It's snowing and the snowsuits are out. When you come back inside, and warm up, review the play with these books for very young children:
Mouse's First Snow by Lauren Thompson
Carl's Snowy Afternoon by Alexandra Day
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
In The Snow by Huy Voun Lee
or ... choose from many other "snowy" titles in the online Catalog.

If you like historical fiction with a bit of whimsy, check out a new teen novel, A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper. Sophia and her cousin, sister and brother are the last of the FitzOsbornes, a royal family, who live in a crumbling castle on an island off the coast of England. Also living in the castle is their reclusive uncle, the mad King John and his caretaker, Rebecca. The year is 1936. One day, they spy a boat with two Germans who declare themselves historians there to do research on the island. But the peace of the island is about to be broken. Sophie records daring escapes, romantic yearnings, murder and betrayals in her journal.

Looking to read a book and join a discussion on it? Check out Crazy Wisdom’s monthly book discussions, which take place at 7 p.m. at Crazy Wisdom Community Room. Titles to be discussed in the near future are:

February 12: Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
March 12: How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons
April 9: When Technology Fails by Matthew Stein

There is no registration, just show up! Check here for full details!Crazy Wisdom

Manuscript Bible
Today I had the opportunity to visit the current exhibit in the Audubon room of the Hatcher Graduate Library, A History of the Bible from Ancient Papyri to King James. As a bibliophile, I loved seeing the ancient papyrus manuscripts dating back almost to the very beginning of Christianity, as well as the illuminated medieval manuscripts. The history of the Bible is a fascinating microcosm for the evolution of the written word. One of the highlights of the exhibit for me was a leaf from a Gutenberg Bible, which was printed in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable type. I also enjoyed seeing the progression of the language in the English Bibles on display from Middle English into Early Modern English in the 15th century. Another interesting piece in the exhibit is a 1611 King James Bible, which had such an impact on the Christian world that it is still considered the standard translation of the Bible by many Protestant churches today. The exhibit will be open everyday until the end of March and is located inside the Library Gallery, which is just off the North Lobby of the Hatcher Library.

Naturalists and artists may also be interested in another codex on display in the Audubon room. It is John James Audubon's famous Double Elephant Folio, Birds of America. It contains hand colored, life sizes engravings of many American birds and is now worth more than $8 million, although when it was purchased new, as the first book in U of M's collection (before the University opened), it cost $970. If you want a closer look at some of the illustrations, check out The Audubon Society baby elephant folio.

A Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart and feminine wisdom, Beth Hoffman's Saving CeeCee Honeycutt* is about a vulnerable young girl who loses one mother and finds solace in the “perfume world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women".

12 year-old CeeCee Honeycutt finds it hard to grieve for her mother (a loony former beauty queen) who walks in front of an ice cream truck. Her father offers no comfort. In fact, he promptly packs her off to Savannah to live with Great Aunt Tootie.

In this Steel Magnolias (1989) meets The Secret Life of Bees, Saving CeeCee is "packed full of Southern charm, strong women, wacky humor, and good old-fashioned heart. It is a novel that explores the indomitable strengths of female friendship", and the promise of new beginnings. A feel-good read with wide appeal.

Teens will find it easy to relate to CeeCee's struggle to reclaim a "normal" childhood, anger of abandonment, and her yearning for a place to call home. Recommended. (100,000 first printing)

* = Starred review

Tonight after work, I'll be playing Dead Reign with my son and his friends. The game is set during a zombie apocalypse. The dead have risen and man kind is holding on my its fingernails in hopes of surviving another day. Why is the genre so popular? Every where you turn you see something about the end, H1N1, global warming, and dirty bombs just to name a few.

In today's spotlight is The Suicide Collectors, the debut novel by David Oppegaard. A strange disease has spread across the globe, the Despair, causing approximately 90% of the world's population to commit suicide. After each death, the mysterious Collectors appear to take the body. After the death of his wife, Norman decides to take a stand against the Collectors and kills the one sent to take his wife's body away. This one act of defiance leads Norman on a cross country adventure to Seattle, the possible home of a rumored cure for the disease.

In the dead of winter, you might not be thinking about herbs for your salad, but the cold season can be the perfect time to start a kitchen herb garden. You can give your winter cooking recipes some real flavor with fresh herbs, and keep some greenery in your home at the same time! AADL has plenty of books that can help you get started. How about one of these titles?

The Kitchen Garden: Month by Month (2010)
Kitchen Garden (2004)
The Kitchen Garden : Fresh Ideas for Luscious Vegetables, Herbs, Flowers, and Fruit (2000)
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Kitchen Garden (1996)
The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden (1992)

Of course, herbs have a variety of other uses in addition to cooking-related. Herbs can be used for therapeutic and medicinal use, delicious teas, or even gift-related uses – (learn how to dry your herbs at home – even with a microwave!) Another really nice resource I’d also like to mention is the bimonthly magazine, The Herb Companion. It has great articles, recipes, and crafts as well. Happy planting!

meaning of
intelligence

For one year, I built boats in Maine in a beautiful spot way out in the country. This was before I started library school and after I had finished college and worked in the non-profit sector for a few years... mostly working at a desk in an office. It was work that required lots of thought and planning on my part, but not much hands on work. I chose to build boats because I wanted to work with my hands and see what that was like. I loved it in so many ways, but the great pleasure was in learning the skills of applying tools to physical materials at the same time that I learned to apply my intelligence to understand a boat design and planning the construction of the boat.
A couple of weeks ago on Speaking of Faith, Krista Tippett talked to Mike Rose about his study of work, intelligence, education, and civic life. Mostly, they focused on his book The Mind at Work which I have never read but which has captured my imagination. Rose focuses on our tendency to categorize work as either work of the mind or work of the hands... manual labor or intelligent labor. Not surprisingly, this topic begs many questions about class divisions and education, themes that Tippett and Rose explore in their rich conversation.
It was wonderful food for thought and brought back memories of building boats on the coast of Maine.

The boat I built!
This is the boat I built.

I had never heard of English-American author Christopher Isherwood until the opening of the recent film A Single Man, adapted from Isherwood’s novel. Christopher Isherwood tended to write stories that were at least partially autobiographical. For example, he and George, the main character of A Single Man (played by Colin Firth in an Oscar-worthy performance), were both Englishmen who emigrated to southern California and taught English literature at a large university. George also reflects Isherwood in terms of his mate. Each of them had a long-term relationship with a much younger man. Isherwood’s novel The Memorial was influenced by his own family history, specifically with his mother. His young life in Berlin was mirrored in The Berlin Stories, a pair of novels which became the basis for the film and musical Cabaret.

If you’re interested in a 100% pure biography, check out Chris and Don: A Love Story. This documentary tells the story of Christopher Isherwood and his longtime partner, Don Bachardy. Despite their large age difference, they lived together for more than 30 years.

A Single Man opens at the Michigan Theater this Friday.

I love little kitty her fur is so warm, and if I don’t hurt her she’ll do me no harm. Ms. Rachel did cat & dog stories in Storytime this week at Malletts Creek Branch. Here are some picture books for young kitty lovers and their readers.
Katie Loves The Kittens by John Himmelman
The Cat’s Meow by Warren Kimble
Feathers For Lunch by Lois Ehlert
Kittens First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Bad Kitty and Bad Kitty Gets A Bath by Nick Bruel
And you can browse for more cat stories in the web catalog.