Check It Out

Knitting is very popular right now and our collection of pattern books is ever growing. But, knitting on a hot beach is not very appealing, so we have compiled a list of books for you to take along to your favorite reading spot this summer.

Books that feature comradery, knitting as group therapy, or just have knitting shops as the setting:

Debbie Macomber’s Blossom Street series revolves around the friendships formed in Lydia Goetz’s knitting classes. The titles are: The Shop on Blossom Street, A Good Yarn and Back on Blossom Street. Check out her website at www.debbie.macomber.com for free patterns, contests and reader’s guides.
Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. www.katejacobsbooks.com
Knitting Under the Influence by Claire Lazebnik. www.clairelazebnik.com
Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. www.annhood.us/books
Chicks with Sticks: Knit Two Together and Chicks with Sticks: It’s a Purl Thing by Elizabeth Lenhard. These two books are geared toward teenage knitters. www.elizabethlenhard.com

Two mystery series have knitting as their backdrops:
Knit One, Kill Two, Needled to Death, A Deadly Yarn and A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton. www.maggiesefton.com
Died in the Wool and Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger.

Two of these authors will be in the area for book signings this summer. Debbie Macomber will be at Waldenbooks in Southridge Mall from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22nd and Maggie Sefton will be at Barnes & Noble in Mayfair Mall Thursday, June 21st at 7 p.m.

Laura Fitzgerald will read from and sign copies of Veil of Roses in the Firefly Room of the Wauwatosa Public Library, 7635 West North Avenue, on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

Veil of Roses is Ms. Fitzgerald’s first published novel. It is the much praised story about freedom in both its large and small forms, and it’s about choices and courage. Tamila’s parents send her to America to “wake up her luck” and find a husband during a three month visa. Tami arrives in Tucson to live with her older sister, Maryam. Tami understands the responsibilities, expectations and duty of what it means to be an Iranian daughter. She knows she must marry an Iranian, but the would-be husbands turn out to be a neurotic germaphobe and a control freak. Instead, Tami drinks in the freedoms of an American girl and meets Ike. She discovers not only an enticing new country but the roots of her own independence. Tami and Maryam have different memories of the earlier years in Iran and the family’s previous time in America. Eventually the sisters share their knowledge and fears so Tami can finally understand what she was too young to know. The author has written a novel filled with despair, love, passion, discovery and hope. Come and meet her.

Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective who never lived. This fictional character is so vividly charming, realistically quirky and highly intelligent, that readers want to believe that he really existed.

Sherlock Holmes was invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, first appearing in A Study in Scarlet in 1887. Doyle was a true Renaissance man who received his Doctorate of Medicine from Edinburgh University, studied Ophthalmology in Austria, worked as a doctor aboard a whaling ship, and traveled to West Africa. He was knighted for his work during the Boer War in South Africa at the turn of the century.

Sherlock Holmes’ character combines traits of Doyle himself and Dr. Joseph Bell, a professor at Edinburgh, who pioneered the skills of forensic medicine before it was a science and who astounded his students with his powers of observation and deductive reasoning. The fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, used modern day crime scene techniques before they were common police procedure.

Compare your detection skills with Sherlock Holmes, practice the science of Forensics, and find good mysteries at the Wauwatosa Children’s Library. Our theme this summer is “Get a Clue @ your Library.” Summer schedules are now available; and the reading and listening cards will be available starting in June.

Jugglers have been entertaining people for thousands of years. Two popular children’s authors have written books based on the seven-hundred-year-old French manuscript describing the legend of the little juggler of Notre Dame. Barbara Cooney’s book, The Little Juggler, takes place in France and Tomie dePaola’s book, The Clown of God, is set in Italy.

The art of juggling goes back to at least ancient Egyptian times. The earliest known picture of toss juggling was painted on the walls of an ancient Egyptian tomb about 4,000 years ago. The Chinese Book of Lie Zi, written between 475-221 B.C., described a warrior juggling seven swords. Tailefer, a Norman juggler, juggled his sword at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Even though juggling fell out of favor in Europe during the Middle Ages, it remained popular around the rest of the world, most notably India, Mexico, Tonga, China, and Japan.

The current popularity of juggling in the United States can be traced to the 1980s, when it spread here from Europe. View an outstanding juggling show in the Wauwatosa Civic Center Auditorium on Monday, June 18, 2007 at 10:00-10:45 or 1:30-2:15. The Truly Remarkable Loon will juggle clubs, balls, sporting equipment, giant beanbags and even his pet mongoose. His grand finale is plate spinning. Families with children 3-years-old and older are welcome. For more information, please contact the Wauwatosa Public Library, Children’s Department at 414-471-8486.

Summer solstice is June 21st when the sun is at its northernmost point. It is the longest day and the shortest night of the year and, on modern calendars, marks the first day of summer. It is also called midsummer because according to European folk tradition, summer begins on May Day and ends on August 1st, so the solstice falls in mid-summer.

Midsummer holidays and celebrations, except for St. John’s Day, are secular in origin and are important in Northern Europe (particularly Finland and Sweden) and Great Britain. Midsummer’s Eve folklore goes back before medieval times. Fairy magic was particularly powerful on Midsummer’s Eve and young people looked for clues about the identity of future lovers.

Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is set on this special night, following the adventures of four Athenian lovers, a group of actors and a cast of fairies in the moonlit forest. This delightful romantic comedy, written in the 1590’s, has been the inspiration for a number of musical compositions, literary works and films. The following are just a few titles you can find at the library.

Novels
Magic Street by Orson Scott Card
Mack Street discovers a gateway to an extraordinary fantasy world using A Midsummer Night’s Dream as his guide in this urban fantasy set in an African American neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist
This chilling tale set in the deep woods of upstate New York contains many references to the mythical characters in Shakespeare’s play.

Music
Midsummer Night’s Dream Suite, Op. 61 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Incidental music for the play.
Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten
Opera in 3 acts.
Il Sogno by Elvis Costello
Music from his ballet based on the play.

Movies
Get Over It
Teen adaptation of the play set in high school starring Kirsten Dunst.

Midsummer Night’s Dream
Set in Tuscany in the late 19th century, this film was written and directed by Michael Hoffman and stars Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline.

Whether Morocco (916.4), Malta (914.585) or even Minnesota (917.76) is your destination this summer, the library has books that will steer you to their hottest attractions. Type: “(your country, city or state) guidebooks” in the Keyword field when searching the catalog to find the call # for the latest Fodor’s, Lonely Planet or your favorite guide. Ask the Circulation staff for a vacation checkout so you can have it for six weeks. Every year the library orders travel information from each state’s Department of Tourism. These travel guides and maps are filed in the Pamphlet File in the Adult Library and can be checked out for one week.

Vacationing a little closer to home? The library has a large display of travel brochures for Wisconsin counties, towns and other special places that are free for the taking. And, while you are on the road, have the whole family listen to an audio book on CD or cassette (a 6 week vacation checkout is possible). Don’t limit yourself to just one. Take a selection, so that your crew can vote on what to listen to. It’s a great way to bond during a sometimes boring car ride. If you are just going for a weekend, take along some DVDs (3 day checkout) for the kids to watch in the backseat of the minivan so you can listen to what you want to in the front seat or maybe even (gasp!), have a real conversation with your partner.