Monday, January 16, 2012

Monday Morning Introductions

Check out the books that came in this week for review.  Stop by our review site, Feathered Quill Book Reviews, in a few weeks to read the reviews.












The Kingdom of Mine by Gary Edwards In this timeless and delightfully illustrated tale, a young king—thinking he owns everything in his kingdom, including the wild animals, birds, and clouds—means well but acts impulsively, nearly destroying the land he loves. The story imparts lessons ranging from the importance of sharing to the dangers of the uncontrolled exercise of power, portraying how a king’s plans to accomplish his short-term goals cause damage he never anticipated.
 
The Armadillo Book by Bill Bryant The armadillo, a slow, dull-witted, dirt-eating creature resembling a prehistoric rodent, has firmly established itself in the folklore of the South and Southwest. Despite its lemming-like compulsion for self-destruction, the armadillo survives in large numbers and, as this volume duly records, continues to impose its presence on modern society.
 
Left for Dead by J.A. Jance Ali Reynolds investigates two shocking cases of victims brutally left for dead in New York Times bestselling J.A. Jance’s latest mystery-thriller. When Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, Ali’s classmate from the Arizona Police Academy, is gunned down and left to die, he is at first assumed to be an innocent victim of the drug wars escalating across the border. But the crime scene investigation shows there’s much more to it than that, and soon he and his pregnant wife, Teresa, both fall under suspicion of wrongdoing.Ali owes Reyes a debt of gratitude for the help he gave her years earlier when she was dealing with a troubled friend. When she’s summoned to his bedside at Physicians Medical Center in Tucson, it’s impossible for her to turn away. And knowing Reyes as well as she does, Ali finds it hard to believe that he’s become mixed up in the drug trade, despite evidence to the contrary. Upon arriving at the hospital, Ali finds that her good friend, Sister Anselm, is there, too—working as a patient advocate on behalf of another seriously injured victim, an unidentified young woman presumed to be an illegal border crosser, who was raped and savagely beaten.Ali becomes determined to seek justice in both cases and secure safety for both victims. Together with Sister Anselm and a conscientious officer who won’t let the case drop despite pressure from above, Ali digs for clues to find the true culprits.

The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polities Augusta Branson was born into antebellum Southern nobility during a time of wealth and prosperity, but now all that is gone, and she is left standing in the ashes of a broken civilization. When her scalawag husband dies suddenly of a mysterious blood plague, she must fend for herself and her young son. Slowly she begins to wake to the reality of her new life: her social standing is stained by her marriage; she is alone and unprotected in a community that is being destroyed by racial prejudice and violence; the fortune she thought she would inherit does not exist; and the deadly blood fever is spreading fast. Nothing is as she believed, everyone she knows is hiding something, and Augusta needs someone to trust. Somehow she must find the truth amid her own illusions about the past and the courage to cross the boundaries of hate, so strong, dangerous, and very close to home.

Secrets of the Lost Summer by Carla Neggers A wave of hope carries Olivia Frost back to her small New England hometown nestled in the beautiful Swift River Valley. She's transforming a historic home into an idyllic getaway. Picturesque and perfect, if only the absentee owner will fix up the eyesore next door. Dylan McCaffrey's ramshackle house is an inheritance he never counted on. It also holds the key to a generations-old lost treasure he can't resist…any more than he can resist his new neighbor. Against this breathtaking landscape, Dylan and Olivia pursue long-buried secrets and discover a mystery wrapped in a love story…past and present.

Gopher to the Rescue by Terry Jennings The animals living in the forest are surprised when a mountain suddenly explodes, covering the land in gritty warm ash and rocks that make it unlivable for many plants and animals. Gopher survives in his underground burrow and gets to work, digging through the ash, and mixing it into the soil below. He works hard every day, and slowly some of the plants and animals return to the area. Will the forest ever be the same? Scientists spent years observing how life returned to the mountain following the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.


The Great Divide by Suzanne Slade Animals, like people, enjoy spending time with their friends and family. Many groups of animals have their own unique names. Did you know group of gorillas is a called a band? And a bunch of billy goats is a tribe? Following in the footsteps of Multiply on the Fly (multiplication), the award-winning What s New at the Zoo? (addition) and What s the Difference? (subtraction), this rhythmic, fun-to-read-aloud book introduces children to division as they conquer bands, tribes, mobs and more.

Home in the Cave by Janet Halfmann Baby Bat loves his cave home and never wants to leave it. While practicing flapping his wings one night, he falls, and Pluribus Packrat rescues him. They then explore the deepest, darkest corners of the cave where they meet amazing animals animals that don t need eyes to see or colors to hide from enemies. Baby Bat learns how important bats are to the cave habitat and how other cave-living critters rely on them for food. Will Baby Bat finally venture out of the cave to help the other animals?

The Penguin Lady by Carol Cole Penelope Parker lives with penguins! Short ones, tall ones; young and old the penguins are from all over the Southern Hemisphere including some that live near the equator! Do the penguin antics prove too much for her to handle? Children count and then compare and contrast the different penguin species as they learn geography.

Three Little Beavers by Jean Diehl Beatrix the beaver longs to be good at something. Her brother Bevan is an expert at repairing the lodge with mud and twigs. Her sister Beverly is a superb swimmer and underwater gymnast. What makes Beatrix stand out? One day, she runs away by swimming up the creek and finds some fresh garden plants to eat, and yummy trees to gnaw. When her siblings set off to find her, all Three Little Beavers wind up trapped! It takes some simple engineering on the part of the humans who set the traps, and Beatrix s discovery of her special talents, for the people and beavers to finally find a way to live in harmony.

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