Quick Picks from CMCL

Kid’s Corner: Naptime

jennytf — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:00:37 +0000

“No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.” ~Carrie Snow

Is your little one never in the mood for a nap? Try coaxing them to sleep with these picture books.

No Go Sleep! by Kate Feiffer
A baby does not want to go to sleep, even as everything else around her wishes her a good night.

Gideon by Olivier Dunrea
Gideon is a small gosling who likes to play so much that he will not stop to take a nap.

Little Brown Bear Won’t Take a Nap by Jane Dyer

Unwilling to settle down for his winter sleep, Little Brown Bear heads south with a flock of geese, but eventually he finds that he misses his nice bed at home.
Big Brothers Don’t’ Take Naps by Louise Borden
Little brother Nick lists all the wonderful things his big brother does with him, preparing him to greet the new baby in the family.

The Napping House by Audrey Wood
In this cumulative tale, a wakeful flea atop a number of sleeping creatures causes a commotion, with just one bite.

A Nap in a Lap by Sarah Wilson
Baby animals nap in interesting places, but a tired little girl and her puppy like to nap in a lap.

Grump by Janet S. Wong
A very tired and slightly grumpy Mommy falls asleep before Baby at naptime

Bernard’s Nap by Joan E. Goodman
It is Bernard’s naptime, but Bernard is not sleepy, so the whole family tries different things to help him go to sleep, but they are the ones who fall asleep instead.

Ginny W., Youth Services

What I’m reading now: The Shoemaker’s Wife

A.M.M. — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:39:15 +0000

The Shoemaker’s Wife is the latest novel from Adriana Trigiani. Like her other novels, it draws on her Italian American heritage to craft an epic story of love and family. It starts in the Italian Alps in the early 20^th century, where Enza and Ciro meet and then lose contact with each other as Ciro is innocently banned from the village. They are reunited in New York City as each is building a new life and improving their fortune through an immigrant’s hard work. They end up in the mining area of Minnesota where there is a need for shoemakers. Trigiani bases this novel on her grandparents’ love story. The descriptions of place are full and enveloping. Her accounts of Ciro’s shoemaking process and Enza’s skill as a seamstress are vivid and rich. As with Trigiani’s other books that I love, I did not want the story to end. I did not want to leave those characters, and hope that she will continue the story in her next novel. — Rita

Blurbs From the Branch: Rhoda Penmark: The Ultimate Bad Girl

Bethany Branch — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:55:43 +0000

The first time I saw The Bad Seed was in high school, and I immediately loved it. This Warner Bros. film from 1956, starring Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack , is a creepy tale about Rhoda Penmark, an 8 year old girl who coldly kills any person that stands in the way of what she wants. The story centers not on Rhoda herself, but on her mother, Christine Penmark. Christine is torn between revulsion at her daughter’s murderous personality, and a desire to protect her child at any cost. It wasn’t until my senior year of college that I discovered that the movie is actually based on a novel by William March, published in 1952. I have since read the book twice and seen the movie countless times. The book is subtle and introspective, with most of the suspense coming from Christine’s thoughts and discovery of Rhoda’s evil nature. Less than a year after its publication, the book was adapted for the stage. The movie uses the same script as the play, and stars six of the original Broadway cast, including Kelly and McCormack. Because of this, the movie is a tad over the top and melodramatic, but this only makes me love it more. The ending to the movie is different from the book, and I can’t decide which one is better, although the book’s ending is a little creepier. The book and movie can be taken either as two halves of the same whole, or as separate entities. I highly recommend both to anybody who loves a good psychological thriller.

-Becca

Off the Shelf: La Dolce Vita

jennytf — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:10 +0000

If you can’t make it to Tuscany this summer, take home a little taste of it in these titles from the Cedar Mill Community Library:

Soffritto : tradition and innovation in Tuscan cooking by Benedetta Vitali

Heat : an amateur’s adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pasta maker, and apprentice to a Dante-quoting butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford

A thousand days in Tuscany : a bittersweet adventure by Marlena de Blasi

A vineyard in Tuscany : a wine lover’s dream by Ferenc Máté
A garden in Lucca : finding paradise in Tuscany by Paul Gervais

Finally, a “quattro” of titles by Frances Mayes, whose books about this region have inspired many readers’ dreams:

Every day in Tuscany : seasons of an Italian life
Bella Tuscany : the sweet life in Italy
Under the Tuscan sun : at home in Italy
The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen

Ginny W., Youth Services

Inside Scoop: Gearing Up For Summer

ErinM — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:46:25 +0000

So we’re coming up on the first long holiday weekend of the season. For me that means I have one extra day with my foster kiddos, a panic inducing thought because I’m taking care of three male teens – 16, 17 and 18. Yikes. What the heck does a middle-aged woman like me do to keep these guys entertained? The solution can be found within my badly worded question, because “entertaining” them should really not be my goal. Better for me to ask: what can I set up that will allow them to entertain themselves? Whew! That sounds much more do-able. And fun.

For all you parents, guardians, nannies, aunties, uncles and grandparents out there looking ahead to a summer of endless days filled with sun-charged children, the Handy Dad series has a new book to the rescue. Todd Davis, TV host and extreme sports athlete, has written a book that we can all use to get our kids out of the house and into some real world adventures. Handy Dad in the Great Outdoors: More Than 30 Super-cool Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids, gives the low-down on everything from choosing the best campsite to geo-caching, including making daisy chains and playing flashlight tag.

Many of these activities can be done in the backyard or local park, and the detailed instructions and full color photos will make just about everybody feel capable of leading the summer fun. And remember: it’s not your job as elder to make their fun, or have their fun for them, but to guide them so they can make their own fun. Don’t forget to check out other books filled with exciting projects for the whole family:

Handy Dad: 25 Awesome Projects for Dads and Kids, by Todd Davis; Be the Coolest Dad on the Block: All of the Tricks, Games, Puzzles and Jokes You Need to Impress Your Kids, by Simon Rose; The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists, by Sean Connolly; Tree Houses and Other Cool Stuff: 50 Projects You Can Build, by David Stiles. And lastly, a book to help you conquer those parenting fears that keep you and your kids from living full-out: Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) by Lenore Skenazy. — Erin

Blurbs from the Branch: Newbery Honor Book: Breaking Stalin’s Nose

Bethany Branch — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:45:47 +0000

Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, is is a great choice for those in need of a historical fiction read. Set in the U.S.S.R., the main character, Sasha Zaichik, is a boy on the brink of a life changing event, one that he has planned and trained for throughout grade school. He is about to become a Young Pioneer. However, some late night visitors and a klutzy move the following day, pits Sasha against his classroom nemesis and even the State! Readers follow Sasha’s adventures over the course of a couple days as he starts to see a side to communism that forces him to grow in ways he did not expect.

Click here, for past Newberry winners and honor books.

Off the Shelf: Bigger is Better

Mark — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:28:55 +0000

Sometimes I feel like the library is an overflowing zoo. If you come in without a plan, you might miss some of the animals you never realized were there. For me, this has sadly been the case with the oversized book collection. Aside from providing a good workout carrying them out to my car, these books provide impressively large and colorful pictures on every topic from minute bug life (blown up to frighteningly large sizes) to accurate moon maps for planning your space travel.

A few of my favorites include a plethora of nature books, starting with Jungles by Frans Lanting. It’s a 13” by 11” photojournalistic account of flying tree frogs, carnivorous plants and jungle vistas sweating with humidity. You get what you came for. Almost any book in the 550-599 range provides wonderfully oversized and beautiful books detailing our green little planet. So, if jungles aren’t your destination of choice, grab a title on deserts for a coffee table vacation no less breathtaking.

Art and art history recommend themselves naturally to the oversized section, as anything less than a really big book can only fail to give the scope of something like Michelangelo’s’ ceilings a fraction of their due reverence. But I’m going to put aside reverence in favor of what I’d call zany awe and recommend our Salvador Dali books. Dali, by Ramon Gomez de la Serna (a name that requires an oversized book by itself) frames the famous artist excellently, showing us a man that is more than melting clocks. On my one foreign adventure to Spain I walked the Dali Theater-Museum. Flipping through the photos and artwork reminds me of the man’s sanctuary-tomb (theater-museum) and his strange invitation to let the public walk over his grave. You’ll find that in the 700’s.

Even the local flavor is oversized ion our hidden nook of giant things. Portland: Image of a City (979.549) is just that, but big images and many of them. Northwest birds, trees, hikes and all the rest get the biggering treatment as well. Thinking too small? Move over to our giant atlases near the reference desk and open The NASA Atlas of the Solar System. This 18” x 12” beast has enough maps and detail to plot a personal space mission across each of the 8 planets, their moons, significant asteroids, comets, and finally Pluto, the saddest ex-planet of them all.

So, if it sounds like there is way too much content to capture in a weekly blog, there is. If it sounds like it might be a struggle to carry these guys out the door, it will be. If you find yourself wondering if bigger really is better, it is. Trust me, I’m a librarian. I’m not paid on commission.

-Rob

Checkin In: 1000+ Things

klsseong — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:43:23 +0000

As I flipped through the pages of 1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die, it is evident that I should start counting with the foods that my taste buds have already made acquaintance with as opposed to the other way around – since that number is only in double digits and the foods I haven’t tried quite numerous. Through colorful photos, this beefy guidebook (960 pages) highlights just how big our world is with a wealth of culinary choices, most of which should be featured on our dinner plates at one point in our lifetime.

Divided into food categories, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, confections and more, each page pictures and describes an imperative food. And although I have tried labneh and baba ghanoush (due to my love of Middle Eastern fare), I have never tried a rambutan, a tropical fruit which the book says, “if the lychee is the blowsy diva of the tropical fruit world, the rambutan is the elegant, honey-voiced recitalist.” To me, this fruit looks like some sort of spiny sea creature, but rest assured it is a “must taste” as the book claims that rambutans, native to Malaysia, “are valued for their pearly, succulent flesh and their sheer sweetness, accented with a slightly citric tang.”

Not all entries seem to be exotic foods, there are pages devoted to marshmallows, jelly beans, and the exalted chocolate brownie. But then again, what’s commonplace here in America, might be the unheard of delicacy in Kerala – where’s that you ask? Oh, just a locale from 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Yes, the commandment books of what to see and do before you die go on and on.

Maybe you won’t get around to tasting all 1001 foods before you make the final exit, but it’s fun reading and learning about what foods are out there and deserve a place setting on your culinary bucket list.

-Kim

Kid’s Corner: Music CD’s-Favorites from Storytime!

jennytf — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:45 +0000

We use music activities in all of our storytimes because it’s fun and because it supports language development and self-regulation skills. When children listen and move to music it helps them hear the smaller parts of words –phonological awareness. When children stop moving when a song says “freeze,” they are working on self-regulation skills. Here are some of our favorites….enjoy!

Two’s Together

If You’re Happy and You Know It-Toddler Favorites or Apples and Bananas Songs for Healthy Families

Row, Row, Row Your Boat-Bob Newhouse- Songs for Wiggleworms – Old Town School of Folk Music

Milkshake Song-Songs for Wiggleworms-Old Town School of Folk Music

Preschool and Evening Family Fun

Wiggy Wiggles Freeze Dance-Two Little Sounds by Hap Palmer

Goldfish Song-Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner

Silly Dance Contest-Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes by Jim Gill

Jenny F., Youth Services

What I’m Reading Now: and Again and Again

ErinM — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:30:14 +0000

When I was a teenager I would get on these reading jags. It might be an author or a topic that caught my attention and then I would read everything I could get my hands on. But, this was a long time ago. Back when it took a lot of time and money to publish a book. Back when the Literary Guild monthly catalog arriving in the mail box on your porch was a big deal. Back when “book-of-the-month” didn’t mean the latest title by James Peterson… This was way before the invention of young adult books. The library of my youth had 2 areas: children’s books and adult. And there was no map to help teenagers find their way through the uncharted territories of the adult section.

I remember being hooked on all things Canadian for a long time. For years actually. This makes sense growing up in Michigan; much of our TV and radio programs came from Canada - farm reports out of Alberta and music programs out of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. I was particularly fond of everything having to do with the far north and the Inuit. Farley Mowat was my absolute favorite writer at the time. I loved reading about people who lived with the Inuit, and still remember waiting painfully, for years, for the promised sequel to a memoir I adored. I don’t think the author ever did write a second book. Or if she did I had already moved on to other interests.

Oh, have times changed for the better. Yes, I still wait impatiently for the next Craig Johnson mystery to come out. But in the mean time there is any number of authors I could read who have created, thru a series of books, an entire community of characters for me to get to know and love, and vicariously live among.

My co-worker Renata is a devoted fan of Harlan Coben. Not only does she read his books, she then listens to them again on CD, giving her a whole different take on the stories. She loves how characters introduced in one novel become main characters in the next, and how over time the relationships between characters build and change. He is so successful at this, no one book stands out for her as a favorite. So if you want to immerse yourself in a long summers worth of reading you might check out The Deal Breaker, the first book starring Myron Bolitar, the college basketball star turned sports’ agent and the main character of Coben’s adult mystery series. Or you could read Shelter the first book in his young adult spin-off series featuring Myron’s nephew Mickey Bolitar. Either way you are guaranteed hours and hours of delightful entertainment — Erin