From the Reference Desk: Consumer Reports Online

July 24, 2013July 19, 2013 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Did you know that Consumer Reports Online is available free to Cheshire residents 24/7 through the Cheshire Library website?

CR is a highly respected source for product information, and smart consumers are now able to research products for free before they make their purchase. CR features expert ratings, buying advice, online shopping and user reviews. Products are rigorously tested and evaluated before they are rated and recommended. Testing products since 1936, Consumers Union is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers. Get the biggest bang for your buck by being a savvy consumer!

To access Consumer Reports Online, visit the Cheshire Library website, www.cheshirelibrary.com. Click on Research, then select Consumer Reports, and enter your library card number when prompted.

From the Children’s Room : Digging Into Nature

July 17, 2013July 15, 2013 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

We had a terrific turnout for the Animal Embassy program “Digging into Nature” earlier this month! Kids (and their grownups) got up close and personal with all manner of creatures that dig (yes, that is a scorpion!), as part of our “Dig Into Reading” summer reading program. Thanks Animal Embassy!

Sharon Reads: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

July 14, 2013July 11, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is the first book in a new young adult series, His Fair Assassin. The main character is seventeen-year-old Ismea, who has been feared and shamed her entire life because of scars she bears from her mothers attempt to abort her. She escapes an arranged marriage and dedicates her life to the god, or saint, Mortain who rules death. The convent that takes her in and trains her requires complete obedience, but her skills and safety of the convent help Ismae grow and thrive. During her third assignment, she discovers that the outside world is much more complicated than she had ever imagined. She finds herself under prepared as she tries to protect the duchess, and the country, amid traitors and plots that seem to become even more tangled as she loses her heart to her partner, and potential target for death.

Let’s start with the obviously fantastic reason everyone is interested by this book, assassin nuns. It could not be anything other than awesome. Ismea is saved from being further beaten, and most likely killed, by the man her father sold her to as a wife by a local priests and hedge witch that follow the old ways. She is taught to kill, to serve a dark god or saint and to protect her country. She learns to obey, and in turn to question the orders and plots that are driving her hands in death. Ismea becomes a strong, smart woman. Her partnership with Duval is far from insta-love, and develops slowly and will the appropriate amount of doubt and mistrust. However, I will say that I was occasionally annoyed with her jumping and being startled every time he touched her or looked at her a certain way. The court intrigue was well done, and held some surprises for me. I fully expected some of the players to be exactly who they turned out to be, but I was glad to find a couple unexpected twists and turns.

I recommend Grave Mercy to fans of historical fiction, court intrigue, and heroines that take charge of their destiny. There are some mystical elements and significant romance, but neither overwhelms the historical mystery that carries throughout the story. Some might be worried about the mystic elements or take on religion. I think most interested in the book, especially by the thought of assassin nuns, will be just fine. Those that are offended by the very idea of old gods and the way pagan religions were transformed to be part of Christianity through force, and the idea that the pagan community could have had (or still have) some things right, might want to skip it. It is a four star book in my opinion.

Dark Triumph

The sequel, Dark Triumph follows fellow assassin nun Sybella on her own heart wrenching journey.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.

Six Picks : Summer Thrillers

July 13, 2013July 11, 2013 / Louise / 1 Comment

With the new crop of mystery and suspense novels coming out, your summer reading could be extra thrilling this year! A few top picks:

Inferno by Dan Brown. In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces–Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science.

The Kill Room by Jeffrey Deaver. Renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate the sniper-killing of a U.S. citizen in the Bahamas. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim’s steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself.

Joyland by Stephen King. Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz. Odd Thomas journeys through California and Nevada after a vision about the murders of three children, an effort throughout which he befriends a series of eccentric helpers who become allies in a battle against a sociopath and a network of killers.

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo. Christmas shoppers stop to hear a Salvation Army concert on a crowded Oslo street. A gunshot cuts through the music and the bitter cold: one of the singers falls dead, shot in the head at point-blank range. Harry Hole–the Oslo Police Department’s best investigator and worst civil servant–has little to work with: no suspect, no weapon, and no motive.

Choke Point by Ridley Pearson. Hired to investigate allegations of a sweat-shop operation in Amsterdam that is enslaving young girls, John Knox and tech information expert Grace Chu embark on a rescue mission that is challenged by a crime organization that has seduced local neighborhoods with showy goodwill practices.

Picturebooks on the Small Screen

July 9, 2013July 9, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

If there is a child in your house that has a favorite book that you refuse to keep reading umpteen times a day, or are trying to pry small eyes away from the television and towards an actual book, I just might have a solution! I have discovered a series of DVD’s that my two children and I can enjoy without feeling guilty about watching.

Scholastic has a series of DVD’s that take favorite picturebooks, and some chapter books, released in a form everyone can enjoy. The picturebook DVD’s typically include the words at the bottom of the screen with a read along feature and the original artwork. This just might get a young television fan interested in picking up a book that they have seen, or checking out more by an author on the library shelves. Many of the stories are read by the authors and some contain interviews with those authors that the adults will appreciate even more than the kids do. Here are some of my favorite examples of great children’s books that use the actual text of the book in order to excite children about reading.

1. Chrysanthemum is a DVD with Chrysanthemum, Owen, and Weekend with Wendell by Kevin Henkes. It also has Picnic by Emily Arnold McCully, Monty by James Stevenson, and Wizard by Jack Kent. The DVD is recommended for ages 2 through 7 and has a read along option available. Narrators on this DVD include Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary Beth Hurt, and Marlene Danielle.

2. Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin and narrated by Randy Travis is the title story for my second pick in this section. Other stories on the DVD include The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash written by Trinka Hakes Noble and illustrated by Steven Kellogg with the voices of Brianna Kittrell and Heidi Stalling; The Pigs’ Wedding written and illustrated by Helme Heine; The Cow Who Fell in the Canal written by Phyllis Krasilovsky, illustrated by Peter Spier, and narrated by Rex Robbins; and Charlie Needs a Cloak written and illustrated by Tomie de Paola. This disc is recommended for ages 2 through 8 and includes English and Spanish language track (for title story only) with optional “read along” track.

3. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen is the title track on two different DVD’s. One also has In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming, Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd MoMoss, All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka, The Napping House, Joey Runs Away, and Picnic. The stories are narrated by Jane Yolen, and Laura Dern; the illustrators are Mark Teague and Marjorie Priceman. The other DVD with How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? as the title track is a selection of several of Yolen’s How Does a Dinosaur series and other dinosaur related books.

4. Swimmy is the title story in this collection of stories from Leo Lionni. The other stories included are Frederick, Fish is Fish, It’s Mine!, Cornelius, Each Peach, Pear, Plum, Hush Little Baby, and Let’s Give Kitty a Bath. These eight classic Leo Lionni animated stories are recommended for ages 3 through 9.

5. There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a classic tale. On this DVD is the version adapted by Simms Taback which is narrated and sung by Cyndi Lauper. The disc also includes Antarctic Antics, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey; Musical Max, written by Robert Kraus and illustrated by Jose Aurego & Ariane Dewey (narrated by Mary Beth Hurt); Keeping House written by Margaret Mahy and illustrated by Wendy Smith; and Waiting for Wings, written by Lois Ehlert. This disc is recommended for ages 3 through 8 and has a Spanish version of Musical Max.

6. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems starts off a DVD that also has Shrinking Violet written by Cari Best and illustrated by Giselle Potter; Possum Magic written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Julie Vivas; Planting a Rainbow written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert; Brave Irene by William Steig; and Will I have a Friend? written by Miriam Cohen and illustrated by Lillian Hoban. There is a read along option on the disc as well as an interview with Mo Willems. The disc is recommended for ages 2 through 8.

For more great picturebooks and short chapter books turned into DVDs, you can search for the Scholastic Storybook Treasures series. But do not forget to take a look at the original versions of these great stories as well!