Gift Gallery

It was great to see your friend Fred while you were in town last month for Wanda's surprise birthday party. It was even better that Fred put you up for the night so you wouldn't have to find lodgings at Aunt Agnes's house. Fred's been your best friend since high school, and you'd like it to stay that way. What thank-you gift is more appropriate than a telephone call, more legible than a handwritten note, and has a lifespan longer than a houseplant's? Why, books, of course!

REVIEWS BY MIRIAM E. DRENNAN

Sitting Ducks is geared toward the children's market, but many adults will recognize author/illustrator Michael Bedard's artwork. Best known for his poster illustrations, Bedard makes his debut in picture books with a wonderful story about an odd-couple friendship between a factory-employed alligator and factory-hatched duck. Ducks are normally the primary meal in the alligator's world, but a chance meeting forges a friendship between these two. The alligator does what he can to protect his little friend, but alas, the duck wants to see the world that lies beyond the alligator's apartment. The only chance the little duck has for survival is to leave the alligator's world forever, but that would leave the alligator alone and heartbroken -- right? Sitting Ducks teaches lessons in friendship and diversity, and Bedard's hilarious illustrations will keep readers smiling, even through the not-so-happy parts.


If April showers bring May flowers, get a headstart with The Tulip: The Story of a Flower That Has Made Men Mad. Author Anna Pavord spent six years sifting through library books, paintings, illustrations, tulip gardens (cultivated, wild, and sometimes dangerous), and talking to scores of "tulipomaniacs" to develop a thorough account of the flower's very checkered past. Beginning with its Turkish roots (one sultan's reign was completely dominated by his passion for the tulip), Pavrod reveals incidents where entire businesses were traded for one single bulb; the tulip's migration from one continent to another; the great mystery behind "breaking," where a plain tulip changes into a multi-colored bloom (once thought to be a grower-controlled process, it's actually caused by a virus). Rich endpapers contain Pavord's detailed text, and The Tulip is complete with color plates and hundreds of species' descriptions. Ideal for gardeners and social historians.


If flying high in the sky with ducks and digging into the earth's floral depths isn't quite what you had in mind, how about a trip back in time? Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad is the first-ever written account of the Quilt Code used by slaves. At a chance meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, quiltmaker Ozella McDaniel Williams told author Jacqueline Tobin about slaves who would color- and pattern-code their quilts (for most slaves could neither read nor write) as a way to communicate to other slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Co-authored by Dr. Raymond G. Dobard, who provides historical foundation to Williams's story, Hidden in Plain View recounts an intricate web of navigation, communication, and courage. Includes color photographs and drawings of the various patterns, colors, and fabrics used in this unique mapping system.


Your thank-you to Fred is from the bottom of your heart, so how about a book about the bottom of the ocean? Underwater photographer Roger Steene has assembled over 300 full-color photographs into one stunning volume titled Coral Seas. Steene spent five years traveling worldwide to capture the colorful world of the coral reefs, and the oversized photographs provide up-close detail of the rainbow of creatures that inhabit the deep. A paragraph or two provides just enough information about these inhabitants, but the real focus here (and rightfully so) is Steene's work. Subjects range from a great white humpback whale to the microscopic hard coral's first 14 days (Steene is the only underwater photographer who delves into the microscopic). A great chance to go scuba diving without even getting your toes wet!


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