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Upcoming March Programs: Introduction to Craft Beer and Introduction to Zentangle®
On Sunday, March 11 from 2 to 4 PM, Certified Zentangle® Teacher, Lori Champine, will introduce this easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way of creating beautiful images by mindfully drawing structured patterns. Lori will teach you the skills you need to turn your own doodles in Zentangle® art. Supplies will be provided. Attendance is limited to twenty people, so plan to arrive early.
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Songs of Peace: a Global Music Workshop
Dance to, sing along with, and experience traditional music from cultures across the world!
International jazz saxophonist and composer Sagit Zilberman performs and facilitates Songs of Peace, an interactive global music workshop for families and children, on Saturday, March 17 from 2-3 PM at the Central Library.
This workshop introduces children to instruments such as the didgeridoo, space drum, and other percussion instruments and empowers children to use both their own voices and instruments to play and create music with others.
To learn more about Sagit, visit
http://www.sagitzilberman.com/.
For more information, please contact Ann at [email protected] or 617-623-5000 ext. 2950.
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Book-a-Librarian: One-on-one Database Help Now Available
Are you having trouble accessing
Hoopla,
Flipster, or
Libby on your own computer, tablet, or phone? Would you like to learn more about
Consumer Reports or our other online resources?
Book your one-on-one appointment with a reference librarian on our
Ask A Librarian page, or by e-mailing [email protected] or calling our Reference Department staff at 617-623-5000 ext. 2950.
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Adult Recommendations
This issue's recommendations come courtesy of Meg and Ellen at the Central Library and Marita at the East Branch.
Jessica Bruder takes readers along on an immersive trek through the daily reality of older Americans who, sometimes by choice but usually due to economic circumstance, have forgone stick-and-brick homes for "wheel estate." At or approaching retirement age but unable to afford to stop working, or to support a mortgage or pay rent, growing numbers of vandwellers--many of whom would never have imagined living a nomadic life--are hitting the road in vans, campers, and RVs.
A fascinating exploration of adaptability and hope in the wake of the Great Recession.
Recommended by Meg
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This is the story of Count Alexander Rostov, who in 1922 is sentenced to house arrest at the Hotel Metropol for being an aristocrat and poet. Having lived in a suite of beautiful rooms overlooking the Kremlin, he is forced to live in a tiny attic space with just a tiny window. He manages to find peace and sometimes joy with the people who work at the hotel.
Life outside the hotel changes, politically and economically. Many of his friends outside have been banished and sent off to Siberia, yet he continues on. I'm still reading this and would recommend it!
Recommended by Marita
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If you love a good British crime drama--
Luther, Happy
Valley, Prime Suspect--
you should give
Broadchurch
a try! Set in a fictional small town on England's south coast, it features David Tennant (aka the 10th Dr. Who) as DI Alec Hardy and the wonderful Olivia Colman as DS Ellie Miller. They investigate crimes, of course, but in doing so they also uncover a bunch of weird (though not necessarily criminal) secrets harbored by just about everyone in town. There are suspects galore and it's all a lot of fun. Bonus: Jodie Whittaker (aka, soon to be the 13th Dr. Who) is also a member of the cast.
Recommended by Ellen
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At first it was hard for me to get into this book. A family runs a private zoo in Warsaw, Poland, before the start of World War II. They seemed a bit odd, sharing their home with animals, both predator and prey. When the city is overtaken by the Germans, they fight to survive, and the zoo becomes an underground network to help save Jews. Animals are given human names, and people are given animal names in an effort to keep secrets. The family goes to huge and brave lengths to help protect and save the citizens of Warsaw. By the end, I couldn't put the book down.
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YA (Young Adult) Recommendations
This issue's YA recommendations come from Lilly, Christina, and Cassie at the Central Library.
Sisters Scarlett and Tella escape the tiny island where they are kept by their cruel father to participate in Caraval--an interactive five-day, once-a-year spectacle of magic. Scarlett has been told that Caraval is only a performance,
but is quickly drawn into the mystery. She does find love and magic, but things soon turn awry as her sister, Tella, is kidnapped. Caraval has been called The Night Circus of YA literature and is sure to please.
Recommended by Lilly
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Aden Stone has a hard life. Now, with only three souls inside his head (Julian, Elijah, and Caleb), Aden is plagued with the knowledge of knowing how to set all the souls free, but not wanting to. He has a vampire princess for a girlfriend and is currently in line to take the throne as Vampire King. There are many supernatural beings coming to kill Aden because of his power, and on top of all of that, he can't even miss a day of school, because his current residency will kick him out for bad behavior.
Recommended by Christina
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The Breakfast Club meets
Gossip Girl and turns quickly to murder in this fast-paced mystery. In the beginning, each character seems to fill a specific role: the jock, the nerd, the homecoming queen, and the bad boy. As the story develops and the killer is revealed, we also learn that each character is much more than a stereotype.
Recommended by Cassie
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This isn't a book for the squeamish. Marrin first digs into the history of infectious disease and epidemics before focusing on the influenza of 1918, which affected 500 million people, or about one-third of the global population at the time. The author combines historical photographs and images, science, and anecdotes into a gripping non-fiction read.
Recommended by Cassie
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Children's Recommendations
This issue's recommendations come courtesy of a guest reviewer, Meghan at the East Branch, and Cathy at the Central Library.
Two stories spanning 50 years are intertwined--one illustrated, the other narrative--and join for the first time in a bookshop in New York City. The meeting leads to a visit to the Queens Museum of Art, to learn about the relevance of an exhibit of a miniature New York City made out of paper for the 1964 World's Fair. The exhibit,
Panorama of the City of New York, still exists and is impressive to see.
Recommended by Cathy
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about a boy named Greg Heffley who has many adventures and finds his siblings annoying. The most recent book in the series is #12, The Getaway. It is very funny and a very quick read, and I recommend it.
Recommended by Sophie (age 9)
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When Mr. Stricter's class tadpoles are big enough to release into a pond, the teacher surprises his students by announcing they can keep just one. The class chooses Bruno, the smallest of the bunch. Bruno doesn't stay small for long and soon he's grown into a giant, classroom-wrecking hippopotamus! The bright and bold illustrations lend to the hilarious story, which shows how ridiculous Bruno's antics are--he passes gas, hogs the swings, and soon enough eats Mr. Stricter! Worth reading aloud and repeatedly, with lots of funny details in the artwork, this story is silly treat for ages 4-44!
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The page count (162p) sometimes means this book gets passed over for longer stories, which is a shame because this book is amazing! It's a delightful adventure/mystery about two siblings, older, cash-strapped Claudia who feels underappreciated at home, and her younger, penny-pinching and therefore wealthier brother, James, who run away and take up residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. How they hide, sleep, bath, and eat in the museum is so much fun to read,
and there's a mystery surrounding a statue of an angel acquired by the Met that leads the siblings to the woman who will change their lives forever: Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler.
Recommended by Cathy
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Staff Spotlight: Karen
Before starting here, she gained experience in many other libraries, including public, academic, and news libraries.
She's a great person to ask if you're looking for recommendations on young adult or children's fiction, interesting new board or video games (her current favorite is Tokaido!), or Marvel movies.
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