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Jesmyn Ward Offers Insight, Hope to Arlington Reads Audiences

National Book Award Winner Jesmyn Ward stressed the importance of dialogue both locally and nationally during two Arlington Reads 2015 appearances April 8. DKimage

Speaking first to students at Marymount University, Ward said “hope” was the key to confronting each new day despite the weight of the latest tragic headlines stemming from the issues of race and poverty she has written so much about.

The theme of Arlington Reads 2015 is “#BlackLivesMatter: Two Remarkable Writers on Being Black in America.”

Addressing an evening standing-room only crowd at Central Library, Ward said she had at one point considered abandoning her writing for a career in nursing but found that the process of sharing her thoughts and stories helped her as much as it reached others.

At Ms. Ward’s request, her presentations were not recorded but readers are encouraged to watch Ward’s 2013 PBS NewsHour interview that led to her “Men We Reaped” being chosen for Arlington Reads.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNJGdtc1Sg[/youtube]

Arlington Reads 2015 presents featured fiction author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on May 7 at Central Library.

Central Shines with Energy Savings

The results are in and Central Library is doing even better than expected in terms of sustainability efforts.

Central was tapped three years ago by the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy to be the County’s first showcase project for the U.S.solar panel Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge. The goal was to cut energy use 20 percent by 2020, with 2008 data as the baseline.

So far, thanks to a healthy array of solar panels up on the roof and a long-awaited chiller replacement, Central Library is saving 28 percent annually in energy.

That translates to $56,000 a year saved by Arlington County.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a Party!

American Girl Tea Party 2015

Almost 60 kids, their dolls and families celebrated Women’s History Month at Central Library on Wednesday, March 25.

Our American Girl Tea Party included crafts, games and refreshments:

 

Learn more about the American Girl Lending Program.

 

Magical Adventure Stories

Book Bubble Season 2 (Episode 6)

Stories by Long Branch Students

[youtube]https://youtu.be/J18TTfGEj6M[/youtube]

 

This episode includes three stories written by Long Branch Elementary School students in the Creative Book Project:

Little Mouse sliderLittle Mouse’s Quest
by Aiden Endo

Read more stories of brave mice and evil rats in the “Redwall” series, written by Brian Jacques.

 

 

Fairy's SecretThe Fairy’s Secret
by Anna Williams

Read more stories about fairies in “The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies and other Secret Beings” by Lise Lunge-Larsen, illustrated by Beth Krommes.

 

 

Ocean Heroes sliderOcean’s Heroes
by Lauren Montgomery

Read more about dolphin families in “Baby Dolphin’s First Day” by Peter and Connie Roop.

 

 

The Creative Book Project

For over a decade, small groups of Long Branch fifth graders have learned to analyze possible Caldecott picture book winners with the help of Long Branch librarian Sandra Sterne and retired Arlington Public Library librarian Kristi Jemtegaard. In the winter and spring the students work with local book artist Anne-Catherine Fallen to write and illustrate their own books. Learn more.

 

Book Bubble is a co-production of Arlington Independent Media and the Arlington County Public Library, and is funded by the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

 

See more Video for Kids from the Arlington Public Library.

 

Leaving Home, and Finding Home

Book Bubble Season 2 (Episode 7)

Stories by Long Branch Students

[youtube]https://youtu.be/tl2jLlzh3QU[/youtube]

 

This episode includes three stories written by Long Branch Elementary School students in the Creative Book Project:

Gary the pea sliderGary the Pea
by Morgan Schlimme

Read another fun version of the Princess and the Pea in “Nobody Asked the Pea” by John Warren Stewig, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright.

 

 

Long Way from Home sliderA Long Way from Home
by Adalie Wilson

Read another story about get lost and being brave in “The Littlest Dinosaur’s Big Adventure” by Michael Foreman.

 

 

Lizard sliderThe Lizard
by Kaelan Brown

Read all about lizards and which ones make good pets in “My Pet Lizards” by LeeAnne Engfer, photographs by Andy King.

 

 

The Creative Book Project

For over a decade, small groups of Long Branch fifth graders have learned to analyze possible Caldecott picture book winners with the help of Long Branch librarian Sandra Sterne and retired Arlington Public Library librarian Kristi Jemtegaard. In the winter and spring the students work with local book artist Anne-Catherine Fallen to write and illustrate their own books. Learn more.

 

Book Bubble is a co-production of Arlington Independent Media and the Arlington County Public Library, and is funded by the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

 

See more Video for Kids from the Arlington Public Library.

 

Making Unexpected Friends, Finding Unexpected Heroes

Book Bubble Season 2 (Episode 8)

Stories by Long Branch Students

[youtube]https://youtu.be/SX3YFfiIUnA[/youtube]

 

This episode includes three stories written by Long Branch Elementary School students in the Creative Book Project:

Viggy sliderViggy
by Patsy Zetkulic

Read more stories of dogs and the people who love them in “Because of Shoe, and Other Dog Stories,” edited by Ann M. Martin.

 

 

Isabelle and the TrollsIsabelle and the Trolls
by Martha Hays

Read more adventures with troll heroes in “The Ogre of Oglefort” by Eva Ibbatson, illustrated by Lisa K. Weber.

 

 

The Cure sliderThe Cure
by Sharon Newman

Read more stories of mermaids and friendship in “Mermaids in the Backyard” by Catherine Hapka, illustrated by Patricia Castelao.

 

 

The Creative Book Project

For over a decade, small groups of Long Branch fifth graders have learned to analyze possible Caldecott picture book winners with the help of Long Branch librarian Sandra Sterne and retired Arlington Public Library librarian Kristi Jemtegaard. In the winter and spring the students work with local book artist Anne-Catherine Fallen to write and illustrate their own books. Learn more.

 

Book Bubble is a co-production of Arlington Independent Media and the Arlington County Public Library, and is funded by the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

 

See more Video for Kids from the Arlington Public Library.

 

A Special Storytime with Mocha

Everything’s Better with a Bunny

Mocha bunny at CP storytime

Librarian Desiree invited Mocha, a lovely rabbit who belongs to the Career Center, to visit the Columbia Pike Branch Library’s last winter Baby Steps storytime.

Every one (including the bunny) had a lovely time:

 

Spring storytimes will return April 6, 2015.

 

A Holocaust Survivor to Speak at Shirlington

Days of Remembrance

Photo Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Photo Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

In partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Shirlington Branch Library will host Holocaust survivor George Pick on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. 

The Days of Remembrance are an eight day period which runs from the Sunday before Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) through the following Sunday.

Mr. Pick and his parents hid for much of 1944 in a Budapest factory until they were taken by police to a central ghetto in the city. They were liberated by Soviet troops in January 1945.

First person accounts are an invaluable way to connect with our past. As the years pass, our opportunities to connect with people who endured this horrible time in our history diminish. Many survivors have health issues that may arise and  prevent them from speaking at events scheduled too far in advance.

 

During the month of April, Shirlington will also screen powerful films depicting the horror and humanity of the Holocaust.

holocaust movies (2)

April 6th, 2 p.m. – “Life is Beautiful”

April 20th, 2 p.m. – “The Pianist”

April 27th, 2 p.m. – “Schindler’s List”

 

We’ll share more information about our speaker as we have it.

 

 

Do You Know Billie the Elephant?

Her story inspired a library display!

 

 

“The Last Chain on Billie” tells the story of Billie, an elephant who was captured in Asia,  spent most of her life abused in the circus, and ultimately found safe haven in the  Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

 

 

 

A patron was so inspired by Billie’s story, she asked the Shirlington Branch Library to create a display around the book. She provided us with some posters and booklets, and elephant books have been flying off the shelf ever since!

 

billie display

 

Learn more about the Elephant Sanctuary and all the great things they’re doing there!

 

Waiting for " The Girl on the Train"?

Paula Hawkins’ thriller – about an unhappy voyeur who become involved in the lives of the people she watches everyday – has been one of the hottest novels this winter.

Whether you’re eagerly waiting to read “The Girl on the Train,” or already read and loved it, we think you’ll also enjoy these twisty psychological thrillers:

 

The Other Woman’s House
by Sophie Hannah

It’s past midnight, but Connie can’t sleep. To pass the time, she logs onto a real estate website in search of a particular house, the address of which was mysteriously in the GPS of her car that afternoon. As she clicks through the virtual tour of 11 Bentley Grove, she’s shocked to see the body of a woman, lying face down on the living room floor in a pool of blood. But when she returns to show her husband Kit moments later, there is no body, no blood- only an ordinary beige carpet in an ordinary living room.

 

 

Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick’s wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren’t his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife?

 

 

Blue Monday
by Nicci French

A solitary psychotherapist finds herself in the center of the investigation for an abducted child when one of her patients begins having dreams in which he has a hunger for a child – a child he can describe in perfect detail, and who matches the missing five year old.

 

 

Die for You
by Lisa Unger

When successful novelist Isabel Raines learns that everyone that her husband worked with is dead–and that her missing husband has been legally dead for some time–she will not rest until she finds the truth about him. Who he was, where he’s gone, and how he was able to deceive her so completely.

 

 

 

Sister: A Novel
by Rosamund Lupton

As one woman risks everything to uncover the truth about her sister’s last moments, this debut novel with a knockout twist shows that nothing is as durable–and as exceptional–as the bond between sisters.

 

 

 

“The Girl on the Train” has also been favorably compared Hitchcock, so check out any of  the late 1950s television series, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”

 

 

 

 

 



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