Books

When asked what inspired Jerry Olafson to re-publish The Adventures of Happy Bunny, the answer was simple: his mother. In honor of her 100th birthday, Olafson thought it would be fitting to “freshen up and re-publish” the story that was read to him so many times as a child. The book follows Happy Bunny, the oldest of several bunnies, who has to leave home to find enough food for his family before winter. The original story was published in 1917 and was a gift for his mother in 1920. Read more about For the Love of Literature

It was 1976. Judith Guest had recently moved to Edina and looked to the Newcomers’ Club for opportunities to become connected. Guest and other new-on-the-block book lovers were encouraged to sign up for Newcomers’ “alternate” book club that met at night. “You have to remember,” says Guest, who turned 80 this year, “most women didn’t work during the day. So the daytime book club was fairly full.” The evening book club, by contrast, was desperate for members. Guest and several other women joined. “We called ourselves ‘The Desperates,’” she recalls with a laugh. Read more about Judith Guest and Edina’s Longest Running Book Club

In her new collection of linked stories, The Enigma of Iris Murphy, Edina librarian and writer Maureen Millea Smith constructs the world of single mother and Nebraska public defender Iris Murphy. Many characters chime in to tell Iris’ tale. Two of the stories are written from the perspective of Iris’ son, who is in the foreign service. Others are from the point of view of a character in prison. Two characters who share their stories have an unusual ability to understand animals. There’s even a contribution from a librarian’s viewpoint. Read more about Award-Winning Edina Author Maureen Millea Smith Publishes “The Enigma of Iris Murphy”

Edina author Roseanne Cheng is hoping to cause a conversation at the dinner table using her young-adult fiction. Her second book, Edge the Bare Garden, tackles the hot-button issue of the seemingly inconsequential nature of the internet. “I’m fascinated by what a wonderful and terrible place the internet is,” says Cheng. Read more about Books: Teaching Awareness in a Virtual Reality

If reading is not at the top of your child’s list of things to do this summer, check out these exciting area programs and incentives, and their tune may change. The Edina Library will continue its annual Read Write Draw program this summer. Children up to sixth grade can read any book, and then pick up an entry form from the library that will prompt them to write a mini-review about the book or draw a picture about it. Each form will be entered in a drawing for prizes. So the more they read, the better their chances are of winning a prize. Read more about Read and Receive

In January, former advertising copywriter Megan Maynor published her first children’s book, Ella and Penguin Stick Together. Part of the inspiration for the book came from some of the fun dialogue Maynor had with her own children when they were young. Maynor would feign ignorance about a topic, such as the color of the sky, allowing her children to be triumphant experts. This sort of banter is evident in Maynor’s story of a young girl and a penguin who struggle with overcoming their fear of the dark. Penguin is lovable but naïve, and Ella has all the answers. Read more about Megan Maynor: Inspired by Family, Encouraged by Friends

I’m Alive: Courage, Hope and a Miracle is the story of Edina resident and former high school hockey star Duke Pieper, who, at 15, reached both the heights and depths of his young life. A lurking blood vessel malformation in his brain began its siege minutes before Pieper’s debut as a freshman on the Hill-Murray High School varsity hockey team. In place of his dreams of hockey stardom, Pieper found illness, surgery, infection, paralysis, months of hospitalization and lingering disability. Read more about He’s Alive: Hockey Player Writes a Book About Hope, Courage and Miracles

Edina is for book lovers. In a town of serious readers and dedicated book club members, February in Edina is a time to celebrate literary love. Edina librarians Maureen Millea Smith, Tracy Hvezda-Lehtola and Ginger Gomes talk about how the library supports Edina’s romance with books during the month of love. Read more about I Love to Read Month: Edina Library Offers "Blind Date With a Book" This February

Growing up on Lake Minnetonka, Brad Robinson had a passion for competitive sailing and decided to use his engineer’s mind to create an innovative sailboat as a gift to the Inland Lake Yacht Association. Despite Robinson’s attention to A Scow sailboat building rules, the fleet denied his gift; they saw it as a threat to one boat builder’s monopoly and refused to sail Robinson’s boat. The conflict ended with a lawsuit and settlement, and Robinson felt his side of the story deserved telling. Read more about Victory by Design

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