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Dive into this new cookbok by bestselling children’s book author Barbara Beery! Mermaid Cookbook offers themed recipes perfect for mermaid, ocean voyage, treasure island, and pirate parties for kids. The book brings magic and whimsy to the kitchen, teaching kids to create fun snacks and tasty treats while learning valuable cooking skills. Perfect for birthday parties, sleepovers, or afternoon playtime, Mermaid Cookbook offers an abundance of playful recipes including Paradise Pineapple Fruit Dip, Sea Foam Floats, Treasure Island Trail Mix, Goldfish Gorp, Mermaid Hair Salad, Sea Turtle Cookies, Little Luau Cakes, Water Fairy Ice Pops, Rainbow Fish Fudge, and more. Mermaid Cookbook is sure to make a big splash with your little ones!

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An eight-color pigment-ink pad, eight foam-tipped dabbers, impressive techniques and plenty of inspirational artwork. Squish the foam tip into the ink pad and dab-dab-dab vibrant color right into the book. Three pages of stencils included to make everything from lady-bugs to aliens, plus a page of abstract forms to form into anything you want.

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Follow the second star on your right and fly straight on till morning and you’ll find a place you know from your dreams–Never Land. Past the pirate ships and Peter Pan’s secret hideaway is Pixie Hollow. A great old maple tree grows there, and in it live hundreds of fairies. For, you see, Pixie Hollow is the Never fairies’ kingdom, and each fairy who lives there has a special, extraordinary talent.
Tinker Bell loves to fix broken pots and pans.
Vidia flies faster than every other fairy.
Beck talks–and listens–to animals.
Lily can make any flower, tree, or plant grow.
Come on a magical journey with Disney Fairies . . . all it takes is faith, trust, and a little pixie dust!

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In New England Vermonters will be welcoming its state alphabet book, titled M is for Maple Syrup. With colorful pages that focus the spotlight on the flora and fauna specific to Vermont (and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream), the book utilizes a two-tiered educational format where the rhyming verse appeals to younger readers the substantive expository text proves an engaging tool for older students. In Vermont this fall, as it always is, L is for Lake Champlain and R is for the Red Clover, H is for Hermit Thrush and D is for Dairy.

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Many of North America’s most beloved regions are artfully celebrated in these boardbooks designed to soothe children before bedtime while instilling an early appreciation for the continent’s natural and cultural wonders. Each book stars a multicultural group of people visiting the featured area’s attractions—such as the Rocky Mountains in Denver, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Lake Ontario in Toronto, and volcanoes in Hawaii. Rhythmic language guides children through the passage of both a single day and the four seasons while saluting the iconic aspects of each place.

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Revised edition of a popular title. Includes: *The breed standard *Selection, care and grooming *Activities and competition to enjoy with your Newfoundland. From first puppy to final farewell, Riley provides a one-source handbook on the breed.

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Meet Amy Gaines’ 8 appealing characters to crochet. There’s more to these cute animals than meets the eye. Millicent Rose is a “libearian” by day and a bingo fanatic by night. Archibald Hiram wears his striped PJs whenever he’s not at work as a financial advisor. Rumored peanut shortages keep Wesley the blue elephant from joining the circus. Then there is Lourdes, a preppie purple hippo. Roscoe (Newgate) Kidd is a pirate panda who escaped from the zoo long ago. Scooter Pup is a likeable little fellow whose teeth get him in trouble. From the paranormal files we have Nestor Lochland, A.K.A the Loch Ness monster. Never ones to wait for mischief, Chaos A. Cat and his baby sis, Calamity, are always on the lookout for adventure.

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If you’re a fan of amigurumi, you already know that super-sweet crocheted bunnies and kitties and pandas have taken the indie craft world by storm. Well, the dolls in Creepy Cute Crochet eat your typical amigurumi for breakfast.

This unique craft book contains more than 25 patterns for zombies, ninjas, Vikings, vampires, aliens, robots, and even Death himself. Each easy-to-follow pattern is presented with step-by-step diagrams, hilarious commentary, and full-color photographs of the creatures in their natural environments. Plus each pattern is ranked according to difficulty so that even beginners can share in the fun.

The scary-cute photographs, accessible text, and illustrated patterns are sure to be a hit with indie crafters, angsty teens, and hip moms everywhere.

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From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—This quirky little craft book has a “Hello Kitty” feel; it’s a how-to manual for creating small felt mascots that induce smiles but apparently have no serious purpose. There is an illustrated table of contents, and the book includes patterns and instructions for making 19 different creatures. There are also instructions for making a kidnapper, a bad guy, a liar, and an alien. Narrators White Rabbit and Brown Bunny, two of the felt mascots, assure readers that “you can do this…it’s fun and easy.” The book assumes no knowledge of or previous experience with handicrafts and opens with an illustrated spread listing basic supplies and explaining techniques. Each pattern is introduced with an amusing thumbnail biography of the mascot, and encouraging words to readers. The tone is light and goofy, but the instructions are clear, with numbered diagrams and photographs of finished work. The book concludes with appliqué techniques and photographs of suggested uses for and misuses of the mascots (e.g., use as a bookmark is not recommended as it looks painful). This book will appeal to young teens interested in crafting and could also be used in a library craft program.—Sondra VanderPloeg, Tracy Memorial Library, New London, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Between work and school, music lessons, and sports practice, there is less and less time to connect as a family. Those few moments together are often spent making meals, doing homework, or watching TV. In this inspiring book, Amanda Soule, a young mother of three, presents simple ways to use arts and crafts and other forms of creativity to deepen family connections.
For parents of all backgrounds, The Creative Family offers unique creative activities for the whole family. The range of projects includes: imaginative play such as dress-up, home theater, and parlor games; arts and crafts such as family drawing time and knitting with children; nature explorations such as creating garden journals and using natural toys; and family celebrations that include making music and displaying children’s art. These fun and engaging alternatives to television, video games, and the computer are meant to captivate children’s imaginations, celebrate their achievements, and express love and gratitude as a family.

Mandy Pinecone’s June Pick of the Month

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After years of crocheting I wanted to learn how to knit. This past winter I did. I wish now that I had bought this book.

“Do you learn faster by seeing and doing than by wading through tedious instructions? Then get yourself some yarn and needles and get knitting! Teach Yourself VISUALLYKnitting shows you the basics—photo by photo and stitch by stitch. You begin with the essential knit and purl stitches and advance to bobbles, cables, lace, and fancy color work. With fun, innovative patterns from top knitting designer Sharon Turner, you’ll be creating masterpieces in no time!”

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REMOVE CHILD BEFORE FOLDING a warning label put on an actual babystroller, ostensibly because without such caution parents might crush theirchild and sue the stroller company for making a defective product. Foryears, the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-LAW) has held their yearly ‘Wacky Warning Label” contest. Last year’s winner:A flushable toiletbrush that warns users, ‘Do not use for personal hygiene.” And wherewould society be if the public was not warned that a child+-s scooter will+’move when used,” or that a can of pepper spray ‘may irritate eyes?” REMOVE CHILD BEFORE FOLDING offers the 101 most ludicrous, silly, and justplain stupid warning labels ever slapped onto perfectly good products. Justremember that your hairdryer should not be used while sleeping.

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This lushly illustrated and exhaustive gardening reference, an update to the 1989 original, is sure to gratify greenthumbs all around the U.S.: comprising three main sections (the plant selector, the plant catalogue and the plant dictionary), it’s an excellent resource for anyone looking to fashion a beautiful and environmentally sustainable garden. The plant selector points gardeners toward flora appropriate to their environmental or aesthetic needs (e.g., plants that do well in sandy or alkaline soil, make good windbreaks or have aromatic leaves), while the plant catalogue, organized into sections by type (perennials, shrubs, bulbs, water plants) and boasting thousands of photographs, delves into greater detail about the characteristics of individual species. Each section is helpfully organized by seasons of "interest" and plant size or color: the yellow asphodel is a medium yellow perennial that looks its best in spring, for instance, while Gentiana septemfida is a large blue rock plant whose best months are autumnal. The dictionary lists more than 8,000 plants, from abelia to creeping zinnia. For the garden enthusiast, this volume will likely prove as indispensable as a good trowel.

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Many books claim to be a "definitive guide"; this is one title that happily lives up to those claims–and then some. Encyclopedia of Gardening will become your indispensable how-to manual for any plant-related topic. Indoors or out, you’ll find information on choosing and maintaining healthy plants of all varieties, how to build structures from greenhouses to trellises, ways to identify pests and diseases, and methods of garden design that enable you to turn your lawn into a unique and personal work of art.

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Why does my dog lick his balls?
Admit it; you’ve always wanted to know. Well, finally there’s a professional out there who’s not too embarrassed to answer–bone-fide veterinarian, critical-care specialist, and dog lover Dr. Justine A. Lee. It’s a Dog’s Life . . . but It’s Your Carpet takes you behind the scenes to look at the training and off-the-record opinions of a certified vet, and answers all the questions you’ve always wanted to ask about your dog, including:

(more…)

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Between work and school, music lessons, and sports practice, there is less and less time to connect as a family. Those few moments together are often spent making meals, doing homework, or watching TV. In this inspiring book, Amanda Soule, a young mother of three, presents simple ways to use arts and crafts and other forms of creativity to deepen family connections.

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Marshmallow Fluff has been a sweet component of American pop culture since the 1920s, when two entrepreneurs began manufacturing the white confection in their kitchen by night and selling it door-to-door by day. With its familiar red lid and blue label, it’s long been a favorite guilty pleasure and a kitchen staple beloved by people of all ages.

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Do you want to eat burgers, chocolate cake, frozen margaritas, fudge, and French fries—and still fit into your pants? Is life not worth living without brownies and onion rings? Do you want a surefire way to tame your cravings? From breakfast ideas and chopped salads to guilt-free junk food and cocktails, Hungry Girl recipes taste great but are low in fat and calories. Check it out!

Mandy Pinecone’s March Pick of the Month

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A phenomenal and cute story, The Alchemist reminds us that dreams are worth following and obstacles should be treated like speed bumps as you live your life. A perfect companion for those in need of spiritual uplifting, or anyone who loves a tale with a valuable, enlightening end.

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When Knut was born, the first polar bear cub at the Berlin Zoo in more than thirty years, he was no bigger than a snowball and unable to care for himself. His mother, a rescued East German circus bear, didn’t know how to take care of Knut and rejected him. Knut would have died if it weren’t for Thomas Dorflein, a zookeeper who nurtured Knut, feeding him, sleeping with him, and giving him the love and attention Knut needed to thrive. But Thomas wasn’t the only one who adopted Knut. The adorable little polar bear captured the world’s attention, and now Knut is loved around the globe.