Book & General Merchandise News
Kathy Humison
WSGC Buyer

The Teen’s Vegetarian Cookbook
This month is a turning point in the year for many people. If you are a parent you may be contemplating the upcoming school year for the first time or you may be sending your “baby” off to their first dorm room or apartment. Either scenario is a bittersweet experience, but especially if your child is leaving home for the first time you may be stressing out over things like a healthy diet, and balanced meals in addition to other issues. This month’s featured book The Teen’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Judy Krizmanic can help allay some of your concerns. If you are a kitchen novice yourself this book has easy to follow recipes and kitchen tips so you can throw a dinner gathering in style or just treat yourself to meals beyond PB&J. Krizmanic gives us a chart listing basic essential nutrients in food and her book is sprinkled with suggestions and comments from teen cooks of all ages. Her recipes use easy to find ingredients and are quick and easy for cooks of all experience levels. This book would make a great housewarming gift for a first apartment or the dorm room gourmet. It’s on sale in August at 15% off the publisher’s price. While you are here, check out our housewares shelves to find the basic tools and utensils to set up that new kitchen.

The Natural Lunchbox
Another back-to-school helper is The Natural Lunchbox by Judy Brown. This little book is filled with ideas for food “to go” for folks of all ages. You and/or the kids will be brown-baggin’ in style with Brown’s suggestions. Her recipes are all vegan and look delicious.

New Cookbooks
Other new books in our collection include a variety of ethnic cookbooks, from Asian to Greek and Mexican. You’ll also find titles to help you preserve the bounty from your garden and the local farmers’ markets.

Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
We’re thinking about the health of our four-legged family members this month, too. It can be tough to know what’s bothering them sometimes and tougher to know how to help. Natural Health For Dogs & Cats by Richard Pitcairn, D.V. M. and Susan Hubble Pitcairn focuses on keeping our pets healthy through diet, exercise, and holistic therapies including homeopathy, herbal remedies and acupuncture. The book includes a quick reference section that covers many pet ailments as well as emergency care and first aid. There are pet food recipes and a list of product sources.

Academic Year Calendars
If you find yourself furnishing that new dorm room or apartment, don’t forget a calendar to help get life organized. By the middle of this month we should have an assortment of academic year calendars to choose from—those will take you from September 2004 right through all of 2005. Get yours while the selection is best!