Books and Reading

          The arrival of spring brings thoughts of gardens, poetry and spring training.  Kevin Henkes’ new picture book, “My Garden,” will get your preschoolers in just the right mood for digging in the dirt.  The young narrator helps her mother in the garden, shooing away the rabbits, watering and weeding.  “But if I had a garden…” the little girl muses and, before you know it, she has imagined a special garden all her own. 

National Library Week is April 11-17, and this year's honorary chair is author Neil Gaiman, recent winner of the Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book. Not only is Neil Gaiman a gifted storyteller, he's also a great advocate for America's libraries. He's a frequent blogger (journal.neilgaiman.com) and very active on Twitter (twitter.com/neilhimself). He also has a web site targeting younger readers, www.mousecircus.com. See our catalog for Neil's works like Coraline, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, and many more.

Check out this great interview at home with Neil Gaiman. Did you know Neil Gaiman's first book was a biography of the 80's band Duran Duran?!

Celebrate with these National Library Week happenings:

Food for Fines - Monday, April 12 - Sunday, April 18:
Help local families in need and get a break on your fines. Find out more.

Celebrate National Library Workers Day - Tuesday, April 13:
Want to make our day? Just tell a library employee how much you love the library!

Don't miss our huge semi-annual book sale at Headquarters, coming up Saturday, April 17 - Wednesday, April 21.

An amazing selection of books, cassettes, DVDs, albums, children's titles and so much more! You won’t be disappointed! Come early for best selection. Open during regular Library hours.

Preview Party: Friday, April 16, 7-9pm, for Friends of the Library
Join or update your membership at the door - a single membership is only $5, and a family is only $10!

Branch book sales:

Porter:
Friday, April 2 - Wednesday, April 7
Friday, May 7 - Wednesday, May 12

Salem Church:
Friday, April 16 - Thursday, April 22
Friday, May 21- Thursday, May 27

Snow:
Lobby Book Sale: All day, every day!

See our book sales page for more information.

    From board books to gorgeously illustrated picture books, there are plenty of ways to share the upcoming holidays with young readers.   Tomie DePaola’s “My First Passover” is simple enough to read with your toddlers.

    When people talk about brackets, I think bookshelves.  Sure, I’ve heard about March madness and basketball, but up till now I haven’t paid much attention.
    Then I discovered School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books, complete with celebrity judges, a Big Kahuna Round and, yes, brackets.  Now you’re talking my language!

    St. Patrick's Day may have passed, but you can continue to celebrate at home by stocking up on Irish stories and lore from the library.  Edna Barth’s “Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs” provides quirky facts and legends associated with the holiday.  Did you know that St. Patrick was not Irish himself but was born in Scotland?  Or that Americans have been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day since 1737?  (That year’s gala was held in Boston, of course.)  Along with fascinating details about Irish harps, Irish poetry and St. Patrick’s Day parades, Barth weaves in much of the history of Ireland for readers nine and up.

On Thursday, April 22, 2010, Jeremy Black of the University of Exeter and author of A History of the British Isles will give a talk on the cinematic Cold War super spy. This lecture, part of the university's Great Lives series, is free and open to the public.

Whether books, bagpipes, dancing or dining delight you, our area has much to offer in the way of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations.

          What made Jay Leno crave an audience?  What lesson did Steve Forbes learn early and never forget? What influenced Steve Wozniak?  

          Children’s literature specialist Anita Silvey conducted interviews with these three and over 100 other people in the arts, business, and sciences to discover what inspired and influenced them as children.  The result is her new book, “Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book, Life Lessons from Notable People from All Walks of Life.”