NW Corner of Inches St. and NB Gratiot
The Bee Reader sculpture at the evolving MCEP Pollinator Park was installed in July of 2024. It will be open to extend gifts of small paperback books for young readers and mature readers. Each month the Bee Reader will have two paperback books available. One geared for younger readers and one for mature readers. Please come and check it out. Each month’s selection will be available on the MCEP website with the book’s description. If for some reason the books are not there just call us at 586 783 6008 and we will replenish the stock.
January Bee Reader Books
African Folk Tales, edited by Hugh Vernon-Jackson, Illustrated by Yuko Green
This exciting collection of traditional African folk tales introduces you to a host of interesting people and unusual animals. Eighteen authentic fables, recorded as they were told by tribal members of Nigerian and other cultures, range from the imaginative “Story of a Farmer and Four Hyenas” to an entertaining account of “The Man with Seven Dogs.”
In “The Magic Crocodile,” you’ll meet a reptile with very strange powers, while “The Boy in the Drum” teaches a valuable lesson in the importance of obeying one’s parents. In “The Hare and the Crownbird,” a fine, feathered friend is rewarded for its acts of kindness. You’ll also learn why a ram has a large head and a tortoise a small one in “The Greedy but Cunning Tortoise”; and in “A She-Goat and Her Children,” you’ll discover how a clever animal managed to provide food for her children.
Set in large, easy-to-read type and enhanced with Yuko Green’s 19 lively illustrations, this collection of time-honored folk tales will delight readers of all ages.
Wit & Wisdom of America’s First Ladies, edited by Joslyn Pine
“The one thing I do not want,” quipped Jacqueline Kennedy, “is to be called First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse.” This lively collection includes more than 350 revealing and thought-provoking remarks by White Housewives, from Martha Washington (“I live a very dull life here, and know nothing that passes in town.”) to Melania Trump (“Together, let’s encourage children to dream big, think big, and do all they can to be best in everything that they do.”)
Humorous and heartfelt reflections include Abigail Adams’s thoughts on partnership (“No man ever prospered in the world without the consent and cooperation of his wife.”); Dolley Madison’s attitude toward gossip (“It is one of my sources of happiness never to desire a knowledge of other people’s business.”); and Eleanor Roosevelt’s comment on accountability (“It is often the people who refuse to assume any responsibility who are apt to be the sharpest critics of those who do.”).