Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 109

KDL Top Ten – 08/02/2013

 This week’s Top Ten list features ten of the most popular Easy Reader books this month at KDL!  Stop in and grab some books for your beginning reader today!

 

I’m Being Followed by a Moonbeam… of HAPPINESS

Saunter into these quaint reads about twilight gardens and moonbeams. And view the Perseids, a prolific meteor shower ocurring from mid-July to mid-August.

The English Garden at Night by Linda Rutenberg (Nonfiction)

Linda Rutenberg’s photographs are taken after midnight, cre­ating a vision of  stillness and mystery, a soliloquy of shadow and light emanating from leaves and  flowers, hedgerows and trees. To create this magical book, Rutenberg laid claim to the enchanted domain of some of this country’s most beauti­ful gardens.

Twilight Garden by Lia Leendertz (Nonfiction)

Gardening expert Lia Leendertz shows that it is possible to create a nighttime paradise whether you have a small backyard terrace or a large plot of land. She includes case studies of formal gardens and detailed horticultural descriptions of night-friendly plant species and varieties. Following her lead, you’ll be able to transform your own private space into a moonlit paradise.

Slow Moon Rising by Eva Marie Everson

Cedar Key has long been a place of rest, healing and release in the Claybourne family. But it might also be the birthplace of a lie that is poisoning the family from within. Join the strong Claybourne women–Anise, Kimberly, Jayme-Leigh, Heather and Ami–as they each confront the truth. Their unique paths will lead them through heartbreak, misunderstandings and pain. But their journeys will also bring reconciliation and renewed love in their own lives.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen (Teen)

Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

                        

 

Robert Galbraith, Who?! Pseudonyms In Fiction

This week Robert Galbraith’s book, The Cuckoo’s Calling, reached #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

“Who is Robert Galbraith?” you may ask? Well only the beloved author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling! In order to release a book without all the hype, hoopla and expectations of the Harry Potter series and her stand alone novel, The Casual Vacancy, she chose to use a pen name of an ex-military man.

While there is now a waitlist for the once unknown author Robert Galbraith, here are some other authors who have written under a pen name that can hold you over until your copy of The Cuckoo’s Calling is on the holdshelf.

Romance author Nora Roberts writes mysteries as J.D. Robb.

 

Mark Twain’s given name is Samuel Clemens.

 

 

 

 

While Theodore Geisel is best know as Dr. Seuss, he also wrote children’s books under the pseudonym Theo LeSieg.

 

Stephen King used the name Richard Bachman to prove a point to his publishers!

 

Lewis Carroll is the nom de plume of mathmetician Charles Dodgson.

 

 

 

 

Erin Hunter is actually the pen name of four separate authors; Cherith Baldry, Kate Cary, Tui T. Sutherland, and Veronica Holmes. They use the collaborative name Erin Hunter in order to keep the Warriors series together on library shelves!

 

 

 

 

Hopefully you will enjoy these authors and imagine up a pseudonym of your very own!

 

Still Time to Vote for the MI Thumbs Up!

There is still time to read as many of the books from the list and then visit the MLA website to vote! The top teen vote counts toward the book that will receive the Thumbs Up! stamp.

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Every Day by David Levithan
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen
Revived by Cat Patrick
Sons of the 613 by Michael Rubens
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
Cardboard by Doug TenNapel

My top three right now are The Last Dragonslayer by Fforde, Every Day by Levithan and The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Nielsen. How about you?

          

 

Calling All Teen Filmmakers…

Are you a teen who loves movies? Here at KDL we love films, and we want to see your movie on the big screen. That’s right, a screen at Celebration! Cinema is waiting to premiere your short film. The Kent County Teen Film Festival is coming in February 2014 and submissions are due on January 17. Are there rules to this festival? Of course… but there are also prizes!

Learn more by listening to this radio interview from WJRW.

Download WJRW7-22-13.mp3

Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity, brought to you by CompuCraft, Celebration! Cinema, Kent District Library and Grand Rapids Public Library. Get all the details you need here.

Now get filming!

 

 

Rubbing Someone’s Newly Shaved Head Is…

It says it all in the title: the App of Awesome!  This is a free app (iPhone, not iPad) that will give you 1,000 awesome things, one day at a time! (For anyone not familiar with “awesome,” think rubbing someone’s newly shaved head, the smell of a bakery in the air, sleeping with one leg inside the covers and one leg out…). If  you see something you like, you can give it a thumbs up and then share it with your friends, or just keep track of your daily likes and see what pops up.

Of course we have the books too, in case you don’t want to wait!

             

 

Early Lit Bits: Music Minute

Summer is here and that can mean road trips with lots of shared time in the car. Choosing music to entertain the whole family can sometimes be difficult or down right nerve-wracking for moms and dads who can only imagine dancing purple dinosaurs when they think “kid music”!

For older kids, disputes can be avoided by checking out songs available on Freegal and loading favorites onto their personal music players. From Alvin and the Chipmunks to Wonder Pets, kids can download songs that they enjoy. Then simply plug in the headphones and each enjoys their own music choice. But for those too young to use a device, parents might enjoy giving little ones a taste of their favorite bands with our Rockabye Baby collection. Instrumental versions of AC/DC, Metallica or even the Rolling Stones can soothe frayed nerves of all ages.

-Sara M.

 

 

This article originally appeared in our Early Lit Bits eNewsletter. Read the most recent issue online or sign up to receive this monthly update highlighting early literacy tips and resources for parents and caregivers.

 

KDL Top Ten – 7/26/2013

Get hiking, paddling and camping with this week’s Top Ten!  These are ten of the most popular titles in our Sports Outdoor section.  And if you’re looking for more seasonal fun, try KDL’s Experience Summer Challenge!

 

“Four Daughters”: A Gem

I wasn’t planning on writing a review of Four Daughters (1938), but after watching the DVD (I had seen the movie on VHS a long time ago), I changed my mind.  It’s simply too interesting to not write about it, even if in the brief format of this blog.

The star that most will recognize is Claude Rains, who plays Adam Lemp, a musician raising four very musical daughters in a small town somewhere in New York.  Also present is Aunt Etta in place of the girls’ mother, who is unexplainably missing. As the movie opens, a beautiful recital is going on at home, with father directing and playing the flute, looking like he just stepped out of Beethoven’s Vienna. Father doesn’t like “modern” music like jazz, and his daughters seem to (more or less) agree with this, but soon a dissonant note is heard over the classical kind, and it turns out to be the squeaking of the front gate—a wonderful motif, both aural and visual for the change that is soon to come to the house of the four daughters, where music and men will be mixing in unexpected ways. This change is most represented by the two composers who enter the family’s life, both of them lovers of that modern music that Adam so dislikes. The director, Michael Curtiz (remember Casablanca? He directed that too…) used the windows of the house as a way to show the daughters finding new men in their lives, coming through that gate in particular. But lest you think this is another purely sentimental old movie about romance, be warned: it’s not all sweetness and light. Before the film is over, there will be some dark notes struck as well, ones that I found curious given the Production Code then in force. Watch it and decide for yourself.

This was the first film for John Garfield, who, with his unshaved face and loose tie, looks like he stepped out of a movie made ten years later. Three of the four sisters were played by sisters in real life, and the one who wasn’t related fit in so well I couldn’t tell her apart. All are in great form, which explains why Four Daughters was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

 

“Four Daughters”: a gem

I wasn’t planning on writing a review of Four Daughters (1938), but after watching the DVD (I had seen the movie on VHS a long time ago), I changed my mind.  It’s simply too interesting to not write about it, even if in the brief format of this blog. The star that most will recognize is Claude Rains, who plays Adam Lemp, a musician raising four very musical daughters in a small town somewhere in New York.  Also present is Aunt Etta in place of the girls’ mother, who is unexplainably missing. As the movie opens, a beautiful recital is going on at home, with father directing and playing the flute, looking like he just stepped out of Beethoven’s Vienna. Father doesn’t like “modern” music like jazz, and his daughters seem to (more or less) agree with this, but soon a dissonant note is heard over the classical kind, and it turns out to be the squeaking of the front gate—a wonderful motif, both aural and visual for the change that is soon to come to the house of the four daughters, where music and men will be mixing in unexpected ways. This change is most represented by the two composers who enter the family’s life, both of them lovers of that modern music that Adam so dislikes. The director, Michael Curtiz (remember “Casablanca”? he directed that too) used the windows of the house as a way to show the daughters finding new men in their lives, coming through that gate in particular. But lest you think this is another purely sentimental old movie about romance, be warned: it’s not all sweetness and light. Before the film is over, there will be some dark notes struck as well, ones that I found curious given the Production Code then in force. Watch it and decide for yourself.

This was the first film for John Garfield, who, with his unshaved face and loose tie looks like he stepped out of a movie made ten years later. Three of the four sisters were played by sisters in real life, and the one who wasn’t related fit in so well I couldn’t tell her apart. All are in great form, which explains why “Four Daughters” was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.