Symposium's Picks: What's Hot at the Bookstore this Week

Every week, Anne Marie Keohane of Symposium Books in East Greenwich and Providence, offers up some reading selections for children, young adults and adult fiction and nonfiction.

Here’s your April 12 edition:

Children’s Books:

Pinocchio (Illustrated) (New York Review Children’s Collection)
Geoffrey Brock’s acclaimed new translation is reissued in an edition for children with over fifty full-page watercolors by Fulvio Testa.

The Little Woman Wanted Noise, by Val Teal.
A lost classic from the illustrator of The Story of Ferdinand and Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Published only seven years after The Story of Ferdinand, The Little Woman Wanted Noise shows Robert Lawson at the peak of his talent and contains some of the most stunning and innovative black-and-white drawings in all of American picture-book history. They are the joyous accompaniment to Val Teal’s story, which reminds us that a life without a little chaos is no life at all.

Now Open the Box, by Dorothy Kunhardt.
Now Open the Box is a beautiful example of the art of Dorothy Kunhardt, the author of the timeless classic Pat the Bunny and the pioneering picture book Junket Is Nice. Here Kunhardt speaks with wonderfully reassuring directness to children’s hopes and fears while making magic out of the simplest things.

Junket is Nice (The New York Review Children’s Collection), by Dorothy Kunhardt.
This ingenious book of inspired nonsense was the very first from Dorothy Kunhardt, whose Pat the Bunny has delighted generations of young children.

Young Adult:

The Abandoned, by Paul Gallico.
“Unalloyed delight.... You should be warned that if you hate cats you’d better not read this story, for it will so entertain you and instruct you in the ways of cats that your interest and liking will be aroused in spite of you.” —Chicago Daily Tribune

New in Paperback Fiction:
The Pie Sisters, Leigh Brown & Victoria Corliss. (Local Authors)
Three sisters, seven days, one lake. For the Lane sisters, Shelby, Yeardley, and Lily, returning to Aunt Nola’s cottage on Canadaigua Lake for a birthday celebration is like going home. Now adults, it has been years since their last visit. Eager to escape the realities of their day-to-day lives, the girls jump at the chance to go back. What ensues is a journey that leads the sisters to a better understanding and deeper appreciation of family and home.

The Husband’s Secret, Lane Moriarty.
Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not only the life you have built together, but the lives of others as well. And then imagine that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive…

New in Hardcover Fiction:

A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler.
Brimming with all the insight, humor, and generosity of spirit that are the hallmarks of Anne Tyler’s work, A Spool of Blue Thread tells a poignant yet unsentimental story in praise of family in all its emotional complexity. It is a novel to cherish.

The Stranger, by Harlan Coban.
The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.

A History of Lonliness, by John Boyne.
The riveting narrative of an honorable Irish priest who finds the church collapsing around him at a pivotal moment in its history.

Non-Fiction:

Rhode Island Beer: Ocean State History on Tap, Ashleigh Bennett & Kristie Martin. (Local)
Rhode Island may be the smallest state, but its brewing history packs a mighty punch. In the 1600s, Sergeant William Baulston opened up his public house in Providence, providing New Englanders with one of the first spots to imbibe homebrewed beer. Prohibition sank many operations, but Narragansett Brewery reemerged and continues to serve its signature lager. Today’s growing number of craft brewers, including Foolproof and Grey Sail, are claiming Little Rhody for the beer renaissance. With a sudsy spirit of adventure and even some beer-infused recipes, the ladies behind TwoGirlsOneBeer.com present the rich, proud story of brewing in the Ocean State.

A Paris Trio: The Authentic Bistros of Paris, by Francois Thomazeau.
This discriminating little guide offers an endless source of charming and unpretentious places to enjoy a morning coffee, savor a memorable meal, or sip an afternoon aperitif in the most authentic Parisian settings. Sumptuous color photographs throughout.

The Little Bookroom Guide to Paris with Children (Play, Eat, Shop, Stay), by Kim Horton Levesque.
Organized around places to eat, play, and shop, there’s lots of information on family-friendly restaurants (yes, they exist in Paris), classic cafés where Parisians take their children, items on Parisian menus that appeal to children, charming tea salons for your little Madeline, ice-cream stands and parlors for everybody, and places for picnicking and snacking.

Chic Shopping Paris, by Rebecca Perry Magniant.
Even as the world seems to be getting smaller, with everything imaginable available on the Internet, there remain some things that can only be found where they are designed and made–in France. Chic Shopping Paris contains the best, offering clothing, jewelry, lingerie, makeup, shoes, hats, art supplies, toys, stationery, and more–more than eighty venues in all. So let the contents of Magniant’s little black book inspire you to bring back a piece of Paris in your bag.