Preview Shelf -- Hooked on Phonics!

The Crawfordsville District Public Library circulation department has materials that teach children to read phonetically. Called "Hooked on Phonics" they offer creative ways to make reading easier and more fun, a step at a time; there is also a parent's guide.A new book about Indiana has excellent value. Explaining the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi, "The Wabash River Guide Book" by Jerry Hay divides its 490 miles into 35 sections, each with a picture and clear explanation of features and uses. Identifications of old bridges, new bridges, oxbows, beaches, handy food sources, spillway dams, shoals, islands, public campsites, wildlife, locks, "s" bends, and a section on "Reading the River" make this a really useful piece of good information."The fortune Cookie Chronicles" by Jennifer Lee is her own story studying the world's Chinese restaurants and their culture; it is subtitled "One woman. One great mystery. One consuming obsession. Forty thousand restaurants." "Mrs. Wilkes' Boardinghouse Cookbook" begins as a young woman took over a non-descript turn-of-the-century boarding house in Savannah to make a living offering lodging and home-style Southern cooking; great story, great recipes. In "Between Rock and a Home Place" Chuck Leavell shares his life as keyboard player for the Rolling Stones who accompanied Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and the Allman Brothers. He's also an environmentalist and forestry expert. In "Follow Your Heart" Joe Evans tells of 50 years immersed in African American music history as an alto saxophonist with Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Charlie Parker, et al, in the Apollo Theatre, the Savoy, the Rhythm Club, and Minton's Playhouse; he segregates jazz, swing, and rhythm and blues. An oral history of key events that shaped modern baseball, "Change Up" was gathered by Larry Burke, giving the stories of star players like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, legend Cal Ripken Jr., and reporters telling about the important happenings in the history of the sport."Secrets of Longevity" is Maoshing Ni's report of hundreds of ways to live to be 100. It stresses no diets, no drugs, no fuss, but offers logical tips to a happier life in five chapters: What you eat, How you heal, Where you are, What you do, and Who you are. A good companion book to read with it is "Green Clean"about products for a safer, healthier home with nontoxic cleaners, stain removers, recycling procedures, and storage advice."Walking on Water" by Derrick Jensen discusses how to realize what each of us needs for our own freedom, and creativity, not how we should please others."Against Happiness, in Praise of Melancholy" by Eric Wilson tells how melancholia stimulates culture as the muse of great literature, painting, music, innovation, and the force underlying original insights. He says, "It's time to throw off the shackles of positivity and relish the blues that make us human." "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands" is Brad Lancaster's workbook about welcoming rain into our lives and landscapes. Elizabeth Banks' "Creating Period Gardens' holds stunning photographs and directions for "gardens of embroidery" before1730, "gardens of paradise" 1730-1830 and "gardens of romance" 1830-1930.