Blog Post
Rash wins 2007 Thumbs Up!
by K.C.
The Thumbs Up! Award committee has voted Rash by Pete Hautman as the 2007 winner. Rash is a chilling satire that tells the story of Bo, a struggling teen. It's 2076. Anyone who litters or verbally assaults another person in the Safer States of America goes to prison. Bo has five family members in jail, and due to his temper he is sent to a remote work camp where he has to make fast food pizzas, play the dangerous and illegal game of football, and battle the bears that live in the cold north. It’s a great read or listen on audio CD.
The committee also chose four Honor books. They are An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, and Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick.
Blog Post
A great thinker passes on
by remnil
This week saw the death of arguably one of philosophy's most significant firebrands: Richard Rorty. His seminal work, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature is still considered one of the most cogent criticisms of the contemporary field of philosophy.
Like the pragmatists John Dewey and William James, Rorty believed that philosophers often fail to consider how their theories will help people and improve society. This desire for relevance eventually led Rorty to tackle politics and religion in his most recent works, including Achieving our Country, his criticism of today's Left and call to adopt the grand visions John Dewey and Walt Whitman.
Blog Post
Roots Anniversary
by Sis
It has been twenty years since the highly rated and watched televised adaptation of the first edition of Roots by Alex Haley. Roots: The 30th Anniversary Edition is the new edition of the book now available. This edition also includes an introduction by Michael Eric Dyson. If you did not read this book before or if you want to revisit the racial, cultural, social, and political dialogue presented in this saga of Kunta Kinte and his kin now is the time. The 30th anniversary edition of the dvds, Roots. Disc 1, Roots. Disc 2, Roots. Disc 3, and Roots. Disc 4 deserve a look too.
Blog Post
Kid Bits - Picture Books with a Point-of-View
by ryanikoglu
Like to Figure things out? In journalism, "What's your angle?" In picture books, "What's your point of view?" David Weisner tells the story of Flotsam through pictures only. His illustrations are as dramatic and involving as ever. Neil Curtis presents the story of Cat and Fish Go To See in highly detailed black and white engraving-style illustrations, reminiscent of Escher prints. Walter Wick adds Can You See What I See? Once Upon A Time to his "picture puzzles to search and solve" series that kids love to study. Each is a great "looking" book.
Blog Post
".....of clay and wattles made...."
by Maxine
Today, June 13 is the birthday of Irish poet, William Butler Yeats who was born in Dublin in 1865. Although brought up in a Protestant family, he was not pro-British. Yeats as a young man was more interested in mysticism than politics and his early poetry reflects involvement with some teachers of the occult at that time. But after meeting and falling in love with Irish nationalist, Maud Gonne, Yeats became a spokesman for Irish independence, becoming a senator in the Irish Parliament in his later years. He was also a strong supporter of theater, co-founding the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1923. As a lyrical poet, Yeats was able to evoke the magic of place as in one of his most famous poems, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree."
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all aglimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
Blog Post
Storytime Fun
by StoryLaura
This week’s Downtown and Pittsfield storytimes will take you traveling around the pond and off to India and Timbuktu!
Blog Post
Portrait of a great photographer
by Maxine
First time novelist Emily Mitchell in her book Last Summer of the World, presents a compelling portrait of photographer Edward Steichen. She focuses on the period in which Steichen was a photographer on airborne reconnaissance missions during World War I. His pictures presented the horrors of war and are described in detail. A major part of the story takes place in France including a visit to sculptor Auguste Rodin. Also described is his stormy marriage to Clara, rocked by an affair. In this powerful narrative, Mitchell skillfully combines fact and fiction to create a profile of a visionary whose ego complicated the lives of others.
Blog Post
Baby Bits - PlayGroups begin !
by ryanikoglu
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Baby PlayGroups begin the week of June 11 throughout the Library System. Pick up a summer season JUMP brochure for days and times and plan for fun.
Blog Post
Meeting the reclusive J.D. Salinger
by emilyas
What would it be like to meet the author of The Catcher in the Rye, someone who avoids the public eye at all costs? In this NPR article, a Wisconsin author describes a trip he took to meet J. D. Salinger, and his success at meeting a man of many written, but few spoken, words.
Blog Post
The Rabbi’s Cat
by anned
In 1930s Algeria, the Rabbi’s cat has gained the ability to speak (by means of a murderous act) and wishes to have a Bar Mitzvah and study the kabbalah. The cat expresses his impertinent opinions about Judaism until he breaks another commandment and loses the ability to talk to humans. This is a beautiful and sad story wonderfully told through Joann Sfar’s expressive illustrations. Sfar is the French cartoonist behind the Little Vampire series. You can visit his website here (if you can’t read French just click on the pictures to explore). The Rabbi’s Cat won a 2006 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material.