Chloe- Peter McCarty

First Henry fell in love with Chloe. Now we get to learn all about Chloe's family and how much she loves spending time with her mom, dad and 20 brothers and sisters. When her dad brings home a new TV, Chloe's not going to let it get in the way spending time with the people she loves most. Check out a video preview of the book here.

Chopsticks- Amy Krouse Rosenthal

So as eating utensils and children's book go, I adore Spoon, I dislike Spork, and today I fell in love with Chopsticks! Who knew that eating utensils could teach us so much about accepting each other for our own unique differences and personal strengths? Chopsticks is all about two inseparable friends who through an unfortunate accident learn that self discovery and independence can lead to more meaningful relationships. Sounds deep, but it's really nothing that two feisty little chopsticks can't teach you. If you're into clever picture books with a valuable takeaway message and illustrations that make common household goods look adorable, this is a book for you. It is definitely a book for me!

Goodnight iPad- Ann Droyd

I often feel like doing this to gadgets that consume my friends' and family's attention when trying to hold a conversation. Just because that phone of yours is beeping to alert you of your newest e-mail or text does not mean you have to check it! I'm guilty of this behavaior as well, and we all just need to put those gadgets down every now and then. This book is for all of us. A paradody of the children's classic Goodnight Moon, I was delighted that Goodnight iPad was sent out for circulation in our library yesterday. It caught my eye at Barnes and Noble back in the fall and I felt like it would make a great addition to our library's collection. A materials reccomendation and a few months later, it's gone out for enjoyment. Check it out on YouTube here.

Travel Itch: 100 Places Every Woman Should Go

Every few months I get the urge to travel to someplace, anyplace, where I've never been before. This leads me to dreaming up places I'd like to visit in the U.S. and around the world and so I'll hop on kayak.com to find out how out of reach they are in terms of plane ticket prices. These days, unfortunately, they are all out of reach, but that doesn't keep me from adding to my proverbial bucket list! I checked out 100 Places Every Woman Should Go by Stephanie Elizondo Griest the other day and have really enjoyed flipping around finding all sorts of ideas for fresh places to at least dream about visiting. Griest has divided her recommended locations into sections under broad titles like Places of Adventure, Places of Inspiration and Enlightenment and Just-Go-There Places. From pearl diving sites, famed chocolate sites, canyoneering sites and eminent ice cream parlor sites to out of the way cities and intriguing countries, any woman can find something to spark her travel imagination in this book. I appreciate the diversity of locations included and the well-written descriptions of what makes each special. I definitely want to pack my bag and book my plane ticket to head off to a few of these destinations now:

1. Morocco (okay, I've always wanted to travel here, but...)
Geist writes, "Travel books invariably describe Morocco as a 'full-throttle' assault on the senses,' and there really is no better way to put it. In Marrakesh, Jemaa El-Fna: bus station by day, thriving souk by night. In its labyrinth, you'll spy men walking barefoot through fire while artists blow glass, dentists yank teeth, herbalists scribble prescriptive potions, and acrobats turn flips. Dance with transvestites to the sounds of reed flutes and wooden drums before haggling with vendors over their piles of bangles, silverware, pottery, and Persian rugs..." (242). Sounds fun to me!!!! I can't resist suggesting another book while I'm on the subject of Morocco: Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi about the beauty of Morocco and her family growing up in the 1940's in Fez. I read it in undergrad in a class on Africa and fell in love with Morocco.

2. Any of the locations mentioned in the Surf Sites section (okay, I've always wanted to learn to surf)
I'm from East Tennessee; we know about mountains, bluegrass and TN football, not rash guards or board shorts! I have a feeling that could all change for me at Surfer Girls in Hawaii, Maui which apparently "offers both overnight surf camp and surf classes taught by women, for women (and girls)" (53). Sweet! Closer to home at Surf Diva in La Jolla California I could apparently take a 2 day or 5 day surf clinic for beginners. Maybe I will realize my dream yet!

3. Any of locations mentioned in the Bountiful Gardens section (no caveat here)
"What is travelling all about, if not stopping to smell the roses?" (224). Kew Gardens, in southwest London, Sissinghurst Garden, in Kent, Kyoto, Japan, and Suzhou in China, are all mentioned here. I love a nice long stroll through a rambling garden. I think I would much prefer to visit one of these well manicured landscapes than to actually ever create one of my own.

Extreme Birds- Dominic Couzens

I checked this new book in at the branch a few months ago and immediately put myself on the hold list for it. The vast diversity of birds in the world has always been interesting to me. Several years ago when I was living in Knoxville my husband and I had a second floor apartment and a balcony that was on level with the telephone wires and tree tops. I started taking note of the different varieties of birds in the yard and have been keeping an eye on our feathered friends wherever I go now. Extreme Birds: The World's Most Extraordinary and Bizarre Birds by Dominic Couzens highlights the crazy abilities and features of birds. Birds who are the strongest, fastest, have the largest beaks and the sexiest tails....this book gives superlatives to 150 standout members of the bird world. It may sound a little boring, but check it out from your library and I guarantee you'll be drawn in by the fascinating facts in this book!

Cat Poems- Dave Crawley

Have a cat that you love in your life? Then you're not too old for Dave Crawley's Cat Poems. Suggested for children in grades K-4th, this is a heartwarming read for cat lovers of any age. Crawley has a drawing and poem for each type of behavior that either endears you to your cat or makes you want to lock it in the bathroom. From poems about how a cat wakes you up and snuggles with you in the morning to when a cat has more energy than a three year-old hyped up on sugar, you'll find the perfect poem and playful illustrations that will make you want to buy a copy of the book for yourself.

I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames- Jeni Decker

I finished I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames last week. Jeni Decker has two sons, both on the autism spectrum. This book is more a compilation of short vinegettes than a long narrative with traditional chapters, so it's a fast read. Decker describes life with her sons, the abuse she takes, the quirks they have and how difficult it can be to raise two autistic boys. The love that she has for these two coupled with her understanding that their autism is not masking their true selves but they are who they are overcomes the more crass descriptions of life with her boys. This isn't the Parenthood version of raising an autistic boy, and like Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Decker's irreverent sensibilities may turn some off to the book. What I liked is that she's brutally honest about her sons and her life, but she loves with her whole heart and holds nothing back when describing her life.