Fancy Nancy Tea Party

Join us for a party!

When: Saturday, January 30th

Time: 2:00pm

Where: Irondale Public Library Meeting Room

Who: All kids ages 8 and under are invited

Come hear stories about Fancy Nancy, make "fancy" accessories and enjoy "fancy" snacks! Door prizes will be given away, too!

Call us @ 951-1415 if you have any questions. Hope to see you there!

Civil Rights Exhibit

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will be opening a new exhibit this Saturday, January 30th, 2010. 381 Days: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott will run through April 11th. it features large panels with pictures of Martin Luther King leading boycotts, citizens walking to work and Alabama native Claudette Colvin. The lesser-known Colvin was arrested, too, for refusing to give up her seat - nine months before Rosa Parks did. Colvin and three other women were plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case that ended segregation on the buses in Montgomery.

Birmingham is the last stop of this traveling exhibit before it is returned to the Smithsonian Institution. Admission to the exhibit is included in the institute admission. Call 328-9696 or visit the institute's website for more information.

For further information about the civil rights movement, check out one of these titles at the library:



Sit-In : How Your Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down - Andrea Davis Pickney



Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice - Phillip Hoose



Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott - Lydia Bjornlund



Freedom walkers : the story of the Montgomery bus boycott - Russell Freeman

New Fiction Titles

Here are a few of our latest additions at the library:

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman

Relegated to the care of an eccentric great-aunt after her mentally unbalanced mother's accidental death, 12-year-old CeeCee is quickly surrounded by the strong women and cultural elements of her new Savannah community.

Roses - Leila Meacham

Spanning the 20th century, the story of Roses takes place in a small East Texas town against the backdrop of the powerful timber and cotton industries, industries controlled by the scions of the town's founding families.

Last Night in Montreal - Emily St. John Mandel

Eli searches for his ex-lover Lilia after she disappears one morning from his Brooklyn apartment, but he discovers surprises about her childhood after going to Montreal on a tip from a source who says that Lilia may be there.

Some Things That Meant the World to Me - Joshua Mohr
Thirty-year-old Rhonda seeks a fresh start in the streets of San Francisco's Mission District after being abused as a child and receiving therapy for depersonalization; a gritty and beautiful work that is creative and hypnotic.

Set Up in Soho - Dee Davis

Dumped by a boyfriend who has announced his engagement to another woman, Andrea Sevalas lands in the lap of a prominent Manhattan doctor but resists his advances before her aunt, an infamous matchmaker, orchestrates a romantic deception.

The Kingdom of Ohio - Matthew Flaming

Discovering an old photograph of a beautiful mathematical prodigy, antiques dealer Peter remembers his initial dismissal of the woman's claim that she had discovered the key to time travel, a capability that enables Peter's journey to New York at the dawn of the mechanical age.

New Non-Fiction Titles

We have got something for everyone......just click on the image for more information:

Rock & Roll Jihad: a Muslim rock star's revolution - Salman Ahmad

Graffiti Planet 2 : more of the best graffiti from around the world

Save Big: cut your top 5 costs and save thousands - Elisabeth Reamy

Runaway dream : Born to run and Bruce Springsteen's American vision - Louis P. Masur

Joy of Sox: 30-plus must-knit designs - Linda Kopp

Stitches: a memior - David Small

And The Award Goes To....

The American Library Association's Youth Media Awards were announced yesterday! The list recognizes top books and audiobooks for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards. Here is a list of some of the winners:

Newbery Medal

When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead

Caldecott Medal

The Lion and the Mouse - Jerry Pickney

Printz Award

Going Bovine - Libba Bray

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

My People - Charles R. Smith, Jr.

Pura Belpre Author Award

Return to Sender - Julia Alvarez

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! - Geoffrey Hayes

View the complete list of winners and honor books at ALA's website - then come check one out at the library!

Book Club Wrap-Up - Julie & Julia

The cold weather didn't keep our book group away Monday night! We discussed Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen by Julie Powell. From the author's website:

Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves’ livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto.

Now, I don't say this to discourage anyone from reading this book.....but most of our group did not like this book. We found it hard to connect with Julie and that she was, well, rather unlikeable. It didn't stop us from having a great discussion about the book and Julia Child's life and the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Several members have seen the movie that was based on this book and Julia Child's book My Life in France. They gave the movie high marks and found Julie's character much more likable.

Our club recommendation: Give Julie & Julia the book a try, but it isn't your cup of tea then pick up My Life in France by Julia Child or check out the movie version of Julie & Julia.




For more information:

Julie Powell's official website

Julie Powell's Blog

Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian

The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones

CBS Sunday Morning - Judith Jones

Julie & Julia official movie site

Next month we are very excited because we will be discussing The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Don't miss it, it is going to be a fabulous discussion! See you February 8th @ 6:30pm!

Happy Birthday, Elvis Presley!

The King would have been 75 years old today. Want to read up on his life? Check out The Elvis Encyclopedia or browse through this list of books we have available through the library.

Library Closing

Irondale Public Library will be closing today at 1:00pm due to the predicted inclement weather.

Everyone stay safe and warm!

The Baby-Sitters Club is Back!

Last week a New York Times article shared the fabulous news that Ann M. Martin's beloved Baby-Sitters Club series is being resurrected! If you or your children grew up in the 80s or 90s then this is great news :-)

According to the article the series ran from 1986 to 2000 with 176 million copies in print, but the series has been out of print, until now.

David Levithan, the editorial director at Scholastic (whose is also one of our favorite YA authors!) explains why they decided to try to bring the series back:

“This whole generation of girls who had grown up reading ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ were now teachers, librarians or mothers,” Mr. Levithan said. “And at any opportunity they had, they let us know they wanted them back. We couldn’t go to a convention without having women come up to us and say, ‘You’ve got to bring these books back.’ ”

The first 2 volumes are scheduled to be reissued. And if that isn't exciting enough, Ann M. Martin has written a prequel for the series, "The Summer Before." It is scheduled for release on April 1st, 2010 along with the reissued titles.

For more information here are a few links:

BSC Headquarters - While it hasn't been updated lately, it does have interesting posts about a girl reliving her childhood with BSC memories.

Ann M. Martin's Scholastic page - This site gives a complete listing of all the books in the various BSC series.

Baby-Sitters Club Revisited - Another great blog that is being updated regularly that reviews individual titles and posts thoughts and some "snarky" comments.