“10 Button Book”

Tags

10 Button Book, board book, Books, children, double-thick, manipulatives, spine, tactile objects, William Accorsi

10 Button Book (Workman Publishing, 1999)

Little kids love to count. They also love books with manipulatives (books that have tactile objects incorporated in). 10 Button Book is such a book. Folk artist William Accorsi penned the story and is presented on a double-thick board book using ten strong government safety-tested plastic buttons attached by ten strong colorful ribbons that are all bound to the spine.

“Spinster’s Song”

Tags

awfullibrarybooks.net, Books, old fashioned, romance, Spinster's Song

Spinster’s Song (Silhouette Intimate Moments, 1984)

In a stroke of genius, Michigan librarians Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner have decided to be real. Not every book stays relevant and sometimes the library needs to “weed” out or “purge” bad books. So they started a blog, which has now become a full-fledged website (www.awfullibrarybook.net)

One such removed book is Spinster’s Song. Not really because there’s anything “wrong” with the book, besides being a predictable romance novel. But Kelly justifies it like this: “This story is about a doctor named Mary, evidently destined for spinsterhood. Of course there is a the local playboy Rafe and he starts putting the moves on our poor, love starved doctor. Of course he gets the girl and it is more than a casual affair. But I bet you knew that.”

“Picnic: 125 Recipes with 29 Seasonal Menus”

Tags

Books, cookbooks, DeeDee Stovel, picnic, recipes

Picnic: 125 Recipes with 29 Seasonal Menus (Storey Publishing, 2001)

Whether you’re heading to a neighborhood park, a music festival or the top of a mountain, DeeDee Stovel will show you how to create a tasty outdoor dining experience. You’ll be amazed at the variety of foods that are suited for outdoor eating.

“To the Beach!”

Tags

Books, children's, illustrated, Linda Ashman, Nadine Bernard Westcott, To the Beach!

To the Beach! (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2005)

In this children’s book, a family decides to head to the beach. Unfortunately on their way, they realize they forgot certain items. In fact, the family spends most of the day having to go back home to search for unpacked items. Does the family ever make it to the beach?

To the Beach! was written by American author Linda Ashman and illustrated by American illustrator Nadine Bernard Westcott.

“Cats at Work”

Tags

1990s, Abbeville Press, Books, Cats at Work, New York City, real life, Rhonda Gray, shopcats, Stephen T. Robinson

Cats at Work (Abbeville Press, 1991)

Author Rhonda Gray found real life shopcats in New York City and had photographer Stephen T. Robinson take their photos. The perfect book for the cat lover in your life. Or if you need to spend some time with some kitties or just need a friend while you shop, check out the stores and go pet some cats.

“The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow”

Tags

Books, children, grandfather, illustrated, Nancy Cote, Sean Callahan, St. Patrick's Day parade, The Leprechaun who Lost His Rainbow

The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow (Albert Whitman & Company, 2010)

In The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow, a young girl helps a leprechaun build a rainbow. She sacrifices her favorite things so that the sun will shine on her grandfather while he plays the bagpipes in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Her generosity is rewarded and she is able to make a very special connection with her grandfather. This sweet story was written by Sean Callahan and illustrated by Nancy Cote.

“What Makes a Baby”

Tags

21st century, birth, Books, conception, Cory Silverburg, Fiona Smyth, gestation, illustrated, inclusive, sexuality educator, What Makes a Baby

What Makes a Baby (Seven Stories Press, 2013)

Written by sexuality educator Cory Silverberg and illustrated by award-winning Canadian artist Fiona Smyth, What Makes a Baby is a twenty-first century children’s picture book about conception, gestation and birth and reflects the reality of modern time by being inclusive of all kids, adults and families. The book is intended to start a conversation for children from preschool to age eight.

“The Housekeeper and the Professor”

Tags

80 minutes, Books, equations, head injury, Hon'ya Taisho award, Japanese, math, short term memory, The Housekeeper and the Professor, Yoko Ogawa

The Housekeeper and the Professor (Shinchosha , 2003)

The Housekeeper and the Professor tells the story of two people. He is a brilliant math professor who suffered a traumatic head injury and now has to live with only 80 minutes of short-term memory. She is a young housekeeper with a 10-year-old hired to care for him. Each morning they are introduced to each other and a relationship begins to bloom between them. Though he may not be able to remember people or events, he can still remember equations and these numbers seem to open up a poetic world.

The Housekeeper and the Professor is set in modern-day Japan and was written by Japanese author Yoko Ogawa. The novel was the first recipient of the Hon’ya Taisho award (Japan Booksellers Award). In January 2006, it was adapted into a film. The Housekeeper and the Professor only took two months to sell one million copies. In 2009, it was translated into English.

“Poor Fellow My Country”

Tags

Australian, Books, fiction, Jeremy Delacy, longest book, Miles Franklin Award, Poor Fellow My Country, Prindy, Xavier Herbert

Poor Fellow My Country (HarperCollins Australia, 1975)

Regarded as Australia’s
longest work of fiction (at 1,463 pages), Poor Fellow My Country is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel written by Xavier Herbert. It tells the story of Jeremy Delacy and his illegitimate grandson Prindy in the years leading up to World War II.

“Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady”

Tags

1748, Books, British, Clarissa, longest, radio, Samuel Richardson, the History of a Young Lady, TV series, word count

Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady (1748)

Published in Britain in 1748 and considered the longest novel, based on estimated word count, Clarissa tells the tragic story of a heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family. Written by Samuel Richardson, it is regarded as his masterpiece and is one of three books that he is known for.

Clarissa has been adapted into a 1991 TV series and a March/April 2010 radio adaptation.