Return of the Grizzly
Cat Urbigkit
Perseus Distribution Services, 2017
Cat, a Wyoming sheep producer and author, has done an exceptional job distilling information about what is either our most loved or hated top predator, the grizzly bear. Despite its factual basis, the book is an easy and engaging read, if slightly unnerving when she discusses human-bear conflicts. Living in Cody, I especially appreciated the range maps depicting grizzly bear expansion from 1980 to 2010. Cat’s narrative centers around the grizzlies of the Upper Green River, but she does an inclusive job of presenting the state of the bears across the entire region. As a public lands recreationist, I generally focus my data-gathering on hiking-related bear conflict information, but I learned quite a bit about the challenges experienced by livestock producers in grizzly country. This is an excellent resource for all libraries.
Leslie C. Tribble, Technical Services Manager
Park County Library
Wyoming from A to Z
K.W. Bunyap
Createspace, 2017
Take a walk through Wyoming from A to Z with this delightful children’s alphabet book. A creative use of photos illustrate the state from the black-footed ferrets for the letter B and the Town of Van Tassell for the letter V. Iambic pentameter makes this work flow from page to page. Little ones will enjoy the rhymes, while older readers will enjoy the factual content. One excellent example is, “D is for Devils Tower. It was the first National Monument, but that’s not all, this flat-topped column of stone is 867 feet tall.” Readers who enjoy this book, may also enjoy other theme-based alphabet books like F Is for Firefighters, by Dori Butler, or ABC’s in Nature, by Daniel Nunn. A great non-fiction browser or read-a-loud. What better way to learn about your state without ever leaving home.
Joan Brinkley, Director
Goshen County Library