Buy a rose or a book for a loved one, sample fine wine, party and meet people. Saint Jordi day is a  Spanish tradition that begins on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 from 8-10  pm
at Book Beat. Sponsored by Elie’s Wines in Royal Oak and Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park.

We will have a great selection of poetry and quality literature, gift books and many bargain priced remainders. There will be books, wine tasting, food and more. SPRING FIESTA!

Sanit Jordi Day will also be celebrated at the Ferndale Public Libary on Sunday, April 18th from 2PM-7 PM. This will be a wonderful pre-Saint Jordi celebration with Michigan authors, readings and more!

Our friends at ELIE WINES in Royal Oak brought the first St. Jordi day celebration to Book Beat in 2006. It was an enthusiastic success, with Catalan poetry being read and delicious wines sampled, roses and books were joyously given away. This “World Day of the Book” with its Spanish origins and its link to romance and love, is something we at Book Beat and Elie Wines have continued to celebrate as a yearly tradition here in the Detroit area.

In Barcelona; almost 5 million roses will exchange hands and much kissing will take place.  Very nice tradition.

April 23 is a symbolic day in world literature. Declared as International Day of the Book by UNESCO in 1995, this celebration of books and literature draws it’s inspiration from a Catalan tradition, the Festival of the Rose.

Legend has it that Saint George, Patron Saint of Catalonia and international knight-errant, slew a dragon about to devour a beautiful Catalan princess. From the dragon’s blood sprouted a rosebush, from which the hero plucked the prettiest rose for the princess. Hence the traditional Rose Festival celebrated in Barcelona since the Middle Ages to honor chivalry and love. In 1923, this lover’s “festa” became even more poetic when it merged with “el dia del llibre”, or The Day of the Book, to mark the nearly simultaneous deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, the two giants of literary history, on April 23, 1616.

On this day in Barcelona, bookstalls and street festivities run the length of the picturesque La Rambla, the old city’s main boulevard and, according to the Spanish author Garcia Lorca, “the only street in the world which I wish would never end”. Read more about this tradition at: DRAGON’S BLOOD & BOOKS- A SPRING FESTIVAL

“In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright day would be celebrated on this date because of the Catalonian festival and because the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Josep Pla, the birth of Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Manuel Vallejo and Halldor Laxness

Enjoy St. Jordi’s day! Links to INTERNATIONAL BOOK DAY:

• World Book and Copyright Day at UN
• World Book and Copyright Day at UNESCO
• Message of the Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day — 23 April 2005
• About World Book Day in the UK and Ireland

link source: Wikipedia.

Photo above: Casa Batllo, by Catalian architect Antonio Gaudi, completed in 1907, it is said to represent the triumph of Sant Jordi (St George) over the dragon, with roof tiles representing the dragon’s back. Gaudi is one of the worlds genius architects whose masterpieces adorn Barcelona as jewels of the city. Photo Credit: L. Loydi.com

This event has ended, but we do have some signed first editions of STITCHES still available – New York Times #1 bestseller, and just nominated for the National Book Award, please call or order soon!

View a cinematic look inside the pages of STITCHES:

Caldecott Award winning artist and author David Small will be presenting his highly acclaimed new graphic novel style memoir  STITCHES at the Book Beat Friday, October 16th, from 7-8:30 PM. STITCHES is a deep look into the author’s often painful past, filled with memories and scenes of growing up in the Detroit area. Truly one of the highlights of this fall’s list, STITCHES is an adult graphic memoir/ black-comedy that is both hilarious and sad, surreal and grotesquely too real. David has prepared a special slideshow presentation and we will moderate a discussion that is not to be missed. Please welcome David Small back to his hometown that has filled him with an abundance of energy, inspiration and creativity.

David Small, with his ground-breaking work, has elevated the art of the graphic novel and brought it to new creative heights. (Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man and other Marvel Comics )

David Small evokes the mad scientific world of the 1950s beautifully, a time when everyone believed that science could fix everything….Capturing body language and facial expressions subtly, Stitches becomes in Small’s skillful hands a powerful story, an emotionally charged autobiography. (Robert Crumb )

“Stitches is as intensely dramatic as a woodcut novel of the silent movie era and as fluid as a contemporary Japanese manga. It breaks new ground for graphic novels.” -Françoise Mouly, Art Editor of The New Yorker

Small earned the 1997 Caldecott Honor and The Christopher Medal for The Gardener, with Sarah Stewart, his wife, recipient of the 2007 Michigan Author Award. In 2001 he won the Caldecott Medal for So You Want to Be President?, combining political cartooning with children’s book illustration. Small’s drawings have appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times.

David Small and Sarah Stewart make their home in an historic manor house in Mendon, Michigan.

“Ashley Bryan was born in a rough section of New York City in 1923, one of six children born to West Indian immigrants from Antigua. His early love of drawing, painting, and creating handmade books was encouraged by family, friends, and school teachers.” A more complete biography is available at the Children’s Library at the University of Southern Mississippi

* “Books make great gifts because they are a perfect way to get a conversation started.” -Barbara Walters

* “Books make great gifts because they make great friends. Your cherished book can hold your secrets, and you can tell it every secret you have. And, it can’t blab.” –Maya Angelou

* “Books make great gifts because they’re everybody’s favorite things.” –Julie Andrews

* “Books make great gifts because they’re not as hefty as fruitcake, but they’re enjoyable and they’re easy to devour.” –Rachael Ray

10 Reasons Why Books Make Great Gifts
1. Books don’t require batteries.
2. Books don’t require assembly.
3. Books don’t contain trans-fats.
4. Books are lead-free.
5. Books have a long shelf life.
6. Books are sized to fit everyone.
7. Books rarely go out of style.
8. Books have no small parts that could get caught in your throat.
9. Books won’t poke your eyes out.
10. Books won’t shatter when you drop them.

Top Five Reasons Why Guys Should Give Books as Gifts
5: She can’t connect with a new sweater like she can with a book.
4: Hey guys, they’re easy to wrap!
3: They come in all sizes, shapes and colors -what could be easier?
2: It’s cheaper than a romantic getaway but can produce the same result.
1: Books are gifts of love and joy and can create everlasting memories.

Top Five Reasons Why Girls Should Give Books as Gifts:
5: They’re easy to store on coffeetables, bookshelves, nightstands, floors or countertops.
4: They never go bad no matter how long they’re stored and they can be used quickly or savored over time.
3: Books can teach, educate, entertain and distract him from football.
2: Its a small investment that can return dividends for life.
1: Books are the perfect gift of enjoyment that don’t require him to leave his chair.
source: ABA, Herr Memorial Library, Shelftalk

We would like to thank everyone in the Berkley School District who helped make this a success; teachers, media specialists and administration – thank you all for your support and the methods used to bring the message and ideas of “Three Cups of Tea” and “Pennies for Peace” into the classroom.

A special thank you goes out to Amira and Greg Mortenson for putting together an inspiring and lovely presentation. We appreciate and enjoyed your company – and hope you can someday return to see more of Detroit, a city that especially needs to hear your message of hope.

This has been a wonderful and uplifting launch for these two important children’s books; the picture book adaptation, “Listen to the Wind” and young adult version of “Three Cups of Tea.” We would like to stress that this young person’s book was a simultaneous release in paperback and hardcover (so one does not have to wait a year for the paperback version to appear). This rarely occurs in publishing, and the paperback was priced low at only $8.99! — an opportunity to begin reading this in classroom groups and young people’s reading groups. Everyone knows a young person -or possibly five young people, who should be reading and exposed to this phenomenal book. “Three Cups of Tea” shows how each young person and individual can be of service and help in transforming the world. Start now.

Book Beat will continue its “Pennies for Peace” fundraising until the end of March. We hope others will begin a project or continue one for themselves -together we can make a difference, one penny at a time.

We meet at 7 PM on the last Wednesday of every month (except in December) at the Goldfish Teahouse in Royal Oak. It is best to call ahead at 248-968-1190 to confirm the book selection, time and place. A selection of recommended books are available in our online catalog: Reading Group  Books. If you are already in a book club or have an interest in starting one, we’d love to help – stop by soon to see our shelf of recommended reading, or check into the following list from past Book Beat discussions:

(Argentina) Borges, Jorge Luis. The Aleph and Other Stories. “He has lifted fiction away from the flat earth where most of our novels and short stories take place.”—John Updike

(Canada) Anne Michaels. Fugitive Pieces. An incandescent, heartbreaking and finally joyful first novel by one of Canada’s foremost poets.

(China) Ha Jin. Waiting. “captures the poignant dilemma of an ordinary man who misses the best opportunities in his life simply by trying to do his duty–as defined first by his traditional Chinese parents and later by the Communist Party.” –Publishers Weekly

(Columbia) Marquez, Gabrial Garcia. Of Love and Other Demons. Compact and dense novel of magic realism and forbidden love. (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1982)

(Egypt) Mahfouz, Naguib. The Journey of Ibn Fattouma. A short, provocative fable by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author of the Cairo Trilogy that ponders the question: What is the best way to organize a society? (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1988)

(Finland) Hamson, Knut. Hunger. Probes the depths of consciousness with a frightening and gripping power, one of the most influential of 20th  century novels. (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1920)

(France) Allain, Marcel and Souvestre, Pierre. Fantomas. A serialized novel and popular mystery series from the early 1900s that had a massive following and influenced the surrealists.

(France) Huysmans, Joris-Karl. Against Nature: ‘A Rebours’ The original handbook of decadence, Against Nature exploded “like a grenade” (in the words of its author) and has enjoyed a cult readership from its publication to the present day.

(France) Kaufmann, Jean-Paul. Angel of the Left Bank: The Secrets of Delacroix’s Parisian Masterpiece. “A passionate narrative . . . [a] quiet and insightful meditation on the human skirmish with divinity.”—Los Angeles Times

(Germany)  Sebald, W. G. Austerlitz. A meditative novel of a child’s identity and memory about Holocaust and its aftermath.

(Germany) Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations. One of the great critical thinkers and essayists of the 2Oth century.

(Germany) Suskind, Patrick. Perfume. Dark novel of identity, mystery and murder based on a true story, set in 18th century France.

(Holland) Buruma, Ian. Murder in Amsterdam. Exploration of the tension between the Dutch natives and the Muslim immigrants living in Holland during the 2004 murder of media personality Theo van Gogh.

(Iceland) Laxness, Halldor. Under the Glacier. “A marvelous novel about the most ambitious questions…  one of the funniest books ever written.” –Susan Sontag (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1955)

(India) Naipal. V. S. Half a Life. “one of those rare books that stands as both a small masterpiece in its own right and as a potent distillation of the author’s work to date, a book that recapitulates all his themes of exile, postcolonial confusion, third world angst, and filial love and rebellion while recounting with uncommon elegance and acerbity the story of the coming of age of its hero, Willie Chandran” – New York Times (NOBEL LAUREATE, 2001)

(Iran) Strapi, Marjane. Persopolis: The Story of a Childhood. wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. (graphic novel)

(Ireland) Joyce, James. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.  A semi-autobiographical early novel that pioneers Joyce’s modernist techniques later used in Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake.

(Israel) Yehoshua, A. B. Open Heart. “The irrational, untamable power of love becomes almost palpable in Israeli novelist Yehoshua’s intense novel of forbidden passion, obsession and spiritual yearning.” – Publisher’s Weekly

(Japan) Akutagawa, Ryuosake. Rashoman and 17 Other Stories. “For the sublimity of life culminates in the most precious moment of inspiration. Man will make his life worth living, if he tosses a wave aloft high into the starry sky, o’er life’s dark main of worldly cares, to mirror in its crystal foam the light of the moon yet to rise.” – Akutagawa

(Japan) Kawabata, Yusunari. The Old Capital. “The sexuality is embedded so deeply that it seems barely there, as subtle as the symbolic association among the (feminine) cherry trees, Chieko, the art of the kimono, and Kyoto itself. All epitomize Kawabata’s ideal of beauty, and all are threatened by change.” –New York Times (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1968)

(Japan) Kawaguchi, Matsutaro. Mistress Oriku: Stories from a Tokyo Teahouse. The story of the sensitive, compassionate and indomitable Mistress Oriku, formerly involved in the pleasure trades of Tokyo, Oriku leaves that life behind to run an elegant teahouse on the city’s outskirts.

(Japan) Murakami, Haruki. After Dark. “A bittersweet novel that will satisfy the most demanding literary taste. . . . Murakami’s fiction reminds us that the world is broad, that myths are universal-and that while we sleep, the world out there is moving in mysterious and unpredictable ways.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

(Japan) Yoshimura, Akira. Shipwrecks. Yoshimura’s exactness is also a passionately concentrated way of investigating the question of what it means to be free — and that breeds tension and finally horror. – New York Times

(Morocco and USA) Bowles, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. A physical and psychic journey across the North African desert that explores a failing marriage and cultural identity.

(Poland) Shulz, Bruno. The Streets of Crocodiles is a fluid dreamlike and mystical collection of inter-woven short stories – an enlightening classic.

(Poland) Joseph Conrad. The Secret Agent is a prophetic examination of terrorism and black satire on English society.

(Portugal) Saramago, Jose. Baltasar and Blimunda.  A love story set in the 18th century, Saramago is a brilliant contemporary writer exploring magic realism, surrealism and the disparities between royalty, peasants and the Church. (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1998)

(Russia) Babel, Issaac. Red Cavalry and Other Stories. Brilliant short stories that relate directly to Babel’s experience as a journalist in the Red Army.

(Russia) Bulgakov, Mikhail. A Dead Man’s Memoir. “There is nothing worse, comrades, than cowardice and lack of faith in oneself.” — Bulgakov

(Russia) Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita. One of the greatest novels of the 20th century, as well as one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a suffocatingly bureaucratic social order.

(Russia) Turgenev, Ivan. Spring Torrents. Autobiographical novel about man’s inability to love without losing his innocence and becoming enslaved to obsessive passion.

(Russia) Zamyatin, Yevgeny. We. A masterwork of  dystopian Soviet fiction that directly inspired Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World.

(South Africa) Coetzee, J. M. Waiting for the Barbarians.  A novel of race and redemption. The impossible situation of a sensitive person who is a part of an oppressive system – can one man make a change ?  (NOBEL LAUREATE, 2003)

(Spain) Lafort, Carmen. Nada. A dark and wonderful novel about Barcelona after WWII and a young girl’s return to college and her dysfunctional family.

(Spain) Martel, Yann. Life of Pi.  A post-modern fable-like novel/adventure Winner of the Booker prize.

(Switzerland) Hesse, Herman. Steppenwolf. A beautifully constructed philosophical text which has a vast number of literary and cultural allusions – not a novel in the usual sense of the word. (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1946)
(UK) Carter, Angela. The Bloody Chamber. A series of interrelated short-story fairytales for adults.

(UK) Fitzgerald, Penelope. The Bookshop. Exquisite short novel about the effects of a bookshop in a small English village.

(UK) Pye, Michael. The Drowning Room.  Vivid  historical setting in  the 17th century and the woman Gretje Reyniers and her adventurous life between Holland and early New York.

(UK) Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus.  Phenomenal novel written in 1818 when the writer was 19 years old – has influenced entire genres (horror, science fiction) and raises many issues linked to today’s society.

(UK) Unsworth, Barry. Morality Play.  “ set in 14th century England.. Unsworth’s marvelously atmospheric depiction of the poverty, misery and pervasive stench of village life and his demonstrations of the strict rules and traditions governing the acting craft; underlying everything is the mixture of piety and superstition that governs all strata of society.” –Publisher’s Weekly

(UK) Woolf, Virginia. To the Light House.  Follows and extends the modernist novel — a masterpiece of  emotional observation highlighting the impermanence of adult relationships, autobiographic and poetic.

(USA) Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg Ohio. Portrait of small town America published in 1919 –a revolutionary novel that inspired Hemingway, Steinbeck and Faulkner.

(USA) Barnes, Djuna. Nightword. A key modernist masterpiece often compared to James Joyce’s Ulysses.

(USA) Baxter, Charles. The Feast of Love. “Superb. . . . A near-perfect book, as deep as it is broad in its humaneness, comedy and wisdom.” –The Washington Post Book World (National Book Award finalist)

(USA) Bellow, Saul. Ravelstein. A thinly based memoir/novel of  a University of Chicago professor who glories in training the movers and shakers of the political world. (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1976)

(USA) Chevalier, Tracy. The Lady and the Unicorn, weaving fact and fiction explains an artistic mystery.

(USA) Coomer, Joe. The Loop.  Eccentric and absurd comedic novel about how an escaped ageing parrot and librarian change the life of depressed road worker.

(USA) Dick, Philip K. Valis. A mystical novel by a visionary science fiction writer, explores the nature of existence and our relationship to God – part one of a trilogy.

(USA) Foer, Jonathan. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. A contemporary post-modern novel dealing with aspects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks –shares aspects of Gunter Grass’s “Tin Drum”.

(USA) Gardner, John. Grendel.  Retelling the Beowulf legend from the monster’s point of view.

(USA) Hemingway, Ernst. The Sun Also Rises. Explores the lives and values of the so-called “lost generation” – a metaphor for the loss of innocence and optimism after World War I. (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1954)

(USA) Hurston, Zora Neal. Their Eyes Where Watching God. Hurston breathes humanity into both her men and women, and allows them to speak in their own voices. A love story and poetic classic from 1930.

(USA) Johnson, Charles. Middle Passage. “Heroic…engrossing…in the tradition of Billy Budd and             Moby Dick…fiction that hooks into the mind.” –The New York Times Book Review

(USA) Lovecraft. H.P. At the Mountains of Madness. “One of the greatest short novels in American literature, and a key text in my own understanding of what that literature can do.” –Michael Chabon

(USA) Melville, Herman.  Bartleby the Scrivener and Benito Cereno.  Two novellas by a master storyteller, Bartleby was a totem to absurdist lit and inspiration to Albert Camus. Benito Cereno centers on a slave rebellion on a Spanish merchant ship.

(USA) Morrison, Toni. Jazz. “Thrillingly written . . . seductive. . . . Some of the finest lyric passages ever written in a modern novel.” —Chicago Sun-Times (NOBEL LAUREATE, 1993)

(USA) Saphire. Push. Unforgettable story of  urban adversity and the mechanisms to cope with it. Set in contemporary Harlem, New York, written by poet with searing intensity.

(USA) Shattuck, Roger. The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant-Garde in France – 1885 to World War I. A picture of avant-garde France as seen through the lives of four of its most prominent artists: Alfred Jarry, Apollinaire, Erik Satie and Rousseau.

(USA) Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. Chronicle of crushing poverty and oppression set in the Chicago meat packing district in the early 1900s.

(USA) Thoreau, Henry David. Waldon. Thoreau’s journal is an exquisite account of a man seeking a more simple life by living in harmony with nature.

Selected Bibliography:

Basbanes, Nicholas A., A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
______. Every Book It’s Reader: The Power of the Printed Word to Change the World
Baxter, Charles. Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
______. How to Read Novels Like a Professor
Miller, Laura and Adam Begley. The Salon.com Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Authors
Murphy, Bruce, Ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, fourth edition
O’brien, Geoffrey. The Reader’s Catalog: An Annotated Listing of the 40,000 Best Books in Print in Over 300 Categories, Second Edition
Perkins, George and Barbara. Harpercollin’s Reader’s Encyclopedia of American Literature
Periodicals: The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, The Bloomsbury Review, Guardian /Observer

The Book Beat is having a Midnight Madness Monster Party and book sale on August 1st at 10:00 PM -12:30 AM in honor of Stephanie Meyer’s third concluding book The Breaking Dawn, in The Twilight Saga series being released Friday August 1st at Midnight. This is a book her fans have been waiting for… The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park. Call 248-968-1190 for more information.

Joining the late night festivities will be Detroit’s only local television horror host (actually its Detroit’s only locally produced television outside the news), the legendary . . . Wolfman Mac and his crazy crew of ghouls will be there in the flesh handing out Breaking Dawn books to eager Twilight Saga fans at the stroke of midnight. Its the summertime book happening Stephanie Meyer fans have long been waiting for — and a fun event for the whole family.

Wolfman Mac can be seen on Detroit’s Channel 20 every Saturday at midnight.  Watch the next NIGHTMARE CINEMA show Saturday, July 26th, on TV Channel 20 when he will announce details about the Book Beat Midnight Madness sale. Wolfman Mac shows the creepiest vintage horror flicks with retro cheeseball humor. Fans of the Ghoul and Sir Graves will love it! Listen to a radio interview with Wolfman Mac produced by WDET-FM.

Also, performing “Live at Lincoln Center” (on the sidewalk in front of Book Beat) beginning at 11 PM will be Detroit’s wild and woolly freakout jam band THE ODD CLOUDS. There is nothing like the Odd Clouds anywhere. Click here to watch a Youtube live video of The Odd Clouds … In-store guest DJs will rock the store with creepy old school vinyl, lounge music and horror soundtracks. Come prepared and wear your Halloween costume.

Book Beat and the Nightmare SINeMA crew will be filming all the madness for a future commercial to be shown on the Wolfman Mac’s Nightmare Sinema!  Wear a costume and be part of the action… come dressed as your favorite monster, vampire or wolfman… This will be truly amazing Monster Madness! AAaaaaaHhhhwwwwwoooooooooahh!!

In celebration of our 25th anniversary, Book Beat will be offering a 25% discount on ALL books Friday, August 1st, 10 AM -12 am and  Saturday, August 2nd, from 10 AM-7 PM. (costumes are optional) – hope to see you there… stay creepy!

Pictured Above: Detroit’s outerlimit freakout musicians THE ODD CLOUDS!

Suggested donation: $3.00 per person; $10.00 per family

Meet the authors and their books May 18th, now here’s a preview:

Our Walk in the Woods (Hardcover) “Nothing is more fun than a walk in the woods on a sunny spring day. Abbey and her dog Kirby get up early every Saturday to explore the hills above the river, but they don’t always see things quite the same. Abbey likes to smell the lovely spring flowers. Kirby likes to chase the small animals he smells along the way. Abbey checks out the animal footprints in the mud. Kirby loves to burrow in the dirt. Abbey sits in the sun on the riverbank, feeling the wind on her face. Kirby paddles in the water, chasing the ducks and geese. Although they may not always agree, they’ll walk in the woods again tomorrow.” – Mitten Press

Chinwag Theater producer Charity Nebbe spent much of her childhood in rural Iowa of the 1850’s. There she enjoyed milking cows, churning butter, and tending the geese. Attacked by an enraged goose, young Charity’s life was despaired of–but a scientist, Dr. Sylvester Lapa-Lapa, At Des Moines’ famous Zoroastrian Hospital, put the child into a primitive form of suspended animation. Thus, she came to live in this century, Raised by her great-great-nephew’s family. This experience accounts for her unusual knowledge of, and interest in, Iowa history, odd experiments, and Daniel Pinkwater.

In this century Charity claims to have been born in 1975, she has two brothers, two foster brothers, a foster sister, and two parents (one mother and one father–actually collateral descendants). She grew up just outside of Cedar Falls, Iowa where she spent the bulk of her time raising baby animals (her family rehabilitates wild orphaned and injured animals with state and federal licenses), reading books, pretending to be Wonder Woman, and playing with the dogs and cats. Charity went to Iowa State University where she majored in political science with minors in English and Biology.

She now lives near Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband (Rob), two dogs (Sara, pictured above, and Mandy), and five cats (Arthur, Vivian, Toby, Chance, and Q). She works at Michigan Radio where she produces The Todd Mundt Show from NPR and cleans the restrooms. Nebbe is the host of All Things Considered on Michigan Public Radio. “Woods” is her first book.

Howard Fridson: Our Family Treasue (paperback) An inspiring book about creativity, friendship and family. The story is taken from the author’s own family history and tells the story of his lovely eccentric aunt Else who collected odd bits of things and made her life a joyous creation. The book is a heartfelt journey of two friends who share a creative afternoon. Fridson’s illustrations are soft pastel pencil and crayon drawings that add to this timeless tale of memory and family. Included is a diagram to help children and adults create their own version of Else’s cut-out paper square dance.“When Howard’s Aunt Elsie turned 75, Howard wrote a story about her and drew a few pictures to present at her party. Elsie had always been like a second mother to Howard and his brother, Marty. After she passed away, Howard thought it would be nice to finish the book as a gift to all the cousins and their children. In this way they would always remember their wonderful Aunt Elsie. To his surprise, Howard discovered cousins he never knew existed, from Canada to Viet Nam. The cousins were very excited to read the book, and they insisted that everyone should be able to read about their aunt. The result is “Our Family Treasure.”Howard Fridson is an artist who lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan with his wife Cathy. They have three grown boys named Nate, Blake and Russel. Howard studied art at Wayne State University where he drew a comic strip for the school newspaper called “The Adventures of Captain Bopper.” He majored in Fine Arts and began painting murals upon graduation. Since then he has continued to paint and has illustrated books, including “Maya’s First Rose” by Martin Scot Kosins.

Steven M. Jones: Charlemagne Mack: Rise of the Queen (Paperback) It’s time to discover “The Urban Harry Potter”Detroit, Michigan based playwright Stephen M. Jones has created a buckle up and hold on rollercoaster of an adventure novel for teens in his new book Charlemagne Mack: Rise of the Queen.It all began with a toad in a bowl of Jell-O. Smart, sassy and cool Charlemagne (Charley) Mack is a twelve year old African American, living in The City. Raised on MTV and VH1, Charley is a pure product of our culture. She’s an honors student (or a “colored egg” as she refers to herself), a gymnast, and … the queen of the Sky Conjuring People??Most little girls dream of being a princess, but Charley is thrust into her position as queen at the age of twelve and finds that the glamorous benefits of royalty are swept aside in the face of mystery, danger, adventure and responsibility.Charlemagne’s journey is that of a child who reluctantly leaves childhood behind for a reality nothing like she could ever have imagined. The book is filled with the desire and struggle to; find out who you really are, to learn from adversity, to embrace curiosity and education, and to cherish the value of friendship along the way.America’s first African American princess is on her way, hip hop, pop and lock and dreadlock. Steve speaks to a generation of urban youth and we believe is the next great African American author. Stephen M, Jones is a copywriter and playwright, with his first play “Back in the World” voted best Play by the Detroit Free Press. Charlemagne Mack is the first of a trilogy and Stephen Jones first children’s book.

Take a look at what critics say and why Charlemagne Mack Rocks “The intelligence of this novel has real warmth to it, and mythology and cultural history unfold throughout like delightful discoveries. The salient detail is personal empowerment, and the strength and happiness that come from knowing who you are even as you struggle to make things better. Charley rises to the occasion in charming and touching way, I can’t help but wonder what’s in store for her in Journal #2.” — Hatie Haegele, Philadelphia Inquirer“Charlemagne Mack, a 12-year-old African American, is an honors student in a poor part of The City. She lives with her uncle and aunt until the day a giant spider named Miss Lettie comes through her bedroom window to warn her that she is in grave danger. Charlemagne escapes to Louisiana and is surprised to discover that she is not simply an above-average student to whom odd things sometimes happen, but is instead Queen of the Sky Conjuring People. She learns to deal with her new identity, ruins the plans of some very bad, bad guys, and learns about her family…This book definitely helps to fill a gap in fantasy/science fiction featuring strong African-American characters.” –School Library Journal“Harry Potter fans will love this book! Smart and sassy Charlemagne, a twelve year old black girl, learns the value of love, trust and faith in herself as she is transformed into Orisha, Queen of the Sky Conjurers.”– Florence Waszkelewicz Clowes, author of Bones in the Backyard“Welcome to the world of Charlemagne Mack; not your average kid, but a Queen by nature. This story is full of spells, demons, monsters and bad things lurking in the walls of a mystical library. Sit back and take this journey of personal acknowledgement through the eyes of a child….”
APOO Book Club

---

Bryan Chick: The Secret Zoo (Paperback) “This book, which is the first of a series, is a fast-paced mix of mystery and fantasy. There is enough action and suspense to keep the most reluctant reader entertained while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of friendship and teamwork. It promises to be the beginning of a popular series.” –School Library Journal

Noah Nowicki and his younger sister live next to the Clarksville Zoo. One night, Megan mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind only a few pages from her diary as clues. Noah and his friends, Ella and Ritchie, who call themselves the Adventure Scouts, set out to rescue her. They befriend a batch of sentient yet nonspeaking zoo animals that include a polar bear named Blizzard; Podgy, a penguin; and Marlo, a Malachite Kingfisher. These creatures, who claim to know what happened to Megan, lead the Scouts into the zoo, which has a secret entrance to a fanciful land called the City of Species where animals and humans live alongside one another.

About the author: Bryan Chick spent most of his childhood bumping into things. Mostly awkward and shy, he wasn’t particularly good at paying attention, and he was bored with things his imagination couldn’t manipulate. His love for writing began when he realized how cool and rewarding it is to flood the contents of his mind across stacks of paper.The idea for The Secret Zoo came to Bryan when he was only nine-years-old. He used to wonder what it would be like if zoo exhibits had secret doors for kids to get in—and the animals to get out. Why would the exhibits have secret passages? What would this mean? Over time (lots of time—like twenty years), the idea matured in complexity and length, until finally developing into what it is today, a story outlined as seven full novels.

Bryan lives with his wife and three young children in Clarkston, MI. Overall, he’s a pretty simple man—a father and a husband before anything else. He is terrible with remembering names, simple math, and geography (on last account he could name maybe two-thirds of the fifty United States—and don’t ask him to convert that fraction to decimal).

]]>