November 2017 - Between the Pages: New Mexico Book Co-op
The holidays are fast approaching and we have given you some gift ideas of New Mexico books to give. A book keeps giving for years. If your bookstore is out of any books, you can order them and they come quickly. Many are also available on Amazon.
The Cooking With Kids Cookbook by Lynn Walters, Jane Stacey, Gabrielle Gonzales. 2016 by UNM Press. $24.95 and spiral-bound for easy use.
This is one of the best ways I know to spend time with kids during the winter. Cooking With Kids is already an award- winning-book. You can never start a “foodie” too early and this book has recipes and how to makes for main dishes, fruit desserts, breads, soups, and salads. It is easy for kids and adults and makes a great gift. Combine it with a child’s own cooking instruments with spices and you have a special remembrance for years to come.
What Makes A Snowflake - illustrated and written by Ross Van Dusen. 2016 by Rio Grande Books. $21.95, hardcover. This book is award-winning and who can think of a better symbol for this time of year than snowflakes? This is not the usual way snowflakes are formed but rather a fantastic way and the illustrations reflect that. Kids will love it. And if one books is not enough, Ross has other books in the series: What Makes Lightning, What Makes a Rainbow. He also has a new coloring book – Color Jason and His Funny Machines. You can stress science without anyone knowing!
The Corn Whisperer by Sue Houser and illustrated by Ramon Shiloh. Irie Books, $13.95, paperback.
Sue Houser’s new book on The Corn Whisperer is a collection of three, short, Native American stories that are a part of new Mexico. Kids need to know there are other cultures in the United States and this is an easy way to start. Sue’s other book was Hot Foot Teddy on a Balloon Fiesta balloon. If you give this book you can start the conversation with children about Native American peoples.
Don’t Call Me Grandma By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunn. Carolrhoda Books, $19.95, hardback.
Vaunda is a Rio Rancho librarian and works with seniors. She has used her experiences, family, and background to teach about the contributions of people of color in the United States. Great-Grandmother Nell is a non-traditional grandmother who shows all of us there is no accepted way a person needs to act. Vaunda has won the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Bad New for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall and The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore.
Other New Mexican books worth buying: The Fussy Little Butterfly by Janet Guggenheim. AZRO Press, $19.95, flex cover. Grandma Lale’s Tamales by Nasario Garcia and illustrated by Dolores Aragon. Rio Grande Books, $24.95, hardcover.