North Carolina Books Eileen McGrath, compiler always been friendly until a severe Parents” that also provides a short drought threatens both the pond and description of the actual town and their friendship. The lizards begin the prevailing tales associated with its hauling water from the dwindling name. This book is recommended for pond, and the frogs fear this will collections with a special interest in damage their homes. The frogs decide North Carolina authors and stories. to take action by chasing off the next lizards who attempt to collect water, Laura Gillis The Legend of Lizard Lick: formerly Forsyth County Public Library A North Carolina Folktale thus outraging the lizards. The may- ors of Lizard Town and Frogville By Karen Matthews. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent meet and decide that a track and Publishing Platform, 2013. 36 pp. $15.00. ISBN 9781479382477. field competition of three events will decide which group will be allowed to stay at the pond and which group he state of North Carolina is will be forced to leave. The lizards Tno stranger to uniquely named and frogs each claim one victory, towns, but perhaps the most unusual leaving the decision for the tug-of- name is that of Lizard Lick. A quick war where the lizards narrowly defeat North Carolina’s Amazing Coast: Internet search will turn up various Natural Wonders from Alligators the frogs. Thus, the lizards “lick” the to Zoeas stories relating to the origins of this frogs and commemorate their victory By David Bryant, George Davidson, Terri Kirby H name, all of which involve alcohol by changing the name of their town athaway, and Kathleen Angione. of dubious legality and, naturally, to Lizard Lick. In a gesture of friend- Athens: University of Georgia Press, in cooperation with North Carolina Sea Grant Program, 2013. lizards licking said alcohol. Author ship, the lizards allow the frogs to stay 1 vol., unpaged. $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8203-4510-9. Karen Matthews and illustrator Josh at the pond as long as the water can Taylor created this version of how be shared by all, and a welcome storm the town became known as Lizard ends the drought. orth Carolina’s varied coast Lick as a family-friendly alternative This book is a light-hearted story Nprovides an endless supply of to the original stories. Matthews is accompanied by charming illustra- fascinating plants, animals, and eco- the owner of Carolina Souvenirs, the tions full of detail. However, the systems sure to captivate both casual company that produced this book lessons that can be drawn from beach combers and research sci- and on whose website the book can the story are a little confused. For entists. These two audiences come be purchased. Taylor’s work as a example, the lizards’ extension of for- together in this brief, family-friendly graphic artist has been featured in giveness to the frogs occurs after they guide to some of the more interesting other books and mediums. have renamed their town as a per- features of coastal North Carolina. The story’s premise begins with petual reminder of their victory. This Based on an earlier work that Bryant a grandfather answering his young seems ungenerous at best and deliber- and Davidson compiled for Georgia, grandson’s question about how the ately mean at worst. The illustrations this book has been adapted and DRAFT town of Lizard Lick got its name. The also lack the polish of convention- added to by Hathaway and Angione perspective then shifts to the lizards ally edited and published children’s who are associated with the North of Lizard Town, located on the shore books. Be aware that despite the title, Carolina Sea Grant, a program that of Sweetwater Pond, and the frogs this is not a typical folktale since the seeks to educate the public about the of Frogville, located in the midst of plot originated with Matthews. The state’s coastal region. Hathaway’s role the pond. The lizards and frogs have book mentions this in the “Note to as Marine Education Specialist and North Carolina Libraries Volume 71 Issue 2 Fall/Winter 2013 35 Angione’s former position as part of order to open the avenues for discus- of a two-ocean navy. An outspo- North Carolina Sea Grant’s commu- sion, questions, and further learning. ken anti-imperialist, as Secretary he nications team give them an excellent This book is recommended as an directed a numerous American mili- perspective on this goal. This book extra purchase for elementary school tary interventions in Latin America. is particularly suited to educational libraries where it may help introduce Such a complex, multi-faceted life, objectives because it provides scien- coastal topics. It is also recommended with so many prominent contradic- tific facts in a fun and concise manner for public libraries, perhaps with one tions and inconsistencies, would give that not only informs but invites the copy each for adult and children’s pause to any would-be biographer— reader to learn more. nonfiction. and has, until now. With Josephus As the title implies, the book is Daniels: His Life & Times, by Lee A. an alphabetical collection of short Laura Gillis Craig, Alumni Professor of History essays about different aspects of formerly Forsyth County Public Library and Chair of the Department of North Carolina’s coastal ecosystems. Economics at North Carolina State Each entry is one page in length and University, we finally have a thor- includes a color illustration. The text oughly researched, engaging story of is brief but also engaging, accessible, a man “arguably the mightiest man in and often humorous. Plants and ani- North Carolina following the white mals dominate the subject matter, supremacy campaigns of 1898 and but entries on other topics such as 1900.” Daniels would remain a dom- tides and shrimp life cycles provide inant public figure for the rest of his a comprehensive view of the coastal life. biome. The essays generally provide Born in 1862 in “Little a description of the subject and then Washington” in eastern North follow with facts that are particularly Josephus Daniels: Carolina, Daniels grew up with few unusual or interesting. For example, His Life & Times economic advantages. Family con- by Lee A. Craig. the book notes that the tail of the Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013. nections helped his widowed mother horseshoe crab was used by Native 474 pp. $35.00. ISBN 978-1-4696-0695-8. secure appointment as postmistress in Americans as a spear tip, and that it is Wilson in 1866. This exposed young the male pipefish of North Carolina’s Few, if any, North Carolinians can Josephus to the leading citizens of the marshes that gets pregnant instead of equal Josephus Daniels (1863-1948) community, since the front room of the female. Such information evokes in length and level of leadership in the Daniels family home served as the the “Oh wow” or “I never knew the public affairs of the state and post office for the next sixteen years. that” reaction that can inspire further nation. As owner and editor of the Bright and inquisitive, Josephus lis- learning. While the book’s entries are Raleigh News and Observer, he trans- tened to the locals argue politics and too brief to allow them to be used as formed a small, struggling newspaper discuss public affairs and eagerly source material for school projects, into the most politically influential in skimmed the out-of-town newspa- the book is an excellent starting point the state. A forceful advocate of early pers that arrived each morning. In for both classroom work and infor- twentieth-century Progressive causes, 1878, he co-founded his own weekly, mal or even on-site exploration. The including public education, women’s an ambitious first step for a sixteen- book also includes an extensive list of suffrage, prohibition, and anti-trust year-old. But soon his ambitions suggestions for further reading that laws, he was also a no-holds-barred turned to Raleigh, where in 1894, he may help direct further study on any leader of white supremacy forces achieved his dream, ownership of the of the book’s topics. in the post-Civil War South. He News and Observer, the capital city’s This attractive book is enticing in served two presidents in key admin- leading daily. its brevity, and it has the ability to istrative positions in Washington and Daniels was an innovative, even lure both reluctant learners and dedi- was appointed by a third to a sensi- transformative, figure in American cated coastal enthusiasts. Designed to tive ambassadorial post. Although journalism, Craig argues. He was be enjoyed by both adults and chil- a quasi-pacifist, as Secretary of the among the first newspaper publishers dren, it is perhaps at its best when Navy during World War I he led the outside a few big cities to recognize shared between the two groups in rapid development and deployment the importance of separating news 36 North Carolina Libraries Volume 71 Issue 2 Fall/Winter 2013 coverage from editorial content. the earliest accounts of storms are Strong community news would taken from diaries and historical doc- draw subscribers even if they dis- uments, and impressions are often agreed with editorial stances. As his sketchy and incomplete. Some of paper’s circulation figures grew, so the most fascinating stories center on did Daniels’s wealth. By 1914, he was predicaments faced by unsuspecting clearing about two million dollars a citizens before the advent of sophisti- year in today’s money. North Carolina’s Hurricane cated hurricane tracking technology.