Here are the 2017 Nutmeg Nominees!

May 2, 2016April 27, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The Nutmeg Children’s Book Award is the “Children’s Choice” Award for Connecticut. The goal of the committee is to encourage children in grades two through twelve to read quality literature. Here is a listing of the nominees, divided by the four grade based categories. The library has purchased and cataloged multiple copies of each book. There might be a waiting list for the book(s) you are interested in most, but if you place a hold on the item we will contact you when it is your turn.

The links that I have included for each title are for searches that include all formats of the material that we own, including the print copy, audiobooks, and digital formats. How many have you already read? Are there any that you loved, hated, or are surprised by?

High School (Grades 9-12)
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
Jackaby by William Ritter
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Sway by Kat Spears

Teen (Grades 7-8)
The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Turn Left at the Cow by Lisa Bullard
The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Swagger by Carl Deuker
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington
The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

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Intermediate (Grades 4-6)
Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas
Space Case by Stuart Gibbs
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Masterminds by Gordon Korman
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel
Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile by Marcia Wells

Elementary (Grades 2-4)
Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis & Gilbert Ford
Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Cooking by Frances O’Roark Dowell & Preston McDaniels
Skateboard Party (The Carver Chronicles) by Karen English & Laura Freeman
Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story by Emily Arnold McCully
Grandma in Blue with Red Hat by Scott Menchin & Harry Bliss
Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul & Elizabeth Zunon
Quinny and Hopper by Adriana Brad Schanen & Greg Swearingen
Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen
Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson
Hana Hashimoto, Sixth VIolin by Chieri Uegaki & Qin Leng
In a Village By the Sea by Muon Van & April Chu
Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon
Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst & Kevin Cornell
Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick

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Who do you think will win?

What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in May

April 29, 2016April 15, 2016 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Welcome to May at Cheshire Library! We have lots of wonderful programs for all ages springing up throughout the month – here’s a sample:

Cheshire Cats Classics Club

Monday May 2, 2016, 6:30 – 7:30 PM

The Cheshire Cats Classics Club meets once per month on a Monday evening, to discuss a classic book. This month’s book is The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. There is limited seating for this event. For more information and to register for this program, contact program moderator Jennifer Bartlett at jbartlett@cheshirelibrary.org.

Tune Time for Tots

Thursdays in May, 9:30 – 10:15 AM

Enjoy music and movement in this high energy program. Songs help children develop listening skills and pay attention to the rhythms and rhymes of spoken language. Clapping along to rhythms helps children hear the syllables in words and helps them improve motor skills. Children must be accompanied by a care giver. For ages 1 to 3 years old. No registration required.

Rhythm & Rhyme Storytime

Thursdays in May, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Shake your tail feathers during this interactive storytime with songs, rhymes, and plenty of movement. Stay afterwards for a relaxed open play session. Children must be accompanied by a care giver. For ages 2 to 3 years old. No registration required.

S.T.E.A.M. Punks – Middle School Edition

Thursday May 5, 2016, 3:30 – 4:30 PM

Investigate the many elements of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math. We’ll explore robotics, electronics, arts & crafts, food science and much, much more. We’ll put things together, take things apart, play games, and have a ton of fun! For grades 6-8, no registration required.

Local Author Day

Saturday May 7, 2016, 12:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Local authors will be present to sell their books and to share their knowledge about their subjects and their advice about the world of publishing with area residents who are seeking to publish books of their own.

Parent Program: Baby Brain Development

Thursday May 12, 2016, 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Join us for a discussion on early baby development including learning, memory, and brain development, based on the latest research at UConn Waterbury. Presented by Kimberly Cuevas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology. Visit UConn KIDS to learn more about current research in child development and explore opportunities to participate. Please register online.

Gardening Tips & Tricks

Saturday May 14, 2016, 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Do you want to be a better gardener? Looking ways to improve your technique? Join us for a presentation by Julie Harrison, a landscape designer and decorator, who has a flair for creative and imaginative designs that are infused with her own unique sense of style. She knows that a good horticulturalist has to “get their hands dirty in order to get green.” She will present unique ways and tricks to be a better gardener. Please register online.

Parent Workshop: Juggling Two- Handling Sibling Relationships

Wednesday May 18, 2016, 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Participants explore what it means to add a new child to the family. Discuss emotional and practical challenges for parents and older siblings. Learn tips and strategies to nurture lifelong healthy sibling relationships. This parent workshop is presented by Christine Foster, Director of Community Relations from The Independent Day School. Please register online beginning April 25.

An Evening with a Dog Listener

Thursday May 19, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Spend the evening with Dog Listener Pat Wright. Learn how to bring your dog to peace and solve the problem of unwanted behaviors. Some of the many topics discussed are pulling on the lead, jumping up, aggression, separation anxiety, and excessive barking. You will also learn how to get willing cooperation with your dog to perform any task at hand. Please register online.

Drop-in Tech Help – Weekend Edition!

Saturday May 21, 2016, 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Do you have questions about your computer, smartphone, or iPad? Do you need help navigating Facebook or downloading an ebook? Bring your technology-related questions to Cheshire Public Library’s Tech Open House. NOTE: Please be sure your device is fully charged beforehand. In the event your question or issue is more involved, we may ask you to schedule an appointment and come back for one-on-one help. No registration required.

How to Use Facebook to Connect with Family and Friends

Wednesday May 25, 2016, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Come to the Cheshire Public Library and learn how to create a Facebook account, connect with friends, family, share photos and videos, send messages, get updates and more. No registration required, you may bring your own device to class.

All NEW! Teen Games

Friday May 27, 2016, 3:00 – 4:30 PM

We just got a Nintendo WiiU with Super Mario 3D World, NintendoLand, Mario Kart 8, Super Smashbrothers, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and The Wonderful 101! We’ve got all-new card and board games too- like Channel A, Killer Bunnies, SuperFight! and Munchkin- so come play games and nibble snacks, FTW! No registration required, Grades 6—12.

April 27, 2016 is Administrative Professional Day!!

April 27, 2016April 21, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Did you know that the last full week of April is Administrative Professionals Week, and the Wednesday of that week is Administrative Professional Day? This is a day, and week, were we should all give the people that do so much behind the scenes a special thanks for all the work they do to make the world run smoothly.

Think about all the moments in your life that have been made easier by the person scheduling an appointment, making phone calls, ordering and managing the supplies, and otherwise making the world go round. Not just the people that do these things for you, or where you might work, but the people that do these things at the companies you do business with. Salespeople, service people, medical professionals, teachers, and so on could get very little done without the wonderful people that do everything in their power to make things run smoothly and frankly make it all look easy.

In honor of these hard working, and generally under-appreciated, people I have gathered up some fiction about the people that have worked as administrative professionals. Included are novels where assistants of different varieties face more work and trouble than anyone should, and still handle it all with style.

Chore Whore: Adventures of a Celebrity Personal Assistant by Heather H. Howard
Reaching her breaking point after being abused by more than twenty celebrities in her work as a professional Hollywood assistant, Corki Brown is dismayed to learn that ending her career is proving more difficult than anticipated.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
A small-town girl fresh out of an Ivy League college lands a job at a prestigious fashion magazine, but wonders if the glamorous perks are worth working for the editor from hell.

The Second Assistant: a Tale From the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare
A former congressional intern who takes a job as second assistant at The Agency, a powerful Hollywood talent agency, Elizabeth Miller never expected to have to cope with the trials, tribulations, and dirty dealings of the film world, from a Machiavellian assistant and company power struggle to a lecherous producer and ritalin-snorting boss.

Off the Menu by Stacey Ballis
Alana, the culinary assistant to a Chicago celebrity chef, discovers Southern hospitality after an accidental online connection to a Tennessee native and must decide on her priorities in life.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a Greenwich Village jazz bar on New Year’s Eve 1938 catapults witty Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multi-millionaire, an Upper East Side ne’er-do-well, and a single-minded widow.

More fiction featuring stalwart assistants include: Oh! You Pretty Things by Shanna Mahin, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal, The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields, The Haunting of L. by Howard Norman, The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen; translated by William Frost, The Apprentice Lover by Jay Parini, and Margot by Jillian Cantor.

What’s Trending at Cheshire Public Library

April 25, 2016April 21, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

movies dvd

Winter is over and Spring has sprung. During the long winter months, lots of people spent their time watching movies. So what movies were the most popular this Winter? Here are the top 15 movies that were checked out during January, February and March. See something you like? Check it out!

The Age of Adaline – A young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.

Jurassic World – A new theme park is built on the original site of Jurassic Park. Everything is going well until the park’s newest attraction–a genetically modified giant stealth killing machine–escapes containment and goes on a killing spree.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – With the IMF disbanded, Ethan and his team join forces with a disavowed British agent, who may or may not be a member of this rogue nation, as they must face off against a new network of highly skilled special agents.

Downton Abbey – Season 1 – Downton Abbey — a sprawling, lavish Edwardian mansion nestled in the Yorkshire landscape — needs an heir. Dame Maggy Smith stars as Violet, the stubborn Dowager Countess of Grantham & matriarch of Downton. Hugh Bonneville stars as her son, the stoic, unflappable Lord Crawley.

Unbroken – After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he’s caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

The Imitation Game – During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.

Still Alice – A linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Ted 2 – Newlywed couple Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he’s a person in a court of law.

Selma – A chronicle of Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – As the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has only a single remaining vacancy – posing a rooming predicament for two fresh arrivals – Sonny pursues his expansionist dream of opening a second hotel.

Run All Night – Mobster and hit man Jimmy Conlon has one night to figure out where his loyalties lie: with his estranged son, Mike, whose life is in danger, or his longtime best friend, mob boss Shawn Maguire, who wants Mike to pay for the death of his own son.

Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2 – After six years of keeping our malls safe, Paul Blart has earned a well-deserved vacation. He heads to Vegas with his teenage daughter before she heads off to college. But safety never takes a holiday and when duty calls, Blart answers.

Boyhood – The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.

Tomorrowland – Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

Train Wreck – Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.

How to Fold Your Clothes

April 22, 2016April 6, 2016 / Mary / Leave a comment

I’ve been folding my clothes wrong all my life.

I discovered this when I began exploring minimalism. Minimalism is the idea that less is more. Owning fewer things makes your life easier. However, minimalism is not about getting rid of everything. Part of the concept of minimalism is putting things away properly.

Let’s take clothing as an example. When clothes are folded correctly, they take up less space. A simple concept, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it.

Here’s a before picture of my dresser. A pretty typical dresser, I’d like to think.

2016-01-24 11.37.47

Now here is what one shelf looked like once I changed how I folded my clothes. Just look at that bottom shelf compared to the one above it.

2016-01-24 11.38.07

I was startled by how much less room my clothing took up. I emptied the dresser and refolded everything. This was the end result. (Yes, I have a little too much on that poor top shelf!)

2016-01-24 12.30.01

I did not discard one single item. In fact, I ADDED a few things that had been hanging in my closet.

Here’s how it works: Lay your clothes flat and fold them length-wise, twice. Then either fold or roll them so that they can be stored on end. The only exception I made was the pants, which I found hard to make stay folded and standing on end, so I stacked them. They still take up less space than they did before. I simply folded them length-wise as instructed and then folded them in half and then in half again.

I discovered this method of folding while reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, where you can read a more detailed explanation of this method of folding. Kondo’s folding method is also detailed in her newly released Spark Joy.