Sturdy for Common Things

Storytime Hiatus

As a heads up, there will be no storytime posts until early February. The Lawrence Public Library will be undergoing a $19 million dollar renovation starting this month, so we will be packing up all the books and moving to another location over the next couple of weeks before the construction starts. The library’s storytimes and children’s programs will start back up once we’re all settled in the temporary space, a few blocks away from the library’s current location. It’s a bittersweet situation. I’m going to miss the floor to ceiling windows in the children’s room, the brightest room in the building, and the Joyce Steiner storytime area where so many storytimes and events have taken place over the years.. Today is the last day the old library building will be open to the public, so I’m looking forward to assisting all the patrons who frequent the library today and at the end of today, say goodbye to the old and look forward to the new. Change is inevitable, and I can feel many great things ahead in 2013.

More information on the move and renovation can be found here.

Throwback Thursday: Numbears

Numbears: A Counting Book

By Kathleen Hague, Illustrated by Michael Hague

Find it at: Your Library | Amazon | Indiebound

Published: Henry Holt and Co. an imprint of Macmillian (May 1986)

My husband was recently having a conversation with his twin sister about a book that has plagued them since early childhood: Numbears: A Counting Book is a rhyming picture book that teaches children the method of counting 1-12 with Michael Hague’s trademark illustrations. Upon hearing this for the first time, I completely dismissed the notion. How could a few cute, cuddly bears affect them that much?

 Each illustration has one hidden number that corresponds with the number referred to in the verse on the opposite page.  The majority of the numbers are obvious, plain as day, like the below illustration for “one” (my incredible photo editing skills point out the hidden “1” with a red arrow).

Easy as pie, right? Wrong. For twenty some years they’ve never, not ever, been able to find the number “5” in the snowy picture below. When this forgotten childhood mystery recently resurfaced, Will interlibrary loaned the book in hopes his adult eyes would put his mind at rest from what was started many years ago. The quest for “5”. He tried. I tried. Nothing. (Nothing!) You can’t even bring this book up to him without him getting immediately angry, full of threats that he’ll “write a letter to the publisher.”

(click image to enlarge)

Here is your challenge if you wish to accept it:

Find “5”.

End the search once and for all.

You’re our only hope…

Mrs. Noodlekugel

Mrs. Noodlekugel

By Daniel Pinkwater, Illustrated by Adam Stower

Find it at: Your Library | Amazon | Indiebound

Published: Candlewick (April 24, 2012)

Recommended reading age: 5-10

In a nutshell: Brother and sister, Nick and Maxine, find that if they stand in just the right place on their dresser looking out of their apartment down below, they will they will see a small little cottage surrounded entirely by highrises. After a brief investigation with Mike the Janitor, they learn it is the home of Mrs. Noodlekugel and that you can get to the backyard of her home from the boiler room of their apartment building. Once the mystery of the house was solved, Nick and Maxine are encouraged by their parents to not to visit because “she is an old lady who lives in the little house and you should not bother her.” (Knowing full and well children *always* listen to their parents), they set off to visit the house nonetheless.

From their very first encounter with the adorable little house, Mrs. Noodlekugel, and her cat Mr. Fuzzface, who can talk and play the piano, Maxine and Nick soon realize they Mrs. Noodlekugel isn’t just your every day neighbor.

 

 

A sweet, easy to follow story, with illustrations on every other page, Mrs. Noodlekugel is a simple enough chapter book that I’m currently reading it aloud one or two chapters at a time to L (two-years-old) and she is loving it. It would make for an appropriate stepping stone book for young, independent readers ready to transition towards chapter books. And it’s charming to boot!

Perfect for: Newly independent readers who like a bit of magic to their reading. Also would makes for an enjoyable nighttime read-a-loud for those not ready to take the leap towards reading solo.

Don’t take my word for it: Krikus Review

 

 

image source: mrs. noddlekugel illustration

Looking Back, Looking Forward

 

Happy New Year, my friends!

Looking back…

As much as 2011 was a year of movement, 2012 was a year of of cultivation.

At home, L continues to grow and grow and grow into her own. She’s becoming increasingly independent with each day, and smart as a whip by the second. She’s becoming quite the entertainer and has produced both shock and laughs from her parents and family. And, as always, we read and read and read many books together. Will finished his most difficult semester in school this past fall and will embark on an even more challenging year ahead, but his dedication and the late hours devoted to his studies continue to payoff.

As for me, I continued wearing the mom hat while balancing library life.

I started writing more

and continued reading as much as I could.

I put my heart in everything I did.

Looking forward…

There is so much change within each year, it’s hard not to assume there will be even more to come. I’m already anticipating a few exciting endeavors that I plan to share in good time. New year, new adventures. With that in mind, when pondering over resolutions for this year, only one stood out and pretty much summed up the rest:

Love what you do and do what you love. Have a ball doing it.

 

 

Wishing you all the best in 2013!

 

One Times Square

One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World

Written and Illustrated by Joe McKendry

Find it at: Your Library | Amazon | Indiebound

Published: David R Godine; First edition (May 28, 2012)

Recommended reading age: 8 & up

In a nutshell: In a matter of hours, the nation will tune in to watch one of the most time-honored New Year’s Eve traditions, the lighted ball drop from One Times Square, New York, New York, also known as “The Crossroads of the World”. What was once farm country, to the bustling metropolis it is today, Joe McKendry takes his reader through the years of the most famous intersection of the world.

The first element that drew me to this book was the stunning, colorful timeline illustrations. I couldn’t help but flip through and admire them before delving into the text. Upon going back to the beginning, but after long pauses admiring Joe McKendry’s artistry, I was happy to find his writing pitch perfect and as detailed and enjoyable as his pictures.

“Through all of the changes, One Times Square — The only surviving building from Times Square’s beginning in 1904 — has stood faithful as the keeper of time, marking each passing year with the annual New Year’s ball drop. Like the rest of the square its appearance has evolved, but the slender tower on 42nd Street continues to keep watch over a place that has undergone changes as drastic as any place on earth.”

One element I thoroughly enjoyed were the diagrams of One Times Square throughout the years. A left-hand key pinpoints a few elements for the reader to take note about the picture; we see the leaps of change between 1904, 1926, 1945, 1964, 1982, 2000 of the iconic building.

The year 1904…

… to year 2000.

When I lived in New York City, Times Square was always an area I happily avoided. I frequented it quite a bit for work, to connect, and that was it. After reading this book, I wish I would have explored the area a bit more. Throughout it’s roller coaster reputation, One Times Square has always remained a source of entertainment and movement, a magnet of media and people. Amidst all it’s change, tonight that 1,070-pound ball of aluminum and lights will fall 77 feet, like it’s predecessors of years long gone, as millions watch, holding onto one historic ritual that continues to remain, our grandfather of time.

 Perfect for: American history fanatics, lovers of New York City, the budding architect, and anyone interested in learning about one of the most unique and traveled places in the world.

Don’t take my word for it: NY Times Best Illustrated Book 2012, Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Nonfiction Book of 2012