By Carole Howard and the Library Staff

Just in time for students and teachers back in school after the holidays, we have taken delivery of the first six books in the new “ America the Beautiful” series of 52 books about all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. This series, purchased with funds donated by the Pagosa Pilots, is aimed at students in the third through seventh grades.

“America the Beautiful” updates all 3,537,441 square miles of the United States and thousands of years of history, making it an excellent resource for class assignments as well as a very fun read for students and parents alike.

Already on the library’s shelves are the books on California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada and New Jersey. Other books in the series will be coming in over the next several months as they are available.

Published by Scholastic, the books have many notable features to aid learning and enjoyment:

• Charts, graphs, maps, timelines and traceable state symbols for school reports.
• Updated state history, geography, government, people and economic facts and statistics.
• Fun facts and frequently asked questions.
• Vocabulary sections defining unusual words.
• A travel guide to help you explore the state in person or from your chair.
• A project room packed with ideas for classroom assignments and research projects.
• A guide to primary sources – what they are and how to cite them.
• Lots of full-color drawings and photographs.

Fantasy

“Halo: Contact Harvest” by Joseph Staten is another in the mature-rated series based on the Xbox game. “Confessor” by Terry Goodkind is the concluding novel of the Sword of Truth series. “Stone of Farewell” is an epic tale of the struggle of good against evil by Tad Williams.

Books about Colorado

“Walking into Colorado’s Past: 50 Front Range History Hikes” by Ben Fogelberg and Steve Grinstead takes you to historic places in and around Rocky Mountain Nation Park, Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, La Junta and Trinidad. “Mysteries and Legends of Colorado” by Denver author Jan Murphy explores true stories of the unsolved and unexplained in our state.

Bestsellers on CD

James Patterson’s “Double,” another in the Alex Cross series, has Cross being targeted by two psychopathic killers. “Protect and Defend” is another Vince Flynn political thriller featuring Mitch Rapp as the hero, also available as a hardcover book. “Stone Cold” by David Baldacci is the latest in the Camel Club series, also available as a hardcover book. “Book of the Dead” is another of the highly popular books featuring forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta. “The Chase” is a historical thriller set in the western U.S. All these CD books are unabridged.

Adult novels

“Rhett Butler’s People” is an authorized novel by Donald McCaig based on Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind” that adds new dimensions to the story and its main characters.

Navajo heroine

“Walking Thunder: Dine Medicine Woman” is part of the Profiles of Healing series, dedicated to helping the world’s most revered healers, shamans, medicine people and leaders of complementary medicine tell their stories. In this volume, a traditional Navajo medicine woman tells her story and describes the ways she heals with plants, sand paintings and other medicinal ways.

New cookbooks

“WeightWatchers New Complete Cookbook” contains more than 500 recipes for the healthy cook’s kitchen and includes a new holiday baking chapter with recipes from around the world. “The Complete Quick & Hearty Diabetic Cookbook/second edition” offers more than 200 fast, low-fat recipes with old-fashioned good taste.

Thanks to our donors

Special thanks to Jim and Margaret Wilson for their donation in memory of Robert Wilson and in memory of the Colt and Dirk Ross Brothers. For books and materials this week we thank Betty Freeman, Scottie Gibson, Don Lundergan, Sue Werth and Margaret Wilson.

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