Story Time With the Library Lady

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"Classic" Children's Novels I Recommend To Patrons and Friends

All of A Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
First in a series about 5 little girls growing up at the turn of the century on the Lower East Side of New York. I learned a lot about Jewish culture from these books, but above all they're great family stories.

 

Anne of Green Gables
and all other books by L.M. Montgomery
They are aimed at children, but the picture of life in turn of the century Prince Edward Island is a delight for adults!

Ballet Shoes 
by Noel Streatfield
   Very English and very charming.

Betsy-Tacy
First of the series, by Maud Hart Lovelace
My older daughter(10) loves these too.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle 
First in the series by Hugh Lofting.
Don't settle for the movie messes made of these wonderful books!

Heidi   
by Johanna Sypri
This is not that easy for a kid to read--and some may find it saccharine. But it's always enchanted me...

Little House in the Big Woods 
first in the series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 
Another series my daughter loves as much as I do!

A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  There's only been one good version of this on film--a BBC mini series. If you haven't seen that one, you don't know this story!

Little Women
and all other books by Louisa May Alcott.
I read this first in 6th grade, but I didn't understand a lot of it until college..

 

The Moffats 
  by Eleanor Estes
  A family you'd love to belong to.

Pinky Pye
also by Eleanor Estes 
You don't have to be a cat lover to love this, and if you're not, Pinky just might convert you!

Mr Popper's Penguins 
by Florence Atwater 
  The tone is deadpan but the humor is pure slapstick.
A well loved read aloud.

The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
There have been good films of this, but nothing beats the book, especially with the delicate Tasha Tudor illustrations!

The Trumpet of the Swan
by E.B. White 
  I love Charlotte's Web , but kids should also meet Louis the mute swan who gains a voice and a love. And if you liked Make Way For Ducklings (another favorite of mine) you'll recognize one of the settings......

 

The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Not a young child's book at all,but a beautifully written book about friendship, greed, self centeredness and love.
The best illustrations are by Ernest Shepherd. He was also the first (and only REAL!) illustrator of Winnie the Pooh!

    Blueberries For Sal (& One Morning In Maine)
                      and other books by Robert McCloskey 

The Nutshell Library
4 book set by Maurice Sendak
The music to go with the books is on:

Really Rosie by Carole King

 

Where the Wild Things Are
also by Maurice Sendak!

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
by Hildegarde Swift
(A beloved NY landmark!)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

and every other book by Eric Carle


Caps For Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina

Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Beloved by little girls long before the toys or the movies!

Total: 499,086
since: 20 Aug 2003

The Cast Of Characters

The Man (of the House): The love of my life. Severely addicted to books (that take up WAYYYY too much space in our house) and raw garlic. We've been married 13 years, but involved for many more. Long story....

Our Kids:
SC:  Age 13. Book addicted like both her parents. Serious, but with a nice sense of humor. Well mannered in the eyes of the world, but at home,it can be another story(!)

JR: Age 8  I think of her as a Disney Princess's evil twin. All the eccentricity of both sides of the family wrapped up in a sweet little body and an adorable smile. People find her a darling. I do too, but I also find her exhausting!

The Beasts: Our 2 cats, both adopted from animal rescue. "Bart" is a big, solid black, total teddy bear of a cat. Our brown tabby queeen "Bella" is  in love with The Man, though she seems to like me too!

Me: Children's librarian by day, tired keeper of all of the above by night. When I think of my life, I think of Nicole Hollander (Sylvia)'s immortal line about things that are easier than combining a family and a career. Like swimming the Amazon covered in peanut butter....

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  "Enlighten the Gentiles"

Yiddish words and phrases to amuse and confuse.
The latest entry explains how your spouse's potchking around can send your travel plans to hell in a handbasket.And you'll find the archives HERE . Read and enjoy...... 

 

Yes, I Read "Grownup" Books Too--When They're Worth It!
And These Are:   

 Silver Pigs
(1st of the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries) by Lindsey Davis   

Welcome To Temptation
(and all other books)  by Jennifer Crusie 

Breakup
(Kate Shugak mysteries)by Dana Stabenow

And Ladies of the Club
  by Helen Hooven Santmyer

 

The Cazalet Chronicles
(4 books) by Elizabeth Howard 

Poldark
(the whole series)by Winston Graham


The Mitford Years
(series) by Jan Karon

 
Stranger In A Strange Land
(& just about any other book) by Robert Heinlein 

 

 

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Thursday #29: Yes, There ARE Good Things About Being A Children's Librarian

Wed, 05/14/08 8:41 P GMT-05
1)Patron brought me flowers2)Shy little in Mother Goose now reaches for puppets to kiss them3)Shyest of triplets likes to sit in my lap and snuggle4)Toddler up in night singing hello song5)Brandon- "zoo!"6)little girl at other library prete
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Dear Whiny Mommy

Tue, 05/13/08 8:28 P GMT-05
I'm sorry you think it's "harsh" that I start my one year olds program promptly at 9:30, shut the door and don't admit latecomers. But let me tell you this:All modesty aside. I run one of the best damned one year old programs in

Monday Weigh In #6: Progress, But Other Things Matter More Right Now

Mon, 05/12/08 11:33 A GMT-05
I've lost 2 1/2 pounds this week. Weight Watchers is funnily enough warning me that that is TOO much--but that extra half pound of so is from where my weight went UP last week, so I'm not too concerned.I'm more concerned about Nay. The Ma

Mother's Day

Sun, 05/11/08 8:59 A GMT-05
It's tomorrow and I don't give a damn that there will be no flowers, no jewelry, no fancy meal.All I give a damn about is that my mother-in-law has a pulmonary embolism and there is talk about "lesions" on her liver. It may all be t
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Thursday Thirteen #28: So What If Obama WAS A Muslim?

Wed, 05/07/08 8:29 A GMT-05
Note to those of you who proclaim yourselves prominently on your blogs that you are "Christians":If you feel that you are "saved" and those of us who do not share your belief system are going to hell,  you're probably not
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Monday Weigh In #5--What Goes Down Is Not Supposed to Go Back Up

Mon, 05/05/08 8:12 A GMT-05
 But sometimes it does!It's just a pound or so, and every board I'm seeing at Weight Watchers says this is normal and happens. But I was doing so well, durnit!Oh well.  To paraphrase one of my favorite lines in John Irving's Hot

Thursday Thirteen #27--I'd Rant, If Only I Had the Time

Thu, 05/01/08 9:41 P GMT-05
But I don't. So here are:THIRTEEN THINGS I WISH I HAD TIME TO RANT ABOUT THIS WEEK:1)The moronic parents who think that teen drivel such as "Hannah Montana" and "Zoey 101" are appropriate for their 8 year olds, then cluck when
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Monday Weigh In #4: One Third Down

Mon, 04/28/08 10:44 A GMT-05
  Well, it's a pound and a half--'s more than last week's change, which was NONE. And considering that it was the "time of the month" when I am always hungry, I'm pleased that I did it. Plus, I'm about 1/3 of the wa
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Saturday At the Reference Desk:

Sat, 04/26/08 2:19 P GMT-05
I had to deal with our dotty part-time librarian who for some reason decided to be helpful to a young patron and log him onto a computer. I still don't get this. Normally she doesn't want to go near the computers, let alone help anyone with t

Thursday Thirteen#26:They Can Share the Date With the REAL Superstar, Or:Happy Birthday, Dad!

Wed, 04/23/08 6:30 P GMT-05
ShakespeareJames Buchannan Stephen Douglas Max Planck Michel Fokine Shirley TempleHalstonHerve Villechaize Lee MajorsSandra Dee Roy OrbisonMichael Moore Valerie Bertinelli 
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"Out Came the Sun and Dried Up All the Rain...."

Tue, 04/22/08 2:27 P GMT-05
I had an adorable toddler girl in my lap and an equally cute(but far more serious) toddler girl leaning on my shoulder during Mother Goose Time today. Meanwhile a charming little boy kept trying to get me to wear his baseball cap: "Hat! Hat!&quo
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Monday Weigh In #3: I Was Grumpy Anyway

Mon, 04/21/08 8:38 A GMT-05
    You'll notice, if you've been watching, that there is no additional loss this week. I'm still where I was last week.I'd be grumpy about that--I AM a bit grumpy about it, but I can attribute part of that to normal m
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Thursday Thirteen #25: Why I Rant About the Workfront

Wed, 04/16/08 6:39 P GMT-05
1) Leaving the stuffed animals all over the floor under the sign that says "please help your child clean up the toys"2)Bringing in food even though the signs say "no food", and then leaving Cheerio crumbs all over the place for th
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Tuesday on the Reference Desk

Tue, 04/15/08 4:56 P GMT-05
April 15 is the day library staff used to dread. The entire world would converge on the library for forms, to use the Xerox machine, to ask us tax questions we couldn't answer.For me it was the end of a whole season of misery. I used to work in a
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Monday Weigh In #2 Plus a Passover Recipe

Mon, 04/14/08 8:13 A GMT-05
 
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Thursday Thirteen #24: Pounds to Go, But I Can Eat

Thu, 04/10/08 6:58 P GMT-05
1)I can eat with the rest of the family is eating--I just have to measure out my portions. 2)Measuring my food doesn't have to be fiddly--I figured out how much various dishes hold, and occasionally I use a measuring cup.3)I can't go back for
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No hablamos Espanol aqui. Und wir sprechen nicht Deutsches auch nicht.

Tue, 04/08/08 2:39 P GMT-05
Dear Spammer,I know my married name is Spanish (though we're not--the Man is Filipino) so I understand the occasional phone calls in Spanish. I understand the credit card offers and all the other junk mail in Spanish. I even get the calls from bi
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Monday Morning Weigh In #1

Mon, 04/07/08 1:01 P GMT-05
I was as skinny as JR when I was a kid. Then adolescence hit--finally--when I was about 14, and I've never been skinny since.It wasn't until my mid 20s that it became a real problem. And having 2 kids in my 30s made it worse.Now, at 46, I wei
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Thursday Thirteen #23: Microwave Magic

Thu, 04/03/08 12:09 P GMT-05
Attention, Mark Bittman of the NY Times:What do you mean making risottos in the microwave is not for you--"all that stirring"?Hey, Mark, it's okay if you ignore me and all the others who told you on your "Bitten" blog that we
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Garden Day 1

Sun, 03/30/08 4:13 P GMT-05
Went out today to discover--much to my relief--that things in the garden were in pretty good shape.All that time I spent covering the paths with plastic sheeting and wood chips and tarping the beds with black landscaping fabric was well worth it.The
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Saturday at the Ref Desk--Or Should I Say the Tech Support Desk?

Sat, 03/29/08 12:43 P GMT-05
In a hour at the desk I:Helped a lady from out of town get a visitor's pass to use the computer.Showed a guy how to get a printer card so he could print his work from the computer.Showed a girl how to turn the sound down so she could use her head
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Thursday Thirteen #22: Thinking Green

Thu, 03/27/08 12:42 P GMT-05
I have had a community garden for nearly 20 years. It's just a 15 x 15 1)Peas--sugar snap peas and shelling types. One of the main reasons to garden.2)Salad greens3)Spinach and kale4)Pole Beans5)Zucchini6)Eggplant7)Peppers8)Tomatoes9)Cherry Tomat
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The Noble Internet--Not--Or: I Didn't Go Into All That Debt For My Masters Degree To Run An Internet Cafe

Wed, 03/26/08 7:16 P GMT-05
I went to a library in another local jurisdiction on Monday and was amused to see a sign up about Internet usage at the library. Apparently, the traffic at the library is incredible, and patrons were being urged to limit their Internet usage and to u
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From the "No Sh*t, Sherlock" Department:

Wed, 03/26/08 4:15 P GMT-05
The radio is full of talk today about the pollens in the air.And all I can say is "DUH"!I am a pollen barometer. And I have been having problems with watery eyes and CONGESTION for at least two weeks now. I'm just thankful for saline sp
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I Think I Have It!

Mon, 03/24/08 9:44 P GMT-05
If you have read my moanings and groanings about ballet class, you know that I am attempting to master something called an arabesque turn.I've been trying to find a video to illustrate one, but I can't. So all I can do is describe it as going
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