BOOKS-October 2011
Illustration by Eric Hou

Newly published from Maine: Recent favorites by local authors

A Is For Allagash: A Lumberjack’s Life
Louis Pelletier + Cathie Pelletier Northern Maine Books
Novelist Cathie Pelletier and her father, Louis, cowrote this memoir of his life in the town of Allagash and his adventures in the northern reaches of the state. Accompanied by haunting photos, beautiful illustrations, and old sketches, the stories that make up this collection are illuminating. The book captures a way of life that seems at once deeply familiar and yet unbelievably far away, and is a worthy addition to any Mainer’s bookshelf.

One Horse Farm
Dahlov Ipcar, Islandport Press
A classic from renowned Maine illustrator and children’s book author, Dahlov Ipcar, One Horse Farm is being rereleased for a new generation of readers. The wonderfully illustrated book, first published in 1950, tells the heartwarming story of a boy and a horse growing up together on a farm.

Salt and Pines: Tales from Bygone Maine
Edited by Jeanne Mason + D. L. Soucy, The History Press
Salt and Pines: Tales from Bygone Maine is a history book of sorts, written by an array of Mainers with their own tales to tell. Ranging from the story of a lobster-boat sternman in Boothbay Harbor to farmers in rural Maine doing everything they can to get by, some readers will be reminded of a Maine they once knew, while others will learn about Maine’s fascinating past.

Away At A Camp In Maine
Kimberley Collins Kalicky, CreateSpace
In this memoir, Kalicky expresses what “going away to camp” has meant to her and her family. She poignantly chronicles the emotional and intellectual growth she witnesses in her sons while they are at camp and beautifully describes the natural landscape her family enjoys every summer. Her gratitude for the peace and solitude of nature resounds throughout the book. This is a Mainer’s thank-you to her quiet country retreat.

New England Icons
Bruce Irving, Countryman Press
Guidebooks that seek to present the “iconic” often turn their chosen objects into trite clichés. Author Bruce Irving avoids this trap with a keen focus on architecture. Irving has the technical expertise to recognize what makes these icons vital and relevant examples of New England’s regional heritage.