An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten. Translated by
Marlaine Delargy. Soho Crime, 2018.

This petite book has several stories about the eccentric 88-year-old Maud. Maud lives alone in Sweden and manages her life very well. Readers may raise an eyebrow or just laugh aloud at her adventures and the ensuing murders that seem to give Maud no qualms. From a former student to a neighborhood antiques dealer, no one is safe when this little old lady is around.  The perfect gift for a mystery loving friend to slip into her purse!

Emily Writes by Jane Yolen

 Emily Writes: Emily Dickinson and Her Poetic Beginnings by Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Christine
Davenier. Christy Ottavino Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2020.

Of course, we don't really know how early Emily Dickinson began to write poems. But, Yolen has found inspiration for this picture book in Spring, 1934, where in Amherst, Massachusetts, a very young Emily might have scribbled on scraps of paper from her father's trash basket. Yolen has done her research and uses information known about Emily's life as well as words that have been used in real poems that Dickinson wrote. The result is a charming imaginative story. The softly colored illustrations add to the childlike appeal.  An author's note, examples of some of Dickinson's poems, and a bibliography are at the back of the book.