We have LOTS of cool events planned for May: a Rock n' Roll seminar, a photo exhibition, children's author/artist Patricia Polacco, artist Tyree Guyton and the Read in the Park book festival at Berkley High School. Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of our newsletter to read the fine print details. Happy May Reading!
Books for Grads, Kids, Moms, Teachers & Springtime Readers -- Warning! DON'T FORGET: MOTHER'S DAY is SUNDAY, MAY 11th (try a cook book, gardening book, some great fiction, mellow music, a green tea book, art, nature, travel, photography, etc., we also have a wide selection of beautiful, handmade imported gift-cards - gifts on paper.) We offer free ritzy gift wrap, friendly personal service and daily shipping to anywhere.
A New Stunning Masterwork in Collage by Ed Young:
Twenty Heartbeats (Hardcover) » "A wealthy man engages a great painter to create an image of the faithful horse that runs to him in 20 heartbeats. He waits for word that his painting is ready. Years slip by, and both man and horse grow old. Finally, livid, the man returns to demand the picture he commissioned so very long ago. And in 20 heartbeats, the artist puts brush to paper to produce a piece of genius. But “the man did not look at the painting. All he could see were the years that had gone by.” There are many ways to read this story: as a treatise on the nature of art and the value of product versus process; as an allegory about faith and another Great Painter; as a reminder to look beyond the obvious. These messages may elude younger readers, but no one will miss the point of Ed Young’s arresting limited-color collage work, in which dreams are veiled in a layered rice-paper mist, and texture, curve and line, along with the compelling and considered placement of pigment, guide the eye along the narrative path. " -- Booklist
A Classic Warm and Touching Story for Mother's Day:
If I Could: A Mother's Promise (Hardcover) » "If I could, I’d swim the deep
in search of treasures for you to keep."
From the first rays of the morning sun to the last nod of a tiny head at bedtime, a toddler and mother share a blissfully ordinary day. But there is nothing ordinary about the love between them — a love that is as bright as flowers, as lovely as a song, as comforting as stars, and as deep as the ocean. Ages 3-6 and a special gift for mother's too!
Susan Milord, who has written more than ten books for children, says that IF I COULD was originally written as a gift to her mother on her seventy-fifth birthday.
GIFT IDEA FOR TEACHER:
Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpiller plush pen » Eric Carle is one the most celebrated children's authors of all time with a book sold every 30 seconds and 71 million books sold worldwide.For the first time ever, many of Eric Carle's beloved book characters will leap from the pages into the arms of children, parents, grandparents and teachers!
Each huggable creature can bring the "books to play with, toys to read" vision to life for children of all ages to enjoy! All Eric Carle toys come with "The World of Eric Carle" sew-on label and with the appropriate book cover artwork hang tag. Any teacher can be the envy of the classroom by marking papers or taking roll-call with this lush 7" tall Hungry Caterpiller Pen.
HELEN FROST: Diamond Willow (Hardcover) » "Most of the story is told in diamond-shaped poems, with a hidden message printed in darker ink at the center of each one. I got this idea from a lamp and a walking stick, both made with diamond willow...Some people think that diamond willow is a specific type of willow, like weeping willow or pussy willow, but it is not. The diamonds form on several different kinds of shrub willows when a branch is injured and falls away. The dark center of each diamond is the scar of the missing branch. The scars, and the diamonds that form around them, give diamond willow its beauty, and gave me the idea for my story." - Helen Frost, from the Introduction, ages 8-13
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (Hardcover) » THE PENDERWICK SISTERS are home on Gardam Street and ready for an adventure! But the adventure they get isn’t quite what they had in mind. Mr. Penderwick’s sister has decided it’s time for him to start dating—and the girls know that can only mean one thing: disaster. Enter the Save-Daddy Plan—a plot so brilliant, so bold, so funny, that only the Penderwick girls could have come up with it. It’s high jinks, big laughs, and loads of family warmth as the Penderwicks triumphantly return. Ages - 8 and up.
"Just the sort of cozy fare that's missing in today's mean-girl world." - Booklist
If it's May, The Art Gang is Back - YEAH!
BLUE BALLIET: The Calder Game (hardcover) » Balliett has devised a best-selling formula that works—kids solving mysteries involving great works of art—but each time she varies the art form, so that each novel feels different. In Chasing Vermeer, Petra and Calder track down a stolen Vermeer painting, and in The Wright 3, Petra, Calder and Tommy try to save a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. All three novels are action-packed, but they are also information-packed, offering intriguing details about the art and artist, and challenging readers with intellectual questions and brain-teasing clues.
The gang is all back, Calder, Tommy, and Petra, ready for another mystery to solve. It's the same formula with a different setting (England) and a different artist (Alexander Calder). But the three kids are finding balance between themselves, kind of like the mobiles that they all find so fascinating.
If you enjoyed "Chasing Vermeer" and "The Wright 3", this is a must read. In all three of her books, Blue Balliett does a great job of making artists interesting to kids that may not otherwise have an interest in art. -- from online reviews by real kids
Think on These Things:
Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers (Hardcover) » Can nature make us happy? How can we know anything? What is justice? Why is there evil in the world? What is the source of truth? Is it possible for God not to exist? Can we really believe what we see? There are questions that have intrigued the world's great thinkers over the ages, which still touch a chord in all of us today. They are questions that can teach us about the way we live, work, relate to each other and see the world. Here Leszek Kolakowski explores the essence of these ideas, introducing figures from Socrates to Thomas Aquinas, Descartes to Nietzsche, and concentrating on one single important philosophical question from each of them.
The Bounce Back Book: How to Thrive in the Face of Adversity, Setbacks, and Losses (Paperback) » The book is grounded in happiness research, psychological studies, Greek philosophy. And it delivers: Here are 70 easily digestible, potentially life-changing tips on how to bounce back from adversity, each on a spread that's as punchy in look as it is powerful in message.
"Salmansohn's writing is bold, playful, insightful—with powerful metaphors that provoke and inspire. Her kinetic images amplify her message and take the book to a new level of literary experience." - Deepak Chopra
The Prosperity Bible: The Greatest Writings of All Time On The Secrets To Wealth And Prosperity (Hardcover) » In a beautiful, durable volume suited to a lifetime of use, here is the all-in-one "bible" on how to harness the creative powers of your mind to achieve a life of prosperity-packaged in a handsome display box with a ribbon bookmark. Here is the only single volume where you can read success advice from Napoleon Hill, P. T. Barnum, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Fillmore, Wallace D. Wattles, Florence Scovel Shinn, and Ernest Holmes-along with a bevy of million-copy- selling writers who have one key element in common: a commitment to understanding and promulgating the laws of winning.
The Last Lecture (Hardcover) » We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." —Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have, and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
Green Tea Book, revised edition (paperback) » Discover the ancient Chinese secret to a long, healthy life-with just three cups of green tea per day. The Green Tea Book has been a trusted resource for almost a decade. Now, chemist Lester A. Mitscher and health writer Victoria Dolby Toews update their ground-breaking work with the latest scientific information. - reduce the risk of certain cancers and mitigate the side effects of cancer treatment; - promote a healthy heart; - boost immunity and detoxify the body; - support the body's natural antiaging processes; - prevent inflammation of teeth and gums, aid digestion, and so much more.
The Green Tea Book guides readers to those teas highest in polyphenols, offering suggestions on choosing teas that one will savor and enjoy. This one-stop resource will have readers convinced: taking one's medicine has never tasted so good.
THIS RULE BOOK FOR MOM ROCKS:
Mama Rock's Rules: Ten Lessons for Raising a Houseful of Successful Children (Hardcover) » To be a parent is and should be a calling. There is absolutely nothing as great, challenging, or rewarding as raising a child." So says Über-mom Rose Rock, who has raised 10 children in addition to caring for 17 foster children in her 40-plus years as a mother.
As a mother who does not shy away from the hard conversations, Rose isn't afraid to present strong ideas about boundaries, discipline, choices, and consequences—and she tells it like it is. In Mama Rock's Rules, Rose shares the funny and highly practical lessons she learned both as a parent and an educator, while offering strategies for teaching a child to be self-reliant in this world.
Great New Fiction:
Louise Erdrich: The Plague of Doves: A Novel (Hardcover) » "What marks these stories -- some of which appeared in the New Yorker and the Atlantic -- is what has always set Erdrich apart and made her work seem miraculous: the jostling of pathos and comedy, tragedy and slapstick in a peculiar dance. As horrific as the crimes at the heart of this novel are, other sections remind us that Erdrich is a great comic writer. When Mooshum isn't leading Eve through the history of her family, he's daring the local Catholic priest to save him or pursuing alcohol and romance with dogged, hilarious determination. Some of the funniest moments take place during a funeral, and even the murders and lynchings that bleed so much heartache are heightened by incongruous notes of humor." -- Washington Post
Sally Gunning: Bound (Hardcover) » "BOUND is an insightful look back at the horrors of the late colonial period's indentured servant system that included selling children into servitude. Readers will be stunned by the horrors of what happens to Alice in her second assignment. In many ways a cautionary tale that claims economics often trumps freedom especially for impoverished people, Sally Gunning provides a well written thought provoking mid eighteenth century thriller." - H Klausner
"Skillfully employing the language, imagination and character that literary fiction demands, [Gunning] illuminates a fascinating moment in our past." - Washington Book World
The Girl With No Shadow (Hardcover) » Hailed as an "irresistible confection" (Entertainment Weekly), "as sweet, rich and utterly satisfying as a fine truffle" (Wall Street Journal), and "an amazement of riches" (New York Times), Chocolat won the hearts of readers and critics everywhere. At last, Joanne Harris returns with The Girl with No Shadow, an exquisite treat that continues the story that began in her international bestseller.
"The plot is complicated, and the cast of supporting characters extensive, but each one is a treat…Joanne Harris knows just how to interweave lives. The relationships among her amazing characters are perfectly articulated. They find their places in the tableaux, and as the novel tumbles to its Christmas climax, Harris manages to pull all her irons out of the fire—or perhaps one should say, her chocolate off the stove."-- Washington Post
Sock Monkey Musical Jack-in-the-Box » Classic jack in the Box with a friendly little SOCK MONKEY popping up after a haunting rendition of "pop goes the weasel." Each old fashioned decorated tin box is about 6" square with a lovely stitched cloth and plush sock monkey sporting a goofy red fringe hat. For sock monkey collectors, here is a keepsake treasure, suitable for anyone over 18 months old. A great first toy.
Tin Basketball Game » About 9" tall basketball game comes in illustrated box, uses a spring mechanism that makes the player shoot baskets - keep score on the realistic scoreboard. Primitive yet satisfying Chinese produced tin toy, safe for Ages 3 and up, but this is more of a collectable tin toy for adults, the action is a little slow and not suitible for today's computer game crowd.
Timmy the Mini Sock Monkey » He's only 4" tall and his name is Timmy the sock monkey. He's a cutie-pie all right and is looking for a new friend. Its a known fact: Sock Monkeys bring good luck. This soft little monkey will fit perfectly in your pocket. He also enjoys to hang out on top of the computer screens and bookshelves. Timmy the sock monkey will always be there for you.
Flatwoods Monster Figurine (terracotta, votive candleholder) » This clay Monster folkart figurine was designed and created by a high school friend of one of the original eyewitnesses of the Flatwoods UFO incident, and done to the exact specifications of the eyewitness description. It was made to commemorate the appearance of the Flatwoods monster (a West Virginia UFO and floating, glowing creature in a skirt like dress eye-witnessed in 1952). This sculpture was first made in the late 1960s, and this new edition was cast for the 50th anniversary in 2002. This cast is from the original 1960s mold and hand painted by the artist.
A real UFO wonder and folk art conversation piece from the hills of West Virginia. The Flatwood monster votive measures about 12" tall and about 4" wide at the base, it is fired clay and brightly handpainted. There are holes to emit light should you want to use this as a votive, by placing a candle underneath the sculpture and watching the light shoot through it. It looks cool sitting on the patio on warm summer nights. Calling out to the stars. A Book Beat exclusive.
Marching Planet Robot Tin Toy » Colorful clunky tin robots have a very unique style. Each robot comes with a wind up key and the robots move forward thrrough space with marching arms. Each robot is sold separately, and comes in a colorful brightly designed box.
A DETROIT POET IN CONCERT ON DVD:
James Semark: Summer of Love (DVD) » This one hour DVD is a live performance by James Semark at the "Summer of Love Festival" in Wyandotte, Michigan, July, 2007. It is a raw spoken word, one camera video, shot by Len Beste. Semark performs Collapse of American Pseudo-Civilization, The Sun, A Day in the Life of the Neighbors, AEIOU, and The Intergalactic Star Trip. Cosmic poetry in Transfinite Space. Semark is one of the most original and fascinating poets from the Detroit area. Each DVD is lovingly hand assembled and signed by the poet, in ultra-cool low-budget limited edition packaging. Your purchase of this DVD helps promote and keep alive the vision of the Detroit Artists Workshop. A Book Beat exclusive.
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America (Hardcover) » After writing about the folk scene of the early 1960s in Positively 4th Street, Hajdu goes back a decade to examine the censorship debate over comic books, casting the controversy as a prelude to the cultural battle over rock music. Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, the centerpiece of the movement, has been reduced in public memory to a joke—particularly the attack on Batman for its homoeroticism—but Hajdu brings a more nuanced telling of Wertham's background and shows how his arguments were preceded by others.
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE HERE:
Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Great Destinations: A Complete Guide (Paperback) » Plan your Yooper getaway today! This recent guidebook of the UP is your passkey to idyllic bliss. No joke. Michigan's Upper Peninsula takes visitors through and around the Great Lakes which dominate this great land—to sleepy lakeside villages, bustling beach towns, and the least visited (and possibly most beautiful) national park in the country.
UPCOMING MAY EVENTS:
DOUGLAS OF DETROIT AT BOOK BEAT GALLERY OPENING MAY 8th
As part of the Art Detroit Now city-wide event, the Book Beat will present rare and unknown masterworks by the photographer Douglas of Detroit (1919-1999), a photographer of the male figure active in the 1950s who lived his entire life in the Detroit area. This will be the first exhibition ever devoted to this photographer's work. The opening will be Thursday, May 8th 6:30-8 PM. The exhibit contains nudity and is recommended for adults only. Read more about this in our Backroom blog: DOUGLAS OF DETROIT.
MONSTER ISLAND PERFORMS MU THEATER AT MOCAD, SAT., MAY 10th
Don't miss: "Rehearsal for the Destruction of Mu" - a live shadow theater exotica with music, narration and lights. Showtime is 9 PM, bring a pillow! $5 admission. More details at MOCAD.
Join us on Saturday, May 17th from 11:30 AM- 12:30 PM at the Oak Park Library, located at 14200 Oak Park, Blvd., in Oak Park, for a rare area appearance and book signing event by children’s author and illustrator Patricia Polacco.
Children’s book authority Anita Silvey has noted, “Polacco’s most touching stories focus on cross-cultural friendships…. her exceptional talents were clearly evident in her first book, Meteor!
The Book Beat will have on hand many of Polacco’s stunning picture books including her most recent titles, The Lemonade Club and Ginger and Petunia. (1987).” Polacco is one of Americas most cherished and bestselling author-illustrators, with over two dozen published books including the classic autobiographical folktales;Babushka Baba Yaga, The Keeping Quilt, Pink and Say, Mrs. Katz and Tush, Casey at the Bat, and Rechenka’s Egg. It is a great honor for us to be hosting this event in our community. Read more about the author in our Backroom blog: Patricia Palocco Event.
Please call us at 248-968-1190 to reserve copies for inscription. Signed books make great gifts!
Join us Tuesday May 17th at 7:00 PM in the Meeting Room of the Southfield Public Library,located at 26300 Evergreen Road in Southfield. Artist Tyree Guyton and Jenene Whitfield, executive director of the Heidelberg project will give a presentation on their book project Connecting the Dots and present a screening of the award documentary “Come Unto Me”. The program is free, for all ages and open to the public.
Read more about Tyree Guton in the Backroom blog: Heidleberg Project
Join us Sunday, May 18th from 1 PM- 4 PM on the front lawn of Berkley High School for the 2nd Annual READ IN THE PARK Book Festival! -- aimed to promote reading for children and young adults. There will be authors, celebrity readers, music, storybook charcters, food and fun activities for the whole family. Authors planning to attend include; NPR host Charity Nebbe, Susan Collins Thomas, Denise Rodgers, Howard Fridson, Stephen M. Jones and Bryan Chick.
Read more about the authors and their books in our Backroom blog preview
Join us at Book Beat bookstore on Saturday, May 24th at 6:30-8:00 PM for a mini-seminar on the early history of Detroit rock n’ roll. It's gonna be allreeet! Hucka-Bucka!
We will have two local music experts that will each give a presentation followed by a group discussion. On hand will be James A. Mitchell, author of the newly published IT WAS ALL RIGHT: Mitch Ryder’s Life in Music and Marilyn Bond, author of The Birth of the Detroit Sound: 1940-1964 (paperback). A book autographing will follow the presentation. For any questions or to score your own autographed copies please call 248-968-1190. The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park. More details of the event are at The Backroom blog: Detroit Sound.
BOOK BEAT READING GROUP MEETING MAY 28th
Our next reading group meeting will be Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 P.M. We will meet at Gayle's Chocolates in Royal Oak. Our reading selection for May will be VALIS by Philip K. Dick. The reading group is free and open to the general public. Most reading club books are available at Book Beat for a 15% discount during the month we read it.
Valis is the first book in Philip K. Dick's incomparable final trio of novels (the others being are The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer). This disorienting and bleakly funny work is about a schizophrenic hero named Horselover Fat; the hidden mysteries of Gnostic Christianity; and reality as revealed through a pink laser. Valis is a theological detective story, in which God is both a missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime.
"The fact that what Dick is entertaining us about is reality and madness, time and death, sin and salvation--this has escaped most critics. Nobody notices that we have our own homegrown Borges, and have had him for thirty years."--Ursula K. Le Guin, New Republic
The Book Beat reading group meets the last Wednesday of every month. We read a variety of books with an emphasis on world lit in translation. Books are announced at each meeting. call 248-968-1190 for details.
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION: VISIT AN ART GALLERY/ MUSEUM MAY 8-10th: ART DETROIT NOW!
The Book Beat is a local independent bookstore serving the Detroit metro area for over 25 years. We are located at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park. Open hours: 10 AM-9 PM Mon-Fri. 10 AM-7 PM Sat, and 12-5 PM Sun. We appreciate your support - visit our author events, stop by the store, call 248-968-1190 or shop online - Need Books? Special orders are our specialty. We need you! Shop local! Break the chains!
