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Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Delight, whimsy and function in decor

Feature by Eliza Borné

You don’t have to go to art school or commission a designer to have a beautiful home—but a tasteful design book will provide you with plenty of inspiration. In these four books, you’ll learn to mix high and low interiors and incorporate plenty of bright color. Filled with gorgeous photographs, design books make lovely gifts for a loved one or yourself, and will be at home on any coffee table for years to come.

NEUTRAL IS OUT
Katie Ridder founded her design firm in 1995 and has since become known for her bright color palette and international influence. Take one look at the mesmerizing pictures in Katie Ridder Rooms, and you’ll soon see why: These interiors are truly works of art, at once sunny and bright, extravagant and balanced. In her introduction, author Heather Smith MacIsaac explains what makes Ridder’s rooms special: “No matter how lavish a project, no matter its style and degree of sophistication, it remains accessible, family friendly, absolutely inviting, and subtly practical.” Though not everyone can spring for custom wallpaper or a custom sofa to fit the shape of a space, we can all project relaxed hospitality in clutter-free rooms. There are many tips here that will be of use to any DIY home decorator, like lining the backs of bookcases with beautiful paper, or painting a dining room in a dramatic color to transform it “from the runt of the litter into best in show.” (MacIsaac rightly notes that dining rooms are typically only used and “dressed up” for special occasions.) After reading this book, you’ll be itching to add drama and flair to your house with sari-like curtains or Chinese lanterns, an upholstered headboard in the bedroom and bold wallpaper in the bathroom—anything that ups the wow factor and, as Ridder says, the “delight factor.”

STYLE AS SWEET AS PIE
Even if you live above the Mason-Dixon Line, like your tea unsweet and would never say “y’all,” you can still find plenty of inspiration in Southern Living Style. The Southerners among us—bless their hearts—will joyfully take pride in their region’s many fabulous interiors. This inviting guide is divided by room, with additional sections on “Defining Southern Style” and before-and-afters. So what is Southern style? It can be modern or traditional, but a proper Southern-inspired room should include some sort of ancestral influence—whether a portrait of Grandmother, a chest passed down for generations or cherished monogrammed family linens. A Southern home will also invite entertaining, comfortably mix functionality with formality and not shy away from color. Alongside pretty pictures of rooms, in this book you’ll find tips from decorators on getting the looks for yourself, with advice for both major re-dos and budget-friendly updates. One of the handiest features is the “pulling it all together” pages, which explain how to assemble the players in each room, from the most essential furniture pieces to fun accessories that make the space your own.

DECOR FROM THE BIG EASY
Bryan Batt may be best known for his role as art director Sal Romano on AMC’s hit show “Mad Men,” but Big, Easy Style joyfully celebrates his passion for design and decor. Batt was born and raised in New Orleans, and his philosophy in both life and design is laissez les bons temps rouler—“let the good times roll.” Readers are encouraged to embrace color, follow their hearts when making design choices and not be afraid of making mistakes. Based on the photographs of Batt’s Crescent City carriage house, it is clear that he has plenty of fun with his own design choices, like hanging huge papier-mâché flowers on the wall in homage to Mardi Gras floats. A helpful feature of Big, Easy Style is Batt’s list of favorite colors; with names like Petticoat White, Chocolate Mousse and Blue Hydrangea, you’ll be eager to start picking out paint chips. Fans of “Mad Men” will appreciate the glimpses into Batt’s childhood and personal life—his family owned the beloved Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park—and anyone with a space to decorate will be energized by his helpful, happy advice, like to work toward synergy between “a home’s great style and its owner’s personal flair.” They’ll also want to make a jaunt to New Orleans, where Batt and his partner, Tom Cianfichi, have owned a home accessories boutique, Hazelnut, since 2003.

A HOUSE FIT FOR A BIBLIOPHILE
Since everyone at BookPage is a booklover, most of us have the same problem: where to stash all the evidence of our addiction. Damian Thompson turns book accumulation into an art form in Books Make a Home, a dream of a guide for any devoted reader. Learn how to store your books more effectively (so you’ll have room to buy more!); how to arrange your books in artful displays; how to organize your collection; and even how to care for your books. (Rule number one: Do not allow them to lean!) Are you cohabitating for the first time and need a solution for combining two libraries? Having guests come to stay and want advice on how to thoughtfully provide reading material? You’ll find plenty of ideas here. Not surprisingly, the stars of the stunning photographs in Books Make a Home are books—stored in sleek kitchens, cozy bedrooms, corridors, office nooks, living rooms and even “loos” (Thompson lives in East London). In a chapter about arranging books in children’s rooms, the author quotes education reformer Horace Mann, writing: “A house without books is like a room without windows.” Any bibliophile would surely agree, and Thompson’s book provides show-stopping ideas for what to do with your beloved tomes.

You don’t have to go to art school or commission a designer to have a beautiful home—but a tasteful design book will provide you with plenty of inspiration. In these four books, you’ll learn to mix high and low interiors and incorporate plenty of bright…

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

There’s no place like home

Feature by Eliza Borné

Home may be where the heart is, but what living space—no matter how beloved—couldn’t use a little sprucing up? From quick-fix projects to complete overhauls, these five books provide inspiration and guidance for adding style to your abode.

Sherry and John Petersik, the upbeat couple behind the popular blog younghouselove.com, cheer on DIY-ers in Young House Love. Filled with the Petersiks’ goofy humor and constant encouragement, this idea book is filled with “243 ways to paint, craft, update and show your home some love.” Even if you’ve never picked a paint color in your life—let alone undertaken a transformation of your entire house—you’ll feel bolstered to head to the nearest hardware store and get to it. Easy-to-browse, photo-filled chapters include suggestions for every part of your home, exterior included. The projects range from free (rearrange your living room); to inexpensive (make your own headboard); to pricier but worth the impact (hang wallpaper on a focal wall). Many of the projects are appropriate for apartment dwellers and renters, and decorators on a budget will appreciate the ideas for repurposing what you already have (the Petersiks are self-proclaimed cheapos). DIY newbies will gain confidence from this young couple’s advice to “embrace what makes you happy.”

HEART OF THE HOUSE

Canadian interior designer Candice Olson, host of “Divine Design” on HGTV, turns her eye toward what may be our most lived-in rooms in Candice Olson Family Spaces. Olson showcases a series of “challenges” and “solutions” to demonstrate how she took lackluster, cluttered and dated family rooms and turned them into stylish, highly functional spaces. And if you don’t happen to have a large basement lair just waiting for a makeover—or the budget to gut a room or buy custom cabinetry—Olson’s suggestions are still food for thought. (Organize a multipurpose space into zones; turn two stacked and slip-covered twin mattresses into a daybed, which can double as guest beds at night.) Some of her ideas are downright ingenious; I was stumped on how to configure a playroom/guest room/weight room until I saw the “after” picture of this particular re-do. (The clever solution involves panel doors that partition off not-kid-friendly weights.) This is a great guide if you want to organize your family room and give it some oomph.

HOMEY AND HIP

Uber-hip design team Robert and Cortney Novogratz—parents to seven children, successful house flippers, HGTV stars, proponents of a “vintage modern” aesthetic—give you the tools to capture their style in Home by Novogratz. The cheerful narration takes readers from the Pioneer Woman’s ranch in Oklahoma (where the designers redecorated an attic bedroom) to sunny Trancoso, Brazil (where they built a Swiss Family Robinson-?inspired tree house). The pages burst with color in this cool and friendly tome, which pays homage to both high-end furniture and quirky thrift store gems. One of the book’s handiest elements is the budget analysis at the end of every project; the tallies will help you know what you’re up against before you start planning your dream home. And if you’re not in the market for an updated urban pad—or beach cabana, as the case may be? You’ll still love the eye candy and the doable how-tos that would add flair to any home.

OBJECTIVE ART

Part memoir, part encyclopedia of objects, The Things That Matter by designer Nate Berkus is a passionate exploration of the stuff that gives life meaning. From a restless childhood in Minnesota, to his first job, to the nightmare of vacationing in Sri Lanka when the 2004 tsunami hit, Berkus describes his life—and his evolving philosophy of design. He also takes readers into the beautiful homes of 12 other people (along with his own), all the while telling the stories of the possessions that add spark to these knockout spaces. Because, as Berkus writes in his introduction: “The truth is, things matter. They have to. They’re what we live with and touch each and every day. They represent what we’ve seen, who we’ve loved, and where we hope to go next. They remind us of the good times and the rough patches, and everything in between that’s made us who we are.”

DESIGN AMERICANA

Thom Filicia found fame as one of the “Fab Five” on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” and in American Beauty he further showcases his decorating chops. In 2008, Filicia passed a “for sale” sign in front of a house near Skaneateles Lake in central New York. He knew it was impractical to buy a property more than four hours from Manhattan, but Filicia recognized love when he felt it. He bought the Colonial-with-potential and embarked on fixing it up. This book—an ode to the Finger Lakes region and a testament to American design—chronicles that journey, empowering readers in the midst of their own renovations. Filicia’s enthusiasm for learning the provenance of his house and using local vendors for materials and furnishings is infectious; the tips on making smart design choices are useful. His ultimate message rings true: “All the time and effort spent collecting and purchasing is just the beginning. The design is in the living.”

Home may be where the heart is, but what living space—no matter how beloved—couldn’t use a little sprucing up? From quick-fix projects to complete overhauls, these five books provide inspiration and guidance for adding style to your abode.

Sherry and John Petersik, the upbeat couple behind…

NonfictionReligion & SpiritualityMemoirCrafts, Hobbies & Home

Cultivating a mindful new year

Feature by Heather Seggel

As we greet the new year, many of us are not where we’d like to be in life. Whether that means personal relationships that could be improved or bad habits that need to be broken, progress begins when we lace up our shoes and take the first step. A handful of new books each have a different subject in mind, but share a common endorsement of mindfulness as the key to a happier, healthier life.

FRIENDS FOR LIFE

Bette Midler’s signature song used to be “You’ve Gotta Have Friends,” back before she got all wind-beneath-my-wings-y. Carlin Flora’s Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are seconds that emotion, noting the enormous health benefits of friendship along with the idea that our friends shape our personality and choices even more than families do. Flora, formerly the features editor for Psychology Today, discovers that one unexpected benefit of friendship is that it allows us to be altruistic and care about others. This may be why the kids who make friends most easily are those who can quickly change gears and empathize with a wide variety of personality types. (It also helps if their names are easy to pronounce.) If you’ve been thinking of starting a book club with your BFFs, here’s your first assignment.

COMPASSION IN ACTION

A professional relationship with a religious leader led to a great friendship for Victor Chan. He traveled with the Dalai Lama for many years, recording talks and meetings with everyone from sick children to two men on either side of the long-standing “troubles” in Northern Ireland. In The Wisdom of Compassion, Chan recounts a variety of these encounters as they relate to “Overcoming Adversity,” “Educating the Heart” and “Compassion in Action.” We get a good sense of what Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader experiences on a typical day, and his personality, which can be fiery but is more often full of effusive giggling, comes through nicely. Chan inserts himself into the narrative more than is warranted, but the overall message of the book is uplifting and inspiring: If we generate compassion within ourselves, then extend it to all people (not just the ones we like most), we hold the potential to alleviate much of the world’s suffering.

BOOST YOUR BRAINPOWER

If you think attention and mindfulness are just for the spiritually inclined, you may be shortchanging your own intelligence. Sandra Bond Chapman’s Make Your Brain Smarter leads with the advice to stop multitasking and utilize what she calls the “brainpower of none,” emptying the mind to allow your thoughts to sort and settle. From there, focusing on just one thing intently or working only on your top two priorities lead to increased productivity and a healthier brain. While it’s disappointing to learn that crosswords and sudoku do less for brain health than previously thought, Chapman’s program encourages thinking broadly and creatively to stimulate the frontal lobe. Considering that she created a program designed to sharpen the minds of Navy SEALs in the same way their elite training hones their bodies, you may want to toss the crosswords and give this a try.

FOCUS ON SUCCESS

The new year is when we often resolve to take up better fitness habits and put down some of our vices; after all, if you can stick with it for three weeks it locks in, right? Actually, no, says PsyBlog creator Jeremy Dean. In Making Habits, Breaking Habits he argues that one of the keys to changing a habit is—don’t say you weren’t warned—mindfulness. Despite the slew of books raving about the power of intention as the key to personal success, research finds that intention creates false expectations and leads more often to disappointment than to thin thighs or an Aston Martin. Instead, the practice of mindfulness helps us act on our intentions consciously, which reinforces new habits and makes it easier to break old ones despite the social cues that can trigger them. Thinking both abstractly and analytically can also develop the mind’s capacity and flexibility. Begin with the mind, then get on the treadmill, and you’re well on your way to self-improvement.

A PATH THROUGH THE DARK

Sometimes the urge to care for ourselves is slow in coming. When Katrina Kenison’s second son left home, she was confronted with an overwhelming sense of loss. It wasn’t just the empty nest or uncertainties of middle age, but also the shifting terrain of her marriage and the long shadow cast by the death of a friend that weighted her days. Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment follows Kenison for a year in which she gently plumbs her intuition to find new purpose and resilience in the face of sorrow. When her life seems most empty, she realizes, “I do at least know this: . . . I can either run away from my loneliness, or I can practice tolerating myself as I am.” Yoga proves central to her healing, and its focus on mindfulness helps even the darkest places to reveal their beauty.

DOWN TO THE ROOTS

Garden blogger (and Kenison’s writing partner) Margaret Roach pulls together the scientific and spiritual in The Backyard Parables: A Meditation on Gardening, but it doesn’t feel like work when you’re out getting your hands dirty. A year spent in her garden includes a glimpse of her “new spiritual practice—a moving meditation aimed specifically at dandelions, a ritual that brings me into touch with my own powerlessness, and also my own power.” By turns wise and witty, the book is also jam-packed with practical tips for gardeners, from the basics of succession sowing to winning a showdown with chipmunks. Roach, former editorial director for Martha Stewart, followed a passion, cultivated it devoutly and turned it into a career. She doesn’t need to discuss the how-to of mindfulness; her life is the best example of the way love and attention will make things bloom.

As we greet the new year, many of us are not where we’d like to be in life. Whether that means personal relationships that could be improved or bad habits that need to be broken, progress begins when we lace up our shoes and take…

NonfictionLiteratureFashionCrafts, Hobbies & HomeArt

Who runs the world?

Feature by Cat Acree

“High priestess of fashion” Diana Vreeland may have transformed Vogue into the bible of contemporary American style, but she is also known for her way with words. In Diana Vreeland Memos, Vreeland’s grandson Alexander has collected more than 250 memos and letters from her nine years as Vogue editor-in-chief to reveal the woman through her own voice. Nine chapters focus on Vreeland’s strengths and passions, from her management style to her vision of the future. Each chapter opens with notes from Vogue editors who worked with Vreeland, and images from Vogue complement the text. There is humor here, as in one particularly concerned note: “The sticky situation with fringe is, of course, extremely serious.” There is poetry as well, as in a short memo on the world’s “hidden anger,” manifesting itself on our skin and in our hearts. Who would have thought that glorified Post-Its would be this interesting? Memos is surprisingly appealing as an intimate look into the frivolity, vision and creativity of Vreeland’s Vogue.

NOT SUGAR AND SPICE

From the “shiny happy ladies” of Jezebel.com comes The Book of Jezebel, an encyclopedic guide to “lady things,” providing insightful and hilarious commentary on pop culture, politics, history and just about everything relating to women. This A-to-Z compendium of feminist “fact and opinion” contains more than a thousand entries ranging from abortion rights to zits, and is accompanied by funny, often shameless photographs and illustrations. There are also full-page taxonomies of nice guys and famous spinsters, the Periodic Table for your period, a brief history of pants and quite possibly the most accurate depiction of a tube top in all of recorded history. This book is serious fun, whether you’re flipping quickly for a snort-worthy one-liner (from the definition for librarian: “[I]n popular culture, a quiet brunette with glasses, hiding a slammin’ body and a libido set to eleven under that cardigan and tweed skirt”) or want to dig into the bio of a fearless performance artist.

HOMESPUN TALES

Knitting is no longer Granny’s game. Writes Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and editor of Knitting Yarns: “Knitting is hot, and shows no signs of cooling.” During a period of great loss, Hood found a way to cope with her grief through knitting’s calming, steady rhythm. But that’s only Hood’s story, and in Knitting Yarns, she has collected original essays (and one poem) from 27 best-selling and beloved writers. Some are practical, like Sue Grafton’s “Teaching a Child to Knit,” while others tell stories of pain and hope, like Ann Patchett’s “How Knitting Saved My Life. Twice.” Others trace the bonds between mothers and daughters, as with Joyce Maynard’s “Straw into Gold.” And after reading, you can knit some super-cute fingerless gloves using one of the six knitting patterns included in the book.

LADIES OF LITERATURE

We all remember the first time we read about Catherine Earnshaw falling irreparably in love in Wuthering Heights or about Edna Pontellier approaching the water in The Awakening. We remember how our favorite female characters transformed us, terrified us and enchanted us. Painter Samantha Hahn shares her own vision of 50 of literature’s most beloved heroines in Well-Read Women. Hahn’s watercolor paintings, each accompanied by hand-lettered quotations, evoke the tragedy, fierceness or innocence of characters ranging from Anna Karenina to Jane Eyre. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables holds the reader’s gaze, while Little Women’s Jo March couldn’t be bothered to put her shoes on. Other women nearly vanish into the soft bleed of watercolor, as with Middlemarch’s Dorothea Brooke, who is little more than the silhouette of her chin and one clever eye. Both a collection of striking artwork and classic quotations, Well-Read Women is a visual and literary delight.

AT HOME WITH LAUDER

Luxury and comfort blend perfectly in the gorgeous Beauty at Home. Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of Estée, takes readers into her office and her homes in Manhattan and the Hamptons to share classic inspiration from every inch of her life. Books this beautiful often feel dominated by the fantasy—who has the time or the money? But with Beauty at Home, Lauder tempers her extravagance with down-to-earth suggestions for mac’n’cheese and hostess gifts. Her boys’ rooms look refreshingly livable, with their artwork proudly displayed on the walls. After all, Lauder is a working mom, and while she clearly lives in a dream world, she still provides readers with the sense that clean simplicity can be incorporated into any woman’s life, no matter how busy. Lauder is as inspiring and savvy as her grandmother, but with a contemporary twist.

DANGEROUS HOUSEWIVES

The original bad girls of psychological suspense come together in Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, an anthology of 14 short stories edited by Sarah Weinman. From the 1940s through the ’70s, long before thriller fans fell in love with haunting tales by Gillian Flynn and Tana French, a generation of now-unknown female writers turned the male-dominated crime fiction genre into a stomping ground for stifled wives exploring their desperate domestic situations. Weinman introduces the stories with a fascinating history of female mystery writers and their connections to both the feminist movement and the evolution of the genre. These writers transformed ordinary life and “pesky women’s issues” into slow-burning thrillers that not only entertained but also announced a voice for the women of the mid-20th century.

This holiday season, make her laugh, make her cry or make her think. But certainly make her curl up with a great book.
NonfictionFictionPhotographyGraphic Novels & ComicsCrafts, Hobbies & HomeComics

Books make the man

Feature by Martin Brady

The 2013 holiday season brings a choice selection of gift books that appear tailor-made for basic male interests. Football? Comic books? Bikini-clad supermodels? Somebody’s dad, brother, husband or uncle is going to be very pleased this year.

The only gift item here devoid of pictures is The Book of Men: Eighty Writers on How to Be a Man. Curated by novelist Colum McCann, the editors of Esquire and Narrative 4—a literary nonprofit launched last spring—this collection features fairly offbeat, often unbelievably terse contributions that aim to shed light on male identity and behavior. Most of the writers are men—some well known, others not so much—but women are represented as well. The latter group includes Amy Bloom, who serves up a charming slice-of-life tale about a white man of modest means in romantic pursuit of a black jazz singer 20 years his junior. James Lee Burke, Salman Rushdie and former NYPD cop Edward Conlon are just a few of the many male contributors, with material touching on sexuality, war, ethics, race and the manly struggle for emotional growth.

FUNNY GUY

Photographer Matt Hoyle’s Comic Genius: Portraits of Funny People is one of the most appealing photo books in recent memory. After drawing up a wish list of his favorite comedians, Hoyle invited each of them to collaborate in a creative photo shoot that produced animated, often hilarious portraits. Ninety comedy icons are represented, including Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, Conan O’Brien, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Mindy Kaling, Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell, plus legendary vets like Don Rickles, Joan Rivers and Mel Brooks. There’s also a welcome shot of the late, great Jonathan Winters. Produced in close studio quarters, these portraits capture less about the comedians themselves and more about their individual comedic styles.

MY HERO

Any guy who’s been keeping an eye on the PBS series “Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle” will doubtless be enthralled by its companion volume, Superheroes! Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture. This rich history of the rise and development of the American comic book industry is written by NYU arts professor Laurence Maslon in collaboration with the documentary’s filmmaker, Michael Kantor. The book features interviews with the artists and writers responsible for conceiving and crafting comic books through the decades—especially in the popular superhero genre. Plus, there are hundreds of full-color illustrations that lead the reader through the Depression-era origins of the art form and on to its expanding pop culture importance. There’s also a good deal of material on how comic book art has changed with the times, reflecting war, social upheaval and shifting artistic tastes.

FOURTH AND GOAL

Produced under the auspices of the Library of Congress and with sharp text by writer Susan Reyburn, Football Nation: Four Hundred Years of America’s Game takes its place as an essential popular sports history. A surefire gift idea for that couch-potato football guy, this book deftly melds social history with a super-fan’s sensibility about great modern-day players and auspicious moments on the field. Coverage is comprehensive, from the sport’s nascent development in rural Colonial times, to its growth in colleges in the late 19th century, through its eventual explosion as a billion-dollar professional pursuit. The feast of archival material includes photos, drawings, reproduced magazine and newspaper excerpts, cartoons, advertising and more. This one should be under the Christmas tree just in time for the NFL playoffs.

MADE BY HAND

Even in our highly computerized modern world, there remains a deep respect for hands-on craftsmanship. With that in mind, photographer Tadd Myers set out for mostly rural outposts where dedicated men and women still rely on manual labor to achieve great things. The result is Portraits of the American Craftsman, a rare pictorial journey across America, with Myers visiting 30 small studios and workshops where handmade items such as hats, pipes, surfboards, knives, rifles, gun holsters, banjos, boots and brooms are lovingly produced by old-fashioned artisans. Small-town Texas and Vermont get paid multiple visits, as do Chicago and Nashville, and one surprising journey takes Myers to Colorado, where Billings Artworks metallurgy shop hand-renders each and every Grammy Award. Text by Eric Celeste provides background on these old-school industries and explains how the work is actually done.

COVER GIRLS

Finally, there is Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: 50 Years of Beautiful, a doorstopper of a volume that is loaded with personal testimony and historical narrative about Sports Illustrated’s famous swimsuit issues, as told by the editors, photographers and models who made it happen. It’s no surprise, however, that the engaging text is blown away by the gorgeously printed photos, which capture the moments when cover girls such as Cheryl Tiegs, Elle Macpherson and Heidi Klum moved from mere models to international icons. A subsection focuses on athletes as models (Danica Patrick, Lindsey Vonn), including husband-wife teams, notably golfer Phil Mickelson and his bikini-clad better half, Amy, in a charming 1998 shot that predates Phil’s rise as PGA great and the couple’s heroic, public battle with Amy’s breast cancer. The ladies emerge as timeless stunners, but so does this richly designed book, which celebrates glamour photography and SI’s commitment to doing it with class for half a century.

The 2013 holiday season brings a choice selection of gift books that appear tailor-made for basic male interests. Football? Comic books? Bikini-clad supermodels? Somebody’s dad, brother, husband or uncle is going to be very pleased this year.

The only gift item here devoid of pictures is…

TechnologyMemoirGraphic Novels & ComicsCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooksComicsArt

Something for the well-rounded man

Feature by Martin Brady

With every passing day, our world seems ever more gender-neutral. Nevertheless, some topics still fit pretty comfortably into the category of the “historical purview of men,” and some fine new publications have arrived to stake their claim as appropriate holiday gifts for special guys.

THE SPORTING LIFE
Bob Ryan recently retired after clocking in close to 50 years as a print sports reporter. But Ryan’s career also encompassed television, and through the miracle of ESPN, this less-than-obviously-telegenic fellow came to be known far and wide for his knowledge of sports and no-nonsense opinions about the controversial personalities who played them. In Scribe: My Life in Sports, Ryan offers an enjoyable memoir that spans his early days as a sports-crazy lad in Trenton, New Jersey, the launching of his career with The Boston Globe and on to the decades spent covering local teams, in particular his beloved Celtics. Ryan also covered baseball, football, the Olympics and golf, but it is no surprise that his most interesting words here concern basketball figures such as Red Auerbach, Bobby Knight and Larry Bird. Ryan’s on-air activities with ESPN continue, so this volume really serves as the capper to his newspaper days as a man on a steady beat.

FIXER-UPPER
Guys are certainly not alone these days when it comes to home repairs and general Mr. (or Ms.) Fix It concerns. Yet the phrase remains “nice to have a man around the house,” and the new fourth edition of The Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual updates a volume that’s been of value to amateur handymen since 1973. The coverage is exhaustive, from descriptions of the basic tools and accessories necessary to tackle any job to wonderfully detailed instructions for completing all manner of interior and exterior repair and remodeling projects. The editors assume the reader’s can-do spirit and dive right in with thorough descriptions of plumbing, electrical, landscaping, masonry and woodworking projects, along with step-by-step instructions supplemented by color photos and drawings. Even for those guys who may not muster the chutzpah to actually replace a toilet or asphalt shingles, this hefty tome will serve as a superior, safety-conscious general guide and reference for home use.

FIRE IT UP
In a health-conscious modern world, meat—especially red meat—has endured its share of revisionist dietary criticism. But that doesn’t stop acclaimed U.K. food writer Nichola Fletcher from providing endlessly supportive and knowledgeable text for The Meat Cookbook, which emerges as a salutary—and heavily illustrated—celebration of all things carnivorous. Fletcher’s lengthy opening section, “Meat Know-How,” is a storehouse of general info on meat, from assessing the various cuts to using cutlery, from modes of cooking to preparing sauces. The individual chapters focus on the specific meat categories—poultry, pork, beef, lamb, game and even offal (organ meats that require special cooking attention). A final section, “Home Butchery,” goes where most of us regular folks fear to tread, but it provides valuable information and useful diagrams for home kitchen prep, including good reminders on hygiene and safety. The hundreds of recipes by Christopher Trotter, Elena Rosemond-Hoerr and Rachel Green look nothing short of spectacular and provide a survey of meat dishes from across the globe.

FULL STEAM AHEAD
“Stunning” is one word that describes Train: The Definitive Visual History. This massive, gorgeously produced volume is nothing short of a feast for the eyes, at once an impressive publishing achievement and probably the definitive popular work on its subject. Produced under the supervision of the Smithsonian and general consultant Tony Streeter, the book’s beauty and authority outweigh even its serious poundage as it chronicles the development of locomotives and railroads, describes more than 400 train engines and railcars, explores worldwide rail journeys and features plenty of side trips over bridges and through tunnels. The detailing of the trains themselves is spectacular, all in vivid color and including the minutiae of technical specifications, which will enthrall any train buff. For those happy enough with the history alone, the text is enjoyable and comprehensive, filled with profiles of early 19th-century pioneer inventors, interesting facts about the industry’s expansion from England to Europe to the U.S., plus sidebars on the train’s roles as a prime mover of people and an engine of war.

WHAT A MARVEL
Finally, there’s Marvel Comics: 75 Years of Cover Art, yet another gloriously hefty volume. This one celebrates that perennial obsession of just about every young guy—and even some older ones. Historically, there was always a divide between lovers of DC Comics (Superman, Batman, etc.) and those who favored Marvel Comics, purveyors of Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, X-Men and many other iconic superheroes. Yet comparisons are odious, and at their best, Marvel’s covers were (and are) wonderful. This compelling gallery of enlarged examples pops with dazzling color and dramatic action, backed by Alan Cowsill’s captions and sidebars describing each print, along with capsule profiles of important artists such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. The covers are divided into four historical periods—Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age and Modern Age—offering a striking overview of the development of the art form’s style, as well as comics’ reflection of societal changes. One cover even features President Obama!

 

This article was originally published in the December 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

With every passing day, our world seems ever more gender-neutral. Nevertheless, some topics still fit pretty comfortably into the category of the “historical purview of men,” and some fine new publications have arrived to stake their claim as appropriate holiday gifts for special guys.
NonfictionCrafts, Hobbies & HomeArt

The strange and the wonderful

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

Bibliophiles know books are the perfect gifts, rendering “they’re so hard to buy for” an empty lament. To wit, this trio of titles truly has something for everyone. All hail the curious mind!

TATTED UP
Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them takes a daring approach: There are no photos here. Instead, Wendy MacNaughton illustrates more than 60 tattoos, along with their hand-lettered origin stories curated by Isaac Fitzgerald. MacNaughton’s artfully rendered black-and-white line drawings of her subjects provide a neutral canvas for her full-color interpretations of their vibrant tattoos. Of course, the stories make these body-art vignettes whole: From sad to silly, emotional to eccentric, it’s fascinating to learn what can inspire such an everlasting form of self-expression. Chiming in are artists, professors, a naval officer, pizza aficionados and many more. This is a great gift for the tattooed, the tattoo considerers, art lovers and anyone curious about tattoo whys and wherefores but too shy to ask.

TANTALIZING TRIVIA
The explosive cover art for 1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is a reasonable facsimile of readers’ brains after they’ve experienced this compendium of wildly interesting, weirdly true facts. The authors are the masterminds of popular BBC quiz show “QI”: John Lloyd is creator, John Mitchinson is director of research, and James Harkin is senior researcher. They’re also the authors of 2013’s best-selling 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off, the creation of which led them right to this follow-up book. “Once you are in the Fact Zone, everywhere you look, astonishing new facts seem to wave and demand inclusion,” they explain. There are loads of facts here, on topics as varied as music, milk, Darwin, straitjackets and earlobes. For example: “There are only two sets of escalators in Wyoming,” and “A slug’s anus is on its head.” Now get out there and win on “Jeopardy!”

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
Step aside, yarn-bombers and artisanal cheese-makers—the rogue taxidermists are here, and Robert Marbury leads the charge with Taxidermy Art: A Rogue’s Guide to the Work, the Culture, and How to Do It Yourself. The book shares taxidermy’s origins, as well as illustrated how-tos for the aspiring taxidermist. It’s also an illuminating look at those who practice the craft today, via page after page of disturbingly beautiful (or beautifully disturbing) works by artists worldwide. Chicago’s Jessica Joslin combines animal bones and intricate metalwork in pieces that are at once robotic and fluid; Julia deVille embellishes her taxidermy with jewels, thus “dazzling us with death”; and Marbury practices “vegan taxidermy” by using toy stuffed animals instead of formerly living creatures. Taxidermy Art is a truly interesting read, rife with intriguing history, talented artists, memorable images—and skull-bleaching instructions, too.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Bibliophiles know books are the perfect gifts, rendering “they’re so hard to buy for” an empty lament. To wit, this trio of titles truly has something for everyone. All hail the curious mind!
Children's & YAPicture BookCrafts, Hobbies & Home

Books to be cherished by curious, creative minds

Feature by Alice Cary

When I was in third grade, my parents gave me a bright red book that still sits on my bookshelf today: Great Stories for Young Readers. Here are some of our favorite new gift books geared toward all sorts of young readers. With luck, your present to a special someone will become a cherished favorite for decades to come.

CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
Young readers always get a kick out of animals—old and new—and the amusing things they do. Leave Animal Antics on a coffee table, and readers of all ages will dive in. The book combines superb photography with short write-ups about why each animal is behaving so comically. A baby orangutan gazes mischievously from underneath a “hat” of leaves; a koala snoozes while hanging slumped in a tree; and a bobcat sits atop a tall cactus in a prickly attempt to avoid the wrath of a cougar. The cover photo sets the tone as a chimp sticks out its tongue, and images inside explain that chimps’ facial expressions have different meanings from those of humans. The tidbits in Animal Antics are meant to educate and entertain.

If you know a young reader who can’t get enough of dinosaurs, The Great Big Dinosaur Treasury is the perfect choice. This is my favorite sort of storybook collection, containing eight stories from different authors and illustrators, giving kids a chance to sample a variety of tales and styles. It features favorites like Curious George’s Dinosaur Discovery and Bernard Most’s If the Dinosaurs Came Back—always popular in our house. Carol and Donald Carrick’s Patrick’s Dinosaurs is a timeless story about two brothers and the amazing power of imagination. Kids will relish Howard Fine’s dramatic illustrations for Deb Lund’s Dinosailors, about a “dinotough” group of sailing dinosaurs who encounter a nasty squall. A “Meet the Authors and Illustrators” section will no doubt lead readers to more books. And if all that good reading isn’t quite enough, the book contains an access code so fans can download free dinosaur-themed party accessories. ’Tis the season for celebrations, after all!

GATHER 'ROUND
Well-done editions of fairy tales sometimes shine like newly discovered jewels, and several recent offerings do just that.

Chief among them is Little Red Riding Hood. The Brothers Grimm tale is retold in its original form, accompanied by remarkable laser die-cut illustrations by German-born artist Sybille Schenker. Her delicate, colorful pages have transparent layers that look like lace. Colors pop against dramatic black backgrounds as these truly exquisite cutouts transform scenes from the beloved tale into striking silhouettes. The wolf threatens to eat Little Red Cap; through a window we see Grandmother sleeping peacefully in her bed as the wolf approaches; then the wolf lies menacingly underneath Grandmother’s lavender flowered quilt. Everyone knows this fairy tale, but believe me, you’ve never seen it quite so strikingly illustrated.

Robert Sabuda is the king of pop-up, and The Dragon & the Knight: A Pop-up Misadventure is another of his marvels. This collection of nine two-page fairy tales includes favorites such as “The Three Pigs,” “Goldilocks” and “Rapunzel.” Of course, pop-ups are the star here; the short fairy tales simply set the stage for the 3-D action. In the very first story, a mischievous dragon declares that he can’t stop his fire-breathing ways, and from that point on, he and a kindly knight face off on each of the book’s spreads. Sabuda’s paper sculptures rise magically, bursting out of the book’s text-filled pages. As Hansel and Gretel stand in front of the witch and her house, the dragon wisecracks, “You don’t want to know what kind of a sweet tooth SHE has.” By the end, the dragon has begun to burn holes in the pages, throwing stories into increasing disarray. Happily, all concludes in a friendly way, and there’s a fun surprise regarding the knight’s identity.

Classic Bedtime Stories reminds me of the story-books I loved as a child. This large-format book contains 50 vibrant illustrations—influenced by masters like N.C. Wyeth and Arthur Rackham—that took artist Scott Gustafson nearly two years to complete. Tales such as “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” jump to life in Gustafson’s detailed scenes. In “The Lion and the Mouse,” a trapped, scared lion’s head dominates the spread as he gazes apprehensively at a lively, furry mouse. In “Jack and the Beanstalk,” the furious giant glows in candlelight as he angrily tries to grab Jack. Particularly beautiful is “Little Sambha and the Tigers,” based on the enduring, though controversial, tale written by Scottish author Helen Bannerman in 1899 about her experiences living in India. Gustafson injects much-needed cultural context and humanity here, resulting in an updated tale worth telling.

Fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, take note. In Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, author Rick Riordan offers insight into the mythology behind his best-selling series. Written in the voice of Percy, Riordan’s half-god, half-mortal hero, this is a fun yet informative take on mythology, with selections such as “Hermes Goes to Juvie” and “Persephone Marries Her Stalker.” Percy explains in the introduction: “There’s like forty bajillion different versions of the myths, so don’t be all Well, I heard it a different way, so you’re WRONG! I’m going to tell you the versions that make the most sense to me.” This is a fun, breezy take on the gods that many will enjoy, whether or not they’re familiar with Percy Jackson. What’s more, Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator John Rocco adds his signature style to this collection with dramatic, engaging art.

BIG INTERACTIVE FUN
These jam-packed volumes offer a fresh spin on several favorite activities.

The Children’s Book of Magic presents a compelling look at the history of magic along with step-by-step instructions that teach young magicians 20 magic tricks. It’s easy to lose yourself in this book, which is teeming with tidbits, photos and illustrations. Did you know that sword swallowing is rarely faked? And have you heard of William Robinson, who pretended to be a Chinese magician named Chung Ling Soo? Students will love learning the tricks within these pages, such as the Rising Aces, Coin Through a Bottle and the Magic String. All require everyday household items such as rope, thread, a ping-pong ball, a deck of cards, a water bottle and so on—no giant saws needed! There’s also a timeline of magic history, a glossary and a list of skills that every magician needs.

Airplane books are another perennial favorite, and kids will flock to Nick Arnold’s Flying Machines. The book includes a brief explanation of how planes fly, along with a timeline of the history of flight, all accompanied by cheery illustrations by Brendan Kearney. The real fun starts with tear-out sheets that allow readers to build two paper planes. There’s also a box containing the materials to build three balsa wood and propeller aircraft, along with suggestions for flight experiments and a log to record notes about various flights. The models are colorful and easy to build, with names like Whirlybird Helicopter, Galactic Glider and Twin-Prop Superstar. There’s a reason why airplane books are so popular: Appealing to both boys and girls, they’re educational and offer hours of fun.

Artsy kids will be inspired by You Call That Art?!: Learn About Modern Sculpture and Make Your Own. The book’s engineers are pop-up creators James Diaz and David A. Carter, the latter known for The 12 Bugs of Christmas and other pop-up bug titles. This collaboration takes a serious look at the history of modern sculpture and includes brief profiles of 10 influential sculptors such as Rodin, Picasso, Duchamp and Calder. Students can dig deeper with the help of a bibliography and a list of websites in the end pages. The entertainment factor is a large envelope containing more than 100 colorful punch-out pieces that can be used to create six different sculptures modeled after those of the masters. These cardboard pieces are easy to maneuver, are numbered and come with instructional diagrams. Of course, kids are encouraged to forget the numbers and make their own creations.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

When I was in third grade, my parents gave me a bright red book that still sits on my bookshelf today: Great Stories for Young Readers. Here are some of our favorite new gift books geared toward all sorts of young readers. With luck, your present to a special someone will become a cherished favorite for decades to come.
Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Design your best home

Feature by Joanna Brichetto

These five new books on home décor could hardly be more different, yet are unified by a common goal: to help us craft our homes into more comfortable, beautiful and uniquely personalized spaces.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW
It’s only natural that most of us focus on fixing up the inside of our home before we even think about the outside. Aside from the mandatory effort to establish minimum curb appeal, the yard doesn’t get much of a plan at all. Cultivating Garden Style can change this. The big book of inspired ideas from popular columnist and blogger Rochelle Greayer guides readers through the process of transforming outdoor spaces—vast or tiny—into practical yet gorgeous reflections of your own style. Wondering if you even have a garden style? You do, and all will be revealed as you respond to chapters that highlight specific styles via beautiful photographs and a framework of recurring elements—how to personalize with outdoor furniture and accessories, how to select plants—which help you discover and articulate what you like and why. Greayer also includes plenty of simple DIY projects to ensure your space has as much room for personal touches as possible.

EUROPEAN GRAND DESIGN
Veranda magazine is all about luxury and the very best in interior design. This means the magazine’s newest coffee table tome, Veranda: A Passion for Living, is not so much a practical guide as it is a showcase of some of the most beautiful homes in Europe, each with its own style, sense of place and personality. This is total eye candy for us average do-it-yourselfers, but it’s sure to inspire, teach and elevate our sense of the possible. If we see big, then we can dream big and perhaps adapt big. This is the perfect treat for both the design enthusiast and the armchair traveler.    

DECORATE WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
Desha Peacock has lots of friends. From the bushel of folks she’s gathered together to tell us their stories in her new home décor book, Create The Style You Crave On A Budget You Can Afford, it looks like she could get anyone to talk about anything. No wonder she’s an award-winning TV host and producer. Desha enlists her budget-savvy friends into her conspiratorial cohort, so that we readers come to feel that we’re part of the teamas well, making the most out of our own homes with whatever we’ve got. For instance, there’s Corri in Arkansas, who takes us through her house room by room (with Instagram-inspired photos), proudly showing us how she turned her Little Rock, Arkansas, budget (she operates her own restaurant downtown) into a shining example of design magic. In the second half of the book, Desha lays out every last decorating option we might consider, taking us through “Decision Making 101” for our own idiosyncratic case. Tips on mood boards, color, budget and a resource list round out this well-balanced guide.

YOUR STYLE GURU
On the same subject, but on a different tack, HGTV star and Good Housekeeping Home Design Director Sarah Richardson shows so much confidence in her decorative good sense, she even names her approach (and her book) after herself: Sarah Style has much less regard for budgetary constraints, placing all its emphatic wisdom instead on cleanliness, good taste and artful arrangement. If you have the resources and the ambition, then Sarah is the style guru for you. Richardson goes room by room and offers a virtuosic range of visions: formal, informal, bachelor, Parisian, Victorian, Retro, Pop, minimal and many more, all absolutely gorgeous.

YOU CAN RESTORE IT
The art of furniture restoration is an oft-overlooked subject in the DIY design world, but it finally gets the grand treatment it deserves in Christophe Pourny’s sophisticated and engaging guide, The Furniture Bible: Everything You Need to Identify, Restore & Care for Furniture. As one of the official furniture restorers for the City of New York, Pourny knows his stuff. He challenges readers with a formidable syllabus, including the abilities to identify any piece of furniture by its historical period, materials, construction and finish along with a full run-down of repair techniques and methods of refurbishment. Hundreds of detailed photographs and step-by-step montages make this book a complete education.

These five new books on home décor could hardly be more different, yet are unified by a common goal: to help us craft our homes into more comfortable, beautiful and uniquely personalized spaces.
NonfictionPhotographyCrafts, Hobbies & HomeAnimals

Heavenly creatures

Feature by bookpagedev

Loving, entertaining, clever, confounding . . . our precious pets enrich our lives, and attentive pet owners are always looking for more: more ways to understand them, decode their behavior, have a closer relationship or pay tribute. These new books offer wonderful ways to do just that, via pet psychology, inspiring stories, poetry and creative DIY.

CAT CURIOSITY
With CatWise: America’s Favorite Cat Expert Answers Your Cat Behavior Questions, Pam Johnson-Bennett has created an informative, insightful go-to resource for current or aspiring cat owners. The author, a certified cat behaviorist for 30 years with eight bestsellers and a TV series under her belt, created the book to serve as an FAQ, but it’s also a work of advocacy. She writes, “[C]ats are often placed in a no-win situation. We . . . pick and choose what aspects of catness are acceptable, which usually means convenient—to us.” She urges readers to remember that, just like humans, cats are individuals. She also encourages readers to see cats’ more confounding behaviors as the problem-solving efforts they are, rather than attribute them to aloofness, spitefulness, etc. To wit, if your cat turns her back to you, she’s not being rude—it’s actually an expression of deep trust (i.e., she doesn’t have to keep a suspicious eye on you). Readers can choose sections of interest, specific questions (Why does my cat eat grass?), or read straight through from babyhood to the golden years. Whether readers are considering a new kitten or caring for a longtime feline companion, there’s much to learn from Johnson-Bennett’s patient, smart, encouraging expertise. 

It’s also important for dog owners to resist preconceived notions and pay attention to individual personalities, as Victoria Stilwell explains in The Secret Language of Dogs: Unlocking the Canine Mind for a Happier Pet. The author, an accomplished trainer and host of the TV series “It’s Me or the Dog,” writes, “Like humans, dogs communicate consciously and unconsciously, using body and vocal signals that reflect what they are thinking and feeling.” Recognizing and responding to them (while remembering that doggy intent may not be the same as human interpretation) encourages a strong, happy relationship. The book covers everything from tone of voice (high = playful, low = serious) to the reason bitter spray won’t stop inappropriate chomping (bitterness receptors are on the back of dogs’ tongues, so they won’t taste it on a shoe). Photos and illustrations are helpful for deciphering body language. Throughout, Stilwell shares her knowledge while advocating for a consistent, loving approach to training and caring for dogs.

OLDIES BUT GOODIES
An adorable, fuzzy-headed senior dog named Susie turned out to be the key to unlocking Erin Stanton’s passion for helping senior dogs find forever homes. After she began co-parenting the pooch with husband Brandon Stanton, of Humans of New York fame, “Improving their lonely, vulnerable lives became my purpose,” she writes in Susie’s Senior Dogs: Heartwarming, Tail-Wagging Stories from the Social Media Sensation. Stanton realized that, like her husband, she could use social media to spur change, and it’s working: The Susie’s Senior Dogs Facebook page has 585,000-plus followers, and the eponymous nonprofit organization has helped arrange 500 adoptions of senior dogs. This book is sure to inspire more. It’s a charming collection of adoption stories, plus profiles of inspiring dog-centric sorts like a longtime city shelter volunteer and a rescue dog photographer. Photos abound, and the book is dotted with tips from Susie, who says, “Don’t be scared of old age. Great things still do happen.” She sure would know.

QUOTH THE FELINE BARD
Jennifer McCartney is a writer and humorist who struck a chord with her bestseller The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place. Her new book, Poetry from Scratch: A Kitten’s Book of Verse, is a “collection of the best (and only) cat poetry in existence.” She discovered the collection in Milan, you see, where the owners of a century-old cat cafe had faithfully been transcribing the feline residents’ literary efforts. Now, everyone can enjoy poems like “The Rodent Not Taken” (“I took the one less fit and spry/And that has made all the difference.”) and “Ode to a Sunbeam.” There’s also beat poetry (“88 Lines About 44 Cats”), plus haiku and limericks. This is funny stuff for poets, cat lovers, poetic cats, catty poets and whoever else might appreciate a literarily inclined laugh.

ADORABLE CAT ABODES
DIY meets cat worship in Cat Castles: 20 Cardboard Habitats You Can Build Yourself, a how-to guide for creating fanciful and functional cat habitats. As Carin Oliver notes, although cats “are experts at relaxing,” they are “not great at arts and crafts. That’s where you come in.” Though it’s likely a curious cat will want to “help” when they see construction begin, that shouldn’t prove a hindrance, because Oliver’s instructions and diagrams are clear and easy to follow—and she devotes many pages to proper preparation via detailed materials lists, basic techniques and design tips. Projects include a castle, airplane, condo, nap tubes, couch and the especially hilarious and on-trend food truck. Lots of fun for budding builders—or those who just want to look at lots of photos of cats as they climb, hide, play and explore a variety of cardboard domiciles.

FEELING SQUIRRELLY
The cover of How to Keep a Pet Squirrel—a wide-eyed red squirrel on a trapeze—will inspire delight in those who see the furry tree-dwellers as cute . . . and stomach-clenching angst in those who consider them birdseed-stealing, wire-gnawing miscreants. More lively, witty illustrations from Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo) accompany the text, which Scheffler discovered while paging through a circa-1910 children’s encyclopedia. While the book isn’t actually advocating squirrel adoption, peaceful coexistence might feel more achievable after reading it. This would be a delightful gift for an animal lover, or a funny way to tweak someone who talks perhaps a bit too much about their ongoing battles with these resourceful rodents.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Loving, entertaining, clever, confounding . . . our precious pets enrich our lives, and attentive pet owners are always looking for more: more ways to understand them, decode their behavior, have a closer relationship or pay tribute. These new books offer wonderful ways to do just that, via pet psychology, inspiring stories, poetry and creative DIY.
NonfictionChildren's & YANatureCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Unwrap and get busy: Hands-on gifts for little ones

Feature by Alice Cary

After a wild Christmas morning of unwrapping, there’s nothing better than the silence of children who are completely absorbed in their new gifts. With these books, kids can create, build, bake, imagine and marvel all year long.

Kids and adults alike will want to try out Oscar Sabini’s alluringly creative Paper Monsters: Make Monster Collages! Following on the heels of Paper Zoo, Italian illustrator and educator Sabini presents a variety of templates to make a menagerie of unbelievably cute critters. Cardstock and colorful paper are included, so all that’s needed is glue to follow his simple instructions for assembling a collage and slipping it into a pocket with a monster-shaped window. Add a few eyes, noses and teeth, and the creatures come to life. Sabini notes that any paper can be used, such as newspaper and even stamps. This self-contained art class will appeal to a wide variety of ages and act as a springboard for future collage projects. Believe me, you’ll want to try this yourself!

PINBALL WIZARDS
Open this ingenious box and have fun exploring Pinball Science: Everything That Matters About Matter by Ian Graham and Owen Davey. Inside you’ll find an instruction book and all the components needed to build a retro, science-themed pinball machine. There are no electronics here: Just insert and fold the tabs of 63 pieces of cardboard (a sturdy box slips out of the package to form the base of the pinball machine), and you’re ready to play. Meanwhile, there are accompanying lessons about gravity, force and acceleration—everything that matters when that pinball rolls out of its starting gate. In addition to instructions and science lessons, the book contains suggestions for very simple science projects using common household items. Budding scientists will have a ball.

FOR THE LITTLEST SOUS-CHEF
Roll up your sleeves and get out the oven mitts for Baking Class: 50 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Bake! This colorful, spiral-bound guide, presented by the aptly named kids’ cookbook writer Deanna F. Cook, features easy instructions paired with helpful pictures. There are eye-catching recipes for crispy cheese squares (think Cheez-Its) and brownie pizza, plus adorable bread art (bake an octopus or a snail) and cake and cookie decorating ideas, all rated for difficulty using a scale of one to three rolling pins. Who knew you could put designs and initials on toast using foil shields? A section on the basics gets young bakers started, and additional bonuses include stickers, bake-sale tags and design stencils to use with confectioner’s sugar.

READ AROUND THE WORLD
“How [do you] love a story?” asks prolific children’s author Jane Yolen. “Read it aloud. Let it melt in your mouth. There is magic between the mouth and ear when a story is involved.” Yolen has assembled a wonderful collection of more than 30 short folk tales for preschoolers, Once There Was a Story: Tales from Around the World, Perfect for Sharing. Old favorites (“The Gingerbread Man,” “The Ugly Ducking”) mix with little-known offerings, such as “The Little Old Lady Who Lost Her Dumpling” from Japan and “Plip, Plop,” a rabbit tale from Tibet. Yolen partners with longtime collaborator Jane Dyer, whose softly colored illustrations bring these stories to life. This enriching, thoughtful collection is sure to be a bedtime favorite.

NATURE’S BUILDERS
“Welcome to nature’s very own super-clever construction world,” writes Moira Butterfield in How Animals Build. There are fun facts and lifting flaps galore in this lively compendium, with entire pages that unfold to reveal a bunny warren and a beehive, the many animals living in one tree and the wonders of a coral reef. Paired with Tim Hutchinson’s illuminating illustrations are brief discussions of everything from a naked mole rat’s burrow to the nearly five-foot wide nest of a European white stork. Readers also learn about some extreme builders, like two orb spiders who traveled to the International Space Station. This nicely laid out book will engage a variety of ages and interests.

DID YOU KNOW?
Somehow kids never tire of fun facts and trivia, especially when they’re alongside eye-popping photos. Middle school and older elementary readers will find plenty of tidbits to entertain everyone in the family with 13½ Incredible Things You Need to Know About Everything. Each of the book’s two-page spreads has a theme, such as “Blood Rush” (circulation), “Medical Marvels,” “A Way with Words” (language) and “On the Ball” (sports). In “Making Movies,” we learn that not everyone eats popcorn at the movies. In Norway, movie snacks can include reindeer jerky, while Indians might eat samosas, Japanese love dried sardines, and South Koreans munch on chewy dried cuttlefish. Each spread contains 13 facts, plus a “½” fact, which addresses a half-truth or misconception, such as: “Whales and dolphins don’t squirt water out of their blowholes—they use them to breathe. The stream of water vapor often seen shooting out is the result of the warm expelled air condensing when it meets the cold outside air.” Get ready for a trivia smackdown.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

After a wild Christmas morning of unwrapping, there’s nothing better than the silence of children who are completely absorbed in their new gifts. With these books, kids can create, build, bake, imagine and marvel all year long.

Crafts, Hobbies & HomeArts & Culture

Lifestyles: DIY downsizing

Feature by Susannah Felts

I tell people all the time that it’s a dream of mine to build a tiny house in our backyard to use as a combo writing studio and guesthouse. Will it ever be a reality? Who knows, but Derek “Deek” Diedricksen’s new book, Micro Living: 40 Innovative Tiny Houses Equipped for Full-Time Living, in 400 Square Feet or Less, might help me get there. Building on the success of his first book, Microshelters, Diedricksen profiles 40 tiny homes in this volume, from houses under 150 square feet to “big tinies” that max out at 400 square feet. In addition to floor plans and color photos for each house, readers also get a little bit of each owner’s story along with reflections from Diedricksen. My favorite part: a quote from each homeowner about what they wish they had (or hadn’t) done now that their vision is complete.

CUT AND PASTE
Every so often, a lifestyle book comes along that makes me feel less alone. In the introduction to Lotta Jansdotter Paper, Pattern, Play, author and designer Jansdotter mentions that for her, the process of looking at patterns and working with paper triggers an Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a soothing, pleasurable feeling. I never thought of paper and patterns as one of my own ASMR triggers—but yes! Most of the book’s pages are meant to be removed and used in the projects included, and each features one of Jansdotter’s own patterns, ranging from geometric to floral. How wonderful to have your main materials provided. Projects run from simple, such as paper leaves that can be affixed to bare branches, to more complex, including party favors. I love the way Jansdotter livens up something as simple as a binder clip with a small rectangle of red-and-white paper. “Paper is such a great medium for experimentation,” she writes. “It is low risk . . . and not too precious.” Pass the scissors.

TOP PICK IN LIFESTYLES
“Natural ink is a whole landscape condensed into a little bottle,” writes Jason Logan, author of Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking, a visually rich guide to making ink from foraged materials. We first encounter Logan, founder of the Toronto Ink Company, as he combs the wilds of Red Hook, Brooklyn, for source materials both plant-based and man-made: wild grapes, acorn caps, paint chips, rusted nails. Turning these things into ink is little more complicated than “waiting and stirring and waiting some more,” and his basic recipe for natural ink is indeed quite simple. Logan includes recipe variations for attaining specific colors such as Vine Charcoal, Pokeberry and Silvery Acorn Cap. The final third of the book relaxes into art with examples of Logan’s own ink tests as well as work from others who have experimented with his inks, such as Dave Eggers and Margaret Atwood. (“At least one bottle of wild grape ink almost exploded on its way to Stephen King,” he writes.) A conversation with author Michael Ondaatje rounds out this exquisite volume.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

I tell people all the time that it’s a dream of mine to build a tiny house in our backyard to use as a combo writing studio and guesthouse. Will it ever be a reality? Who knows, but Derek “Deek” Diedricksen’s new book, Micro Living: 40 Innovative Tiny Houses Equipped for Full-Time Living, in 400 Square Feet or Less (Storey, $18.95, 256 pages, ISBN 9781612128764), might help me get there.

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Lifestyles: Fort nights

Feature by Susannah Felts

Over here at Lifestyles central, I see my fair share of whimsical books, and many of them I unabashedly love. This month’s whimsy award goes to Blanket Fort: Growing Up Is Optional by a husband-and-wife creative team who are mysteriously (and whimsically) only known to readers as Grackle + Pigeon. Everyone knows kids love to build blanket forts, but why should they have all the fun? “Let’s face it—adulting is hard,” the book’s intro reads. “Can’t we just not deal for a while and take refuge in a pile of pillows and blankets and maybe, just maybe, redefine what adulting actually means?” In Blanket Fort, it means getting your craft on with aluminum tent poles, clamps and all the fabrics you can find. Use them to drape and clip your way to a reading nook, office space, movie-viewing nest, campsite chill-out zone and other enchanting, tentlike spaces. Textile lovers will bask in the ideas presented here, many of which seem like a cool way to level up your next party’s decor.

LOVE LETTERING
I’ve always loved pretty paper and stationery, and I enjoyed dabbling in hand lettering in my youth. But calligraphy made me think, it’s lovely, but I’ll never possess the patience to build that skill. So I’m pleased to find these words from calligrapher Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls in the opening of her gorgeous new book: “I found that once I let go of the idea that my letterforms had to be ‘perfect,’ I felt a weight was lifted and everything started to flow.” With that encouraging tone, The Gift of Calligraphy: A Modern Approach to Hand Lettering with 25 Projects to Give and to Keep welcomes you to slow down, relax and dip a metal nib in ink and use it to make your mark. Imasa-Stukuls first covers basics like tools, guide sheets, warm-up strokes and forming and connecting letters. She then outlines projects like a message in a bottle, gift wrap, labels, tags and place cards, and in a nice touch, the visual how-tos are hand-drawn.

TOP PICK IN LIFESTYLES
If you’ve watched “Queer Eye,” then you don’t need me to explain why a book based on the show is squeal-worthy. (If you haven’t watched, then put down this magazine right now, honey, and get over to Netflix.) In Queer Eye: Love Yourself. Love Your Life., each member of the Fab Five supplies their own backstory and offers life tips in their respective categories: self-care and grooming guidance from Jonathan, style advice from Tan, life coaching from Karamo, home design and furnishing smarts from Bobby and cooking expertise from Antoni. Also, each of the five shares fave recipes, and yes, Jonathan’s is Hamburger Casserole. (“I got the idea for this casserole by watching Rachel Ray make a layered ice cream cake about twenty years ago. Yumm-o!”) Last come tips on how to throw a most excellent party. Vibrant and packed with photos of the team, this book is every bit as delightful as the show, and both are required survival gear for the world we live in.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Build the best blanket fort of your life, and get advice from "Queer Eye"'s Fab Five in this month's Lifestyles column!

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