The Book Patch

Bases Loaded at Upcoming Book Bash

2012-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Come join other boys 8-16 and a caring adult this Wednesday, January 11 at 7 p.m. for

Book Bash for Boys.

We will be discussing Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.

We'll be having yummy refreshments, fun activities, and loads of fun!

Learn more about the author, Alcatraz, and Al Capone [here].

Practically Perfect Cupcakes

2011-12-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

After our discussion of A Crooked Kind of Perfect at Great Reads, the girls decorated cupcakes.

They were very creative and enjoyed turning the library into a bakery for the evening.

Moving Portrait of Family Strength and Integrity Amongst the Green Hills of Wales

2011-11-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

Bookenders Book Group will meet on Wednesday, November 30 at 7 p.m. downstairs in the library. The featured book for the evening is How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn. The discussion will be led by Etta McQuade.

How Green Was My Valley is Richard Llewellyn's bestselling -- and timeless -- classic and the basis of a beloved film.

The novel is set in South Wales during the reign of Queen Victoria. It tells the story of the Morgans, a poor but respectable mining family of the South Wales Valleys, through the eyes of the youngest son, Huw Morgan.

Huw's academic ability sets him apart from his elder brothers and enables him to consider a future away from this troubled industrial environment. His five brothers and his father are miners.

Drawn simply and lovingly, with a crisp Welsh humor, Llewellyn's characters fight, love, laugh and cry, creating an indelible portrait of a people. The simplicity of the language and its delicately strange flavor give the book added charm.

"A story of exquisite distinction and vibrant interest; clear and strong as the music under the sky." -- The New York Times Book Review

Richard Llewellyn (real name Richard David Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd) was a Welsh novelist.

Llewellyn was born of Welsh parents in Hendon, north London in 1906.
In a writing career spanning 43 years, Llewellyn wrote twenty-four novels. Several of them dealt with a Welsh theme, the best-known being How Green Was My Valley (1939) which won international acclaim. His writing career focused on the village communities of Wales, particularly the mining community. It immortalized the way of life in the South Wales valley coal mining communities, where Llewellyn spent a small amount of time with his grandfather. Three sequels followed.

He loved to travel and did it often. Before World War II, he spent periods working in hotels, wrote a play, worked as a coal miner and produced his best known novel. During World War II, he rose to the rank of Captain in the Welsh Guards. Following the war, he worked as a journalist, covering the Nuremberg Trials, and then as a screenwriter for MGM. Late in his life, he lived in Eilat, Israel.
Llewellyn was married twice. The first marriage to Nona Sonstenby, after sixteen years, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Susan Heimann, in 1974 and this marriage lasted until his death. He died on November 30, 1983.

"How Green Was My Valley", John Ford's beautiful, heartfelt drama about a close-knit family of Welsh coal miners, based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn, can be found at the library. It is one of the greatest films of Hollywood's golden age--a gentle masterpiece that won Best Picture at the 1941 Academy Awards.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

2011-11-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Great Reads for Girls will be meet on Thursday, November 16 at 7 p.m. downstairs at the library. Plan now to join us for this fun evening.

We will be discussing A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

Ten-year-old Zoe Elias dreams of playing a baby grand piano at Carnegie Hall. But when Dad ventures to the music store and ends up with a wheezy organ instead of a piano, Zoe's dreams hit a sour note. Learning the organ versions of old TV theme songs just isn't the same as mastering Beethoven on the piano. And the organ isn't the only part of Zoe's life that's off-kilter, what with Mom constantly at work, Dad afraid to leave the house, and that odd boy, Wheeler Diggs, following her home from school every day. Yet when Zoe enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, she finds that life is full of surprises--and that perfection may be even better when it's just a little off center.


Linda Urban

Linda Urban was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in a house in the suburbs that looked like all the other houses on her street.

She wanted to be different — to shine, to have people see her as special. She tried ballet dancing and singing and playing musical instruments, but she wasn’t very good at any of those things. Writing stories was fun! And often people liked what she wrote.

At Oakbrook Elementary, she wrote lots of poems and stories. Nothing made her feel more special than hearing an audience cheer for a character she had written. So she kept writing. All through elementary school and junior high she wrote short stories and plays and poems.

By college, she had turned her writing toward advertising and marketing, using her creativity to sell the creative work of others. It landed me at Vroman’s Bookstore, a large independent in Southern California, where I served as marketing director for about ten years. What a great job! She was surrounded every day by books and authors and artists and readers. One of her responsibilities was to organize author events. She met thousands of writers.

Finally, when her daughter turned two and she turned 37, she got the guts to try writing fiction again. Having a child brought her back to reading the kinds of books that she most loved, books for kids. As much as she enjoys reading grown-up books, it is kids’ books that grab her heart.

Reading those books gave her inspiration.

And so, when she sat down to write, the stories that spilled out were the kind she loved best, books for young readers. So far, she has written a picture book titled Mouse Was Mad and two chapter books titled A Crooked Kind of Perfect and Hound Dog True.

She lives with her family in Montpelier, Vermont

Mystery and History in Manifest, Kansas

2011-10-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

Newbery Medal winner Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool will be featured at Bookenders Book Group on October 26th at 7 p.m. downstairs in the library. Come and join us for an evening of great discussion.

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—a town with a rich past and a bright future.

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”

Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpool’s debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption. It is also the 2011 Newbery Medal winner.

Clare Vanderpool

Clare Vanderpool grew up reading books in unusual places (and is still a big advocate of doing so): dressing rooms, trees, and church, to name a few. She describes herself as having a “very strong connection to place.” A graduate of Newman University, she now lives in Wichita, Kansas—a mere four blocks from where she grew up—with her husband, four children, and two dogs. This is her first novel.

Adventures with Coraline

2011-10-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

Our first Book Bash for Boys was a great experience with Carl Sederholm leading the discussion assisted by his son Nathaniel.

As in the novel, the boys went on a scavenger hunt to find the "lost souls."

After each team found a marble they were rewarded with button shaped peanut

butter cookies and chocolate cake bite spiders of their own creation.

The next Book Bash for Boys will be on January 11, 2012 and the book we will be discussing is Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.

Hope to see you there!

Cats, Bats and Rats, Oh My!

2011-10-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

Professor Carl Sederholm is coming to spend a spooky night at the library.

Carl Sederholm

There will be Halloween fun at the library on Wednesday, Oct 12 at 7:00 p.m. Book Bash for Boys is going to have a scary good time as Carl leads their book discussion on Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The night will also include fun activities and treats for all.

Carl is a popular professor in the BYU Humanities Department. He co-authored Poe, The House of Usher, and the American Gothic with Dennis Perry, researching and developing the affect of gothic horror novels on the humanities.

Coraline is about a girl who has often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.

Neil Gaiman has delivered a wonderfully chilling novel, subtle yet intense on many levels. The line between pleasant and horrible is often blurred until what's what becomes suddenly clear, and like Coraline, we resist leaving this strange world until we're hooked. Unnerving drawings also cast a dark shadow over the book's eerie atmosphere, which is only heightened by simple, hair-raising text. Coraline is otherworldly storytelling at its best.


Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman was born on November 10, 1960 in Portchester, Hampshire, England. Gaiman was able to read at the age of four. He said, "I was a reader. I loved reading. Reading things gave me pleasure. I was very good at most subjects in school, not because I had any particular aptitude in them, but because normally on the first day of school they'd hand out schoolbooks, and I'd read them--which would mean that I'd know what was coming up, because I'd read it."

The first book he read was The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien from his school library, although it only had the first two books in the trilogy. He consistently took them out and read them. He would later win the school English prize and the school reading prize, enabling him to finally acquire the third book in the trilogy. For his seventh birthday he received The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis and later he read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and they became favorites and led to his desire to write books himself. He also enjoyed reading Batman comics.

Gaiman was educated at several Church of England schools. He is now a novelist, graphic novelist and screenwriter. He writes Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and Dark Fantasy. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work which is The Graveyard Book.

Gaiman lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota in an "Addams Family house" and has lived there since 1992. He is married to Amanda Palmer and he has three children from a previous marriage.

Craig Russell, a 35-year veteran of comics and frequent collaborator with Gaiman, offers an adaptation of Gaiman’s 2002 novel Coraline (illustrated by Dave McKean), a tale of childhood nightmares. As in the original story, Coraline wanders around her new house and discovers a door leading into a mirror place, where she finds her button-eyed “other mother,” who is determined to secure Coraline’s love one way or another. This version is a virtuoso adaptation, streamlining passages that function best in prose and visually highlighting parts that benefit most from the graphic form. A master of fantastical landscapes, Russell sharpens the realism of his imagery, preserving the humanity of the characters and heightening horror, even as Gaiman’s concise storytelling ratchets up the eeriness. The adaptation loses none of Coraline’s original character; she’s clever, resourceful, intrepid, and highly determined when it comes to doing what must be done. Comics fans will delight in this version, and readers familiar with the previous book will greatly appreciate the opportunity to explore the story in a successful new way. You can find this entertaining graphic novel at the library.

Coraline has also been made into a movie that is especially fun to watch for Halloween. The DVD is available for check out at the library.

The Desire of My Eyes

2011-10-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

John Ruskin once said, "The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, --all in one."


John Ruskin

The book featured for discussion this month with R.E.A.D. book group will be The Desire of My Eyes: The Life and Work of John Ruskin by Wolfgang Kemp. It will be reviewed by Jane Robinson. The group will meet in the library on October 6th at 10:00 a.m. Everyone is invited to attend.

The Desire of My Eyes examines the life and work of the prolific, visionary writer, painter and critic. Kemp finds in Ruskin's life, which spanned the same years as Queen Victoria's and thus embodied the Victorian era itself, a faithful mirror of the history and psychological evolution of his age.

Examining the English critic alongside Byron, Carlyle, Karl Kraus and others of his time, and considering views of him given by Shaw and Proust, the author, a German art historian, contends that Ruskin (1819-1900) was a reflection of Victorian history and pathology. Kemp regards him as not only a major reformer, educator and ecologist, but also as a great realistic draftsman whose drawings reveal developing emotional instability. Increasingly, Ruskin's attention moved from art to society as he came to criticize capitalism, religion, technology, the destruction of nature--and himself. First sightseer, then see-er, finally seer and mythmaker, Ruskin in his old age became industry as well as institution: there were Ruskin ceramics and linens, even Ruskin cigars. This distinguished work, gracefully translated, is illustrated with portraits of the critic and drawings by him.


Wolfgang Kemp

Wolfgang Kemp was born on May 1, 1946 in Frankfurt, Germany. He is a German art historian, author and professor of art history at the University of Hamburg. He is considered to be one of the most internationally renowned representatives of the art-historical research. He also has visiting professorships in schools which include Harvard, UCLA, Fellow Institute for Advanced Study Berlin and Getty Research Center in Los Angeles.

True American Hero

2011-09-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

If it weren't true, we wouldn't believe it! At Bookenders book discussion, we discussed the amazing life of Louis Zamperini, as it was masterfully told by best-selling author, Laura Hillenbrand.

Louis was:

a teen-age troublemaker

Olympic runner

WWII bomber

plane crash survivor

tortured prisoner of Japanese

but more importantly,

he used his ingenuity, his perseverance, his strong will, his resilience,

his forgiveness,

to thrive.

He spent his life helping troubled youth

and inspiring people around the world

with his extraordinary story.

"Toads, Beetles, Bats . . . "

2011-09-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

The kids "knocked it out of the park" with our trivia baseball at our first combined Great Reads for Girls and Book Bash for Boys.

We played Fruit Basket Upset--or Shakespearean Curses Upset.

The kids were put in teams of toads, beetles, bats, pied ninies and scurvy patches. When the person in the middle called their team name they had to find another place to sit. The one left without a chair was "it" and called out the next curse.

We made our own baseball cards.

And we had strawberries and cream puffs for dessert. Yum!

We had a great time.

"On deck" for next month--Wednesday, October 12 at 7 p.m.--is

Book Bash for Boys.

We're reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Hope to see you there!

A New Year of Bookenders

2011-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Bookenders book group will get together at the library on Wednesday, September 28th at 7 p.m. The featured book for the evening is Unbroken:A World War II Airman's Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. The discussion will be led by Eloise Fugal.

Everyone is invited to attend.

We will also be choosing the book selections for the coming year at this meeting. Plan now to attend and bring suggestions on great books for discussion.

Unbroken is the inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed.

Louie Zamperini

In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time. You’ll cheer for the man who somehow maintained his selfhood and humanity despite the monumental degradations he suffered, and you’ll want to share this book with everyone you know.


Laura Hillenbrand

Laura Hillenbrand was born on May 15, 1967 in Fairfax, Virginia. She spent much of her childhood riding bareback "screaming over the hills" of her father's Sharpsburg, Maryland farm. She studied at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio but was forced to leave before graduation when she contracted Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which she has struggled with ever since. She now lives in Washington D.C., and rarely leaves her house because of the condition. On the irony of writing about physical paragons while being so incapacitated herself, she says, "I'm looking for a way out of here. I can't have it physically, so I'm going to have it intellectually. It was a beautiful thing to ride Seabiscuit in my imagination. And it's just fantastic to be there alongside Louie as he's breaking the NCAA mile record. People at these vigorous moments in their lives - it's my way of living vicariously."

Hillenbrand married Borden Flanagan, a professor of Government at American University and her college sweetheart, in 2008.

She is the author of the critically acclaimed Seabiscuit: An American Legend, which spent 42 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. It was made into the Academy Award nominated film Seabiscuit. After this success it took her almost a decade of research and writing before Unbroken was published.

Hillenbrand is a co-founder of Operation Iraqi Children, a charitable program created in 2004 to send school supplies to Iraqi children.

Wednesday Wars to kick off a new season and a fun new book group for boys ages 8-12

2011-09-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce a new program for boys at the Pleasant Grove City Library. It is called Book Bash for Boys. It will coincide with our Great Reads for Girls. These book groups are for boys and girls who are ages 8-16 along with their parent or other caring adult. We encourage the kids and their parent to read the featured book each month and then join us for lively discussion, activities, and refreshments. We are looking forward to all of our plans and ideas for these fun book groups. We have been doing the Great Reads for Girls for three years and have often been asked to do something for boys so we are changing things up a bit this year. We will have two special months where the boys and girls come together and then we will alternate on the other months.

The schedule goes like this:

September - Combined Book Bash for Boys and Great Reads for Girls (The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt)

October - Book Bash for Boys (Coraline by Neil Gaiman with special guest Carl Sederholm)

November - Great Reads for Girls (A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban)

January - Book Bash for Boys (Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko)

February - Great Reads for Girls (Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen)

March - Book Bash for Boys (Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen)

April - Great Reads for Girls (A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett)

May - Combined Book Bash for Boys and Great Reads for Girls (Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix)

The book groups will be held on the second Wednesday night of each month at 7 p.m.

Our first book discussion and activity for this year will be held on September 14, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the basement at the library. The featured book will be Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt.

In Wednesday Wars Holling Hoodhood is really in for it.He’s just started seventh grade with Mrs. Baker, a teacher he knows is out to get him. Why else would she make him read Shakespeare . . . outside of class? The year is 1967, and everyone has bigger things than homework to worry about. There’s Vietnam for one thing, and then there’s the family business. As far as Holling’s father is concerned, nothing is more important than the family business. In fact, all of the Hoodhoods must be on their best behavior at all times. The success of Hoodhood and Associates depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has Mrs. Baker to contend with?

Gary D Schmidt

Gary Schmidt is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He received both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and a Newbery Honor for The Wednesday Wars. He lives with his family on a 150-year-old farm in Alto, Michigan, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, and feeds the wild cats that drop by.

Don't Sing at the Table

2011-09-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, September 1st the R.E.A.D. Book Group at the library began a new year of book reviews and presentations. Tammra Salisbury reviewed Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons From My Grandmothers by Adriana Trigiani.

In this book Adriana Trigiani shares the lessons she learned throughout her life from the traditions, spiritual fortitude, values, strengths and talents of her grandmothers. She recalls experiences, humor and wisdom that have shaped her life. Her love for her grandmothers is obvious in her warm and descriptive writing which is a delight for readers of all ages.

Tammra also read from Cooking with My Sisters: One Hundred Years of Family Recipes, from Bari to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

For the Trigianis, cooking has always been a family affair–and the kitchen was the bustling center of their home, where folks gathered around the table for good food, good conversation, and the occasional eruption. Like the recipes that have been handed down for generations from mother to daughter and grandmother to granddaughter, the family’s celebrations are also anchored to the life and laughter around the table. We learn how Grandmom Yolanda Trigiani sometimes wrote her recipes in code, or worked from memory, guarding her recipes carefully. And we meet Grandma Lucia Bonicelli, who never raised her voice and believed that when people fight at the dinner table, the food turns to poison in the body.

Best-selling author Adriana Trigiani is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal-mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed bestseller Big Stone Gap.

Adriana’s 13 books have been translated and sold in over 35 countries around the world. Critics from the Washington Post to the New York Times to People have described Adriana’s novels as “tiramisu for the soul”, “sophisticated and wise”, and “dazzling.” They agree, “her characters are so lively they bounce off the page”, and that “… her novels are full bodied and elegantly written.”

After graduating from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, Adriana moved to New York City to become a playwright. She founded the all-female comedy troupe “The Outcasts,” which performed on the cabaret circuit for seven years. She made her off-Broadway debut at the Manhattan Theater Club and was produced in regional theaters of note around the country.

Among her many television credits, Adriana was a writer/producer on The Cosby Show, A Different World, and executive producer/head writer for City Kids for Jim Henson Productions. Her Lifetime television special, Growing up Funny, garnered an Emmy nomination for Lily Tomlin. In 1996, she wrote and directed the documentary film Queens of the Big Time. It won the Audience Award at the Hamptons Film Festival and toured the international film festival circuit from Hong Kong to London. Adriana then wrote a screenplay called Big Stone Gap, which became the novel that began the series. Adriana spent a year and a half waking up at three in the morning to write the novel before going into work on a television show.

Adriana is married to Tim Stephenson, the Emmy award-winning lighting designer of the Late Show with David Letterman. They live in Greenwich Village with their daughter, Lucia.

R.E.A.D. Book Group will meet again on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Jane Robinson will review The Desire of My Eyes: The Life and Work of John Ruskin by Wolfgang Kemp.

Everyone is invited to attend.

Beehive Award Nominees for 2012

2011-09-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Children's Literature Association of Utah gives yearly awards to children's books in five areas:

picture books
children's fiction
poetry
children's non-fiction
young adult

Last spring the award winners were:

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry by Bill Martin Jr.

Frogs by Nic Bishop

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

The 2012 nominees have been announced and

you

can help determine the winners.

Pick up a copy of the

2012 Nominees for the Beehive Award book list at the library

(on top of the audio books)

or access the book list [here].

After you've read one of the nominees, pick up a ballot and

vote.

The ballots and the ballot box are on top of the audio books.

There is also a comprehensive list of all the Beehive Award winners at the library.

Check out our new non-fiction!

2011-07-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Pleasant Grove Library has recently acquired some great new non-fiction titles.

Check them out!

A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard

In Jaycee's own words:

In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen.

For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse.

For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation.

On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim. I survived.

A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it.

Watch a clip of Diane Sawyer's interview with Jaycee Dugard {here}.

Watch the full episode {here}.

Raising a Soul Surfer: One Family's Epic Tale by Cheri Hamilton with Rick Bundschuh

Bethany Hamilton’s incredible story of surviving and thriving in the wake of a shark attack, told in her best-selling autobiography Soul Surfer, has sold more than 1.5 million copies. Yet her family’s adventures started long before Bethany lost her arm and became a pro surfer. Now Cheri Hamilton, Bethany’s mom, tells the inspiring story of the Hamilton Family.

This was recently released as a movie.

Watch the movie trailer {here}.

It comes out on DVD on August 2, 2011.

We also have the junior biography of Bethany Hamilton: Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton with Sheryl Berk and Rick Bundschuh

The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points that Saved the World by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart

The authors of the popular book, Seven Miracles that Saved America, with a new book that highlights seven miracles that changed the course of the world. Today, fewer than 12 of the 193 countries in the world have a democratic government that has survived for more than fifty years. So, what extraordinary events in history have made it possible for us to enjoy self-rule and personal liberty? And what role has the hand of God played in securing that freedom?

Watch Glenn Beck's interview with Chris Stewart {here}.

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough

The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.

After risking the hazardous journey across the Atlantic, these Americans embarked on a greater journey in the City of Light. Most had never left home, never experienced a different culture. None had any guarantee of success. That they achieved so much for themselves and their country profoundly altered American history.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Berlin by Erik Larson

In his newest book, In The Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson unfolds the often startling story of William E. Dodd, the first American ambassador to Nazi Germany, and his family. History professor Dodd was an unlikely choice to represent the United States in Hitler's Berlin; indeed, he was FDR's fifth choice for the post. His on-the-job education in the barbarities of the "New Germany" sometimes contrasted with that of his romantic, impressionable, party-loving daughter Martha. Larson places these very personal stories within the context of the ever-worsening events.

Watch an interview with Erik Larson about this book {here}.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream at Home by Jeni Britton Brauer

Unique flavors, prepared from top-quality ingredients combined with minimally processed milk from grass-fed cows, transformed Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a small artisanal scoopery in Columbus, Ohio, into a nationally acclaimed (and beloved) brand.
Now with her debut cookbook, Jeni Britton Bauer is on a mission to help foodies create perfect ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets—ones that are every bit as perfect as hers—in their own kitchens.

Jeni talks about her ice cream and her book {here}.

Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip by Alexandra Pelosi

Alexandra Pelosi sets out on a road trip across America to attend naturalization ceremonies in all fifty states to meet brand-new citizens and find out why they chose America as their home. And even though they are no longer visitors, our newest citizens still look at America with an outsider's perspective; they hold up a mirror to show us how we look as a nation-and how much we take for granted.

Alexandra Pelosi talks about her HBO Documentary and her book, Citizen U.S.A. {here}.

The Greatest Music Stories Never Told: 100 Tales of Music to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy by Rick Beyer

The ballet that sparked a riot?

The rock star who became an astrophysicist?

The song that saved Wheaties?

The man killed by his own conducting?

The controversy behind "Mary Had a Little Lamb"?

Prepare to be astonished, bewildered, and stupefied by the tantalizing tidbits of music history collected here: amazing stories about jazz, classical, country, rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, show tunes, composers, band names, song lyrics, instruments, technology, controversies, and more.

Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer S. Holland

Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways. A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster.

Utah Festival of Books 2011

2011-06-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Utah Festival of Books is this Saturday at Brigham Young University from 10 am-6 pm.

Free admission!

Author Signings

Musical Performances

Movies

Teen Tent

Family & Local History Lectures

Food

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More!

There is something for everyone!

If you want to see the schedule of events click [here].

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

2011-05-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Bookenders Book Group will be discussing The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama on Wednesday, May 25 at 7:00 p.m.

We will be meeting downstairs in the library.

Everyone is invited to attend.

Tsukiyama is a mesmerizing storyteller who focuses on family, tradition, and the solace of nature and art. Of both Chinese and Japanese descent, she has explored the history and culture of both lands, here imagining life in Japan during its most catastrophic time as experienced by the orphaned brothers Hiroshi and Kenji. Raised by their loving grandparents in Yanaka, a residential area of Tokyo, they are opposites. Big, strong, and confident, Hiroshi believes he is destined to be a sumo wrestler. Slight, quiet, and artistic, Kenji discovers his love for mask making and Noh theater by accident. They each secure mentors, but just as the good brothers embark on their demanding apprenticeships, war breaks out. Tsukiyama's spare prose reflects the clean-lined, distilled-to-the-essence aesthetic of Japanese art as she writes appreciatively and informatively about the arts of sumo and Noh, and piercingly about the horrific deprivations and tyranny of war, the firebombing of Tokyo, the American occupation, and the rapid evolution of modern Japan. As her endearing characters attempt to adjust to the new while preserving the old, Tsukiyama evokes a classic vision of a blasted world returning to life. Tsukiyama's historically detailed and plot-driven story of resilience, discipline, loyalty, and right action is popular fiction at its most intelligent, appealing, and rewarding.

Gail Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco, California to a Chinese mother from Hong Kong and a Japanese father from Hawaii. She attended San Francisco State University where she received both her Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in English with the emphasis in Creative Writing. Most of her college work was focused on poetry, and she was the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award. She was one of nine fiction authors to appear during the first Library of Congress National Book Festival. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, she has been apart-time lecturer in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, as well as a freelance book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her works include The Samurai's Garden, Women of the Silk, Night of Many Dreams , The Language of Threads, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, and Dreaming Water.

New Young Adult Non-Fiction Section

2011-05-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

We have a new section at the library--young adult non-fiction. It is located on a rack by the emergency exit, which is right by the young adult fiction section.

Check out some of our Young Adult Non-Fiction titles:

Bro-Jitsu: the Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown by Daniel H.Wilson

The Twilight Saga: the Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer

The Dark Game: True Spy Stories compiled by Paul B. Janeczko

Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World's Best-Kept Secrets

Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 25 Magic Tricks and Illusions by Laurie Carlson

Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan by John Bul Dau and Martha Aruel Akech

Play Ball Like the Pros: Tips for Kids from 20 Big League Stars by Steven Krasner

Prejudice is the Child of Ignorance

2011-05-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Once a year we invite the boys to join us at Great Reads for Girls. Things are certainly more lively when they are around.

During our discussion of The Jacket, we talked a lot about prejudice. Phil, the main character in the book, learns a lot about himself and his own views when he assumes an African-American boy has stolen his brother's coat.

Sometimes there is a difference between what we think we believe and what we really believe. There's a test that is designed to help us understand that. It's available {here}.

We played a trivia game--the Jazz against the Flash.

The Flash won.

We had ice cream sandwiches--

and Oreos and milk.

We made some catch-the-ball-in the-cup toys.

And we talked some more.

The Whistling Season

2011-05-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

R.E.A.D. Book Group will be meeting on Thursday, May 5th at 10:00 a.m. in the library. Joyce Fife will be reviewing The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig.

Everyone is welcome.

The Whistling Season is set in the past in rural eastern Montana—and addresses that time and place in distinct, uncluttered prose that carries the full enthusiasm of affection and even love—for the landscape, the characters, and the events of the story—without being sentimental or elegiac. The novel is narrated by an aging Montana state superintendent of schools, Paul Milliron, who is charged with deciding the fate of the state's last scattered rural schools, and who, in the hours preceding his meeting to determine those schools' fate, recalls the autumn of 1909, when he was 13 and attending his own one-room school in Marias Coulee.

Recently widowed, Paul's father, overwhelmed by the child-rearing duties presented by his three sons, in addition to his challenging farming duties, hires a housekeeper, sight unseen, from a newspaper ad. The housekeeper, Rose, proclaims that she "can't cook but doesn't bite." She turns out to be a beguiling character, and she brings with her a surprise guest—her brother, the scholarly Morris, who, though one of the most bookish characters in recent times, also carries brass knuckles and—not to give away too much plot—somehow knows how to use them.

The schoolteacher in Marias Coulee runs away to get married, leaving Morris to step up and take over her job. The verve and inspiration that he, an utter novice to the West, to children and to teaching children, brings to the task is told brilliantly and passionately, and is the core of the book's narrative, with its themes of all the different ways of knowing and learning, at any age.

Doig's strengths in this novel are character and language—the latter manifesting itself at a level of old-fashioned high-octane grandeur not seen previously in Doig's novels, and few others': the sheer joy of word choices, phrases, sentences, situations, and character bubbling up and out, as fecund and nurturing as the dryland farmscape the story inhabits is sere and arid. The Whistling Season is a book to pass on to your favorite readers: a story of lives of active choice, lived actively.

Ivan Doig

Ivan Doig (born on June 27, 1939) is an American novelist. He was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana to a family of homesteaders and ranch hands. After the death of his mother Berneta, on his sixth birthday, he was raised by his father Charles Doig and his grandmother Elizabeth Ringer. After several stints on ranches, they moved to Dupuyer, Pondera County, Montana in the north to herd sheep close to the Rocky Mountain Front. After his graduation from Valier high school, Doig attended Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in journalism. He later earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Washington, writing his dissertation about John J. McGilvra (1827-1903). He now lives with his wife Carol Doig, a university professor of English, in Seattle, Washington. Before Ivan Doig became a novelist, he wrote for newspapers and magazines as a free-lancer and worked for the United States Forest Service. Much of his fiction is set in the Montana country of his youth. His major theme is family life in the past, mixing personal memory and regional history. As the western landscape and people play an important role in his fiction, he has been hailed as the new dean of western literature, a worthy successor to Wallace Stegner.

Ivan Doig is the author of eleven books. Eight are novels, including English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair, and three are nonfiction, including the highly acclaimed memoir This House of Sky, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

The Jacket

2011-05-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Join us Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. for Great Reads for Girls in the library basement.

We will be discussing Andrew Clements' book, The Jacket.

Boys are invited!!!

Thief!When Phil sees another kid wearing his brother's jacket, he assumes the jacket was stolen. It turns out he was wrong, and Phil has to ask himself the question: Would he have made the same assumption if the boy wearing the jacket hadn't been African American? And that question leads to others that reveal some unsettling truths about Phil's neighborhood, his family, and even himself.

Andrew Clements worked as a teacher for seven years before beginning his literary career. He has written many books for children, but his most famous book is Frindle, which won many awards. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife.

Clements writes in this small shed, seventy feet from his back door. There are no distraction--no phone, no TV, no email.

Learn more about Andrew Clements and his books at his website {here}.

Clements discusses his writing and the inspiration for his new series Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School:

A Long Way Gone

2011-04-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

Bookenders will be discussing Ishmael Beah's book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, on Wednesday, April 27. Etta McQuade will be leading the discussion.

We will be meeting in the basement of the library.

Everyone is invited to attend.

Ishamel Beah was born in Sierra Leone West Africa in 1980. He had a peaceful childhood until his parents separated. Then the rebels came to his village and his entire family were killed. After months of traveling alone, he came to a village that was occupied by Sierra Leone Military Forces. He was coerced into recruiting and spent the next three years as a boy soldier, witnessing and participating in countless atrocities.

UNICEF workers rescued him and patiently helped him regain his humanity. He was chosen to speak about his experiences at the United Nations, where he met Laura Simms, who later became his foster mother.

He graduated from high school in New York City and earned a degree in Politics from Oberlin College.

“If I choose to feel guilty for what I have done, I will want to be dead myself,” Beah said. “I live knowing that I have been given a second life, and I just try to have fun, and be happy and live it the best I can.”

Book Trailers

2011-04-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

Book trailers are becoming a popular way for authors to advertise their books. It's a great way to get a reluctant reader excited about reading.

Lisa Mangum's third book in her Hourglass Door series, a time travel teen romance, is coming out May 1, 2011.

#1--The Hourglass Door
#2--The Golden Spiral
#3--The Forgotten Locket

James Dashner's book trailer for The Maze Runner was a finalist for the 2009 Book Video Award. The third book in this popular dystopian series for teens will be published in October 2011.

#1--The Maze Runner
#2--The Scorch Trials
#3--The Death Cure

Room is a compelling, thought-provoking read. The five-year-old narrator's voice will stay with the reader for a very long time.

From Columbus to Ronald Reagan

2011-04-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Howard Carpenter did a great job on his review of Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart.

We learned about seven of the miracles that took place at critical times in our nation's history:

Columbus's discovery of America
Survival of Jamestown
The timely fog during The Battle of New York
Creation of the United States Constitution
Abraham Lincoln & the Gettysburg Address
The pivotal Battle of Midway
President Reagan's miraculous survival

Howard showed us his great-grandfather's Civil War sword.

This picture doesn't do it justice. It's beautiful--and very heavy. Thankfully, the sharp point has been filed down.

Mystery Solved at Great Reads

2011-04-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

There are two competing restaurants in Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game, so we recreated them both:

Shin Hoo's Restaurant

Menu:

Almond Cookies

Chocolate-covered Chinese cookies

Theodorakis Coffee Shop

Menu:

Mini cupcakes

Candy

Hot Chocolate

In order to keep all the murder suspects straight, we had all the moms and their daughters draw a picture of each of the sixteen Westing heirs.

As you can see, they did a terrific job.

Taylor led the discussion on the book.

Since there were a lot of fireworks in the book, we made some of our own:

Seven Miracles That Saved America

2011-04-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

R.E.A.D. book group will be meeting Thursday, April 7th at 10:00 a.m. in the library. Howard Carpenter will be reviewing Seven Miracles That Saved America by Chris and Ted Stewart.

Everyone is welcome.

The authors, Chris and Ted Stewart, answer this question in the book:

"When the odds were stacked against us--and there were many times when this experiment that we call America could have and should have failed--did God intervene to save us?"

In each of the seven examples that they cite "the people who were living these things all had doubts about how they would turn out," says Ted. "But what's remarkable is that every one of them, to some degree or another, acknowledged the help of Divine Providence."

The brothers bring diverse backgrounds to the task.

Chris was a record-setting Air Force pilot (he holds the record for the fastest nonstop flight around the world) before he retired to become president and CEO of The Shipley Group, a nationally recognized consulting and training company, as well as a best-selling author. His techno-military thrillers have been released in multiple languages in seven countries, and he's published a number of novels for Shadow Mountain.

Ted was appointed as a U.S. District judge in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. Before that, he served as chief of staff to Gov. Mike Leavitt, as a member and chairman of the Public Service Commission and as chief of staff to Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah. He has also taught university courses in law, the Constitution, the Supreme Court and public policy.

They talk about the book in this video:

Still Alice

2011-03-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Join us for a lively, insightful discussion of the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova on Wednesday, March 30th in the basement of the Pleasant Grove Library.

Eloise Fugal will lead the discussion and there will be refreshments.

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind.

This award-winning book is a favorite of book clubs all over the country.

Lisa Genova

Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She has done research on the molecular etiology of depression, Parkinson's Disease, drug addiction, and memory loss following stroke. Her second novel, LEFT NEGLECTED, also a New York Times bestseller, is about a woman with a traumatic brain injury. She is currently writing her third novel, LOVE ANTHONY, about a boy with autism. Lisa lives with her husband and three children on Cape Cod.

What inspired Lisa to write the book:

Her grandmother suffered from Alzheimer's. She started doing research on it, but could never answer the question, "What does it feel like to have this?" because her grandmother was already too far gone.

Lisa's research:

Lisa did a ton of research. Her "Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard was like a golden, all-access pass" with neurologists, genetic counselors, researchers and about a dozen people who were suffering from Alzheimer's. They e-mailed almost daily while she was writing the book and made sure her writing rang true.

Lisa's previous writing experience:

The only writing Lisa had done previously was scientific research papers, with the exception of a Short Story class her freshman year in college. However, she was training as a Meisner actress at the same time she was writing the book and felt that the skills she learned in acting class translated well in the writing process.

The writing/publishing experience:

Lisa wrote Still Alice at Starbucks while her daughter was in school. She was too distracted by things at home--phone calls, laundry, food in the fridge. She wasn't successful initially with finding an agent or a publisher so she self-published, selling the book out of the trunk of her car. It paid off. Simon & Schuster took it on and it became a best-seller and has been translated into over 20 languages.

Lisa Genova talks about Still Alice:

New Picture Books

2011-03-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

Enjoy a sampling of our new picture books.

This book will become a new favorite. It's a great book for mothers and their young sons:

All the Things I Love About You by Leuven Pham

In All the Things I Love About You, Mama lists the reasons she loves her little boy: the way his hair sticks up in the morning, the way he says "Mama" (even in the middle of the night), and the way he laughs. Simply written and beautifully illustrated, All the Things I Love About You honestly speaks to the unconditional love between a mother and her child. Children and parents alike will treasure this heartwarming book and, in reading it together, appreciate the small actions that make love grow stronger every day.

Looking for a book on friendship?

Here are two you might like:

I'm Not by Pam Smallcomb

Here is the perfect book for children who feel like their outgoing friend is oh-so-talented . . . and they're not. Our shy narrator lists all the things that her best friend, Evelyn, is good at—from jumping on the bed to roller skating really fast. Luckily, Evelyn points out what makes her so special: she's a one-of-a-kind true blue best friend. Robert Weinstock's hilarious illustrations wonderfully complement Pam Smallcomb's simple text, perfect for young children. This sweet depiction of friendship shows—in a completely fresh, original way—that everyone is special.

Noodle & Lou by Liz Garton Scanlon

Noodle and Lou are unlikely friends. One is a worm and one is a bird. When Noodle is having a bad day, Lou knows just what to say to cheer up his wormy friend and help him see what it means to be liked just the way you are.

A great addition to your wordless book collection:

Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage

A happy-go-lucky Walrus escapes the zoo in search of adventure in this wordless instant classic.
Bored with life at the zoo, an adventurous walrus escapes to the outside world. With the zookeeper in hot pursuit, Walrus cleverly tries on all sorts of hats to disguise himself. Will a yellow hardhat point to a new life as a construction worker? Or will a red swimming cap reveal his true talents? Follow this happy-go-lucky runaway and find the surprising answer as he hides amongst firefighters, street painters, businessmen, and even high-stepping dancers!

For those with a great imagination:

My Name Is Not Alexander by Jennifer Fosberry

Alexander takes a rip-roaring historical adventure! Through his imaginative journey, Alexander discovers how great men become heroes: the roughest rider can be surprisingly gentle, a strong leader is also the most peaceful, and sometimes, being brave about what makes you different will not only help you break records, but inspire others.
Join Alexander as he learns how these remarkable men changed the world and encouraged him to find the hero within himself.

If you like horses and fairy tales, this book might be the one for you:

Ponyella by Laura Numeroff

Some picture books are just as much for the parents as the child:

Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo

From Roman Holiday to Breakfast at Tiffany's, when Audrey Hepburn starred in a movie, she lit up the screen. Her unique sense of fashion, her grace, and, most important, her spirit made her beloved by generations. But her life offscreen was even more luminous. As a little girl growing up in Nazi-occupied Europe, she learned early on that true kindness is the greatest measure of a person—and it was a lesson she embodied as she became one of the first actresses to use her celebrity to shine a light on the impoverished children of the world through her work with UNICEF.
This is Audrey Hepburn as a little girl, an actress, an icon, an inspiration; this is Audrey just being Audrey.

Crowned in Terabithia

2011-03-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

We welcomed the girls and their moms to Terabithia last Wednesday for Great Reads for Girls.

The book we discussed, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, deals with friendship, imagination, bullying, family, differences, fear, and death.

There was a lot to discuss.

The girls and their moms had some great comments.

(Warning: spoilers)

Though the end of the book is tragic, this quote puts it into perspective:

He thought about it all day, how before Leslie came, he had been a nothing – a stupid, weird little kid who drew funny pictures and chased around a cow field trying to act big- trying to hide a whole mob of foolish little fears running riot inside his gut. It was Leslie who had taken him from the cow pasture into Terabithia and turned him into a king. He had thought that was it. Wasn’t king the best you could be? Now it occurred to him that perhaps Terabithia was like a castle where you came to be knighted. After you stayed for a while and grew strong you had to move on. For hadn’t Leslie, even in Terabithia, tried to push back the walls of his mind and make him see beyond to the shining world – huge and terrible and beautiful and very fragile? . . .

Now it was time for him to move out. She wasn’t there, so he must go for both of them. It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength.

Activity: The girls and their moms used their imaginations by creating one-third of each picture without seeing what the others had drawn.

Craft: They created their own Terabithia crowns.

Bridge to Terabithia

2011-03-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Great Reads for Girls, our mother-daughter book group, will be discussing Bridge to Terabithia tomorrow evening, Wednesday, March 9th at 7 p.m.

We'd love to have you join us!

There will be an on-time drawing, an activity, and refreshments, along with the discussion of the book.

Bridge to Terabithia is a touching novel about a boy and a girl who create a magical kingdom in the forest.

It won the Newbery Award in 1978.

And it was made into a movie twice.

The PBS adaptation in 1985

The 2007 Disney movie

Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson's first language was Chinese because her parents were missionaries in China and she spent the first years of her childhood there. After graduating with a Master's Degree in Christian Studies she became a missionary in Japan.

She has received many awards for her work and is now serving as the Library of Congress's National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a two-year position created to raise national awareness of the importance of lifelong literacy and education.

R.E.A.D. Book Group for March

2011-03-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, March 3 at 10:00 a.m. Eloise Fugal will review Driven: An Autobiography by Larry H. Miller and Doug Robinson at the library for the R.E.A.D. Book Group. Everyone is invited to attend.

When he was sixteen years old, Larry Miller came home one summer night to find all his possessions sitting in three bags on the porch of his darkened house. The door was locked. From those troubled and humble beginnings rose a man whose influence has touched, according to reliable pollsters, more than 99 percent of the population of Utah as well as myriads of people worldwide. Seven months before Miller passed away, he began working with Doug Robinson on this biography. Written in first person, the book talks about the many facets of Larry's life and legacy and speaks candidly about the people and experiences that influenced him. It doesn't just tell Larry Millers story, it shares painful lessons as well as joyful lessons he learned from his many experiences.

This fascinating and inspiring autobiography includes a moving foreword by Utah Jazz great John Stockton,

an epilogue written by Gail Miller, Larry s wife, and numerous photographs.

It gives a firsthand look at the incredible breadth of Larry Miller's work and contributions in business, in sports, in the arts, in his support of the Joseph Smith Papers Project, as well as his personal humanitarian service. It has a full section addressing the question Larry was most often asked: How did you do it?

We hope you will plan to join us for the book review and discussion about this interesting man.

Eve Green

2011-02-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, February 23 at 7 p.m. the Bookenders book group will meet at the library to discuss Eve Green by Susan Fletcher. Everyone is invited to attend.

Pregnant with her first child, Eve Green recalls her mother's death when she was eight years old and her struggle to make sense of her parents' mysterious romantic past. Eve is sent to live with her grandparents in rural Wales, where she finds comfort in friendships with Daniel, a quiet farmhand, and Billy, a disabled, reclusive friend of her mother's. When a ravishing local girl disappears, one of Eve's friends comes under suspicion. Eve will do everything she can to protect him, but at the risk of complicity in a matter she barely understands. This is a timeless and beautifully told story about family secrets and unresolved liaisons.

This debut novel is written with exquisite sensitivity, the chapters brimming with images of the Welsh countryside.

Fletcher perfectly captures Welsh country life with lyrical passages as moving as the story itself. Eve's tart, childish perceptions and the comfort of the natural world that feeds her soul create a wonderful portrait of a bereaved child searching for roots. Her incisive observations, a toussle of red curls and freckles, capacity for love, even her mistakes, make Eve a memorable character.

Like an artist painting so Susan Fletcher paints with words. The book is written with a great deal of feeling. The pages are rich with the description of the small details of everyday country life with its gossip, animosity and mysteries.

The description of the breathtaking beauty of the Welsh countryside in this book illustrates the author's love of it. She said, "I was keen to set the book in rural Wales. It is this wild, lonesome landscape that first led me to want to write."

Susan Fletcher was born in Birmingham, England in 1979. She grew up in Solihull, in the English West Midlands, and attended St. Martin's school from the age of 7 until she was 16, and then joined the 6th form at Solihull School. She studied for a B.A.degree in English at the University of York and then went touring for a year to Australia and New Zealand. When back in England she studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where she received her M.A. and lived in Stratford-upon-Avon. She now lives in Warwickshire, England.

Her first novel, Eve Green (2004), tells the story of eight-year-old Evie, who is sent to a new life in rural Wales, where she discovers a family secret. Eve Green won the 2004 Whitbread First Novel Award and the 2005 Betty Trask Prize.

Her second novel, Oystercatchers, was published in 2007, and her third, Corrag, in 2010. Corrag was shortlisted for the 2010 John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize.

February R.E.A.D. Book Group

2011-02-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

On February 3 the R.E.A.D Book Group met to hear a wonderful book review by Diane Marsh. The featured book was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

This book is a favorite among the librarians at Pleasant Grove City Library.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a sweet love story set during the bitter time of World War II in Seattle, Washington. Henry Lee is a twelve year old Chinese-American who has been sent to an all white school where his father thinks he will get a better education. He is bullied and made fun of by the other students and his “scholarship” is really a requirement to work in the lunchroom and clean after school. One day another student arrives to share this work. Keiko Okabe has also been sent by her parents to the all white school but she is Japanese-American. As they work together, walk home together and Henry protects her from the anti-Japanese cruelty of the time they form a lasting friendship. Henry hides the relationship from his parents, who would disown him if they knew he had a Japanese friend. His father insists that Henry wear an "I am Chinese" button everywhere he goes. Keiko’s family being forced to leave their home and taken to an internment camp does not end their relationship. Henry is able to visit her in the camp and even bring her a gift: a record album of the music they both love. When her family is moved to camp Minidoka in Idaho, they promise to write and wait for each other.

This part of the story brought about interesting discussion at the book group. We talked about the many Japanese internment camps that existed in the United States during this time in history.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which permitted the military to circumvent the constitutional safeguards of American citizens in the name of national defense.

The order set into motion the exclusion from certain areas, and the evacuation and mass incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, most of whom were U.S. Citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.

These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. They were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs; in some cases family members were separated and put into different camps. President Roosevelt himself called the 10 facilities "concentration camps."

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an old-fashioned historical novel that alternates between the early 1940s and 1984, after Henry's wife Ethel has died of cancer. In 1942 the Panama Hotel was situated somewhat between the Chinese and Japanese areas of Seattle. Forty years later, Henry discovers a parasol in the hotel's dark and dusty basement as he is looking for signs of the belongings that Keiko's family left behind when they were swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps.

Their story is told as a widowed Henry looks back on his life and wonders if what was lost and broken and be found and repaired. This is a book about family and identity, language and communication, hope and home, but most of all its about enduring love.

Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Kaiping, China, to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the Western name “Ford,” thus confusing countless generations. Ford is an award-winning short-story writer, an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and a survivor of Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp. Having grown up near Seattle’s Chinatown, he now lives in Montana with his wife and children.

On March 3, 2011 Eloise Fugal will review Driven: An Autobiography by Larry H. Miller and Douglas Robinson for the R.E.A.D. Book Group at 10:00 a.m. We hope to see you there!

How To Be a Princess

2011-02-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

Learn to walk with a boot on your head
Put on your favorite dress
Read books after everyone else has gone to bed
Memorize all the rules
Break the rules
Save your friends from uncertain danger
And, most importantly, just be a girl

---Shannon Hale

For our Great Reads for Girls book group we had the girls practice their poise by seeing how far they could walk with a book on their heads.

They were given play money when they arrived and then earned more money by demonstrating their princessly poise.

There was an on-time drawing with prizes--princessy things, of course.

Taylor told us some interesting things about Shannon Hale. We learned that she has a pet--

a plastic pig.

Shannon Hale is quirky like that.

There was a trivia quiz and the girls earned more money for answering the questions, which they did brilliantly.

Here is one of the more difficult questions:

Finish this line: Clay in my ears and ________?

Answer: (Stone in my stare.)

These girls were impressive.

Then we discussed the book, Princess Academy.

We separated in groups and did a story shout, where each person in the group took turns telling a story, an activity that the people of Mount Eskel did in the book.

The main character, Miri, grew up on a mountain, in a quarry that mined linder rock, which plays a big role in the story.

So the girls and their moms decorated their own rocks.

Here are the results:

In order to get refreshments--brownie bites and candy--the girls had to practice their bartering skills.

An offer made, considered, refused.

Another bid, another refusal.

Deal!

Princesses in the making!

Princess Academy

2011-02-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Every little girl dreams of being a princess, so they say.

And this Wednesday, February 9, every little girl from 8-16 can come to the library with a caring adult for princess school. There will be games, crafts, refreshments and a discussion on Shannon Hale's Newbery Honor Award Winner, Princess Academy.

While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Shannon Hale is a popular author and young mother of four from Utah. She wrote about her experience with winning the Newbery Honor Award { here }.

Shannon's publisher, Bloomsbury, made a video to introduce readers to Shannon and her books:

January R.E.A.D. Book Group

2011-02-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

Etta McQuade shared a delightful presentation on Mark Twain with the R.E.A.D. Book Group at the Pleasant Grove Library on January 6, 2011. She pointed out that one of the best things about reading Mark Twain's writings is that he is still funny and she certainly proved that as she shared many fun excerpts with us.

We discussed the new rewritten edition of The Adventrues of Huckleberry Finn and were all in agreement that it is best left as Mark Twain originally wrote it. Even though some of the words are now considered offensive it speaks to an important time in American history. It's good to remember that the moral to this story is to not be racist.

Changing the words of this book could open doors to all kinds of changes and censorship in classics novels that may be "offensive" to certain groups. If we go back and rewrite these books we, in a sense, rewrite history by altering the language to what is better accepted in modern times. What will future generations be able to learn if this becomes a common practice?

Etta read excerpts from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and we also discussed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. We talked about the comparisons and the contrasts of the two books and these two beloved characters of American literature.

Etta shared some excerpts from Life on the Mississippi. This book is Mark Twain's memoir of the steamboat era on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War.

Then she shared some writings from Roughing It. This book tells of the escapades of Mark Twain in the American West. Etta pointed out how much he had written about Mormons, Utah and Brigham Young. She shared some of those passages with us. Twain's continued good humor in the face of misfortune and mishap throughout the book makes inspires laughter and makes it a fun book to read.

Etta told us about the first story that Mark Twain ever wrote. It is titled The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County which you can read here. Then she introduced us to The Innocents Abroad which is the first book Mark Twain wrote. It was published in 1869 and is based on Twain's letters to newspapers about his 1867 steamship voyage to Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land. The Innocents Abroad sharply satirized tourists who learn what they should see and feel by reading guidebooks. Assuming the role of a keen-eyed, shrewd Westerner, Twain was refreshingly honest and vivid in describing foreign scenes and his reactions to them.

We were also introduced to Letters From the Earth, a book that is a miscellany of fiction, essays, and notes by Mark Twain, published posthumously in 1962. Written over a period of 40 years, the pieces in the anthology are characterized by a sense of ironic pessimism. The title piece comprises letters written by Satan to his fellow angels about the shameless pride and foolishness of humans.

One of our favorite picture books at the library was presented to the group. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley is a cute story told through the eyes of Twain's beloved daughter. In pursuit of truth, Susy Clemens, age 13, vows to set the record straight about her beloved (and misunderstood) father and becomes his secret biographer. Kerley uses Susy's manuscript and snippets of wisdom and mirth from Twain as fodder for her story. The child's journal entries, reproduced in flowing handwritten, smaller folio inserts, add a dynamic and lovely pacing to the narrative, which includes little-known facts about Twain's work. The text flawlessly segues into Susy's carefully recorded, sometimes misspelled, details of his character, intimate life, and work routine during his most prolific years.

A very favorite part of the presentation was when Howard Carpenter and Etta read excerpts from the Adam and Eve Diaries which can be found in The Bible According to Mark Twain.

Etta told us about Mark Twain Tonight which was edited, adapted and arranged by Hal Holbrook

Holbrook had been bringing Twain to life for twenty years when an estimated thirty million viewers tuned in to see Mark Twain Tonight! on March 6, 1967. The two had been regular traveling companions, taking many roads to arrive at this electrifying moment in television history. This book brings together some of Holbrooks best work into an easy to read collection. It is really like reading a Mark Twain Biography. You can also watch scenes from Mark Twain Tonight! on Youtube. Please enjoy an example below.

We finished up with more great conversation and Almond Roca candy.

Etta shared many fun Mark Twain quotations during her presentation. Here are some of our favorites:

"I was born modest, but it wore off."

"When you cannot get a compliment any other way pay yourself one."

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."

"A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read."

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."

You may like to checkout the new Autobiography of Mark Twain at the library. Mark Twain is his own greatest character in this brilliant self-portrait, the first of three volumes collected by the Mark Twain Project on the centenary of the author's death. It is published complete and unexpurgated for the first time. (Twain wanted his more scalding opinions suppressed until long after his death.) Eschewing chronology and organization, Twain simply meanders from observation to anecdote and between past and present. There are gorgeous reminiscences from his youth of landscapes, rural idylls, and Tom Sawyeresque japes; acid-etched profiles of friends and enemies, from his "fiendish" Florentine landlady to the fatuous and "grotesque" Rockefellers; a searing polemic on a 1906 American massacre of Filipino insurgents; a hilarious screed against a hapless editor who dared tweak his prose; and countless tales of the author's own bamboozlement, unto bankruptcy, by publishers, business partners, doctors, miscellaneous moochers; he was even outsmarted by a wild turkey. Laced with Twain's unique blend of humor and vitriol, the haphazard narrative is engrossing, hugely funny, and deeply revealing of its author's mind. His is a world where every piety conceals fraud and every arcadia a trace of violence; he relishes the human comedy and reveres true nobility, yet as he tolls the bell for friends and family--most tenderly in an elegy for his daughter Susy, who died in her early 20s of meningitis--he feels that life is a pointless charade. Twain's memoirs are a pointillist masterpiece from which his vision of America--half paradise, half swindle--emerges with indelible force.

Outliers

2011-01-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, January 26th, Bookenders book group will be discussing Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell at 7 p.m. downstairs in the library. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.

In this provocative and inspiring book, Malcolm Gladwell examines everyone from business giants to scientific geniuses, sports stars to musicians, and reveals what they have in common. He looks behind the spectacular results, the myths and the legends to show what really explains exceptionally successful people. Gladwell argues that, when we try to understand success, we normally start with the wrong question. We ask 'what is this person like?' when we should really be asking 'where are they from?' The real secret of success turns out to be surprisingly simple, and it hinges on a few crucial twists in people's life stories - on the culture they grow up in and the way they spend their time.

Malcolm Gladwell is a United Kingdom-born, Canadian-raised journalist now based in New York City. He is a former business and science writer at the Washington Post. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He is best known as the author of the books The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (2000), Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), and Outliers: The Story of Success (2008) all of which were number one New York Times bestsellers. His latest book, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures (2009) is a compilation of stories published in The New Yorker.

From 1987 to 1996, he was a reporter with the Washington Post, where he covered business, science, and then served as the newspaper's New York City bureau chief. He graduated from the University of Toronto, Trinity College, with a degree in history. He was born in England, grew up in rural Ontario, and now lives in New York City.

Believe

2011-01-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Those who attended Great Reads for Girls on Wednesday, Jan 12 had a wonderful time. The conversation and activities all centered around the book Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath.

Yara told us all about Polly Horvath and then Taylor led a fun and interesting book discussion.

The girls loved reading the book and they enjoyed talking about Primrose and how she held strongly to the things she believed in, even when others didn't share the same belief. We talked about all the different characters and many of the girls laughed as they remembered the part where the guinea pig catches on fire. They also really liked the way each chapter ended with a recipe.

After the book discussion each girl made a collage about the things she believes in using card stock, glue sticks, scissors and magazines.

Once the crafts were finished Yara, Tammra and Taylor cooked up some yummy waffles for all the girls and their moms.

The girls had many toppings to choose from. There was butter, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, raspberry jam, plum jam, whipped cream, sliced bananas, applesauce, maple syrup and cinnamon syrup.

The girls told their moms that they would like to have whipped cream, chocolate chips and marshmallows on their waffles from now on. The cinnamon syrup was also a big hit!

Cinnamon Syrup

                                                                        1 cup sugar
                                                 slightly less than 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
                                                         1/2 cup light corn syrup
                                                                      1/4 cup water
                                                           1/2 cup evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cinnamon. Pour in corn syrup and water and stir to dissolve. Boil, stirring constantly 2-3 minutes. Cool. Stir in evaporated milk and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

For February the book selection for Great Reads for Girls is Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. We will be meeting on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 7 p.m. We hope to see you there!

There are several copies available for check out at the library. Ask for one at the front desk.

Everything on a Waffle

2011-01-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Great Reads for Girls will get together at the library on Wednesday, January 12 at 7 p.m. for a book discussion, fun crafts and yummy treats. The featured book for this month is Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath.

"My name is Primrose Squarp. I am eleven years old. I have hair the color of carrots in apricot glaze (recipe to follow), skin fair and clear where it isn't freckled, and eyes like summer storms."

Readers will know right from the start that the narrator of Everything on a Waffle is going to tell her story straight and pull no punches. Primrose's parents have been lost at sea, but she believes without an iota of doubt that they are still alive, somewhere.

She moves in with her Uncle Jack, but feels generally friendless. Her only real refuge is a local restaurant called The Girl on the Red Swing, where the owner, Miss Bowzer, serves everything on waffles — except advice and good sense, which come free of charge and are always reliable.

Food in general plays an important role in Primrose's journey toward peace and understanding (a recipe dictated in her unmistakable voice is appended to each chapter), and readers will eagerly cheer her on through this funny, bittersweet novel.

Primrose holds strong to the things she believes in even when it seems that no one else does.

Awards given to Everything on a Waffle

Newbery Honor Book
Boston Globe- Horn Book Award Honor Book
ALA Notable Book
Child Magazine Best Book Award
Parents' Choice 2001 Fiction Gold Award
Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award
International White Ravens 2002
Mr. Christie Book Award
Sheila Egoff Award
New York Times Bestseller
Publisher's Weekly Bestseller


Polly Horvath

Polly Horvath has been writing books since she was eight. For a while she wrote books and attended school. Then she wrote books and attended The Canadian College of Dance.

She has written and waitressed and written and done temporary typing and written and tended babies (her own). Now she just writes.

Polly grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She went to college in Toronto and lived in New York and Montreal before settling on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with her husband Arnie Keller and their daughters, Emily and Rebecca.

They have a horse named Zayda and a smooth collie named Andrew. They are surrounded by B.C. forest and are on constant look out for bears.

She has written the following books:

An Occasional Cow (1989)

No More Cornflakes (1990)

The Happy Yellow Car (1994)

When the Circus Came to Town (1996)

The Trolls (1999)

Everything on a Waffle (2001)

The Canning Season (2003)

The Pepins and their Problems (2004)

The Vacation (2005)

The Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane (2007)

My One Hundred Adventures (2008)

Northward to the Moon (2010)

We are looking forward to a really fun evening. Hope to see you there!!

Awards Announced!

2011-01-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

The American Library Association announced the 2011 Youth Media Awards this morning. Here are a few of the winners.

The Newbery is awarded to the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

2011 Newbery Award winner:

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.
Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”
Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

2011 Newbery Honor Award Winners:

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

Welcome to the night, where mice stir and furry moths flutter. Where snails spiral into shells as orb spiders circle in silk. Where the roots of oak trees recover and repair from their time in the light. Where the porcupette eats delicacies—raspberry leaves!—and coos and sings.

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus (on order)

In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.

Manjiro, a fourteen-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives for some time in New England, and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be imprisoned as an outsider. With his hard-won knowledge of the West, Manjiro is in a unique position to persuade the shogun to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past.
When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education.

For a listing of the past Newbery winners, click [here].

The Caldecott is awarded to the most distinguished American picture book for children.

2011 Caldecott Winner:

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee’s case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it’s time they returned the favor.

2011 Caldecott Honor Award Winners:

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier (on order)

Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.

Interrupting Chicken written and illustrated by David Edward Stein

It’s time for the little red chicken’s bedtime story —and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the chicken can’t help herself! Whether the tale is HANSEL AND GRETEL or LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD or even CHICKEN LITTLE, she jumps into the story to save its hapless characters from doing some dangerous or silly thing. Now it’s the little red chicken’s turn to tell a story, but will her yawning papa make it to the end without his own kind of interrupting? Energetically illustrated with glowing colors —and offering humorous story-within-a-story views —this all-too-familiar tale is sure to amuse (and hold the attention of ) spirited little chicks.

For a listing of past Caldecott winners, click [here].

The Printz is awarded for excellence in literature written for young adults.

2011 Printz Award Winner:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

For a listing of the 2011 Printz Honor Award Winners, click [here].

For a complete list of Michael L. Printz past winners, click [here].

Want to know the winners of the Coretta Scott King Awards, the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, etc?

For a complete listing of everything awarded today at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, click [here].

The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain

2011-01-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

Etta McQuade will give a presentation on Mark Twain for the R.E.A.D. Book Group on Thursday, January 6th at 10:00 a.m. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.

Etta is a gifted reviewer and presenter. She will be sharing insight into Mark Twain's life and will share some of his writings as well as books written about him.

Samuel Clemens or Mark Twain

On Nov. 30, 1835, the small town of Florida, Mo. witnessed the birth of its most famous son. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was welcomed into the world as the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. Little did John and Jane know, their son Samuel would one day be known as Mark Twain - America's most famous literary icon.

Approximately four years after his birth, in 1839, the Clemens family moved 35 miles east to the town of Hannibal. A growing port city that lies along the banks of the Mississippi, Hannibal was a frequent stop for steam boats arriving by both day and night from St. Louis and New Orleans.

Samuel's father was a judge, and he built a two-story frame house at 206 Hill Street in 1844. As a youngster, Samuel was kept indoors because of poor health. However, by age nine, he seemed to recover from his ailments and joined the rest of the town's children outside. He then attended a private school in Hannibal.

Samuel Clemens' childhood home.

When Samuel was 12, his father died of pneumonia, and at 13, Samuel left school to become a printer's apprentice. After two short years, he joined his brother Orion's newspaper as a printer and editorial assistant. It was here that young Samuel found he enjoyed writing.

At 17, he left Hannibal behind for a printer's job in St. Louis. While in St. Louis, Clemens became a river pilot's apprentice. He became a licensed river pilot in 1858. Clemens' pseudonym, Mark Twain, comes from his days as a river pilot. It is a river term which means two fathoms or 12-feet when the depth of water for a boat is being sounded. "Mark twain" means that is safe to navigate.

Because the river trade was brought to a stand still by the Civil War in 1861, Clemens began working as a newspaper reporter for several newspapers all over the United States. In 1870, Clemens married Olivia Langdon, and they had four children, one of whom died in infancy and two who died in their twenties. Their surviving child, Clara, lived to be 88, and had one daughter. Clara's daughter died without having any children, so there are no direct descendants of Samuel Clemens living.

Twain began to gain fame when his story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County" appeared in the New York Saturday Press on November 18, 1865. Twain's first book, "The Innocents Abroad," was published in 1869, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" in 1876, and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1885. He wrote 28 books and numerous short stories, letters and sketches.

Twain's last work was his autobiography, which he dictated and thought would be most entertaining if he went off on whims and tangents in non-chronological order.

In 1909, Twain is quoted as saying:

I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'

His prediction was accurate – Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut, one day after the comet's closest approach to Earth.

Mark Twain has a following still today. His childhood home is open to the public as a museum in Hannibal, and Calavaras County in California holds the Calavaras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee every third weekend in May. Walking tours are given in New York City of places Twain visited near his birthday every year.

Just this week Mark Twain has been in the news again. Huckleberry Finn is the fourth most banned book in America because of words that some find offensive. NewSouth Books in Alabama have decided to release a new volume which replaces those words with others which are more acceptable in their eyes. There has been quite a debate over it. You can read more about it here . We would love to know your opinion. Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Watch for an upcoming post about the R.E.A.D. Book Group discussion.

New Books for the New You

2011-01-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of every new year, many of us re-examine our lives and resolve to do things differently to increase our happiness and peace of mind.

Here are some new books we've acquired at the library that might help you:

Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Most of us have no idea why we fail to reach our goals. Now Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson, a rising star in the field of social psychology shows us how to overcome the hurdles that have defeated us before.

Dr. Grant Halvorson offers insights-many surprising-that readers can use immediately, including how to:

• Set a goal so that you will persist even in the face of adversity
• Build willpower, which can be strengthened like a muscle
• Avoid the kind of positive thinking that makes people fail

The strategies outlined in this book will not only help everyone reach their own goals but will also prove invaluable to parents, teachers, coaches, and employers. Dr. Grant Halvorson shows readers a new approach to problem solving that will change the way they approach their entire lives.

Switch by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?

The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.

In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people—employees and managers, parents and nurses—have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results:

●     The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients.

●     The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping.

●     The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service

In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.

The Life You Want by Bob Greene

Bob Greene has helped millions lose weight and get in shape with his life-changing Best Life plan. Now Oprah’s most trusted expert on diet and fitness teams up with psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke and nutritionist Janis Jibrin to zero in on common barriers to weight loss success. Together, they will offer practical tips and explore the latest science on emotional eating and lack of motivation.
REWIRE YOUR BRAIN TO OVERCOME OVEREATING
CONQUER EXERCISE AVERSION
TAME YOUR SUGAR, FAT, AND SALT CRAVINGS
TRANSFORM YOUR BODY IMAGE
INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS
While the basic principles of weight loss are simple enough, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a struggle. The Life You Want delivers the information and inspiration you need to overcome each obstacle—once and for all.

Transformation by Bill Phillips

“From worst to first in health and well-being.” That is the mantra of Body-for-LIFE® author Bill Phillips as he lays out this personalized, realistic plan to help people become healthier, happier, and more alive. Concerned by the unhealthy physical and emotional trends in U.S. populations, Bill firmly believes the well-being of the country can be completely transformed in 10 years—one person at a time. After reading this book, you’ll believe it too.

Bill uses personal examples and touching stories to exemplify that real people can, and have, overcome their worst to truly reinvent their lives. In his 18-week Transformation program, you’ll learn:

• How to achieve a sustainable healthy lifestyle

• How to transcend your unhealthy habits

• How to harness the power of a positive mindset

• How to heal emotions and find happiness

• How to live more deeply and compassionately

Transformation is a process of reshaping your whole person. If Body-for-LIFE was a manual for the physique, Transformation is the how-to guide for invigorating the body, mind and soul. When you make healthy changes in your life, you are able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. And ultimately, that is what Transformation is all about.

Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach

"When money is plentiful, this is a man's world. When money is scarce, it is a woman's world." Unearthed in a 1932 Ladies Home Journal, this quote is the call to arms that begins PEACE AND PLENTY, Sarah Ban Breathnach's answer to the world's-- and her own personal-- financial crisis. As only Ban Breathnach can, she culls together this compendium of advice, deeply personal anecdotes, and excerpts from magazines, books, and newspapers-- particularly those of the Great Depression-- to inspire readers who are mired in today's financial difficulties.

Focusing on her own personal path, Sarah Ban Breathnach will relate never-before revealed details about how she fell from the financial top to the bottom. Readers will immediately see how deeply she understands the plight of those trying to maintain a happy and comfortable home, while at the same time not even knowing if they will be able to make the mortgage to keep that home.

Sarah has proved to be the voice of comfort for years to women who are spiritually bankrupt, and now she will reach to those who are financially strapped, showing them how to pull themselves out of their psychic and fiscal crises while providing deep comfort and reassurance throughout.

Debt Free for Life by David Bach

In Debt Free for Life, #1 New York Times bestselling author David Bach has written his most groundbreaking and important book since The Automatic Millionaire, giving us the knowledge, the tools, and the mindset we need to get out of debt and achieve financial freedom— forever! Offering a revolutionary approach to personal finance that teaches you how to pay down your debt and adopt a whole new way of living – debt free. Bach unveils the Debt Wise program that empowers you to pare down your debt automatically. You’ll learn how to calculate your Debt Freedom Day – the actual date you will be completely free of debt. And you’ll discover that when you are debt free, you need a lot less money to live on. You can retire, even with a smaller nest egg -- perhaps earlier than you expected.

Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider

Organized Simplicity's aim is to convince its readers that simple living is the absolute best way to live. Be it with house cleaning, family schedule management, personal finances, and managing the "stuff" you allow within your four walls, the only way to live well is to do so intentionally and simply. The first half of the book delves into the why behind realistic simple living, giving the reader a nail to then hang the how of living simply discussed in the second half. And by redefining the too often-used phrase "simple living," a busy home manager living in the real world can then make practical changes that work for the whole family. There are chapters for cleaning and organizing the home room-by-room, and future project ideas will inspire readers to turn their house in a haven they love.

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (on order)

Drawing heartbreaking beauty out of the simplest of details, Ann Voskamp invites you into her grace--bathed life of farming, parenting, and writing--and deeper still into your own life. Here you will discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings you deep and lasting joy.

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

Cancer survivor, poet, and philosopher Mark Nepo has consciously allowed life to move through him. The Book of Awakening is the result of his journey of the soul and will inspire others to embark on their own.Nepo speaks of spirit and friendship, urging readers to stay vital and in love with this life, no matter the hardships. Encompassing many traditions and voices, Nepo's words offer insight on pain, wonder, and love. Each entry is accompanied by an exercise that will surprise and delight the reader in its mind-waking ability.