Ladybug Nominee Profile

Bear goes wandering through the woods --which are full of colorful detail thanks to the illustrations of Heather Solomon-- in search of ugly pie. He finds several friends with pies to offer, (pumpkin, honey, and rhubarb) but none are ugly enough to suit him. Each friend gives him an ugly ingredient and when he gets home he sets to "a-choppin' and a-mixin' and a-stirin' and a-fixin' and a-rollin', and a-makin' an ugly pie just fit for bakin'!" Author Lisa Wheeler provides the recipe at the end of the story.

This is one of the ten titles nominated for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award. Ms. Wheeler's work has been nominated before: One Dark Night was nominated in 2004.

2011 Readers' Choice Awards - Outstanding Children's Literature

This year, for the first time, as part of the NH Literary Awards, the NH Writers' Project will also give a Readers' Choice Award. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite book from among the titles nominated in each category. The Readers' Choice Awards will be presented at the Literary Awards ceremony on November 4, 2011 at the NH Institute of Art.

  

Here are the nominees for The Readers' Choice Award for Outstanding Children's Literature:
(Note, hyperlinked titles have been NH Center for the Book books-of-the-week, hyperlinked authors have had other work featured on our blog.)

•  Let It Fall, Maryann Cocoa-Leffler
• The Memory Bank, Carolyn Coman
• The Penny, Andy Cutts
• Jigsaw, Terri A. DeMitchell
• Wish, Joseph Monninger
• The Gator Pit, Janey Morneau
• Lucas the Traveling Crab, David S Rawding
• The Christmas Mink and other December Tales from the North Woods, John-Richard Thompson

Vote for your favorite in each award category!

The winners will be announced next week -- do you have your tickets for the NH Literary Awards ceremony?

Book of the Week #43

The Vaults: A Novel by Toby Ball (NY: St. Martin's Press, 2010)

"In a dystopian 1930s America, a chilling series of events leads three men down a path to uncover their city’s darkest secret. At the height of the most corrupt administration in the City’s history, a mysterious duplicate file is discovered deep within the Vaults---a cavernous hall containing all of the municipal criminal justice records of the last seventy years. From here, the story follows: Arthur Puskis, the Vault’s sole, hermit-like archivist with an almost mystical faith in a system to which he has devoted his life; Frank Frings, a high-profile investigative journalist with a self-medicating reefer habit; and Ethan Poole, a socialist private eye with a penchant for blackmail. All three men will undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City---calling into question whether their most basic beliefs can be maintained in a climate of overwhelming corruption and conspiracy." (publisher's summary)

Toby Ball is a novelist and the Business Manager at the Crimes against Children Research Center and the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. He lives in Durham, NH, with his wife and two children. His second novel, Scorch City, was published in 2011 and he is currently working on a third. The Vaults is also available as an audiobook.

Grants Available for NH Literacy Projects

The Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library is pleased to announce that the Granite State Reads program is currently accepting applications for the 2012 grant cycle. Those interested in applying for a Granite State Reads grant should visit http://granitestatereads.org/ for details on how to apply. You can contact Granite State Reads at gsr@dcr.nh.gov.

Granite State Reads offers financial support to New Hampshire organizations that provide literacy assistance to New Hampshire residents. An organization with a project that improves the literacy skills of New Hampshire children or adults is eligible to apply for a Granite State Reads grant of $500 or more. The deadline to apply is December 1, 2011. Grant recipients will be notified of funding decisions by February 6, 2012.

Since 2003, nearly $97,000 has been distributed to New Hampshire literacy programs through Granite State Reads. Previously funded projects include a program that provided books to babies and toddlers, several family reading initiatives, guided reading groups, and literacy programs for people with learning challenges. Granite State Reads is a program of the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library.

Barnes Wins Man Booker

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes was selected as the winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize. This is the 4th time that a Barnes novel has been shortlisted for the Prize.

Ladybug Nominee Profile

The three osos leave their house for a walk before dinner and Little Miss Rubia (with her curls of oro) comes along and helps herself to sopa, sits in the sillas, and settles in for a nap in the littlest cama. If you know about Goldilocks you probably think you know what happens when the bears come home, but you might be surprised. Susan Middleton Elya has retold this classic tale in rhyme with Spanish vocabulary mixed into the story and translated at the back of the book. The fun and colorful pictures in this book were created by Melissa Sweet.

Both the author and the illustrator have games and activities on their websites. Not specificially about this book though.

This is one of the ten titles nominated for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award. Ms. Elya's work has been nominated before: Bebe Goes Shopping was nominated in 2008.

2011 Readers' Choice Awards - Outstanding Work of Poetry

This year, for the first time, as part of the NH Literary Awards, the NH Writers' Project will also give a Readers' Choice Award. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite book from among the titles nominated in each category. The Readers' Choice Awards will be presented at the Literary Awards ceremony on November 4, 2011 at the NH Institute of Art.

Here are the nominees for The Readers' Choice Award for Outstanding Work of Poetry:
(Note, hyperlinked titles have been NH Center for the Book books-of-the-week, hyperlinked authors have had other work featured on our blog.)

• Luck, Liz Ahl
• Walking the Dog's Shadow, Deborah Brown
• In the Cat's Eye, Glenn K. Currie
• Then, Something, Patricia Fargnoli
• Working in Flour, Jeff Friedman
• Seasons and Shadows, John T. Hitchner
• The Battlefield Guide: Harpers Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg, Rodger Martin
• Flinch of Song, Jennifer Militello
• Lid to the Shadow, Alexandria Peary
• From the Box Marked Some Are Missing, Charles W. Pratt
• Earth Listening, Becky D. Sakellariou
• The Ambiguity of Autumn, Jeff Volk
• Slipstream, Carol Westberg

Vote for your favorite in each award category!
Next week I will feature the titles nominated for Outstanding Work of Children's Literature.

Book of the Week #42

When Cuba Was Lost: A Novel by Phil Jones (Hancock, NH: Norway Hill Press, 2010)

This novella by Hancock resident Phil Jones tells the story of Esperanza Ramirez, the daughter of an American industrialist who visits Cuba in 1935 and falls in love with a Cuban Naval Cadet, Carlos Mesa. Carlos is a member of the Cuban Youth Movement, a radical organization determined to overthrow the government, and the young lovers are swept up in the violence that brought Fulgensio Batista to power as they struggle to save the life of resistance leader Antonio Guiteras. The book was reviewed recently by Steve Sherman for the Keene Sentinal.

"It was even better than she had imagined. Catching the light from rows of torches lining the drive, the new limousines glinted blacks and greens and reds in sparkling reflections of color among the flashes of gleaming chrome. Polished to perfection, each car drove through a gate guarded by several soldiers and preceded slowly around the circular drive up to the marbled stariway that marked the entrance to the Havana Yacht Club. Within each car were representatives of Cuba's elite. Before the night was out, everybody who was anybody in Cuba in 1935 would be present--all scrubbed and perfumed, resplendent in their finest suits and gowns." (p. 13)

Ladybug Nominee Profile

Red is a bully and all the colors are scared of him until 1 shows up and shows them all a better way. Kathryn Otashi is the author and illustrator of several books for children. One has recieved numerous awards since it was published in 2008.
This is one of the ten titles nominated for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award

2011 National Book Awards Finalists

The finalists for the 2011 National Book Awards were announced this week.

Poetry Tomorrow

In case you haven't already heard about it (I hope you have) here is the schedule of poetry readings planned for tomorrow around the state. Thanks to Walter Butts for reminding me!

Prior to this weekend's NHWP Poetry & Politics Conference at NHTI Concord, visiting State Poets Laureate will join New Hampshire Poets on a statewide tour of readings on Friday, October 14th. The events are free and open to the public.


Poets Laureate: Walter E. Butts (NH) and Dick Allen (CT)
Local Poets: Faculty and student poets
Venue: New England College
Time: Noon to 3 p.m.

Poets Laureate: Walter E. Butts (NH), Richard Allen (CT), Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda (VA) and Marie Harris (NH)
Local Poets: Faculty and student poets
Venue: Southern New Hampshire University
Time: 4 p.m. followed by reception

Poets Laureate: Julie Kane (LA) and Lisa Starr (RI)
Local Poet: Catherine O’Brian
Venue: Concord Public Library (Auditorium)
Time: 10:15 a.m. to Noon

Poets Laureate: Bruce Dethlefsen (WI) and Karla Morton (TX)
Local Poet: Maudelle Driskill
Venue: Abbie Greenleaf Library (in downtown Franconia)
Time: 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Poet Laureate: Dave Parsons (TX)
Local Poets: Rodger Martin, Jim Duffy, Bill Doreski and Jeff Friedman
Venue: Keene State College, Mountain View Room, 3rd floor, Student Union Building
Time: 1 to 2:30 p.m. followed by refreshments

Poets Laureate: JoAnn Balingit (DE) and Caryn Miriam Goldberg (KS)
Local Poets: Peter Money and April Ossman
Venue: Lebanon Community College Auditorium
Time: 1 to 3 p.m.

Poet Laureate: Pat Fargnoli (NH)
Local Poets: Pam Bernard and Martha Carlson-Bradley
Venue: Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough
Time: 1 p.m.

Poets Laureate: Betsy Sholl (ME) and Marjory Wentworth (SC)
Local Poets: S. Stephanie and Sid Hall
Venue: Toadstool Bookshop, Milford
Time: 1 p.m.

2011 Readers' Choice Awards - Outstanding Work of Nonfiction

This year, for the first time, as part of the NH Literary Awards, the NH Writers' Project will also give a Readers' Choice Award. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite book from among the titles nominated in each category. The Readers' Choice Awards will be presented at the Literary Awards ceremony on November 4, 2011 at the NH Institute of Art.

Here are the nominees for The Readers' Choice Award for Outstanding Work of Nonfiction:

(Note, hyperlinked titles have been NH Center for the Book books-of-the-week, hyperlinked authors have had other titles featured on our blog.)

• Lie After Lie: The True Story of a Master of Deception, Betrayal, and Murder, Lara Bricker
• Was That a Name I Dropped?, Paul E. Brogan
• States of Grace: Encounters with Real Yankees, Edie Clark
• Granite Grumblings: Life in the 'Live Free or Die' State, Glenn K. Currie
•  Beyond the Notches: Stories of Place in New Hampshire's North Country, John Harris, Kay Morgan, and Mike Dickerman, editors
•  Command Influence, Robert Shaines
• Visible Voices: Literacy and the Invisible Homeless, Melissa M. Juchniewicz
• Crosswise to the Government: Memoir of an Innocent Spouse, Meg Ledgeway (Katharine Lofgren)
• Turn & Jump, Howard Mansfield
• Your Book Starts Here, Mary Carroll Moore
• Jefferson's Dream, The Ballad of the Declaration of Independence, John Perrault
• Franco-American Life & Culture in Manchester, New Hampshire, Robert B. Perreault
• Mothers of Scouting, Edward L. Rowan
• Headin' for the Rhubarb! A New Hampshire Dictionary (well, kinda), Rebecca Rule
• Violence, Veils and Bloodlines: Reporting from War Zones, Louis J. Salome
• Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains, Casey Sherman
• The Nature of New Hampshire: Natural Communities of the Granite State, Dan Sperduto and Ben Kimball
• Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives, John Walters

Vote for your favorite in each award category!
Next week I will feature the titles nominated for Outstanding Work of Poetry.

Book of the Week #41

Beyond the Notches: Stories of Place in New Hampshire's North Country edited by John R. Harris, Kay Morgan & Mike Dickerman (Littleton, NH: Bondcliff Books in partnership with Monadnock Institute of Nature, Place and Culture at Franklin Pierce University, 2011)

"Beyond the Notches records the pulse of the North Country in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Its authors share an interest in close observation and the articulation of a storied relationship with the land. They scrutinize Coos, Carroll, and Grafton counties from a variety of perspectives, including archaeology, psychology, art, history, ecology, photography, journalism, and literature. Several writers explore what makes the region distinctive; others examine tensions that vex its inhabitants, or posit remedies that address its most serious ills. The majority acknowledge that the North Country can no longer rely on weather, terrain and distance to hold back influences like new arrivals with increased expectations, new technologies for communication and recreation, and new attitudes that call into question local traditions. North Country residents have begun to recognize that their way of life has evolved "beyond" the notches, and many appear interested in new approaches, several of which are outlined in this volume." (Introduction, p. 10)

A diversity of voices and an interesting collection of images, both old and new, made this volume a pleasure to read.
The included essays are collected into five parts, each begun with a quote from Robert Frost. The volume begins with "First Stories" which "reveal the primacy of the land and its features," but are also first in the sense of chronology, the competitive sense of "first place" and the sense of being essential or primal. Part 2 covers "Transformation and Change" and includes a fascinating essay by Rebecca Rule about the people who made the Berlin paper mills run. Part 3, "Working the Land"  includes essays on the working life of (among others) loggers, bootmakers, and farmers as well as the local innovations and outside forces that have shaped the North Country economy and the Stark Prisoner of War camp. "Conservation and Recreation" is the theme of part 4 which includes essays on the places those of us from "below the notches" visit the North Country for (Storyland, The Public Forests, Lake Umbagog, etc.) The final section focuses on "Competing Visions" of what the future of this region might look like.

Ladybug Nominee Profile

The simple, calm existence of a goldfish is disrupted by the introduction of a lot of companions. He doesn't like it one bit! Or does he? You will have to read the book and hear his thoughts as events unfold. Devin Scillian has written (would that be fish-written?) and Tim Bowers has illustrated these Memoirs of a Goldfish. The pictures bring the trauma of overcrowding vividly to life, and are delightful in their detail. I especially love the beach umbrella.

This is one of the ten titles nominated for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award

2011 Readers' Choice Awards - Outstanding Work of Fiction

This year, for the first time, as part of the NH Literary Awards, the NH Writer' Project will also give a Readers' Choice Award. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite book from among the titles nominated in each category.  The Readers' Choice Awards will be presented at the Literary Awards ceremony on November 4, 2011 at the NH Institute of Art. 

Here are the nominees for The Readers' Choice Award for Outstanding Work of Fiction:
(Note, hyperlinked titles have been NH Center for the Book books-of-the-week, hyperlinked authors have had other titles featured on our blog.)

• My Name is Jane, Don Bourassa
• Live Free or Undead, Rick Broussard, editor
• Lights from Monadnock, Jack Coey
• Angels of Venice, Tom Foster
• Hunter Huntress, Darcy Scott
• Dance Lessons, Aine Greaney
• Mutual Aid, Ruth Doan MacDougall
• Sing You Home, Jodi Picoult
• Passing Time, Ron Roy
• Corruptions, A Novel of Washington, James T. Shea
• The Wycked Falls: Descent into the Maelstrom, Robyrt Snyder
• The Cloak and the Parchments, Frank P. Spinella, Jr.
• Island Light, Katherine Towler
• Jadine, Julie Bigg Veazey
• Soul Proprietorship: Women in Search of Their Souls, Dianalee Velie
• Templates, Ronna Flaschner
• Down from Cascom Mountain, Ann Joslin Williams

Vote for your favorite in each award category!
Next week I will feature the titles nominated for Outstanding Work of Nonfiction.

Book of the Week #40

Franco-American Life & Culture in Manchester, New Hampshire: Vivre la Difference by Robert B. Perreault (The History Press, 2010)

This collection of essays by Manchester native and St. Anselm College modern language professor Robert B. Perreault provides a look back at the French side (both literally and figuratively) of the city of Manchester.

"A strong sense of unity and tradition frames a fascinating history of Manchester, New Hampshire’s Franco-American community. Author Robert B. Perreault presents this story through compelling vignettes, including the triumphant success of photographer Ulric Bourgeois, the undeniable conflict between the French and Irish immigrants and a colorful profile of book collector and author Adélard Lambert. Featuring vintage images from Perreault’s private collection, this work is a stunning visual narrative of the French-Canadian contributions to local culture." (back cover)

NH Literary Awards 2011

The New Hampshire Literary Awards will be presented Friday evening, November 4, 2011 at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester. You can buy tickets for the award ceremony from the NH Writers' Project (NHWP). Tickets cost $25 and include the reception, hors d'oeuvres and libations. WZID Radio personality Mike Morin will emcee.

The NH Literary Awards recognize Outstanding Children's Literature, an Outstanding Book of Nonfiction, an Outstanding Book of Fiction, an Outstanding Book of Poetry. The Donald M. Murray Award for Outstanding Journalism and a Lifetime Achievement award (given to someone selected by the NHWP Board of Trustees) will also be announced at the event. These award winners will be selected from the list of 2011 finalists.

This year, for the first time, NHWP will also give a Readers' Choice Award. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite book from among the titles nominated in each category.

Book Events Sampler

Tuesday, 10/4/2011

• Kevin Flynn and Rebecca Lavoie will be at Gibson's at 5:30 talking about their latest tale of true crime, Legally Dead.
• Water Street Books is hosting novelists Toby Ball and Gerry Boyle starting at 7pm

Wednesday, 10/5/2011

• Spend your lunch hour with Chris Bojalian who will be at Barnes & Noble, Nashua signing The Night Strangers at 12:30pm

Thursday, 10/6/2011

• Gibson's will host 3 Great Writers on the Outdoors (It looked like 4 writers to me, but math is not my strong suit) starting at 7pm

Friday, 10/7/2011

• Tom Ryan, author of Following Atticus, will be at Barnes & Noble, Portsmouth at 7pm

Saturday, 10/8/2011

• Joni Cole will be at Morgan Hill Bookstore from 11-12:30 to sign Another Bad-Dog Book

Sunday, 10/9/2011

• Dava Sobel will be speaking at The Capitol Center for the Arts at 7pm as part of the Writers in the Spotlight Series. This is a ticketed event ($6) hosted by Gibson's Bookstore.