Featured Books: May 2010

	Summer World: A Season of Bounty By Bernd Heinrich $14.99 / 9780060742188 / Ecco How can cicadas survive—and thrive—at temperatures pushing 115°F? Do hummingbirds know what they're up against before they migrate over the Gulf of Mexico? Why do some trees stop growing taller even when three months of warm weather remain? With awe and unmatched expertise, Bernd Heinrich's Summer World never stops exploring the beautifully complex interactions of animals and plants with nature, giving extraordinary depth to the relationships between habitat and the warming of the earth.

	The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature By Timothy Ferris $26.99 / 9780060781507 / Harper Timothy Ferris makes a passionate case for science as the inspiration behind the rise of liberalism and democracy. Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, fear, hunger, and disease, the Enlight-enment values it inspired has swelled the number of persons living in free and democratic societies from less than 1 percent of the world population four centuries ago to more than a third today. A sweeping intellectual history, The Science of Liberty is a stunningly original work that transcends the antiquated concepts of left and right.

	The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder By Rebecca Wells $13.99 / 9780060930622 / Harper Paperbacks In the small river town of La Luna, Louisiana, Calla Lily Ponder bursts into being, a force of nature as luminous as the flower she is named for. Calla enjoys a blissful childhood—until it is tragically cut short. From her mother, Calla learns compassion and healing through the humble womanly art of "fixing hair." When heartbreak hits, Calla leaves the familiarity of her hometown and heads downriver to the untamed city of New Orleans, where her destiny further unfolds.The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder is the story of a pink-collar heroine whose willingness to remain vulnerable in the face of adversity opens our own hearts to the possibility of love growing from sorrow.

	Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg By Michael Perry $14.99 / 9780061240447 / Harper Perennial Living in a ramshackle Wisconsin farmhouse—faced with thirty-seven acres of fallen fences and overgrown fields, and informed by his pregnant wife that she intends to deliver their baby at home—Michael Perry plumbs his unorthodox childhood for clues to how to proceed as a farmer, a husband, and a father. Whether he's remembering his younger days—when his city-bred parents took in sixty or so foster children while running a sheep and dairy farm—or describing what it's like to be bitten in the butt while wrestling a pig, Perry flourishes in his trademark humor. But he also writes from the quieter corners of his heart, chronicling experiences as joyful as the birth of his child and as devastating as the death of a dear friend.

	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned By Michael J. Fox $17.99 / 9781401323868 / Hyperion This optimistic volume by the author of the bestselling "Always Looking Up" inspires and motivates readers to work hard, achieve the most they can, and maximize their abilities.

	The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me By Bruce Feiler $22.99 / 9780061778766 / William Morrow The Council of Dads is the inspiring story of what happened next. Feiler introduces the men in his Council and captures the life lesson he wants each to convey to his daughters—how to see, how to travel, how to question, how to dream. He mixes these with an intimate, highly personal chronicle of his experience battling cancer while raising young children, along with vivid portraits of his father, his two grandfathers, and various father figures in his life that explore the changing role of fathers in America.The Council of Dads is a touching, funny, and ultimately deeply moving book on how to live life, how the human spirit can respond to adversity, and how to deepen and cherish the friendships that enrich our lives.

	The Sandwich Swap By Queen Rania Of Jordan Al Abdullah,, Kelly S. Dipucchio, Tricia Tusa $16.99 / 9781423124849 / Hyperion Lily and Salma are best friends. They play together and stick together through thick and thin. But who would have ever thought that ordinary peanut butter or plain old hummus could come between them? Lily and Salma don't quite understand each others tastes, but does that mean they can't be friends? They understand far better than a lot of gown ups that these things hardly matter and that friendship is the most important thing of all.

	The 39 Clues Book 8: The Emperor's Code By Gordan Korman $12.99 / 9780545060486 / Scholastic Inc. As the race to find the 39 Clues builds to its explosive finish, Amy and Dan must explore an ancient culture and steal a Clue guarded by thousands of the world's best-trained soldiers. It's the most dangerous Clue search yet. As their enemies crowd in, Amy and Dan find themselves separated for the first time ever. The choice lies before them – find the next Clue, or find their way back to each other.

	The Summer Before By Ann Matthews Martin $16.99 / 9780545160933 / Scholastic Inc. Before there was the Baby-Sitters Club, there were four girls named Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey McGill. As they start the summer before seventh grade (also before they start the BSC), each of them is on the cusp of a big change.

	Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls By Ann M. Martin $5.99 / 9780545174763 / Scholastic Paperbacks Claudia and the other Babysitters Club members have started getting strange calls on the job. Is it the Phantom Caller, a jewel thief who's been breaking into houses in the area? One thing is certain--the Club has to take action to protect their kids.

	Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College By D. Lemov $27.95 / 9780470550472 / Jossey-Bass Easy-to-apply ideas for becoming an outstanding teacher. How to Teach Like a Champion is filled with proven teaching techniques that are designed to help teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are easy to put into action the very next day.