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Events |
Top 10 |
What's Hot |
Community |
New Reviews |
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Fri, Apr 1
Free |
Kenn Nesbitt visits Osborn Elementary and Icicle Middle School. (School Visit)
Thanks to a collaboration by Friends of The Library and A Book For All Seasons. Check with your school for details! |
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Sat, Apr 2
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Bookstore
Free |
Kenn signs his fabulous books including More Bears! and The Aliens Have Landed At Our School. (Book-signing) |
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 KENN NESBITT is possibly the funniest and most sought-after children's poet writing today. He's the author of several collections of LOL poetry for kids, including My Hippo Has the Hiccups, Revenge of the Lunch Ladies, and The Aliens Have Landed at Our School! Because Kenn loves to get kids writing their own wacky poetry, he travels the country, visiting over 70 schools each year. Kenn's website, Poetry4Kids, is the most popular children's poetry website in the world.
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of More Bears - $12.99
Buy a SIGNED copy of The Aliens Have Landed at Our School! - $9.95
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Fri, Apr 8
7:00 - 9:00 PM
The Sleeping Lady
Adults $25, Seniors and Students $15 |
Shrink Your Carbon Footprint and Your Waistline:
Mark Bittman explains why Food Matters, and makes Conscious Eating easy. (Presentation) |
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 Mark Bittman believes it's simple to eat well, and he's here to show you how, with a rational approach that not only improves health but also helps the environment.
In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home. Demystifying buzzwords, Bittman offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes that will shrink your carbon footprint — and your waistline.
Flexible, simple, and non-doctrinaire, the plan is based on hard science but gives you plenty of leeway to tailor food choices to your lifestyle and schedule. Mark Bittman is the author of Food Matters, The Food Matters Cook Book, How to Cook Everything, and other cookbooks, and of a weekly New York Times column. Bittman has hosted public television series, has appeared in countless newspapers and magazines, and is a regular on the Today show.
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes - $15.00
Buy a SIGNED copy of The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living - $35.00
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Fri, Apr 8
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Leavenworth Library
Free |
TGIF: Gregg Olsen gets Closer Than Blood (Presentation) |
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Sat, Apr 9
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Bookstore
Free |
Gregg Olsen signs his latest thriller Closer Than Blood and his true crime A Twisted Faith (Book-signing) |
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 "You'll sleep with the lights on after reading Gregg Olsen." — Allison Brennan
Closer Than Blood: The first time was easy. No one ever suspected the victim had been murdered. The crime long buried, the dark passions guiding the killer's hand are still alive. But the need for revenge cannot be denied. Only one person can stop the killing. Only one person can identify the killer. Only one person knows the face of death—is as close as the face in the mirror...
Twisted Faith: a Bremerton, WA house went up in flames. When the fire was extinguished, investigators found only the charred remains of shy, beloved minister's wife Dawn Hacheney. What investigators failed to note was that Dawn's lungs didn't contain smoke; she was dead before the fire began. So begins this true crime story that's unlike any other...
"Olsen will have you on the edge of your seat." — Lee Child
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of Closer Than Blood - $7.99
Buy a SIGNED copy of A Twisted Faith - $7.99
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Fri, Apr 15
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Barn Beach Reserve
Free |
Healthy and Easy Food Preparation — from your garden to your table: A Hands-On Demonstration with Nicole Kellar Munoz (Presentation) |
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Sat, Apr 16
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Bookstore
Free |
Nicole Kellar Munoz signs Eat Right for Life and Quick Fix Healthy Mix (Book-signing) |
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 Get hands-on with Nicole Kellar Munoz Friday evening as she demonstrates preparing quick and healthy fun foods — straight from your garden to your table. Nicole specializes in the health applications of natural foods, and turning simple ingredients into a healthy new you.
Eat Right for Life: Start building your "kitchen pharmacy." Use ordinary natural foods to prevent disease and promote excellent health and clear, radiant skin.
Quick Fix Healthy Mix: Stop paying for foods loaded with toxins, unhealthy fats and sugars, brand name advertising, expensive eco-unfriendly wasteful packaging and expensive store mark-ups. Nicole demonstrates how to make your own high quality mixes and ready-to-go products at home for a fraction of the cost — it's easy!
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of Eat Right for Life: How Healthy Foods Can Keep You Living Longer, Stronger and Disease-Free - $22.99
Buy a SIGNED copy of Quick-Fix Healthy Mix: 225 healthy and affordable mix recipes to stock your kitchen - $19.99
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Fri, Apr 15
Free |
Suzanne Selfors presentation to students at Icicle Middle School. Check with your school for details! (School Visit) |
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Sat, Apr 16
10:00 - 2:30 PM
Kristall's Restaurant |
Writer's Workshop: "Writing the Young Adult Novel," with Suzanne Selfors (Workshop) |
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$28.00 includes full lunch and a copy of Suzanne's newest release: Mad Love
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 Writing the Young Adult Novel
Teenagers are reading! Go into any bookstore and you'll notice that the young adult section has doubled in size. And there's a huge variety of styles and subjects — it's not only about vampires. But while the stories vary from contemporary mysteries, to dystopian thrillers, to paranormal romances, at the heart of each and every teen novel is the coming-of-age theme.
Join Suzanne for discussion and writing tips over lunch. Suzanne demystifies the process, shares her successes and insights, and offers her support: there's room for all of us in the Young Adult market!
Click here to learn more...
Click here to reserve your seat NOW: $28.00 includes full lunch and a copy of Suzanne's newest release: Mad Love
Buy a SIGNED copy of Mad Love - $16.99
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Fri, May 6
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Leavenworth Library
Free |
TGIF: Michele Longo Eder presents: Salt In Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman's Wife (Presentation) |
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Sat, May 7
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Bookstore
Free |
Michele Longo Eder signs: Salt In Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman's Wife (Book-signing) |
 Salt In Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman's Wife, winner of the WILLA Literary Award, recounts the moving story of a commercial fisherman's wife, who is both a mother and a successful attorney on the Oregon coast. Set against the sudden loss at sea of the Eders' oldest son, Ben, it is a tale of indescribable sadness but also one of resilience and courage—a stunning testament to one family's strength and the memory of their remarkable son.
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of Salt In Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman's Wife - $16.95
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Fri, May 13
1:30 PM
Wenatchee Library
Free |
Chelsea Cain Cracks Open the Door to: The Night Season (Presentation) |
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 With detective Archie following the bizarre trail of evidence and evil deeds to catch a killer and possibly regain his life, Chelsea Cain—one of today's most talented suspense writers—launches the next installment of her bestselling series with an electric thriller.
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of The Night Season - $24.99
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Sun, May 15
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Bookstore
Free |
Terri DuLong signs heart-warming Casting About (Book-signing) |
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Tue, May 17
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Wenatchee Library
Free |
Terri DuLong, author of Casting About, on combining her love of knitting and writing (Presentation) |
 Terri DuLong, author of Spinning Forward, welcomes readers back to the lush Florida island of Cedar Key, and a bustling knitting shop, where Monica's plans are waylaid by unexpected news, and a most unexpected arrival. Will Monica be strong enough to withstand all the surprises set to unravel?
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of Casting About - $15.00
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Sun, May 15
1:30 PM
Wenatchee Library
Free |
Two prize-winning authors: Naseem Rakha and Sarahlee Lawrence (Presentation) |
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 "Beautifully written, expertly crafted, forcefully rendered. Naseem Rakha lays bare all the ambiguities and nuances of our culture in a story that is compelling and deep. The Crying Tree is a story of forgiveness and redemption, but at its core it is a love story as well, and that is the most powerful story of all," says Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain.
 Sarahlee Lawrence has run some of the most dangerous rivers of the world as an accomplished river guide. Living her dream on the wild waters led her back to the place she least expected — to her dusty beginnings on her family's remote central Oregon ranch. River House is a beautiful story about a daughter's return and her relationship with her father, as together they brave the cold winter and build a log house by hand.
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of The Crying Tree - $14.00
Buy a SIGNED copy of River House - $16.95
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Fri, May 20
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Leavenworth Library
Free |
TGIF: Dynamic presentation by choreographer, theater presenter, essayist and poet Mary Lou Sanelli (Presentation) |
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Sat, May 21
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Bookstore
Free |
Mary Lou Sanelli signs Among Friends, Falling Awake, The Immigrant's Table and more (Book-signing) |
 An intelligent voice. Illuminating books—dauntless, smart, funny, beautifully written. Mary Lou Sanelli examines, deeply and sincerely, what friendship means, and what it costs. She pulls no punches. Through contemplation and personal anecdotes, Sanelli emerges with a strong sense of self. Sanelli brings a sharp eye and sophisticated wit not only to the sometimes disheartening, sometimes encouraging aspects of our current politics and culture, but also to issues specific to her home city of Seattle.
"Mary Lou Sanelli...offer(s) a sensitive, personal look at life's tug-of-wars like those between age and time, male and female, war and peace, place and belonging"—Knute Berger.
Click here to learn more...
Buy a SIGNED copy of Among Friends - $15.00
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ABFAS March Top 10 Best-Sellers...
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 The History of Leavenworth — In Photos!
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Now, thanks to Rose Kinney-Holck, the Upper Valley Museum, and numerous citizens and organizations with roots in Leavenworth, you can literally see the past come alive and watch Leavenworth change from native days to the present.
Rose Kinney-Holck gathered and compiled family and historic photos for the "Images of America" series—a series dedicated to celebrating the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today, making history available to all.
In her acknowledgements, Rose thanks the wonderful staff at the Upper Valley Museum, Ann Ostella, Bill Haines, Steve Croci, Corky Broaddus, Lynann DeJarnett, Mark Behler, Bill Calvert, Chris Rader, Susan Peterson, Paula Helsel, John S. Kruszka, Becky Morgan, Ron Wodaski, Marsha Skrypuch, Carol Forhan, and many, many more Leavenworthers—thanks to all who participated for this celebration of our community!
 Buy a Leavenworth (Images of America) - $21.99
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 April is National Poetry Month
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Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.
— excerpt from "Last Night as I Was Sleeping" by Antonio Machado, translated by Robert Bly
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Poetry is like foam on your latte, sun on your back, or a snowflake on your tongue.
Poetry matters because "It's the little things," as 'Uncle Bonsai' says, "that make life such a big deal."
National Poetry month, April, is a great time to share your favorite poems with friends and family. As always, the Academy of American Poets will have fun poetry activities going all month, such as "poem in your pocket" day. Sign up at their website, www.poets.org, for a "poem a day" and a new poem will appear daily in your inbox or on you ipod. Learn about these and many other ways to celebrate National Poetry Month at www.poets.org.
Teachers, here are some great links with poetry lesson plans!
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 Fire and Ice: Burning Word Comes to Icicle Creek
Burning Word, the Festival of Poetic Fire, rises from the ashes!
Mark your calendar now! May 21-22, with Sam Hamill as featured poet, Leavenworth hosts the revival of "Burning Word," a festival of poetic fire.
Icicle Creek proudly announces that it will host the first reincarnation of Burning Word, a groundbreaking poetry event that inspired, entertained, and provoked literary arts lovers for years in its previous life on Whidbey Island. Burning Word at Icicle Creek is co-sponsored by the Washington Poets Association, with generous support from A Book for All Seasons Bookstore.
Burning Word at Icicle Creek offers a weekend of readings, workshops, recital rounds, open mic opportunities, a small press fair, a master class featuring internationally-renowned poet Sam Hamill, and the launch of Cascade Journal. The Icicle Creek campus offers poetry and nature lovers a chance for a transformative experience. Set against the stunning backdrop of Sleeping Lady Mountain, on the shores of pristine Icicle Creek, the campus' venues will be used to showcase, inspire, and complement the work of many of the finest poets in the Pacific Northwest.
 The Mainstage on Saturday, May 21, features shows by published poets from all corners of the State. Closing the evening is the presentation of the Burning Word Award and a special performance by renowned poet Sam Hamill.
Sunday's events include a master class led by Sam Hamill and Paul Nelson, entitled The Way of Poetry, and a number of venues in which all poets have the opportunity to share their work, in settings from on-stage open mics to intimate small group "recital rounds." Browse exhibitor displays and the on-site bookstore.
Sam Hamill is the author of more than forty books, and co-founded and edited Copper Canyon Press. He has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Mellon Fund, and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission; other honors include the Stanley Lindberg Lifetime Achievement Award for Editing, the Washington Poets' Association Lifetime Achievement in Poetry Award, a PEN Center/USA First Amendment Award, and the Condecoración de la Universidad de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela. His work has been translated into a dozen languages.
Tickets for Saturday events are $14 in advance, $18 at the door, for the full day's events; or you may attend just the Fire & Ice Evening Show for $12. Cost of The Way of Poetry masterclass is $100. There is a $10 fee for workshops, no fee for open mics, and recital rounds are by donation.
Volunteers are welcomed. A full schedule is available online. For more information please go to www.icicle.org. Tickets are available at A Book for All Seasons, Avalon Music, through brownpapertickets.com, or by calling at 1-800-838-3006.
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Celebrate Leavenworth's Third Annual Earth Day Community Fair
The wildflowers are poking up their wee heads, which means it's time for another
Earth Day Community Fair!
This year's theme is: "Think Local First."
Experience a sampling of the diversity of food, music, activities, businesses, non-profit organizations and people that make Leavenworth unique. The Fair will feature a Farmers Market Showcase and a wide variety of booths, displays, hands-on activities and fun for the whole family.
See you there! Saturday, April 23, 12-4 PM at Lion's Club Park.
In the event of rain, the Fair will shelter under cover at Osborn Elementary School. For more information, call Barn Beach Reserve at (509) 548-0181 or send an email to info@barnbeachreserve.org.
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What's New? What's Hot Off The Press? What's Just Been Released in 2010?
Fiction |
Non-Fiction |
Young Adult |
Early Grades & Picture Books |
Fiction
 Swamplandia! by Karen Russell $24.95
A blazingly original debut novel from the author of the celebrated short-story collection St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Swamplandia! takes us back to the swamps of the Florida Everglades, and introduces us to Ava Bigtree, an unforgettable young heroine.
The Bigtree alligator-wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator-wrestling theme park, is being encroached upon by a fearsome and sophisticated competitor. Ava's mother, the park's indomitable headliner, has just died; sister Ossie has fallen in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, who may or may not be an actual ghost; and her scholarly big brother, Kiwi, has defected to the competition in a last-ditch effort to keep their family business from going under. Ava's father, Chief Bigtree, is AWOL; and that leaves Ava, a resourceful but terrified thirteen, to manage ninety-eight gators and the vast, inscrutable landscape of her own grief.
Against a backdrop of hauntingly fecund plant life animated by ancient lizards and lawless hungers, Karen Russell has written an utterly singular novel about a family's struggle to stay afloat in a world that is inexorably sinking. An arrestingly beautiful and inventive work from a vibrant new voice in fiction.
"To say it's offbeat is to seriously underestimate its weirdness," says Kirkus Reviews.
"deadpan wit and imperiled innocence... deeply endearing," says The Washington Post.
Buy Swamplandia! by Karen Russell - $24.95
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Fiction
 The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series #12) By Alexander McCall Smith $24.95
Released March 2011: the latest installment of The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency. The twelfth in this beloved, best-selling series is once again a beautiful blend of wit and wisdom, and a profoundly touching tale of the human heart.
Mma Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's No. 1 Lady Detective, is asked to investigate the killing of two cows at a remote cattle post south of Gaborone. It is an intriguing problem with plenty of suspects—including, surprisingly, Mma's own rather frightened and furtive client.
Matters are charmingly complicated by a perhaps ghostly vision of Mma's dear old white van, a runaway mechanic's apprentice who may have gotten a girl pregnant, Violet's bid for parliament, and a perfect pair of wedding shoes. It all adds up to another delightful Botswana adventure in the inimitable style of Alexander McCall Smith.
Buy The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series #12) By Alexander McCall Smith - $24.95
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Non-fiction
 The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson $30.00
Winner of the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2010
In this beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America.
Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.
Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable work, a superb account of an "unrecognized immigration" within our own land.
"...a landmark piece of nonfiction...[Wilkerson] works on a grand, panoramic scale but also on a very intimate one, since this work of living history boils down to the tenderly told stories of three rural Southerners who immigrated to big cities from their hometowns... a mesmerizing book that warrants comparison to The Promised Land," says The New York Times.
In 1994, Isabel Wilkerson, Chicago bureau chief of The New York Times, was the first black woman in the history of American journalism to win a Pulitzer Prize. The Warmth of Other Suns, her first book, won the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and was one of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2010.
Buy The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson - $30.00
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Young Adult
 Mockingbird By Kathryn Erskine $6.99
Recommended for ages 10 to 16
Winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died in a school shooting, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful.
Over the course of the story, Caitlin, who like many with Asperger's has incredible brainpower but few social skills, must learn empathy. Her Amelia Bedelia—like misunderstandings provide delightful moments of levity. Caitlin, who can read a dictionary better than a social situation, comes across the word closure—and realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all. This novel is not so much about violence as about the ways in which a wounded community heals.
"Although teens may not initially understand Caitlin's seemingly unemotional acceptance of tragedy and her literal interpretation of events, they will soon become caught up in her search for closure and cheer for her as she discovers herself capable of friendship, love, and empathy. A good choice for supplementary reading in a high school psychology class, Mockingbird will also appeal to book groups for middle and high schoolers; siblings and friends of young people with Asperger's and other developmental disorders; and any middle school student who enjoys thoughtful characters and a good story," says Voya.
"In Erskine's capable hands, Caitlin emerges as a wholly believable, admirable hero as she forges a unique path to friendship and healing. A lovely, important book," says Children's Literature.
Buy Mockingbird By Kathryn Erskine - $6.99
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Early Grades and Picture Books
 A Sick Day for Amos McGee By Philip C. Stead, Erin E. Stead (Illustrator) $16.99
Winner of the 2011 Caldecott Medal.
Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, always made time to visit his good friends: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. But one day—"Ah-choo!"—he woke up with the sniffles and the sneezes. Though he didn't make it into the zoo that day, he did receive some unexpected guests...
Philip Stead's gently humorous tale of friendship and dedication is illustrated by his wife Erin Stead's elegant drawings, embellished with subtle hints of color.
On most days, the angular, elderly Amos rides the bus to the zoo, plays chess with the elephant ("who thought and thought before making a move"), sits quietly with the penguin, and spends time with his other animal friends. But when Amos catches a cold, the animals ride the bus to pay him a visit, each, in a charming turnabout, doing for Amos whatever he usually does for them. The elephant sets up the chessboard; the shy penguin sits on the bed, "keeping Amos's feet warm."
"[Illustrator] Erin Stead's elegant woodblock prints, breathtaking in their delicacy, contribute to the story's tranquility and draw subtle elements to viewers' attention...Every face—Amos's as well as the animals'—brims with personality," says Publishers Weekly.
"This gentle... warm story acknowledges the care and reciprocity behind all good friendships," says Kirkus Reviews.
Buy A Sick Day for Amos McGee By Philip C. Stead, Erin E. Stead (Illustrator) - $16.99
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