“My name is King.
I am a dog.
I am also a detective.”

THE BUDDY FILES
Books 1, 2 and 3 in the series
Dori Hillestad Butler

THE BUDDY FILES Book 1:
THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0910-4

THE BUDDY FILES Book 2:
THE CASE OF THE MIXED-UP MUTTS
ISBN 978-0-8075-0911-1

THE BUDDY FILES Book 3:
THE CASE OF THE MISSING FAMILY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0912-8

Albert Whitman & Company
www.albertwhitman.com
$14.99 each Hardcover
On sale March 2010
Children’s fiction/mysteries for ages 6-8

Kids will love this new series of early chapter book mysteries starring King, aka Buddy,  a smart, funny, tail-wagging hero! His efforts to understand and communicate with the humans in his life are both convincing and hilarious.

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One cold morning in early spring, a plastic bag blows out of a landfill. Where do the wind and chance take it?

BAG IN THE WIND
Ted Kooser
Illustrated by Barry Root

Candlewick Press
www.candlewick.com
$17.99  Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3001-0
Children’s picture book
Printed on paper containing 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste

In his singular first children’s book, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, follows a plastic bag on its capricious journey from a landfill into a series of townspeople’s lives.  Beautiful illustrations by Barry Root evoke the gusty, damp days of early springtime.

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I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.” * 

IN A HEARTBEAT
Loretta Ellsworth

Walker & Company / Macmillan
$16.99 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2068-9
Young adult fiction

“IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth was an amazing book. It was given to me as a new unknown book that I could read and review, and I read it all in one sitting.  The story is told by Eagan and Amelia, two teenage girls connected by life and death.  The two different narratives make this story impossible to put down. I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL *

Click on the book and CD titles below for more info. Buy them from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

The power of music, the exquisite torture of first love, and the many places we call home…

THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW
Peter Bognanni

Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Penguin Book Group (USA)
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-399-15609-0

This debut novel set in rural Iowa mixes the philosophy of Buckminster Fuller with punk rock in a hilarious and moving novel about misfit teenagers finding their place in a confusing world.

“I was totally blown away by this book.”
– Alice Meyer, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA

“Under the screaming rage of a Misfits or Ramones song, you can hear a heart beating, and that’s where Peter Bognanni gets to work — his wild and tender book reveals how much a  couple of scared boys can say to each other with a little hateful noise.”
– Rob Sheffield, author of Love Is a Mix Tape

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A brave and profoundly moving novel of faith and forgiveness

LAMB BRIGHT SAVIORS
Robert Vivian

A Bison Original/University of Nebraska Press
“Flyover Fictions Series”
$22.95 Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-8032-1380-7

The second volume in the Tall Grass Trilogy, following THE MOVER OF BONES

“Even when writing about violence, Vivian’s prose glows with an internal light that creates a continual sense of wonder. With its multiple voices and keen sense of place, Lamb Bright Saviors takes those qualities that so defined a writer such as Faulkner and makes them new for a changed world.”—Sue William Silverman, author of Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You

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Available March 16 -
The second album from our favorite author/ songwriter/ musician and his band!

TINY PILOT
Michael Perry and the Long Beds

Amble Down Records
www.ambledown.com
MSRP $11.99
UPC 8-97714-00205-1

Michael Perry and his band of Long Beds write songs that range from boot-stomping country to roughneck folk balladS. Like Perry’s Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award-winning books COOP and TRUCK, these songs are populated by characters drawn straight from rural and small-town America. Many have direct connections to COOP, TRUCK, and his other books POPULATION 485 and OFF MAIN STREET.  Check out Mike’s website:  www.sneezingcow.com

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One cold morning in early spring, a plastic bag blows out of a landfill. Where do the wind and chance take it?

BAG IN THE WIND
Ted Kooser
Illustrated by Barry Root

Candlewick Press
www.candlewick.com
$17.99  Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3001-0
Printed on paper containing 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste

In his singular first children’s book, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, follows a plastic bag on its capricious journey from a landfill into a series of townspeople’s lives.

———————–

“My name is King.
I am a dog.
I am also a detective.”

THE BUDDY FILES
Books 1, 2 and 3 in the series
Dori Hillestad Butler

THE BUDDY FILES Book 1:
THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0910-4

THE BUDDY FILES Book 2:
THE CASE OF THE MIXED-UP MUTTS
ISBN 978-0-8075-0911-1

THE BUDDY FILES Book 3:
THE CASE OF THE MISSING FAMILY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0912-8

Albert Whitman & Company
www.albertwhitman.com
$14.99 each Hardcover
On sale March 2010
Children’s fiction/mysteries for ages 6-8

Kids will love this new series of early chapter book mysteries starring King, aka Buddy,  a smart, funny, tail-wagging hero!

You can always get to the Midwest Connections Picks individual title pages for each book we’ve chosen  from 2006 through the present from any Midwest Connections related page or post.  Look to the right hand side of the web page for the Recent Picks list and click on Browse All Titles to get to the entire alphabetically arranged list.

Individual web pages for all Midwest Connections Picks titles through February 2010 are available at this time. March 2010 Midwest Connections Picks web pages will be up soon.  Please check back again!

The following lists are updated as of the date indicated below:

• 2010 Midwest Connections Picks Title List (PDF)    
  – NEW UPDATE 2/15/10
  – includes Spring and Summer 2010 titles confirmed to date
  – This list can be posted in your store and given to your store’s customers, too.
• Primary 2010 Midwest Connections Picks Title List (Excel file) – legal size page –  NEW UPDATE 2/15/10
  – includes Spring and Summer 2010 titles confirmed to date
  – You can use this Excel file for ordering and tracking inventory and sales, entering your own information into the spreadsheet as desired.
• Primary 2010 Midwest Connections Picks Title List (PDF) – legal size page — NEW UPDATE 2/15/10
  – includes Spring and Summer 2010 titles confirmed to date
  – This is a PDF of the Excel file above.  You can print it out and write information on a hard copy, but you won’t be able to enter details directly info the file.

MBA booksellers — here’s a banner to add to your store’s website to promote these three books.

A novel for women of a certain age who are hot and bothered by society’s double standards. Champagne happy hours mandatory. Cubs get in free.

THE COUGAR CLUB
A Novel
Susan McBride

Avon A / HarperCollins Publishers
$13.99 Trade Paperback Original
ISBN: 978-0-06-1777126-2
On sale January 26, 2010
Women’s contemporary fiction set in St. Louis

“Susan McBride knows women and she knows cougars. This is more than evident in her newest book, THE COUGAR CLUB. McBride brings her humor and skill to women’s fiction in this book that reunites three 40-something friends in their hometown and shines a spotlight on their love lives — with younger men. The relationships between the women are a highlight, and as a bonus, McBride takes the reader on a wild ride through St Louis and some of its quirky customs. When I finished, I wanted to know when the sequel would be ready!”
– Vicki Erwin, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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“I’d bet big money that this novel is about to become one of your favorite books…”
– Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

WEEPING UNDERWATER LOOKS
A LOT LIKE LAUGHTER
Michael J. White

G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Penguin Book Group (USA)
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-339-15590-1
On sale February 4, 2010

This debut novel set in Des Moines is a smart, darkly funny coming-of-age tale of growing up and going under.

Read author Michael J. White’s comments on the creation of WEEPING UNDERWATER and sample this chapter from the book!

“I’d bet big money that this novel is about to become one of your favorite books. It’s a blood-red first-love story, a raw dealing of tragedy and its aftermath, and a wild spin throughthe lust- and grief-addled mind of one of the most honest and deliriously inventive narrators I’ve ever read….  WEEPING UNDERWATER will leave you hoarse from laughing, weak in the knees, possibly craving Iowa State Fair pickles, and helplessly in love.” 
– Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL

IN A HEARTBEAT
Loretta Ellsworth

Walker & Company / Macmillan
$16.99 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2068-9
On sale February 2010
Young Adult Fiction set in Milwaukee and Minneapolis

“IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth was an amazing book. It was given to me as a new unknown book that I could read and review, and I read it all in one sitting.  The story is told by Eagan and Amelia, two teenage girls connected by life and death.  The two different narratives make this story impossible to put down. I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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Midwest Connections Picks Now in Paperback!

A RELIABLE WIFE
A Novel
Robert Goolrick
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Workman Publishing
ISBN: 9781565129771
$14.95 Trade Paperback

THE ROSE VARIATIONS
Marisha Chamberlain
Soho Press
distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution
ISBN:  978-1-56947-618-5
$14.00 Trade Paperback

IRREPLACEABLE
Stephen Lovely
Voice / Hyperion
distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 978-1-4013-4121-3
$14.99 Trade Paperback

Buy all of these books from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

Contact them today to sign up for this great new newsletter designed to help you attract new customers to your store.
Midwest Connections Picks books are included, too!

All the details and contact info you need are on a new web page we’ve set up for this newsletter. 

Paz will be happy to send you a sample copy of the February-March issue to review, too.  It includes the Midwest Connections Picks titles HAPPY, OUT OF THE NORTHWOODS, and THE COUGAR CLUB!

•  Getting Started Flyer (PDF)
•  2010 Publisher Co-op At-A-Glance (PDF)
   $$$$ — Take a look at all the co-op that’s available to you… and from whom. There’s about $10,000 that will be available to ANY bookstore in 2010!  This doesn’t even include your pool co-op, just the exempt newsletter funds.
•  Video – Newsletter Marketing for Indie Booksellers
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68_eyU0Knfk
   http://pazbookbiz.com/Bookstore-Training-Consulting-Services/Customer-Newsletter.aspx

Be sure to go to the web page for this newsletter to get complete information!

An emotion-charged, wrenching — and unexpectedly humorous — self-portrait of  one young man’s survival in body and in spirit

HAPPY
A MEMOIR
Alex Lemon

Scribner / Simon & Schuster
$25.00 Hardcover
ISBN 9781416550235

“ With the urgency and rhythm of a street poet, Alex “Happy” Lemon chronicles a life of illness, addiction, recovery and redemption in his memoir called, simply, HAPPY. I will gladly recommend this gripping and tragic book to any parent— especially mothers—of a child in peril AND to the children who take them down a road for which they are unprepared.  Yes, this is the story of an addict and his recovery. Yes, this is the story of triumphing over a rare and dangerous illness. Yes, this is the story of a difficult parent’s redemption. But in Alex Lemon’s hands, this seemingly familiar tale will yield a surprised and happy reader.”
—Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Café, Wichita, Kansas

Watch Alex Lemon’s video: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv2HypmfOqI

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

The fascinating history of  Upper Midwest logging and the American tall tale hero Paul Bunyan!

OUT OF THE NORTHWOODS
The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan
Michael Edmonds

Wisconsin Historical Society Press
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-87020-437-1
Upper Midwest regional history; American folklore

“Rooted in the ingenuity of the pioneer spirit, this book presents an unvarnished look at the culture of the late nineteenth century lumber industry, how it shaped our region, the country, and created the legend of Paul Bunyan.  Using the words of  lumberjacks and old camp pictures, Edmonds traces the ambiguous roots of Paul Bunyan while giving us a clearer picture of lumber camp life.  In addition, the book contains over 100 legends of Paul Bunyan and a fantastic list of references for further research!”
– Angie Grafstrom, Inspiration Hollow, Roseau, MN

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

Buy these books from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

All of these books make terrific holiday gifts
– as do the rest of our Fall Midwest Connections Picks !

SELDOM SEEN
A Journey into the Great Plains
Patrick Dobson
University of Nebraska Press
$29.95, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-8032-1616-7

“This intimate search for self-discovery and renewal is so well told, you’ll smell the dew on the morning grass, and you’ll know you’ve found something truly delicious.”
– Michael Murphy, coauthor of Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations and vice president of programming for Kansas City Public Television

THE CHAIN LETTER OF THE SOUL
New and Selected Poems
by Bill Holm
Milkweed Editions
$18.00 Trade Paperback Original
ISBN 978-1-57131-444-4

“His whole  persona comes with a clear mandate: DO NOT DUPLICATE — as if anyone could if they tried.”
– Jim Heynen

HEALTHY BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY
100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruit, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
By Jeff Hertzbert, M.D.
and Zoë François
Photography by Mark Luinenburg
Thomas Dunne Books
St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan
$27.99 Hardcover
Color and black & white photos
ISBN 978-0-312-54552-9

“The testament I can give is that many people buy a copy to give as a gift and return to get another for themselves. Always a good sign.”
– Hans Weyandt, Micawber’s Books, St. Paul, MN

THE LEAF THAT
WOULDN’T LEAVE
by Trish Trinco
illustrated by Bryan Langdo
Tristan Publishing
$16.95 Hardcover Picture Book
ISBN 978-0-931674-90-7

We all often need encouragement to face changes in our lives, and this book definitely helps the child in each of us to head in that direction.  We love it!”
– Jane Stroh, The Bookstore, Glen Ellyn, IL

MBA booksellers –

Rebate forms for all of our Midwest Connections Picks from August through November 2009 are now available.  Go to the web page for each book to get the rebate form for that book. 

The deadline to request rebates for August through October picks is January 15, 2010.  For November titles, the deadline will be February 15, 2010.

Click on the links to go to the web pages for these books:

• Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day
• The Leaf that Wouldn’t Leave
• The Chain Letter of the Soul
• Seldom Seen
• Front and Center
• The Longest Night
• Pioneer Girl
• The Sky Begins at Your Feet
• Hollowing Out the Middle
• The “Older” Betsy-Tacy Books Are Back!
• Stray Affections
• Twisted Tree
• Moose on the Loose
• Otis
• Our Boys
• Corn
• Lights on a Ground of Darkness
• The Seasons on Henry’s Farm
• The Fifth Floor
• Shiver
• While I’m Falling
• Missing Mark

LOOK!
We have new full-color signs which feature photos of all of our Fall 2009 Midwest Connections Picks!

These signs are available in three sizes, and the two smaller sizes have either a white or a blue background behind the books. (The white background will be easier on your color printer.)  The files are all high resolution PDFs and are LARGE files, but they are zipped here to make them somewhat smaller. Give them time to download.  If you have problems, please contact us. We could send them to you on a CD, too.

• 8 1/2 x 11 signs, white background and blue background (ZIP)
     — both signs in this zip file
     — this size prints on a color printer
     — also good for use as a flyer
• 11 x 14 sign, white background (ZIP)
• 11 x 14 sign, blue background (ZIP)
• 22 x 28 sign, blue background (ZIP)

 A gorgeous picture book,
a highly-anticipated teen novel,
and a fascinating history of pioneer life
join our roster of children’s Midwest Connections Picks for this fall.

THE LONGEST NIGHT
Marion Dane Bauer
illustrated by Ted Lewin
Holiday House

FRONT AND CENTER
Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

PIONEER GIRL
A True Story of Growing Up
on the Prairie
Andrea Warren
University of Nebraska Press

Click on the links for all the details about these books, then buy them from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores.