Author: cathy lenhart

National Milk Day

National Milk Day falls on January 11 to observe the very first time milk was delivered to homes inside sterilized glass bottles. It took until 1878 before anybody thought to fill bottles with milk and seal them with waxed paper. Before that, conditions for storing milk (let alone delivering it) were unsanitary at best and downright hazardous at worst. But now that we have the technology to pasteurize and deliver fresh milk to homes, stores, and processing facilities across the country, this most basic type of dairy is more accessible than ever before. By today’s standards, milk with its nine essential nutrients is considered a staple food, technically able to support human life without the addition of any other food groups to balance it out. (Other life-supporting foods include sourdough bread, chicken eggs, red beans, and surprisingly, beer!) Of course, most of us aren’t on a milk-only diet, but milk is our very first food as babies and often remains a common source of nutrition throughout our adult lives. For National Milk Day, we invite you to join us in celebrating the oldest and arguably the most natural food for all the mammals of the world — milk.

Let's Visit a Dairy Farm      The Milk Makers      Don't Spill the Milk!      The Farm That Feeds Us : A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm

Let’s visit a dairy farm / by Alyse Sweeney.  A dairy farm is explored with information about milking cows, putting the milk in jars, chilling the milk, and sending the milk to the factory.

The milk makers / by Gail Gibbons.  In The Milk Makers, Gail Gibbons begins with the cow, describing its four-stomach method of producing milk, how it is milked on a modern dairy farm, and then how milk is transported to a dairy plant, processed, and loaded onto refrigerated trucks — with other dairy products — for delivery to stores. Step by step, Gail Gibbons’s clear, carefully researched text and crisply colorful pictures tell the wonderful story of milk.

Don’t spill the milk/ Stephen Davies, Christopher Corr.  After carrying a bowl of milk on her head across dunes and the River Niger, and even up a mountain, without spilling a drop despite many distractions, Penda gets a surprise when she arrives at the grasslands to give her father his lunch.

The farm that feeds us / Nancy Castaldo ; illustrated by Ginnie Hsu.  Where does our food come from? What role do farms play? What’s it like to be a farmer? In this charmingly illustrated book, follow a farm throughout the year to discover how the farmer grows fresh and tasty food for us to eat in a sustainable and natural way. Explore the workings of a small-scale, organic family farm and experience the rhythm of farm life. In the spring, visit the chicken coop, till the fields, and tour the farm machinery. When summer comes, plant corn, meet the pollinators, and head to the county fair. In the fall, make pies and preserves, harvest pumpkins, and put the fields to sleep. Winter activities include trimming and pruning the orchard, seed shopping, and baking bread. To conclude your year on the farm, learn what you can do to support the farmers who pick our carrots and raise the cows for our milk. A glossary defines key sustainable farming terms. Through this colorful and intimate look at life on a small-scale farm, children will learn not only how the farm feeds us, but how the farmer must feed and care for the farm.

 

The Milk Lady of Bangalore : An Unexpected Adventure      The Small-Scale Dairy : The Complete Guide to Milk Production for the Home and Market      Milk! : A 10,000-Year Food Fracas      Goat Song : A Seasonal Life, a Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese      No Use Dying over Spilled Milk      First Cow

The milk lady of Bangalore : an unexpected adventure / by Shoba Narayan.  In this true story about two women and the animal they share, readers are treated to an insider’s view of India, as well as a window into our universal connection to food and its sources.

The small scale dairy : the complete guide to milk production for the home and market / Gianaclis Caldwell.  Caldwell offers readers a balanced perspective on the current regulatory environment in which raw-milk lovers find themselves. Keepers of cows, goats, or sheep will benefit from information on designing a well-functioning small dairy, choosing equipment, and understanding myriad processes, including details about the business of making milk; managing the farm to create superior milk; understanding the microbiology of milk; and risk-reduction plans to have in place prior to selling raw milk.

Milk! : a 10,000-year food fracas / Mark Kurlansky.  According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk; a splatter of the goddess Hera’s breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way. But while mother’s milk may be the essence of nourishment, it is the milk of other mammals that humans have cultivated ever since the domestication of animals more than 10,000 years ago.  Profoundly intertwined with human civilization, milk has a compelling and a surprisingly global story to tell, and historian Mark Kurlansky is the perfect person to tell it. Tracing the liquid’s diverse history from antiquity to the present, he details its curious and crucial role in cultural evolution, religion, nutrition, politics, and economics.

Goat song : a seasonal life, a short history of herding, and the art of making cheese / Brad Kessler.  Acclaimed novelist Brad Kessler lived in New York City but longed for a life on the land where he could grow his own food. After years of searching for a home, he and his wife, photographer Dona Ann McAdams, found a mountain farmhouse on a dead-end road, with seventy-five acres of land. One day, when Dona returned home with fresh goat milk from a neighbor’s farm, Kessler made a fresh chèvre, and their life changed forever. They decided to raise dairy goats and make cheese. Goat Song tells about what it’s like to live intimately with animals who directly feed you.   In the tradition of Thoreau’s Walden and Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Goat Song is both a spiritual quest and a compelling and beautiful chronicle of living by nature’s rules

No use dying over spilled milk : a Pennsylvania Dutch mystery with recipes / Tamar Myers. Pennsylvania Dutch inn owner/amateur sleuth Magdalena Yoder finds out that her second cousin twice removed is truly lactose intolerant when he’s discovered dead in a tank of milk. But when she heads to Ohio for the funeral, she lands smack in the middle of a war between powerful cheesemakers–not to mention gallons of trouble and murder!

First cow / producers, Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani ; screenplay, Jon Raymond, Kelly Reichardt ; directed by Kelly Reichardt.  Set in the 1820s Pacific Northwest, a cook and a Chinese immigrant come up with a scheme to strike it rich involving a wealthy businessman’s prized dairy cow.

 

Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day

Cats are delightful and friendly creatures, regardless of their color. Forget about the old superstitions and give black cats the love they deserve!

 

Books Starring Black Cats for Children

Jane on Her Own    Big Cat, Little Cat    Splat the Cat    Top Cat      Can Cat and Bird Be Friends?    Tumford the Terrible

Jane on Her Own: A Catwings Tale by Ursula K. Le Guin (J PB LEGUIN)

When Jane, a cat with wings, leaves the safety of her farm to explore the world, she falls into the hands of a man who keeps her prisoner and exploits her for money.

Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper (E COOPER)

A story of friendship begins, following the two cats through their days, months, and years until one day, the older cat has to go. And he doesn’t come back.

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton (E SCOTTO)

A nervous Splat finds his first day at Cat School much better than he expected.

Top Cat by Lois Ehlert (E EHLERT)

The top cat in a household is reluctant to accept the arrival of a new kitten but decides to share various survival secrets with it.

Can Cat and Bird Be Friends? by Coll Muir (E MUIR)

Instead of eating Bird, Cat decides that friendship is better, but will the pair find something in common?

Tumford the Terrible by Nancy Tillman (E TILLMA)

Even though Tumford the cat is well loved by George and Violet Stoutt, they despair of ever teaching him to apologize when he does something wrong.

Si le das un pastelito a un gato escrito por Laura Numeroff (SPA E NUMERO)

Discover in Spanish a series of increasingly far-fetched events might occur if someone were to give a cupcake to a cat.

Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation by Nick Bruel (GN JF BRUEL N)

Kitty temporarily sets aside her plans for world domination to accompany her beloved Uncle Murray to Love Love Angel Kitty World, which proves to be adventurous in unexpected ways.

Pumpkin Cat by Anne Mortimer (E MORTIM)

Mouse shows Cat how to grow pumpkins, then turns one into a surprise. Includes facts about growing pumpkins.

Bruno, the Standing Cat by Nadine Robert & Jean Jullien (E ROBERT)

When a box arrives on Peter’s doorstep, he opens it to find Bruno, a cat who is standing up on two legs. It is very odd. Bruno likes to chew bubble gum, play house, and skateboard–and refuses to engage in any catlike behavior. But Peter likes Bruno, and so they become friends.

 

Black Cat Books for Adults

Close Encounters of the Furred Kind : New Adventures with My Sad Cat and Other Feline Friends                Homer's Odyssey : A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat               Undercover Kitty               A Three Book Problem : A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery             The Black Cat

Close Encounters of the Furred Kind by Tom Cox (636.8 COX)

Close Encounters of the Furred Kind begins with a long, emotional goodbye to Norfolk, and continues with another amazing new lease on life for The Bear, the Benjamin Button of the cat world, among the bluebells and verdant hedgerows of Devon. Readers who became attached to The Bear’s magical, owlish persona during his previous adventures will become more so here as he proves, once again, that he’s a cat with endless secrets and significantly more than nine lives.

Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper (636.80929 COO)

A pet rescue volunteer and literacy outreach coordinator describes her relationship with a three-pound blind cat whose daredevil character and affectionate personality saw the author through six moves, a burglary, and the healing of her broken heart.

Undercover Kitty by Sofie Ryan (PB RYAN)

Hired to look into who is sabotaging cat shows in the state, Sarah, along with Charlotte’s Angels, finds things getting hairy when murder enters the competition, and must pounce on the killer before it’s too late.

A Three Book Problem by Vicki Delany (FIC DELANY V)

It’s a crisp, early October weekend, and business is slowing down as fall descends at the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. A wealthy philanthropist and prominent Sherlockian has rented Suffolk Gardens House, where he plans to entertain his friends in a traditional English country house weekend. It quickly becomes apparent that his guests don’t like each other–or their host. Soon a poisoned dart sails through the window of the library, creating a true three-book problem.

The Black Cat by Martha Grimes (FIC GRIMES M)

Jury investigates the death of a young escort who has been murdered behind a local pub. The only witness is the establishment’s black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl’s identity or her killer’s.

 

 

 

Garfield the Cat Day

Did you know that the very first Garfield comic strip was published on June 19, 1978? That makes Garfield 44 years old! Feel free to celebrate with a lasagna dinner and read your fill of comics. (Thank goodness it isn’t Monday.)

 

In Dog Years I'd Be Dead : Garfield at 25     Garfield at 25: In Dog Years I’d Be Dead

This has been checked out more than another other Garfield book at Lititz Library—over 100 times!

Hits the Big Time     Garfield Hits the Big Time

…and this is the second most checked-out Garfield book we have in our collection.

Age Happens : Garfield Hits the Big 4-0     Age Happens: Garfield Hits the Big 4-0

Celebrate the big day with a collection of Garfield’s best birthday-themed comics!

Garfield Livin' the Sweet Life : His 72nd Book     Garfield: Livin’ the Sweet Life : His 72nd Book

This is the latest—the 72nd collection of Garfield comics. He’s been one busy cat over the years! Have you read all of them yet?

Garfield : A Tail of Two Kitties     Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties

You could even kick back and watch a movie about Garfield’s case of mistaken identity with a high-class cat in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Tap Dance Day

Tap dance is a type of dance in which a rhythm is formed by the noise of the dancer’s shoes on the floor – Cambridge Dictionary

Tap dance was born in the United States in the early 19th century through a blending of African and Irish American dance forms and early tap shoes Early tap shoes had wooden soles, sometimes with pennies attached to the heel and toe.

Head over to the Lititz Public Library to learn more about tap dance with these resources and more!

Children’s Books

Don't Tap-Dance on Your Teacher          Tap-Dance Fever          Dinosaur Dance!         Rhinoceros Tap : 15 Seriously Silly Songs

 Don’t tap-dance on your teacher / Katherine Applegate ; illustrated by Brian Biggs.  Roscoe cannot wait to tap dance in the school talent show until some older boys make fun of him and say that tap dancing is just for girls.

 Tap-dance fever / by Pat Brisson ; illustrated by Nancy Cote.  Annabelle Applegate will not stop tap-dancing no matter what the frustrated citizens of Fiddlers Creek do to make her quit.

Dinosaur dance! / by Sandra Boynton.   Colorful dinosaurs get in the spirit of the dance, performing everything from tap to cha-cha.

Rhinoceros tap / lyrics and drawings by Sandra Boynton ; music by Michael Ford & Sandra Boynton.  Rhinoceros Tap returns in an all-new package to mirror Philadelphia Chickens, with a spiffy audio CD. Written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton and with music by Boynton and Michael Ford, the same team that created Philadelphia Chickens, it’s a read-along, sing-along, dance-along, oink-along collection of truly delightful children’s music.

Children’s Movies

Dora the Explorer : Dance to the Rescue          Happy Feet         MOLLY: AN AMERICAN GIRL          Shirley Temple Little Darling Collection [19 Discs]      

Dance to the rescue  Put on your dancing shoes! Dora and Boots need you to dance, spin, shake, wiggle, jump, and toe-tap along as they set off on an epic dance adventure!

Happy feet / Kingdom Feature Productions ; Animal Logic ; Kennedy Miller Productions ; directed by George Miller.  Emperor Penguins from Antarctica each express their true love with a special heartsong of their own that expresses their very being. However, the misfit Mumble cannot sing. Instead he has an extraordinary talent to tap dance with almost magical energy and expression. Nevertheless, the leadership of the colony fearfully blames the young penguin’s unorthodox ways for the lean fishing that threatens them all. Defiant in the face of unjust rejection, Mumble and his true friends set out to find the true cause of the famine. Through the friends trials and perils, Mumble learns many things about his frozen world, not the least of which being that his toe tapping talent may be what he needs to save his people.

Molly : an American girl on the home front / Revolution Television ; Red Om Films ; Warner Bros. Television ; produced by Terry Gould ; teleplay by Anna Sandor ; directed by Joyce Chopra.  World War II turns Molly’s family upside down. While her father is away, war breaks out on the McIntires’ home front.

Shirley Temple : little darling collection / Twentieth Century-Fox presents.  Originally released as motion pictures between 1934 and 1940.  Includes colorized versions and restored black and white versions.

Adult Movies

Cats           BILLY ELLIOT            Fred Astaire : Triple Feature [Clamshell]           SWING TIME (1936)            YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

Cats / directed by Tom Hooper ; in association with Perfect World Pictures ; a Working Title and Amblin Entertainment production.  Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper transforms Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-shattering stage musical into a breakthrough cinematic event. The film reimagines the musical for a new generation with spectacular production design, state-of-the-art technology, and dance styles ranging from classical ballet to contemporary, hip-hop to jazz, street dance to tap. One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, it won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for eighteen years.

Billy Elliot / Universal Focus ; Studio Canal ; Working Title Films and BBC Films, in association with the Arts Council of England, present a Tiger Aspect Pictures production in association with WT2.  Eleven-year-old miner’s son Billy Elliot is on his way to boxing lessons when he stumbles upon a ballet class. Billy secretly joins the class, knowing that his blue-collar family would never understand.

Fred Astaire : [triple feature movie marathon].  Second chorus : Two rival trumpet players vie for the attention of a girl who works for Artie Shaw. — Royal wedding : A brother and sister act perform in London and find true love — The over the hill gang rides again : retired Texas rangers are made deputies of Waco and must fight crime.

Swing time / RKO Radio Pictures presents ; directed by George Stevens ; screen play by Howard Lindsay and Allen Scott ; a Pandro S. Berman production.  Fred Astaire plays a gambler intent on raising $25,000 in New York in order to marry his fiance back home. Romantic complications occur when he meets dancing teacher, Ginger Rogers. Memorable songs include “The Way you look tonight” which won an Academy Award. Swing time, the fifth in the series of Astaire-Rogers musicals, is one of the best, due to the Jerome Kern score, the dramatic dance sequences and beautiful art direction.

Yankee Doodle Dandy / Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. ; screenplay, Robert Buckner and Edmund Joseph ; directed by Michael Curtiz.  A rousing musical depicting the life of George M. Cohan–playwright, entertainer, and composer.

 

Check out these websites for more information on tap dance:

https://www.britannica.com/art/tap-dance

https://ums.org/2019/06/21/from-margins-to-mainstream-tap-dance-history/

And consider doing a web search to find out if there are any tap dance classes offered near you!

 

 

National Notebook Day

It’s National Notebook Day—so scribble away, get creative, and organize your thoughts! If the blank page intimidates you, why not check out some books that celebrate notebooks, diaries, and journals, instead?

Cover to Cover : Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals and Albums   Cover to cover : creative techniques for making beautiful books, journals & albums by Shereen LaPlantz 

“Even a beginner can start right out producing uniquely charming and elegant journals, albums, scrapbooks, and more. Envision handmade books to hold your writings, poems, photos, and keepsakes. More than 170 photos to inspire, and hundreds of illustrations to guide readers through the basics of an almost infinite variety of imaginative styles.”

Piranesi   Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi lives in a mysterious oceanic labyrinth and cannot remember life beyond it. He has always been a meticulous notetaker, however, and his old journals offer clues to a completely different past existence.

 

The Book of Secrets : A Novel   The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold

“After more than twenty years of marriage, Chloe Sinclair comes home one night to find that her husband, Nate, is gone. All he has left behind is a cryptic note explaining that he’s returned to their childhood town, a place Chloe never wants to see again. While trying to reach Nate, Chloe stumbles upon a notebook tucked inside his antique copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Written in code, the pages contain long-buried secrets from their past, and clues to why he went home after all these years.”

The Notebook   The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

“In a Southern nursing home, an 80-year-old man reads from his diary to his wife, suffering from Alzheimer’s. It’s the story of their teenage romance, followed by years of separation because he was from the wrong class, followed by her decision, on his return from World War II, to be her own woman and marry him.”

The Diary   The Diary by Eileen Goudge   

“When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mother’s in her attic, it comes as a shock to learn that the true love of Elizabeth’s life was not their father.”

Rywka's Diary : The Writings of a Jewish Girl from the Lodz Ghetto   Rywka’s diary : the writings of a Jewish girl from the Lodz Ghetto, found at Auschwitz in 1945 and published seventy years later

“After more than seventy years in obscurity, the diary of a teenage girl during the Holocaust has been revealed for the first time. Rywka’s Diary is at once an astonishing historical document and a moving tribute to the many ordinary people whose lives were forever altered by the Holocaust. At its heart, it is the diary of a girl named Rywka Lipszyc who detailed the brutal conditions that Jews in the Lodz ghetto, the second largest in Poland, endured under the Nazis: poverty, hunger and malnutrition, religious oppression, and, in Rywka’s case, the death of her parents and siblings. Handwritten in a school notebook between October 1943 and April 1944, the diary ends literally in mid-sentence. What became of Rywka is a mystery.”

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady   The country diary of an Edwardian lady, 1906 : a facsimile reproduction of a naturalist’s diary by Edith Holden

“In January of 1906, Edith Holden made the first entry in a diary which was to record the countryside through the changing seasons. There are beautiful paintings on every page of birds, butterflies, bees, and flowers reflect her deep love nature. She allowed no one to see this for seventy years.”

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY   Bridget Jones’s Diary

“In her mid-thirties, still single and still being set up with dates by her mom, Bridget decides she needs to make a change in her life. She falls for her boss who uses her and then dumps her. In the meantime, Bridget keeps running into the divorced guy her mom tried to set her up with, and he happens to be ex-friends with her boss. She uses her diary as a confessional and she begins to wonder if she will ever find true love.”

The Diary of a Young Girl   Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

“Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.”

Rise of the Balloon Goons : Branches Book   The Rise of the Balloon Goons by Troy Cummings (Book #1 in Notebook of Doom)

Alexander has just moved into Stermont, but the elementary school is being torn down, his new classroom is located in the hospital morgue, a notebook he finds is full of information about monsters—and everywhere he turns there are spooky balloon men determined to attack him.

Voyage on the Great Titanic : The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R. M. S. Titanic, 1912   Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady by Ellen Emerson White

“In her diary in 1912, thirteen-year-old Margaret Ann describes how she leaves her lonely life in a London orphanage to become a companion to a wealthy American woman, sails on the Titanic, and experiences its sinking.”

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1)   Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal by Jeff Kinney

“Being a kid can really stink. And no one knows this better than Greg Heffley. It’s a new school year, and Greg finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you’re ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.”

Diary of a Wombat   Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

“In his diary, a wombat describes his life of eating, sleeping, and getting to know some new human neighbors.”

Writing Radar : Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories   Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories by Jack Gantos

“Bursting with practical tips and tricks, such as creating actual story-finding maps of your neighborhood, this book will help you build confidence and establish good writing habits as you learn to use a journal to snoop out plots full of action and emotion… As Jack shows you how to shape your rough ideas, organize plots, and polish drafts to shiny perfection, he also shares his own missteps—and ultimate success—as a would-be writer in middle school.”

 

 

Hoopla Bonus Borrows for May 2022

hoopla Bonus Borrows Article Featurehoopla Bonus Borrows are back!  Choose from hundreds of titles in 8 categories and download as many as you want without them counting against your monthly 4 downloads.

May’s categories are:

  • Finding Your Voice
  • Your Travel & Culture Companion
  • Discover a New Series
  • Suspenseful Tales
  • Learn a New Skill
  • Just for Kids!
  • Criminal Mysteries
  • Sci-Fi & Fantasy

What is hoopla?

hoopla is a digital service that allows patrons of the Lititz Public Library to access e-books, audiobooks, graphic novels, movies, TV shows, music, and more.   You can read, listen or watch on a smart TV, tablet, smartphone, Roku and other devices.

For Lititz library adult or young adult patrons, you just need to click the hoopla link on our website under our eResources tab.  Then use your library card number to set up your account.

National Librarian Day

“Librarians are tour-guides for all of knowledge” – Patrick Ness

Did you know that the first library was founded in the 7th century B.C.”? And that the profession of librarianship has existed for over 2,000 year?  Come learn about librarians at the Lititz Public Library and celebrate National Librarian Day with your favorite library staff!

Books and Movies for Adults

Librarian          The Personal Librarian          The Librarian of Boone's Hollow : A Novel           A Delayed Life : The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz           The Library Book           The Paris Library : A Novel
Quest for the spear: Flynn Carsen is hired by the Metropolitan Public Library as a librarian, not realizing that his job will be to protect historical and often magical items kept in a secret section that’s been maintained for centuries.
Return to King Solomon’s mines: When Flynn seeks King Solomon’s mines with the aid of a female archaeologist, he learns his late father’s friend ‘Uncle’ Jerry is not who he thought he was.
Curse of the Judas chalice: A series of strange dreams lead Flynn to New Orleans where he is pitted against the notorious vampire Prince Vlad Dracul.

The personal librarian / Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian-who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray.

The librarian of Boone’s hollow : a novel / Kim Vogel Sawyer. Traveling librarian ventures into the mining towns of Kentucky on horseback and rediscovers her passions in this powerful novel from the best-selling author of A Silken Thread

A delayed life : the true story of the Librarian of Auschwitz / Dita Kraus.  Dita Kraus grew up in Prague in an intellectual, middle-class Jewish family. She went to school, played with her friends, and never thought of herself as being different–until the advent of the Holocaust. Torn from her home, Dita was sent to Auschwitz with her family. From her time in the children’s block of Auschwitz to her liberation from the camps and on into her adulthood, Dita’s powerful memoir sheds light on an incredible life–one that is delayed no longer.

The library book / Susan Orlean.  Susan Orlean re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to the beloved institution of libraries.

The Paris library : a novel / Janet Skeslien Charles.  Paris, 1939. Young, ambitious, and tempestuous, Odile Souchet has it all: Paul, her handsome police officer beau; Margaret, her best friend from England; her adored twin brother Remy; and a dream job at the American Library in Paris, working alongside the library’s legendary director, Dorothy Reeder. But when World War II breaks out, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear–including her beloved library … Montana, 1983. Odile’s solitary existence in gossipy small-town Montana is unexpectedly interrupted by Lily, her neighbor, a lonely teenager longing for adventure. As Lily uncovers more about Odile’s mysterious past, they find they share a love of language, the same longings, the same lethal jealousy.

Books for Young Readers

Dear Librarian         My Librarian Is a Camel : How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World        Librarian on the Roof! a True Story         Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian       Clive Is a Librarian

Dear Librarian / Lydia M. Sigwarth ; Romina Galotta.  In this story based on the author’s life, a young homeless girl finds a different kind of home in the library.

My librarian is a camel : how books are brought to children around the world  / Margriet Ruurs.  Describes unusual mobile libraries found around the world.

Librarian on the roof! : a true story / M.G. King ; illustrated by Stephen Gilpin.  The story of RoseAleta Laurell who arrived in Lockheart, Texas to be the head of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library. The library was outdated so she spent a week on the library roof to raise money and interest in the library.

Carlo and the really nice librarian / Jessica Spanyol.  When Carlo the giraffe and Crackers the cat visit the new library, they meet Mrs. Chinca, a very friendly and helpful librarian.

Clive is a librarian / Jessica Spanyol.  Clive pretends to be a librarian for a day.

Books for Youth & Young Adults

Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race         The Library Card          Summer Hours at the Robbers Library : A Novel         The Last Chance Library

Mr. Lemoncello’s great library race / Chris Grabenstein.  Mr. Lemoncello holds a contest for his young friends where they must race to bring interesting facts back to his library.

The library card / Jerry Spinelli.  The lives of four young people in different circumstances are changed by their encounters with books.

Summer hours at the Robbers Library : a novel / Sue Halpern.  When fifteen-year-old, home-schooled Sunny gets arrested for shoplifting a dictionary at the local library, the judge assigns her to do community service at the library for the summer. Bright, curious, and eager to connect with someone other than her off-the-grid hippie parents, Sunny coaxes librarian Kit out of her self-imposed isolation. They’re joined by Rusty, a Wall Street high-flyer suddenly crashed to earth. As they come to terms with how their lives have unraveled, they also discover how they might knit them together again and finally reclaim their stories. Print run 20,000.

The last chance library / Freya Sampson.  June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way. Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community

Today is National Pet Day

“It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” John Grogan, American Author

Come learn about different types of pets, how to take care of a pet, and more at the Lititz Public Library!

 

May I Pet Your Dog? : The How-To Guide for Kids Meeting Dogs (and Dogs Meeting Kids)     May I pet your dog? : the how-to guide for kids meeting dogs (and dogs meeting kids)  by Stephanie Calmenson ; illustrated by Jan Ormerod.

Children encounter dogs wherever they go: in the park, on the sidewalk, at their friends’ homes. Sometimes it’s love at first sight, on both sides–but not always. The right way for a child to approach a dog to ensure that the first connection is a complete success begins with this question to the owner.

 

Sparky! Sparky! written by Jenny Offill ; illustrated by Chris Appelhans.

A child takes a sloth named Sparky as a pet.

 

The Perfect Pet  The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini ; illustrated by Bruce Whatley.

Bird? Bunny? Turtle? Fish? Elizabeth really, really wants a pet, but her parents say NO to all of her ideas. Instead, she ends up with a cactus called Carolyn. And after some very unsuccessful campaigning, to her wonderful surprise, Elizabeth encounters Doug — surely the most unusual and special pet of all.

 

Maisy Gets a Pet  Maisy gets a pet / Lucy Cousins.

Maisy is getting her very own pet! Join Maisy as she learns how to be a good pet owner, from being patient and gentle to vet visits and playtime

 

Cool Pet Treats : Easy Recipes for Kids to Bake  Cool pet treats : easy recipes for kids to bake / Pam Price

Feeding your pet has never been so much fun! From cornbread bones to tuna snacks, “Cool Pet Treats” contains kid-tested, cool recipes that will have children baking–and loving it!

 

  Small Pet Care : How to Look after Your Rabbit, Guinea Pig, or Hamster  Small pet care : how to look after your rabbit, guinea pig, or hamster / Annabel Blackledge

Colorful pictures and simple text illustrate the proper care and feeding of rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pig pets.

 

The Ultimate Pet Health Guide : Breakthrough Nutrition and Integrative Care for Dogs and Cats  The ultimate pet health guide : breakthrough nutrition and integrative care for dogs and cats by Gary Richter, M.S., D.V.M

As a holistic veterinarian and scientist, Dr. Gary Richter helps dog and cat owners to navigate the thicket of treatment options and separate the fact from the fiction.

 

You and Your Pet Bird  You & your pet bird by David Alderton ; photography by Cyril Laubscher

A complete guide to cage and aviary birds: their care, health, and behavior.

 

 

Kitten Care : A Guide for Young Pet Owners  Kitten care : a guide to loving and nurturing your pet by Kim Dennis-Bryan

Find out how to keep your new kitten healthy and happy with this fully illustrated guide. It’s packed with practical advice to help young owners care for their new pets. Kitten Care includes everything from advice on how to choose a kitten and what to expect behaviorally, to tips for feeding a growing cat and keeping a clean litter box.

 

The Secret Life of Pets  The secret life of pets / Illumination Entertainment ; written by Brian Lynch, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio ; directed by Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney.

A hilarious comedy about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day.

 

A Dog's Purpose  A dog’s purpose / Amblin Entertainment and Reliance Entertainment present in association with Walden Media a Pariah production ; directed by Lasse Hallström ; screenplay by W. Bruce Cameron and four others

A dog looks to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners.

World Autism Awareness Day

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day and April is Autism Awareness Month.   One of the best things we can do to help others is first to try to understand them.  With that in mind we would like to highlight some of the resources here at the Lititz Public Library.  Nonfiction books give you perspectives on the autism spectrum from experts, parents, and individuals who are autistic.  We also have fiction books for adults, teens, and children and movies to see how individuals with autism may experience the world and what it is like for friends and family members who have loved ones on the autism spectrum.

Nonfiction Books

An Outsider's Guide to Humans : What Science Taught Me about What We Do and Who We Are      Fall down 7 Times Get Up 8 : A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism      NeuroTribes : The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity      Love That Boy : What Two Presidents, Eight Road Trips, and My Son Taught Me about a Parent's Expectations      What You Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism      Parenting Bright Kids with Autism : Helping Twice-Exceptional Children with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism      Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew : Updated and Expanded Edition

An outsider’s guide to humans : what science taught me about what we do and who we are / Camilla Pang, PHD  Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her. Desperate for a solution, she asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. With no blueprint to life, Pang began to create her own, using the language she understands best: science.

Fall down 7 times get up 8 : a young man’s voice from the silence of autism / Naoki Higashida ; translated by K A Yoshida and David Mitchell ; introduction by David Mitchell.  “Naoki Higashida wrote The Reason I Jump as a 13-year-old boy. Now, he shares his thoughts and experiences as a 24-year old young man with severe autism. In short, powerful chapters, he explores education, identity, family, society and personal growth. He also allows readers to experience profound moments we take for granted.

Neurotribes : the legacy of autism and the future of neurodiversity / Steve Silberman.  What is autism? A devastating developmental disorder, a lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more — and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. WIRED reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Love that boy : what two presidents, eight road trips, and my son taught me about a parent’s expectations / Ron Fournier.   LOVE THAT BOY is a uniquely personal story about the causes and costs of outsized parental expectations. What we want for our children–popularity, normalcy, achievement, genius–and what they truly need–grit, empathy, character–are explored by National Journal’s Ron Fournier, who weaves his extraordinary journey to acceptance around the latest research on childhood development and stories of other loving-but-struggling parents”

10 things you can do right now to help your child with autism / Jonathan Levy.  What You Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism gives you the best techniques you can do – right now – to work with your child and draw him or her back into our interactive world. The ten techniques in the book are not just explained in detail, they are also illustrated by true stories of Mr. Levy’s work with children with autism (and their parents).

Parenting bright kids with autism : helping twice-exceptional children with Asperger’s and high-functioning autism / Claire E. Hughes-Lynch.  “Parenting Bright Kids With Autism discusses the frustrations, the diagnoses, the challenges, and the joys as parents help their gifted children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) thrive in school and at home. This book: Helps families navigate twice-exceptional life by translating best practice into helpful advice. Guides parents who are trying to reach out, find information, and develop their child’s talents. Helps parents acknowledge and get help for, but not focus on, areas of challenge. Is written by a professor of special education who is also a mother of a gifted child with high-functioning autism.

Ten things every child with autism wishes you knew / Ellen Notbohm.  “Ellen’s personal experiences as a parent of children with autism and ADHD, a celebrated autism author, and a contributor to numerous publications, classrooms, conferences, and websites around the world coalesce to create a guide for all who come in contact with a child on the autism spectrum. This updated edition delves into expanded thought and deeper discussion of communication issues, social processing skills, and the critical roles adult perspectives play in guiding the child with autism to a meaningful, self-sufficient, productive life.”

Books for children and teens

It Was Supposed to Be Sunny  Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers!  Rules  The Space We're In  A Boy Called Bat  Things I Should Have Known  The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily

It was supposed to be sunny / by Samantha Cotterill.  “Laila’s birthday party, perfectly planned with her autism in mind, goes awry due to a change in weather and an accident with her cake, but with the help of her mom and her service dog, Laila knows she can handle this”– Provided by publisher.

Isaac and his amazing Asperger superpowers! / Melanie Walsh.  A little boy with Asperger’s syndrome celebrates his differences while explaining how he often has more energy than other kids, has very acute senses, and says things that may be blunt but are never intended to be mean.

Rules / Cynthia Lord. Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public” — in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?

The space we’re in / Katya Balen.  Frank loves soccer, codes, riding his bike, and playing with his friends. His brother Max is five. Max only eats foods that are beige or white, hates baths, and if he has to wear a t-shirt that isn’t gray with yellow stripes he melts down down down. Frank longs for the brother he was promised by his parents before Max was born  But when tragedy strikes, Frank finds a way to try and repair their fractured family and in doing so learns to love Max for who he is.

A boy called Bat / written by Elana K. Arnold with pictures by Charles Santoso.  When his veterinarian mom brings home a stray baby skunk that needs rehabilitation before it can be placed in a wild animal shelter, Bat, who has autism, resolves to prove that he’s up to the challenge of caring for the skunk permanently.

Things I should have known : a novel / Claire LaZebnik.  An unforgettable story about autism, sisterhood, and first love that’s perfect for fans of Jenny Han, Sophie Kinsella, and Sarah Dessen. New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things Julie Buxbaum raved: “I couldn’t put it down.

The love letters of Abelard and Lily / by Laura Creedle.  When Lily Michaels-Ryan ditches her ADHD meds and lands in detention with Abelard, she’s intrigued–he seems thirty seconds behind, while she feels thirty seconds ahead. It doesn’t hurt that he’s brilliant and beautiful.     When Abelard posts a quote from The Letters of Abelard and Heloise online, their mutual affinity for ancient love letters connects them. The two fall for each other. Hard. But is it enough to bridge their differences in person?

Books and Movies for Adults

Harmony    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time    The Bride Test    The Rosie Project : A Novel    Mozart and the Whale    Salmon Fishing in the Yemen    Adam (Rental)

Harmony : a novel / Carolyn Parkhurst.  How far will a mother go to save her family? The Hammond family is living in DC, where everything seems to be going just fine, until it becomes clear that the oldest daughter, Tilly, is developing abnormally-a mix of off-the-charts genius and social incompetence. Once Tilly-whose condition is deemed undiagnosable-is kicked out of the last school in the area, her mother Alexandra is out of ideas.

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time / Mark Haddon.  Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic, fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor’s dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.

The bride test / Helen Hoang.  Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions–like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better–that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

The Rosie project / Graeme Simsion.  Don Tillman, a professor of genetics, sets up a project designed to find him the perfect wife, starting with a questionnaire that has to be adjusted a little as he goes along. Then he meets Rosie, who is everything he’s not looking for in a wife, but she ends up his friend as he helps her try and find her biological father.

Mozart and the whale / Millennium Films presents ; a Robert Lawrence production.  Donald and Isabelle have a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. Donald, a good-natured but hapless cab driver has a knack for numbers. He falls head over heals in love with the beautiful but complex Isabelle when she joins the autism support group he leads.–From container.

Salmon fishing in The Yemen / CBS Films presents in association with BBC Films.  A London fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.

Adam / Fox Searchlight Pictures presents an Olympus Pictures production in association with Serenade Films, Deer Path Productions and Vox3 Films.  Adam is a handsome but intriguing young man who has Asperger’s syndrome and has led a sheltered existence. Then he meets his new neighbor, Beth. She is a beautiful, cosmopolitan young woman who pulls him into the outside world,

 

 

hoopla is here!

What is hoopla?

hoopla is a digital service that allows patrons of the Lititz Public Library to access e-books, audiobooks, graphic novels, movies, TV shows, music, and more.   You can read, listen or watch on a smart TV, tablet, smartphone, Roku and other devices.

For Lititz Library adult or young adult patrons, you just need to click the hoopla link under our eResources tab.  Then use your library card number to set up your account.   You will be able to download 4 items per month and there is never any waiting to get the title you want.

hoopla Bonus Borrows

Bonus Borrows will be offered for one month each quarter, and right now Bonus Borrows are being offered from February 1 through February 28.  Choose from hundreds of titles in 8 categories and download as many as you want without them counting against your monthly 4 downloads.

February’s categories are:

  • Series to Explore
  • Swoonworthy love Stories
  • Fictional Favorites
  • In the News
  • Intense Suspense
  • Laugh Out Loud
  • Titles Kids Love
  • Wellness for Body and Mind

hoopla Binge Pass

With hoopla Binge Pass you can use one of your monthly downloads to get unlimited access to magazines, the Great Courses or Curiosity Stream.