cheshire public library

Nancy Pearl’s First Children’s Audio Book

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Nancy Pearl just might be America’s most well known librarian. She even has her own action figure! So it is little wonder that I was thrilled to read in USA Today  that she has recorded her first children’s audiobook. She has recorded the audiobook version of Isabella: Star of the Story, which was written by Jennifer Fosberry and illustrated by Mike Litwin.

Isabella: Star of the Show

Isabella: Star of the Story is a fun story which highlights an early love of reading and the use of imagination. When Isabella and her parents head to the library Isabella is transformed into  characters from some of the most popular children’s books. Isabella is briefly Alice, Dorothy, Peter Pan, and a number of other well known personas. When it is time to check out and head home, Isabella decides that it is best just to be herself, at least until it is reading time again.

If you are eager to hear Nancy Pearl at work, here is a book trailer for Isabella: Star of the Story that will give you a taste of what the audiobook will sound like.

Susan Hood to Spend Earth Day at Maritime Aquarium

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

[Cover]Susan Hood, author of Spike: The Mixed-Up Monster, will be reading her book at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk on Saturday April 20th  to celebrate Earth Day. The book is appropriate for children four and older, and is about an axolotl, a Mexican species of salamander (and one of many creatures in The Maritime Aquarium’s “Frogs” exhibit). Spike keeps trying to frighten other animals until he learns that fear is not the best way to make friends.  Hood will be reading at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m and will stay to greet kids in the afternoon in the “Frogs” exhibit.

Dr. Jay Walshon will be near the “Meerkats” exhibit to read from his Eye See You Africa,  at 1:00 and 2:15 p.m. which uses images paired with riddles and rhymes to bring young readers “eye to eye” with a variety of extraordinary animals.

Both book readings are free with Aquarium admission. Both authors will be selling signed copies of their books. Check and see if the one of the four museum passes for the aquarium is available before heading down discounted admission to the aquarium.

For more information about Maritime Aquarium exhibits, programs and IMAX movies, go towww.maritimeaquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.

Book Review: Cleopatra’s Daughter

/ Jenn / Leave a comment

This month’s pick for my personal book club outside of the library wasCleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran. In this book club we take turns selecting the month’s read and hosting at our homes. The feel of this book club is much different than the ones I run at the library, since it’s more democratic in selection of materials, and we get to eat and drink great food!

It was my turn to pick this month, and I was really looking forward to sharing Michelle Moran with my friends. The first book I read by Moran was The Heretic’s Queen, which was about Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former queen Nefertiti. I had not done much reading about ancient Egypt since sixth grade, and immediately fell in love with the time period once again.

Cleopatra’s Daughter is about, well, Cleopatra’s daughter with Marc Antony, Selene Kleopatra. The novel opens right as Octavian’s forces are storming through Alexandria, and Egypt is to be lost to Rome. Antony, thinking his wife has committed suicide, kills himself rather than be captured and killed by his former friend Octavian. The Antony children wait helplessly with their mother as word of defeat spreads and the Romans take over the city. Cleopatra will famously kill herself with the help of a snake, and the children are orphaned.

Most of the story takes place in Rome, a city very much like a city in our own time. The city’s rulers are struggling to keep order, reduce crime, entertain the masses, and maintain justice. Fortunately for us, our methods of doing all of these things have become more civilized. Selene and her twin brother are kept and raised by Antony’s former wife Octavia, sister to Octavian, a kind and sympathetic mother figure.

The story is chock full of real historical figures: Marcus Agrippa, Juba, Julia, daughter of Octavian, Livia, wife to Octavia, Tiberius, the future emperor, and many more. Moran took from contemporary times trials and incidents to highlight what a dangerous and unsafe time period it was. More than 50,000 slaves lived in the city and each time an area was conquered, more slaves were brought in. The Romans were a brutal people.

One of the things I love so much about Moran is her ability to put you in whatever time period she is writing about. You can smell the food in the marketplace, hear the cries of the gladiators in the Circus, and be in the crowd as the sentence is passed for a trial. With The Heretic Queen, I put visiting Egypt on my bucket list; now with Cleopatra’s Daughter, Rome is on my list as well.

Rating: 4 stars.

Book Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

/ Jenn / 1 Comment

Our classics pick for April is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I had picked this book a while ago, not knowing it was the 50th anniversary this year of the publication.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I was warned when I picked this book that it would be “terribly depressing” and “Ooo, that’s so depressing I’m not sure I want to read it.” While this book was depressing, that was not the whole of the story.

The Bell Jar is a coming of age story that takes place in 1953 and centers around main character Esther Greenwood, a 21 year old college student. She is bright, but has a difficult time reconciling with the stifling world of the 1950’s.  Esther works for a fashion magazine in NYC during the summer of 1953 and is fascinated with the news headlines of the day, including the execution of the Rosenbergs and a man’s suicide. It appears that Esther may be on the track to bigger and better things.

But Esther is not as stable as she presents herself. This is a coming of age story, like The Catcher In the Rye, but it is through rebirth and pain. Esther begins a slow decline into mental illness, so slowly it’s almost impossible to remember what the “trigger” was for her. In her rejection of conventional models of woman,, like purity, relationships with men, and the fashion world of NYC, she finds herself on the outside looking in. I found myself, when reading of Esther’s first suicide attempt, wondering “Well, where did that come from?” Esther had no reason to try to kill herself, she even says that she wants to see if she can do it.

Plath’s use of language, imagery, and tone in The Bell Jar allowed the reader into the mind and life of Esther Greenwood. Plath is simply a genius when it comes to weaving a story. A slim 264 pages, it was easy reading.

One of the reasons I liked this book so much was that I found so much of myself in Esther Greenwood. At that age, I too was bright, ambitious, and sometimes on the brink. But unlike Esther, I had the mental fortitude and support system to bring me back from the edge.

I listened to this book on audio and it was read by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I found her reading to be less than stellar, as she read…. like… she.. was… taking… her… time. It was extremely annoying, but I was able to look past her inept reading and hear the heart of the story.

Rating: 4 stars

Book Review: March by E. L. Doctorow

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[Cover]

March by E. L. Doctorow

This month’s selection for “When Johnny Comes Marching Home: A Civil War Book  Discussion” was March by E. L. Doctorow, not to be confused with Geraldine Brooks’ March.

I selected this book because of the accolades it has received: Pen/Faulkner Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. It was also a New York Times Bestseller. I had given the audiobook version to my husband to listen to, and he could not get past the first three discs. This did not bode well for my own listening of this book.

March tells the story of Sherman’s imfamous march through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina during 1864 and into 1865. There is a rather large, colorful, and diverse cast of characters, led by William Tecumsah Sherman himself. Doctorow does an excellent job incorporating people from all “walks of life” into this story: freed slaves, Southern women, Confederate and Union soldiers, and even a British journalist. However, there were almost too many characters. At some point I lost track of who was where when and what happened to them. Some people stayed behind on different parts of the march and we never heard from them again. After a time, you wondered, “Hey, what happened to…?” and you never found out.

This book is not for the queasy or faint at heart, as there are graphic war scenes, including mass rape, killing of prisoners of war, drowning of freed slaves, and the burning of entire cities. If you’re expecting a nice, wholesome story, you won’t find it here. This is a realistic account of what actually happened during Sherman’s march to the sea. You’ll learn a lot and gain insight into a much maligned man.

Whether you love or hate Sherman and can or can’t justify his actions during the Civil War, one has to admit that he greatly helped end the Civil War and saved thousands of lives who would have been lost if the war had continued. March shows a softer side of Sherman, a man who, while following orders, often found himself at the mercy of his men, who got carried away with the spoils of war.

While I found this book to be interesting and the reader, Joe Morton, engaging, I did not love it. The language and style were easy to read and understand. I’m not sure what Doctorow could have done to take my rating from an “ok” to “great”.

Rating: 3 stars