local | independent | unique
IN THIS ISSUE
Phoenix Profiles
Fiction
Young Adult Picks
Beginning & Middle Readers
Raising Passionate Readers
Contact Info & Hours
Quick Links

Homepage 

Events Calendar 

Phoenix on FB

Shop Online 

Upcoming Events
View the full events calendar online - click here! 

Read Across America  
Saturday, 3/1 at 11am
BOTH Phoenix Books locations

  

Join us to celebrate Read Across America Day & Dr. Seuss' birthday with a story time and activities featuring the Seuss favorite The Cat in the Hat.
 

  

Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England with Corin Hirsch

Thursday, 3/6 at 7pm
Phoenix Books Burlington

Explore the origins and taste of the favorite potations of early Americans and learn some modern-day recipes to revive them today.
 
Author's Luncheon Celebrating MS Awareness Week
Friday, 3/7 at 12pm
OFFSITE at the Hilton Burlington Hotel

Celebrate captivating stories written by renowned, bestselling authors: Chris Bohjalian, Madeleine Kunin & Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Read more & purchase tickets.

Bedtime Math
Glow-in-the-Dark Party!

Tuesday, 3/11 at 6pm
Phoenix Books Essex   

After a short reading of offbeat math problems from the new book, kids will build their own geometric creations with glowsticks and styrofoam balls.

Read more.

The Problem of Slavery in Early Vermont, 1770-1810 with Harvey Amani Whitfield
Thursday, 3/13 at 7pm
Phoenix Books Burlington  
Vermonters have always been proud that their state was the first to outlaw slavery in its constitution--but is that what really happened?
 
Read more.

Newt Night!
Thursday, 3/20 at 6:30pm
Phoenix Books Burlington  
We invite budding scientists, concerned citizens, and naturalists-at-heart to learn about Vermont's Amphibian Monitoring Program. This is a perfect opportunity to get hands-on experience and learn how you can help Vermont's amphibian population. Ages 5 and up. RSVPs requested.

Read more.

BOOK LAUNCH!
The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza with James Kochalka

Saturday, 3/29 at 2pm
Phoenix Books Burlington

James will talk a little about the book and play Glorkian Warrior tunes. Stay on for a book signing and meet and greet!

Read more.

 Now on RETN...
The Authors
null
Thursdays at 8pm 
on RETN Channel 16  
  Phoenix Books is pleased to partner with RETN to bring you a new series.
Watch The Authors online.



Saturday Story Time! 
Saturdays at 11am
Phoenix Books Burlington


Listen to and enjoy stories with your little ones!

 Read more.



 March 2014
Dear Friends, 

February has been an exciting month here at Phoenix Books!  On the 19th, Phoenix Books received a grant from bestselling author James Patterson. The response from our community has been overwhelming, in the best possible way.  Within hours of the announcement, we received calls and visits from WCAX, ABC22/FOX 44, VPR, and the Burlington Free Press.  Best of all, though, have been the messages of congratulations that you've sent our way, both online and in person.  As Mike said, "This grant allows Phoenix Books to do something for the community that we would otherwise not have been able to do, and for this we feel grateful and privileged."

Earlier in the month, Phoenix Books Burlington hosted the first Sustainable Communities Forum, an event with an impressive array of speakers and co-sponsors.  With 120 people in attendance, this event was an unqualified success, and we're thrilled to have been a part of it.

In March, we're looking forward to a variety of events for all ages:  For young readers, we're holding Read Across America, a Bedtime Math Glow-in-the-Dark Party and Newt Night. Kids and kids-at-heart will get to celebrate at the book launch event for James Kochalka's Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza.  Microbrew enthusiasts and history buffs will enjoy our Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England event with Corin Hirsch.  And if you want to know what your American history textbook got wrong about Vermont, mark your calendar for Harvey Amani Whitfield's event on March 13th.

Read on for event details, as well as a sampling of our favorite new titles for all ages.
 
Sincerely,

Mike, Renee, Adam, Beth, Christy, Colleen, Dan, Donna, Evelyn, Heather, Kari, Kathy, Kelly, Kristen, Nick, Phil, Rachel F., Rachel O., Sean, Tod, and Wendy


PHOENIX PROFILES: HEATHER
For this month's installment of "Phoenix Profiles," we're featuring Heather, a bookseller at Phoenix Books Essex.

Heather found her way to Phoenix Books after retiring from full-time teaching. Her primary interest is in fiction, but she also ventures into poetry, nature, gardening, biography, history, and mystery. Check out Heather's staff picks!
 

FICTION

That Part Was True, by Deborah McKinlay
When Eve Petworth writes to Jackson Cooper to praise a scene in one of his books, they discover a mutual love of cookery and food. Their friendship blossoms against the backdrop of Jackson's colorful, but ultimately unsatisfying, love life and Eve's tense relationship with her soon-to-be married daughter. As each of them offers, from behind the veils of semi-anonymity and distance, wise and increasingly affectionate counsel to the other, they both begin to confront their problems and plan a celebratory meeting in Paris--a meeting that Eve fears can never happen. (Hardcover) 

 

The Headmaster's Wife, by Thomas Christopher Greene - Vermont Author & Founder of the Vermont College of Fine Arts 

Beautifully written and compulsively readable, The Headmaster's Wife is a haunting and deeply affecting portrait of one couple at their best and worst-- "a truly remarkable novel." (Richard Russo)

Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of Vermont's elite Lancaster School.  Found wandering naked in Central Park, he begins to tell his story to the police, but his memories collide into one another, and the true nature of things, a narrative of of love, of marriage, of family and of a tragedy Arthur does not know how to address emerges. (Hardcover)     


YOUNG ADULT
   
Cress, by Marissa Meyer
This third book in Marissa Meyer's New York Times/USA Today-bestselling Lunar Chronicles series is inspired by Rapunzel. Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. (Hardcover, Ages 12-17.) 
 

MIDDLE READERS
 
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage    

When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost's identity. But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn't the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people too. (Hardcover, Ages 10 and up.) 

 

      

Timmy Failure: Now Look What You've Done by Stephan Pastis - Staff pick!  

The clueless, comically self-confident kid detective returns in a sequel to the New York Times bestseller Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made.
He doesn't like to pull rank. To reveal that he's this guy: Timmy Failure, founder, president, and CEO of the greatest detective agency in town, perhaps the nation. But he is. And he's about to crack the biggest case of his generation: a school competition to find a stolen globe. It's his ticket to bringing home a $500 prize, which is guaranteed to set him up for life. But someone is clearly trying to game the system. Hoodwink. Con. Defraud. (Hardcover, Ages 8-12.) 

 

 

Wildwood Imperium by Colin Meloy, with illustrations by Carson Ellis   
The third book in the New York Times bestselling fantasy-adventure series from Colin Meloy, lead singer of the Decemberists, and Carson Ellis, the acclaimed illustrator of The Mysterious Benedict Society 
A young girl's midnight s�ance awakens a long-slumbering malevolent spirit...
A band of runaway orphans allies with an underground collective of saboteurs and plans a daring rescue of their friends, imprisoned in the belly of an industrial wasteland.... (Hardcover, Ages 8 and up.)


The Secret Box, by Whitaker Ringwald
Customer pick!
Marc St. Pierre says, "I've just finished reading The Secret Box by Whitaker Ringwald. It was a wonderful story of friendship, told by three different characters. It's an ideal book for middle schoolers, combining magic,and adventure, with some humor. At the end of the book the author doesn't leave the reader in suspense, which is surprising, because this is the first book in a trilogy."

 

 

RAISING PASSIONATE READERS
     

Maple
, by Lori Nichols  
When Maple is tiny, her parents plant a maple tree in her honor. She and her tree grow up enjoying the changing seasons together, and even though a tree doesn't make the best playmate, at least it doesn't mind when Maple is in the mood to be loud--which is often. Then Maple becomes a big sister. She tries her best to be a good one, but finds that babies have their loud days, too.
This irresistible debut picture book features a free-spirited little girl who greets the world, and a new sibling, with arms wide open. (Hardcover, Picture Book.)    
 
  

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover, by Cece Bell
Felix and Oscar: meet the newest odd couple, Rabbit and Robot. The sleepover gets off to a rough start when excitable Rabbit discovers that ever-placid Robot prefers nuts and bolts on his pizza and would rather play something other than Go Fish. Will this unlikeliest of friendships survive the night? This charmingly-illustrated chapter book will leave readers cheering for more of this delightful duo. (Paperback, Beginning Reader.)


The Miniature World of Marvin & James
, by Elise Broach & Kelly Murphy 
Staff Pick! 
 James is going on vacation for a week. His best friend, Marvin the beetle, has to stay at home. Without James to keep him company, Marvin has to play with his annoying cousin, Elaine. Marvin misses James and starts to worry about their friendship. Will James still be Marvin's friend when he gets home or will James have found a new best friend? (Hardcover, Beginning Reader.)     
 

PHOENIX PHOTOS FROM FEBRUARY
On February 1st, Geek Mountain State packed the house for a reading featuring local sci fi authors.
The Sustainable Communities Forum featured 14 speakers, was co-sponsored by 11 organizations, and was attended by about 120 community members. The authors of Sustainable Communities - Ed Antczak, Bruce Seifer, and Rhonda Phillips - are pictured here.

On February 8th, Ladybug Girl stopped by Phoenix Books Essex. A crowd of young Ladybug Girl fans heard about one of her adventures and made lollipop valentines to give to their friends.


Make the Connection 
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter 
Follow Phoenix on Twitter, and get all the latest updates and events info. "Like" our Facebook page, and you can also write on our wall, start a discussion, or tell us about the books you recommend. We'd love to hear from you! 
  
Join Our Mailing List!
Thank you for choosing local and indie! 
Phoenix Books Essex at 21 Essex Way in Essex Outlets
21 Essex Way #407, Essex, VT 05452 | 802.872.7111
Phoenix Books Essex Hours:
Mon-Fri: 9am-7pm
Saturday:  10am-7pm
Sunday:    10am-5pm

Phoenix Books Burlington in Downtown Burlington
191 Bank Street, Burlington, VT 05401 | 802.448.3350
Phoenix Books Burlington Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 10am-7pm
Fri-Sat: 10am-8pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm