We have some great zoos in Minnesota. Of course the most famous are the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory and the Minnesota Zoo but closer to CMLE-land we have the Hemker Zoo in Freeport and the Pine Grove Zoo in Little Falls! If you are looking forward to a zoo visit this summer, we’ve got some books to get you started.

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart
“Brimming with charm and whimsy, this exquisite novel set in the Tower of London has the transportive qualities and delightful magic of the contemporary classics Chocolat and Amélie.
Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his 120-year-old pet tortoise for the past eight years. That’s right, he is a Beefeater (they really do live there). It’s no easy job living and working in the tourist attraction in present-day London.
When Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interest­ing. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives.”

The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients by Lucy H. Spelman
“A moray eel diagnosed with anorexia…A herd of bison whose only hope is a crusading female doctor from Paris…A vet desperately trying to save an orphaned whale by unraveling the mystery of her mother’s death…This fascinating book offers a rare glimpse into the world of exotic animals and the doctors who care for them.”

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
“It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time.”

Our Zoo by June Mottershead
“Chester Zoo is counted among the top 10 zoos in the world and, with over 11,000 animals and 400 species, it is the most visited wildlife attraction in Britain. Unlike other zoos that owe their existence to philanthropists, explorers or big game hunters, Chester Zoo was the brainchild of one working-class man with a dream he had nurtured since he was a boy: to build a zoo without bars.”

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
“Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.
Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow.
Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own.”

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett
“Two gypsy boys are fleeing through a war-ravaged country-side during the night carrying a secret bundle. The boys stumble across a town that has been reduced to smoking rubble, and a zoo that is still intact. When the boys take shelter in the zoo, they discover a menagerie of talking animals. Both the boys and the animals tell their tales and their desire for freedom.”

Baseball is such a fun sport, whether you’re playing, watching a game at Target Field, or just reading about it. Here are some Minnesota titles to help you get full baseball enjoyment:

Town Ball: The Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball by Armand Peterson
“Fondly remembered and celebrated throughout Minnesota, old-fashioned town team baseball was the glue that held a community together and generated a great sense of pride and passion among its residents. A love of baseball—and, of course, the desire to whomp the neighboring town’s team—spurred on players and fans alike.”

They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota by Frank M. White
“A tale of unsung heroes and forgotten stars who battled discrimination and other hardships to play the game they loved, told by the son of one such legend of Minnesota black baseball.”

Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota by Steven R. Hoffbeck
“From the early formation of barnstorming teams that toured the state to the moment Dave Winfield hit number three thousand, Minnesota’s African American ball players have made the state a land of baseball. However, the stories of many black players parallel the larger struggle for civil rights. Those tales, collected here for the first time, show how teamwork on and off the field led first to acceptance, then to admiration and triumph. Swinging for the Fences is the first collection to highlight the thrilling and controversial landmarks in the history of black baseball in the North Star State.”

Baseball in Minnesota: The Definitive History by Stew Thornley
“Beginning with the sunny August afternoon in 1857 when Minnesota’s first ball club was organized in Nininger and continuing through the Twins’ latest season, Baseball in Minnesota is the first comprehensive history of America’s Pastime in the North Star State. Encompassing the rich heritage of minor league baseball, town teams, the Minnesota Gophers, the Saint Paul Saints, and the Minnesota Twins, this encyclopedic volume delivers exceptionally detailed stories of the games, the ball parks, and the larger-than-life personalities, all woven with carefully researched statistics, eyewitness accounts, and vintage photos.”

In the middle of the state where CMLE is located, things are pretty flat. But if you venture north or south, you can find some pretty impressive waterfalls to admire! If you need something to tide you over in the meantime, here are some books (not necessarily all based in MN) to read or recommend:

Waterfalls of Minnesota by Lisa Crayford
“Let Master Photographer Lisa Crayford guide you to the top-ranked waterfalls in the state, as well as her “secret waterfalls.” Your bucket list should definitely include these 117 gorgeous locales that decorate Minnesota’s landscape, including bridge views, short hikes, secluded waterfalls in urban areas and hidden gems along the North Shore.”

Waterfalls of Minnesota’s North Shore: A Guide for Sightseers, Hikers, and Romantics by Eve Wallinga
“Let the Wallingas lead you along scenic pathways to the magnificent waterfalls of Lake Superior’s North Shore. The Wallingas have explored the rivers and creeks flowing into Lake Superior and have provided maps and directions to over 130 waterfalls.”

Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash
“Les, a long-time sheriff nearing retirement, contends with the ravages of poverty and crystal meth in his small Appalachian town. Nestled in a beautiful hollow of the Appalachians, his is a tight-knit community rife with secrets and suspicious of outsiders.
Becky, a park ranger, arrives in this remote patch of North Carolina hoping to ease the anguish of a harrowing past. Searching for tranquility amid the verdant stillness, she finds solace in poetry and the splendor of the land. 
A vicious crime will plunge both sheriff and ranger into deep and murky waters, forging an unexpected bond between them. Caught in a vortex of duplicity, lies, and betrayal, they must navigate the dangerous currents of a tragedy that turns neighbor against neighbor—and threatens to sweep them all over the edge.”

Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren
“Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds…until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.
Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.”

A New Path to the Waterfall by Raymond Carver
“Raymond Carver, author of Where I’m Calling From, is widely considered one of the great short story writers of our time. A New Path to the Waterfall was Carver’s last book, and shows a writer telling the truth as best as he knows how in the time left to him. The sixty-odd poems in this collection are linked by Carver with selections from other writers, most notably Chekhov, whose work was an inspiration and a guide, and by the cumulative force of the life and death questions he poses in them.”