Sparrow Road

by Sheila O'Connor
Raine is baffled by her mother's sudden announcement that they are moving out to an artist's retreat for the summer. Her mother will be the chef for several artists who are staying in an old estate to create their various forms of art. When they arrive, Raine is horrified by the list of rules - no talking until dinner (except Sundays), no TV, no phone, no internet. What is she supposed to do all day as the only kid on a secluded estate?

As she gets to know the artists and the history of the house, though, even more mysteries pop up. It turns out the estate used to be an orphanage. What happened to all those kids? Why was the attic room locked up with everything exactly as it was when the kids lived there - pictures on the wall and jacks still on the floor? Why is the owner so cold and distant? And perhaps most perplexing - why is her mother so secretive about her trips to town and why is Raine not allowed to go?

With the help of the artists, Raine starts to pull together information and make sense of things. She learns that inspiration really can come out of the silence and even begins to write stories herself. Most importantly, she learns that her mother had a very good reason for moving to Sparrow Road - a reason that will change Raine's life.

reviewed by Jessica

The Lily Pond

A Faraway Island and The Lily Pond are by Annika Thor, translated from Swedish by Linda Schenck.  Thor has written four historical novels about Stephanie and Nellie Steiner, two Jewish sisters from a cultured Viennese family.  The girls have been sent to a remote Swedish fishing village during World War II, while their parents attempt to emigrate to America. Stephanie, the older sister, has been assigned to a home that seems harsh and unwelcoming at first.  She struggles to learn Swedish and is ruthlessly bullied by the popular girls at school.  Nellie, on the other hand, is taken in by a welcoming family with younger children and she makes friends easily.  A Faraway Island has won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the best book in translation. The series has also been made into a television program in Sweden.

The Lily Pond follows Stephanie to Goteburg where she has a scholarship to attend school.  Stephanie dreams of becoming a doctor like her father, and excels at her lessons.  She boards with a wealthy family who treat her more like a servant than a guest.  Stephanie falls in love with their 18 year old son, Sven, but he thinks of her as a little sister.  As the war progresses, news from Stephanie's parents comes less and less  often as their situation worsens.  The hope of emigrating as a family to America seems to be slipping away.  Thor does a convincing job of describing Stephanie's adolescent feelings as she makes her way in the world, feels love and makes new friends.  I look forward to reading the next two installments to see how Stephanie's and Nellie's stories will end.

reviewed by Victoria

Party, Party, Party!

Library column printed in The Mercury, February 12, 2012

I am sure “party” is not the first word that comes to mind when thinking of libraries, but we like to break out of the mold sometimes. We have parties and programs for kids and teens this month, so don’t be surprised if you smell yummy food or hear distant music and laughter while you are passing through.

Our ten weekly storytimes started in January, averaging about 20 children at each session. Last week, we added another option – Spanish Storytime! Marisol Teran-Apadaca from the Bebe Language Academy will be presenting these bilingual storytimes every month on the 2^nd Friday and Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Spanish storytimes will feature picture books read in both English and Spanish, interspersed with traditional rhymes and songs. Spanish speaking families are encouraged to come, as well as children who do not know any Spanish. Last Friday and Saturday, Ms. Marisol read Biscuit/Bizcocho, Wiggle/A Tu Ritmo, and Good Boy, Fergus/Muy Bien Fergus. Join us again March 9-10 for Spanish and English zoo stories, including an all-time favorite: Brown Bear, Brown Bear/Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo.

We celebrated Chinese New Year on Friday afternoon when USD 383 kids were out of school. Children who came to the “Year of the Dragon” party led a Dragon Parade through the library, ending with party “poppers,” and participated in a “Sweep out the Bad Luck” broom relay. The group made cool crafts such as Chinese lanterns, good luck Kanji, lucky money envelopes, and dragons. Children’s librarian Melendra Sutliff-Sanders came up with the idea for this party because “it’s a celebration that is fun to all different cultures and, at the same time, exposes kids who are not from China to some important traditions of another society.”

We will continue celebrating the year of the dragon at the library with our newest early literacy station activities. These simple games and puzzles are designed to go with the picture book Dragon Dancing by Carole Lexa Schaefer, and they are available for young children to play with in the Children’s Room for the next six weeks. Create an alphabet dragon on our magnet board, make new poems with alliterative action words from the book (like “slip-sliding” and “mish-mooshing”), or don a mask and scarf to perform a dragon dance.

More days off from school this week may leave some kids (and parents) looking for free entertainment. Make your way to the library on Thursday afternoon for our “Origami Yoda” Party. For those of you who don’t know, Tom Angleberger’s hilarious children’s novel, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, has been on the New York Times bestseller list, along with the sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back. Fans of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are eating up this new, silly series about sixth graders who begin to believe the weird kid’s origami Star Wars finger puppet can actually predict their futures and provide wise advice. Kids who come to our party on February 16 at 2:00 will get to make their own origami characters and Star Wars masks and participate in some fun games. Children’s librarian Jessica Long adds that “Someone will get to destroy the Death Star piñata!” A couple of lucky kids will get to take home a prize book, too. Following the party, the library will show an animated movie following the adventures of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Count Dooku.

Friday is our kids’ Wii Play Day from 2:00-3:30, recommended for ages 5 and up. We will have two Wii stations with games projected onto big screens. Kids can sign up when they arrive for a spot to play Smurf Dance Party or Mario & Sonic Olympic Winter Games. Staff and volunteers will be on hand to make sure all kids get a chance to play, and parents are asked to stay with children under age 8. Teens can play Wii games at the monthly “Last Tuesday Gaming” in the Groesbeck Room on February 28, 4:00-6:00.

Speaking of teens, young adult librarian Janene Hill has planned an interesting and tasty event for kids in middle school and high school on Saturday, February 18, at 2:00: Microwave Experimentation! Do you know what happens when a frozen grape or bar of soap gets nuked? You’ve heard you should never put aluminum foil in the microwave, but have you ever seen what it looks like? Join us at the library to see what we can light up, fire up, and melt down with several interesting experiments, followed by yummy microwave snacks (not made in the same microwaves).

You can support teen programming at the library by visiting the Teen Library Advisory Board’s bake sale on Saturday, March 3, from 10:00-2:00. Eat your baked goodies while you browse for cheap books at our Friends Group’s Annual Book Sale that day. Book sale proceeds and other donations help fund our fun programs and parties, so it’s a win-win for everyone.

By Jennifer Adams

Plant a Kiss

By Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds


An enthusiastically positive picture book captures the magical nature of "planting" kindness and experiencing the benefit of it growing and blooming beyond the scope of just one person. This would be a relevant story to supplement a dialogue with your child about the reciprocity of kindness creating more kindness .

Lovely illustrations by Judy Moody's artist, Peter H. Reynolds, help make this book so charming. There is the added element of tactile sparkle in the art when you get toward the conclusion of the book.

The rhyming text is simple, with most pages containing just one or two words, making this a fabulous read-aloud. If you love the whimsical rhymes of Dr. Seuss, then you will find Plant a Kiss to be a delight.

Reviewed by Ami

Doodleday

By Ross Collins

Drawing is generally a safe pastime, but on Doodleday, you're in for a surprise. As she leaves for the store, Harvey's mom strictly forbids him to draw on Doodleday, but what would YOU do if your mom said not to draw today? That's right. Harvey draws, and it turns out that on Doodleday drawings come to life! That may not sounds all that dangerous, but what if you should happen to draw a monstrous fly? It will ruin your kitchen, that's what! What do you do then? Well, you draw a big spider. But what do you do when it attacks your dad? With a giant bird and squid to top it off, things spiral out of control and just when all seems lost, mom gets home. She grabs the sketchpad and starts to draw, but what can get rid of a giant fly, spider, bird and squid? You'll really have to read it to find out. All in all, Doodleday is a charming and playful story about how "Mother knows best."

--Grace