It finally arrived. . .

Yesterday afternoon, UPS delivered a lone book. As I unwrapped it, I hardly dared to hope. . . (Insert cheer here) It was Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. I slapped a barcode on the book, stamped it and quickly cataloged it. Minutes later, as the fourth grade class filed in I handed it to Andy who had been daily asking for it. Ahh, the moment!! The look on his face when I finally came through with the long awaited book was worth, well, a thousand words. . . We headed over to the elementary section of the library and I wish I could say that Andy was riveted by my lesson, but he was not. He made a valiant effort to pretend to listen, and I in turn pretended not to notice that Jeff Kinney had just trumped me. I love it when a boy and book come together.

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

One of the books that arrived last week in our shipment was Valerie Zenatti's A Bottle in the Gaza Sea. I brought it home the same night I cataloged it and stayed up late reading the entire book. It is the story of a teenage Israeli girl that sends a message in a bottle to Gaza, imagining it will be picked up by a girl her age. It is picked up by a Palestinian young man and the rest of the story chronicles their growing email relationship and very separate lives. I found the story compelling. One statement by the fictional "Gazaman" has haunted me this past week. . .

"The singular doesn't exist anymore: no me, you, him, her, there's just the plural - Palestinians. The poor Palestinians. Or the evil Palestinians, it all depends. But the plural is always there. To anyone who loves us without knowing us, or who loathes us without knowing us, we're never one + one + one, but the whole four million. We all carry our whole people on our backs and it's so, so heavy, it's crushing, it just makes you want to close your eyes. . ."

This book will be at the top of my high school "must-read" list for 2009. . .

Tech savvy kids. . .

Lance just returned from the CASE (Colorado Association of School Executives) conference in Denver. It seems the minute he walked back into the door we were thrust into the madness that encompasses parenting three active kids and have not had much time to visit. One thing he did mention was from a keynote speaker regarding children and the internet. The speaker said ( and I am paraphrasing something that was paraphrased for me), that we tell kids to "be safe" online but never teach them how. Lance then had the great idea that we allow our children to start their own blog. It accomplishes the goal of helping to teach safe internet usage while also helping us to encourage our pre-teen to do something other than game on the internet. Our children have run with the idea. Our nine year old, finally has an outlet for all the creative juices that flow in her brain and our 12 year old is writing! Levi also loves to sit down and work on his blog creations and daily wants to see if he has any followers yet. So, take a moment and check out our budding bloggers.

I LOVE this book. . .

We got two boxes of books in the library this week. In the words of my TA "it was like Christmas". New books seem to draw people in - one of my greatest joys is to watch students and teachers paw through the stacks of books. I love to eavesdrop on their conversations and try to gauge whether or not this order was a success. Due to today's response, it was. . . most of the new books were checked out as soon as they were catalogued and covered. The only book that was missing from the order was. . . you guessed it, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. I had one boy that was so disappointed, I finally had to pull out my order form to convince him it was back ordered (again) and that I really had ordered it in the first place.



The greatest gem of the box was a book by Mo Willems, my favorite ( I know I use that word A LOT) new children's author. He is not a new author, but I just discovered the joy of reading his books out loud. One of his books Knuffle Bunny Too: a case of mistaken identity is up for the Colorado Children's Book Award. I have been reading through the list in the library and our elementary students will vote next week on their favorite. Because this book was such a hit, I decided to order some more of his books and we got I Love my New Toy! It is an Elephant and Piggie book and if I try to describe it, I will begin to gush. . . Find a copy, buy a copy, reserve a copy at your local library. You must read this book. You will not regret it. I was reading this book to myself and giggling out loud. I don't typically giggle. I showed this book to students, parents and teachers (yes, I was gushing) and everyone I showed it to laughed out loud. My friend, Leslie, stopped by the library and I made her read it (embarrassing, I know). She immediately took it and read it to the third grade class to see if they would think it was as funny as we did. . . They reported back, it was a hit. Trust me, you need this book.

Confessions. . .

You may have noticed that I added Wuthering Heights in my "Good Books I've read recently". I lied. . . Not about reading the book - I read it for my book club (we're all still scratching our heads over that selection). I lied about the fact that I thought it was good. I didn't. Sorry. This is a very un-librarian thing to admit. It's true, I did not like the book. Finishing it was a bit like finishing the marathon, brutal, but I was SO proud of myself when I read that last sentence and put the book down - I had made it!! Further confessions (this will give you some clue as to the caliber of our club): Our "president" did not even finish the book and the average rating (on a scale of 1-10) was a 3. Our discussion was good, most of us were glad we had read it (there are lots of literary references to this book and now we know what people are referring to. . .), but not many of us understood what makes this book a classic. Any ideas???

Our next month's selection: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

FAQ's

My friend, Suzanne (pictured center), is a research and reference librarian at a university in Portland. She says that librarians must know a little bit about a lot of things. . . Daily, I find that she is right. Here are some of the questions I have been asked recently.

• Q: Hey, Mrs. Villers, do I have any books checked out?
• A: What do I look like a computer? (Okay, I've only said this once, but I get asked this question 100 times a day)
• Q: Mrs. Villers, how do you spell. . . ??
• Q: Mrs. Villers what is the capital of Greenland?
• A: Nuuk
  
• Q: Mrs. Villers, what is the highest mountain in Australia?
• A: Mount Kosciusko ( Okay, I actually said, Here's an atlas, let me know what you find)
• Q: Mrs. Villers, do you have that book - "500 ways to kill a deer"? ( I honestly was asked this question today)
• A: I just ordered a book 500 Tips for Hunting White Tail Deer and it should be in next week.
• Q: Mrs. Villers, do you know how to make a piece of poster board look like a suit jacket? (Would I make this question up?? A senior asked me today. . .)
• A: Hmmm, let's see. . . (always a useful stall tactic)
  
• Q: Mrs. Villers, do you have Diary of a Wimpy Kid : the last straw?? (Get asked this at least once a day)
• A: Not yet, but it should be here any day. . . (Please, God, let it come today!)
• Q: Mrs. Villers, do you have any books by Ellen Hopkins?
• A: Yes, but they are all checked out. . .
• Q: Mrs. Villers, can you renew my books? ( I have been asked this in the halls, grocery store and at church)
• A: Yes, of course, come and see me in the library and we'll do it together
• Q: Mrs. Villers, when did Ghengis Khan rule?
• A: @1180. . .
• Q: Mrs. Villers, can you help me find a book??
  
• A: Yes, Yes, Yes!!

My most FAQ:

What did librarians do before Google?
A: They read. A lot. Gotta go. . . .

Entertaining "Barefoot" style. . .

One of my favorite things to read are cookbooks. I love looking at the pictures, reading the ingredients (trying to imagine my grocery store carrying things like haricort verts, fennel and celery root) and dreaming of dinner parties I am going to host. . .

Over Christmas, I received a Barefoot Contessa cookbook from my sister and that was all it took. I started talking recipes with my sisters (also major foodies) and with their help we came up a great dinner party menu. The occasion: Elaine's 40th birthday . . .


Menu:

• Starters: Goat Cheese w/ honey, Pan-fried onion dip w/ crackers and veggies, shrimp cocktail
• Main Course: Chicken w/ 40 cloves of garlic, Beet / Orange salad w/ raspberry vinaigrette dressing, sesame sugar snap peas, cheesy mashed potatoes, bread and green salad
• Dessert: Coconut cupcakes, toffee and strawberry yum

I wanted to be able to fit the whole party around the table so I switched my living room and dining room. This is a great project for a housekeeper like me (confession: I almost never move furniture to clean - won't even tell you what we found under the couch cushions. . .)

Connie and Christian showed up to help prep dinner. Connie ironed the tablecloths for the table and then set the table - a true friend!


My midgets hiding in a box, waiting to jump out and yell "Surprise!!" They made it for a long time . . . before coming up with plan B.


Table set and ready for dinner. . . Levi made the place cards, Tommi helped to set the table and Ty ran errands all day - I love my kids!!

Party Time. . . in the living room - the lack of lighting covered a multitude of housekeeping sins.


Coconut Cupcakes - made Barefoot Contessa style, with LOTS of butter. . . yum!




Elaine opening her gift from Christian and Tyler (sons) - 11 private ballroom dancing lessons. In the background, Mike is saying, "You've got to be kidding me!!"


Lance replied that our gift to Elaine was counseling sessions to be redeemed after the dance lessons. . .

One gentleman at the party kept telling Lance and I that we had such a beautiful house - "filled with love". From an architectural and design standpoint, our house is pretty simple. Yet, I find it amazing how a simple home is transformed with a lot of love and good friends. Open a cookbook today and read it. You never know what might happen in your home. . .

Mom knows best

My mom has probably had the most defining impact on my reading and reading choices. I can remember her sitting on our couch, knitting in one hand and a book in the other. One of the things I am the most grateful for is the fact that she insisted we read a variety of books and genres. As a teenager, all I wanted to read (I am blushing as I write this) were romance novels. Instead of flat out saying "no", mom declared that for every romance I read, I had to read other books - biographies, history, a classic, a mystery or self-improvement book. In other words, I had to read four or five books for every teen romance. Oh, the brilliance of it!!!

As an adult, I find that my "comfort" book of choice is a mystery. I love a good mystery novel. As I stock up on them in the library, I find myself looking over my shoulder, counting my books, and then reaching for a biography, a parenting book or a classic I have never read. The discipline my mom insisted on as a child has never left me and because of it, I have read books I never would have discovered. I can still remember the first real biography I read that I devoured (this was after working my way through our neighbor's shelf of George Washington, Jane Adams, etc.) . .. I didn't read this bio in order to get to my next romance, but I read it and LOVED it! Since that book, I have found that I truly enjoy bios and memoirs. I like the way they open my world, expand my view and most often I come away with a greater appreciation for the many blessings in my life. Here is a list (yes, of course, it is partial) of some of the bios/memoirs that I have enjoyed:

1. Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage - This book describes a two year world bike tour taken by Barbara and her husband. This was the first biography I read that opened my eyes to the possibility that good, interesting biographies existed! An easy, fascinating read.
2. Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - My sister, Heidi, recommended this book to me and I was hooked from the first sentence! It chronicles the story of the author's childhood with eccentric, nomadic parents. I have recommended this book numerous times in the library and it has been a hit every time. If you only read one bio this year, this is it!
3. American Shaolin by Matthew Polly - I picked this book up for the library to add to my growing boys' collection. I brought it home to read so that I could recommend it and surprisingly like it. It is the story of a nerdy college student who travels to China to study kung fu under the Shaolin monks.
   
4. The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger - I just finished this book before Christmas break. It is an amazing account of a family's survival in a Polish sewer. Krystyna lived in the sewer with her family and others for 14 months. This is not an easy read, but worth the effort.
5. God Grew Tired of Us by John Bul Dau - This book captivated me. This is the story of one of the 4,000 "lost boys of Sudan". It is a hopeful read - filled with God's grace - loved it.
6. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah. Again, this is not an easy read (stories of other's suffering rarely are), but valuable.
7. The Soloist by Steve Lopez I have blogged about this previously. Read it (the book, not the previous blog) . . .

The next time you are in the library loading up on your favorite genre, make yourself reach for something else. Try a new genre, author, or style, you might find you love it.