Little Lost Tiger

Little Lost Tiger by Jonathan London, author; Ilya Spirin, illustrator on amazon


Little Lost Tiger is a beautifully illustrated description of a night and the following morning in the life of Siberian tiger Striped One and her young son, Amba. Author Jonathan London nicely describes the frozen habitat, the creatures (tigers and others) who live there, and the excitement of a sudden forest fire. "A Note from the Author" at the end tells us a little about Siberian tigers; it informs us Udege and Nanai tribes both call tigers "Amba," so that's where the baby tiger in Little Lost Tiger got his name.

I love that the story itself is short enough to hold a young child's attention; I also appreciate how London's narrative and Ilya Spirin's drawings work in tandem to describe the Siberian wilderness. My main reservation is about Little Lost Tiger being yet another book for young children with dark hued artwork! I realize the setting most likely was not especially light and bright, but a few more glints and suggestions of brightness would help with total appeal.

my Amazon review: a story about Siberian Tigers

Partners

Partners on amazon, with eight chapters, each in two parts: Part One: Neighborhood Revitalization through Partnership; Part Two: Whittier Neighborhood, a Minneapolis Case Study.

More than ten years after its publication in 1982, at one of the annual Salt Lake City Neighborhood Conferences I received a copy of this soft-cover, 11.7"x9.1"x0.8" explorative report on revitalization of the Whittier section of Minneapolis. It's printed on heavy, coated paper, and it's packed with narrative, with Black and White and color photographs, diagrams, charts, and general inspirations. I'm reading myself and my current situation into some words about the USA from the Prologue that could apply to many individuals:

"This book is about the end of an era and the beginning of a new possibility. The era it leaves behind was 'on the road,' mobile, going anywhere, celebrating space. The possibility it welcomes is 'coming home,' rooting, creating a stake, celebrating place."


"Neighborhood is about place. It declares that one special place is the foundation for life's living. America 'on the move' was hard on places, whether prairies or forests or older cities. This is the story of a new generation that came home and found a way to recover a place that had been misused by old-fashioned Americans. It is about a beginning, a possibility, a way people act when place really matters." [iv]

In the wake of famously misguided attempts by government and by private investors to remedy real problems of inner city decay, neighborhood decline, and infrastructure deterioration, Dayton-Hudson (now Target Corporation) partnered with residents, businesses, local government and other entities to help the actual people of Whittier revitalize and reclaim the community for themselves by creating a home, a place to be, during the 1970s. Partners is a fascinating study about people power, grass roots action, and the resurgence of hope and life. Three decades later, this book is hardly dated at all, and still would be useful and instructive for any urban studies, American studies, sociology, or cultural anthropology course.

my amazon review: creating home

The Rain Stomper

• The Rain Stomper on amazon

• Author Addie Boswell's site

• Illustrator Eric Velazquez

• Eric's blog

Even if you don't read The Rain Stomper aloud, you still can hear the words of the book, you can feel the sense of those words as you turn the pages. The illustrator has come close to achieving a kinetic style with the static text of this printed book!

Enjoy the simple story of young Jazmin's journey from disappointment over waking up to a rainy day she at first imagines will ruin the big parade, on to her venturing out of her city apartment into the rain, listening to sounds of a very heavy storm, then watch her stomping, splashing, through the rain as her neighbors come out theirs door to join her. Eventually everyone drums, stomps, swirls, splashes, and twirls the sun into coming out and shining down on them.

Addie Boswell's words are easy reading, Eric Velasquez' somberly-colored pictures are delightful viewing—he illustrates the rainy day with perfection! Most likely kids in the 7-12 year age group of those in the illustrations would most appreciate The Rain Stomper, but younger kids easily could memorize the words and recite them along with the pictures.

• my amazon review: celebrating weather!

Art Walk 2013

I, Win

Introducing Win Kelly Charles and her World

I, Win: Hope and Life: my journey as a woman with cerebral palsy living in a non-disabled world, by Win Kelly Charles, kindle edition on Amazon; and paperback.

This short book of fewer than 100 pages offers a winsome overview of Win Kelly Charles' life and aspirations—so far. Because she was born prematurely at very low birth rate and as a result of other factors, Win has been living, struggling, and thriving with cerebral palsy all her life. Her parents' devotion, imagination and care of her from the beginning gave her the support she needed to begin and continue overcoming (conservatively) tremendous odds, and grow into a creative, productive adult artist, teacher, and entrepreneur. Being an Aspen, Colorado, native helped a lot, too!

Each chapter moves quickly through details of an aspect of Win's life, including explanations of ways she adapts in order to accomplish different tasks. I was surprised at how involved she has been in sports like skiing and mountain climbing, but as she pointed out, everyone has challenges, gifts, limitations, and assets. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment of Win's life journey! A "thank you" to the author for offering the free Kindle edition.

You can find Win Charles on Facebook.

my amazon review: Introducing Win and her World

good earth herb crusted chicken

good earth Restaurant Favorites, Herb Crusted Chicken with mushroom risotto on amazon and possibly at a store near to you, too.

The ingredients panel on good earth Herb Crusted Chicken with mushroom risotto identified only the herb parsley, but I'd guess maybe thyme, basil, bay, and/or oregano; 100% whole grain brown rice, white wine sauce, seasoned panko crumbs, and mushroom risotto seasoning came packed inside the box. I had to look up "panko," and discovered it's Japanese-style bread crumbs—made from bread without crusts. The recipe came together easily from the clear directions, and it looked exactly like the picture on the package! I needed to add only oil for sautéing, chicken parts, and milk; as usual, my milk was sour cream. Results yield very generous portions for serving 2, plenty for 4.

This tasty dish is from the same General Mills Restaurant Favorites division as the Mediterranean Chicken I enjoyed so much, but it's far closer to comfort food than to gourmet. However, it's definitely worth stocking up on a few packages when you find it on sale.

my amazon review: closer to comfort than gourmet

Salads for Every Season

• Salads for Every Season: 25 Recipes from Earthbound Farm on Amazon

I was delighted to get this short ebook for free, though it's totally worth the current $1.99 price (reduced from $2.99). I love salads, so maybe I'm a tad prejudiced?! In terms of size, shorter often is better than longer when it comes to choosing a recipe. Author Myra Goodman of Earthbound Farm reminds us salads "redefine fast food," and gives us a dozen reasons for going organic.

Useful guides and instructions include: "A Field Guide to Salad Greens" with descriptions and pictures; a chart of how much to buy and how much to allow per person for side salad or main-course salad; how to grow sprouts, roast sunflower seeds, toast nuts and seeds in oven, microwave, stovetop; how to blanch fruits and veggies; how to seed and peel a tomato...

You easily could scroll through the varieties of flavors, colors, textures, and tangs in Salad for Every Season to find something that fits the ingredients on hand, or you could vary any basic recipe to your own taste. A reader recommendation? I'd especially like to try some of the vinaigrette variations. Besides Salads and Salad Dressing divided into Spring and Summer / Fall and Winter sections, beautiful full-color photographs are worthy of a book you'll love to have on your bookshelf and hold in your hands.

• nice variety! my Amazon review

To Write Love ... Day 2012

desert solitaire: edward abbey

• Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey

Published in 1968, Desert Solitaire narrates in journal-style Edward Abbey's trio of summers in the desert surrounding Moab in southeastern Utah. Although he was there during the mid-twentieth-century, before the Department of the Interior had commercialized and touristized Arches National Park's 33,000 acres quite to its current condition, Abbey is close to prophetically critical about rape of the land by government and industry in order to accommodate outsiders and garner profits, actions that began to ruin it as habitat for native species. In other ways, the author chronicles with no apparent sense of shame his own complicity in ruining the land by littering, in violating animal creatures who depend upon it for sanctuary.

I truly enjoyed how his clear, elaborate descriptions of the desert scape and its flora transported me back to countless times I've visited and loved Utah's (Arizona's and New Mexico's) desert spaces, though half as many words would have conveyed the flavor just as well without getting as plain boring as it sometimes did.

Apparently Desert Solitaire became somewhat of an undergrad / hippie cult essential (note the publication date). Although I'm happy to place it on my list of famous books I've read, and I found its reputation way overhyped, indeed it is "good in parts." The desert has been one of my own best healing places; it must be because "Love flowers best in openness and freedom."

• my amazon review: good in parts

A Dog Is Listening

• A Dog Is Listening: The Way Some of Our Closest Friends View Us by Roger A Caras on Amazon

This is the second of Caras' pair of books about most people's most familiar household companions, domestic felines and canines. For the title, the author picks up on the very very well-known phenomenal acuity and range of dogs' hearing. The book design is identical to that of A Cat Is Watching, and in this book also, I love the line drawings featuring snippets of dog anatomy for each chapter heading. Chapter 12 describes and lists members of each (at the time of writing and publication, 1992) American Kennel Club-recognized groups of dogs: Terrier; Non-Sporting; Herding; Sporting; Hound; and Working.

As someone who loves dogs but doesn't know them the way I almost instinctively "get" cats, I especially enjoyed and appreciated the history, anecdotes, and stories in the book. Similar to A Cat Is Watching, this book give the reader a sense of what's it's like to live with dogs who adore you rather than with cats who demand to be worshiped. A Dog Is Listening fully is worth any animal lover's acquiring, reading, and re-reading.

• my amazon review: dogs in the household

A Cat Is Watching

• A Cat Is Watching: A Look at the Way Cats See Us by Roger A Caras on Amazon


A Cat Is Watching was the earlier of Roger Caras' pair of books about most people's most familiar companion animals, domestic felines and canines. He writes from lifelong knowledge—sometimes specifically about the Cats of Thistle Hill Farm. Caras' stories and observations are engaging, and even as someone who has lived with cats and known cats for a long time, I learned some new information.

Black and White photographs and drawings enhance the book and I love the chapter headings that each feature a line drawing of part of a cat's anatomy! Including an extensive index also was a smart move. This is the kind of book you might enjoy on a rainy afternoon or evening or carry to the beach for some pleasure reading. A Cat Is Watching definitely is worth finding at the book shop or yard sale, or borrowing from the library more than once.

• my amazon review: felines and friendships

It's a dog's life

• It's a dog's life by Mark Stern on Amazon

Quite a while ago I picked up this socialist dog's book and decided it needed a review and a blog. Mark Stern's illustrations are fresh and fabulous! Author Stern follows and narrates the experiences of Patch, a dog whose days progress from true happiness with his simple life in the hood to the production and marketing by someone else of a great idea he has dreamt of.

The "someone else" overdog then co-ops Patch's entire existence, along the way setting up himself and his expansively growing company in superfluous luxury—no surprise?! Eventually Patch escapes from being an enslaved cog – and worse – in the means of production and returns to "the true joys of life: fresh air, grass and trees," alongside his sweetheart Honey.

Call it a cautionary tale, a cogent example of "I told you so," or a vision of a more just society that features "what's really important," It's a dog's life is enough to make a human think, think again, and reconsider their own dreams and priorities.

my amazon review: from happiness, to utility, to happiness...

Leah's Journey

Leah's Journey by Gloria Goldreich on amazon

Gloria Goldreich has listened to her relatives and ancestors and also done a lot of historical research. From chapter 1, Leah's peregrinations take her from Russia, where her ancestors had moved to from Poland, to a New York City tenement, on to New York's affluent suburbs, then finally to Israel; as the story unfolds, she also visits the American South and makes a trip back to Russia to visit her aging parents. How interesting it is to observe how pieces of the past cling to present places and events and how Leah and her family consciously and sometimes not-so-intentionally shed parts of their pasts as they try out and embrace new ideas, new ways of living, and ways of being. At the start of the book it seemed to me the author had drawn the landscape and backdrop with far more clarity than she'd pictured the people, but as the chapters evolved and I kept reading, the characters became clearer and more alive to me. Possibly a combination of how the book was written and my greater familiarity with them as I turned pages?!

In Leah's Journey, violence, death, disappointments, losses, endings, and beginnings interweave to form more than a half-century long narrative that includes hard work, advocacy for safer working conditions for immigrants and for everyone, relatively fast upward mobility, and a fair amount of assimilation into the era's contemporary American culture that yet retains more than an overlay of the families' religious and cultural Jewish heritage.

Author Gloria Goldreich's prose reads pleasantly and easily. I'd be interested in checking out more of her writing in the popular magazines she has written for, or another of her books.

my amazon review: the old, the assimilated, the new

zoë's cats

• Zoë's Cats on Amazon



Cats from her rural setting in Cornwall illustrate and provide narrative in Zoë Stokes' book of exquisitely detailed, full-colour, mostly realistic felines. You can leave Zoë's Cats on a table or nearby shelf, pick it up, read a paragraph or two, enjoy a cat view, and find yourself ready to return to mundane tasks. You might want to buy this book as a gift for yourself or a cat lover; the recipient will not be disappointed in the least!

• my amazon review: lovely gift

paul rand: thoughts on design

• Thoughts on Design by Paul Rand


If ever there lived an iconic designer/illustrator, it was the late Paul Rand (1914-1996). In this now 4-decades old treasure of a book, Rand exegetes, illustrates, and explains symbol and word. But is word not symbol in itself and is symbol not a kind of speech?

In less than 100 pages you can read about beauty and utility, humor, typography, and imagination. In contrast to fine art, design has a function, typically as a solution for a problem or concern; graphic, photographic, and typographic design is most familiar to consumers as a modality for presenting a product, event or idea. We live amongst many varieties of architectural, industrial and "other" types of design, as well.

This simply modest yet elegant paperback is packed full of actual illustrations of mostly advertising design solutions accompanied by the "how to" and "why to" involved. You know IBM, UPS, and Westinghouse? Paul Rand designed those logos and campaigns and in the half century since they first impacted the public, Rand's style and philosophy has influenced literally countless others. Thoughts on Design is a "don't miss it" if you can find it and afford it.

• Paul Rand online

my amazon review: a jewel, a keepsake