New Books

Adult Non-Fiction

"A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of 08 and the Descent into Depression" by Richard A. Posner - Richard Posner presents a concise and non-technical examination of this mother of all financial disasters and of the, as yet, stumbling efforts to cope with it. No previous acquaintance on the part of the reader with macroeconomics or the theory of finance is presupposed. This is a book for intelligent generalists that will interest specialists as well.- Amazon

Juvenile Non-Fiction
"Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change" by Michelle Cook - Celebration, inspiration, and connection are the themes that drive this big, handsome picture book with art by 13 leading artists. ... as Marion Wright Edelman says in her foreword, the book’s message of hope will inspire parents and grandparents to share their memories and talk with children about the future. Preschool-Grade 3. --Hazel Rochman, Booklist

"TinTin: Cigars of the Pharoah (The Adventures of Tintin)" by Herge - This 2006 hardcover reissue of Cigars of the Pharaoh is a must for the Tintin completist. It's a black-and-white facsimile edition of the story as it appeared in the 1930s, before Herge revised, shortened, and redrew it to for the style of the later adventures. So it's 129 pages compared to the standard 62, though the larger panels mean it isn't really twice as long as the familiar version. But there are noticeable differences. The detectives Thompson and Thomson call themselves X33 and X33A, frequent nemesis Captain Allan is no longer involved, and when Tintin is forced to enlist, rather than happening in Abudin, it's in Mecca in the middle of a Christian-Muslim dispute. The anachronistic glimpse of Destination Moon is now gone, replaced by the more logical Tintin in America, and most interestingly, Tintin encounters additional perils (two involving cobras) while on the trail of the fakir. When he revised Cigars in the 1950s, Herge left pretty much all of the story intact, but his layouts and storytelling were vastly improved. If you've read all the standard Tintin adventures, this is fascinating stuff. --David Horiuchi


Picture Books

"Moon Rabbit" by Natalie Russell - Little Rabbit loves the hustle and bustle of city life, but at night on her balcony, she wonders if there is anyone to laugh and have fun with... Brown Rabbit is playing his guitar. He plays, she dances... Then, once more the city lights beckon, and no matter how hard he tries, Brown Rabbit can’t get Little Rabbit to stay... True, to adults this might have elements of a sappy breakup movie, but hopefully those aspects will elude children, who will instead be captivated by the joys of friendship and, more subtly, the longing to be oneself...The story’s considerable appeal is amplified by Russell’s exceptional artwork. A charming offering reminiscent of the city mouse–country mouse tale. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ilene Cooper, Booklist