A Couple of Books about Birds

Every so often we seem to experience a bit of serendipity here at the library. This month it seems to revolve around birds! Larry Stone, a great nature photographer sent us some information recently with an offer to do a program about his newest book (cowritten by Jon W. Stavers) titled, Gladys Black: The Legacy of Iowa’s Bird Lady. You may recognize Larry’s name from his twenty-five years as the outdoor writer for The Des Moines Register. He’s written several other nature books featuring wonderful stories about local characters and beautiful photos of some of Iowa’s most picturesque scenery. His book about Gladys, who also wrote many newspaper articles, is a wonderful look at the countless lives (birds and humans) she touched and how she became a conservation legend. Larry will present his program at the East Side Library on Wednesday, October 20 at 6:30 PM.

Once we had the program about Iowa’s bird lady planned, we called up our friend Pat Schlarbaum at the Department of Natural Resources. So during the entire month of October, you can stop by the East Side Library and see a life-sized replica of a bald eagle’s nest. Then it was only natural that we would also have to offer a showing of that great Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Birds, right? It’s free, it’s at 1:00 PM this Saturday, October 9 and it’s at the East Side Library. Bring the family!

Think that's enough about birds! Oh no, here's where the serendipity happens!

After we booked all the bird events, right out of the blue sky, (pun is definitely intended) came a phone call from another local writer, Wendy Delsol, who has written this thrilling debut novel called, STORK. It’s being sold as a young adult book, but I took it along on my recent vacation and can honestly say that it was a fun read. I just learned that the ALA, American Library Association, included it in its nominations for Best Fiction for Young Adults. I don’t want to give too much away, but just know that it has plenty of fantasy for teens, a lot of suspense, and some delightful Scandinavian references that will appeal to adult Iowans and Minnesotans!
Wendy will be here at the Central Library on Monday, October 18, at 6:30 PM. Get set to hear more about this local writer because she has already signed for the sequel, Frost, to be released next year! Hope you land at the library some time this month!