Seeing Beyond Sight (Chronicle Books, 978-0-8118-5349-1) was a “leap in the dark” kind of project for photographer and teacher Tony Diefell. “Photography wasn’t the most obvious subject to teach at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina.”

“Obvious” is a great word choice. It comes from Latin, ob- (in the way of) via (way). In the way of the way, or the path. Something that blocks something else. A quick flip though the book, and what you see is obvious: torsos without heads, beds with stuff, floors, walls. What is this? Why is it more than obvious? Diefell explains in the introduction:

“When I first saw the photographs of the sidewalk, I thought they were a mistake. Perhaps LEUWYNDA had intended to capture a classmate of one of the large oak trees scattered across the campus. I was wrong. As soon as LEUWYNDA got her camera, she knew what she wanted to do: photograph the cracks in the sidewalk.

“The pictures were proof of damage, and she sent them, along with a letter, to Superintendent Sheila Breitweiser. ‘Since you are sighted,’ LEUWYNDA wrote, ‘you may not notice these cracks. They are a big problem since my white cane gets stuck.’ LEUWYNDA asked that the cracks be fixed—and they were.”

That’s only the beginning of the revelations, for Diefell, the students, the reader. This is an amazing book, and would make a fantastic social teaching tool for use in middle and high schools. See the website at www.seeingbeyondsight.com.


Birds: The Art of Ornithology by Jonathan Elphick (Rizzoli, 978-0-8478-3134-0) sets off with the history of the art, beginning in the mid-1600s when painters left the still life behind and moved aboard ships bound for the new worlds. Originally published in 2005, this is what publisher Rizzoli calls a “mini edition,” although a foreword by Dr. Robert Prys-Jones, Collection Manager at the British Natural History Museum, is an exclusive. The reproductions in both books are primarily from the Museum’s enormous collection of more than a million books and half a million images on paper.

There’s a decent amount of text in the book, documenting the enormous range in age and personalities that sat for hours to capture in paint or ink or pencil the form of birds. Given the small dimensions of this edition however (5.5 x 6.25), I advise you to enjoy the plates and forget about the words unless you’re equipped with young eyes.

But the illustrations are beautiful, the paper is good, and the binding tough. Once the introductory chapters end, the illustrations are ordered by artist—it’s an amazing breakthrough when Audubon figures out how to realistically show birds swimming, squabbling, or flying. Birds makes a charming gift book for all ages—and looks lovely displayed on a table.

There hasn’t been a single phone call in the last month when my daughter hasn’t felt the necessity to point out just how sick she is of school. Her statistics class gets the most razzing – she can’t believe she actually paid $600 for something that even the professor finds irrelevant. Or, how would you explain a prof who allows students to chat on their cell phones during lectures. (Lectures?) When I mentioned that her brother had opted to continue in college throughout the spring, she was quick to spout off the wisdom of a recent NPR report that included music in the list of careers that benefited not at all from a college degree.

As I’m writing this, our blogger at Shelf Space just posted an article about the disconnect between what is taught in college and what is needed in a library. Eva Mays writes, “Library Science is not something that can be taught in a lecture hall; it can only be learned in a library!”



Have I got a book for you. Put out by New World Library, The Career Chronicle: An Insider’s Guide to What Jobs are Really Like (978-1-57731-573-5) is fast and fascinating reading about the realities of some of the more idealized careers. In fact, “idealized” is a key word as real people talk about college expectations and hard-world facts. “Naïve” is another one, “paperwork,” “stress,” and yes, “unprepared.” Heaven forbid we scare the idealism out of our young people, but a little foreknowledge might help them avoid cynicism in the future.

And not all the careers are so dismally represented in their university training. Pharmacists felt well-prepared, and vets, and soil scientists (whew, I had to get all the way to the end of the book to find a third entry). Architects felt competent on the design side of their work, but stiffed on the business aspects. Lawyers unanimously felt that they’d been taught to “think like an attorney,” but were woefully unprepared for the practice of judges, clients, and deadlines.

Each career (there are twenty-three) has an overview by author Michael Gregory. Employment and salary levels from the appropriate associations are included as sidebars. Short answers to interview questions follow, like “How many hours do you work each week…?” and “What do you spend most of your day doing?” Title, numbers of years working in the field, and location identify the subjects.

Come to think of it, college professor isn’t included in the line-up, but maybe they’re the ones who need this book most.

Gregory was a lawyer and is now a freelance writer. His children have followed careers in soil, information tech, TV broadcasting, and elementary teaching.



Another college-bound book of note is Careers in Renewable Energy by Gregory McNamee (PixyJack Press, 978-0-9773724-3-0); descriptions of job opportunities in everything from energy to construction, transportation, and teaching.



And to get you revved up for that job of your dreams, try Improvisation for the Spirit: Live a More Creative, Spontaneous, and Courageous Life Using the Tools of Improv Comedy by Latie Goodman (Sourcebooks, 978-1-4022-1191-1). Stepping off from the argument that nothing is more stressful than stand-up comedy; that nothing requires fleeter brain footwork or more collaborative skills than group improv, Goodman, a contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine offers stand-up and write-down exercises to enlarge your spirit and transform your life.

All right, not babies so much as the very young, but old enough to want to hear the words and look at the pictures. I’ve been collecting for a while, and have got a sweet pile of five. All but one are board books.


Starting out with My Teeth by Richard and Michele Steckel (Tricycle Press). You will not believe how completely adorable this is – and what a great idea. Page one is “no teeth.” Page two, “one tooth.” Etc. The children are from all across the world: South Africa, Peru, Turkey. The second to last page says, “Bite!” and the last page says “Brush!” Grandmas will go crazy for this book, and the babies will like it too.


Another counting book is Island Counting 1 2 3 from Frané Lessac and Candlewick Press. I don’t know about you, but My Little Island got plenty of play in our house. Here, Ms. Lessac returns to the West Indies, portraying the colorful market life, animals, housing, people, and fun of the islands. “Three painted houses sitting high on a hill,” goes the text, but children will want to find and count the other things on the page as well: the chickens (3), the lilies (3), cats (3), palm trees (3), etc.

My Up & Down & All Around Book by Marjorie W. Pitzer (Woodbine House) teaches common prepositions using action. On the left green page, the boy is “behind” the tree, on the right green page, he’s “in front of.” “Before” and “after’s” a laugh as it involves food. “Between” and “Next to” gets friendly with dogs. All the models in the photos are children with Down syndrome.

Elyse April is a licensed early childhood educator. She’s brought her expertise to We Like to Read: A Picture Book for Pre-Readers and Parents (Hohm Press, illustrated by Angie Thompson). Basically, it’s a primer for how to incorporate reading into daily life, as well as a first book for young children. The engaging rhymes and pictures compliment each other while accomplishing their dual purpose. “We like to read to the babies at play. Touching and tasting is part of their ways,” says the text, while a dad and an older daughter laugh at the baby who’s chewing on a board book. Highly recommended and would make a wonderful gift for young families.



Finally, a book about not going to bed. I mean really – who needs another “let’s be good and go to bed” book. Just Five More Minutes by Marcy Brown and Dennis Haley, illustrated by Joe Kulka (Treasure Bay) is part of the We Both Read series. The left-hand page is for the caregiver to read, the right-hand page for the child. The story concerns Mark, who needsd “Just five more minutes” before getting into bed. Yes, he needs time to brush his teeth and get into his pajamas, but then he also needs to say goodnight to all his pets, make a snowman, do some knitting, deliver a letter… No child can help but become the tiniest bit pooped with all this pre-nightie-night activity. And of course, the end is just as good.