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Find a listing of the latest arrivals of books, audio and video items at the Wauwatosa Library, as well as information on upcoming events and staff suggestions for timely information you can use every day on the library’s blog.
March 2008 - Posts
By Wauwatosa Public Library
Monday, Mar 3 2008, 11:03 AM
"Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today."
Herman Wouk, U.S. dramatist and historical novelist, b. 1915  On Feb. 3, 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified making income tax a permanent part of the U.S. economy and our lives. As yet another tax season has us in its grip, a brief look at the events leading up to the fateful 16th Amendment might be of interest.
Under the Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781, the government had few responsibilities and no nationwide tax system. The country depended primarily on donations from the states for revenue and the states imposed taxes as
they pleased.
When the Constitution was adopted in 1789, the federal government was granted the authority to collect taxes. To help pay the debts of the Revolutionary War, Congress levied excise taxes on such things as alcohol, refined sugar, tobacco and snuff, carriages, property sold at auction and various legal documents.
In the late 1790’s, the government imposed the first direct tax (a recurring tax paid directly by the taxpayer based on the value of the item taxed) on property and slave owners. When elected, Thomas Jefferson abolished direct taxes and the country relied again on revenue generated by various excise taxes.
To raise money to fund the War of 1812, Congress imposed additional excise taxes, raised customs duties and issued Treasury notes. In 1817, these taxes were again repealed and for 44 years the government collected no internal revenue, relying on customs duties and the sale of public lands to provide sufficient funds for running the government.
When the Civil War broke out, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861, which reinstated certain excise taxes and, for the first time, imposed a tax on personal income-3% on incomes higher than $800 a year. This tax on personal income was a new direction for the government’s tax system, relying mainly on excise taxes and customs duties. Due to increased war debt, the Union passed the Act of 1862 which imposed new excise taxes on items such as playing cards, gunpowder, feathers, telegrams, iron, leather, pianos, yachts, billiard tables, drugs, patent medicines and whiskey and also reformed and expanded the income tax system. After the war, the need for revenue declined and income taxes were eliminated in 1872 and, once again, the government relied primarily on taxes on tobacco and alcohol for revenue.
In 1894 Congress enacted a flat rate income tax which was found unconstitutional the next year because the Constitution allowed Congress to impose direct taxes only if they were levied in proportion to each state’s population. Becoming increasingly aware that high tariffs and excise taxes were not a sufficient source of revenue to run the government, Congress ratified the 16th Amendment in 1913, which allowed the government to tax the income of individuals without regard to the population of each state.
Tax rates have gone up and down and tax regulations have changed many times over the years due to the economic needs of the government. Even the date for filing has changed. April 15th has not always been the filing deadline. March 1st was the date chosen by Congress in 1913 after the passage of the 16th Amendment. In 1918, Congress moved the date forward to March 15th where it remained until 1954 when it was again moved forward to April 15th.
April 15th is fast approaching. The Wauwatosa Library has many of the state and federal tax forms and instructions in the Adult Library for your convenience and reproducible forms, instructions and publications are available at the Adult Information Desk. The AARP is providing tax assistance to senior citizens in the Wauwatosa Civic Center on Tuesdays until April 15th. Call the Adult Reference Desk to make an appointment.
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By Wauwatosa Public Library
Monday, Mar 3 2008, 11:02 AM
 Anita and Arnold Lobel have written and/or illustrated almost 150 children’s books between the two of them. Arnold Lobel, who died in 1987, is best remembered for his charming Frog and Toad books, one of which received a Caldecott Medal Honor and another a Newbery Medal Honor. These early readers were the first of a variety of whimsical, fun-to-read books written by Lobel, followed by Mouse Soup, Owl at Home and Uncle Elephant. In 1981, he won the Caldecott Award for Fables, a book of one page tongue-in-cheek fables. He and his wife collaborated on four books, including On Market Street. This richly patterned alphabet book received several prizes and was designated a Caldecott Medal Honor book.
Anita Lobel’s opulently illustrated picture books have been praised for their originality and inventiveness. Animal Antics: A to Z, Pierrot’s ABC and Alison’s Zinnia show sumptuous landscapes, colorful flowers and cute animals. Anita Lobel’s autobiography, titled No Pretty Pictures, surprised critics and readers. In sharp contrast to her colorful picture books, this memoir of her Jewish childhood during World War II in Poland has no pretty pictures. It has a few black and white family photos and a reproduction of a religious picture given to her by her Catholic nanny, Niania.
The Lobel’s daughter, Adrianne Lobel, developed a family musical based on her father’s books: Frog and Toad are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, Frog and Toad All Year and Days With Frog and Toad. “A Year with Frog and Toad – the musical” was nominated for a Tony Award for best musical in 2003. Andrianne Lobel’s husband, Mark Linn-Baker, played the cantankerous toad in the Broadway show, making this musical truly a family production. First Stage Children’s Theater of Milwaukee will present “A Year With Frog and Toad – the musical” in April.
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By Wauwatosa Public Library
Monday, Mar 3 2008, 11:02 AM
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Books
Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr
Dakota: a Novel by Martha Grimes
Death in the Pot: the Impact of Food Poisoning on History by Morton Satin
Eat This, Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-
or More! by David Zinczenko
Freedom for the Thought We Hate: a Biography of the First Amendment by Anthony Lewis
Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies by Eric Corey Freed
Killing Ground by Jack Higgins
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit, and the Era of Predatory Lenders by James Scurlock
What Happy Women Know: How New Findings in Positive Psychology Can Change Women’s Lives
for the Better by Dan Baker
Audiobooks
Appeal by John Grisham
Car Talk: Classics, Four Perfectly Good Hours by Tim and Ray Magliozzi
Duma Key by Stephen King
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small-Town America by William Geist
DVDs
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Festival Shorts Collection
Invasion
Queen Rock Montreal
30 Rock. Season 1
Music on CD
Bellini: Capuleti e Montecchi/Vincenzo Bellini
Calling/Mary-Chapin Carpenter
Dim Sum/Ying Quartet
Frank/Amy Winehouse
Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Highlights from the Motion Picture
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By Wauwatosa Public Library
Monday, Mar 3 2008, 11:01 AM
THE NEWBERY MEDAL
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
The 2008 Newbery Medal Winner 
GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!: VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
by Laura Amy Schlitz
THE CALDECOTT MEDAL
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
The 2008 Caldecott Medal Winner
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick
THE CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD
The Coretta Scott King Award is presented annually by the Coretta Scott King Task Force of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibilities Round Table. Recipients are authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the “American Dream.”
2008 King Author Award
ELIJAH OF BUXTON by Christopher Paul Curtis
2008 King Illustrator Award
LET IT SHINE: THREE FAVORITE SPIRITUALS by Ashley Bryan
THE ROBERT F. SIBERT INFORMATIONAL BOOK AWARD
Awarded to the best informational book
2008 Sibert Winner
THE WALL: GROWING UP BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN by Peter Sis
THE MILDRED L. BATCHELDER AWARD
Awarded to the publisher of best book in translation
2008 Batchelder Winner
BRAVE STORY by Miyuki Miyabe
THE PURA BELPRE AWARD
Honors Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in a children’s book. (Awarded every two years)
2008 Belpre Author Award THE POET SLAVE OF CUBA: A BIOGRAPHY OF JUAN FRANCISCO MANZANO by Margarita Engel
2008 Belpre Illustrator Award
LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN by Marisa Montes; illus by Yuyi Morales
THE THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL AWARD
Awarded to the most distinguished beginning reader book.
2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
THERE IS A BIRD ON YOUR HEAD by Mo Willems
THE SCHNEIDER FAMAILY BOOK AWARD
Awarded for best artistic expression of a disability
2008 Picture Book Award
KAMI AND THE YAKS by Andrea Stenn Stryer; illus by Bert Dodson
2008 Middle School Award
REACHING FOR SUN by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
2008 Teen Award
HURT GO HAPPY by Ginny Rorby
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