Selected Poems
By C.F. Kelly
North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2016
Reading through Kelly’s Selected Poems is not a ‘sit-back-kick-your-shoes-off-and-relax’ experience. You are welcome to try it but in nothing flat you will quickly find yourself sitting up straight, shaking your fist, reaching for a Kleenex to dry your eyes, or (I believe this is most often) fully diving into experiences, scenery, private lives, and memories full of emotion. Kelly has a way of pulling you into what he sees and turning the view so you see into yourself, remembering places, feelings, and people you thought you’d forgotten. He reaches out to us in poems about his past, letters to his family, social and political issues, the daily mundane, and stories of the wildlife, small town life, and activities in Wyoming with humor, sadness, affection, and focused grit. I heartily recommend “Selected Poems” to those who are leery of poetry and to those who love it. You won’t come away from Kelly’s world the same as when you entered.
Nancy Venable, Extension and Volunteer Services Manager
Campbell County Public Library, Gillette
Finding the Sky: The Jo Harper Collection
By Richard Prosch
Azle, Texas: Painted Pony Books, 2014
In this collection of short stories, a twelve year old girl named Jo Harper is always waiting for her father and friends. Jo thought that this year was going to be another boring year, but Abby Drake comes to town and life gets interesting. Abby is the new constable and is a Wild West legend in her own time. Abby makes Jo a junior deputy. Jo and Frog decided to help Abby with some situations even if she didn’t know about it at the time. Jo, Frog and Abby deal with cattle rustling, mail order fraud, horse endangerment and a bank robbery. They had adventures with flaming arrows, Model T car ride, getting locked in a barn and dodging bullets. This is a great book to read for all ages from young to old about Wyoming and adventures.
Sue Paddock, Branch Manager
Saratoga Branch Library