wrote about this on her blog a while back. And then I was weeding in my 500s, and there it was, just waiting for me. I’d never even noticed it before. It falls in the dreaded number 508, the number for general natural history. This is where natural history memoirs go. They usually get starred reviews in the journals, so I feel obliged to buy them, but no matter how interesting the book may be to actually read, I can’t get any of my patrons to actually check them out. This book was over ten years old, though, so even though I read it and it was really good, and anyone interested either in gardening or in having a low-maintenance yard should read it, it’s now in my personal collection, not the library, but still up for borrowing.
Noah’s Garden by Sara Stein Author Stein wrote in a previous book about her family’s journey to become Gardeners, after buying a largish property. This book is about her becoming an un-gardener, planting with native plants rather than exotic imported plants, letting the flowers feed the bugs and the birds rather than spraying the bugs and raking away the food. Noah’s ark wouldn’t really have worked without bringing the plants, because the larger predators eat the smaller insect- and herbivores, and everything is highly adapted to live off of the native plants of that particular region. That means that if we want birds, rather that buying birdfeeders, we can look for native flowers and fruiting shrubs, without even knowing what will feed who when. Though she’s got a recommendation from Michael Pollan, this book is closer to Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle than The Ominvore’s Dilemma, more her own particular tale with some background woven in than the reverse. Even though their property was an old farmstead, she talks about the power of everyone planting their corners and edges with fruiting bushes that provide food for birds and cover for small animals, creating safe corridors where they can travel. There are ideas here for yards small and big in this gentle and inspiring book.
For us, we were already planning on replacing the long-ago vegetable garden and more recent raspberry and maple jungle with a native meadow. (Sadly, they didn’t have the kits at the farmer’s market yet this weekend.) After reading this book, I’m hoping to put in more understory trees, shrubs and native woodland plants in, expanding the shady areas of our yard where the grass doesn’t like to grow anyway. We’ll save the front lawn, and in the back, eventually, have paths to three or so open grassy areas. That should provide a lot more for wildlife, and also make mowing much less of a chore. I’m anticipating that exploring paths will be more fun for children than one big open lawn, too.
The Apple-Pip Princess by Jane RayIn a kingdom long ago and far away, a king had three daughters. When the Queen died, the land turned brown and barren, and no one had enough to eat. Now, the king has given the princesses a week to show him which should inherit the kingdom. The older two sisters have grand ideas, but Serenity, the youngest, has only a single apple pip from her mother. The importance of the earth, growing things, and consideration for others are beautifully illustrated in Jane Ray’s trademark starry and ethnically indeterminate style.
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Narrated by Josephine Bailey. This is the first in a very popular teen gothic trilogy. The year is 1895. Gemma Doyle is 16, no longer getting along with her beloved mother, and begging to be allowed to go to London, though she has spent all her life in India. Then her mother dies – and Gemma sees the violent events in a vision. Her father takes to opium and her grandmother sends her to finishing school at Spence. The girls are catty, she is followed by a mysterious and handsome young Indian telling her not to use her new powers, and she finds that her mother was a member of a secret magical Order. The women of the Order were responsible for controlling access to the Realms and bringing magic from them into the everyday world. But something that happened 20 years ago closed the Realms and scattered the Order. Gemma is the only one with the power to solve the mystery and right the world. She finds a secret diary, befriends three other girls without really trusting them, tries to figure out what she wants. Perhaps Gemma’s relative freedom in India gave her the perspective to rail against the many restrictions at boarding school, though her friends somewhat anachronistically seem equally frustrated by the roles they are expected to play. The story is told in Gemma’s voice, and all the action is subjected to the close scrutiny and deep analyzing so common to girls that age. This made for a slow story as I was listening to it in 15 minute chunks, even though the narrator was excellent at distinct voices for all the characters and a multitude of accents. I still couldn’t stop listening. And since only a few of the many storylines were resolved, the big bad only temporarily defeated, I’ll probably have to look up the sequels.
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck. Illustrated by Tricia Tusa. Alice is wide awake, and she can’t go to sleep until everything is blue, her favorite. Mama keeps bringing her things for her other senses anyway – white flowers, orange tea, a red and green blanket. Alice lets them stay. All the while, every other page begins with “In a blue room,” while the walls of Alice’s bedroom are quite clearly yellow. And then, Alice tells Mama to turn out the light. Suddenly, in the moonlight, everything is blue – just the way Alice likes it. The rhythmic text and soft, luminous illustrations make this a perfect bedtime book, especially for children afraid of the dark.
Blankets by Craig Thompson Ok, I admit, now that I’m in charge of buying graphic novels, I’m finally getting around to reading the ones I heard were really great when they came out. This one is five years old already, and fast entering the realm of classic. Thompson uses expressive, sketch-like drawings to illustrate the story of his growing up and first love. It is filled with Biblical references as Craig questions the dogmatic faith he was raised with. He meets Raina at winter break Bible camp, where the lovingly drawn lines of her face at their first meeting speak volumes. It’s fairly explicit in places, though still suitable for teenagers. Blankets is lovely, honest and bittersweet.
Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker 
alibrarymama 