, on Apple TV, which Long executive produced. Learn more at https://lorenlong.com/#about

Activities & Links

• Hear Amanda Gorman read her poem at the 2021 Presidential inaguration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ055ilIiN4
• Resources on this book from the Seedlings Education Cooperative: https://seedlingseducatorscollaborative.org/2021/10/20/activities-to-pair-with-change-sings-by-inaugural-poet-amanda-gorman/
  
• Hear what different instruments sound like in this video from Happy Sunshine Friends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjJcGlQraek'
• Fun Poetry Activities from the Education to the Core Blog: https://educationtothecore.com/2020/11/10-fun-poetry-activities-for-elementary-students/ 
• Community giving ideas from Scholastic:  https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/parent-child/10-fun-community-giving-ideas.html
  

   

Hancock, NH author Larry Duberstein's latest book approaches the little-known world of hospice singing.   

"From the author of The Marriage Hearse, a New York Times New & Noteworthy selection, and The Handsome Sailor, a New York Times Notable Book, comes a new novel that explores the little-known world of hospice singing-home visit concerts for the dying-through the surprising relationship between one of the singers, 66-year-old Ian Nelson, and a beautiful young woman, Anita Richardson, to whom his choir sings.

Ian, retired from a career as a high school guidance counselor, long married, and the father of two, considers himself an ordinary man. He is intelligent, engaging, more attractive than he seems to know, and, as the son of a minister, determinedly moral. Meeting Anita threatens it all. His attraction and connection to this much younger woman-who, to complicate matters, is dying-upends his quiet New England life.

In richly detailed, finely honed prose threaded through with Larry Duberstein's characteristic humor and compassion, The Hospice Singer explores the hidden complexities of life in small town America." --Publisher's blurb