National Library Week

It's National Library Week!
April 15th--April 21st


...and it's National Poetry Month, too. Come to the S.A.S. Library and check out some poetry. We have a very good selection of poetry anthologies.

See you there.

BEST SELLER

'Fancy Nancy,' by Jane O'Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.
March 12, 2006
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES Book Review by EMILY JENKINS

Jane O'Connor, who wrote the "Nina, Nina Ballerina" stories, teams with the illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser in "Fancy Nancy."

It's the story of a ball of fire who is always dressed to the nines. Glasser's action-filled pen-and-ink drawings put Nancy in wild tutus, ruby slippers, fairy wings and fuzzy slippers: this heroine is never demure, never subtle and probably never quiet.

She has redecorated her bedroom with feather boas, Christmas lights, paper flowers and showy hats. Her doll is named Marabelle Lavinia Chandelier. So enterprising is she in her pursuit of fanciness that she offers lessons to her plainly dressed family. They attend, taking notes, and Nancy helps dress them in bows, ornaments, top hats and gaudy scarves. "Ooo-la-la!" Nancy cries in delight. "My family is posh! That's a fancy word for fancy."

The message here is welcome — fanciness (unlike physical beauty) is available to anyone with a can-do spirit — and the writing is adorable. Nancy's joy is infectious, and her over-the-top elegant vocabulary pays off in a warm twist. The story ends with the family's simple declarations of love: "All I say back is, 'I love you,' " Nancy says. "Because there isn't a fancy — or better — way of saying that."

British Library’s ONLINE GALLERY

Visit the British Library’s ONLINE GALLERY and leaf through Lewis Carroll’s original Alice’s Adventures Underground. You can actually turn the pages! Click here: British Library’s ONLINE GALLERY

NEW BOOK

BEHOLD THE BOLD UMBRELLAPHANT
And Other Poems.
By Jack Prelutsky. Illustrated by Carin Berger.

31 pp. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers. $16.99. (Ages 4 to 8)

Here's the newest book by the very first "Children's Poet Laureate." It's a lot of fun to read and the illustrations are great, too. You can check it out from our SAS Library, but be sure to visit Jack's website, too.


J. PATRICK LEWIS of the New York Times has this to say:

Like Lewis Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty, Jack Prelutsky pays his words extra because
he makes them do more work. What Carroll did in marrying verbs like, say,
“chuckle” to “snort” to arrive at “chortle,” Prelutsky does for nouns, in a way
that leaves his fellow poets scratching their heads and wondering, Why didn’t we
think of that?
....
Last fall, Prelutsky was fittingly named the first
Children’s Poet Laureate, by the Poetry Foundation. On the heels of his
“Scranimals,” another neologistic tour de farce, comes his new book, “Behold the
Bold Umbrellaphant.” What do you get when you cross a toad and a toaster — can
you guess? — a Pop-up Toadster. Or an alarm clock and an armadillo? Well, I
won’t spoil all the surprises. Such nonsense begs to be read aloud, even if
you’ve sneaked away to read the book by yourself with a flashlight in a closet.

The cleverness and comedy in “Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant” are
occasionally trumped by the metronomic march of insistent iambs and ditzy
dactyls. But who’s going to quibble? Certainly not children, who will most
likely follow Prelutsky every step of the way in a book bursting with mischief.

See you in the library!

Catholic Schools Week: Jan. 29th--Feb. 2nd

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: THE GOOD NEWS IN EDUCATION




Read about Elizabeth Ann Seton, the foundress of the Sisters of Charity and the first Catholic free school in America as well as the first Catholic orphanage and the first Catholic hospital. You'll be inspired!

Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica

Maybe animal stories are not your “cup of tea.” Maybe you ‘d rather read sports stories. Mike Lupica, the New York Daily News columnist, has a new book out, Miracle on 49th Street. Here’s a review from his website:

Josh Cameron has it all: a World Championship ring with the Boston Celtics, an
MVP award, a clean-cut image, and the adoration of millions. What he doesn't
have is family. Until the day 12-year-old smartaleck Molly Parker confronts him
in a parking lot and claims to be his daughter — the only daughter of Jen
Parker, Josh's college sweetheart and the still the only girl he's ever loved.
Trouble is, Jen Parker died last year, and now Molly has tracked down the father
she never knew, the one her mother never wanted her to know about. Josh Cameron
cares about two things only: himself, and basketball. The last thing this
superstar wants or needs is a 12-year-old daughter. Yet this isn't just any
12-year-old. Mr. World Champion has finally met his match.

Check it out from your SAS Library. ( We also have Heat and Travel Team.)

Read an excerpt

Happy New Year 2007

Well, animal lovers, we have good news for you. The library has added some terrific dog stories. Newbery Award winner Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes is a longtime favorite for ages 8 and up. Read how the disappearance of a new puppy named Ginger and the appearance of a mysterious man in a mustard yellow hat bring excitement into the lives of the Pye children.

James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories is really for adults but junior high students will love reading about Tricki Woo, Prince and the card above the bed, Jock top dog , Jake rides into town , Gyp only one woof , and Brandy the dustbin dog.

Happy Thanksgiving

In 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, bound for the new world. There were 102 passengers. 44 of them (19 men, 11 women, and 14 children) were Separatists, looking for religious freedom. The others were known to the Pilgrims as "Strangers," men who desired a new life in a new land. In spite of the hardships and deaths of so many of their group, not one person chose to return to England when the Mayflower made its return voyage five months later. I love this painting by N. C. Wyeth which shows the Pilgrims standing on the shore watching their ship leave.

For more pictures, and a wonderful retelling of the story by Robert San Souci, get the book, N.C.Wyeth's Pilgrims, from our library.

Children's Book Week

Children's Book Week: November 13-19, 2006

A celebration of the written word, Children's Book Week introduces young people to new authors and ideas in schools, libraries, homes and bookstores. Through Children's Book Week, the Children's Book Council encourages young people and their caregivers to discover the complexity of the world beyond their own experience through books. Children's Book Week will be observed November 13-19, 2006.

Fairest

Mothers, you have probably seen this movie with your daughter, or daughters, you have seen it with your friends. It is the movie version of Gail Levine's book, Ella Enchanted. And now the SAS Library has the sequel, Fairest.





The New York Times reviewer, Naomi Wolfe, finds much to enjoy in this novel but takes the heroine with a grain of salt. Parents: here is a great starting point for a literary discussion with your daughter. The book is available in our library.