March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom August 28, 1963

I Have a Dream by
Martin Luther King, Jr.

This week's Kidz Korner book display celebrate's the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and  Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. 

Extraordinary People of the Civil Rights Movement
by Sheila Hardy and P. Stephen Hardy

Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Jill Wheeler

Riding to Washington
by Gwenyth Swain

Heart and Soul
by Kadir Nelson

Heroes for Civil Rights
by David Adler

King for Kids
featuring recordings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My Uncle's Big Heart by
Angela Farris Watkins

Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Leader
by Patricia and Frederick McKissack

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Even though I've never read any of his other books, it seemed kind of unusual that Bill Bryson wrote A Short History of Nearly Everything, a book about the sciences, because I thought it was a rather different subject from what he usually writes. At the beginning of the book, though, Bryson explains that the reason he wrote the book was because he realized how little he knew about his home planet. He, therefore, started doing research so that he could write a book that explained enough about the sciences to be educational but that was not so in-depth or filled with jargon that it wouldn't be easily accessible. As an average person who doesn't work in a scientific field, I enjoyed his final product.

As the book's title implies, beginning with the Big Bang, Bryson covers a broad range of sciences and scientific history. To various extents, he covers topics as diverse as the forming of the universe, the make-up of Earth, atoms, gravity, weather, cells, DNA, evolution, fossils, and extinction. However, this isn't just a textbook to discuss the facts associated with these topics. While discussing these topics, Bryson also tells stories of the people who made the discoveries. Some of these stories are about famous people you know, such as Isaac Newton, but some are about more obscure people who were probably never discussed in any of your science classes. The stories are often interesting, some of them revealing eccentricities of the people involved in our scientific history.

I think Bryson put a lot of time and effort into learning more about our planet. We are lucky that he shared the fruits of his labors with us because his book is an educational and entertaining experience.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

You've seen the movie, but have you read the book?  Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind is an enjoyable Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.  Yes, I'd seen the movie multiple times, but I decided to try the book, and I'm glad I did.  Given how some movies are quite different from the books on which they are supposed to be based, I was surprised how well the classic movie followed the book.  Even many of the conversations seemed to be quoted word-for-word!  Having said that, even if you've seen the movie, the book will still give you new things to appreciate.  You'll learn more of Scarlett's family's backstory as well as meet characters who weren't in the movie.

Of all the new things that I encountered in the book, though, what I probably liked the best was knowing more of what Scarlett was thinking and what motivated her to do what she did.  From watching the movie, I think I had misunderstood some of her feelings and motivations.  Having a better understanding of them probably made me like her character better and, perhaps, made her into more of a sympathetic character than I had previously considered her to be.  I also really enjoyed Rhett's character and, after finishing the book, probably sympathized more with him than I already did.  In the end, I'm so glad I've now experienced the book instead of just the movie.  I encourage you to do the same!

What is your favorite kid's book? JCPL Seymour Branch Staff Picks

What is your Favorite Children's Book?  

Seymour Library Staff Picks

Julia Aker
Director
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
by Judy Blume

Becky Brewer

Head of Information Services

A Girl of the Limberlost 
by Gene Stratton-Porter

Janet Hensen
Information Services
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing 
by Judy Blume

Kim Dringenburg
Information Services
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Kathi Linz

Information Services
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by Frank L. Baum

Joanna Jackson

Information Services
Dear America: Color Me Dark
The Diary of Nell Lee Love 
by Patricia C. McKissack

Beth Duncan

Technical Services
The Secret Garden 
by Frances Hogson Burnett

Benjamin Boyer
Information Technology Specialist
Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

Christina Hime
Circulation Manager
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Kelsey Killion
Circulation
Rainbow Fish
by Marcus Pfister

Lyndsay Lyons
Circulation
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry

Erika Scott
Shelver
You Are Special by Max Lucado

Melessa Wiesehan
Head of Youth Services
Rabbit's New Rug by Marc Brown

Ashley Vega

Youth Services
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
by Judi Barrett

Shannon Sumner
Youth Services
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
by Eric Litwin

Kathe McIntosh
Youth Services
Lilly's Big Day
by Kevin Henkes

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is not an easy book emotionally, because you know from the first page that someone is up to something experimenting with late children and early teens - and you don't know for sure if they have good or evil intentions.

It took a few pages, but not too many, for me to become attached to Thomas, to empathize with his confusion, anger, and fear. It also doesn't take very long for the world as it is first given to change in large and dramatic ways.

 

Maybe this is giving away too much, but the "Creators" are looking for young people who won't give up no matter what. That should tell you about the types of issues these children face, as well as how the odds are stacked.

I can't say I "enjoyed" it or "liked" it, but I'm interested enough in the story line and the characters to have grabbed the other books in the series. I want to find out what happens once the kids get back to the real world.

 

The other books in the series are The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. There is also a prequel called The Kill Order.

Inferno by Dan Brown

Imagine waking up in a hospital in Florence, Italy and not remembering how you got there.  Then a few moments later, a doctor tells you that you have been shot in the head.  That is how Dan Brown's newest book, The Inferno begins.  Robert Langdon, a symbologist from Harvard, flees the hospital with Dr. Sienna Brooks because he is being hunted down.  Langdon soon discovers an artifact in his jacket pocket.  Robert's journey to flee his adversary takes him past architectural wonders, through secret passageways, and by famous paintings and sculptures in Florence and Venice.  While attempting to solve a riddle based upon Dante's Divine Comedy, Langdon is asked to assist the director of the World Health Organization in battling a terrorist who has threatened to release a toxin that could cause a world-wide plague.  An intriguing read

I've had a heads-up on the arrival of this book in our library. It is being cataloged as I write this and will be on the New Books shelf soon.

 

Knit your own moustache : create 20 knit and crochet disguises / Vicky Eames, a.k.a. wife of Brian.

Eames, Vicky, author. 

Kathi