Listen Up!

June is National Audiobook Month. You can celebrate by downloading some of these new audiobooks.

New MP3 Titles (these will play on an iPod) Title Author 1906 Dalessandro, James A Darker Crimson Jewel, Carolyn Absolute Certainty Connors, Rose All the Sad Young Literary Men Gessen, Keith American Pastoral Roth, Philip Arnie the Doughnut Keller, Laurie As Simple as Snow Galloway, Gregory Blackman’s Coffin Castrique, Mark de Borrower of the Night Peters, Elizabeth City of Thieves Benioff, David Claimed by Shadow Chance, Karen Cod Kurlansky, Mark Crimson Rogue Maverick, Liz Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's Cerami, Charles Effective Networking Nour, David Embrace the Night Chance, Karen Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches Stanek, Robert Losing It Bertinelli, Valerie Master and Commander O'Brian, Patrick Nailing the Job Interview Leahy, M.A. ABS, Susan Post Captain O'Brian, Patrick Seduced By Crimson Lee, Jade Shards of Crimson Maverick, Liz Stone Cold Parker, Robert B. Survivor Palahniuk, Chuck The Camelot Caper Peters, Elizabeth The Defection of A. J. Lewinter Littell, Robert The Dolomite Solution Scott, Trevor The Friday Night Knitting Club Jacobs, Kate The Halloween Tree Bradbury, Ray The Levity Effect Gostick, Adrian The Once and Future Spy Littell, Robert The Soloist Lopez, Steve Through a Crimson Veil O'Shea, Patti Tunnel Vision Paretsky, Sara What I Was Rosoff, Meg

New WMA Titles

Title	Author
About Face	Leon, Donna
Angels in the Gloom	Perry, Anne
At Last Comes Love	Balogh, Mary
At Some Disputed Barricade	Perry, Anne
Bloodhound	Pierce, Tamora
Brazen Careerist	Trunk, Penelope
Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends	Guarnere, William "Wild Bill"
Bury the Lead	Rosenfelt, David
Carpe Diem	Mount, Harry
Cemetary Dance	Preston, Douglas
Columbine	Cullen, Dave
Dark Places	Flynn, Gillian
Darling Jim	Moerk, Christian
Dead Sleep	Iles, Greg
Deadlock	Johansen, Iris
Discordia	Salmon, Dena K.
Down River	Hart, John
Eat the Dark	Schreiber, Joe
Ecological Intelligence	Goleman, Daniel
Encore	Freedman, Marc
Eon	Goodman, Alison
Etta	Kolpan, Gerald
Factory Girls	Chang, Leslie T.
First Family	Baldacci, David
Hannahs Dream	Hammond, Diane
Horse Soldiers	Stanton, Doug
House of Cards	Author
How To Handle The Toughest Job Interview Questions You'll Ever Get	Portney, David R.
Hungry Girl: The Official Survival Guides	Lillien, Lisa
Hunting Season	Deutermann, P. T.
If I Stay	Forman, Gayle
Impossible	Werlin, Nancy
Little Bee	Cleave, Chris
Loitering With Intent	Woods, Stuart
Look Again	Scottoline, Lisa
Lords of Finance	Ahamed, Liaquat
Malice	Jackson, Lisa
Neil Armstrong is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me	Marino, Nan
No Graves As Yet	Perry, Anne
Nudge	Thaler, Richard
Outcast	Allston, Aaron
Prayers for Sale	Dallas, Sandra
Private Scandals	Roberts, Nora
Rapt	Gallagher, Winifred
Red Glass	Resau, Laura
Resilience	Edwards, Elizabeth
Rogue Forces	Brown, Dale
Sag Harbor	Whitehead, Colson
Sarek	Crispin, A. C.
Science Fair	Barry, Dave
Shoulder the Sky	Perry, Anne
Skinned	Wasserman, Robin
Soul Enchilada	Gill, David Macinnis
Sudden Death	Rosenfelt, David
The 19th Wife	Ebershoff, David
The 8th Confession	Patterson, James
The Age of the Unthinkable	Ramo, Joshua
The Art of Woo	Shell, G. Richard
The Highest Tide	Lynch, Jim
The Lake House	Patterson, James
The Last Book in the Universe	Philbrick, Rodman
The Last Olympian	Riordan, Rick
The Moonpool	Deutermann, P. T.
The Perfect Poison	Quick, Amanda
The Poet	Connelly, Michael
The Reformed Vampire Support Group	Jinks, Catherine
The Richest Man in Babylon	Clason, George S.
The Soldiers of Halla	MacHale, D. J.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie	Bradley, Alan
The Unforgiving Minute	Mullaney, Craig M.
The Widow Clicquot	Mazzeo, Tilar J.
Touch the Dark	Chance, Karen
Uranium	Zoellner, Tom
Vision in White	Roberts, Nora
Walking in Circles Before Lying Down	Markoe, Merrill
Wesley the Owl	O'Brien, Stacey
What Happened to Anna K.	Reyn, Irina
Who	Smart, Geoff
Zero Option	Deutermann, P. T.

A New Look at Wild Things

This blog has a fascinating look at how Where the Wild Things Are would look had it been illustrated by a different artist. Personally, I love Maurice Sendak's illustrations, in all of his books, so I think it is almost impossible to improve upon them. However, a few artists have at least equaled the master, as you can see below. What do you think; do you like the originals best or the paintings inspired by this childhood classic?

These Books Are Delicious

I stumbled across an amusing blog the other day called Cake Wrecks. I was delighted to find a post on cakes that celebrate children's books. There are some very clever cake decorators out there. The very hungry caterpillar cake made out of cupcakes is so cute you have to see it! What children's book would you like to see turned into a cake? I think I would like to see a Narnian cake... or maybe a Willy Wonka cake.

And The Winner Is....

The Audies, which are like Oscars for the Audiobook Industry, were awarded May 29. The audiobook of the year is Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. This charming book about Nobody Owens, an orphaned boy who is raised by ghosts in a Victorian graveyard, is intended for teens but has plenty to interest children and adults too. Intrigued? You can watch a Graveyard Book trailer, like a movie trailer, its chilling!

If you want to know what the winners of the other Audie catagories are, click here. You will find a review, and can even listen to a sample of the audiobook! The Library owns many of the Audie Award winners so you are in for a summer of great listening.

Summer Reading

According to an article that appeared on Twin Cities.com,"It's shocking what happens over the summer when children don't read," says Maurna Rome, the K-3 literacy coordinator at Ogilvie and the president of the Minnesota Reading Association. "This year, in our fourth grade, every single student went down in reading fluency (after summer vacation). We tested them at the end of the school year, and we checked again in the fall. And it didn't matter whether they are the top reader or the bottom — everyone went down. The fourth grade is notorious for something called 'The Fourth Grade Slump,' but it's still shocking that of the 30-some kids in our small school, they all lost ground over the summer.Why? They just don't read. We live in a day and age of video games and TV."

Make sure your child doesn't lose ground over the summer; you can enroll him or her in the Children's Room Summer Reading program, or the Teen Reading Program, both of which start July 6th. Don't neglect your own summer reading, grab some recommended reads bookmarks, or ask us what we have enjoyed reading lately.

Alice Munro Wins Man Booker International Prize

Alice Munro has been named the winner of the third Man Booker International Prize. The prize "is awarded once every two years to a living author for a body of work that has contributed to an achievement in fiction on the world stage." Ms. Munro was up against some very tough competition--amongst them Mario Vargas Llosa and VS Naipaul (Nobel laureate). If you aren't familiar with her writing, the library has several of her books in our collection.

Congratulations King Henry

It was 500 years ago that Henry VIII became the king of England at the tender age of 17. His rule was a tumultuous era marked by the untimely endings of most of his marriages and a split with the Vatican that lead to the separation of the Church of England from Rome. Henry certainly left his mark on his kingdom. If you are intrigued by this powerful, ambitious, and temperamental monarch, make sure to pick up the bookmark we created, Henry VIII And Company, featuring our favorite historical fiction about Henry and his wives.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is Flume Award Winner!

The Flume Award has announced the 2009 winner: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Runner-up was Crank by Ellen Hopkins. The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award was created in 2005 in response to a New Hampshire teens' request to have a book award geared towards high school students. This award is a state-wide venture led by a collaborative effort from school and public librarians. Each year teens nominate titles, published within the last two years, they think deserve to be recognized. Librarians then narrow the group of titles to a list of 13. Teens then vote for the winning title from the list of 13.

Here is the 2010 list of nominees:

Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher
When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

Graceling By Kristen Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

Deadline By Chris Cutcher
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."

Little Brother By Cory Doctorow
After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

Waves By Sharon Dogar
Hal, a British teen, is able to read his comatose sister’s thoughts. Will this supernatural ability allow Hal to find out who is responsible for putting his sister in a coma?

The Christopher Killer-A Forensic Mystery By Alane Ferguson
On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger.

Sold By Patricia McCormickThirteen-year-old Lakshmi, though poor, enjoys her life until the Himalayan monsoons wash away her family's crops and she is sold to a brothel in India by her stepfather. She remembers her mother's wisdom, "Simply to endure is to triumph," until the day comes that she can reclaim her life.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X By James Patterson
Fifteen-year-old Daniel has followed in his parents' footsteps as the Alien Hunter, exterminating beings on The List of Alien Outlaws on Terra Firma, but when he faces his first of the top ten outlaws, the very existence Earth and another planet are at stake.

The Last Lecture By Randy Pausch
Reflections of a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor who lectured on "Really achieving your childhood dreams," shortly after having been diagnosed with terminal cancer. His advice concerned seizing the moment while living, rather than dying.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me By Lisa Schroeder
This story, written in verse, deals with the grief fifteen-year-old Ava encounters after her boyfriend’s death, which occurred due to a dare made by her. She strongly feels that he is haunting her. Will Ava be able to overcome, not only her grief, but the feeling that her boyfriend is still with her?

Testimony By Anita Shreve
At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.

Pride of Baghdad By Brian Vaughan (on order)
This graphic novel is based on a true event in which the lions of the Baghdad Zoo escape captivity during the 2003 American bombing raid. The story is told from the lions’ point of view. Do they find their liberation from the zoo provides them with total freedom?

Show Us Your Pictures! Join the "Faces of Dover"!

The "Faces of Dover" Committee needs your help and participation! We would like to include you and your family in a photo project in donwtown Dover this summer. This is the first initiative of a larger Dover Oral, Written, Video and Still Photo history project for our community.

Do you have a photograph (or other interesting document) that somehow illustrates you or your family's connection to Dover, past or present, that we may include in a series of photo collages which will be placed on display around Dover?

The "Faces of Dover" Photo Exhibit has two goals:

1.) to stimulate interest and discussion within families about their roots, their ties (contemporary or historical) to Dover, and to uncover interesting events that have happened locally.

2.) to increase foot traffic in the community by encouraging folks to visit the exhibit sites, get some exercise, promote local commerce, and to expose residents and visitors alike to Dover's rich opportunities and sites.

The exhibit will be on view during July--September around the city. Interested folks may pick up a walking guide at the Library (73 Locust St.) or at the new Chamber of Commerce (550 Central Ave.), then stroll around exploring the photos.

If you have a photo or document you'd like to share, pick up a form at the Library and fill it out. We'll be back in contact with you shortly thereafter with instructions on how to submit your photo and documentation. Please act quickly because our deadline for submission is June 1st!

For more information, please email Beth Fischer info@facesofdover.org or Cathy Beaudoin c.beaudoin@dover.nh.gov.

The "Faces of Dover" project is a joint effort of many citizens interested in capturing the Oral History of Dover and is supported by organizations including the Dover Public Library, the Wentworth Home, the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, Dover Main Street, the Children's

Museum of New Hampshire, Spires Video Services LLC, Creative Memories, and the Dover Adult Learning Center.

Is Anyone Else Sick of Vampires?

I know I'm being a wet blanket, but I'm really, really sick of vampires. I have only read a couple of teen vampire novels, but that was more than plenty. I don't know where the trend started--Stephenie Meyers perhaps--but it doesn't seem to be slowing down. I was just reading an article about Charlaine Harris, author of the popular Sookie Stackhouse mystery series featuring vampires, and her latest book, Dead and Gone, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list. Her book Dead Until Dark was made into a movie--sound familiar? I suppose there is money to be made in the vampire genre, but I am really ready for the next trend. Any ideas what that might be?

The Library Will Be Closed Sunday and Monday

The library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, May 24 & 25 for the Memorial Day Holiday.

Summer Reading

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, is almost upon us. And what is summer synonymous with? Well yes, swim suits, hot weather, and BBQs, but more importantly, summer makes you think of great reading. I sense you are puzzled. Beach reads of course! Those refreshing, thrilling, just-for-fun books that wake up your poor old brain which has been numbed by way too many articles on the economy, or Very Serious Required Reading. I am well prepared for the forthcoming weekend with a huge stack of books featuring Zombies and Agent Pendergast (Cemetery Dance), magical realism in a small southern town (Secret Keepers), true life adventures of a death defying nature writer (Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals) and a fast paced supernatural thriller (The Crystal Skull). Those are just a few of the action-packed, riveting, and amusing little treats I have waiting for me.

If you are not so fortunate as to have a big, delicious pile of fun filled books waiting for you, make sure to stop in the Library, pick up some bookmarks listing our favorite books, then go get your own big stack of books.

We have been busy creating bookmarks so there are some new choices for you- Africa, Tough Chicks, Gentle Reads, If You Like Kitchen Confidential Try, Prehistoric Fiction, and of course, the 2008 Librarians’ Choice. If you have teenagers, be sure to look in the newly expanded Teen Loft, where you will find book marks expressly for this age group.

"Poor Howard" Stith performs at the Library tonight!

Don't forget the Friends of the Library will be hosting "Poor Howard" Stith in the Lecture Hall of the Library, tonight, Tues., May 19 at 7:00pm. The program is called Leadbelly and the 12-String Blues--here is a description:

Both entertaining and educational, a journey through the music of Leadbelly ("Goodnight, Irene", "Midnight Special" and many more) and his contemporaries performed on 6 and 12-string guitar with commentaries on the songs and music style. This is where both jazz and rock-and-roll had their beginnings.

"Poor Howard" Stith was born in Kansas City, but settled in Dover some 25 years ago. Howard is a scholar of the pre-WW II blues styles and has performed at folk festivals and clubs around the country, as well as in Europe and Japan, and has taught a history of blues intersession course at Hampshire College in Amherst, Ma. He has also taught folk music at Windsor Mountain Camp in Hillsborough. His knowledge of blues, skill on the guitar, and his humor continue to draw new fans to this style of roots music.

More Evening of Poetry News

Visit our web site to see still photographs of the Evening of Poetry, and to access an adobe file of the winning poems. Here is the K-2 grade category winner:

Math

Difficult questions

that sometimes amuse you

a learning wonderland

with magical numerals

William Marchesi, 1st PlaceCategory

K-2, Grade 2

Eleventh and Twelth Grade Poets

The sole reader in this division offered a poet's perspective on New York City.

Ninth and Tenth Grade Poets

We had two readers in the Ninth and Tenth grade category.

Seventh and Eighth Grade Poets

Only one poet in this category wanted to read her poem.

Fifth and Sixth Grade Poets

Here are the Fifth and Sixth grade poets reading their work.

Third and Fourth Grade Poets

Enjoy the Third and Fourth grade poets reading their work.

An Evening of Poetry Video

The Library had its annual Evening of Poetry on Tuesday. Some of the talented poets consented to read their works. These are the youngest poets.

Cookbooks Only Booksale in June

In celebration of downtown Dover’s upcoming Restaurant Week, “Dover Dines ’09---Take a Bite Out of Dover”, the Friends of the Dover Public Library will sponsor a special “Cookbooks Only” booksale for one week only at the library’s main desk from Monday, June 1 through Saturday, June 6. Prices will range from $.50 to $3.00 and the selection will include hundreds of softcovers and hardcovers, local community cookbooks, exotic foreign cuisines, and everything in between.

Cookbooks are always among the most popular items at the Friends’ annual booksales and the library has recently received some wonderful cookbook donations in near-pristine condition. The Cookbook Booksale is open to all: a library card is not necessary to purchase items, but customers should come early for the best selection.

The Friends of the Library are still accepting additional cookbook donations for the sale, so if you’re cleaning out your kitchen bookshelf, please bring your old cookbooks to the library’s main desk before June 1. The sale will take place during regular library hours: Monday---Wednesday 9am to 8:30pm; Thursday---Friday 9am to 5:30pm; and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Proceeds from the sale will help the Friends of the Library continue to fund special library programs, museum passes, equipment, and furnishings.

Where the Wild Things Are- at the Cinema

Did you know they are making a live action movie out of the beloved children’s classic Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak? Some children’s books have translated beautifully to the silver screen and have been a pleasure to watch such as The Spiderwick Chronicles. I fear that Wild Things will not fare so well. Take a look at the trailer and weigh in with your opinion; enchanting or cheesy?

New Pass to Canterbury Shaker Village!

The Friends of the Library have purchased a pass to NH's Canterbury Shaker Village Museum which will open for the season on May 16.

It is one of the most intact and authentic surviving Shaker community sites, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993. Canterbury Shaker Village is an internationally-known, non-profit museum and historic site with 25 original Shaker buildings, four reconstructed Shaker buildings and 694 acres of forests, fields, gardens and mill ponds under permanent conservation easement. Canterbury Shaker Village "is dedicated to preserving the 200-year legacy of the Canterbury Shakers and to providing a place for learning, reflection and renewal of the human spirit."

Visitors learn about the life, ideals, values and legacy of the Canterbury Shakers through tours, programs, exhibits, research and publications. Its renowned restaurant, The Shaker Table, serves traditional Shaker lunches and dinners spring, summer and fall.

This discount pass is available for borrowing and admits two people with a $5.00 service charge for adults and a $2.50 service charge for children. (Normal admission price is $17 per adult and $8 per child). For more information, visit www.shakers.org.

Other museum passes available for borrowing from the library are:
The Currier Museum of Art, Manchester
Historic New England (SPNEA houses throughout New England)
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of NH History, Concord
The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
The Portland (ME) Museum of Art
The Children's Museum of Maine, Portland
The Children's Museum of NH, Dover
The Museum of Science, Boston
The NH Farm Museum, Milton
The Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne State Park, Rye
The SEE Science Center, Manchester
Strawbery Banke Museum, Portssmouth

Cardholders may call the library, (603) 516-6050, to reserve any of these free or discounted passes. We thank the Friends of the Library for their financial support of the entire Library Museum Pass Program!!!

Isinglass Award Winner Announced!

The Isinglass Award is a state wide award for 7 & 8 graders. Each year a list of 20 books is selected by a committee, from suggestions by teens, and kids have a year to read the books on the list to get ready to vote in May. This year's winner is Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick. I was thrilled to hear the winner because this was my favorite book on the list. Here is a description of the book:

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to
deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, DRUMS, GIRLS, AND DANGEROUS PIE is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.

What Your Car Says About You

Normally I am not a big fan of those magnetic ribbons of support that people plaster all over their cars but today I saw one that I really like.


What does your car say about your interests?

Poetry Winners Announced!

The Dover Public Library would like to announce the winners of our 7th Annual Poetry Contest. We would like to thank our judges: Janice Alberghene, John Michael Albert, Maria Faskianos, and Marsha Pelletier.

Category 1:
1st Place: William Marchesi, Grade 2, Woodman Park

2nd Place: Chloe Noonan, Grade 2, Portsmouth Christian Academy
3rd Place : David Brackett, Grade 2, Portsmouth Christian Academy
Honorable Mention: Chase Amarosa, Grade K, Garrison School (tie)
Kieran Whitney, Grade 2, Woodman Park (tie)

Category 2:
1st Place: Caitlin Morrison, Grade 4, Garrison Elementary
2nd Place: Melanie Gouldthorpe, Grade 3, Horne Street
3rd Place : Vaughn Harmon, Grade 4, Woodman Park
Honorable Mention: Grace Indoccio-Kerr, Grade 3, Garrison School

Category 3:
1st Place: Grayson Tuttle, Grade 6, Dover Middle School
2nd Place: Emma Teague, Grade 6, Saint Mary Academy
3rd Place: Shaiteanna Ball, Grade 6, Dover Middle School
Honorable Mention: Bryce Berchulski, Grade 6, Saint Mary Academy (tie)
Kieran Lombard, Grade 5, Dover Middle School (tie)

Category 4:
1st Place: Lilah Cherim, Grade 7, Dover Middle School
2nd Place: Rachel Sobol, Grade 8, Saint Mary Academy
3rd Place: Meghan Hill, Grade 8, Dover Middle School
Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Malia, Grade 8, Dover Middle School

Category 5:
1st Place: Danielle Auger, Grade 10, Dover High School
2nd Place: Harry Slepian, Grade 9, Oyster River High School
3rd Place: Ashley Daigle, Grade 9, Dover High School

Category 6:
1st Place: Katy Sternberger, Grade 12, Portsmouth Christian Academy
2nd Place: Sarah Fitzpatrick, Grade 12, Dover High School
3rd Place: Kyle Lanzit, Grade 12, Berwick Academy
Honorable Mention: Lizzie Kinney, Grade 11, Saint Thomas

Please Donate Your Old Cookbooks!

In celebration of downtown Dover’s upcoming Restaurant Week, “Dover Dines ’09---Take a Bite Out of Dover”, the Friends of the Dover Public Library will sponsor a special “Cookbooks Only” booksale for one week only at the library’s main desk from Monday, June 1 through Saturday, June 6. Prices will range from $.50 to $3.00 and the selection will include hundreds of softcovers and hardcovers, local community cookbooks, exotic foreign cuisines, and everything in between.

Cookbooks are always among the most popular items at the Friends’ annual booksales and the library has recently received some wonderful cookbook donations in near-pristine condition. The Cookbook Booksale is open to all: a library card is not necessary to purchase items, but customers should come early for the best selection. Proceeds from the sale will help the Friends of the Library continue to fund special library programs, museum passes, equipment, and furnishings.

PLEASE NOTE: The Friends of the Library are still accepting additional cookbook donations for the sale, so if you’re cleaning out your kitchen bookshelf, please bring your old cookbooks to the library’s main desk before June 1. THANK YOU!!!

Cover Art

This book's cover grabbed my attention, which is what all good book jackets should do. Never mind that old saying, never judge a book by its cover, we all do it, it is human nature. This particular book is aimed at teenagers and has some cool features that should attract them, including a see-through insert and a pink banner reading "Rest in Popularity". I hope the book lives up to its cool cover.

Ghost Girl by Tonya Hurley.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

And if I should die before I awake,

I pray the popular attend my wake.

Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day she really is invisible. Even worse: she's dead. And all because she choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn't stop Charlotte from wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving her goal.

If you thought high school was a matter of life or death, wait till you see just how true that is. In this satirical, yet heartfelt novel, Hurley explores the invisibility we all feel at some times and the lengths we'll go to be seen.

Listen Up!

The New Hampshire State Library has ordered even more downloadable audiobooks.These are MP3 titles so you should be able to play them on an iPod or Mac as well as the usual MP3 players and PCs.

Title	Author
The Battle for the Rhine 1944	Neillands, Robin
A Brief History of Time	Hawking, Stephen W.
Windchill	Anderson, Melvin
The Anteater of Death	Webb, Betty
The Eiger Sanction	Trevanian
Firewall	Mankell, Henning
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County	Baker, Tiffany
The Onion Girl	Lint, Charles de
The Price of Silence	Wilhelm, Kate
The Secret Adversary	Christie, Agatha
Seven Kinds of Death	Wilhelm, Kate
The Stabbing in the Stables	Brett, Simon
Without Warning	Birmingham, John
The Amateur	Littell, Robert
The Copenhagen Connection	Peters, Elizabeth
Crimson City	Maverick, Liz
Crocodile on the Sandbank	Peters, Elizabeth
Death in Paradise	Parker, Robert B.
Double Play	Parker, Robert B.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings	Stirling, S. M.
The Mummy Case	Peters, Elizabeth
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf	Pelevin, Victor
The Scarletti Curse	Feehan, Christine
A Taste of Crimson	Liu, Marjorie M.
The Women	Boyle, T. C.

"Marvelous Marionettes" Visit the Library

During school vacation week, "Dan Grady and his Marvelous Marionettes" performed their magic at the library to the delight of over 180 children, teens, caregivers, parents and grandparents. His fast paced string production, choreographed to lively music, was enjoyed by all.

The marionnettes we met, Conway Kitty, the three clowns, the leprechaun, Eanad Edarg, Fred & Ginny, the rabbit on roller skates, and Humphrey Dumpty, were all designed and crafted by Dan. Thank you, Dan, for a puppet-wonderful show!

2009 Indies Choice Book Award Winners

From the American Booksellers Association:

The new Indies Choice Book Awards reflect the spirit of independent bookstores nationwide through new categories and a broader range of winners and honor books.

The 2009 Indies Choice Book Award winners, chosen by the owners and staff at ABA member stores during more than four weeks of voting, are:
Best Indie Buzz Book (Fiction): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (The Dial Press)

Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction): The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead)

Best Author Discovery: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (Ecco)

Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (Fiction): The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

Best New Picture Book: Bats at the Library, by Brian Lies (Houghton Mifflin)

Most Engaging Author: Sherman Alexie

"On behalf of independent booksellers across the country, we're proud to announce the first Indies Choice Book Award winners," said ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz. "Each perfectly represents the array of unique and thought-provoking titles championed by ABA members. We look forward to saluting the winning authors and illustrators at a very festive Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon at BEA."

Five Indies Choice Book Awards honor recipients were also named in each category:
Best Indie Buzz Book (Fiction) Honor Books
City of Thieves, by David Benioff (Viking)
The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane (Morrow)
Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill (Pantheon)
People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks (Viking)
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf)

Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction) Honor Books
American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon, by Steven Rinella (Spiegel & Grau)
The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins (Knopf)
Hurry Down Sunshine: A Memoir, by Michael Greenberg (Other Press)
A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and
Other Adventurers in Early America, by Tony Horwitz (Holt)
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami (Knopf)

Best Author Discovery (Debut) Honor Books
Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan (Algonquin)
The Story of Forgetting, by Stefan Merrill Block (Random House)
White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (Free Press)

Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Honor Book (Fiction)
Graceling, by Kristin Cashore (HMH)
Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (Tor)
My Most Excellent Year, by Steve Kluger (Dial)
Savvy, by Ingrid Law (Dial)

Best New Picture Book Honor Books
Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken, by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Harry Bliss
(HarperCollins)
Monkey and Me, by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster)
The Pout Pout Fish, by Deborah Diesen; illustrated by Dan Hanna (FSG)
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, by Mem Fox; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
(Harcourt)
Wave, by Suzi Lee (Chronicle)

Most Engaging Author Honor Recipients
Michael Chabon
Ann Patchett
Jon Scieszka
David Sedaris
Terry Tempest Williams

Winners and honor books are all titles appearing on the 2008 Indie Next Lists, which launched last July, and on the Book Sense Picks Lists from the first half of the year. Most Engaging Author honorees are being recognized for being engaging at in-store appearances, as well as for having a strong sense of the importance of independent booksellers to their communities at large.

Most Challenged Books of 2008

From the American Library Association:

For a third consecutive year, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell's award-winning "And Tango Makes Three," a children's book about two male penguins caring for an orphaned egg, tops the American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008.

Four books are new to the list: "Bless Me, Ultima," by Rudolfo Anaya; "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah S. Brannen; "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini; and "Flashcards of My Life," by Charise Mericle Harper.

Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories" series returns after being dropped from the list in 2007.
"Books, magazines, and other reading materials should reflect the diverse views and the rich multicultural tapestry of our Nation," said Deborah Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. "While not every book is right for each reader, every reader has the right to choose reading materials for themselves and their families and should be able to find those materials in libraries, classrooms, and bookstores. Our goal is to protect one of our most precious fundamental rights - our freedom to read."

For nearly 20 years, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has collected reports on book challenges. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness. In 2008, OIF received 513 reports on efforts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.

Though OIF receives reports of challenges in public libraries, schools, and school libraries from a variety of sources, a majority of challenges go unreported. OIF estimates that its statistics reflect only 20-25% of the challenges that actually occur.

The ALA's Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008 reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
1. "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson/Peter ParnellReasons: Anti-Ethnic, Anti-Family, Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2. "His Dark Materials Trilogy" (Series), Philip PullmanReasons: Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint, Violence
3. "TTYL"; "TTFN"; "L8R, G8R" (Series), Lauren MyracleReasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
4. "Scary Stories" (Series), Alvin SchwartzReasons: Occult/Satanism, Religious Viewpoint, Violence
5. "Bless Me, Ultima," by Rudolfo AnayaReasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Violence
6. "The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephen ChboskyReasons: Drugs, Homosexuality, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited to Age Group
7. "Gossip Girl" (Series), by Cecily von ZiegesarReasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
8. "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah S. BrannenReasons: Homosexuality, Unsuited to Age Group
9. "The Kite Runner," by Khaled HosseiniReasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group
10. "Flashcards of My Life," by Charise Mericle Harper Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

Curled Up With a Few Good Books

In 2007 the National Endowment for the Arts released their findings of a study they conducted called To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence. The results had some pretty depressing statistics concerning teens. Here is a small sampling of their findings:

Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.
Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from nine percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.1
On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.

See what I mean--pretty depressing. That's why, when I came across the young girl pictured to your left with a large stack of books to keep her busy during school vacation, I just had to take a picture. I wish that I saw more of this, but I will take what I can get!

Pulitzer Prize in Literature Announced

The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this afternoon at 3:00. Here is the list in literature (how many have you read?):

Fiction - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Random House)
Drama - Ruined by Lynn Nottage
History - The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (W.W. Norton & Company)
Biography - American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham (Random House)
Poetry - The Shadow of Sirius by W.S. Merwin (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction - Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon (Doubleday)

Silver Donated to the Library

Barbara and Henry Wing were antiquing recently when they came across this old silver spoon with the Dover Public Library etched into the bowl. They kindly purchased it and donated it to the Library. None of the Librarians has heard anything about commemorative spoons being made of the Library. We are intrigued with this treasure. Does anyone else have a Library spoon?

Contest Winners Announced!

Our first Peeps Show Contest was very successful. We were pleased to receive 81 entries; many more than we dreamed of getting! We were astonished by the creativity and ability of the Peeps artists. It was extremely difficult to pick a winner for each division.

Winner of the Adult Division is Michele Albion with Peeps Fair.
Winner of the Teen Division is Jackie Mazzone with The Other Boleyn Peep.


Winner of the Kids Division is Mayson Smith with Sponge Bob's Easter Egg Hunt.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all the artists who participated. We hope to see you again next year!

Peeps Show Contest Honorable Mentions

We had 69 entries in the Kids Division of the Peeps Show Contest.They were so impressive that just one winner was not sufficient. We felt that we needed to award Honorable Mentions to some outstanding Peeps dioramas. They are as follows:

Miracle on Ice by Garrett Swan.









Goodnight Moon by Zoe Albion.









Power to the Peeple by Mary Provencal-Fogarty.









King Arthur by Chloe Knierim.









Tennis Peeps by Noah Albion.

The President & the Queen Visiting the Library!

President Obama, the Queen, Lincoln, Uncle Sam, and other notable figures, are currently perched atop our magazine shelves in the addition of the library. This is part of the Dover High School art show currently on display at the library. The show includes drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry and pottery. There are some amazing works to be seen, and you have until April 30th to come and take a look.

7th Annual Poetry Contest Deadline Fast Approaching

The deadline for the 7th Annual Poetry Contest is this coming Monday, April 13th--so get those poems in before it's too late! The contest is for kids in grades k-12. Visit our website at http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/ for more information. Here is last year's winner in the 3rd and 4th grade category.

Autumn Tree

A bold, beautiful eagle
finds a place to rest on a bare tree branch.
The orange evening sky surrounds her mossy trunk.
She only can dream of the warm days of summer.
No longer can she feel the sun beating down on her.
All she can feel is her branches
Swaying in the freezing wind.
Her colorful leaves are yet to be blown away.

Where Are the Teen Peeps?

We are starting to get some wonderful entries in the Adult Division of the Peeps Show contest but we are desperate for some Teen entries. So far only one Teen has an entry. I know you teens are really creative, I have seen the art display from the High School, so let's see what happens when you set your creativity loose upon the peeps! You still have two days to enter.

The Night Villa

The Night Villa by Carol Goodman
Classics professor Sophie Chase is drawn against her better judgment to the isle of Capri to participate in the excavation of the Night Villa, which was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius. She hopes to find a journal written by the young slave girl she wrote her thesis on who was embroiled in a fight for her freedom in the Roman Courts.

The sultry atmosphere of Capri was so beautiful described I felt I had escaped from New Hampshire’s harsh spring weather. I couldn’t wait to get back to the book to find out what new twist had developed amongst the devious crew of characters; the software millionaire, the brilliant, beautiful yet insecure student, the worldly professor who is Sophie’s former lover, and the ex-husband who had disappeared into the mysterious Pythagoras Cult. All this and secret pagan rites too. You will find this literary thriller difficult to put down.

We Need Some Adult Peeps!

You still have time to enter The Peeps Show Contest. The Kids division (through age 12) is getting good participation, but the Teen division (ages 13-17) and Adult division (age 18 and up) is extremely sparse. You could win a $25 gift Target card simply by creating a peeps diorama in a shoe box! How easy it that? You have through April 10th to get your entries in.

Keep on Truckin'

I just read in the New York Times that R. Crumb is coming out with a comic-strip retelling of the Book of Genesis. Whoa--this is the Keep on Truckin' guy! Should be interesting and strange. It is not coming out until October so I'm sorry to get you all excited months in advance.

"In the footsteps of the master… "
A voyage back 400 years to discover Galileo’s 1st recorded telescopic observations in 1609

A Lecture and Slide Show by
John S. Gianforte of the Blue Sky Observatory at UNH
in hononr of the International Year of Astronomy


Tuesday, April 14
7pm
Library Lecture Hall

Libraries to Start Lending Money

"In its latest bid to kick-start the nation’s ailing economy, the government has announced that public libraries will extend their current range of services to include the lending of money. From today, customers borrowing books will also be able to take out financial loans for a period of three weeks, though it may be possible to renew the terms of these agreements provided no other customer is waiting to borrow the cash."

Want to know more? Read this fantastic article by Newsbiscuit or else you may be "fixed with a chastening stare by the beady-eyed old lady on the checkout desk."

Oh, yes, happy April 1st.