New Year, New You
Happy New Year!! Did you make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight? To exercise more? Traditionally, these are the most popular types of New Year’s resolutions, but sadly, most of us break them after two weeks. Although it is February, it is never too late to keep at those resolutions.
The Library has plenty of excellent titles to help you on your quest for a better you!
Hit a Home Run at the Library!
This month we’re celebrating all things baseball at the Richard Burges library! Summer is the time for baseball, and we’re all excited about the baseball news in El Paso. Take a look at our display case for our own celebration of baseball, and then take a look at these great books and movies about America’s national pasttime:
The Sandlot
Nine boys bond over baseball while enjoying the perfect summer in the early 1960s. This coming-of-age movie is a new classic, and is sure to please both children and adults.
The Natural, Bernard Malamud
The classic 1952 novel is loosely based on the true story of Philadelphia Phillies player Eddie Waitkus. In the novel, Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy, must try to return to baseball after a mysterious attack. Check out the film version with Robert Redford!
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Michael Lewis
This non-fiction book examines how the smaller Oakland A’s team reevaluated statistics to field a team that can compete with much larger, richer teams. Lewis encourages the use of sabermetrics, which is an objective evaluation of baseball, rather than the older, subjective statistics based methods that other teams use. The book was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt in 2011!
Casey at the Bat, Ernest Thayer
First published in 1888, this classic poem narrates the fall of the legendary baseball star Mighty Casey, who is destroyed by his own pride. This version is beautifully illustrated by Christopher Bing, who won a Caldecott Honor award for his work.
Summer Reading Club Party
The 2012 Summer Reading Club is over! We’ve had plenty of fun events at the library, but now we’re winding down. After six weeks of fin activities, the reading logs were due on July 14. Most recently we were visited by Chet Gecko, lizard private eye, and Willie the Waterdrop. To celebrate all the hard work the children have done, we will be having a party on July 21 at 1 pm and 3 pm. Don’t miss it!
Rebecca Recommends: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Summer is the perfect time to tackle a long book, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke is the perfect book for long summer reading. At just over a thousand pages, it is a very long read–some critics have called it a commitment, rather than a mere book–but what a book! However, don’t let the length put you off: Clarke’s engaging writing style and the unique plot are sure to make the pages fly by.
Beginning in 1806 and spanning a decade, the book’s plot is sprawling. It begins with England embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars with no end in sight. Luckily, the English have a weapon that no other nation can match: the magician Gilbert Norrell. Stodgy and pedantic though he may be, his magical arts successfully keep the French at bay. When he takes the young Jonathan Strange–a young gentleman looking for a career–as his apprentice, the two quickly turn the tide of the war. However, the real enemy is an otherworldy entity drawn from its lair by the magical meddling of the two modern English magicians.
This novel is a wonderful combination of the fantasy, gothic, and historical genres. It also bears close resemblance to the novel of manners, a genre most closely associated with Jane Austen. In fact, the book reminds me of what would happen if Jane Austen wrote the Harry Potter series. I highly recommend this witty, engaging, and unique novel.
Reading Club Finale
This year’s summer reading club has been a success, but there are still a few weeks left to enjoy summer programs at the Richard Burges Library. Registration for the Summer Reading Club is over on July 7, and the reading logs are due on July 14. On July 21, the library will be hosting parties and awards ceremonies for the reading club participants.
Although the reading club is winding down, there are still several more activities to enjoy at the library. Here is a list of our remaining activities:
Thursdays, 11:00 am
July 12: Meet Willie Waterdrop
July 19: Money, Money, Money: Learn the Importance of Saving Money
Saturdays, 3:00 pm
July 14: Meet Chet Gecko
July 21: Wrap-up Parties, 1 and 3 pm (Certificates, games, and refreshments)
The Richard Burges Library is also still hosting teen programs. The remaining teen programs are:
Thursdays, 4:30-6:30 pm
July 12: Board Game Tournament
July 19: Face Painting with Susan
Friday, 5-9 pm
July 20: Teen Lock-In/Awards Party
We hope to see you at these events!
2012 Summer Reading Club
It’s summer, and that means that the 2012 Summer Reading Club is in full swing at the El Paso Public Library! It may be too hot to do anything outside, but there are plenty of cool activities at the library! Every Thursday at 11:00 am and every Saturday at 3:00 pm we have special programs for children. We have already learned how to make lightsabers from a mad scientist, how to make the best paper airplanes, and how to perform Chinese calligraphy. This Saturday at 3:00 pm we will be learning how to make origami. Come on down and join us!
Please remember to sign your children up for the Summer Reading Club; every child that signs up for the reading club and reads eight books by July 14 is eligible for a party on July 21! To sign children up for the reading club or for a program of events, please visit the Information Desk at the library.
There is also more information about the programs available online here.
Home, Sweet, Home
Our children’s story time hours this week were all about houses. We learned that houses come in lots of shapes and sizes. A home can be made out of a ice, trees, bricks, and even shoes! We read The House that Jack Built by Simms Taback, If the Shoe Fits by Alison Jackson, Bunny Bungalow by Cynthia Rylant, El pandita viene a mi casa by Liu Qian, and Mi Casa by Richard Scarry. You can find more books about homes at the Library. After our stories, we made a house using a paperbag.
There really is no place like home….
