Kennedy's foreword puts it bluntly: "George W. Bush is the worst environmental president in American history." This comprehensively researched book explains how and why. A stomach-churning but important read for anyone concerned about the effects of Bush's relentless pro-business agenda on environmental safeguards.

Roy Milano is a self-described "trivial man," a finder of obscure films and film lore, who stumbles into a real-life film noir. Packed with old-movie references, this sequel to The Cutting Room is a delicious read for movie and mystery fans. See Out & Aloud for reading schedule.

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, Poughkeepsie author Shaw unveils her epic historical yarn of the Irish potato famine and the brave, beleaguered emigrants who settled Troy, New York, building new lives in the iron and collar industries. See Out & Aloud for reading schedule.

The international follies of the first Bush presidency, examined in punchy essays and 80 full-color and b/w cartoons. A frequent flyer in Chronogram and other alternative publications, Callari & Pittman's diaper-and-fedora-clad hero, kidd millenium, is a wise child indeed.

This joyous back-roads travelogue with recipes and music follows an American klezmer musician's 1981 journey through Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Ukraine, and Romania and their still-vigorous Jewish traditional cultures. Reading and klezmer performance at Ariel Booksellers, New Paltz, March 26 at 7pm.

The award-winning Rosendale author of A Monkey Among Us spins an upbeat tale of an impatient baboon awaiting his big chance in The Percussion of the Apes. Horowitz's exuberant blend of jazzy wordplay and colorful collage illustrations is guaranteed to be a read-aloud hit with the preschool set.