Holiday Cookies

Stop by the Main Library between 4pm and 7pm on December 17th for a chance to decorate and take home some holiday cookies!  We'll have stations set up in the youth room.


Gluten free cookies and sugar free frosting will also be available.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Matthew “Moose” Flanagan is reluctant to move away from Santa Monica with his family – especially to Alcatraz, the prison island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, where his father has just been hired as a guard and electrician.  But his sister, Natalie, is different and needs to go to a special school, and his father needs the work in order to afford it.  Moose and the other kids who live on Alcatraz are treated with respect at school, because just living in proximity to some of the most famous gangsters, like Al Capone, gives them some infamy.  And the warden’s daughter, Piper, keeps coming up with schemes to make the most of it.

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to live on Alcatraz – but not as an inmate – Moose Flanagan’s story about his life there in 1935 is a great introduction to the history of the island.  Choldenko’s novel is well-researched and contains many accurate details, which are explained in the footnote-friendly “Author’s Note” at the end.  The novel is also a great depiction of living with a family member with special needs – Moose’s sister Natalie is based on the author’s experience growing up with a severely autistic sibling – as Moose and his parents live with all the hopes and frustrations it involves.  And Piper is a great character, a cute troublemaker that Moose both deeply dislikes…and likes.  A Newbery Honor selection.

Disasters: Natural and Man-Made Catastrophes Through the Centuries by Brenda Z. Guiberson.

This a book full of stories. Stories of people fighting against the odds to survive - and all these stories are true. Some of the disasters that people face in this book are disease, fire, flood, shipwreck, earthquake and hurricanes. How do people survive? Find out from this book - which uses people's own words to describe what happened and how they got through it. As well as using people's words from the time, there's also photographs and drawings bringing these disasters right into your hands.

Disasters examines how people have contributed to making natural disasters much worse. For example, in the 19th Century, Chicago was made out of wood. The buildings were wood, the bridges linking the sections of the city were wood, even the sidewalks were wood. And pockets of air were trapped under the sidewalks and buildings. It was a huge fire waiting for the right circumstances and the drought of 1871 gave those circumstances.

Each of these chapters is an easy to read 20 pages, with plenty of pictures, and you can dip in and read them in any order - it's a bit like a magazine. So if you like your reading to be real stories with some grim, and occasionally repulsive, details - then Disasters could be for you!

Sharpie Tie-Dye

Bring a white t-shirt, a pair of canvas sneakers, or a white bandana to turn into a tie-dye masterpiece with sharpies and a little science magic.

At the Main Library Community Room

4:30 pm, Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Before she wrote The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins wrote a 5-book series called The Underland Chronicles. This is the first book in the series.

It's summer in New York City and Gregor has to look after his two-year old sister, Boots. So when she goes through an opening in the wall of their basement laundry room, Gergor has to follow her. And before he knows it, he's falling down, down down into empty space, and into The Underland.

When they land, the first thing they see are some big bugs. Now Gregor's apartment building has some big bugs, but these cockroaches are four feet tall! And they can talk! Gregor and Boots also meet some bats and humans - the bats are so big that humans can fly on them and the humans have pale, almost transparent skin and large purple eyes. Gregor and Boots also come across giant rats - six feet tall with teeth to match - who are the sworn enemies of the humans.

The humans have a prophecy that a Warrior will lead eight in a Quest against the rats. They think Gregor is the Warrior, but he wants nothing to do with it. But then he discovers that his father, who disappeared two years ago, has been in the Underland and may be a prisoner of the rats.

What will Gregor do? Will he lead the Quest? Will he find his father and will he ever get home? Find out in Gregor the Overlander - the first book of The Underland Chronicles.

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee

Millie is supersmart. At least, she's supersmart when it comes to books and classes. Where she's not so smart is in making friends. In fact she has no friends at all - but maybe that's because Millie is 11 years old and she's just finished her junior year in High School. She's looking forward to summer, though, because she can take a college class but, sadly, only one.

Then her summer take a turn for the worse - Millie's mom has signed her up for the Girls' Summer Volleyball League. What, Millie wonders, can she possibly learn from volleyball other than that she is uncoordinated and unpopular, And then to add to her anguish, she has to tutor Stanford Wong, the poster boy for Chinese geekdom and Millie's mortal enemy.

However, things are going to change this summer. Millie meets Emily, who has also been made to join the volleyball team. Together Millie and Emily bond over their mutual dislike of Coach Gown and their mutual love of ice cream. As Emily is a new girl in town she doesn't know Millie is a genius and Millie is definitely not going to tell her. In fact, she goes to some hilarious lengths to make sure that Emily doesn't find out.

Read about Millie's comical summer and find out if she can make her first real friend in Millicent Min, Girl Genius.

Blow Stuff Up @ Your Library

What's the most explosive? Vinegar and baking soda, Alka-Seltzer under pressure, Mentos and soda? We're determined to find out.

Meet us Saturday, December 11th at 2:00pm on the Main Library lawn and come prepared to get messy.

Cupcake Decorating Class

Join us Thursday, December 2nd at 4:00 pm for a cupcake decorating class in the Community Room at the Main Library.

You bring your imagination. We'll bring the goods!

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Life is hard in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl in the 1930s, where farmers wait for rain and pray that their crops aren’t destroyed by the frequent dust storms.  For Billie Jo Kelby, life becomes even harder after a terrible accident takes the life of her mother and unborn brother, and leaves her hands burned and useless.  Unable to talk to her father, who is struggling to deal with the loss, and unable to play piano, which had been her passion and release, Billie Jo wonders how she can escape from the dust and the sadness at home.  Like the gentle rain that brings hope and relief to the farmers, Billie Jo learns that forgiveness can allow healing to begin and a new life to start.

Out of the Dust manages to be both heartbreaking and beautiful.  The story is completely written in a series of free-verse poems told from Billie Jo’s perspective, as if she was keeping a poetic diary as the events of 1934 and 1935 unfolded.  Along with recounting the private struggles of her family and neighbors, Billie Jo has an awareness of the events taking place throughout the nation, from the proclamations of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the attempts of migrants to make new lives for themselves in California, the local excavation of dinosaur fossils, and even the news of quintuplets born to a woman in Canada.  What results is a moving tale of grief and redemption.  Winner of the 1998 Newbery Medal and several other awards.

Board Game Night

Don't miss out on our board game night!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010
7pm at the Main Branch

The library will provide some games, but feel free to bring some of your own that you want to play!  We'll also have a jigsaw puzzle table.

Questions?  Ask in the comments!

Rock 'n' roll camp for girls: How to start a band, write songs, record an album, and rock out!!

Genre: Music/DIY
Age Level: 8-18
Rating: 5

Get ready to rock with the book inspired by the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls. This how-to guide takes you through everything you need know, from picking out the right guitar, to playing your first show.

Rock 'N' Roll Camp for Girls was started by women who believed in creating a program to empower young girls by enhancing their self-esteem and developing life skills through music. This instructional how-to guide covers everything you need to know to get your band started, or simply work on creating your own sound in the privacy of your bedroom. Kaia Wilson takes you through the basics of songwriting including finding inspiration and arranging a song, while Beth Ditto gives advice on how to use your voice and create the sound you're looking for. Learn how to pick out a guitar and amp that's right for you, and get started on learning those chords. If you're into drums, learn some basic beats and how to set up your kit. There is also coverage on keyboards, and making samples and beats. Of course, now you've got all the pieces, so you need to know how to put them together-- setting it up, breaking it down, recording music, booking shows, creating a press kit, and finding support in your community-- it's all here.

The book isn't as much about learning to play music as it is about finding your confidence and getting your start, which is often the hardest part.

About the author: Carrie Brownstein is best known as the guitarist/vocalist behind the now defunct band Sleater-Kinney. Her writing has appeared in The Believer, and she currently writes the blog, Monitor Mix Music, for NPR.


If you liked this, check out these titles:
Girls Rock! (DVD)
Fat Kid Rules the World