Preview Shelf -- Dana Ellis to Entertain "Young Ladies" at Special Library Event

Beginning today, May Day, girls aged six to fourteen are invited to register for the Crawfordsville District Public Library's Fourth Annual "Blossoms & Brunch" on Saturday, May 24th from 10:30 to noon. Light pastries and beverages will be served to these young patrons and their guests. The featured speaker will be Montgomery County acrylic artist Dana Ellis, who will help the group create their own souvenir mementos. The special event will take place in the Donnelley Room on the library's lower level. Just call Linda Brady, 362-2242 in the Youth Services Department, extension 114. Here is some newly-available fiction. "Home to Holly Springs" is Jan Karon's pre-sequel after many books in the Mitford Series, now tracing where Father Kavanagh had been born and raised, to find the missing pieces of his life. It is the first of the Father Tim novels. "Queen of Broken Hearts" is an uplifting tale by Cassandra King telling about women helping each other in a small Alabama town. "Sabrina" by Lori Wick features Denver, Colorado in 1880 when a young lady redeems herself from crimnality to useful Christian womanhood. "Summer Hill Secrets-2" takes us to Pennsylvania's Amish country where enlightening experiences help a youngster grow up. In "The Manning Sisters" by Debbie Macomber a young woman accepts a teaching job in Montana, bringing adventures far different from life in Seattle. The book is part of The Manning Family series. Susan Mallery's "Accidentally Yours" pits a woman who believes in the power of love against a man believing in the power of money. "Swept Away" by Toni Blake is a "lonely island" romance as a bride-to-be escapes to be alone and meets a man in his own dangerous position. "The Year of Fog" by Michelle Richmond centers around the aftermath of a six-year-old's disappearance in thick San Francisco mist. Whitley Strieber incorporates his research in "The Grays" a fictional account of the conspiracy behind alien presence on Earth. Joyce Carol Oates' "The Gravedigger's Daughter" is a struggle in post-World War II upstate New York by the daughter in a family who escaped the Nazis in 1936. "The First Patient" by Michael Palmer is "An exciting thriller…full of surprises; captures the intense atmosphere of the White House" said President Bill Clinton. In "Lady Killer" by Lisa Scottoline a young woman searches for her missing rival from high school in a thriller about opposite personalities. "L.A. Outlaws" by T. Jefferson Parker paints a picture of theft and big personalities in a "dance around the secrets that brought them together". Down-to-earth helps are "The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting" by Andrew Martin, and "Scrawny to Brawny" about building muscle the natural way by Michael Mejia and John Berardi. "Careers with Animals" comes from Ellen Shenk. "Don't Miss Out" by Anna and Robert Leider is the "ambitious student's guide to financial aid". How about "365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child" by Steve & Ruth Bennett, or a traveller's guide to making a difference around the world called "Volunteer" from Lonely Planet. Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Satran's "Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana" looks like a very complete supply of ideas to help you name your baby. "All the Math You'll Ever Need" is a self-teaching guide by Steve Slavin. "Simply Face Reading" by Jonathan Dee has the purpose to "deepen your understanding of friends, family, co-workers, and other people in your life". "Simply Palmistry" by Sasha Fenton says "Our hands provide a glimpse of our personalities, health, aptitudes - and even what might happen...in the future".