Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Welcome Iowa!


On December 28, 1846 Iowa was officially admitted into the United States as the 29th state. 
In honor of this momentous occasion, we present books about Iowa or taking place in.....you guessed it, Iowa!

"Iowa Curiosities" by Eric Jones (2010)
Summary: Your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things the Hawkeye State has to offer!

"An Ocean in Iowa" by Peter Hedges (1998)
Summary: Scotty Ocean is turning seven years old, and he has announced earlier in his life that seven is going to be his year. It does turn out to be his year, but not the year he imagined. It is the year his mother leaves the family. At first, Scotty does astonishing things to get her to return. When he comes to believe she won't be moving back, he tries to replace her. Ultimately, he decides he must take drastic action to remain forever seven

"Iowa: Off the Beaten Path" by Lori Erickson (2001)
Summary: A guide to unique places in Iowa

As always, for these books and so much more, 

Monday, December 26, 2011

National Candy Cane Day

December 26th is known world wide as National Candy Cane Day
While your still celebrating your holidays, why not check out one of these great "candy cane" related titles?

SummaryA collection of three holiday mysteries includes stories by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meyer.

Summary: With the help of a little girl, a mysterious stranger tells the story of the candy cane to the people of a small prairie town during Christmas time at the turn of the century.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Celebrating Jerry Pinkney - Acclaimed Children's Author

Today as we celebrate Jerry Pinkney's (December 22nd) birthday, I thought I would highlight some of his great children's books. 

Story by: Patricia C. McKissack 
Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Summary: In segregated 1950s Nashville, a young African American girl braves a series of indignities and obstacles to get to one of the few integrated places in town: the public library.

Story and Illustrations by: Jerry Pinkney
Summary: Retells the biblical story of the great flood and how Noah and his family faithfully responded to God's call to save life on earth

Story and Illustrations by: Jerry Pinkney
Summary: In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.


Written by Dianna Aston and Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Summary: On her family's farm in the town of Star, eight-year-old Mae eagerly follows the progress of the 1969 Apollo 11 flight and moon landing and dreams that she might one day be an astronaut, too.

These books are all available at Little Dixie Regional Libraries. Stop in and Check 'em out!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Happy Birthday Eve Bunting

It's Eve Bunting's birthday today!

Why not check out one of her titles? 
All of the below listed titles are available at Little Dixie Regional Libraries.

Summary: With the help of her grandfather, a little girl makes a house for a larva and watches it develop before setting it free, and every summer after that butterflies come to visit her.

Summary: Davey is dubious about having a new adopted brother from Korea, but when he finds out that his parents still love him, he decides that having a baby brother will be fine.

Summary: A raccoon and his friends go to great lengths to make sure they will always have a library from which to borrow books.

Summary: Billy is disappointed when his father doesn't show up to help him catch a frog for the frog-jumping competition at school, but the one he and his mother catch wins the championship and Billy begins to accept his father's absence.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Outreach Deliveries

Little Dixie Regional Libraries is proud to offer Outreach services to members of the Randolph and Monroe communities. Outreach services are always free of charge and available to anyone who has a physical problem getting to the library. Books and other materials are delivered by the delivery van or through mail.


If you are interested in learning more about Outreach services available through your local library or would like to sign up, please contact Rachael at the Moberly Public Library.

The next Outreach Delivery will occur 
on December 13th & 14th, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Emily Dickinson

Today we celebrate Emily Dickinson since its her birthday! 

     Emily was born on December 10, 1830 in Massachusetts. She spent much of her life in her home, rarely venturing out. 
     "Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
     Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent" (according to Emily Dickinson Wiki) Sadly, Emily passed away in 1886, seeing very few of her own poems published.

The following books by or about Emily Dickinson are all available at Little Dixie Regional Libraries.

"My Uncle Emily" by Jane Yolen (2009) 
Summary: In 1881 Amherst, Massachusetts, six-year-old Gilbert finds it both challenging and wonderful to spend time with his aunt, the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, who lives next door.

"My Wars are Laid Away in Books" by Alfred Habegger (2001) 
Summary: Emily Dickinson, probably the most loved and certainly the greatest of American poets, continues to be seen as the most elusive. One reason she has become a timeless icon of mystery for many readers is that her developmental phases have not been clarified. In this exhaustively researched biography, Alfred Habegger presents the first thorough account of Dickinson’s growth–a richly contextualized story of genius in the process of formation and then in the act of overwhelming production

"Secret Life of Emily Dickinson" by Jerome Charyn (2010)
Summary:What if the old maid of Amherst wasn't an old maid at all? The poet dons a hundred veils, alternately playing wounded lover, penitent, and female devil in this extraordinary adventure that will disturb and delight.

Friday, December 9, 2011

"Babar's" Author, Jean de Brunhoff's Birthday!

French Author, Jean de Brunhoff, is celebrating his birthday today.
Jean de Brunhoff created the children's classic character, Babar.

The "Babar" series is as follows:
The Story of Babar (1931)
The Travels of Babar, or Babar's Travels (1932)
 Babar the King (1933)
A.B.C. of Babar (1934)
 Zephir's HolidaysZephir's Vacation, or Babar and Zephir (1936)
Babar and His Children (1938)
Babar and Father Christmas (1941)


These books and many more can be found at Little Dixie Regional Libraries. Stop by or check us out on the web!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Celebrate Cotton Candy

December 7th is National "Celebrate Cotton Candy" Day in the United States.

Did you know....?
-Cotton Candy was created by William Morrison and John C. Wharten and officially patented in 1899
-Cotton Candy first appeared at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904
-The original name for Cotton Candy was Fairy Floss

Interested in a recipe? Try this one from Food Network. 

To those fans everywhere at carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks...this day's for you!

Monday, December 5, 2011

It's Walt Disney's Birthday!


Happy birthday to past Marceline resident Walt Disney! 

"Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father Elias Disney and mother Flora Call Disney. After Walt's birth, the Disney family moved to Marceline Missouri, Walt lived most of his childhood here," according to justdisney.com  

Walt is best known for his iconic character, Mickey Mouse, his first feature length movie, "Snow White" and building the Walt Disney theme-park. 





Disney passed away on 
December 15, 1966 in Florida. His work lives on through his studios and his company continues to create movies in his honor.

In Marceline, they have a fabulous Walt Disney museum. The official website is: http://www.waltdisneymuseum.org/ Check it out, it'd make a great day trip!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

National Cookie Day!

Photo courtesy of: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

HAPPY NATIONAL COOKIE DAY!

Here are a few great titles we have at the library for your "Cookie" day needs:
"Christmas Cookies" from the Favorite Brand Name Recipes series (1995)
"Diabetic Cookies" by Mary J. Finsand (1994)
"Mmm, Cookies!" by Robert Munsch (2000)
"Cookies, Brownies & More" from the Favorite Brand Name Recipes series (2003)
"Back of the Box Cooking: 500 Delicious, Easy to Prepare Recipes for America's Best Loved Brands" (2009)
"Enjoy Life's Cookies for Everyone!" by Leslie Hammond (2009)

Stop by or check out our website for all of your cookie needs!

Photo courtesy of: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Happy Birthday Jan Brett!

In celebration of children's author Jan Brett's Birthday, I thought we would share her books today on the blog. 
But first, a bit about Ms. Brett from her website: "With over thirty six million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books.   Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up.   During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
    As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, 'I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real.' "

The books below are just a small sampling of the books that Jan Brett has done and continues to write. All of these books are available at Little Dixie Regional Libraries...stop by or check out our website for more information!


Summary: When Bo spots what he thinks is a "rip-roarin', rootin'-tootin', shiny red armadillo," he knows what he has to do. Follow that armadillo! Bo leaves his mother and three brothers behind and takes off for a two-stepping, bronco-bucking adventure. Jan Brett turns her considerable talents toward the Texas countryside in this amusing story of an armadillo on his own.


SummaryHedgie, the hedgehog, helps Henny, the speckled hen, trick the Tomten who has been eating all of Henny's eggs for breakfast.



Summary: A band of trick-or-treaters and a mother cat and her kittens spend a very scary Halloween.


Summary: In an underground den on Mount Baldy, a family of trolls longs for a dog. When young Treva heads up the mountain with her skis--and her dog Tuffi--her troubles with trolls begin. Beautiful landscapes filled with snow-laden trees reveal the underground home of this mischievous troll family. 


Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Happy Birthday Lucy Maud Montgomery, Author of "Anne of Green Gables"

We would like to celebrate Lucy Maud Montgomery's birthday today. Lucy Montgomery is also known as the author of the ever popular children's series, "Anne of Green Gables"
Lucy Montgomery was born on November 30, 1874 at Prince Edward Island. She was known as "Maud" to her family and friends. She spent her childhood writing hymns and poems. Gradually, in her adulthood, she put pen to paper and wrote newspaper articles and eventually full-length novels. 


L.M. Montgomery biography details her fist publishing experience. "in the spring of 1904 Anne was born. “....she soon seemed very real to me and took possession of me to an unusual extent.” ibid. After several rejections by publishers, Maud was much discouraged and Anne was stored in “an old hat-box” for four years. As she wrote in her journal “I wrote it for love, not money, but very often such books are the most successful, just as everything in the world that is born of true love has life in it.”  Finally, on 20 June 1908, she held the first published copy of Anne of Green Gables, her first of many novels to come"
Maud passed away on April 24, 1942 in Canada. Her books were published in many languages throughout the world and millions of copies have been printed to date. Her books have been made into plays, television shows, musicals, and even full length movies. Her characters have appeared in short stories and have even been made into dolls for her readers to cherish in the years to come.

For more information on area that L.M. wrote about, check out this website: http://www.gov.pe.ca/greengables/index.php3

Reading order of the "Anne of Green Gables" series:
 Anne of Green Gables (1908) 
Anne of Avonlea (1909)
Anne of the Island (1915) 
Anne of Windy Poplars (1936) 
Anne's House of Dreams (1917)
Anne of Ingleside (1939) 
 Rainbow Valley (1919) 
 Rilla of Ingleside (1921)

To read these books and more, stop by the library 
or check out our website at www.little-dixie.lib.mo.us

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Happy Birthday C.S. Lewis


We would like to extend a very happy birthday greeting to famous author, C.S. Lewis!

Clive Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis) was born on November 29, 1898 in Ireland. He is best known for writing  The Screwtape LettersThe Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy.

According to C.S. Lewis' website, "His major contributions in literary criticism, children's literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year"

On November 22, 1963, C.S. Lewis passed away in England at the age of 64. Lewis' books have become plays and even feature length million dollar movies created by Disney.

 

Reading Order of the Series "Chronicles of Narnia:"
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle

For more information, please check out: http://www.cslewis.com
To read C.S. Lewis' many fictional titles, stop by the library or check out our website: www.little-dixie.lib.mo.us

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Happy Birthday Charles Schulz!

We'd like to send a special Happy Birthday message to "Peanuts" creator, Charles Schulz today. 

Charles was born on November 26, 1922, the son of Carl and Dena Halverson Schulz in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

He created the iconic comic strip "Peanuts" that we all know and love around 1950. According to a Schulz biography, "In 1950 the United Feature Syndicate of New York decided to publish Schulz's new comic strip, which he had wanted to call Li'l Folks but which was named Peanuts by the company. In 1950 the cartoon began appearing in seven newspapers with the characters Charlie Brown, Shermy, Patty, and Snoopy. Within a year the strip appeared in thirty-five papers, and by 1956 it was in over a hundred. The Peanuts cartoons were centered on the simple and touching figures of a boy, Charlie Brown, and his dog, Snoopy and their family and school friends. Adults were never seen, only hinted at, and the action involved ordinary, everyday happenings" 

Appearing in thousands of newspapers worldwide, Peanuts became a global phenomenon. Beyond the comic strip, characters from the strip have appeared on television, commercials, and merchandise. How many times have you watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" or  "A Charlie Brown Christmas?"

Sadly, Mr. Schulz passed away on February 12, 2000. 
There are a ton of websites and print material out there with great information on Charles Schulz and his comic strip, Peanuts. 
A few of them include:
Official "Peanuts" Website: http://peanuts.com
To see today's comic strip: http://comics.com/peanuts/
Official Charles Schulz website: http://www.schulzmuseum.org/

"Sparky: the Life and Art of Charles Schulz" by Beverly Gherman (2010) and "Good grief! : the story of Charles M. Schultz" by Rheta Johnson (1989)