Loupio

The excitement continues in this second volume of The Adventures of Loupio. In Volume 1, we meet the orphaned Loupio living in the days of knights and castles in Assisi, Italy. The young troubadour becomes the friend of Brother Francis and of the wolf tamed by the Saint. With his gift of song and his youthful enthusiasm, Loupio has many escapades in which he learns to love and be loved in return. Volume 2 picks up the story with new challenges for Loupio. The youthful and colorful comic- book style presents to young readers an attractive example of a boy their age doing his best, though not without making a few mistakes along the way, to follow Jesus.

illustrated

This is a wonderful book. Carl Ernst and George Zug are eminent herpetologists who have produced a well-written book on an extremely popular subject. Divided into five large chapters and five appendixes, the book is set up in a question-and-answer format. Depending on the question (What is a snake? Do snakes get sick? How do fangs work?), the answers range from one or two paragraphs to multiple pages and are illustrated with photographs or line drawings. Two of the sections will be eagerly used by librarians answering questions--that on giant snakes (boas and pythons) and that on poisonous snakes (vipers and cobras). The appendixes offer further information on the classification and sizes of snakes and provide a useful directory of herpetological organizations. A glossary defines some of the more technical terminology. Finally, two bibliographies provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific literature on snakes. This exceptional book should be in every library. Nancy Bent

qualities

The thirteen qualities of Robin's Perfect Man range from the mildly important "Handsome†? to the all-important "Great taste in music.†? After all, Westfield's best high school folk musician can't go out with some schmuck who only listens to top 40 crap. So when hot Carter Paulson walks in the door of Robin's diner, it looks like the list may have come to life after all...until she realizes he's profoundly deaf.    Carter isn't looking for a girlfriend. Especially not a hearing one. Not that he has anything against hearing girls, they just don't speak the same language. But when the cute waitress at Grape Country Dairy makes an effort to talk with him, he takes her out on his yellow Ducati motorcycle.Music, language, and culture all take a backseat as love drives the bike. But how long can this summer really last?