New Books from March 2017

Every month I share a post about all the new books that came my way during the past month. You can be sure to see these posts at the beginning of every month.

I read eight books in March including 5 non-fiction, two children’s fiction, and a historical fiction book. My reading is slowing down a bit because it is Prom week and these last few weeks have been spent working on the last-minute details of planning the Post Prom activities. I will be so glad when it is over! But, I know it will be a fun night as well! I can’t even remember the last time I was up all night having fun! I’m currently reading some really great books that I’m anxious to share with all of you including a classic that I’ve never read. To always see what I am currently reading, check out my Goodreads sidebar to the right.

Currently Reading: BREAD AND WINE, WHERE ARE THEY BURIED,  and I SEE YOU
Currently Listening: ANNE OF GREEN GABLES narrated by Rachel McAdams

I can’t even comprehend the amount of books I have to share with you this month! I am sharing over 30 books with you today including some amazing children’s book selections that I am so thrilled about.  In fact, I have so many awesome children’s books in my queue that I’m booked through July! So, that means you’ll be seeing children’s books every week!

Track season has begun and so far it hasn’t been very warm or dry for it. I’m ready for some sunny track meets! We are on the downward swing of school and I have two weekend getaways coming up that I am super excited about. It’s a little reward for surviving Prom…at least I hope I survive!

I’m anxious to get my porch swing back up and enjoy some reading outside. Here is hoping for sunny reading days for you as well! If you would like to purchase any of the books below, clicking the photo of the book will take you directly to Amazon. If you choose to purchase the book I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting me.

THE BREAKDOWN
By: B.A. Paris
Published: July 18, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Format: Paperback

I’m still talking about Paris’s debut novel BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. Can she top it?

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside―the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.

Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her.

IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND
By:  Michele Campbell
Published: May 16, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Format: Paperback

This former NYC federal prosecutor has lots of stories to tell and I can’t wait to read this one!

Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny. They first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, even though they are as different as three women can be. Twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge . . and someone else is urging her to jump. 

How did things come to this?

As the novel cuts back and forth between their college years and their adult years, you see the exact reasons why these women love and hate each other—but can feelings that strong lead to murder? Or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband?

MADE SAFE
By: Francis Sparks
Published: January 16, 2017
Publisher: Pandamoon Publishing
Format: Paperback

This is a debut thriller from an Iowa author. It has some really great reviews including one from Iowa author, Heather Gudenkauf,  and I’m anxious to check it out. 

For Private Investigator, Moses Winter, the job just got more complicated. His adultery case has taken a violent turn landing the subject of his investigation, Fred Dunsmore, in the hospital and Moses in jail. Moses is held for questioning along with his erratic client, Sharon Dunsmore, and Fred’s mistress, a Bosnian refugee who just happens to be related to the DCI agent investigating the case, Raif Rakić. 

After Rakić secures their release, Fred goes missing, and Moses Winter finds himself compelled to find him. With the assistance of Rakic, Moses unravels Fred’s ties to Des Moines’s underworld and is forced to confront the most heinous crimes of his career.

THE ROANOKE GIRLS
By: Amy Engel
Published: March 7, 2017
Publisher: Crown
Format: Hardcover

This was a win from Random House. It’s all over the blogosphere right now and getting lots of buzz. 

After her mother’s suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother’s mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran fast and far away.

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between Lane’s first Roanoke summer and her return, THE ROANOKE GIRLS shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

STARS OVER CLEAR LAKE
By: Loretta Ellsworth
Published: May 2, 2017
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Format: Hardcover

I saw this book on a list of WWII books and the title made me wonder if it was about Clear Lake, Iowa. When I found out that it is set at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, I knew I had to write about it. I’ll be doing a piece on this book and the author for the Cedar Rapids Gazette in June. Stay tuned!

For the first time in decades, Lorraine Kindred has returned to the ballroom where she was swept away by the big bands during the 1940s – and by a star-crossed romance. As she takes in the magnificent energy and brassy sounds of her youth, the past comes to life, along with the fateful decision all those years ago that forced her to choose between personal conviction and social expectations, between the two men who had captured her heart. It had been a time of great music and love, but also of war and sacrifice, and now, trying to make peace with her memories, Lorraine must find the courage to face buried secrets. In the process, she will rediscover herself, her passion, and her capacity for resilience.

Set during the 1940s and the present and inspired by a real-life ballroom, Stars Over Clear Lake is a moving story of forbidden love, lost love, everlasting love – and self-love.  

SUGAR
By: Kimberly Stuart
Published: February 7, 2017
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Format: Paperback

I recently reviewed Stuart’s book BETTER TOGETHER and was thrilled to see she had another new novel available. So, I ran out to my local Target to get a copy. I love supporting great authors by actually purchasing their books as well. 

After realizing her coworkers at L’Ombre, a high-profile restaurant in NYC, will never appreciate or respect her, Charlie Garrett allows her ex-boyfriend, Avery Michaels, to convince her to work for him as executive pastry chef at his new Seattle hotspot, Thrill. She’ll have her own kitchen, her own staff—everything she ever wanted professionally.

When she arrives at Thrill, however, she realizes that Avery wanted more than a pastry chef for his restaurant—he wanted a costar for the reality show they’re filming about the restaurant and its staff. Charlie is uncomfortable with the idea at first, but she soon realizes that this is her chance to show the world what women in the kitchen are capable of. She sets some ground rules with the film crew, signs a non-disclosure agreement, and promptly meets the man of her dreams, Kai, off-camera.

The show, and her demanding work schedule as head of the pastry kitchen, makes it nearly impossible for Charlie and Kai to spend time together. Drama on and off the set soon take a toll on Charlie’s well-being, forcing her to choose if life in front of the camera is worth sacrificing life behind the scenes.

Sugar is a contemporary romance, set in the high-pressure commercial kitchens of New York and Seattle. A funny and clever story of how a female chef learns to thrive in the ruthless world of premier restaurants.

THE WIZARD OF OZ
By: L. Frank Baum
Published: Reissue July 11, 2013
Publisher: Puffin Books
Format: Paperback

I love this Puffin series and watched it for awhile and when the price dropped drastically, I snagged it. Even though it’s considered a children’s book, I got this one for myself. I’ve never actually read the book and I assume it is a bit different from the movie we all love. 

Follow the yellow brick road!

Dorothy thinks she’s lost forever when a tornado whirls her and her dog, Toto, into a magical world. To get home, she must find the wonderful wizard in the Emerald City of Oz. On the way she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. But the Wicked Witch of the West has her own plans for the new arrival – will Dorothy ever see Kansas again?

BEYOND BEDLAM’S DOOR
True Tales from the Couch and Courtroom
By: Mark Rubenstein, MD
Published: May 15, 2017
Publisher: Thunder Lake Press
Format: Paperback

I read BEDLAM’S DOOR  a few months ago and this is his newest with additional cases of madness. 

What drove a psychiatrist to enlist a patient in a plot to murder six people?

What was the secret bargain struck that allowed a 104-year-old woman to live such a long and productive life?

Why would a woman refuse to emerge from the confines of her bedroom? And after treatment liberated her, why did she suddenly take a turn for the worse?

In Beyond Bedlam’s Door, former practicing psychiatrist Mark Rubinstein takes you outside the hospital and into his world of private patients, nursing home residents, and the challenging legal system in which he worked as a forensic expert. As in Bedlam’s Door, great lengths were taken to preserve people’s anonymity, but the raw truth of each story remains intact. The resiliency of some individuals and the venality of others are laid bare in these pages.

FITTER FASTER
The Smart Way to Get in Shape in Just Minutes a Day
By: Robert J Davis, PhD
Published: May 11, 2017
Publisher: AMACOM
Format: Paperback

I’m all about getting fitter faster. I don’t have a lot of time to spend working out. I prefer less than 20 minutes (unless I’m walking with a friend, then it is 45 minutes). But, little bursts of exercise seem to work best for me. 

I don’t have time . . . I’m too tired . . . I hate gyms . . . These are among the most common excuses for not exercising. But the truth is that getting in shape requires less time and effort than you might think.

CORK DORK
A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
By: Bianca Bosker
Published: March 28, 2017
Publisher: Penguin Books
Format: Paperback

I love me a glass (or two) of wine and I thought this one sounded really interesting. I’ve watched documentaries about sommeliers and read other books about the process, so I’m intrigued by Bosker’s adventure.

For readers of Anthony Bourdain, Susan Orlean, and Mary Roach, a surprising, entertaining and hilarious journey through the world of wine.

Like many of us, tech reporter Bianca Bosker saw wine as a way to unwind at the end of a long day, or a nice thing to have with dinner and that was about it. Until she stumbled on an alternate universe where taste reigned supreme, a world in which people could, after a single sip of wine, identify the grape it was made from, in what year, and where it was produced down to the exact location, within acres. Where she tasted wine, these people detected not only complex flavor profiles but entire histories and geographies. Astounded by their fanatical dedication and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, Bosker abandoned her screen-centric life and set out to discover what drove their obsession and whether she, too, could become a cork dork. 

Thus begins a year and a half long adventure that takes the reader inside elite tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, a California winery that manipulates the flavor of its bottles with ingredients like Mega Purple, and even a neuroscientists MRI machine as Bosker attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? Funny, counterintuitive, and compulsively readable, “Cork Dork “illuminates not only the complex web of wine production and consumption but how tasting better can change our brains and help us live better. 

THE JUICE LADY’S GUIDE TO FASTING
Cleanse and Revitalize Your Body the Healthy Way
By: Cherie Calbom
Published: January 3, 2017
Publisher: Siloam
Format: Paperback

I have THE JUICE LADY’S SUGAR KNOCKOUT, but honestly haven’t even opened it. These appear to make a good companion to each other. Giving yourself a sugar fast. I did it during the month of November. It was super hard but beneficial. 

There is a new surge of interest in fasting, yet many people are unaware of how to navigate the many types- juice liquid diet, raw-foods, and Daniel vegan diet, and their various requirements and benefits. The Juice Lady, Cherie Calbom, offers her nutritional expertise on the how-tos of fasting.

This comprehensive book provides menus, recipes, and strategic fasting guidelines. You will learn how to begin, what to eat and/or drink, how long to fast, and how to break a fast. Ultimately you will discover the myriad of benefits derived from fasting the right way for a healthy life. 

READY FOR ANYTHING
52 Productivity Principles for Getting Things Done
By: David Allen
Published: December 28, 2004
Publisher: Penguin Books
Format: Paperback

I purchased this for some advice on time management. I like that it is split into 52 ideas. 

In his bestselling first book, GETTING THINGS DONE, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen presented his breakthrough methods to increase efficiency. Now “the personal productivity guru” (Fast Company) shows readers how to increase their ability to work better, not harder every day. Based on Allen’s highly popular e-newsletter, Ready for Anything offers readers 52 ways to immediately clear your head for creativity, focus your attention, create structures that work, and take action to get things moving.

ONE MINUTE MENTORING
How to Find and Work with a Mentor – And Why You’ll Benefit from Being One
By: Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz
Published: May 2, 2017
Publisher: William Morrow
Format: Paperback

Mentoring seems to be the new approach to management and building leadership in the workplace. I’m interested to see how I can apply this to my life.

GUMBO LOVE
Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life
By: Lucy Buffet
Published: May 9, 2017
Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style
Format: eBook

I previously reviewed Buffet’s cookbook, LULU’S KITCHEN and shared another recipe here. Her photos from the Gulf Coast and photos of the food in her recipes are mouth-watering and make me want to go back there every day.

Incorporating Caribbean, Cajun, Cuban, Mexican, Old Florida, and Creole influences, Lucy proves through her collection of recipes that the Gulf Coast has its own distinct flavors and traditions that make it a destination year after year. Surviving hurricanes, the Gulf Coast–beyond just New Orleans–has a vibrant food and culture that’s gone largely unnoticed. Lucy wants to change that by sharing her food and stories with GUMBO LOVE readers.

Like her brother, Jimmy, Lucy celebrates freedom, relaxation, and seaside decadence in her own art–cooking, and has now written the cookbook her fans have been asking her for; one that offers the recipes she’s famous for, along with Gulf Coast classics and stories of growing up in Mobile, Alabama, working in New Orleans, and her philosophy of relaxation, gratitude, and enjoyment. 

THE PRACTICE HOUSE
By: Laura McNeal
Published: April 1, 2017
Publisher: Little A
Format: eBook

This was my choice from the Kindle First selections. I thought the premise was pretty interesting…a Scottish girl plopped in a one-room schoolhouse to teach in rural Kansas. 


Nineteen-year-old Aldine McKenna is stuck at home with her sister and aunt in a Scottish village in 1929 when two Mormon missionaries ring the doorbell. Aldine’s sister converts and moves to America to marry, and Aldine follows, hoping to find the life she’s meant to lead and the person she’s meant to love.

EATS, SHOOTS, &  LEAVES
The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
By: Lynne Truss
Published: April 12, 2004
Publisher: Avery
Format: eBook

This was a Kindle Daily Deal. I remember when this book came out and people were buzzing about it then. I can always use some extra help with my writing! The description alone makes me laugh! 

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

“Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

“I’m a panda,” he says at the door. “Look it up.”

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death.

Now, we all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in e-mail, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species.

In EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES  former editor Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with. 

THE IDEA OF YOU
By: Amanda Prowse
Published: March 21, 2017
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Format: eBook

I have Prowse’s other book THE FOOD OF LOVE on my Kindle but haven’t gotten to it yet. It appears she has a strong international following, so I should definitely check her out soon! 


With her fortieth birthday approaching, Lucy Carpenter thinks she finally has it all: a wonderful new husband, Jonah, a successful career and the chance of a precious baby of her own. Life couldn’t be more perfect.

BETTER
How I let Go of Control
By: Amy Robach
Published: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Ballantine
Format: eBook

I remember the day Robach announced on GMA that she had breast cancer all because she agreed to get a mammogram for a story on the show. I really like watching Robach and this personal struggle was so real to me. When her book was a Kindle Daily Deal, I snagged it. 

“I have breast cancer.” When Good Morning America anchor Amy Robach revealed her shocking diagnosis on live television in November 2013, the seasoned news reporter embarked on the most difficult and illuminating journey of her life. In this intimate memoir she retraces the twelve months following her announcement and speaks candidly, for the first time, about how her illness affected her family life and her marriage, tapped into her deepest fears and strengths, and transformed her in ways she never could have imagined.

Only weeks earlier, in September 2013, ABC producers asked Robach to get an on-air mammogram to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Her first instinct was to say no—there was no history of cancer in her family, she was only forty years old, and she felt strange drawing attention to herself when she had no personal connection to the issue. (She’d been meaning to get her first mammogram that year but had conveniently “lost” the prescription.) Her colleague Robin Roberts, herself a cancer survivor, convinced her to do it with one simple sentence: “I can pretty much guarantee it will save a life.”

To Robach’s surprise, the life she saved was her own: Tests revealed malignant tumors in her breast, and she immediately underwent a bilateral mastectomy, followed by six months of chemotherapy treatments.

BETTER is more than a story of illness and recovery. Robach recounts the day she and her husband, Andrew Shue, got the terrible news; the difficulty of telling her two young daughters, and the challenges of carrying on with the everyday duties of parenting, nurturing a fledgling second marriage, and managing a public career. She lays bare the emotional toll of her experience and mines her past for the significant moments that gave her the resilience to face each day. And she describes the incredible support network that lifted her when she hit bottom.

With honesty, humility, and humor, Robach connects deeply with women just like her who have struggled with any kind of sudden adversity. More important, she shares valuable wisdom about the power of the human spirit to endure the worst—and find the way to better. 

THE BLUE JAY
By: Michelle Schlicher
Published: September 20, 2015
Publisher: Michelle Schlicher
Format: eBook

Michelle Schlicher is an Iowa author and I reviewed her book GRACIE’S SONG a few months ago. Her earlier book, THE BLUE JAY, is going to be free through the month of April. Snag it now while you can!!

A debut novel about a young woman and a young boy scarred by abandonment who find they share an unlikely bond.

Josie McCray was eight years old when her mother left. Now a young teacher, she guards her heart carefully but finds herself pulled to mentor a child in need.

Payton Runnells was 12 when his mother left. Now in foster care, he’s slow to trust anyone but senses that Josie might somehow understand the grief that grips him.

As Josie and Payton lower their walls and forge a friendship, they begin to open themselves up to all life has to offer.

FIRST STORIES: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Illustrated by; Dan Taylor
Published: February 7, 2017
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Format: Board Book

Oh my goodness!  This book and the next two below are fabulous. I’ll be talking about them soon, but if you have a little princess…GET. THESE. BOOKS. They also have a Snow White book, 

“Do you love me, Beauty? Will you marry me?” FIRST STORIES: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a perfect introduction to this classic fairytale. Push, pull, and turn mechanisms bring the story to life and introduce all the main characters: Beauty, her father, and of course the Beast! This well-loved fairy tale is beautifully imagined for a new generation by children’s illustrator Dan Taylor.

FIRST STORIES: CINDERELLA
Illustrated by: Dan Taylor
Published: March 14, 2017
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Format: Board Book

“Cinderella, you shall go to the ball!” FIRST STORIES: CINDERELLA is a perfect introduction to this classic fairytale. Push, pull, and turn mechanisms bring the story to life and introduce all the main characters: Cinderella, her stepsisters, the handsome prince, and of course the fairy godmother. This fairy tale is beautifully imagined for a new generation by children’s illustrator Dan Taylor.

FIRST STORIES: RAPUNZEL
Illustrated by: Dan Taylor
Published: March 14, 2017
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Format: Board Book

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair!” FIRST STORIES: RAPUNZEL is the perfect introduction for young children to this classic fairytale. Push, pull, and turn mechanisms bring the story to life and introduce all the main characters: Rapunzel, the handsome prince, and of course the wicked witch! This well-loved fairy tale is beautifully imagined for a new generation by children’s illustrator Dan Taylor.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
A Coloring Book
By: Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
Published: February 7, 2017
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Format: Paperback

Oh wow! If you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast, this is for you. Beautiful pages and quotes from the stories will be fun for anyone that likes to color and reminisce over their favorite parts of the story.

This enchanting coloring book is full of wonderful pictures, patterns, and borders to be colored in, as budding artists immerse themselves in the story of Beauty, who goes to live with the terrifying Beast in order to save her father…and then gradually learns to love him. All the key scenes and characters are here to color in as you relive this most romantic of fairy tales.

SEARCH AND FIND ANIMALS
By: Libby Walden
Illustraed by: Fermin Solis
Published: September 13, 2016
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Format: Hardcover

This is a fun format for a search and find book. The pages tell you what to look for and then flip open to have the child find the animals hiding on the page. Our kids loved these books and were perfect for car rides. I always kept one in the car or bag.

Can you find a pair of birds playing badminton, a gibbon with a ribbon, and a starfish shining in the spotlight? In Search and Find: Animals, young children are prompted to search six busy foldout scenes to find the illustrations highlighted on the large flaps. Each colorful spread features 20 things to find, plus additional amusing animals on a farm, in the Arctic, under a jungle canopy, beneath the waves, across the savannah, and in the nighttime woods. As readers explore the pages and find the animals, they will encounter other creatures scampering about—so parents can help children identify and learn the names of even more animals.

ANIMAL BITES BABY ANIMALS
By; Dorothea DePrisco
Published; March 7, 2017
Publisher: Animal Planet
Format: Paperback

I reviewed a couple other Animal Bites books in this series and they were phenomenal. See my review, HERE. Just flipping through these pages quickly, has me loving them already!

With more than 200 adorable photos of baby animals and their families, there’s serious “aw” factor on every page of Animal Planet Baby Animals. This fun addition to the Animal Bites series provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite animals. Arranged thematically with a focus on animal behavior and family relationships, young readers will explore sections about life cycles, feeding, play time, conservation, getting around, and much more. Special book features designed for this age group include simple infographics and ‘All Grown Up’ animal facts to help kids learn more about how young and adult animals differ, just like humans!

ANIMAL BITES ANIMALS ON THE MOVE
By: Dorothea DePrisco
Published: March 7, 2017
Publisher: Animal Planet
Format: Paperback

With more than 200 gorgeous photos of animals in their natural habitats, there’s action and adventure on every page of Animal Planet Animals on the Move. This fast-moving addition to the Animal Bites series provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite animals. Arranged thematically with a focus on animal behavior and family relationships, young readers will explore sections about migration, fast and slow, hunting and playing, and animal movement on land, in the air, and in water, Special book features designed for this age group include simple graphics and ‘Just Like Me’ sidebars with fascinating animal facts for young readers to learn more about themselves and the amazing animals that share our world.

WONDERFUL YOU
An Adoption Story
By: Lauren McLaughlin
Illustrated by Meilo So
Published: April 25, 2017
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover

Just a quick skim through the book tells me I’m going to love it. From the prose to the illustrations, it would make a beautiful gift for an adoptive family.

This lovely poem illuminates the role of an adopted child’s birth mother, respecting her choice to give her child to a loving family. We follow a mother’s journey as she carries her child, searches for deserving parents, and ultimately creates a new family. The story offers a version of the process that is full of warmth, care, and joy. 

An adoptive mother herself, author Lauren McLaughlin was glad for an opportunity to memorialize her family’s own fairy tale, and Meilo So’s ethereal illustrations breathe magic into an already wondrous experience. 

HIDDEN FIGURES
The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space
Young Readers Edition
By: Margot Lee Shetterly
Published: November 29, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback

I got the Young Reader’s Edition through the school’s Scholastic order because I thought then both my daughter and I could read it. I’ve also her to other version is a little dry in spots and I thought maybe this version would be less technical.

Now in a special new edition perfect for young listeners, this is the amazing true story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. Soon to be a major motion picture.

Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. This audiobook brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four African-American women who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country.

IRENA’S CHILDREN
Young Reader’s Edition
By:Tilar J Mazzeo
Adapted by: Mary Cronk Farrell
Published: September 27, 2016
Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books
Format: Paperback

I also purchased this book through the Scholastic order at school. This isn’t the cover I have and my copy is paperback, but I couldn’t find it on amazon. I assume it is the same version, but they just did a different cover for the Scholastic version. Anyway, I couldn’t resist this story of saving children during WWII.

From New York Times bestselling author Tilar Mazzeo comes the extraordinary and long forgotten story of Irena Sendler—the “female Oskar Schindler”—who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II—now adapted for a younger audience.

Irena Sendler was a young Polish woman living in Warsaw during World War II with an incredible story of survival and selflessness. And she’s been long forgotten by history.

Until now.

This young readers edition of Irena’s Children tells Irena’s unbelievable story set during one of the worst times in modern history. With guts of steel and unfaltering bravery, Irena smuggled thousands of children out of the walled Jewish ghetto in toolboxes and coffins, snuck them under overcoats at checkpoints, and slipped them through the dank sewers and into secret passages that led to abandoned buildings, where she convinced her friends and underground resistance network to hide them.

In this heroic tale of survival and resilience in the face of impossible odds, Tilar Mazzeo and adapter Mary Cronk Farrell share the true story of this bold and brave woman, overlooked by history, who risked her life to save innocent children from the horrors of the Holocaust. 

IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN….GERMANY
A Child’s Introduction to Culture Around the World
By: Carole P. Roman
Published: February 2, 2017
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Format: Paperback

You know I adore this series for young children.

Join Carole P. Roman when she visits the beautiful land of Germany in the newest book of her informative series. Learn about the varied customs and cultures. Travel to the central Europe to discover what you would eat and do for fun. See the land through the eyes of a youngster like you and understand what life is like in this exciting place.

IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN…THE MAYAN EMPIRE
By: Carole P. Roman
Published: February 24, 2017
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Format: Paperback

Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series.

Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Viking Europe, and what children who lived during the Han Dynasty did for fun.

If You Were Me and Lived in…does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture.

So get onboard this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.

B IS FOR BREAKDANCING BEAR
By: Thomas Nelson
Published: March 17, 2015
Publisher: Make Believe Ideas
Format: Paperback

I don’t even remember where I heard about this book, but when I saw it I knew I had to get it for my niece. I’ll be seeing her at the end of the month and will be taking it to her then! It’s a fun activity book for practicing letters and lots of stickers are included. She will have fun and won’t even realize she is learning too!

Learn the alphabet the fun way with B is for Breakdancing Bear Alphabet Sticker Activity Book.

Packed full of fun coloring and sticker activities to complete, this book provides plenty of practice in writing letters and uses repetition to reinforce letter sounds.

Each letter is presented with a page die cut in the shape of the letter, so children can explore the alphabet with their hands!

Phew! That is A LOT of books! I have a lot of reading to do and I am very excited to get started on some of these books! Stay tuned! As always, if you choose to read any of these books, let me know your thoughts!

I’m linking up with THE DELIBERATE READER for her monthly feature NEW ON THE STACK. To see other bloggers new books, click HERE.