Cold magic, the first entry in a new science fiction series, the Spiritwalker Trilogy, is a sure winner.  Elliott, with inspiration from her teenaged kids, has created what she labels an "Afro-Celtic post-Roman icepunk Regency novel with airships, Phoenician spies, and the intelligent descendants of troodons." Yes, it's a mashup!  And a truly original and imaginative one.  Cold magic is subtitled "when science and magic collide--it is the i

    If you haven't kept up with children's books over the last couple decades, you may have missed a terrific author.  Nancy Farmer's books have covered topics such as cloning, long-term effects of pollutants, social progress and culture change.

    Now that Oscar frenzy is over, may we recommend an older picture that deserves to be remembered, watched again, and shared with the younger generation?  Winner of eight Academy awards including Best Picture, Gandhi is a gripping portrayal of one of the 20th Century's civil rights leaders.  Gandhi was a pioneer who promoted resistance through mass nonviolent civil disobedience or nonviolent noncooperation.

The great new book Red light, green light, eat right: the food solution that lets kids be kids, by Joanna Dolgoff, takes kids' faves and turns them into easy healthy forms.  For instance, one page lists lunch makeovers: mac n cheese becomes healthy when whole wheat macaroni and fat free American cheese

  This summer we will be celebrating world cultures and travel with the summer reading program for adults "Novel Destinations."  One destination we want to promote is our own Pure Michigan.  This is a gorgeous state (take it from people who have seen a lot of them) with wonderful natural resources both close by and far away.  There are some excellent books about this great place, too.  One which I highly recommend is the novel