Book Review: Art Dog

Art Dog by Thacher Hurd is the story of a mild-mannered museum guard named Arthur who has a secret identity. On nights with a full moon he becomes Art Dog! He leads a quiet life until one night when there is an art theft from his museum. Can he save the Mona Woofa? Mr. Hurd takes some of his artistic inspiration from masterpieces, such as Van Gogh’s Starry Night, which is a personal favorite. It would seem that although I do enjoy this book’s storyline, mainly I love Art Dog for its art. (I know, big surprise there.) Even the paintings in Arthur’s museum are part of the story, as they are all dog versions of famous paintings. What else could you ask for in a picture book? Well, I suppose that having a nice simple plot helps some, too. Add a bit of good versus evil and a case of mistaken identity and you have a recipe that is sure to be a winner. Give Art Dog a try, and I think that you’ll find that you agree.

Why not read Art Dog yourself?

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Online Photo Sharing

Last week I offered you a beginning look at blogging. This week I bring you a clever little video about Online Photo Sharing. The video deals primarily with flickr, but it does mention a couple of others in the field.

Tip: If you use flickr, and also use your pictures on your blog, why not direct traffic to your blog by including a link to the post that uses a particular picture in the description of that picture on flickr?

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13 Facts About Fremont, CA

Thursday Thirteen #23
The Library that I work at is in Fremont, so I figured it was about time that I did a Thursday Thirteen about the town I work in. As you might imagine, I discovered a thing or two along the way. So, without any more ado…

13 Facts About Fremont, CA
1. Fremont, California is 52 years old this year.

2. Five communities came together to form Fremont back in 1956 – Centerville, Irvington, Niles, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs.

3. Fremont has its very own Urban Legend – The White Witch of Niles Canyon. Early newspapers apparently do not have a mention of the woman who was supposedly killed and became the ghost. (Click on the link for more info on this story.)

4. Fremont has its very own silent film theater and museum. And why not? After all, the Essanay Film Company was in Niles. Charlie Chaplin worked for them at one point, in fact.

5. Did you know that Kristi Yamaguchi grew up in Fremont?

6. According to the Fremont City website, the record high temperature in Fremont is 106. This occured in some July or other. (It doesn’t say.)

7. Believe it or not, Mammoths once walked in Fremont. If you would like to see the proof, as located by a couple of young fellows in the 1940s-1960s, you can stop by the Wes Gordon Fossil Hall. It’s part of the Children’s Natural History Museum in Fremont. Also, did you know that one of the North American Land Mammal Ages is called “Irvingtonian”?

8. The Niles Canyon Railway is part of a railroad museum that includes train rides. Hey! You can even Rent a Caboose! (The Niles canyon tracks are part of the Transcontinental Railway.)

9. The California School for the Deaf is located in Fremont.

10. According to an article in the Fremont Main Library’s clipping files, Fremont’s Al Bernadin invented MacDonald’s Quarter Pounder in 1972. (Talk about leaving an impact on American culture.)

11. Ardenwood Historic Farm, as the name suggests, is a park that contains, among other things, Patterson House, farm animals, and a working Blacksmith Shop. Oh…and a horse-drawn train.

12. The Fremont city website lists the record low for the city as 22. (From some December or other.)

13. Fremont is the farthest South you can take BART (the Bay Area Rapid Transit system) in the East Bay. It’s the end of the line…or the beginning, depending upon how you look at it.

Sources:
* Ardenwood Historic Farm
* The BART Map
* The California School for the Deaf
* The Fremont City Website
* FremontOnline
* Janet Cronbach, Local History Librarian – Fremont Main Library
* Niles Canyon Railway
* Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum
* The Wes Gordon Fossil Hall

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Love is (not so) blind

Ben Johnson was an English playwright and poet. Born on this day in 1572, Johnson was a contemporary of Shakespeare, though he is probably less well-known today than his fellow playwright and sonneteer.

“My Picture Left in Scotland” is one of my favorite Ben Johnson poems. Johnson gave his picture to a woman, who left the picture in Scotland. Seems as if she wasn’t too impressed with his exterior, no matter how well he spoke or wrote.

 I now think, Love is rather deaf than blind
For else it could not be,
                                That she
                                   Whom I adore so much, should so slight me,
                                        And cast my suit behind :
                             I’m sure my language to her was as sweet,
                                     And every close did meet
                                      In sentence of as subtil feet,
                                     As hath the youngest he
                                  That sits in shadow of Apollo’s tree.

                                     Oh ! but my conscious fears,
                                     That fly my thoughts between,
                                   Tell me that she hath seen
                                   My hundreds of gray hairs
                                    Told seven and forty years,
                                  Read so much waste as she cannot embrace
                                      My mountain belly and my rocky face,
                                   And all these, through her eyes, have stopt her ears.

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Hooray for Bugs!

 

 

In honor of the Summer Reading Game I decided to post a few favorite bug links.

Here is a virtual tour of An insect Zoo.

Did You Know that 41 states have official state Insects ?

Insect Lore is made just for kids and has a daily giggle just for fun.

Katerpillars is another place where you can learn about insects.

Here are some Bug Crafts you can do this summer.

Not enough? All summer long you can check out the Alameda County Summer Reading Blog - Catch The Summer Reading Bug! – For more buggy fun!

What are you favorite Bug Sites?

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Books to Film Update: June

Here is the June update on the current status of the “books to film” projects that have been mentioned on this blog to this point. I will try to do this once a month in order to follow each film until it reaches DVD. Please remember that release dates are subject to change, and that sometimes “Announced” films never get made. Not too much has changed this time around, but it’s always good to see what is getting closer.

If you have any news about an upcoming book to film adaptation, please comment and let us know.

The current “books to film” list:

1776: In development with a release date sometime in 2009.

Alice in Wonderland: This Tim Burton film is in pre-production with a release date sometime in 2010.

Angels & Demons: Filming and due in US theaters on 15 May 2009.

Atlas Shrugged: In Pre-Production with a theoretical release date in 2009.

The Bell Jar: In pre-production witrh a theoretical release date sometime in 2008.

The Boggart: In development. US theatrical release sometime in 2009.

Born to Rock: Announced with a release date sometime in 2009.

The Butterfly Tattoo: Completed with a release date sometime in 2008.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: Currently in US Theaters.

Cirque du Freak: Currently filming, this movie is reported to include the first three books of the series. The US release date is listed as “2008″ but releases throughout the rest of the world are located in February 2009.

The City of Ember: In post-production. Due in US theaters on 10 October 2008.

The Cry of the Icemark: In development. Theoretical release date sometime in 2008. (I expect that this info will change at some point soon.)

Deal Breaker: Announced with a release date sometime in 2008. (Chances are this date will change.)

Dean Spanley: In Post-Production with a UK release date sometime in 2008.

The Doubtful Guest: In development. US theatrical release sometime in 2009.

Dune: Announced with a theoretical release date in 2010.

Fahrenheit 451: Announced with a release date in 2010 sometime.

The Giver: Announced with a 2011 release date.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: In post-production with a US release date of 21 November 2008.

He’s Just Not That Into You: This film is currently in post-production with a US release date of 24 October 2008.

The Hobbit: Announced with a theoretical release date sometime in December 2011.

Inkheart: Due in US theaters on 30 January 2009.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (3D): Due in US theaters on 11 July 2008.

The Lovely Bones: In post production. Due in US theaters 9 October 2009.

Marley & Me: Currently filming with a Christmas 2008 release date.

Monster Blood Tattoo: In Development. US theatrical release sometime in 2010.

Neuromancer: In Pre-Production with a release date in 2009 sometime.

Nights in Rodanthe: This film is completed and due in US theaters on 3 October 2008.

On the Road: Announced with a theoretical release date in 2009.

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief: In development. US theatrical release sometime in 2009.

Race to Witch Mountain: Filming and due in US theaters on 13 March 2009. (Sounds less like the book all the time.)

The Screwtape Letters: In pre-production with a theoretical release date in 2008. I hear that the script is currently in the writing phase.

Shantaram: In pre-production and due in US theaters sometime in 2009.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: Completed. Due in US Theaters on 8 August 2008

A Spell for Chameleon: In development with a theoretical release date of 2008.

Stargirl: Announced with a theoretical release date in 2008.

The Subtle Knife: Announced with a theoretical release date sometime in 2009.

The Tale of Despereaux: In post-production. Due in US theaters on 19 December 2008.

Teen Idol: Announced with a theoretical release date sometime in 2008.

Tintin: In Pre-production. US theatrical release sometime in 2009. (Check out the writing and directing staff on this one.)

Twilight: In post-production and due in US theaters on 12 December 2008.

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Blogging: Where to Begin

As promised, here is my first post on the topic of blogging. Be sure to comment with your questions or comments, so that I know what to cover next. Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we?

What is a blog and who does the blogging?

“Blog” is short for “Weblog,” though I haven’t heard anyone use the term “weblog” in years. A blog is an easy to update website, and anyone can have one. These days there are blogs on just about every topic under the sun. Many of them are personal online journals, or at least they start out that way, and others chose a topic niche and blog solely on that topic. The topic could be as specific as Food History or one particular TV show. Other blogs are broader in scope like the ones appearing on newspaper webpages these days.

So, you want to give this blogging thing a try, but you don’t know where to start?

Where to Blog?

Blogging is incredibly popular these days. To keep up with the demand, there are all sorts of sites on the Web that want you to host your blog there. Some of the sites will let you blog for free, some cost money, and others offer tiered services where the basic account is free. As you might imagine, this means that there are a multitude of options out there.

Here are a few of the blog hosting services out there:

WordPress – http://www.wordpress.com
(Free and extremely flexible, WordPress is one of the most popular strictly blogging sites. It is the one I use most often. In fact, this blog is hosted on WordPress.)

Livejournal – http://www.livejournal.com
(Livejournal isn’t just a place to host a blog, it’s also a community, home too seemingly endless groups, and a feed reader all rolled into one. As you can imagine, it is also incredibly popular. There are both paid and free options. Livejournal allows you to control who sees your posts.)

Xanga – http://www.xanga.com/
(Xanga is a bit like Livejournal in that it is more than just another blogging site. Xanga is free.)

Typepad – http://www.typepad.com/
(Although Typepad offers a 14 day free trial, it is not free. Like Blogger and WordPress it is strictly for blog hosting.)

Blogger – http://www.blogger.com
(Blogger is a free and straightforward blogging site. It’s a good site for beginners.)

Experience Project – http://www.experienceproject.com/
(For a bit of variety I am including the Experience Project here. Like Livejournal, this site is both a blogging site and a community. The Experience Project difference is the ability to interact and blog anonymously with folks “just like you.”)

A Note of Caution:

Intellectually, I’m sure that we all know that posting something on a blog makes it available to anyone surfing the internet. (Unless you have a blog somewhere that offers privacy settings.) In practice, however, people often say things like “It doesn’t matter. No one reads my blog.” Then, they complain about their job and their boss comments on the post. Just think before you post and you should be fine.

Tip: One common way to maintain a little privacy in a public blog is to refer to folks by pseudonyms, the first letter of their name, or just a first name.
—–

Questions? Comments? Please let me know.

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13 Interesting Cookbooks

Thursday Thirteen #22

For this week’s Thursday Thirteen I bring you 13 cookbooks that caught my eye during a stroll through their section here at the library. (Yes, they are all available to check out if you are interested. Frankly, just looking at these books is making me hungry, so let’s get to the list, shall we?

13 Interesting Cookbooks:

Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan (Psst! The green eggs in the title recipe are actualy made with avocados. Don’t tell anyone that I told you.) This book is filled with Seussian illustrations. It also features the work of some stellar food designer or other. If you want to know what I’m talking about, check out the picture for “Nice Lime Ice (Hold the Mice!).”

The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black Okay, I admit it. I picked up this cookbook because of the author. Maggie Black was the author of a cookbook that I read as a child, and thus is directly responsible for my original major of “Medieval Studies.” Personally, I’m quite curious to try the “Rose Pudding.”

Time for Tea by Mary Engelbreit Folks who know me will tell you that tea fanatic is quite an accurate description. Looking at this book has got me crave little tea sandwiches now. I think I’ll go put the kettle on…

Sneaky Pie’s Cookbook for Mystery Lovers by Sneaky Pie Brown As you might expect from a cookbook purportedly by a cat, this one doesn’t merely contain recipes for humans. It also contains recipes for cats, dogs, and even the occasional rabbit. Too cute!

Eating Royally by Darren McGrady This book is written by the former private chef to Princess Diana, so one would imagine that he really knows what he’s talking about. For example, apparently the Queen feeds her Corgis bits of scone at the end of teatime. Who knew? It seems that her dogs like scones. I am now curious about the recipe named “Veiled Farmer’s Daughter.”

The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker This book doesn’t just give you recipes for such frontier favorites as “Tomato Preserves” and “hardtack,” it also provides a bunch of background information about the lifestyle and the difficulties faced by frontier cooks. Hey, as long as I can have some strawberry jam (p. 62) and biscuits (p. 72), I’ll be happy.

The New Firefighter’s Cookbook by John Sineno It’s nice to know that some of our hardworking firefighters get to eat like this. Their job is stressful enough without having to deal with bad food. I wonder what my Mum would think of the Sweet Potato Pie recipe.

Civil War Cooking: The Union by Susan Dosier Let me just state here how happy I am that I didn’t fight in the Civil War, even though they apparently had “Old-Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese.” I’m not that big a fan of beans, you see, and they seemed to appear with every meal.

Fannie Flagg’s Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook Really, how can you go wrong with a cookbook by The Flagg? I wonder what my family in Atlanta would think of the recipes in this book. Personally, I want to try the Cheese Grits.

Hasty Pudding Johnnycakes and Other Good Stuff by Loretta Frances Ichord Exactly how hasty is a Hasty Pudding, I wonder. According to the recipe, it takes more than 2.5 hours. Not that quick by modern standards, but then I suppose that Colonial Americans had other ideas about time.

The Only Bake Sale Cookbook You’ll Ever Need by Laurie Goldrich Wolf and Pam Abrams I must now admit to my guilty secret – I adore rice krispie treats, but I have never made any myself. This book has more than 5 different recipes for those things. Obviously, I must check this book out and take it home. For scientific experimentation, you understand.

Shakespeare’s Kitchen by Francine Segan Not only did I start out my college career as a Medieval Studies major, but I also worked the Renaissance Faire. You can see why this cookbook might intrigue me. Now I just need a bit more cooking skill.

Bake Until Bubbly by Clifford A. Wright If you like a good Hot Dish (or casserole, depending on where you hail from) then you really need to flip through this book. Four hundred and forty-two pages of hot tasty goodness. Judging by the recipes, anyway. I had no idea that there were so many different ways to make a hot dish.

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

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Pulitzer Prize

On this day in 1917 the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in Journalism for reporting and editorial writing, and in Letters/Drama for history and biography. Ninety-one years later, there are 21 possible prizes to be given out each year; however, all prizes are awarded at the board’s discretion, which means that prizes may be withheld in a particular category if the board does not feel there is a worthy nominee.

Some notable past Prize winners:

*John F. Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957 for his book “Profiles in Courage.” He is the only United States President to win a Pulitzer Prize.

*Robert Frost won four prizes for poetry ( in 1924, 1931, 1937 and 1943).

*Biographer David McCullough has one twice as has John Updike (ficiton).

*William Faulkner and Booth Tarkington also one two prizes for fiction.

*Eugene O’Neill one four times for drama.

*Thornton Wilder one three prizes, one for a novel and the other two for plays.

FYI:

***The only prize which brings the winner a gold medal is the public service prize, awarded to a newspaper, not an individual. The other awards bring the winner a certificate and $10,000 in cash.

***And lest you mispronounce it, according to the Pulitzer website, the correct pronunciation of Pulitzer is pull-it-ser, not pyool-it-ser.

 

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Design a Book Cover winners announced!

Hover the arrow over the picture to stop the slide and see picture’s caption.

Congratulations!

Grades K-3–

1st Place: Sahar

2nd Place: Anjali

3rd Place: Kasi

Grades 4-6–

1st Place: Aliza

Centerville Library has announced its Design a Book Cover Contest winners.  Winners are chosen by public votes and professional judgement.  We would like to thank all the participants for your good efforts and beautiful works!

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