May is National Strawberry Month! A great way to celebrate is to eat some strawberries, or better yet, go pick some right from the plant. A free way to celebrate strawberries is to read books on strawberries from the Chatham Area Public Library.
These adult fiction books might help you enjoy the delicious red berry. Food items tend to make for good cozy mystery series, so try these two. Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke is part of the Hannah Swenson series where bakery owner and occasional sleuth, Hannah, serves as a judge for a dessert bake-off. However, when a fellow judge is murdered, she must sift through a wealth of suspects to find a killer. Dying for Strawberries by Sharon Farrow is another cozy mystery where Marlee Jacob runs the Berry Basket, a berry emporium with something for everyone in her small town of Oriole Point, Michigan. When her fiend Natasha disappears and Marlee almost gets killed on the night of the town’s annual Strawberry Moon Bash, Marlee has to face her past and Oriole Point’s own secrets before anyone else dies. For a romantic story, try Cinnamon and Strawberries by K.L. Noone. Jason and Colby fell in love on a movie set, and found their own happy ending. But now that filming's over, they'll have to figure out what's next, as holiday bells start ringing in the air. Jason's ready to move in if Colby asks, but he's not sure Colby's ready for that. Colby's hoping Jason wants to stay, but has a hard time believing in promises. Together, they'll face their first holiday season as a celebrity couple.
These nonfiction books can help you learn more about strawberries and enjoy different ways of eating them. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is about Kimmerer’s experience as a botanist and an active member of the Potawatomi Nation. She blends scientific learning with the learning of nature and plants as our first teachers. In this book, she has a chapter on the gift that strawberries are to us all. How to Grow Your Own Food by Angela S. Judd looks at container gardening and so has information on how to grow your own strawberries. Strawberries by Corrine Kozlack is a strawberry-themed cookbook with 50 easy recipes geared for busy cooks who also enjoy great tastes. While wonderful on their own, this cookbook will show how to pair strawberries with other flavors.
For young readers the library has all the Strawberry Shortcake books and DVDs you could ask for. Well, at least a lot of them. Also try The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story by Joseph Bruchac, The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang, and Sweet Strawberries by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. From Seed to Jam by Penelope Nelson and Strawberries by Helen Lanz are nonfiction books that tell all about strawberry growth.
These and so many more books about strawberries are available either in print or as ebooks (through Libby or hoopla), all available with your Chatham Area Public Library card. Stop in today to celebrate strawberries.