Part-time Job Opening at the Library

The Library currently has an Afternoon Page position open. The jobs' primary tasks involve shelving books, maintaining the book stacks, assisting in closing the library, and running errands. For more information about the job and how to apply visit our web site at www.dover.lib.nh.us/jobopening.htm.

The Catalog will be down on Tuesday

Tuesday, April 3, there will be no access to the online card catalog. Librarians will be happy to look up books for you, but we will not be able to reserve books for you.

The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy, available in book form and Book on CD.

A father and son travel the post apocalyptic ash land of America in this gripping and devastating tale.

The love between the man and the boy carries them through the bleak and barren terrain, the horror of murderers and eaters of human flesh. It keeps them on the right path. “Are we still the good guys, Papa?” the boy says in times of confusion and shock. There are hard and bleak lessons to be learned: how to continue to be the good guys when sometimes survival means leaving behind others who need your help; how to continue when there seems to be no hope, no reason to do so; how to be thankful for the meager good that comes along.

This book is frightening and tender, cryptic and crystal clear, simple and mysterious. Ultimately, it is perfectly beautiful.

Marcus Gale says hello

Children's entertainer Marcus Gale will be visiting the Dover Public Library Tuesday, April 17, at 10:30am for the last in his spring series of music workshops for little ones.




picture @copyright mbyrom

Edward listens carefully

Miss Marcia is reading to Edward from his favorite book. Can you guess what it is?

New to the Downloadable Audio Books Collection

These are just a few of the new titles available.
Want to see more?

The Double Blind by Chris Bohjalian
Deep Storm by Lincoln Child
The Watchman by Robert Crais
Hide by Lisa Gardner
Step on a Crack by James Patterson
High Profile by Robert B. Parker
Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb
Sisters by Danielle Steel

Forgotten Nursery Rhymes

Who couldn't put Humpy Dumpty together again?

What did Jack break when he fell down the hill?

How did Little Bo Peep get her sheep to come home?

What did the Old Woman in the Shoe feed her children?

What did Wee Willie Winkie wear running through the town?

Could you answer all of these questions? Last week I attended a baby shower for my niece. As part of the festivities, all guests who wanted to participate in a game were given a sheet of questions to answer about nursery rhymes. Prizes were then awarded to those answering all questions correctly. I was amazed at the number of people there (she had over 50 guests!) who knew only a few answers, if any at all.

Have we forgotten the value that these educational, interactive, sometimes nonsensical, and always fun rhymes have in contributing to a child's development and first introduction to literature?

All mothers-to-be should have "a book of nursery rhymes" listed on their baby shower's wish list. I know that I will include one in my baby gift bag from now on!

Here are a few suggestions for gift giving or for borrowing from our collection:
The Real Mother Goose by Blanch Fisher Wright
Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: one hundred best-loved verses by Mary Engelbreit
Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose by Tomie dePaola
The Baby's Lap Book by Kay Chorao
The Lucy Cousins' Book of Nursery Rhymes by Lucy Cousins

Answers to questions:
1. all the king's horses and all the king's men, 2. his crown, 3. she left them alone, 4. some broth (without any bread), 5. his nightgown

A Prince to Die For (well, maybe not.)

I was telling my friend Mark yesterday that Henry VIII was very hot right now, especially for a guy who had been dead for almost 500 years. He was disbelieving, "you mean the fat guy who beheaded all of his wives?" Obviously, he has not been reading Philippa Gregory, Alison Weir, Robin Maxwell, or any of the other contemporary novelists who have been mining the life of the 16th century monarch for their latest novels. If you, like Mark, think that Henry was just a fat old dude who executed his wives when he was displeased with them, think again. In his heyday, Henry was considered the "handsomest prince in Christendom." At well over 6' with red gold hair and "shapely calves" (I'm not making this up) he was sought after by women for the obvious reasons and by men for the power he wielded as the King of England. But, like anyone who has it all, and an entourage of "peeps" to make sure he continues to get it all, Henry fell victim to his own excesses and in the end did, in fact, become a fat old dude who excuted his wives, although not all of them, just two.

But that was then and this is now and the real proof that Henry is hot is, of course, that he has become a TV series. The Tudors on Showtime, airs opposite The Sopranos on HBO. And rightfully so. Who else could go up against "The Tone?" Henry was the original "made man."

In a recent interview, Philippa Gregory, the author who started it all with The Other Boleyn Girl speculated that Henry's real appeal comes from the women in his life. Readers are drawn to women negotiating dangerous waters and let's face it, in the 16th century there were no more dangerous waters for a girl than those in which Henry VIII swam.

For a list of great novels about Henry VIII and the women in his life look for our Henry VIII and Company booklist by clicking here.

Edward gets crafty

Edward found our "Make-It, Take-It" table in the Children's Room. He is busy listening to his inner rabbit about what colors to choose next.

The Traveling Pants

It's amazing what you can do with a bit of glitter, felt, glue, ribbons, buttons and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Twelve kids showed up to decorate the Traveling Pants on Tuesday, and as you can see they look fabulous. You still have a chance to help us decorate the other side of the pants on Thursday, March 29th at 3:00pm in the Trustees Room of the Library. All decorators will have a chance at winning the latest book in the Traveling Pants series, Forever in Blue.

Edward travels online

Edward took his turn at one of the Children's Room computers. He sure likes the mouse. Who is he writing to?

I don't want to get off on a rant here, but....

Peggy Noonan wrote an essay for the Wall Street Journal this March called "That's Not Nice". She said "We tie ourselves in knots trying to explain why it is, or why it isn't, always or occasionally, helpful or destructive to use various epithets, or give full voice to our resentments. But the simple wisdom of Grandma-- "That's not nice"--is a good guide." Her essay was actually a diatribe against political correctness and censorship but it struck a cord with me. I have noticed the past few months at the Library that more and more people are feeling free to be "not nice".

Just last week a patron asked if the Library had a particular book. We did not own it, so the librarian wrote up an order slip and informed this patron that he would get it as soon as it came in. His response to this kindness was to go off on a rant and declaim that the library was nothing but a sewer of left wing propaganda. I think "thank you" would have been a more appropriate response.

Another patron thought it would be appropriate to leave his socks, which smelled as though they had gotten a good year's worth of use without washing, in the Men's Room. Our poor custodian, who has seen more than his share of truly nasty messes left for us, cannot get rid of the horrible smell. If it's too nasty to throw away at your house, we don't want it either.

And then there are the cell phone users. And the people who yell at us because our computers aren't the latest, fastest models. And the people who snipe at us because we don't carry every tax form that exists, or the fact that they have to wait their turn for free tax help from our AARP volunteers. And the people who steal our CDs. And so on.

Fortunately, our days are brightened by the vast majority of patrons who come in exclaiming about the wonderful book they read. And the patrons who thank us for the help we gave them. And the patrons who tell us how much they like the bookmarks we make. And especially the patrons who tell us they love the library. Thank you all. Your Grandma would be proud.

Edward Tulane on track

What a busy rabbit! Edward has our train set all to himself. Does he remember riding the rails with Bull and Lucy?

Library Ironies

A longstanding joke around here concerns a book that is always returned overdue. Its title? Toilet Training in Less Than a Day by Nathan Azrin, published in 1974. In fact, it's checked out right now, not due back until April 10. I'd lay odds that this book won't return until at least mid-April! Either the book has poor instructions or the parents are spending so much time in the bathroom that they don't have time to "absorb" (sorry!) its contents.

So yesterday, we received a letter from a western New Hampshire high school library to whom we'd lent a title through Interlibrary Loan. The letter read: "I am sorry that the book you loaned us has been lost. Would you please bill us for the book? Title: Steal This Book; Author: Abbie Hoffman; Request Number: 401888. Thank you, [signature of Media Specialist]."

Really, I'm not making these things up! Libraries have great stories every day; I've always said there's a great TV sitcom waiting to be discovered in our setting---some days it's really just like Cheers, only without the alcohol!!

Glitter, Glue, & Imagination

Have you heard of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series? In the first book of the Traveling Pants series, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares introduces us to four best friends: Lena, Carmen, Tibby, and Bridget. They are about to spend their first summer apart. Carmen has purchased a pair of thrift shop jeans for $3.49, and they miraculously fit all four friends perfectly. The friends form a pact to share the jeans equally throughout the summer, mailing them back and forth. The girls also come up with a list of 10 rules governing the use of the traveling pants for example—you must never wash the pants.

The popularity of the series has prompted the creation of the NH Traveling Pants project. The pants will be making there way around the state to be decorated by local teens. The Traveling Pants will be in Dover the week of March 26th through March 30th. Join us for two decorating sessions: Tuesday, March 27th from 2:30 to 4pm in the Dover Middle School Library, and Thursday, March 29th from 3 to 4:30pm in the Trustees Room of the Dover Public Library. Just show up to decorate and we will provide the materials (glitter, felt, markers, patches...), snacks, and prizes! You will also have a chance to win the latest book in the series.

Edward Tulane meets the neighbor

Sometimes some surprising things can sneak up behind you.

Come to the Children's Room and say hello to Bluebeary and Edward. We think they can be friends. Do you?

The Family That Couldn't Sleep

It sounds like something from a fairy tale; a family cursed to die from sleeplessness. In Italy, a family has been afflicted for generations by a prion disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia. Prions destroy the area of the brain that allows them to sleep. The onset begins in middle age when they begin running high fevers, and the pupils of their eyes shrink; they exist in a half state between sleep and wakefulness. Their bodies eventually burn themselves out and they die from exhaustion. Their story is told in The Family That Couldn’t Sleep by D.T. Max. The author also discusses other prion diseases; Kuru with its links to cannibalism, Scrapie which decimated sheep flocks in Britain, and of course, the other infamous British prion disease- Mad Cow.

This is where the story becomes truly terrifying. Because the government agencies entrusted with overseeing the safety of the food chain are also responsible for promoting the health of the agricultural industry in Britain and in the U.S., many more of us are potentially afflicted Mad Cow than believed. “It can be estimated, based on a European Union Scientific committee’s work, that the English ate as many as 640 billion doses of BSE (mad cow disease) during the crisis as a whole”. One hundred Fifty Britons have died so far, tests indicate that as many as 4000 more are infected. Don’t think you are safe here in America, Mad Cow has already surfaced, and our elk and deer are infected with another prion disease called Chronic Wasting Disease.

This is an intriguing chronicle of the attempts to solve the mysteries of prions.

Edward Tulane chills out

Edward Tulane is visiting the Children's Room this week! Come to our blog each day and see him enjoying something different in our room.

Today he is hanging out with Skitter and Scatter, our two gerbils. Mammals just want to have fun!

Dangerous Pet Food

Pet owners across the nation have been devastated by the news that the dog and cat foods they trustingly fed their pets have made hundreds of animals ill. The food has been recalled but the damage has been done in many cases.

If you are curious about how your pet’s food is made, you may want to read Protect Your Pet by Ann Martin. If you want to try making your own food but are not sure how to prepare a balanced diet for your dog, take a look at Better Food for Dogs by David Bastin. It has loads of recipes as well as nutritional requirements. Please remember to seek your veterinarian’s advice before drastically changing your pet’s diet.

March 24 is Shutdown Day

I remember when I started here at the Library I used a stamp and slips of paper to check out books. Now the Library is extremely dependent on computers to check books in and out or reserve an item. Why, just to look up a book requires a computer! We librarians feel crippled the few times our computerized system has failed to function.

Can you survive without your computer for 24 hours? If you think you can, why not join one of the biggest experiments ever to take place on the Internet? The idea behind the experiment is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if everyone participates. Go to http://shutdownday.org/ for more information. Just make sure to check out your books beforehand!