This August marks the fourth anniversary of the publication of the last Captain Underpants book. Four years since Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People!! For those of you who remember, the back of that book was filled with false promises of upcoming books that never materialized. Captain Underpants and the Return of Tippy T. Tinkletrousers. Super Diaper Baby 2. And who could forget: Frankenfart and the Bionic Barf Bunnies of Diarrhea-land? But not a peep from Dav in four years...
The Monroe County Fair opens today! Visit the library's booth in the West Commercial Building. We'll have some books from the Friends of the Library bookstore to give away, as well as some scented bookmarks (mmmmm - buttery popcorn - yumm)!
While I am a big fan of the Fair's corn on the cob and carnival rides, my favorite Fair activity is to visit the animals. Growing up in the Chicago area, I didn't have many chances to mingle with chickens and cows, so I continue to be impressed by the wide variety of animals that children in our community care for on a daily basis - from rabbits and goats to pigs and horses. I am especially enamored with the horses: strong and majestic with wise eyes that reveal the depths of their intelligence.
Bill "Doc" Key was a man who recognized how smart horses are and how they - and all animals - deserve to be treated with kindness. Doc was born a slave in the 1800s. After he was freed, he became a veterinarian and most of his patients were horses. When Doc noticed that one of his own horses (named Jim Key) had figured out how to unlock a gate and open the drawer where he kept his supplies, he decided to find out what else his horse could learn how to do.
In Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smartest Horse, award-winning author and illustrator Emily Arnold McCully relates how Doc taught Jim to identify letters and colors, and to count, add and subtract. Some people doubted the horse's abilities. But after a team of Harvard University professors declared that Jim was truly educated, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sponsored Doc's demonstrations of Jim's talents. The thousands of schoolchildren who attended these demonstrations pledged to treat animals with kindness.
The Loch Ness Monster, Selkies... the KRAKEN! Learn about these mysterious creatures of folklore and more tommorow at the Mysteries of the Seas program at 2:30pm in the Children's Program Room. Check out books like the The Loch Ness Monster by Peggy Parks or The Kraken by Jennifer McKerley.
Robert Ballard is my hero. Dr. Ballard is a scientist, inventor, and a deep-sea explorer. He is most famous for discovering the wreck of the Titanic, 12,460 feet beneath the sea. The Titanic was the largest ship ever built in her time. She was as tall as an eleven story building and almost four city blocks long. The unique design of her hull was supposed to make her unsinkable, but in the middle of her first voyage the huge ship struck an iceberg and sank in the dark, icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912. Only 705 of the Titanic's 2,223 passengers and crew survived. Ever since the Titanic sank, people have been fascinated with the story and many have wondered about the location of the monster ship on the ocean floor.
Seventy-four years later, Bob Ballard led a team of scientists in a mission to discover the lost Titanic. Using Argo, the deep sea underwater robot craft Dr. Ballard developed, tethered to a research vessel called the Knorr, the team explored the region of the ocean where the ship went down. They tried for weeks to find the Titanic, but without any luck. Then Dr. Ballard thought of a new way to search. He knew that when things fall in deep water, they leave a long tail of debris, like a comet. He hoped that they might find a trail of wreckage from the ship that would lead them to the Titanic. He was right! With only days left to complete their mission, the team discovered a line of man-made objects that led them directly to the Titanic.
You can read the fascinating story of the Titanic and Dr. Ballard's search for her wreck in the book he wrote titled Exploring the Titanic. I love the photos and illustrations in this book. I especially like the paintings by illustrator Ken Marschall and the way he compares pictures of the objects when they were new to how they appear now, covered in rust formations at the bottom of the sea.
Though Dr. Ballard is best known for locating the wreck of the Titanic, he is most proud of a different scientific discovery. In 1977 he was part of a team that explored hydrothermal vents near the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. This part of the ocean is so deep, no one thought life existed there. The scientists were shocked to discover giant clams, white crabs, pink fish with blue eyes, and red tube worms that were eight feet long. These creatures were depending on tiny bacteria that thrive in hydrogen sulfide, a chemical compound that came out of the vents at the bottom of the sea. This discovery was important because they were the first creatures known to science that did not depend on light from the sun.
Dr. Ballard has enjoyed a lot of success but it has not always been easy. Sometimes people laughed at his ideas and said they would never work. In spite of many disappointments in his life, Bob Ballard never stopped believing in himself. He never gave up. He uses his knowledge and some very creative thinking to do incredible things. The library has several books about Dr. Ballard and his career. Deep-Sea Explorer: The Story of Robert Ballard, Discoverer of the Titanic by Rick Archbold is intended for readers age 12 and older. Exploring the Bismarck by Robert D. Ballard is the story of the real-life quest to find Hitler's most famous battleship. Dr. Ballard's books about the Bismarck and the Titanic are recommended for readers aged 8 and older.
You can find more information about Dr. Ballard at many sites on the internet. You might start at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. Or check out the video below Robert Ballard:Exploring the Ocean's Hidden Worlds.
Do you have brothers and sisters who drive you up a wall? Do you live with people who sprinkle salt and pepper in your hair, spill your dessert on the floor, or paint your friend's doll with green nail polish? If you answered yes to any of these, you will understand the problems of Dessert Schneider and her third grade classmates. Dessert is inspired by the American history lessons lead by her teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, to do something about her growing sense of injustice. When Dessert forms the Annoying Siblings Club and charges her friends dues to join, she learns quickly that she can't solve anyone's problems, least of all her own.
One of my favorite new authors is Mo Willems. He is the creator of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and has recently come out with a new series of Early Readers entitled, Cat the Cat.
These simply written tales are both accessible and funny. They are a perfect addition to our collection for children who are learning to read. If you like these books, you might be interested in the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems which is also available at the Monroe County Public Library.
Okay, here's a good room-cleaning tip: After you make two piles of stuff from your room (one pile of stuff that's broken, and one pile you're too grown-up to play with anymore), put them all in a box. Then, put a used birthday card and an old piece of birthday cake from your dresser drawer on top of the box, and pull the box into your sister's room, disguised as a "gigantic present".
Ann Erica Kelly has all sorts of great ideas like that for cleaning her room. They may not match her mother's ideas, but really, that's okay. Ann will make you laugh and will probably even remind you of yourself when you're told to clean YOUR room. (I know she reminds me of me!)
How to Clean Your Room in 10 Easy Steps is a funny and delightful picture book written by Jennifer LaRue Huget and illustrated by Edward Koren. Recommended for ages 5-9.
Check this out! Lots of us like to doodle around, right? I like to make stick figures, stars, and funny shapes. But I didn't think I was good enough to make my own real live comics until I read this book, Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm. Holy Cannoli! This book is a comic, but it's also a crash course in how to make them. Now I'm cranking out comic book pages, and you know what? They look awesome! Adventures in Cartooning made it easy. Recommended for grades 2 and up
