You might already know about Rain Taxi, the serious-minded, intelligent poetry review published in the Twin Cities. The thick quarterly comes in two forms: as a nice readable bulk to hold in your hands and as a frequently updated site online (www.raintaxi.com). And now it has become even more useful, with the addition of a thorough, as-complete-as-they-can-make-it book events calendar. Events are color-coded to indicate type -- fiction or nonfiction, intended for children, intended for book clubs. It's free online, but Rain Taxi is looking for $25 donations to help keep the thing going. Check out the Twin Cities literary calendar here.

Also ...

• John Rosengren of Minneapolis has been honored for his most recent book, "Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid," published by Sourcebooks. The book was a finalist for the 2008 Casey Award for best baseball book and received honorable mention as Outstanding Book for 2008 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Rosengren has written five other books.

• "Floramel and Esteban," a book for young readers by Emilie Buchwald, has been reissued by Milkweed Editions. Buchwald is former publisher and founder of Milkweed. The book, first published in 1982, is the tale of a friendship between a lonely cow named Floramel and a lazy cattle egret named Esteban.

• Neil Gaiman (yes, we mention him in this column about three times a month) has (another) new book out: "Crazy Hair," an irresistible read-out-loud picture book illustrated by his longtime collaborator Dave McKean and published by HarperCollins. The two teamed up on "Coraline" and "The Graveyard Book," as well as other picture books. This one is about a girl taking a man to task for his ridiculous hair. She hands him a comb. "Child! Are you mad?" I cried. "Combs and brushes have been tried. One was eaten by a bear prowling through my crazy hair." Oh, boy. Some of us can relate.

• It was a favorite for years, sure to be a favorite again. "Too Hot, Went to Lake: Seasonal Photos From Minnesota's Past" by Peg Meier has been republished by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. Meier was a longtime reporter for the Star Tribune.

• Nodin Press of Minneapolis has published "Fifty Years of Music: The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra," by Dave Kenney. The history traces the origins of the orchestra, its world tours and its musical directors, including Pinchas Zukerman and Dennis Russell Davies.