Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Nothing would please Matt Cruise more than to follow in his late father's footsteps and work on the Aurora, a dirigible airship. His father was a sail maker and Matt is working to become one as well.

Matt befriends a pretty, rich passenger his age who is searching for answers to her grandfather's  disappearance and some mysterious, carniverous, flying dinosaur-like creatures.

And then their airship gets attacked by pirates.

Recommendation: A great read. I'll be looking for the sequels at the library.

The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story... by Andrei Cherny

Who would think that the gift of two sticks of chewing gum could make a large difference? Hal Halvorsen, a US Army cargo pilot, was just stretching his legs following one of his many flights into Berlin dropping off food rather than bombs. As he was walking the perimeter of the airfield, he encountered 20 children on the other side of the barbed wire barrier watching the planes and pilots. Most were barefoot and wore what appeared to be cast-off clothes, and with his limited German and their limited English they had a quick conversation. He reached into his pocket and discovered two sticks of Wrigley gum and gave it to the children and promised he would drop more candy on his next flight. He would signal them by waggling is plane's wings. What followed would change the course of the aftermath of World War II.

Set during the opening scenes of the Cold War, Halvorsen's story is made up of the second cast of the greatest generation. They had played second string to the glory and romance of World War II. Men like Hal Halvorsen, Lucius Clay, Bill Turner, James Forrestal, and Harry Truman broke the Siege of Berlin and prevented Russia from overtaking the rest of Germany. They changed Germany's view of the Americans. They "improvised and stumbled their way into inventing a uniquely American approach to the world that married the nation's military and moral might."

Recommendation: This clearly written narrative informs the reader of the untold events of this period of history. If you are a history buff, the story is captivating and will hold your interest. Otherwise, the individual stories may be difficult to follow.

Wintering by William Durbin

Pierre, a teenage voyageur for the North West Company is on his second trip through the boundary waters. For this trip he will winter over and help construct a trading post on Lake Vermilion. He learns about life in the wilderness from his fellow canoe-men and the Ojibwe people he comes to respect.

Recommendation: Though not as good as William Durbin's first book, The Broken Blade, this is a nice read. If you enjoy the history of travelers and traders of the early American and Canadian wilderness, this book would interest you.

Living with Chickens by Jay Rossier

There doesn't need to be a Chicken Raising book for Dummies. This book fits that niche. A well written book that can be both read and used as a handbook for starting and maintaining a your own flock of chickens in your backyard. You'll learn the common breeds of chickens, how to care for them from chick to broiler or layer.

Recommendation: If you haven't ever raised chickens before, this book is for you. After reading it you be able to realistically decide if raising chickens is for you.

Deception Point by Dan Brown

The United States President is suffering miserably in the polls and his opponent, a charismatic senator with lucrative connections, is by far the front runner. The President's star child, NASA, keeps fumbling projects with failures and over-budget fiascoes that give his opponent the opportunity to make NASA the poster child for what's wrong with government. Things seem dismal until a meteorite with hidden secrets is discovered above the Arctic circle.

Recommendation: This book, like another of Dan Brown's books, The Da Vinci Code, will grab you from the beginning and not let you go. Brown weaves the topics of politics, deception, science, and exploration into an unpredictable novel that will keep you in suspense until the end.