Blog Post
Kid Bits - True or False?
by ryanikoglu
If you are somewhere between 3rd Grade and 8th Grade, and like to tweek your truth-o-meter, try the "Classified" series. They are fun because they are unproven news stories that have raised questions of hoax.
My favorite is Vanished!, a WWII aircraft carrier that "vanished in port" ... the sailors reappeared elsewhere! You get to read the story, and then read facts from both Witnesses and Doubters.
Other titles are Breakout, Alien Landing, or
Nuclear Winter Man about the disappearance of renowned nuclear Russian scientist Vladimir Alexandrov.
Blog Post
Paddle to the Sea
by manz
Paddle to the Sea is a short film based on the 1942 Caldecott honor book of the same name. A young boy hand carves a canoe with a little man sitting in it and he is quite proud of his handiwork and would like to keep it for himself. But he soon decides that the only way to let the boat truly come to life is to release it. The boy then weights the boat so it won’t fall over or sink, and he carves "I am Paddle to the Sea: Please Put Me Back in the Water" on the underside of the craft. He then launches it into the water, hoping that whoever finds Paddle will let him stay on his journey. The film follows its route from Lake Superior through the Great Lakes and down to the Atlantic Ocean. Watching the film took me back to the 4th grade, sitting in the auditorium, watching a crackly old film with a gentle narrator voice that made things seem sleepy and alright in the world.
Blog Post
A good book for the road
by annevm
Summer travelers may want to check out the new book Michigan one-room schoolhouses by Mary Keithan. The book features about 100 schools around the state. If you visit one, please post a comment here.
Blog Post
You'll Never Garden Alone
by quaking aspen
So, you've got a garden. Now you want to add a little pizzazz!!
What to do, what to do...
These following books can get that wheel of imagination turning so you can make that garden "ALL YOU".
Try the books; Garden Details: Accents, Ornaments, and Finishing Touches for the Garden by Warren Schultz, Smith & Hawken Garden Ornament by Linda Joan Smith, and Ornament in the Small Garden by Roy Strong.
These wonderfully illustrated books include amazing color photographs that help start you thinking about concepts like color, symmetry, material, and function within your garden space. Is your style classic or unusual when it comes to garden elements? Do you favor a garden in which ornamentation is filled with bold colors or muted earth tones? Is your style whimsical, or is it all about functionality?
You want to make your own garden ornamentation that reflects all your personal styles at once? We have a book for that too! Check out Creative Garden Mosaics by Jill MacKay.
The possibilities are endless, and these books are sure to inspire. So, get out there and spruce up that garden! Your gnome wants some company, he told me.
Blog Post
On this date in history - Empire State Building Withstands Airplane Impact
by darla
The World Trade Center towers were not the first of New York’s skyscrapers to be hit by an airplane. On July 28, 1945, the Empire State Building withstood the impact of a U.S. Army Air Corps B-25 bomber. Fourteen lives were lost, but the steel structure remained standing after the unarmed trainer plane slammed into the building’s 79th floor. The accident was ruled by authorities to be caused by pilot error, after Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith Jr., a decorated veteran of World War II and experienced pilot, apparently lost his way in the dense fog that had enveloped Manhattan that Saturday morning in July. Read all about this, and other interesting Empire State Building history, in John Tauranac's The Empire State Building. For you artsy readers, check out American photojournalist Lewis Hine's Lewis W. Hine : the Empire State Building.
Blog Post
Beatrix Potter's Birthday: July 28, 1866
by Van
The Google search window has a custom look today to commemorate Beatrix Potter’s birthday on July 28, 1866. Clicking on Peter Rabbit or Mr. McGregor takes you to the Google search results for Beatrix Potter.
My wife is currently reading the 584 page Beatrix Potter: a Life in Nature by Linda Lear. The report is that it is excellent. Its reading was partially prompted as a fact check on the lovely Miss Potter, one of the best movies I saw last year. Renee Zellweger was very believable as Miss Potter.
Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Hunca Munca, and Squirrel Nutkin await your acquaintance or reacquaintance on the library’s shelves.
Letters to Children from Beatrix Potter contains charming missives to young friends and fans, some written by Flopsy Bunny, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddleduck and other members of the crew.
In the art section you can find plant and animal studies, plus sections on fungi and butterflies, two subjects she enjoyed sketching: Beatrix Potter’s Art by Anne Stevenson Hobbs and The Art of Beatrix Potter by Anne Carroll Moore.
Blog Post
Kid Bits - Bedtime
by ryanikoglu
Tired? Not asleep yet? Settle down to bedtime stories and sleepy music.
Stories:
Bedtime For Frances, a classic!
Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?
How The Stars Fell Into The Sky: A Navajo Legend, or
Burt Dow, Deep Water Man a "Whale of a Tale!"
Music:
Silent: Night Songs From Around The World
Dreamland: World Melodies And Soothing Songs by Putumayo, or
Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby
Lights Out!
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #119
by muffy
In Finding Nouf*, young, privileged Nouf disappears just before her wedding. Her wealthy Saudi family first hires desert tracker Nayir al-Sharqi to find her and then to investigate her death discreetly.
Nayir, a conservative Palestinian Muslim finds it difficult to traverse the world of women, especially with Katya Hijazi - an intelligent, insightful female medical examiner, and his unexpected ally in the investigations.
Debut novelist Zoë Ferraris, who has lived in Saudi Arabia, "gets deep inside Nadir’s and Katya’s very different perspectives, giving a fascinating glimpse into the workings and assumptions of Saudi society." As a mystery, it's fairly well-turned, "but it's the characters and setting that sparkle". An utterly gripping read.
* = Starred Reviews
Blog Post
Creativity Camp Theme of the Week: Famous Artists
by Cherie Lee
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From Da Vinci to Warhol kids can check out the back of the new materials shelf in the youth department for lots of cool information on master artists and their masterpieces!
Blog Post
GBS- Playwright and social activist
by Maxine
Today, July 26, is the birthday of George Bernard Shaw, British playwright, famous for his wit and social commentary in plays like Pygmalion, later made into the hugely successful My Fair Lady. Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1856 to a mother who was a professional singer and an alcoholic father who was a failed merchant. He moved to London in his twenties and tried unsuccessfully to write novels. Under the auspices of the socially progressive Independent Theatre, Shaw had several of his plays performed but he was given the most artistic freedom and support by Harley Granville Barker, manager at the Court Theatre. Shaw was also very active in the Fabian Society, a group that advocated the rise of socialist ideology and policy in Britain.
Among the many oft quoted lines of Shaw's is this one: "Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children."