Cheshire Library

Summertime Picturebooks to Share

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

I know that while the summer heat is beating down on us we might want to hide away in the air conditioning and avoid the heat and sun. However, there are plenty of great things about summer, especially when you are a child. Here are some great picturebooks about summer for young readers to explore on their own, or for you to share with them, that will make you forget about the heat and enjoy the good things about summer together.

The Twelve Days of Summer by Jan Andrews. On each successive day of summer, a youngster finds an increasing number of animals and other natural wonders in the surrounding world and leaves behind a remembrance of the day’s discovery.

Carl’s Summer Vacation by Alexandra Day. Although told to take a nap by her parents, Madeleine and her favorite canine companion, Carl, head out to explore their surroundings and have fun taking a canoe ride on the lake, picnicking under the trees, and eating tasty blackberries straight off the bush.

The  Summer Visitors by Karel Hayes. During the summer a family of bears enjoys the comforts of life at a cottage by a lake, alongside the human visitors.

Now it is Summer by Eileen Spinelli.  A young mouse is encouraged by his mother to enjoy summer while waiting for autumn to come.

Summer: an Alphabet Acrostic by
Steven Schnur. Describes the summer season, with its recreation, heat, insects, and garden vegetables, and when read vertically, the first letters of the lines of text spell related words arranged alphabetically, from “awning” to “zodiac.”

Looking for more? We currently have a  display for summer related books in the children’s room, and I have further suggestions here. Summer is Summer by Phillis and David Gershator, It’s Summer! by Linda Glaser,  A to Z of Summer by Tracy Nelson Maurer, Lionel in the Summer by Stephen Krensky, The Summer Playground by Carl Emerson,  Summer Beat by Betsy Franco, What Happens in Summer? by Sara L. Latta, Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse, and Before the Storm by Jane Yolen.

 

 

A great summer night in Cheshire

/ Eileen / 2 Comments

My husband and I recently attended one of Cheshire’s free Friday night concerts in Bartlem Park. The show was performed by the group “Eaglemania” – a talented cover-band of the Eagles. It was such a wonderful evening, sitting outside on a blanket enjoying the old songs from one of my favorite bands. Fellow residents were just as excited to be there. I thought about what a great event it was and how happy I felt to be living in a town that supports the arts and leisure activities.concert

The first thing I did when I returned to work at the Cheshire Public Library was to access our catalog and see what Eagles cds we have in the the collection…and there are a lot! Later, I reminded myself that I could’ve accessed the catalog from home via the library’s website right after the show and reserved the cds directly. Again, I thought Cheshire really is a great town because it also has a wonderful library – a library supported by the town, its residents, and the Friends of the Cheshire Public Library.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the Eagles cds the library owns. Oh, and the next free concert is Friday, August 8th featuring Beau Bolero. You can find additional information on the town’s website ….  just scroll down to the bottom of the page.

 

           eagles

 

 

 

At the Library: Books and Bunnies

/ Mary / Leave a comment

If someone asks me what I do as a librarian, I know just what to say. I get to hold bunnies.

Tika the GeckoTo be specific, I held a lovely bunny named Milkshake. He and his brother Truffle were visiting the library as part of Story Stars, a program from Teaching Creatures. Rae, the presenter, read two stories to the kids, one about a bunny and another about a gecko. Milkshake and Truffle then made their appearance along with Tika, the leopard gecko.

Tika was small and spotted and not afraid of the crowd at all. She crawled happily over Rae’s hands and then delighted everyone by eating a snack of live mealworms.

Truffle the BunnyMilkshake and Truffle hopped around on a small tarp in the center of a circle of young children. I did my best to take pictures and learned that the phrase “quick like a bunny” is not just a myth. I have several nicely blurred images of two rabbits scooting across the floor. I did, as you can see, manage to get one nice shot of Truffle.

But then came the highlight of the program. Rae picked up Truffle to let each child have a chance to pet him. I got to pick up Milkshake.

I had never held a rabbit before. I had seen rabbits, petted them, and looked up information about them, but never got to hold one. He was soft and warm and surprisingly solid in my arms, just like a newborn baby.

I am a librarian. I provide information. I can navigate online databases. I am a social media maven. And I get to hold bunnies.

 

To take a look at upcoming programs at the Cheshire Public Library, check out our Calendar of Events.

What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in August

/ cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Lots more summer fun to be had before the kids head back to school (and adults, we’ve squeezed in a few programs for you, too!). Here are some of the events on our schedule for August:

 

Butterfly Program with Jerry Schneider

Friday August 1, 10:30 AM

Participants will learn about wing symmetry, defense mechanisms, and interesting butterfly behavior (did you know that butterflies taste their feet?),  and then make a butterfly t-shirt! Please bring a white or light colored t-shirt to this program, (participants need to have registered previously for this program).

Movie Matinees

Tuesdays at 1:00 PM, no registration required.

  • August 5 – Hopscotch (1980)
  • August 12 – Murder by Death  (1976)
  • August 19 – A Shot in the Dark (1964)

The Gulf of Tonkin – 50 Years Later

Tuesday Aug 5,  7:00 PM

Join local author and historian John White as he discusses his book The Gulf of Tonkin – 50 Years Later.  White “blew the whistle” on the alleged attack upon two U.S. naval ships on August 4, 1967. President Johnson used this as an excuse to rush Congress into passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which provided him with the legal authority to wage war on Vietnam. Copies of his book will be available for purchase. Registration Online.

Builder’s Brigade

Wednesdays,  Aug 6 and Aug 20, 4:00 PM

Kids have the opportunity to use their best creativity to design buildings, creatures, and more using Lego and Mega blocks. They can work alone, or in a team with peers. A different theme is picked for each session and kids can build on that theme or build a creation of their own. At the end of each session, kids can put their creations on display at the library for all to see until the next club is scheduled! (NOTE:  Children ages 7 and under must be accompanied by an adult.) No registration required.

Teen Games Drop-In

Fridays, Aug 8, 22, and 29, 2:30-4:30 PM

Nintendo Wii available for group play with ROCK BAND 2, DDR, MARIO KART, BRAWL, and lots more! We’ve got board games too, so come play games and nibble snacks, no registration required.

Cartoon Workshop with Rick Stromonski

Monday Aug 11, 7:00 PM 

Rick Stromonski, a nationally recognized cartoonist and author of Soup to Nutz, will lead children ages 6 and up in a cartoon workshop. Participants need to bring a pencil and pad of paper. Registration Online starting August 1st.

Fab Film Summer Movies: DIVERGENT (rated PG-13)

Wednesday Aug 13, 6:00  PM

Come enjoy some great box office family movies with Fab Film Saturdays at Cheshire Public Library! NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

Divergent is set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader (Kate Winslet) to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four (Theo James) and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it’s too late. Based on the best-selling book series by Veronica Roth.

Is There Water on Zork?

Thursday Aug 14, 10:30 AM

Become inhabitants of the alien planet zork and help Earthlings find water. After listening to the story — June 29, 1999 — you will conduct simple experiments to test the characteriestics of mystery liquids to discover if Zork has water. Participants will work in groups and use common household objects to test liquids for pH, adhesion, evaporation and other properties to make their conclusions.
For ages 7-12.  Registration Online starting on August 1st.

Summer Reading Finale with Jester Jim

Monday Aug 18, 6:30 PM  –  8:30 PM

With nothing more than a trunk full of props, Jester Jim will have you glued to his every sound as he performs his amazing beat-boxing, juggling, and balancing.
For kids of any age who have completed the Cheshire Public Library summer reading challenge.  Pre-concert snacks and beverages from 6:30-7:00 pm, performance by Jester Jim at 7:00 PM.

Registration Online starting on August 1st.

 

 

Happy Birthday Paperback Books!

/ Linda / Leave a comment

birthday

On July 30, 1935, a new technology was born that provided knowledge, stories, entertainment (with text and pictures, no less) that was convenient and cheap.  It was light enough to carry anywhere and you could tag specific areas to penguinre-read at a later date.  An early e-reader?  Nope – the paperback book!  Penquin Publishers, in England, was the first to successfully publish respectable, quality writing without a hard cover.  (There were earlier paperback books called penny dreadfuls, yellow-backs, and dime novels that generally featured lurid stories and were printed on cheap pulp paper.)

pocketPartnering with Simon & Schuster, Robert de Graff introduced the first paperbacks in America on June 19, 1939 called Pocket Books.  The first American paperback book to be printed in the United States was The Good Earth by Pearl Buck.  The cost to purchase these new books – 25 cents versus $2.75 for a hardcover.  In order to make a profit on paperbacks, de Graff had to print 100,000 copies at a time.  He couldn’t rely on bookstores to sell that many copies so he began using magazine distributors to place Pocket Books in newsstands, subway stations, drugstores and any other outlet to reach suburban and rural populations.  He designed bold, colorful, eye-catching book covers to catch people’s eyes.  By September 1944, 100 million books were sold in more than 70,000 outlets across the United States.   By the end of the 1940’s, the paperback industry began publishing original stories.  Previously, the industry only reprinted hardcover titles.  There are now more than 20 major publishers producing high quality, original and reprinted paperbacks.

 

Today, there are many sizes of paperback books and all different prices, but the two major sizes are mass-market and trade.  Authors originally wrote stories for publications in magazines, but soon shifted their attention to mass-market paperbacks.  They could write longer, more in-depth, entertaining novels that boasted beautiful, bold, color covers and were prominently displayed in all types of venues.  They were affordable and easy to carry and proved to be a huge hit.  Mass-market paperback readers have a large selection of genres of original stories to choose from, in addition to best-selling hardcovers republished in paperback form.  In the beginning, Westerns were the biggest selling genre, followed by Crime and Science Fiction.   The most popular genre for mass-market today is Romance.  Within this genre you will find many sub-genres including contemporary romance, historical romance, small town romance, and paranormal romance.  The Cheshire Library has a separate section dedicated to mass-market Romance Books located towards the front of the library, near the large windows.    Another very popular genre for mass-market paperbacks are Cozy Mysteries.  The Cheshire Library has a large selection of these interfiled among the hardcovers in the Mystery section of the library.  You can also find regular Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy paperbacks in the library’s collection.

COZY MYSTERIES

COZY MYSTERIES

Some literary authors, critics and bookstore owners turned their noses up at mass market paperbacks.  When Doubleday’s Jason Epstein was a college student, he lamented the fact that he and his fellow students couldn’t afford hardcover editions and envisioned a line of upscale paperbacks of hardcover bestsellers and classics.  By 1953, Trade paperbacks were introduced.  These were larger, more durable, with attractive covers illustrated by fine artists with an appeal to a more intellectual market.  They sold for 65 cents to $1.25.    The library’s selection of Trade paperbacks are filed among the hardcover books.  They also come in a variety of genres, with the most popular genres being erotic romance – with Fifty Shades of Grey topping the charts – and Christian-themed books.

 

There were many who thought paperbacks would kill the publishing industry, but instead, the books proved to be quite the sensation.  As recently as 2010, paperbacks outsold hardcover books.  Although the ebook has taken some of the market away from paperbacks, they still continue to be a much beloved tool for readers everywhere.  The look, feel, texture, smell, size, and portability makes the paperback book very inviting.