The Black Heart Crypt

Intermediate fiction
"Zack Jennings did not want to chase a slobbering black dog with
glowing red eyeballs into the Haddam Hill Cemetary three nights before
Halloween.
It was Zipper's idea."
With these sentences Chris Grabenstein begins his latest haunted
mystery, The Black Heart Crypt. Talk about an attention getter! Not
only the young bibliophile, but the child who doesn't relish reading
and may need to do a book report for school will want to check out the
identity of Zipper, why he/she/it considers the course of action
advisable, and what the dog with glowing red eyes leads Zack and
Zipper to.
The Black Heart Crypt is the fourth in the series. In the first
book Zack and his family move to a new town. Zack has an unusual
talent--the ability to interact with the more colorful deceased. The
place is swarming with them. And Zack is quickly caught up in their
drama. Each sequel really lives up to its promise.
This book focuses on a feud that goes back centuries between the
Jenningses and the Icklebys. There are thirteen Icklebury evil ghosts
trapped in a crypt by a spell. They want out. And they want
revenge. Unfortunately the captive spell is broken right before
Halloween, the night when spirits can pass through to interact with
and wreak havoc on the living. Aided by his family, including three
quite unique great aunts who rush up, with their cats, from Florida to
protect him, Zack is in for the fight of his young life.
You'll have to read the book to see how it turns out.
On a personal note, I plan to brighten up a rainy day by baking
cupcakes with pink icing and sprinkles.
A great big shout out goes out to Gail Harrison, our Veazie Community
School librarian who is also in charge of the creation of amazing
yearbooks.
Julia Emily Hathaway

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Paper Covers Rock

YA Novel
Coming of age novels are legion in young adult fiction. Good
ones, though, are rare. Good ones with a male protagonist are
practically an endangered species. Jenny Hubbard's Paper Covers Rock
is one of those.
Alex (16) has just started writing in a journal his father gave
him when he started boarding school. Now he has something to write,
something a lot less idyllic than what he's sure his dad had in mind.
A classmate, Thomas, has died. Alex was there when it happened. And
it's a lot more complex than the story one could read in the newspapers.
For one thing, the official version of the incident involves a
cover up. Four boys had been swimming and diving in a river. All had
been drinking in violation of the school rules. Thomas' autopsy would
bring that to light. Alex and Glenn, a popular classmate he alludes
to as "Golden Boy" while he calls himself "Solid Kid", deny drinking,
letting Clay take the rap and get expelled.
Alex is not sure he knows all the answers. He could have been
quicker at getting help. If he had perhaps Thomas would still be
alive. And was the death totally an accident? There were rumors...
Finally, the boys were not the only ones at the river that
fateful day. The young English teacher Alex has a crush on, Miss
Dovecott, may have seen more than she lets on. Glenn sees her
continued presence at school as a threat. When she takes an interest
in Alex's writing Glenn sees the opportunity to put her into the kind
of compromising position that would have caused a teacher to be
terminated instantly in the 1980's, using his conflicted classmate as
bait.
The journal format is highly effective. Details about the
incident and the events leading up to it merge seamlessly with Alex's
emotional discovery and growth. This is a perfect read for a lover of
mystery with the maturity to understand that sometimes life doesn't
fall into blacks and whites, but rather a wide range of greys.
On a personal note, I can hardly wait til Giffords (ice cream stand)
opens with a new flavor. :-)
A great big shout out goes out to Stephen King, Maine author and
philanthropist extraordinaire, who will share his half birthday with
me on March 21st.
Julia Emily Hathaway

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Notes From A Maine Kitchen

Kathy Gunst, author of Notes From A Maine Kitchen: Seasonably
Inspired Recipes, is, like me, a transplant from away. [Translation
for non
mainers: someone who was not born in this lovely state.] She first
gained an affinity for Maine as a child during summers spent with
grandparents and at sleep away camp.
As an adult, Gunst and her husband decided to spend a year in
Maine. At times they wondered what they were doing. They must have
found the answer. Nearly thirty years and two daughters later they're
still here which is a darn good thing.
An award-winning cookbook author, Gunst is impressed with how
Maine cuisine has evolved in her decades here. She arrived in a time
of clam bakes and church suppers. Now we have the push for local
foods and sustainable agriculture. Lobsters and chowder are sharing
culinary attention with cheeses, breads, greens, and local treats such
as fiddleheads (ferns). A blog evolved into the book. "I was
interested in exploring the food world in Maine throughout the
seasons, from my kitchen and garden and its surroundings. It's been
several years of discovering great food, meeting inspiring chefs,
gardeners, farmers, and people passionate about making Maine food
something worth talking about."
Notes From A Maine Kitchen is organized by calendar with a
chapter for each month. Two strands are woven together in each
chapter. One is a narrative strand of people, places, and
activities. The other is the wonderful recipes.
In January Gunst heads out resolutely for her first time ice
fishing. We're with her as she travels to the ice shack, baits hooks
and tends lines, and helps cook the results of her labor. The recipe
follows along with one for tartar sauce. She speaks of the pleasures
of a warm, slow cooked stew on a frigid day. Then there are recipes
for winter comfort foods--
parsleyed potatoes, chicken stew, and chowder.
All is not perfect even in Vacationland. In an essay on the
wonders of farmers' markets, Gunst criticizes stores that import
strawberries from California when fresh local berries are in season.
She believes that we must speak up on behalf of local farmers whose
foods we want to purchase. In the November chapter she speaks
eloquently of her discovery of hunger in Maine when she volunteered in
her daughter's first grade classroom.
If you enjoy cooking rich, nourishing food, if you enjoy a good
narrative, if you want to learn more about the fascinating state of
Maine...you'll find Notes From A Maine Kitchen a must read. My only
frustration when I read it was the lack of snow outside to scoop up
and pour maple syrup on.
On a personal note I'm so excited about the warmer temps and longer
days. I've started spring cleaning :P and look forward to getting
productively dirty in the Orono Community Garden :-).
A great big shout out goes out to the memory of Mimi Perry,
quintessential Mainer, who welcomed me into her state and heart. When
I was at the University, hundreds of miles away from my family cat
sitting, she'd bring me Thanksgiving dinners from her own kitchen. As
the children arrived she was always ready with advice and
encouragement. Boy, do I miss her! But we never completely lose
those we love when we carry their memory in our hearts.
Julia Emily Hathaway

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Shine

YA fiction
Imagine that your one time best friend is found unconscious
outside the convenience store where he works, a gasoline pump nozzle
duct taped into his mouth. It's a hate crime. The words, "Suck this,
faggot," are written in his chest in blood. He is in a coma from
which he may never emerge.
Sherrif Doyle claims that the crime was the work of outsiders.
"Nobody from Black Creek woulda stooped so low." But Cat, heroine of
Lauren Myracle's Shine, is not so sure. She's seen her brother and
his friends acting quite strangely since the incident. Sure that
Doyle will make a pretense of investigating and pin the blame on
phantom drunk out-of-town college boys, she decides that she must
speak for her brutalized friend, Patrick. She must discover the
identity of his attacker and make it known.
This is much easier said than done. Really bad drugs have
infiltrated Cat's small town, plunging many people into contact with
very unsavory characters. Because of the intimacy of connections, it's
hard for Cat to keep what she's trying to do a secret. She has to
though. The killer, possibly desperate enough to do anything to avoid
discovery, may be someone who knows her only too well.
There is also something in Cat's past complicating her situation
even more. Several years ago when she was only thirteen her brother
whom she had idolized had stood by while his friend had tried to rape
her. The experience was so traumatic Cat withdrew emotionally from
everyone she was close to. Now she must confront her past in the
process of seeking the truth.
As she starts closing in on answers, Cat finds herself in
peril. A cow tongue is left on her pillow with a note. "Stop flapping
your tongue, or I'll cut yours out too."
Teens or adults who enjoy a fast paced mystery with an
engrossing plot and believable characters will find Shine to be a
great read.
On a personal note: I am quite proud of myself. I chaired my first
school board meeting. People said I did quite well.
A great big shout out goes out to Michelle, our Veazie Community
School guidance counselor. Her warm personality, sense of humor, and
love for young people serve her well.
Julia Emily Hathaway

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Blood & Flesh So Cheap

YA nonfiction
The cover of Blood & Flesh So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its
Legacy by Albert Marrin sent chills down my spine. It shows rows of
young women working industriously at sewing machines in a factory. In
the lower right hand corner menacing flames are superimposed on the
picture. It wasn't that the Triangle Factory fire was news to me. As
a progressive, I read voraciously about the evils of corporate greed
past and present. But you know what they say about a picture being
worth a thousand words. Those girls, some to die so painfully and
needlessly, looked so much like my own beloved daughters.
No one really knows how the fire got started. It happened late
in the afternoon at the end of a shift. People tried frantically and
futilly to put it out. The hose on the stairway wall was dry--having
not been connected to a standpipe. Elevators were soon put out of
action. Stairways were blocked. A fire escape collapsed. Singly and
in small groups, women, many with hair and clothes on fire, began
jumping from windows to certain death on the pavement below. One
hundred forty-six workers died that day. No New York City workplace
disaster exceeded this fire in carnage until the 2001 terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center.
Needless to say, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire shocked New
Yorkers and people all over America. It was decided that never again
would such workplace devastation happen. A commission found horrific
conditions in a wide range of factories and sweatshops. It was
decided that government could mandate safe working conditions in mills
and factories.
In America things have changed a great deal. This is not the
case in the third world nations where many of our consumer goods are
now manufactured. In Bangladesh, for instance, there was a factory
fire very much like the Triangle Shirtwaist fire...in 2006. In
Marrin's words, "...short memories and greed are a deadly mixture."
Flesh & Blood So Cheap is obviously well researced with a wealth
of information on the history of the fire and the people whose lives
were claimed by it, the social and political issues of the time, and
the long lasting consequences of this tragic event. The wonderful
balance between individual narrative and larger story makes this book
both readable and informative. The pictures are riveting, a couple
heartbreakingly so.
The title is perfectly chosen. And it should raise a question
as relevant now in 2012 as it was in 1911. When we Americans clamor
for cheaply produced goods, spurred on by media's selling frenzy,
should we not become aware of their far higher hidden costs?
Shouldn't this awareness spur and empower us to fight for the safety
of our sisters and brothers around the globe whose blood and flesh are
still far too cheap?
On a personal note: Joey Cat passed his check up with flying colors.
He's the picture of feline health and securely attached to his adopted
mom, me. :-)
A great big shout out goes out to Dennis Kucinich, a tireless advocate
for working class and poor people. These days he's in a shrinking
minority in government. He's my top pick for president. Hope springs
eternal.

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The Junkyard Wonders

Picture Book.
There are precious few authors who can publish prolifically over
a period of decades and still make each book something special.
Patricia Polacco is one of the few with that special combination of
creative spark and consistancy. The Junkyard Wonders is yet another
shining star in her literary constellation.
Trisha wants to spend the school year with her father and
grandmother in Michigan. In California where her mother lives the
other kids know she was a late reader. She's tired of being special.
She just wants to be a regular kid in a regular class.
In her new school, however, it seems like nothing's changed.
Two girls give her strange looks when she shows them her class card.
Her new classmates seem different. And her teacher welcomes her
students to the Junkyard. It's the catch all class for students with
disabilities.
Early on in her class the students are sorted into tribes.
Tricia's fellow tribe members become her best friends. Their
individual strengths give each an important, distinct role in their
projects.
Mrs. Peterson, the teacher, gives her students ways to shine.
This is lost on the "normal" kids who consider them weirdos and
retards. After one especially abusive playground encounter that
leaves Tricia and her friends feeling like throwaways and junk, Mrs.
Peterson takes her class to see what a junkyard really is: "...a place
of wondrous possibilities."
Mrs. Peterson instructs her class to form into their tribes and
look through the junkyard for anything that can be transformed into
something else. Toward the end of the field trip a boy in Trisha's
group sees a wrecked model airplane and decides that they can turn it
into something wonderful, something that can fly all the way to the
moon. Does this happen? You'll just have to read the book to find out.
It comes as no surprise that the book comes right out of
Polacco's childhood. She did indeed get diagnosed with dyslexia and
yearn to be, "a regular kid in a regular class.". She did learn in
real life Mrs. Peterson's class that "normal" was not all it was
cracked up to be. She and the other junkyard kids in her clan went on
to careers far more astounding than probably those of the regular kids
who looked down on them.
There is one paragraph in the book that holds a message we all
need to hear these days.
"But every day Mrs. Peterson reminded us, 'Some people look at
things the way they are and cry, "Why?". But I want you to look at
things and see what they could be and cry, "Why not?"'"
There is plenty to make people cry "Why?" in today's world:
climate change, economic inequality, tens of thousands of Americans
dying of curable diseases every year for lack of health insurance,
factory food production...or, in my school board vice chairperson
case, drastically dwindling funds for public education. Why won't get
us all that far though. We need to liberate at least part of our
brains to the why not mindset. Granted it comes more easily to
dreamers like me. But if the majority of us could move in that
direction just a smidge...therein could lie our salvation.
I'm sure Patricia Polacco would be with me on this.
On a personal note, I had the most wonderful time last Saturday
decorating the Orono Library lawn with snow angels and a dear little
snow kitten.
A great big shout out goes out to all the beautiful people in our
world working from a why not mindset and all those with open minds who
have the potential to join them.
Julia Emily Hathaway

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Many Hands

Picture Book
What do you think of when you imagine a basket? An upscale
offering of a preppy company, maybe filled with pricey goodies? A
plastic container for Easter egg hunt loot? A hamper like holder for
picnic food? Chances are you think of something generic and mass
produced.
Far more lovely baskets are crafted by Native Americans such as
Maine's Penobscots. Natural materials are utilized. The craft is
passed down through generations. Even the most simple and functional
and simple basket is a true work of art. My friend, Angeli Perrow,
has crafted a beautiful tale about this communal, non industrial
creation.
The book opens as a young girl, Lily, seeing a dragonfly on her
hand and remembering its symbolism as the spirit of departed loved
ones, finds herself missing her beloved grandmother. She remembers a
special story they shared while weaving baskets. Not surprisingly,
she dreams about her grandmother creating a lovely basket with a pink
flower.
When she wakes up Lily remembers the dream vividly enough to
recreate the basket. She thinks it's the most beautiful one she's
ever made. She is very disappointed when her mother, cousins, and
uncle only say, "Very nice," and remind her that, "Many hands make the
basket."
Lily goes to the pond and watches dragonflies. One lands on her
basket. She realizes what her family had been trying to tell her.
Although she was the one who made the basket, they had put a lot of
work into preparing the materials. She thanks them and creates a
dragonfly to place on her basket.
Heather Austin's illustrations, water color I believe, perfectly
compliment the text. A beautifully crafted dragonfly practically
flies off the page. Lily's brown eyes shine with excitement. But my
two favorite pictures are the hands ones. In the dream sequence
Lily's grandmother hands her a water lily transformed into a basket.
At the end you see a circle of the hands of her family members
touching her very soecial basket in a stunning visual representation
of the book's theme.
On a personal note: I loved Adam's February vacation and Katie's
birthday. When it comes to kids I've been blessed.
A great big shout out goes out to my dynamic dragonfly lady, Rose
Thompson. Rose juggles family, work, and school board and makes it
all look manageable. She helps me keep things in perspective. When I
thought the washing machine (which we can't afford to replace) was
broken, she had me laughing with her descriptions of old style wringer
machines and scrubbing clothes on the river bank. She is also very
good at motivating me. Some day when I become a published book author
I'll owe a debt of gratitude to this very classy but down to earth lady.
Julia Emily Hathaway

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