Celebrating Gratitude Through New Books and Art
Jacqueline Briggs Martin reviews three new titles, Strange Fruit by Joel Christian Gill, Food Trucks by Mark Todd, and The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night illustrated by Peter Spier. The essay highlights histories of resilience, playful food truck rhymes, and a Caldecott Hon or classic enhanced with color, inviting readers to explore diverse stories this season.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fulcrum
Joel Christian Gill
Gill
Henry “Box” Brown
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Mark Todd
Better Burger Builder
Cedar Rapids
Doubleday
Peter Spier
Caldecott
Spier
National best sellers list highlights top titles
Publishers Weekly releases a combined list of fiction and non fiction best sellers. Notable entries include Grisham Picoult Follett Sandford Macomber Child Palahniuk Gaffigan Osteen Gawande Elwes Harris and Attwood plus a Guinness World Records edition.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gray Mountain” Grisham
Picoult
Burn” Patterson/ Ledwidge
Edge of Eternity
Follett
Sandford
Mr. Miracle” Macomber
Desert God” Smith
Karen
You” Palahniuk
Patton
O’Reilly/ Dugard
Dunham
Gaffigan
Osteen
Jeremiah
Mortal
Gawande
Elwes
Harris
Attwood Publishers Weekly
Local Best-Sellers Cedar Rapids Listing
Barnes & Noble Cedar Rapids features top titles across fiction and non fiction. Notable entries include That Tree by Hirsch and Killing Patton by O'Reilly alongside GRisham Gray Mountain. Also listed are Lulu's Magic Wand Richards and The Blood of Olympus Riordan plus Gone Girl Flynn.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dallas
Grisham
Richards
Hirsch
Patton” O’reilly
Lulu
Stormin’ Norman
Billy Joel biography captures a life of hits and highs
The definitive biography by Fred Schruers traces Billy Joel from Hicksville roots to rock hall fame and Shea Stadium farewell. It blends interviews, personal life, and craft, showing a lyricist who channels love, heartbreak, and the American dream into enduring songs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Theophilus Thompson
Spottswood Rice
Gill
Rice
Long Island
Billy Joel
Allentown
Joel
Ray Charles
Shea Stadium
Crown
Fred Schruers
Nazi Germany
Schruers
Ambitions falls short in a multi-generational Iowa drama
The review explores Joseph Dobmian's Ambitions set in a reimagined Iowa City where music dominates. A three generation domestic drama centers on Andy Palinkas as the narration shifts from first to third person and a promised teen disappearance yields a weak payoff.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Oseph Dobmian
State City
Iowa
Iowa City
Andy Palinkas
Dobrian
Willie Wilden
Andy
Joseph Dobmian
Prairie Lights Books
S. Dubuque St
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Barnes & Noble
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Christie Brinkley
MTV
Katie Lee
Rob Cline
Peace Corps
Saeed Ental
Denture
AspenDental
AspenDental.com
Edgewood Rd
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Coral St
Aspen Dental Management, Inc
Stewart-Haas Racing
S OF Fortune
Club Meskwaki
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Tama