Jimmy W. Fike's "Edible Plants" is a beautiful book of nature photography. It combines both artistry and Natural History to satisfy the eyes and the mind. In this photographic survey of wild plants, one travels across the North American continent searching for edible foods beside marshes, in dry fields, on hillsides and in valleys. The edible parts of the plants are colorized, and the plants are arranged so that you see the underside of the leaf as well as the top, the stems, and the roots. At our home, we kept this book open on the dining room table and every time someone passed, he or she would turn a page and read. This is one book I will check out again and again!

Are you familiar with Atlas Obscura's website of quirky travel
recommendations? Then, you will be delighted by Atlas Obscura
Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid by Dylan Thuras
and Rosemary Mosco which embraces the idea of quirky travelogue and
serves up a family-friendly trip around the world. The book begins with a
packing list for the young explorer, and each feature includes precise
latitude and longitude numbers so you can find that point with Google
satellite. As you traverse the globe you learn about locations, cultures,
languages used, populations, foods and flags, and of course, obscure
facts. For example, do you know what common food was used in the
mortar of China's Great Wall? Do you know where to find a wild apple
forest? How about finding a cave of giant crystals where the temperature
is 125* and you must wear a special suit to go inside? And can you
imagine celebrating Easter like some people do by firing rockets at another
church? My favorite aspect of this book is the brilliant segues written in to
take you from one page's place to the next. The book ends with ideas for
explorers of any ability and budget to begin exploring right where they are.

What are you waiting for?

As you read or listen to this oral history from the perspective of those most affected, you will cry, you will applaud these heroes, you will hold your breath as loved ones search or wait for calls, and you will not regret taking the time to remember what that day was like. I read the audio version through Libby, and the stories and sounds of this audiobook opened my eyes. So many of my memories of 9/11 had been colored by what happened in the years after, but on that Tuesday in September, when first one hijacked plane, then another, then another, and finally another crashed into iconic buildings or a field in Pennsylvania, no one knew what to expect or when the attacks would end. This book returned me to that day as it was, and I strongly recommend this book. Remembering is good, in the way that visiting cemeteries or monuments is good, for remembering and for paying our respect to those who have gone before us.