A great summer night in Cheshire

August 5, 2014August 4, 2014 / 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.

Smart Summer Reads for Older Teens and Adults

July 26, 2014August 1, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Are you looking for a great read this summer that is not pure fluff, but not so heavy that you wonder why you are reading it for fun? Here are some books with great insights about life, different cultures, history, and society. They also happen to be fantastic reads, although not necessarily fun reads. These books would be good choices for a curious high school student, the college bound, and for adults that are just looking to expand their knowledge and reading while not afraid to cross the threshold of the teen room doors.

1. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The great-granddaughter of Iran’s last emperor and the daughter of ardent Marxists describes growing up in Tehran in a country plagued by political upheaval and vast contradictions between public and private life.

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

3. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. An account of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 relates the stories of two men who shaped the history of the event–architect Daniel H. Burnham, who coordinated its construction, and serial killer Herman Mudgett.

4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. In an action-packed modern fable about the problems young Chinese Americans face when trying to participate in American popular culture, the lives of three apparently unrelated characters–Jin Wang, Monkey King, and Chin-Kee–come together with an unexpected twist.

5. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. Presents an oral history of the dust storms that devastated the Great Plains during the Depression, following several families and their communities in their struggle to persevere despite the devastation.

Looking for even more books that are smart and fascinating read? Here are a few more reading suggestions. If I missed one you would like to recommend please leave a comment and let us know so other readers can add it to their list as well! Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Maus and Maus II by Art Spiegelman, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Rigoberta Menchú, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling, Persepolis 2: the Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung, Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed
Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh, or The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman.

Linda Reads: Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage by Molly Wizenberg

July 19, 2014July 18, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

It’s rare for me to read a memoir, but the title of this memoir intrigue me enough to give it a try. I’m so glad I did! The author is a blogger (Orangette) and the book tends to lend itself to a blogging format, but I found it to be a poignant and funny account of a marriage that takes an unexpected career path.

Delancey tells the story of Molly Wizenberg and Brandon Pettit – a trained composer with a handful of offbeat interests: espresso machines, wooden boats, violin-building, and ice cream–making. So when Brandon decided to open a pizza restaurant, Molly was supportive—not because she wanted him to do it, but because the idea was so far-fetched that she didn’t think he would. Before she knew it, he’d signed a lease on a space. The restaurant, Delancey, was going to be a reality, and all of Molly’s assumptions about her marriage were about to change.

Together they built Delancey: gutting and renovating the space on a cobbled-together budget, developing a menu, hiring staff, and passing inspections. Delancey became a success, and Molly tried to convince herself that she was happy in their new life until—in the heat and pressure of the restaurant kitchen—she realized that she hadn’t been honest with herself or Brandon.

With evocative photos by Molly and twenty new recipes for the kind of simple, delicious food that chefs eat at home, Delancey is a moving and honest account of two young people learning to give in and let go in order to grow together.

About the author:

Molly Wizenberg is the voice behind Orangette, named the best food blog in the world by the London Times. Her first book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, was a New York Times bestseller, and her work has appeared in Bon Appétit, The Washington Post, The Art of Eating, and The Guardian, and on Saveur.com and Gourmet.com. She also co-hosts the hit podcast Spilled Milk. She lives in Seattle with her husband Brandon Pettit, their daughter June, and two dogs named Jack and Alice. She and Brandon own and run the restaurants Delancey and Essex.

Source: Amazon

Tooth Fairy Books for First Time Donors

July 17, 2014July 17, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you have a child that has lost their first tooth, is celebrating their first wiggly tooth, or has questions about the Tooth Fairy and other related mythology? Parents of all generations have faced the dilemma of how to deal with it, and just what stories to share in their families. Well, here are a selection of picturebooks for you and your child to peruse to see what best fits your family.

1. Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions From Around the World by Selby B. Beeler; illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Consists of brief statements relating what children from around the world do with a tooth that has fallen out. Includes facts about teeth.

2. Tooth Tales From Around the World by Marlene Targ Brill; illustrated by Katya Krenina. Explores how different cultures have viewed losing teeth and how the idea of the Tooth Fairy originated.

3. The Tooth Mouse by Susan Hood; illustrated by Janice Nadeau. Introduces readers to the Tooth Mouse, France’s version of the tooth fairy, and to Sophie, a sweet young mouse who must prove she is brave, honest and wise enough to take over this important job.

4. Madlenka by Peter Sis
Madlenka, whose New York City neighbors include the French baker, the Indian news vendor, the Italian ice-cream man, the South American grocer, and the Chinese shopkeeper, goes around the block to show her friends her loose tooth and finds that it is like taking a trip around the world.

5. Amanda Pig and the Wiggly Tooth by Jean Van Leeuwen; pictures by Ann Schweninger.
Amanda Pig has her first ever wiggly tooth and she can not wait for the Tooth Fairy to come. But her loose tooth will not fall out. Father offers to pull it out for her, but Amanda thinks that might hurt too much. Instead, she decides to ignore it and one day discovers that her tooth has fallen out on its own. But where is it. Will the Tooth Fairy still come if Amanda has lost her tooth.

6. Tabitha’s Terrifically Tough Tooth by Charlotte Middleton. A young girl tries everything she can think of to make her loose tooth fall out in time to leave it for the Tooth Fairy.

There are plenty of other books that feature both new and well-known characters dealing with the first loose tooth. Here are some more books you might want to check out: Dear Tooth Fairy by Karen Gray Ruelle, Silverlicious by Victoria Kann, I Want My Tooth by Tony Ross, Franklin and the Tooth Fairy by Paulette Bourgeois, Fancy Nancy and the Too-Loose Tooth by Jane O’Connor, The Berenstain Bears and the Tooth Fairy by Jan & Mike Berenstain, The Very Beary Tooth Fairy by Arthur A. Levine; illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen, A Visit from the Tooth Fairy by Sarah Albee; illustrated by Karen Craig,
I Lost my Tooth! by Hans Wilhelm, Bear’s Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson; illustrations by Jane Chapman, and Gilbert and the Lost Tooth by Diane deGroat.

Great Graphic Heavy Books for Reluctant Readers

July 13, 2014July 10, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

Do you have a reader that is sad to find the majority of their books are missing the illustrations that initially drew them to reading in the first place? Or perhaps you have a reader that is a bit intimidated (but refuses to admit it) by books with so much text, and so few illustrations? Perhaps they just think that reading is boring or not fun. Thankfully, graphic heavy books and graphic novels for this age group are increasing in both quality and quantity. This means that there are books out there with an extra dash or excitement and silliness available for readers of all ages.

Here are some great books that just might capture your reader’s eye with graphics, and keep them reading because of the story. The majority of theses books are the first in a series, so if your reader gets hooked, you should have a few books to go before looking for the next title. I have broken the lists down by age group, and by amount of text, to make finding the perfect book just a little easier.