Nonfiction
Packing for Mars for kids
Roach, Mary, author.
j629.45 Roach
Nonfiction
"What is it like to float weightlessly in the air? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a spacewalk? How do astronauts go to the bathroom? Is it true that they don't shower? Can farts really be deadly in space? Best-selling Mary Roach has the answers. In this whip-smart, funny, and informative young readers adaptation of her best-selling Packing for Mars, Roach guides us through the irresistibly strange, frequently gross, and awe-inspiring realm of space travel and life without gravity. From flying on NASA's Weightless Wonder to eating space food, Packing for Mars for Kids is chock-full of first-hand experiences and thorough research. Roach has crafted an authoritative and accessible book that is perfectly pitched to inquiring middle grade readers"--
The animal toolkit : how animals use tools
Jenkins, Steve, 1952-2021, author, illustrator.
j591.5 Jenkins
Nonfiction, Animals
Featuring cut-paper illustrations, this picture book teaches young readers all about what makes a tool a tool--and the remarkable ways animals use them to interact with the world.
Added by Casey
The wolves and moose of Isle Royale: restoring an island ecosystem
Castaldo, Nancy F. (Nancy Fusco), 1962- author.
j599.77 Castaldo
Nonfiction, Animals, Nature
"On Isle Royale, a remote island national park surrounded by frigid Lake Superior, a thrilling drama is unfolding between wolves and moose, the island's ultimate predator and prey. For over sixty years, in what has been known as the longest study of a predator-prey relationship in the world, scientists have observed the importance of wolves to Isle Royale's unique ecology. But due to illness and underlying factors, the population of wolves on the island has dropped while the number of moose has increased, putting the Isle Royale ecosystem in jeopardy."--
This is a fascinating read for young environmentalists! -Casey
Into the forest : wander through our woodland world
Dorion, Christiane, author.
j577.3 Dorion
Nonfiction, Nature
"Into the Forest is a celebration of trees and wildlife all around the world. Children will find out how trees change color through seasons, how to plant their own trees, and the importance of protecting our forests through sustainability"--
Added by Casey
Animal watching
Carson, Mary Kay, author.
j590 Carson
Nonfiction, Animals, Nature
"Rewild your life! Outdoor school includes immersive activities to get you exploring for animals by recognizing bird silhouettes, spotting nests, identifying mammals and more."
This entire series, or any of its titles, would make a great gift for outdoor enthusiasts! -Casey
The occult, witchcraft & magic : an illustrated history
Christopher Dell
133.4 /Dell
Nonfiction, History, Art / Art History, Nature
From the earliest Paleolithic cave rituals, magic has gripped the imagination. Magic and magicians appear in early Babylonian texts, the Bible, Judaism and Islam. Secret words, spells and incantations lie at the heart of every mythological tradition. Today, magic means many things: contemporary Wicca is practised widely as a modern pagan religion in Europe and the US; 'magic' also evokes the cathartic rituals of Chaos magic, but stretches to include the non-spiritual, rapid-fire sleight of hand performed by slick stage magicians who fill vast arenas. The book is packed with authoritative text and a huge and inspired selection of images, chosen from unusual and hidden sources. The material is presented in 100 entries, and includes some of the best-known representations of magic and the occult from around the world.
This book was so popular when it came out that we had to stock multiple copies. This is a book for you if you love history, art, and illustrations. It doesn't have to be Halloween for me to love leafing through this book! -Melody
Imaginable : how to see the future coming and feel ready for anything--even things that seem impossible today
Jane McGonigal
303.49 /McGonigal
Nonfiction, Technology, Science, Self Help
"War in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly frequent climate disasters--events we might have called "unimaginable" or "unthinkable" in the past are now reality. Today it feels more challenging than ever to feel unafraid, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it seems impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? What we need now are strategies to help us recover our confidence and creativity in facing uncertain futures. In Imaginable, Jane McGonigal draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our minds to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. She invites us to play with the provocative thought experiments and future simulations she's designed exclusively for this book..." -- Inside front book jacket.
I started listening to the audiobook version of this on hoopla (https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/15013684) and wound up buying my own copy to switch back and forth. Some parts are better read so you can stop and ponder McGonigal's probing questions and go through her "creativity training." I mean, who doesn't love creativity training?! Now some of us ICPL staff are in an Imaginable book club where we imagine the future of libraries and the Iowa City community. It's been a fun discussion so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing which of our predictions comes true. -Melody
Both/and thinking : embracing creative tensions to solve your toughest problems
Wendy K. Smith
658.4092/Smith
Nonfiction, Business
"Life is full of paradoxes. How can we each express our individuality and be a team player? How do we balance work and life? How can we take care of ourselves while supporting others? How can we manage the core business while innovating for the future? For many of us, these competing and interwoven demands are a source of conflict. Since our brains love to make either-or choices, we choose one option over the other. We deal with the uncertainty by asserting certainty. There's a better way. In Both/And Thinking, Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis help readers cope and thrive with multiple, knotted tensions at the same time. Drawing from more than twenty years of pioneering research, they provide an actionable framework for transforming these tensions into opportunities for innovation and personal growth. Filled with practical advice, groundbreaking research, and fascinating stories, Both/And Thinking will completely change the way you approach your most vexing problems."--
I love this book! It might be focused on large institutions solving highly complex problems, but it does so in a way that it pulls apart the different values held by stakeholders and finds win-win situations for the best solution possible. Those who have to negotiate or mediate problems among multiple interests should give this a read. -Melody
Cold cold bones
Kathy Reichs
MYSTERY Reichs Kathy
Mystery, Nonfiction
"Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe's place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball. GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens. There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why? Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit--and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe's Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective. Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on... and then her daughter disappears. At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge--one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present" --
I'm a big fan of the Dr. Temperance Brennan series, and this new entry did not disappoint. Tempe is a smart character with real-life woes and a good sense of humor, and her banter with friends and colleagues is always realistic and entertaining (especially with regards to former detective turned PI Skinny Slidell, who has become one of my favorite characters). After so many books in a series, one can expect to know the ins-and-outs of how the story will go, but this series stays fresh and interesting and eerie, and author Kathy Reichs does a good job of evolving the characters and situations to keep with the times. -Candice
The swerve : how the world became modern
Stephen Greenblatt
940.21 /Greenblatt
Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Biographies
In this work, the author has crafted both a work of history and a story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it. Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late thirties took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic, On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius, a beautiful poem of the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles in eternal motion, colliding and swerving in new directions. The copying and translation of this ancient book, the greatest discovery of the greatest book-hunter of his age, fueled the Renaissance, inspiring artists such as Botticelli and thinkers such as Giordano Bruno; shaped the thought of Galileo and Freud, Darwin and Einstein; and had a revolutionary influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare and even Thomas Jefferson.
I'm a little late to this book, but I am so glad that I am reading it (on the recommendation of Natalie Haynes, for you podcast lovers!). This book so eloquently relays an important aspect of the humanism movement--that of finding and preserving and making known again--works from the Romans and Greeks. In this case, our questing hero goes by the name of Poggio, and he re-discovers a text by the Roman thinker Lucretius, who had been heavily influenced by Greek philosopher Epicurus. It's a layer cake of scrumptious meditation on how to live, combined with juicy details of the lives of Romans and Florentines--a real treat! -Candice
Added by Casey