Great Stone Face Book Talk #15 & 16

Members of the GSF Committee have written "booktalks" to spark interest in reading all 20 titles on the list of nominees. Last November, I thought it would be fun to post one of their book talks every week which should have taken us through the winter months--just in time for voting during National Library Week in April!  Somewhere along the way, I must have had "brain freeze" from the cold weather as there are 6 book talks left.  We don't want 6 more weeks of winter so I am posting 2 book talks this week and next!
Here is "GSF Booktalk" #15:

Prairie Evers
by Ellen Airgood

Suddenly, you aren’t in Kansas anymore…. well not in North Carolina at least. Ten year old Prairie Evers finds herself uprooted from the home she has known all her life. Her mom has inherited the family farm. As her parents and Grammy try to re-root in upstate New York, Prairie’s life is about to change forever. Prairie delves into farm life by raising little chicks, and continues her homeschooling with Grammy. Like a tornado, all breaks loose in Prairie’s life. Grammy decides to return to North Carolina, Mom takes a job and Dad is busy with his woodwork. Terrified, Prairie finds herself enrolled in the local school. Never has she been around so many kids and chaos. How will Prairie survive? Will she fit in? What about friends? Join Prairie on her journey of loss, discovery, friendship and sharing.

Booktalk by Catherine Ryan, GSF Committee

And #16:

The Prairie Thief

by Melissa Wiley

Louisa Brody is beside herself when her Pa is accused of stealing from their neighbors, the Smirches.

To make matters worse, she has to stay with them while her father is locked up in jail thirty miles away. Life with the Smirches is awful, but Louisa finds a
friend in Jessamine, the Smirches's orphaned niece. Jessamine is lively and full of stories. Jessamine claims to have seen a wee person – a brownie. Louisa doesn't believe her-until she comes face to face with the little man herself. Though he seems cranky he has a good heart. Can this cranky Brownie help solve the mystery of the stolen goods and help free Louisa’s Pa from jail?
Read The Prairie Thief and find out. 
Booktalk written by Lorreen Keating- GSF Committee/North Hampton Public Library

Poetry Time Again

12th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry Contest

The Dover Public Library is pleased to announce the 12th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry contest for grades K-12. Prizes will be awarded in six different categories: Grades K-2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, and 11 &12. Poems will be judged on originality, style and creativity. Deadline for entry is April 16th. Students may pick up information about the contest at the Dover Public Library, any Dover school library, or at our website. All participants are invited to attend an “Evening of Poetry” on Monday, May 19th at 6:30pm; refreshments will be served. Students are invited to read their poetry at this event, but this will be purely voluntary. For more information about the contest please contact Denise LaFrance at 516-6082.

America's Romance with the English Garden, March 18, 7pm

The Friends of the Dover Public Library will host author Thomas J. Mickey on Tuesday evening,

March 18 at 7pm in the library’s Lecture Hall. Mickey will speak about his recently published book, “America’s Romance with the English Garden.”

     The book tells the story of tastemakers and savvy businessmen, and the beginnings of the modern garden industry, which fixated the proper English garden in the mind of the American consumer. During the 1890s, cheaper paper, faster printing, and improved mail delivery paved the way for mass-produced seed and nursery catalogs  with beautiful pictures of sprawling lawns, exotic plants, and the latest garden accessories—in other words, the quintessential English-style garden. These catalogs delivered aspirational images to front doorsteps from California to Maine, and a growing American middle class was eager to buy. The English garden became the look of America.

      Publishers Weekly called “America’s Romance with the English Garden” a “thoughtfully woven American landscape design history, with a critical examination of how commercial interests and mass media shape our preferences, even in our humble backyards.” The book is based on Thomas Mickey’s year-long research at the Smithsonian, where he received the Enid A. Haupt Fellowship from the Horticultural Division.  He is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. He is also a graduate of Harvard University's Landscape Institute, a former garden columnist for Foster’s Daily Democrat, and author of “Best Garden Plants for New England”.

This program is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact the Dover Public Library at 603-516-6050.  

In Memoriam to Literary Lions

Inspired by the Oscars' Memorial Tribute, I found a list of individuals who passed away in 2013 who contributed to 20th and 21st century literature in English. Let us now praise famous men (and women): their published words will endure for decades to come.

Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart)
Iain Banks (The Bridge; Excession)
Tom Clancy (Hunt for Red October)
Evan Connell (Mrs. Bridge; Mr. Bridge)
Richard Ben Cramer (What It Takes: the Way to the White House)
Janet Dailey (100 romance novels)
Roger Ebert (Life Itself)
Vince Flynn (counter-terrorism thrillers)
Marcella Hazan (Classic Italian Cookbook)
Seamus Heaney (Nobel Prize winning poet)
E.L. Konigsburg(From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala  (Heat and Dust)
Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty)
Doris Lessing (Golden Notebook)
Richard Matheson (I Am Legend)
Michael Palmer (medical thrillers)
Barbara Park (Junie B. Jones series)
Barbara Robinson (Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
Jack Vance (science fiction)
Bernard Waber (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile)
Charlotte Zolotow (70 children's books)

Great Stone Face Booktalk #14

The Power of Poppy Pendle
by Natasha Lowe

Ten year old Poppy Pendle was born to ordinary parents. The non-magical type, that is.  Poppy’s passion is baking. She is amazingly good at it and her talents are well known.  However, when it is discovered that Poppy has inherited her Great Aunt Mabel’s magical talent, the family has other ideas. Join Poppy on her adventures as she tries to convince her family that her talents really lay with the non-magical baking.
Booktalk by Catherine Ryan, GSF Committee

The Lorax Will Be Shown Tomorrow at 2

The Lorax will replace Alpha & Omega 2 as this Saturday's matinee since the DVD we ordered never arrived. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will enjoy The Lorax instead.  The imaginative world of Dr. Seuss comes to life like never before in this visually spectacular adventure from the creators of Despicable Me! Twelve-year-old Ted will do anything to find a real live Truffula Tree in order to impress the girl of his dreams. As he embarks on his journey, Ted discovers the incredible story of the Lorax, a grumpy but charming creature who speaks for the trees. Featuring the voice talents of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Betty White. The Lorax is rated PG. The matinee starts at 2:00 in the Lecture Hall, Saturday March 1st.

Updated! Scandinavian Crime Fiction Authors

Dover Public Library mystery fans love Scandinavian crime fiction! Fortunately, many Nordic authors are now being translated and published in English in the U.S. Here's our latest list of authors, updated in February 2014.

Denmark:

Adler-olsen, Jussi

Blaedel, Sara

Gazan, Sissel-Jo

Hammer, Lotte & Soren

Hewson, David

Hoeg, Peter

Kaaberbøl, Lene and Agnete Friis

Finland:

Nykanen, Harri

Thompson, James

Tuomainen, Antti

Wagner, Jan Costin

Iceland:

Bates, Quentin

Indridason, Arnaldur

Ingolfsson, Victor Arnar

Ridpath, Michael

Sigurdardóttir, Yrsa

Norway:

Brekke, Jorgen

Dahl, Kjell Ola

Enger, Thomas

Fossum, Karin

Holt, Anne

Miller, Derek B.

Nesbø, Jo

Staalesen, Gunnar

Sundstol, Vidar

Sweden:

Alvtegen, Karin

Ceder, Camilla

Dahl, Arne

Edwardson, Åke

Ekman, Kerstin

Eriksson, Kjell

Grebe, Camilla & Asa Traff

Hermanson, Marie

Jansson, Anna

Jungstedt, Mari

Kallentoft, Mons

Kepler, Lars

Koppel, Hans

Läckberg, Camilla

Lapidus, Jens

Larsson, Åsa

Larsson, Steig

Lindqvist, John Ajvide

Mankell, Henning

Marklund, Liza

Nesser, Håkan

Ohlsson, Kristina

Persson, Leif G.W.

Roslund, Ander and Börge Hellström

Segerberg, Ebba

Sjöwall, Maj and Per Wahlöö

Soderberg, Alexander

Theorin, Johan

Tursten, Helene