Blog Post
Helping Hands -- Parent Magazine Update
by MariaK
It takes work to be a responsible parent, or even just a responsible adult. This month's parent magazine update focuses on magazines that give advice -- because we all need a little help now and then.
Home Education Magazine has advice for any parent who wants to be a little more involved with their child's education -- including an article on the National History Day contest, a guide to running a book club for boys, and a list of good books for teaching teens about money.
Working Mother Magazine features a list of the 100 most family-friendly companies to work for, a guide to purchasing life insurance, and an article on how to rid your home of scary chemicals often found in paint, upholstery and even toys.
American Baby Magazine provides a guide to recognizing signs of autism spectrum disorders in children and seven tips for managing tantrums.
Blog Post
Fifteen Minutes of Fame -- Teen Magazine Update
by MariaK
From Mickey Mouse to Jay DeMerit, from Hiroshi Watanabe to William Gibson -- this month's teen magazines are filled with the faces of the famous, or the infamous, depending on your perspective.
Soccer America Magazine features some teams in the news right now -- the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Good news, the U. S. is one of them. Bad news, we have a lot of tough opponents before we make it to the finals.
This month's Giant Robot Magazine is absolutely stuffed full of interviews with famous people, from the aforementioned author William Gibson, writer of cyberpunk classic "Neuromancer" and inventor of the word "cyberspace," to Korean extreme horror filmmaker Kim Jin-Won.
Game Informer Magazine brings us a famous face with new twist -- Disney favorite Mickey Mouse is showing his darker side in new Wii game "Epic Mickey". The magazine also covers how the popular Prince of Persia video game will be getting the star treatment as a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
Blog Post
Ancient Food and Extreme Science -- Youth Magazine Update
by MariaK
From history to travel, interviews to fiction -- this month's youth magazines sure have a lot of interesting stories to share!
Dig Magazine starts the party with an issue focusing entirely on the history of food. Learn about Ancient Egyptian bread baking and the history of the tortilla, as well as how to roast a whole pig. Even more fun than McDonald's!
Jack and Jill travels the world, with a look at winter holiday celebrations and life in Mongolia's Gobi Desert, as well as an interview with 16-year-old figure skater and Olympic hopeful Mirai Nagasu.
Ever heard of scientists who brave dense jungles and hang from trees to study rare insects? Ranger Rick Magazine has the whole story, along with cool pictures of animal sculptures made entirely from tin cans.
If this makes you feel like exploring the world, come on down! The library is always the best place to start.
Blog Post
The Art of Eating
by ballybeg
The latest casualty in the world of print publications is Gourmet magazine, which, after a run of 65 years in production, is closing with the November issue. And what a spectacular issue it is: “Perfect Thanksgiving Recipes”, worth a look for old time’s sake. We carry annual "best of" editions of Gourmet in the cookbook section.
Gourmet’s closing does not signal disinterest in subjects related to food, however, as all of the food channels, farmer’s markets, our cookbook section and the number of holds on any book or dvd to do with Julia Child, attest to a lively following of “foodies”. We subscribe to many periodicals on the subject and two of my favorites are Saveur and The Art of Eating, which, so far, seem to have a healthy prospect for remaining in print.
The Art of Eating relies on no advertising and its special niche highlights, “tradition, simplicity and a sense of place”. Excellent writing, without glossy pictures, about the regional influences on food and wine in the US and on the continent, points to the fact that appreciating the arts of the table is not passé, as some magazines are.
Saveur is especially for food enthusiasts who like to travel (or who like to imagine traveling) as it combines a passion for food and wonderful ingredients with articles, and spectacular pictures, about food cultures all over the world. I think my favorite issue was #109, sometime in 2008, called "The Beauty of Butter", with recipes from around the world using this most tasty ingredient.
Blog Post
Toys, Tweens, Pies and Trees -- Parent Magazine Update
by MariaK
The magazines on our parent shelf are taking on the world, and they can take you along for the ride.
Parenting: School Years starts out strong with an article on how to enjoy your child's "difficult" tween years, and just keeps on swinging with a special Mom Congress report on the necessity of art education, a guide to family hapiness, and their picks for "toys of the year."
Coincidentally, Family Fun Magazine also features their Toy of the Year Awards -- number one is Klutz's "Invasion of the Bristlebots", a kit for making robots out of toothbrush heads. The magazine continues with an article on blogging as a family, a list of fun Thanksgiving activities, and five unique pie recipes for those bored with the same old pumpkin-from-a-can variety.
Gifted Child Today tackles some serious issues in their fall edition -- a guide to involving children in caring for the earth, an article by Dr. Gilman W. Whiting, director of the Scholar Identity Institute on reducing dropout rates among diverse students, and a guide to identifying signs of Asperger's syndrome-- an Autism-spectrum disorder.
If all this makes you want to roll up your sleeves and dive in, great! These great ideas and more are just a trip to the magazine rack away.
Blog Post
Sports, Manga and Gaming -- Teen Magazine Update!
by MariaK
This month's teen magazine update focuses on the few, the proud, the fans. All you who love -- really love -- your sport, hobby, game or series, this is for you.
Basketball fans can all rejoice now that the October issues of Dime Magazine is on the shelf. Dying to hear the latest news on O. J. Mayo, Travis Outlaw, and Amar'e Stoudemire? Dime will give you that, and throw in an exclusive, up-close look at some of the bling NBA stars like Lebron James will be wearing this season.
For the tabletop war gamers out there, White Dwarf Magazine is currently featuring the Space Wolves -- with guides to painting and assembly as well as a blow by blow Battle Report describing a clash with Chaos Daemons. Not to be missed!
Last, but not least, Otaku USA's winter issue is out -- providing 32 pages of quality manga for FREE! Of course, really they just want to get you addicted to newcomers "Hero Tales" and "Battle of Genryu," but what the heck. Hey, speaking of otaku...the library will host a fun afternoon of amigurumi crochet November 15 for any fans of Japanese culture and small, cute, crocheted things.
Alright, fans, I've done my part. Now go and feed your passion (with magazines)!
Blog Post
Fear Itself
by MariaK
Just in time for the scariest month of the year, Ask magazine has come out with a special issue on...you guessed it... fear.
Ask magazine goes beyond the usual scary story collection, however, with an article on how the brain processes and produces fear as well as a guide to controlling and dealing with fear -- useful for kids and adults! This issue also includes the instructions for Ask's latest contest -- to design a Monster so terrifying it will frighten other monsters. Winners will get published in a future issue of Ask!
Blog Post
Helpful and Heartwarming
by MariaK
Get ready to have your heart warmed and your wallet emptied. The October edition of American Baby magazine is out -- featuring an article on adoption and the 2009 American Baby Best of the Year Awards.
In the article, three women talk about the experience of placing their children with adoptive families through open adoption, which enables the birth mother to choose the adoptive family and stay in contact with them after the adoption takes place. This year's Amby award honors such useful products as Boppy as well as the interestingly named Boudreaux's Butt Paste.
Also included in this issue are a baby naming guide to help you overcome common pitfalls, and a "cough decoder" to help you diagnose your child by sound.
Blog Post
It's Time to Rock Out
by MariaK
Good news, music lovers -- "Alternative Press" magazine has come out with their new 'Fall Ball' issue, with in-depth interviews of bands who will be appearing live, including The Academy Is..., Mayday Parade, Set Your Goals and more!
The Fall Ball is coming SOON -- September 25 in Pontiac and September 27 in Grand Rapids -- so get the scoop on all your favorite bands and learn their dirty little secrets ASAP. Or you might end up backstage and have nothing to say.
This issue also includes the latest in cool rocker gear, tons of music and film reviews and an opinion piece on bullying by Mark Sanchez, of Make Beats Not Beatdowns.
Blog Post
Math Is Fun! Seriously!
by MariaK
School has rolled around again, and with school a plague worse than colds or flu ... math anxiety! Well, fear no more -- the cure has arrived. The October issue of Scholastic's "Dyna Math" magazine is here, with puzzles and articles to boost math skills painlessly.
"Dyna Math" combines mathematical puzzles with interesting stories from the news, real life and the authors' zany imaginations to help math make sense. An article about texting helps to teach graph reading, for example, and a story about a bizarre birthday party helps teach rounding and estimation.
As a former student, I can say without a doubt that the puzzles in this magazine are at least five times more interesting than any math problems I had in school. This magazine is a great resource for anyone who wants to get better at math and have fun at the same time.