Trend Alert!!!!

A 80s-early 90s trend I am seeing making a comeback has reached MPL...Converse neon shoelaces. They come in all kinds of bright colors and I am told you can get them at our local malls and shoe stores. Now I have seen kids wearing these patterned or neon-colored shoelaces before, sometimes with neon streaks in their hair to match. But what caught my attention is that each sneaker had a different neon color shoelace (pictured above). Is this a fairly recent trend? Don’t know, but thought it was worthy of my Trend Alert tidbit for the week.
Checking out Mrs. V.

How Nicky Flynn gets a life and a dog

The picture on the cover of this new book “How I, Nicky Flynn, finally get a life (and a dog) “grabbed my attention. . .a picture of a German Shepard’s face and nose is designed prominently on the cover as if the dog is about to give you a giant sloppy doggy kiss. I am glad I picked it out as one of my book reviews. The author, Art Corrivea, successfully conveys the thoughts and feelings of an angry 11-year-old boy struggling with changes in his life. The tone of voice Corrivea gives the character Nicky is “spot on” and believable. Forced to move from a plush suburban home and well-off lifestyle to inner-city Boston with his mother after his parents’ divorce, Nicky becomes an angry boy who treats his mother with disdain and internalizes his fears of attending a new school and a emotionally distant father. Corrivea’s premise to join Nicky with another abandoned and unwanted animal , a former guide dog named Reggie, his mother adopts reveals the vulnerability and strength underneath Nicky’s sarcastic bravado. Solving the mystery of why the former guide dog was placed in a dog pound becomes Nicky’s obsession. Nicky’s journey to cope with the changes in his life, the relationship with his mother and father, and the partnership and growing bond with his dog, make for a great read. However, I was not satisfied with the conclusion given regarding Reggie’s past life as a guide dog and the reasoning behind the decision to place him in a dog pound. Maybe you will feel differently. Anyway, it was really nice to get to know Nicky and learn more about the responsibilities of a guide dog.
Checking out,
Mrs. V.

Tweens get soaked at MPL

Hello Tweens,

Had a great time at the WaterWorld Games held July 16 at the Read House. Some of you were VERY persistent in getting me soaked with the water balloons and water guns. Next year I am going to make this event bigger and better. About 400 water balloons were depleted within 15 minutes. It was great fun! Below is an article I wrote about the day with pictures that I sent out to various newspapers. Hope it gets published. Some of the pictures will soon be placed on the library Facebook page. Stay cool like Mrs. V.

Tweens soak up the sun at library

MENTOR-Taking a defensive position while standing back to back upon the lawn strewn with balloon fragments, sisters Kristen and Kerri Halick were ready to soak the nearest boy in their vicinity. After depleting their supply of water balloons, each sister was equipped with a fully loaded water gun and they knew how to use them. Someone was going to get wet.
More than 30 tweens attended the Mentor Public Library WaterWorld Games July 16 held at the neighboring Read House. Hundreds of water balloons and water guns were used in an hour-long skirmish.
“It was really fun getting soaked in the hot sun,” Venkat Suru said.
Craig Vandemark also agreed the above 80-degree day made for perfect conditions to soak his opponents.
“It was really fun and I liked the water balloons,” he said.Suru and Vandemark had to constantly look over the backs for one sneaky challenger, Raghav Malik.
“I came here to soak everyone,” Malik said. “The water balloons were the best. They worked really well because water guns only do a little damage.”
By the end of the program, the Halick sisters were able to achieve their common goal.
“We came here to get very wet,” said Kristen.

Trend Alert!!!!

Hello Tweens,
Some of you already know this….but the Silly Bandz craze has hit Lake County. For the past three weeks I have seen a huge increase of kids coming into the Children’s Department with multiple rubber bands in different colors strung out along their forearms. Then to my surprise they take these rubber bands off and they immediately revert back into a shape.
According to my Google research efforts Silly Bandz is a brand of silicone rubber bands formed to make shapes of animals, objects and letters. They are worn as “tight, tight” bracelets by elementary, middle school and high school students. These “bracelets” come in different shapes, colors and themes and can be found in most drugstores.
Several kids that have come to visit me have worn their whole collection of Silly Bandz along their arms like sleeves. Apparently they are becoming collectible and many kids are trading with other kids for Silly Bandz they don’t have.
I had a conversation with MPL patrons and sisters Anna and Patricia Hadzinski about why they are riding this trend.
“I like them because there are different shapes and sizes and they are really COOL,” said Anna.
Patricia likes to trade some of her Silly Bandz to get “better ones.” One she will not give up is her elephant-shaped Silly Bandz. Anna’s favorites are her cowboy and horse Silly Bandz.
Silly Bandz was first sold online in November 2009 then gained in popularity in Alabama. They moved east that same year. As of April 2010, Silly Bandz sold the bracelets to 8,000 U.S. stores and now they are here gaining popularity.
Well, I see why you like them…let me know if you can find any Silly Bandz that are in the shape of a hamster. Fuzzy might like it.

Checking Out,
Mrs. V

A Little Mouse with a Big Heart

A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole
(written for children in grades 3 through 5)

A lonely little mouse living a dull life, weaving baskets within a musty hole, inside a 17th century New Orleans plantation begins an adventure of a lifetime. She meets the famous naturalist painter John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851), who is a guest of the plantation owner. From the shirt pocket of Audubon’s thirteen-year-old assistant Joseph Mason, Celeste watches as Audubon kills, paints, catalogues and describes the birds of North America.
The book cover advertises “A Nest for Celeste” as a story about art, inspiration and the meaning of home. However, I believe this story is about perseverance, friendship, and the importance of possessing a compassionate heart. For such a little creature, Celeste makes a big impact on her wildlife neighbors and humans alike.
There are several parallels to Celeste and Joseph’s stories: Celeste lost her family when the crops were harvested and Joseph, a lonely, young boy, leaves his family far behind for two years to travel the country with Audubon. His job is to learn how to paint the backdrops for Audubon’s pictures and learn a trade. After a house cat narrowly misses killing Celeste she finds a temporary home in Joseph’s boot; he later relocates her to his shirt pocket. From this pocket, Celeste witnesses Man’s impact on wildlife: shooting down hundreds of Passenger Pigeons, the killing of other fowl for Audubon’s pictures. Both Joseph and Celeste take these killings to heart and both try to influence Audubon’s methods of painting the perfect picture by suggesting alternatives that end up saving lives.
In one scene in the book, Joseph, drums up some courage and confronts Audubon on his methods. An Ivory-billed woodpecker was shot in the wing by Audubon two days before and dies of his wounds and a broken heart. Joseph is upset when Audubon asks him for pins to secure the woodpecker’s carcass onto a board.
“This doesn’t seem right…” said Joseph.
“What doesn’t,” said Audubon.
“I don’t know…the way we’re doing this, the paintings?” said Joseph. “You are looking to capture its life on paper, but by killing it first? By pinning it to a board? It was so majestic up in that enormous cypress tree…”
Audubon argues that there were plenty of woodpeckers where that one came from and questions Joseph on would he rather hold a live woodpecker while it pecked at his hand during the painting process.
“I am preserving their beauty forever. If I could paint their portraits as well another way I would.” Audubon states.
Joseph leaves the room thinking about his lonely moments since he left his family and wonders if all the other woodpeckers were killed off but one, how lonely would that one woodpecker be flying along the river valley “on an endless and futile search up and down the valley, looking to find another ivory-billed woodpecker?”

Read this thought-provoking book full of many wildlife characters captured within the author’s quaint illustrations and find out how Joseph and Celeste face the challenges of being alone in the world and how their friendship brings love, courage, freedom and...the wonder of “how love can start with something as simple as the gift of a peanut.”
Checking Out,
Mrs. V

Pretty little liars and their dirty little secrets

I must say I am totally in love with Pretty Little Liars right now. Okay, so I haven’t even finished the first one yet, but I can tell already I’m completely hooked. By the way it starts, with an omniscient voice saying how this perfect setting she’s describing isn’t really so perfect, it kind of reminds me of Desperate Housewives—for teens. And I should warn you this is definitely for the older teen crowd, what with the mature situations, mild drug use, and sexual situations. But it’s the mystery that keeps this so addicting. In seventh grade, five girls are best friends and the most popular in their upper class private school. Then one of the girls--the girl who knows every dirty little secret about the other four—goes missing. Flash forward to 11th grade and the four remaining friends have grown apart. Then they start getting messages from someone reminding them of all their secrets. Who could it be? What should they do? Which designer bag should they buy next? Each question more revealing than the next (except maybe that last one). It’s Beverly Hills 90210 in book form, with a mysterious twist (I’m referring to the original 90210, I must admit I have not seen the remake). Oh! And there’s a show coming out! Check out a copy before you’re the last girl who doesn’t know what’s going on!
~Amanda D.

Puppy to arrive at Mrs. V's house

At the end of May, my family will be picking up an 8-week-old, male, yellow, Labrador Retriever in the Pilot Dog program in Columbus. My 17-year-old son signed on to be a puppy raiser for a school community service project. The dog will eventually, at 1 year or 14 months old, be turned over to Pilot Dogs so the dog can get more formal training to become a guide dog for the blind.
It has been two years since we last had a dog in the house, so the family is very excited about hearing the patter of little paws in the house again. This is a huge responsibility for my son. He needs to take the puppy to an obedience course when the puppy is 4 to 5 months old. The puppy also needs to socialize with animals, people and be exposed to traffic conditions and other environments.

Once the dog is returned to Pilot Dogs, it begins formal training with professional trainers/instructors. This training typically lasts about five months. As the dogs advance, the training schedules are changed so that the dogs begin training in the streets of Columbus where they learn how to navigate buses, revolving doors, escalators, elevators, and all other conditions the blind may encounter once returned home with their pilot dogs.

The blind student and their dog train together for four weeks and learn to navigate their way through the largest department stores, on and off buses, and across the busiest thoroughfares by themselves.

My son will receive a picture of the dog and his new owner when the dog has graduated from the program. We know that letting go of our new puppy within a year will be very hard, but we are expecting a great experience and many stories to tell. Will keep you updated on the puppy’s progress and any advice on how to raise a puppy is welcome.

Meanwhile, check out our link (just click on the picture) to all the wonderful books we have in our collection regarding guide dogs. I recommend reading Gertrude Chandler Warners’ fiction book “The Guide Dog Mystery”; Stephanie Calmenson’s picture book “May I pet your dog?: the how-to guide for kids meeting dogs (and dogs meeting kids)”; and Glenna Lang’s picture book “Looking Out for Sarah.”

Checking Out,
Mrs. V