Once a Hero: The Story of Private Wojtek Bear WWII Soldier by James A. Cutchin, 108 page

 When Private Wotjek joined the Allied fight during World War II, his comrades could not imagine the impact his presence would have in the war. However, soon after his arrival, they realized what a valuable asset Wotjek would prove to be. There was only one small problem: Wotjek was a bear. "Once A Hero" is a historical novel of a Syrian brown bear cub that was orphaned and later, through serendipity, landed in the hands of Polish soldiers escaping the Soviet gulags. The tale is not only endearing, but also based on true events. The bear in the story is today honored and celebrated in several countries for his heroic actions during World War II. The story profiles the bear from birth to adulthood. The journey of a band of Polish soldiers is interwoven in the plot as they travel from their homes in war torn Europe, escape from the Siberian gulags, and travel through the Middle East into Africa. Eventually the paths of the bear and the soldiers cross, and the ten-pound cub is adopted as the troops' mascot. "Once A Hero" is rich in historically and culturally accurate detail. The characters are well-developed and endearing. Vignettes of colorful escapades are written in a delightfully humorous tone keeping the reader entertained thought out.

From Hand to Mouth: Or, How We Invented Knives, Forks, Spoons, and Chopsticks & the Table Manners to Go With Them by James Cross Giblin, 89 pages

 The history of eating utensils and customs from the ancient world to the present. Beginning with the use of small spears to pick meat out of the fire, Giblin follows the development of utensils through the controversial introduction of forks and the casual eating practices of today. 

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski, 298 pages

 In this classic frontier adventure, Lois Lenski reconstructs the real life story of Mary Jemison, who was captured in a raid as young girl and raised amongst the Seneca Indians. Meticulously researched and illustrated with many detailed drawings, this novel offers an exceptionally vivid and personal portrait of Native American life and customs.

Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge by J. Marin Younker, 110 pages

Welcome, that is, to the early days of the American medicine. (A time when your best option was usually to stay as far away from doctors as you possibly could.) This is a story of blood and guts, but it's also a surreal account of how difficult it was for good ideas to win out and for successful treatments to take hold. It's hard to believe that today's cutting-edge medicine originated from such crude beginnings, but this book reminds us to be grateful for today's medical care, while also raising the question: what current medical practices will be the horrors of tomorrow? There is progress here, but it's achieved over a whole lot of dead bodies. Prepare to be shocked, appalled, and very, very relieved that you happened to be born in a world with anesthetics.

A Special Fate by Alison Leslie Gold, 176 pages

A juvenile book looking at Japanese diplomat Chiune Siguhara, who, while posted in Lithuania, handwrote 6,000 visas to enable Jews to escape the Nazis. A great read!

Treasury of Norse Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli, 191 pages

I saw this on the shelf and realized that I'm not that familiar with Norse mythology. I wasn't a fan of this because the author did some editorializing that distracted from the stories.

World War II: The War at Home by Stuart Kallen, 111 pages

Sammi needed some nonfiction books about the Holocaust and WWII for a school project so I took her to the library to get some. She left them in the van and while running some errands yesterday I had 30 or so minutes in the van with nothing to do, so I picked one to kill some time. This was actually really interesting and I learned some new facts about WWII. I had never realized that Japan released bomb balloons, they floated to America, and while most were a bust, one actually went off and killed an American woman and her 5 kids. The news about the bombs wasn't released during the war so Japan wouldn't know they were effective and the American people wouldn't be demoralized. I may actually look at the other books Sammi picked up in this series to see what other facts I didn't know about WWII.

First Girl Scout by Ginger Wadsworth, 210 pages

I'd brought this book home for my youngest so she could learn more about the woman who brought the Girl Guides to America and transformed it into Girl Scouts, but I ended up reading it myself. I've been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, wearing the Brownie uniform, selling cookies, earning my Silver, and now have two daughters that are Girl Scouts. So it was intriguing to learn about the fascinating Juliette Low. She was from the South, married an Englishman, was presented to the Queen, almost divorced at a time that was a social no-no, and was a force to behold. She affected the lives of more girls and women than she'll ever know with Girl Scouts.

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg, 179 pages

This was a book I saw mentioned in the book recommendations the comic Unshelved does. I was going to do a suggestion for purchase but Jeana had already bought it, yippee! This book covers some of the dreadful ways some famous people died. One of our early presidents was pretty much tortured to death by his doctors, a famous English monarch may have exploded in his casket, and two scientists either died a glowing death or had their brain stolen during the autopsy. The big thing was beating off my kids so I could have a chance to read it before they ran off with the book.