Grandmothers

grandmother

Brotherly love

Brotherly love

I’m fairly new at being a grandmother and I’m enjoying every minute.  I am filled with love and joy every time I see my grandsons.

Grandmothers have a pivotal role in everyone’s lives.  Here are some books that feature grandmothers.

 

 

dont sing at the tableDon’t Sing at the Table: life lessons from my grandmothers Adriana Trigiani – A humorous book culled from the advice of the author’s two grandmothers offers answers to the seminal questions in a woman’s life, from getting married to saving money, from nurturing the soul to keeping calm in a crisis, from raising children to finding private comfort.

yes chefYes, Chef – Marcus Samulsson – The “Top Chef: Masters” winner and proprietor of Harlem’s Red Rooster journey began in his grandmother’s humble kitchen. He traces his Ethiopian birth, upbringing by an adoptive family in Sweden, and rise to a fame as a New York chef, sharing personal insights into his challenges as a black man in a deeply prejudiced industry.

burnt mountainBurnt Mountain – Anne Rivers Siddons- Thayer Wentworth marries an Irish professor and moves into her deceased grandmother’s house in Atlanta a short distance away from the summer camp she attended as a child, where she begins to question whether her husband is the man she thought she knew.

last bus toLast Bus to Wisdom – Ivan Doig – Rejected by his domineering great aunt during the summer of 1951, imaginative eleven-year-old Donal travels back to his ailing grandmother’s home accompanied by his German great uncle while experiencing haphazard adventures along the way.

probable futureThe Probable Future – Alice Hoffman – Struggling to cope with her unwanted ability to see the future, Stella must confront her legacy when her father is jailed, wrongly accused of homicide, and Stella joins forces with her grandmother and mother to uncover the truth.

my grandmother askedMy Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry – Fredrik Backman – Seven-year-old Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending the girl on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales.

last lessons of summerLast Lessons of Summer – Margaret Maron – Inheriting her family’s business, Amy Stedman reflects on her marriage to a man who loves her only for her money, her mother’s apparent suicide, her grandmother’s unsolved murder, and the possibility that she may be targeted next.

forgottenThe Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton – Abandoned on a 1913 voyage to Australia, Nell is raised by a dock master and his wife who do not tell her until she grows up that she is not their child, a situation that causes her to return to England and eventually hand down her quest for answers to her granddaughter.

mrs. sinclairMrs. Sinclair’s Suitcase – Louise Walters – A lonely bookstore clerk discovers a hidden letter that reveals her grandmother’s struggles with singlehood, a whirlwind affair during World War II, and the fateful choices that shaped decades of their family life.

 

irresistibleThe Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe – Mary Simes –  When New Yorker Ellen Branford travels to rural Maine to fulfill her dying grandmother’s last wish by delivering a long-overdue apology letter, Ellen’s near-drowning forces her to stay longer than she had planned.

 

 

 

 

Draw A Bird Day

Last year the Cheshire Library celebrated Draw a Bird Day by having staff make their own bird drawings. This post appeared a few weeks later, describing the experience and the significance of Draw a Bird Day. Here it is again, for those who wish to know the story behind Draw a Bird Day.
__________________________________________________

2015-04-09 18.27.16In 1943, Dorie Cooper was a 7 year old living in England. Her mother took her to a hospital to visit her uncle who was wounded in the war. While they were there, Dorie’s uncle was very distraught, having lost his right leg to a land mine. In an attempt to cheer him up, she asked him “Draw a bird for me, please.” Even though he was unwell, he decided to do as Dorie asked. He looked out his window and drew a picture of a robin.

On April 7, 2015 the director of the Cheshire Library put a piece of paper into everyone’s mailbox. The page was blank except for one sentence across the top: Wednesday, April 8th is “Draw a Picture of a Bird Day” followed by the line: Here is my picture of a 2015-04-09 18.25.46bird.2015-04-09 18.25.57

What fun, I thought and took my paper home to plan a drawing for the next day. On April 8th when I arrived at work, several staff had created bird drawings. There were all types from simple line drawings to colorful sketches. Owls, doves, robins, swans, and hummingbirds found their way onto the wall of our staff room.

After seeing her uncle’s bird picture, Dorie laughed out loud and proclaimed that he was not a very good 2015-04-09 18.26.34artist, but that she would hang the picture in her room nonetheless. Her uncle’s spirits were lifted by his niece’s complete honesty and acceptance. Several other wounded soldiers also had their day brightened by the event and every time Dorie came to visit thereafter, they held drawing contests to see who could produce the best bird pictures. Within several months, the entire ward’s walls were decorated by bird drawings.

2015-04-09 18.26.12The next evening, as I was standing there looking at the pictures, I became curious about the source of Draw a Bird Day. So, I did some research and discovered the Draw a Bird Day website. I read with interest about Dorie and her uncle. And then came the third paragraph.

3 years later, Dorie was killed after being struck by a car. At her funeral, her coffin was filled with bird images that had been made by soldiers, nurses and doctors from the ward where her uncle had been. Ever since then, those men and women remembered the little girl who brought hope to the ward by drawing birds on her birthday, April 8th.
2015-04-09 18.26.25

I was stunned. Dorie, the girl who had loved bird drawings, died at age ten? That was not the way I was expecting the tale to end. And then I read a little further.

Draw a Bird Day was never declared an official holiday, but it grew through those soldiers and medical personnel and their families. Today, it is celebrated world wide as a way to express joy in the very simplest of things in life.

2015-04-09 18.26.07I went back into the staff room and looked at the bird drawings again. I had enjoyed making my drawing and viewing the drawings of my coworkers. It had lifted my spirits to make that picture and to see the creativity of the people I worked with. It had, in fact, the same effect that it had in that hospital ward all those years ago.

2015-04-07 16.45.35Seventy-two years after a little girl asked her uncle to draw her a bird, people all over the world are still drawing birds on her birthday. Still celebrating hope and happiness. Still celebrating joy in the simple. Still sharing the fun.

Would you like to learn how to draw a bird? Try these titles:

Drawing Birds     Colored Pencil     Laws guide

They’re Not What They Seem…

Can you figure out what these women have in common?

AlanaAlanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce “I did this because I wanted to become a knight.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxShadowbridge by Gregory Frost “I did this because I needed to protect myself.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxThe Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted “I did this because I wanted an education.”

 

 

jacketA Soldier’s Secret: The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss “I did this because I wanted to escape from my previous life and fight for a cause.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare “I did this because I needed a way to live.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxDisney’s Mulan “I did this because I needed to protect my family.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxBloody Jack by L.A. Meyer. “I did this because I wanted to sail around the world.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxSelf-Made Man by Norah Vincent “I did this because I wanted to learn about how men live.”

 

 

Jacket.aspxRowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest by Nancy Springer “I did this because I was searching for my father.”

 

Ouran

Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori “I did this because I was in debt.”

 

 

Did you guess? Women disguised as men. They were disguised so they could fight for themselves or their families, protect themselves when they were all alone in a man’s world, and earn an education, which they would have been denied otherwise. Each and every one of these is absolutely fascinating. Do yourself a favor and work your way through this list!

Do you have any favorite books/movies/plays with this subject that did not make this list?

Get Gardening With the Whole Family

Spring is here. This means it is a perfect time to start researching and planning what you want to grow this year. I am already dreaming about sunflowers, lavender, fresh tomatoes, and a variety of other produce and herbs. I love to garden, and have always been spoiled with the gift of family with very green thumbs. I adore fresh flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables and am glad to grow or have access to a wonderful supply each year.

kidgardenDuring the garden planning and planting process do not forget that everyone can take part in gardening. No matter the age, we can all dig a hole to plant a seed or young plant, pick out a plant to grow, or help chose a container to plant in. A wonderful trick to getting children (or adults) to try new foods is to have them help grow, pick, and help wash and prepare them.

kidgardens44The library has a vast gardening section in the adult nonfiction section to help with the important planning and plant choices. However, do not overlook the books in the children’s room. These books can give gardeners of all ages some ideas and inspiration to garden as a family, or to give the kids their own special little container or garden space. Here are a few of the great gardening books about involving children and getting them excited in the process.

Garden to Table: A Kid’s Guide to Planting, Growing, and Preparing Food by Katherine Hengel with Lisa Wagner
Container Gardening for Kids by Ellen Talmage
The Family Kitchen Garden: How to Plant, Grow, and Cook Together by Karen Liebreich, Jutta Wagner & Annette Wendland
The Nitty-Gritty Gardening Book: Fun Projects for All Seasons by Kari Cornell
Gardening Projects for Kids: 101 Ways to Get Kids Outside, Dirty, and Having Fun by Whitney Cohen and John Fisher
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy
Kids’ Container Gardening: Year-Round Projects for Inside and Out by Cindy Krezel
How Does Your Garden Grow?: Great Gardening for Green-Fingered Kids by Clare Matthews
Gardening With Children by Monika Hannemann
A Kid’s Guide to How Herbs Grow by Patricia Ayers
It’s Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden by George Ancona

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Don’t Want To Ask? A Quick Guide to Tough Topics!

research question pictureThe Dewey Decimal System is a mystery to many outside the world of libraries and publishing. When you need information on something you might not want everyone to know about, sometimes it can be hard to ask for help. I saw that a Sacramento library had created a bookmarks with the Dewey Decimal numbers for some hard to ask about topics for teens, and I thought it was brilliant. It inspired me to do my part to help people find the books they need on topics they might not want everyone to know they were looking for.

Legal difficulties, mental or physical health problems, self help resourcesbullying, relationship issues, and so on are things that you might want to research but might not want to stop and ask a librarian about, or know how to find via the digital catalog. So, I have looked at some of the tough topics, and some happy ones that people might not want to go public with quite yet, to help you find the books that you need. I have linked each of the listings below to the relevant search in the catalog to make placing holds or checking availability even easier.

All of these nonfiction materials are on the lower level, and if you are looking for books on these topics for teens or children they will be shelved in the children’s room with the same call numbers. If you cannot find it, don’t be afraid to ask or to place a hold for the materials with staff, or by yourself via the catalog. We have seen it all. Seriously, we do not judge you by the books you check out and are more than happy to help you find the resources you need.

researchIf you really don’t want anyone to know what you are checking out, there are a few additional assurances I can offer you. If you use the self check out machines, we will have no idea what you have checked out. Also, we won’t tell anyone what you have checked out unless you give them your card. Anything that you check out and return with no fines leaves your record completely. There is no way for us to see, or tell anyone else, your borrowing history. Don’t be afraid to research and find the answers you need!

More importantly, if you need help more urgently than research can offer, please take a moment and reach out for it. Some important help can be found over the internet or via the phone.  There are help hotlines for just about everything, when you do not know who to talk to for help, dialing 211 can connect you to local services you might need. This includes utility assistance, food, housing, child care, after school programs, elder care, crisis intervention (including suicide and abuse) and much more. The related 211 website also offers an eLibrary with specific information on a variety of topics.

Abortion ~ 363.46

Alzheimer’s ~ 616.831

Cancer ~  616.994

Hair Loss ~ 616.546

HIV / AIDS ~ 616.9792

Infertility – 616.692 or 618.39

Miscarriage ~ 618.392

Pregnancy ~ 618.2

Puberty ~ 613.043 or 612.66

Sexual Health ~ 613 or 306.7

 

Bipolar Disorder ~ 616.895

Bullying ~ 303.69

Child Abuse ~ 362.76

Depression ~ 616.8527

Domestic Violence ~ 362.82

Loss of a Child ~ 155.9

Loss of a Parent ~ 306.874 or 155.9

Mental Illness ~ 616.89

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ~ 616.8521

Sexual Abuse ~ 362.7

Substance Abuse ~ 362.29 or 616.86

Suicide ~ 362.28

 

Adoption ~ 362.734

Bankruptcy ~ 346.7307

Child Custody ~ 343.7301

Divorce ~ 306.89 or 346.7

Estate Planning and Living Will ~ 346.7305

Foreclosure ~ 346.73

Hospice Care ~ 362.1

Personal Finance ~ 332

Wedding Planning ~ 395.22