SONS OF ITALY RELEASES
WINTER 2006 BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Washington, DC-- Jan. 4, 2006 Start the New Year off by diving into one of the Sons of Italy Winter 2006 Book Club selections. The list includes books for readers of all ages with a children’s book selection, The King of Mulberry Street. Check out the Sons of Italy Book Club for Winter 2006:

• I Love You Like a Tomato by Marie Giordano. It’s 1950 and ChiChi Maggiordino lives in Minneapolis with her fatherless family. Her grandmother teaches her how to use the Evil Eye, which ChiChi plans to use to help her family. When her grandmother passes away, ChiChi searches for her own happiness and meets two Italian circus performers, who introduce her to commedia dell’arte, Italy’s famed improvised theater. Through them she learns the secret to happiness. [$6.99; paperback; 400 pages; Forge Books]
• Italy, A Love Story: Women Write about the Italian Experience edited by Camille Cusumano. This collection of 28 essays explores various women’s encounters with all that Italy has to offer. More than travel articles, they delve deep into the history and culture of a land that is both complicated by and adored for its rich traditions. Among the authors are Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Frances Mayes and Mary Simetti Taylor. [$15.95; paperback; 342 pages; Seal Press]
• Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles by Raymond Arroyo. In 1981, with only $200, Mother Angelica launched the Eternal World Television (EWT) network, the first Catholic cable network. Today it is the world’s largest religious media empire, reaching over a hundred million viewers all over the world with religious and cultural programs. Author and EWT News anchor, Raymond Arroyo traces her life, based on exclusive interviews with Mother Angelica. [$23.95; hardcover; 400 pages; Doubleday]

• The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli. New York City in 1892 was no place for a child with no family, but that was the fate of nine-year old Dom, whose mother sent him across the Atlantic from Naples so he could have a better life. A Junior Library Guild Selection aimed at children ages 7-12, The King of Mulberry Street follows a young immigrant as he fights to overcome the odds and live the American dream. [$15.95; hardcover; 245 pages; Wendy Lamb Books
• Giovanna’s 86 Circles by Paola Corso. These ten short stories are set in working-class river towns near Pittsburgh and have as their main characters Italian American women and girls. All begin ordinary stories that take an unpredictable twist, making every one truly original. A high school girl discovers she can see the future while in the title story, a developer finds his wrecking ball is no match for Giovanna’s green thumb. [$21.95; hardcover; 144 pages; University of Wisconsin Press]
• Salone Italiano by Kay Niemann. Historical detail and rich drama are found in the story of the Sartore family, who immigrated to Colorado at the turn of the last century. Based almost entirely on about 150 letters written by family members to their relatives in Piedmont, the author follows the family from their arrival in 1903 to 1940. Includes historic photographs of these Colorado pioneers. [$16.95; paperback; 264 pages; Western Reflections Publishing Company]

The Sons of Italy National Book Club is dedicated to the works of writers who focus on Italian American issues, themes, experiences and Italian culture. OSIA chooses three to four fiction and non-fiction books each quarter for a total of 12 to 16 titles a year.

OSIA encourages its 700+ lodges as well as other Italian American organizations, clubs and individuals to choose one or more of the books each quarter to read and donate copies to their local schools or public libraries.

Most book club selections can be bought on the OSIA Web site.

Order all your books, magazines, etc. through OSIA and Amazon.com. Most orders are shipped within 24 hours.

As a special bonus, Amazon.com will donate a percentage of all sales ordered on our site to OSIA.

CLICK HERE to Buy OSIA Winter Book Club Selections Online

OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 700 chapters coast to coast. OSIA works at the community, national and international levels to promote the heritage and culture of an estimated 26 million Italian Americans, the nation's fifth largest ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. See www.osia.org.