If you are looking for books to read for Summer Break Baltimore, the Pratt can help. Here’s a look at some of the latest ebooks to Overdrive. Don’t forget it’s not too late to join the summer-long reading program, sign up today!
Beat the heat with a refreshing treat this July! Check out these cookbooks spotlighting frozen sweets.
From the pure, radiant flavors of classic Blackberry and Spicy Pineapple to unexpectedly enchanting combinations such as Sour Cream, Cherry, and Tequila, or Strawberry-Horchata, Paletas is an engaging and delicious guide to Mexico’s traditional–and some not-so-traditional–frozen treats.
Paletas, by Fanny Gerson and Ed Anderson, eBook
With little skill, surprisingly few ingredients, and even the most unsophisticated of ice-cream makers, you can make the scrumptious ice creams that have made Ben & Jerry’s an American legend.
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book, by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, eBook
Popsicles are the perfect treat for a warm day or just when you want a sweet cool treat. They are easy to make and can be packed with lots of flavor. Store bought popsicles are good, but nothing beats a homemade popsicle made of your favorite fruits and flavor combos.
Popping Popsicle Recipes, by Gordon Rock, eBook
Recreate the classic and nostalgic flavors of your youth with ice cream recipes for French vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, rocky road, and so much more!
The Ice Cream Sundae Book, by Michael Turback, eBook
Read along with Disney! Bring the fun of new movie Luca, to reading with these books inspired by the Disney and Pixar film. Once you are done with the Luca books check out the other Disney Books Hoopla has available.
Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Luca shares summer adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.
Disney Classic Stories: Luca, by Disney Books, eBook
This Deluxe Junior Novel retells the exciting story of Disney and Pixar’s Luca !This is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides.
Luca Junior Novel, by Disney Books, eBook
Sea monsters Luca and Alberto have an amazing adventure on land! Follow along with word-for-word narration as Luca and Alberto see how hard it is to adjust to life on land!
Luca: A Sea Monster Story, by Disney Books, eBook
Luca, Alberto, and Giulia know that friends are forever! Follow along with word-for-word narration to see all the fun things friends can do together.
Luca: Friends Are Forever, by Disney Books, eBook
Did you know that the Enoch Pratt Free Library has video games? With options available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One gaming systems, go ahead and check them out!
by Morgan Stanton, Branch Manager
“What is true, and I’m actually being serious here, is that there are, there’s footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don’t know exactly what they are. We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”
President Barack Obama, “The Late Late Show,” 5/17/2021
Friday, July 2, marks World UFO Day, celebrated as such in commemoration of the alleged crash of an alien spaceship outside Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Unidentified flying objects have been part of the national consciousness since at least earlier that same year when aviator Kenneth Arnold reported nine silvery disc-shaped objects flying near Mt. Rainier in Washington State. The press popularized the term “flying saucers” after Arnold’s description of the objects, likening them to saucers skipping across water. Since then, thousands of UFO sightings have been reported by credible witnesses — whether mundane explanations have been determined, or not.
Unidentified Flying Objects, or as the Pentagon prefers, “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP),” once again made headlines in 2017 following a bombshell expose in The New York Times detailing $22 million budgeted for the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a secret government program studying UFOs. The program was shut down in 2012, but according to the article remained in existence off-the-books. The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force was established in 2020, and in their June 25 report to Congress, neither confirmed nor denied that UFOs or UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin.
From a literary standpoint, UFO literature is plagued with tabloid sensationalism, but there are exceptions. The best UFO books are well-sourced and written by credible authorities. Far from B-movie scenarios of invaders from planet Mars, unexplained phenomena detailed by observers often take on a surrealistic, dream-like quality. Below are some recommendations. As we like to say at Pratt, “Your journey starts here.”
