New Recommended Children's Books:

Duck Dunks (hardcover) » It’s summer! Five little ducks can’t wait to splash into the sea. With their swimsuits on and a picnic for later, they’re ready for a day of sand and sun.

Children will want to dive right into this delightful companion to Duck Skates. Lynn Berry has been a past guest author of the Book Beat where her signing and presentation of her first book "Duck Skates" was a big hit at the Huntington Woods Library. Ages 3-5 years.

  Frogs  For the first- to third-grade set, frogs are an endless source of fascination, especially when looked at VERY close up. See tiny poison dart frogs and mammoth bullfrogs, as Nic Bishop's amazing images show the beauty and diversity of frogs from around the globe. And simple, engaging text conveys basic information about frogs—as well as cool and quirky facts. Nic Bishop Frogs is a fun and informative tour through an exciting amphibian world.

Veronica on Petunia's Farm » VERONICA, THE VERY conspicuous hippopotamus, is happy to move to Mr. Pumpkin’s farm. There will be so many animals to gossip with! But the other animals do not return Veronica’s hearty “Good morning!” And they say nasty things about her. Her feelings hurt, Veronica hides in the barn for a whole week—the animals spy on her as she wastes away and looks morose. Feeling guilty, the animals offer gifts to cheer her up, and when she finally joins them in the barnyard, they see the biggest smile ever on Veronica’s face. First published in 1962, this sequel to Caldecott Medalist Duvosin’s Veronica captures with humor and an upbeat conclusion the real-life dynamics often faced by a new child in school.

I Get So Hungry (Hardcover) » In her final book written before her death in 2006, beloved author Bebe Moore Campbell tells a touching story of one girl's struggle with weight gain, an all-too-familiar problem with children today. This story encourages both kids and their parents to make changes in their lives. Campbell felt strongly about the worth and necessity of this story. She hoped to touch kids and parents and help them make changes in their lives. Amy Bates' charming illustrations bring to life this important story of one young girl's struggle with weight gain, an all-too-familiar problem for children today.

Willow (hardcover, signed by the artist) » Miss Hawthorn's room is neat and tidy, not a pencil or paintbrush is out of place. And that's how she likes it. And she likes trees that are colored green and apples that are painted red. Miss Hawthorn does not like things to be different or out of the ordinary.

Into Miss Hawthorn's classroom comes young Willow. She doesn't color inside the lines, she breaks crayons, and she sees pink trees and blue apples. What will Miss Hawthorn think? Magical things can happen when your imagination is allowed to run wild, and for Miss Hawthorn the notion of what is art and what is possible is forever changed.

New Recommended Young Adult Titles

Peeled (Hardcover) » Peeled is a classic Joan Bauer novel, featuring a strong heroine, and filled with her trademark witty dialogue, and problems and people worth standing up to.  "With sharp pacing and an intriguing premise, Bauer renders a fully realized portrait of a small town dependent on an ever-fragile agricultural economy and threatened by modern encroachment. As always, she stocks her work with strong, sage women, the elements for a budding romance and plenty of funny moments." - Publisher's Weekly, Ages 12 and up.

Peace & Eco-living:

Unbowed: A Memoir (paperback) Hugely charismatic, humble, and possessed of preternatural luminosity of spirit, Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and a single mother of three, recounts her extraordinary life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya.

"Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement demonstrate the intimate connection between sustainable management of Africa's rich natural resources, democracy, good governance and peace. Such are the solutions that will bring new light to Africa. I hope the world will support her vision of hope." --Nelson Mandela

Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World (paperback) "If you have lost a sense of direction in your life, if despair dogs your every step, pick up a pencil and pick up this book. Paul Hawken, without a trace of self-importance, impales a very dark room on the beam of a very bright light here. In his hands, the civil society movement reveals itself as the action that has replaced the talk."-- Barry Lopez    ".....Please read and share Blessed Unrest, a celebration of the awakening of the human spirit. It will inspire and encourage millions more to take action." --Jane Goodall, UN Ambassador for Peace 

Gorgeously Green (paperback) »  Written with a combination of charm and environmental consciousness, Sophie Uliano's eco-handbooks provides eight easy steps for women (or anyone) to shop, drive, eat, cook, and even wear makeup in a way that doesn't create waste or destroy our environment--think of it as a pollution diet, or an eco-friendly makeover. Superstar Julia Roberts writes a glowing forward, praising Uliano's savvy and ethical way of life.... Adopting a green lifestyle is among the most positive, forward-thinking, and personally fulfilling choices that anyone can make--and "Gorgeously Green" shows that it doesn't have to be tedious, time-consuming, or glamourless.

Mindful Movements: Mindfulness Exercises Developed by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Sangha (Spiral-bound w/DVD) » Initially designed as stretching breaks between long periods of sitting meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh’s Mindful Movements became so popular they’re now an integral part of his retreats. Based on yoga and tai chi movements, these simple, effective exercises reduce mental, physical, and emotional stress. The book Mindful Movements introduces the program to the general public. The ten routines are designed to be easily accessible and can be performed by people of all ages and all body types, whether they’re familiar with mindful practices or not.

Gift Ideas for Father's Day

Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-lo Island (paperback) » Located twenty miles south of Detroit where the Detroit River meets Lake Erie, Bob-lo Island was the ultimate summer playground for families from Detroit and Windsor for nearly one hundred years. In its heyday, the island housed an amusement park with one of the world’s largest dance halls, an elegant restaurant, and a hand-carved carousel. It also employed two large Frank Kirby–designed ferry steamerscomplete with dancing and other entertainmentto transport patrons to and from the island, which was not accessible by car. In Summer Dreams, author Patrick Livingston tells the story of Bob-lo from its discovery by French explorers to its subsequent use by missionaries, British military men, escaped slaves, farmers, and finally the wealthy class, who developed the island as a summer resort.

Sonny Sez! Legends, Yarns & Downright Truths (paperback & CD) » Sonny Sez! contains one hundred one-minute stories from Sonny Eliot, popular broadcaster and Detroit personality. Well known for his weather segments on WWJ-TV (now WDIV) and for hosting a variety of programs including At the Zoo and the annual Hudson’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast, Eliot’s unique weather presentation can currently be heard on WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit. The stories included in this volume were carefully selected from over 750 that Sonny broadcast on his syndicated radio show over the years and concern “the strange, the humorous, and the useless.”

Charles Fort: The Man Who Invented the Supernatural (Hardcover) » "His accounts of mysterious airships," writes Steinmeyer, "formed the canon when, decades later, this phenomenon became a public obsession as Flying Saucers or UFOs. Charles Fort created the word 'teleportation,' inspired the term 'Bermuda Triangle,' and popularized accounts of spontaneous human combustion, visions of cities in the sky, the Mary Celeste [ghost ship] mystery." It was Fort who suspected that our world might be a kind of petting zoo for the amusement of aliens. Human beings, he notoriously concluded, were "property. . . . We belong to something." He also guessed that there might be some kind of invisible barrier around the Earth and that the Earth itself might actually be stationary, that the planets were much closer to us than we suspected, and that, in general, there were more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in anyone's philosophy."-- The Washington Post 

Armageddon in Retrospect: And Other New and Unpublished Writings on War and Peace » When Kurt Vonnegut died in April 2007, the world lost a wry commentator on the human condition. Thanks to this collection of unpublished fiction and nonfiction, Vonnegut's voice returns full force. Introduced by his son, these writings dwell on war and peace, especially the firebombing of Dresden, Germany. The fiction, full of his characteristic humor, includes stories about time travel and the impossibility of peace in the world ("Great Day") and, in the title piece, a kind of mock Paradise Lost, Dr. Lucifer Mephisto teaches his charges about the insidious nature of evil and the impossibility of good ever triumphing.

Art, Photo, DVD & CDs:

Robert Frank: Paris (Hardcover) »  The publication of Paris marks the first time that the significant body of photographs which Robert Frank made in Paris in the early 1950s have been brought together in a single book. Having left Switzerland in 1924, this 1951 trip to France was only Frank's second return to Europe after he had settled in New York City in 1947, and some of the images he made during that visit have become iconic in the history of the medium. The 80 photographs reproduced here, which were selected by Frank and editor Ute Eskildsen, suggest that Frank's experience of the "new world" had sharpened his eye for European urbanism. He saw the city's streets as a stage for human activity and focused particularly on the flower sellers. His work clearly references Atget and invokes the tradition of the flaneur.

Collected Films of Robert Frank Volumes 1-3

Complete Film Work Vol 1: Pull My Daisy, The Sin of Jesus, Me and My Brother (3x DVD boxed set) »

Complete Film Work Volume 2, OK End Here, Conversations in Vermont, Liferaft Earth (DVD) »

Complete Film Works: Vol. 3 Keep Busy, About Me: A Musical, S-8 Stones Footage from Exile on Main Street (3x DVD boxed set) »

Each Complete Film Works volume contains 3 DVDs enclosed in a slipcase/ film reel designed container. These are all rarely seen or exhibited films by one of the most celebrated living photographers  of post WWll - as a photographer, Frank helped to redefine the way we look at the world. There is no contemporary photography without Frank. Published 50 years ago this month,  "The Americans" broke down the barriers of what we had come to expect from photography. After Frank's "On the Road" journey into the American psyche, he turned to film as a way of expressing a narrative no longer possible with still images. Pull My Daisy, his first film is one of the most influential works in underground cinema. In his film work he blends photography, film and literature together into a language that is unique and totally Frank. "As much as Mr. Frank's still images have colonized our national subconscious, his films remain mostly obscure." -- New York Sun: Seeing With Robert Frank's Eyes                            

Marcel Dzama: The Berliner Ensemble Thanks You All (paperback/portfolio) »  Five years ago, McSweeney's published Marcel Dzama's The Berlin Years, bringing Dzama's elegant, enigmatic bears, bats, and nostolgic sexy ladies to a slumbering nation. That book sold out in a matter of seconds and has become a highly sought after collector's item. This eclectic new edition has been totally redone and designed as a loose print portfolio with added images, jig-saw puzzle posters, redesigned envelopes, insert cards and small extras. A wonderful artist designed book that won't last long. Get to know Dzama  co-founder of the Roayl Art Lodge collective of Winnepeg-- a Canadian artist of peculiar and delicate small-scale ink and watercolor drawings.

"High School on Acid"...

Mike Kelley: Day is Done (2x DVD set) »  satanic rituals and advertising jingles mingled with allusions to Godard, German Expressionist cinema and Stockhausen . . . toxic-comic carnival . . . an amazing feat of industry and poetics — Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times

"Kelley’s Day is Done is like a variety show scripted by a regression therapist . . . an indisputable tour de force." — Jerry Saltz, The Village Voice

"a true epic! . . . the Mike Kelley Berlin Alexanderplatz!" — John Waters, Flash Art

A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music (Hardcover) » Founded in 1965 and still active today, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American institution with an international reputation. From its working-class roots on the South Side of Chicago, the AACM went on to forge an extensive legacy of cultural and social experimentation, crossing both musical and racial boundaries. The success of individual members and ensembles such as Muhal Richard Abrams, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Anthony Braxton has been matched by the enormous influence of the collective itself in inspiring a generation of musical experimentalists.                            

The Unternationale CD » s Detroit born /Berlin transplant singer-songwriter Daniel Kahn & legendary Moscow avantgarde song bard Psoy Korolenko with Oy Division joined together to record The First Unternational in July 2007 in Tel-Aviv, a Yiddish/ dadaist-inspired project of post-post-dialectic klezmer for an orgy of -isms: social-, zion-, antizion-, chassid-, national-, satan-, alcohol-, modern-, all in alternating English, Russian, and Yiddish. It's Laibach meets Theodore Bikel. This full length CD complete with Klezmerized version of "Sympathy for the Devil" contains a 20 page booklet with song texts in Russian, English and Yiddish, beautiful digipak presentation.

Scarlet Oaks: Innocence Isn't Easy CD »  high quality recording showcasing the talents of this Detroit area three piece country/rock/pop group. Songwriter Steve McCauly blends intelligent lyricism against rough hewn Dylanesque /Mark Knopfler like vocals that blend neatly against Noelle Lothamer's perfectly sweet toned harmonies. A kind of "Suburban Homesick Blues" meets the "Sultan's of Swing" in this strong debut Ep, we highly recommend.

3" Herbal Buddha » Small 3" tall Herbal Buddhas--Serious fun for Dharma-happy souls! This Herbal Buddha gives off a wonderful odor and is made from compacted Rhododhendron leaves and Casein, handpainted with gold accents.

Bigfoot: I Not Dead (Hardcover) » In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to Me Write Book, Bigfoot returns from exile to share his inspiring, hilarious, and often deeply disturbing experiences as a misunderstood forest gentleman and tragic media darling. These entertaining and often grizzly stories stand not only as a testament to the greatness of the legendary man-beast, but also as a chilling cautionary tale of the downside of a life of celebrity, cannibalism, wanton violence, and lack of toilet training

AL CAPP'S SHMOO: THE COMPLETE COMIC BOOKS (HARDCOVER) »  First appearing in Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip in 1948, the oddly shaped (and happily edible) Shmoo became an overnight phenomenon, spawning an unprecedented merchandising frenzy in the late forties and fifties. As part of the Dark Horse Archives series, ALL Shmoo comic book appearances are being collected for the first time ever in a deluxe hardcover edition!

h.y.p.e. is a summer teen program sponsord by the Detroit Public Libraries. With classes in Art, Poetry slams, Computer learning, movies, Karate, gaming and more. The new hype teen center was opened in mid May at the DPL. Check online at dplhype.org for program schedules or pick up the June event schedule at Book Beat.

Mariam Makeba, Children's Fair, World music, Osadia: Spainish art theater and more. Check out the schedule at Detroit Festival of the Arts.

One of the most powerful short-story writers of the twentieth century, Isaac Babel expressed his sense of inner conflict through disturbing tales that explored the contradictions of Russian society. His masterpiece, Red Cavalry, set in the Soviet-Polish war, is one of the classics of modern fiction. By turns flamboyant and restrained, this collection of Babels best-known stories vividly expresses the horrors of his age.

"Amazing not only as literature but as biography."  --Richard Bernstein, The New York Times

The Book Beat reading group will be meeting on Wednesday, June 25th at 7:00 PM at Gayles Chocolates on Washington in Royal Oak for a discussion on the "Red Cavelry" stories by Isaac Babel. We also recommend a reading of the following autobiographical stories; "The Story of My Dovecot", "First Love", "In the Basement", "Awakening", "Guy de Maupassant" - these are also included in the Penguin classic edition:  Red Cavalry and Other Stories (Paperback, Penguin Classics).

The Book Beat reading group meets the last Wednesday of the month at Gayles Chocolates in Royal Oak. The discussion group is free and open to the public. Reading group books are discounted 15% during the month. 

 THURSDAY, JUNE 26th: AN EVENING OF UNUSUAL TALENTS:
JIM BENTON, RENATA PALUBINSKAS & ZACHARY SCHAFER AT BOOK BEAT   

  THURSDAY June 26th, from 7:30-8:30 PM the Book Beat at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park, presents an entertaining evening of unusual art and books by three rare and exceptional Detroit area talents. New York Times bestselling author and international designer Jim Benton will present his latest outrageous title for mature teens and strange adults; CHERISE THE NEICE, a book of bleak and hilarious dark humor. Also present will be Lithuanian born artist Renata Palubinskas, who has recently illustrated a sublime satire with her partner Zachary Schafer, titled SCHNOOKS WAR ON TERRORISM. The cultral arts website Detroiter.com has called Renata "possiby the best pinter in this city."