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September 10, 2019
Book some time at the Bandera Library
By Michael Garr, Library Director
Special to the Prophet
Make time to give thought and prayers to the terrible sacrifice of the heroes and victims of 9/11.
The new season of Storytime is underway with Brittany Seaman returning as our enthusiastic volunteer coordinator. It meets every Tuesday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. with songs, stories, activities and crafts for preschoolers and younger homeschoolers. Parents are finding it a great networking experience for themselves, interacting with each other and sharing parenting tips and woes. Join us every Tuesday.
The Bandera Library also supports the 1,000 Book Foundation whose objectives include promoting reading to newborns, infants and toddlers. It encourages parent and child bonding through reading. Formal public education does not typically start until ages 5-6. The years from 0-5 are the early critical years to develop good reading habits. The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge is simple and manageable. See the library staff or Storytime Coordinator for the record sheets and earn a badge on the reading shamrock for every 100 books you and your child read. Really like a book? You can read it 1,000 times but perhaps you would prefer some variety. There are literally thousands of children’s books to borrow from the Bandera Library. It’s never too late to get started.
How about some books for adult readers? Elizabeth Ames has what is described by many reviewers as an addictive debut novel, “The Other’s Gold”. It is an insightful novel that opens on a college campus and follows the friendship of four women across life-defining turning points. Another book getting a lot of buzz is “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” by Christy Lefteri. The dustjacket says the following, "Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo-until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain”.
“The Ventriloquists” by E. R. Ramzipoor is an historical work that is inspired by true events. A ragtag gang of journalists and resistance fighters in 1943 Brussels risk everything for an elaborate scheme to undermine the German Reich. While pretending to do the Nazis' bidding, they will instead publish a fake edition of Le Soir that pokes fun at Hitler and Stalin--daring to laugh in the face of their oppressors. The ventriloquists have agreed to die for a joke, and they have only eighteen days to tell it.
Several good non-fiction books are also new arrivals. “Life 3.0-Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” is by Max Tegmark. The author asks, "How will Artificial Intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology”. Finally, to help support the 1,000 Book initiate, the library has added “How to Raise a Reader” by Pamela Paula and Maria Russo. It is a parent's guide to raising a lifelong reader, packed with practical ideas for engaging children of all ages in books, plus wonderful lists of books, arranged by age and subject matter, will keep readers' interests high from birth through teens.
Get busy as summer is over and the fall books are on their way. Read well and find new authors.
The new season of Storytime is underway with Brittany Seaman returning as our enthusiastic volunteer coordinator. It meets every Tuesday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. with songs, stories, activities and crafts for preschoolers and younger homeschoolers. Parents are finding it a great networking experience for themselves, interacting with each other and sharing parenting tips and woes. Join us every Tuesday.
The Bandera Library also supports the 1,000 Book Foundation whose objectives include promoting reading to newborns, infants and toddlers. It encourages parent and child bonding through reading. Formal public education does not typically start until ages 5-6. The years from 0-5 are the early critical years to develop good reading habits. The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge is simple and manageable. See the library staff or Storytime Coordinator for the record sheets and earn a badge on the reading shamrock for every 100 books you and your child read. Really like a book? You can read it 1,000 times but perhaps you would prefer some variety. There are literally thousands of children’s books to borrow from the Bandera Library. It’s never too late to get started.
How about some books for adult readers? Elizabeth Ames has what is described by many reviewers as an addictive debut novel, “The Other’s Gold”. It is an insightful novel that opens on a college campus and follows the friendship of four women across life-defining turning points. Another book getting a lot of buzz is “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” by Christy Lefteri. The dustjacket says the following, "Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo-until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain”.
“The Ventriloquists” by E. R. Ramzipoor is an historical work that is inspired by true events. A ragtag gang of journalists and resistance fighters in 1943 Brussels risk everything for an elaborate scheme to undermine the German Reich. While pretending to do the Nazis' bidding, they will instead publish a fake edition of Le Soir that pokes fun at Hitler and Stalin--daring to laugh in the face of their oppressors. The ventriloquists have agreed to die for a joke, and they have only eighteen days to tell it.
Several good non-fiction books are also new arrivals. “Life 3.0-Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” is by Max Tegmark. The author asks, "How will Artificial Intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology”. Finally, to help support the 1,000 Book initiate, the library has added “How to Raise a Reader” by Pamela Paula and Maria Russo. It is a parent's guide to raising a lifelong reader, packed with practical ideas for engaging children of all ages in books, plus wonderful lists of books, arranged by age and subject matter, will keep readers' interests high from birth through teens.
Get busy as summer is over and the fall books are on their way. Read well and find new authors.