ZooBorns by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland

Cuteness Factor:  11 million stars

This book is a very short read, but the real joy comes from lingering over the beautiful photos of darling baby animals.  The facts about each animal are interesting, educational, succinct, and well written.  The ethics of zoos are debatable, so if you're strongly opposed to keeping animals in captivity, you will not like it, but some of these animals would be extinct or nearly so without zoo breeding programs, so...well, the debate lives on.

And I just dare you to look into some of these babies' eyes and not melt.

As one reviewer on Goodreads says, "Help me!  My macho is melting!...Can't resist the pictures!!...Must overuse exclamation points!!!!...Too cute!!!!!!!!"  Thanks, Marvin, for that.  

Buy it on Amazon

And it looks like there are more books in the series.  Yippee!

Wildings by Eleanor Glewwe

I used to like middle-grade novels a lot (as both a kid and an adult), but I hadn't read any in quite a while.  Recently I decided to do a little market research by reading some, and the first one I picked up was this one, which sounded like it had some elements similar to a novel I'm shopping around to agents.

I'm so glad I picked it up.  

The cover is absolutely beautiful, but the story is even better.  

The writing is good.  The premise is interesting but sad--and twistedly relevant.  I love the setting, a fun and creative mix of recent past and other world.  The main characters aren't ridiculously good at everything (a pet peeve of mine).  Nor are they assassins or thieves (character types that appear too often in YA for my taste.)  They're not massively talented.  They're not the chosen one.  Yet they work and struggle and grow and accomplish great things.  

The themes of prejudice, segregation, and social inequality are important, yet it doesn't feel preachy.  The ending is satisfying.  And my favorite part [WARNING--SEMI SPOILER] is that they fight for social change without violence.  It's awesome!  We need more books like this.  [END SPOILER]

Now I want to read Sparkers and anything else Eleanor Glewwe writes.

I highly recommend it for kids and adults alike.

Keep tuned for an interview here with the author!

Here's her website

Buy the book on Amazon

   

Pen Name or No Pen Name

Have you ever wondered why some writers use pen names?  

If you're a writer, have you ever thought about using a pen name yourself?

Well, you're not alone.  Here's my little post on the subject, over at Writers On the Move  

Portage Glacier Hike from Whittier, Alaska

One of my favorite hikes in Alaska was the Portage Pass trail from Whittier.  Here are some photos:

The easy walk from the ship to the trailhead near the railroad tunnel:

Views from the top of the trail were beautiful, even with the gray skies.

Looking back toward Passage Canal:

Looking down toward Portage Glacier:

Tiny alpine plants--at amazingly low elevation

More misty beauty at the end of the trail:

If you want more details on this or other hikes you can do while on a cruise, 

check out my books on Amazon:
Cruising Alaska on a Budget
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports

Inexpensive things to do in Alaskan ports

If you're looking for inexpensive things to do in Alaskan ports, read my guest post on Travels with Diane.

For even more information, check out my books. If you have Amazon Prime, you can read them free!

Cruising Alaska on a Budget
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports