Movies Based on Books

Recently some of my favorite books have come to the big screen: Secret Life of Bees, Twilight, and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Other movies I've seen recently were also based on books, including the Kite Runner and Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist. What movies have been based on books that you read, and how did they compare? Which books would you like to see adapted for the big screen? Please join in the discussion! (Just try not to give away any "spoilers")

Apples & Pumpkins

I know winter's almost here (boo-hoo!), but I had to share a couple fall books for children I recently read.

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

In this beautifully illustrated tale, Cat, Squirrel, and Duck discover the ups and downs of friendship and sharing, and what really makes pumpkin soup taste so good.

Johnny Appleseed by Carol Ottolenghi

When I worked in the public library, each September we would dutifully pull the apple books off the shelves to display; I don't know if I ever actually read the ones about Johnny Appleseed, but I recently found this version and found it very interesting. For example, did you know that John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed was a vegetarian? Or that a law said that every family on the new frontier had to plant 50 apple trees on their homestead? This is one reason I love kids' books...you can learn a lot of great information in a short amount of time, even if you're not a kid anymore!

Ah, it Warms a Librarian's Heart!

The joke in our family is that I went to grad school & spent gazoodles of money to become a librarian, and my sister became a library director before I did. Actually, the closest I've come is "Assistant Director of Library Services" which sounds pretty good, but I think pretty much everyone at the library where I work has that same title.
You could say we're a family of librarians...my dad, sister and daughter have all filled-in as substitutes at the library where Heather is director. And we're a family of readers, too. Growing up I remember my mom reading quite a bit, but not my dad. But wow, I can't believe how much he reads now! When the harvesting is done, and winter is here, he'll really be back into the swing of things. I love giving him suggestions of books and hearing about the mistakes he finds in them....he would be a great editor. Hey, maybe you could do that on the side next year when you "retire", Dad!
When we were kids, our house was always filled with books: encyclopedias, bible stories, Time-Life series, romances, you name it, but the Childcraft series was always a special favorite of mine. Fifteen volumes filled with tales of artists, historic figures, fairy tales, arts and crafts, recipes, you name it. It was wonderful! I'm not sure whatever happened to it, though; I'll have to do some investigating because now I'm really in the mood to reminisce!
When Ashley was young, she was not a big book fan. Oh, we tried...we belonged to book clubs, went to the library, bought tons of books at secondhand stores and book fairs, subscribed to magazines, etc. etc. Even though she didn't like being read to, one thing she did enjoy was being told stories. Once when we lived in Decorah she got on a Beauty & the Beast kick, and I think I had to tell her that story every night for a month. Somewhere along the way, though, she ended up really liking books. In fact, she has a huge collection now; whenever we want to stop at a bookstore she moans & groans because she doesn't want to go in, but who always ends up buying the most? You guessed it!
Which brings me to the point of this particular posting. Last week, Heather, Amanda, Will & I went to Waterloo for an afternoon of shopping. Of course, we had to stop at Barnes and Noble; Amanda & Will went in while Heather & I were looking at books in the entryway. But as soon as we got into the store, we could hear "MaMa MaMa MaMa MaMa". :) We followed the mamas to an excited and overwhelmed Will. I tell you, seeing such an exuberance for books by our 15-month-old nephew sure made Aunt Heather & Anut JoJo awfully proud! It was tough to tear him away from the books when it was time to go, especially the tractor ones! In fact, the tractor book with wheels, which was supposed to be a stocking stuffer, had to be wrested out of his hands while he screamed, in order to be paid for. Ah, be still my heart. I just hope his love of books continues; with this family he definitely won't be in short supply!

Wordle

As I was browsing today for library blogs, I found this cool site called Wordle. In its own words "Wordle is a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide...the images you create are yours to use however you like". I took one of the quotes from my Facebook page, pasted it onto the Wordle create screen, and came up with this image (click on the source code):

You can keep hitting "Randomize" until you get an image you really like.  Check it out!

The Poetry of Langston Hughes

Today as I was searching the stacks for a class instruction session, I came across this 16 vol. set of the works of Langston Hughes. Hughes was one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance; through his poetry, novels, plays, essays, and children's books, he promoted equality, condemned racism and injustice, and celebrated African American culture, humor, and spirituality. As I paged through this volume, some of the poems seemed to leap off the page at me and seemed fitting to share at this important juncture in our history. I encourage you to seek out some of his writings for yourself!

Children's Rhymes

By what sends the white kids

I ain't sent:

I know I can't be President.

What don't bug them white kids

sure bugs me:

We know everybody ain't free.

Lies written down for white folks

ain't for us a-tall:

Liberty and Justice--

Huh!--For All?

Words Like Freedom

There are words like Freedom

Sweet and wonderful to say.

On my heartstrings freedom sings

All day everyday.

There are words like Liberty

That almost make me cry.

If you had known what I know

You would know why.

To You

To sit and dream, to sit and read,

To sit and learn about the world

Outside our world of here and now--

our problem world--

To dream of vast horizons of the soul

Through dreams made whole,

Unfettered free--help me!

All you who are dreamers, too,

Help me make our world anew.

I reach out my hands to you.

--from Rampersad, A (Ed.). (2001). The collected works of Langston Hughes. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press

Berenstain Bears

I have always enjoyed the Berenstain Bears books, especially the ones featuring the Bear Scouts, and the earlier ones in which Papa would try to teach Brother how to do something & fail miserably (ex: The Bike Lesson). To get into the Halloween spirit, I recently went back & reread Bears in the Night, The Spooky Old Tree, and The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin. I still really enjoyed the first two; I think they are fun books to introduce children to prepositions (over, under, etc.) and to reading independently . As I was reading the Case of the Missing Pumpkin I was amused by Papa's bumbling nature & his knack for getting everything wrong, until I came to the page where Papa and his dog inadvertently get caught up in a hay bale. Now I don't know, maybe I'm just extra-sensitive concerning farm accidents, but I found it a little disturbing. Give this book a look and tell me what you think!

Update to "The Secret"

Yesterday as Ashley & I were out on a walk, we found a $5 bill blown into a pile of leaves in the street. Maybe there really is something to this law of attraction!

WARNING--WARNING--POLITICAL OPINION AHEAD

I have never considered myself a political person; patriotic, yes--I've been known to shed tears seeing the flag being carried at parades, hearing the National Anthem being sung, and listening to John Wayne recite why he loves America. But for the most part I've never trusted politicans or thought that they had our best interests at heart. Until now. I saw Barack Obama speak at Luther College earlier this year and for the 1st time in my life I felt inspired by a politician, and felt that he really cared about this great nation and its people. I also believe that by electing him president that we will send a message to the rest of the world--that we truly practice what we preach when it comes to diversity and equality for all.

Even if I didn't feel it in my soul that he is what our country needs right now, I'll tell you the biggest reason I won't vote for John McCain: Sarah Palin. The thought of her being one step away from commander-in-chief scares the crap out of me! And McCain choosing her makes me seriously question his ability to make important decisions.

It saddens me to think that this election might come down to pure old racism. I recently received the following email, and it is so true!


THE JUXTAPOSITION OF FACTS... A USEFUL PERSPECTIVE A question of perspective: Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin. What if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe and disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to painkillers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close asthey are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes, and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
Educational Backgrounds: Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor(J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A.in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor(J.D.)

John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester. North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study. University of Idaho - 2semesters - journalism. Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester. University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism.

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

The Law of Attraction

Between a motivational speaker at a conference on Tuesday, and watching "The Secret" Thursday night, I'm ready to go out & accomplish anything! Well, not really, but I did take home some good pointers. One of the most interesting things I got out of the movie was that like attracts like...for example, when I am negative & dwell on my bad finances, I am going to attract more negativity and debt. I have certainly seen that in my life. According to the principles outlined in the video, I should not say "I want to get out of debt", because just mentioning the word "debt" could attract it. I should say something along the lines of "I want to be financially stable or well-off". Now I don't know about that so much, but taking a more positive approach does make a lot of sense. I have to be proactive instead of reactive, quit sticking my head in the sand, as people say I tend to do.

It is really, really hard to not be negative. I swear I was up half the night after watching the movie trying not to have any negative thoughts or dreams......very hard for someone with OCD tendencies...yikes! But the last few days I have definitely been more aware of my thoughts and have made a conscious effort--with lots of help from Ashley; it's funny but she's really into this!--to stay positive. For example, I realized what I wrote on my Facebook status last night was very negative (something about not being able to work again today so there go Ashley's Christmas presents). She pointed out to me that it was very negative, and made it sound like we were poor & couldn't have a Christmas at all. Yikes! That is one of my biggest pet peeves when people can't "celebrate" Christmas because they can't afford to buy the presents they want. Oh my goodness....I updated my status ASAP to reflect all the positive that would come out of not having to go to work today. Ok, well I'm off to prepare a budget for next month, get the bills ready to send out, and clean the kitchen so Ashley & I can make some cookies! I'll keep you updated on how this positiveness works out!

Banned Books

"The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame."
--Oscar Wilde

The 1st Amendment--notably the Freedom of Speech--has been on my mind a lot lately. Several things have happened which have made me take a closer look at what freedom of speech/expression really means. In my research, I have come across some of the following lists of books which have been challenged or banned. Because of my occupation, and my belief in letting people think for themselves, I strongly oppose censorship. But looking at some of these books, I couldn't even fathom what reason people would have to try to censor them. The Giving Tree? Fallen Angels? Julie of the Wolves? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Huh?? Unlike some of the would be book-banners I have read all of these books and I just don't see the problem. I read Fallen Angels for a children's lit. class; thinking back I don't remember what the issue would be. The topic is the Vietnam War so I suppose that may be what some people shirk at. But the Vietnam War happened, and as in all wars terrible things happened. Should we hide this from teenagers? I love the above quote; shameful things happen in this world and every single person should have the right to be able to read these accounts if they so choose. Celebrate your freedom of speech by reading a banned book today!

Favorite HarperCollins titles
that have been challengedJulie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack by M. E. Kerr

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

The Bridge to Terabithia and
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones
by Alvin Schwartz

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

The 10 most challenged books of the 21st Century (2000-2005) are:

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

4. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

5. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

6. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

7. "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris

8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz

9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

10. "Forever" by Judy Blume

"Most Challenged Books of 21st Century (2000-2005)," American Library Association, May 29, 2007.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/topten2000to2005.cfm (Accessed October 23, 2008)
Document ID: 388245

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin carving, pumpkin cake, pumpkin malts...I love pumpkins! Since this is the perfect time of year, yesterday I made pumpkin bars. And if I do say so myself, they turned out pretty darn good! I have to admit I haven't done a whole lot of baking over the years, since my aunt had a cookie & cake catering business, and my mom & sisters ran a bakery. Plus, I think the oven we have in our current apartment is from about 1953, and not the most conducive to baking. But since yesterday I had an unexpected day off from work, Ashley and I took advantage of it. We took our pumpkin bars out to Volga Lake and had a fall picnic. I was disappointed that a lot of the leaves had already fallen, but it was still a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Later we shared the bars with some grateful college students who had to stay on campus over fall break; they were a welcome treat for students who are getting a bit bored of the cafeteria's offerings.

Shelley, originally a friend of my sister, but now an "adopted Hilleshiem" and a very cool cat :), has recently created a baking/cooking blog. That, and of course my fetish for recipes, made me want to share one, too! So here is the recipe for the amazing pumpkin bars I made this weekend...............the secret to making these, or any kind of fruit bread that you want to be moist, is to not overmix the batter.

Pumpkin Bars by Wildflour Bakery

from the Walker Family Cookbook

1 15 oz. can pumpkin 1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. oil 2 tsp. baking powder

4 eggs 1 tsp. soda

2 c. flour 1/2 tsp. ginger

2 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine ingredients & mix well. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Cool; frost with cream cheese frosting. (2 lbs. powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 c. milk--mix well & increase/decrease milk amount to get the consistency you want).

Recipe Notes: The frosting makes a large batch, so I actually made just 1/2 batch. I also cut the cinnamon in half because I don't like my pumpkin stuff very "spicy". Also, these are usually made on a large jelly roll sheet which I don't have. I made them in a 9x13 pan, and that worked just fine, it was just more like cake.

Aggravation!

My pet peeve of the day: "help" guides that aren't helpful at all! I'm cleaning out my desk at work today and finding all kinds of beautiful brochures, ads, pamphlets, etc. from a certain company. I am looking for an answer to a seemingly simple question, for example, how do I connect point A to B. Everywhere I look--oh this product is so wonderful, it even lets you connect point A to B. But in all this literature does it ever tell me HOW to connect the points? NO!!!! Is that to much to ask? And the sad thing is, I see this quite often.

Conference

I'm currently at UNI attending a conference about blogging, wikis, and social software. Right now we are on the blog portion, and since I already have my blog set up, I'm experimenting with layout, RSS feeds, etc.

Humorous books

Are you in need of a good laugh? I recently read an article that explained how laughter can actually benefit your health, including lowering blood sugar in diabetics. So, for the health of it, here are 15 books that I found to be laugh-out-loud funny:

• About a Boy by Nick Hornby -- ""We've always thought you have hidden depths," said John. "Ah, but you see, I haven't. I am this shallow.""
• Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding -- "Sunday 1 January: 129 lbs. (but post-Christmas), alcohol units 14 (but effectively covers 2 days as 4 hours of party was on New Year's Day), cigarettes 22, calories 5424"
• Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman -- "12th Day of September: I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say."
• Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella -- "I know exactly how much my Visa bill will be. Sort of. Roughly. It'll be about...£200. Three hundred, maybe. Yes, maybe £300. Three-fifty, max."
• Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French -- "Monday. Morning: slept. Afternoon: slept. Evening: ate grass. Scratched. Night: ate grass."
• Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin --
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
• The Great Brain by John Fitzgerald --
• Harris & Me: A Summer Remembered by Gary Paulsen -- "Later I would come to know a great deal about electrical things. I would understand that water is an excellent conductor of electrical energy but that urine, with its higher mineral content, is even better and what Harris did amounted to hooking a copper wire from his business to the electric fence."
• One for the Money (& the entire Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich --
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis -- "Keh-ee! Keh-ee! Hel' me! Hel'me! Go geh Momma! Go geh Mom-ma! Huwwy uh!

(To be continued.....)

What are your favorite funny books? Please share them!

Booklists

My sister Heather has a booklist addiction. She pretty much won't read something unless it's on a list, which means she creates a lot of lists! Fortunately, she's very good at it. She's making some right now for her library (Waterville Public Library--the best little library in Northeast Iowa!!!) that are for children. So, if you need some ideas for books your children may enjoy, I'm sure she would have some great suggestions for you. And, if you happen to live in/around Waterville, she's getting ready for a great summer reading program. Check it out!

And of course, if you need ideas for books YOU can read over the summer, let us know...I'm sure we can come up with a great list for you, too!

Intro

I don't especially like blogs, but what am I doing? Creating a blog! I guess I'm just trying to keep up with the times. During my sleepless nights (not really!) of pondering how to make the library a more useful, cooler place, it came to me....Facebook! So anyway, that was my first foray into social networking. Now I'm trying blogging. It's all part of my experimentation with different formats to see which (if any) students are more likely to respond to.

On that note....if you have any research questions, etc., please, please ask me! It makes me feel useful. :)