Albert Lea Public Library

76 YEARS OF "THE JOY OF COOKING"

On November 30, 1931, America's all-purpose cookbook was self-published by Irma Rombauer (1877-1962).  The first commercial addition of the book appeared in 1936, and it offered a revolutionary idea: chronologically ordered ingredients followed by instructions, now commonplace in cookbooks. The numerous editions overseen by Rombauer and later her daughter and grandson sold more than 14 millions copies.  The Albert Lea Public Library has eight cookbooks in this series:

The Joy of Cooking

The Joy of Cooking:all about canning and preserving

The Joy of Cooking: all about pies and tarts

The Joy of Cooking: all about cookies

The Joy of Cooking: all about party foods and drinks

The Joy of Cooking: all about vegetarian cooking

The Joy of Cooking; all about soups and stews

The Joy of Cooking: all about chicken

Nail Biter: Home Repair is Homicide Mystery by Sarah Graves

Nail Biter is the ninth book in Sarah Graves "Home Repair is Homicide" series. Jacobia Triptee and her friend Ellie decide to invest in a fixer-upper and lease it out. There invest ideas soon go out the window quickly as it appears they may have bitten off more than they can swallow. A murder takes place on the property and their renters find themselves under the critical eye of the small town of Quoddy Village, Maine.

Jacobia also finds herself dealing with past demons as she is pulled into the murder investigation.

Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets

Murder Unleashed: A Dead End Job Mystery is the fifth in a series by Elaine Viets. It is full of sarcasm, wit and dog humor. At this dead end job, Helen Hawthorne works at a upscale dog grooming shop. She finds herself in the middle of two murder investigations and under the microscope of the local police.

Dog lovers will enjoy the tie-in and readers who enjoy Janet Evanovich-like humor will likely enjoy this series as well.

The characters are crisp, bright and funny. The characters' emotions are also well written with moments of surprising clarity and insight.

Yes We Can! by Sam McBratney and Charles Fuge

Yes We Can by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Charles Fuge is a charming book that demonstrates to small children the situations of teasing, arguing and making-up.

It has great tool-potential for parents and teachers to talk about teasing with small children. Its fantastic illustrations, however, take it beyond the subject matter and make it fun to read as well.

Creative Crafts for Kids

Creative Crafts for Kids: Over 100 Fun Projects for Two to Ten Year Olds is a great resource for parents looking for a way to spend a rainy day or just a chance to spend some time together with their kids making something fun.

The crafts in this book are varied and the pictures offer great inspiration to adults and children. A definate must for any adult who needs a resource for making easy crafts.

You can find this book at j745.5083 Dic in the Information Library or you can request Creative Crafts for Kids: Over 100 Fun Projects for Two to Ten Year Olds online.

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

Author Deb Caletti is a National Book Award Finalist. In her book Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, quiet girl Ruby sees herself in a new light when she begins to date badboy, motorcycle-riding Travis. Her life begins to spiral out of control, however, as she is pulled into his life and begins to become reckless, even committing criminal acts.

What will Ruby do? Even though she's fallen in love with him, is there another choice? What kind of future does she have if she lets herself be his "Honey, Baby, Sweetheart?"

Color Me Happy!

Kids go crazy for colors! Or, sometimes only one color, as you will see with Pinkalicious by Victora and Elizabeth Kann, where one little girl just can't get enough pink. She eats pink cupcakes, one after another, until her mother warns her to eat no more. Well, she sneaks up to cupcakes eating the very last one - one too many and turns pink! At first she loves to be pink but soon discovers that pink isn't always perfect. Whatever will she do to solve this this pink dilemna? (If you like this book, be sure to look for Purplicious by the same authors.)

Another fun story is A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. Camilla is a little girl who loves lima beans - something that all the other kids hate and so they make fun of her for it. She gets so nervous about trying to fit in that she develops a horrible case of stripes! Only by being herself can she get rid of this condition.

Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch is the story about a little girl who begs her parents for a box of washable markers. She soon tires of these markers and asks for markers that smell as real as they look. She then takes it one step further and asks for "super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you're-dead-and-maybe-even-later colouring markers." Well, parents know what will happen with children and permanent markers - eventually someone ends up drawing on themselves. When the little girl in this story goes against the rules and colors on herself, laugh and giggle as you see how she solves the problem.

BILLY GRAHAM TURNS 89

On November 14, Billy Graham, affectionately called "The Presidents Preacher", turned 89.  There have been many books written about him, and now TIME magazine's Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy "unwrap the tale of how one preacher came to know every president from Harry Truman to George W. Bush.  No other figure in American history managed to do what evangelist Billy Graham did: he counseled them all, prayed with them all, knew their spouses, their children, their aides - and played a role in every presidential election between 1952 and 2000."

The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

LIBRARY CLOSING

The Albert Lea Public Library will be closed Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 in observance of Thanksgiving.  We will be open regular hours on Saturday, November 24 (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) and Sunday, November 25 (1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.). 

Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

"Yucky music, great big feet.

Ladies smelling way too sweet.

Look at knees and stand in line.

Llama Llama starts to whine."

Llama has a tantrum while mom is shopping at the Shop'O'Rama. Preschoolers-K will enjoy the pictures and rhyming in a story that follows llama and mama shopping and the tantrum that llama has while at the store.

Run by Ann Patchett

Members of the Fountain Lake Readers Club may recognize this author from last month's book Bel Canto.  Patchett's latest offering is Run, a story which explores the lives of a unique Boston family. The father, retired Mayor is father to his biological son and two adopted black sons. The family is left alone after the mother dies from cancer when the children are young.

The father has hopes that his children will become involved in politics, however, the children's lives take different paths and the family later faces devastating choices and life events.

Some readers of the book compare Patchett's writing style to James Joyce's prose-like style.

The Secret Life of Walter Kitty

The Secret Life of Walter Kitty by Barbara Jean Hicks Illustrated by Dan Santat follows Walter through his daily routines, as he helps his people out - and often finds himself getting in trouble instead. Walter likes to think of himself as a tough guy, not "Walter". He just keeps trying to get his people to understand that he'd rather go by the name "Fang" but they just don't get it.

You might also like Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel.

If you are big fan of Walter Kitty, check out the illustrator's webpage where you can download a free colored mask drawn by Dan Santat.

WORLD KINDNESS DAY

Tuesday, November 13 is World Kindness Day. This day represents the pledge of the United States, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Thailand and England to join together to build a kinder and more compassionate world.  The Albert Lea Public Library has many Chicken Soup books which contain stories that will "open the heart and rekindle the spirit."  They are co-authored by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.

Jurassic Poop

Jurassic Poop: What Dinosaurs and (Others) Left Behind by Jacob Berkowitz and illustrated by Steve Mack. Here's a book thats all about really, really old poop. Photographs show what fossilized dinosaur and fish feces (or scat) looks like. Gross and goofy but full of facts and fun, children will learn a lot (and so will the parents who have to read it aloud). 

An excerpt from the book:

"Fossil poo? No way, you might say. How could something that soft and gooey survive a week, let alone millions of years? Well, hang on to your seat, because fossil feces are everywhere."

Science Verse by John Scieszka & Lane Smith

Author John Scieszka and illustrator Lane Smith of Math Curse pair up once again for Science Verse.

While in science class, one student hears Mr. Newton say, "You know, if you listen closely enough you can hear the poetry of science in everything." After that, the student cannot escape the poetry of science.

Classical poets are parodied - never before have you heard such odd renditions of Edgar Allen Poe and Lewis Carroll (among others) - students and parents be aware, however, that while having fun you'll learn new things and learn that you still have much to learn. You'll be left wondering what is a "flavored quark" anyway?