With March on its way out like the proverbial lamb, we're especially excited about several new books that reflect on springtime, new life, and rejuvenation. Thor Hanson's "warm and optimistic" work of natural history Close to Home revels in the joy and wonder that can come from the type of wildlife you don't need to go out of your way to encounter--if you only stop to take notice. Cry When the Baby Cries by cartoonist Becky Barnicoat offers advice about motherhood from her personal experience, spun together with "a remarkable blend of aspiration, humor, and biting (literally) reality." And young readers can discover the adorable and wondrous newcomers to the animal kingdom in Newborns by Paulina Jara, "a beautiful introduction to the wonders of animal life" with "highly stylized" illustrations by Mercè Galí.
In The Writer's Life, journalist and minister Jeff Chu discusses his insightful and resilient memoir Good Soil, which he describes as a love story--for the land and all who depend on it. The hope he places in growth and possibility, despite hardship and difficulty, is absolutely contagious.