Check It Out

Summer Sunflowers

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:25:00 GMT

A popular choice for summer gardens is the sunflower (Helianthus Annuus). It’s easy to grow and the large flower with its distinctive rows of seeds is both beautiful and useful. Did you know that people have been growing sunflowers for over 5,000 years? Some archaeologists believe that the sunflower may have been domesticated even before corn.

Sunflowers were grown by Central American cultures in Mexico and Native Americans around the Mississippi valley. Spanish explorers took the exotic plant back to Europe sometime around 1500, where it became popular as an ornamental plant. Developing sunflowers as a commercial crop for oil and seeds began in Russia in the 1800s. By the 1900s, sunflowers had come back home to the United States and they were a lot bigger than they were when they left!

Native sunflowers have many small flowers and are considered a weed in some states. What most people think of as a sunflower today is mostly the result of breeding for seeds and oil. The cheerful face of a blooming sunflower has an undeniable appeal, as you can see on calendars, coffee mugs and in summer gardens everywhere. If you’d like to learn more, a great book on the history of sunflowers is Sunflowers: the unauthorized biography of the world’s most beloved weed by Joe Pappalardo.

New Releases-Some Titles to Tempt You

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:23:00 GMT

  Books

America America by Ethan Canin

Cheeses of Wisconsin: a Culinary Travel Guide by Jeanette Hurt

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Freewheelin’ Time: a Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties by Suze Rotolo

My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekov to Munro

O, the Oprah Magazine Cookbook: 175 Delicious Recipes to Savor with Friends & Family

Physics of NASCAR: How to Make Steel + Gas + Rubber = Speed by Diandra Leslie-Pelecky

Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan

Uniquely Felt: Dozens of Techniques from Fulling and Shaping to Nuno and Cobweb by Christine White

We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved
by Fay Vincent

Audiobooks on CD

Death and Honor by W.E.B. Griffin

Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell

One Minute to Midnight by Michael Dobbs

Other by David Guterson

Rogue by Danielle Steel

Music on CD

Bring Back the Funk/Brian Culbertson

Grammy Nominees 2008

South Pacific: the New Broadway Cast Recording

Violin Concertos/Schoenberg, Sibelius/performed by Hilary Hahn
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends/Coldplay

DVDs

Jumper

Persepolis

Puccini Gold

Semi-pro

Walk Slim. Fast & Firm: 4 Really Big Miles

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:13:00 GMT

Two books by Jenni Bidner, Is My Dog a Wolf?: How Your Pet Compares to Its Wild Cousin and Is my Cat a Tiger?: How Your Pet Compares to Its Wild Cousins, explore the differences between dogs or cats and their relatives in the wild. Bidner writes that the way to understand our pets is to study their wild counterparts in nature.

In children’s literature, the biggest difference between a dog and a wolf is that the dog is usually portrayed as helpful and protective whereas a wolf is dangerous, even deadly. Lassie and Old Yeller gave their lives for their humans in contrast to the wolves in Little Red Riding Hood and White Fang, who viewed the humans as food.

Cats, lions and tigers have a more mixed reputation in children’s books. It is not unusual to have cat characters that are naughty or even downright dangerous such as the menacing feline in The Improbable Cat by Allen Ahlberg. Interestingly, lions are sometimes portrayed as sympathetic towards man even in ancient times; for example, the story of Androcles and the Lion. Tiger, Tiger by Lynne Reid Banks is a newer novel that shows a friendship between a Roman slave and a tiger.

Bidner writes that it is much easier to train a dog than a cat, although it is possible to train a cat to do tricks as long as you reward it with food. Dogs are easier to train because they are pack animals. In fact, a dog needs training in order to become a well-behaved member of a household. The Milwaukee Dog Training Club will present two programs with real dogs in the Firefly Room at the Wauwatosa Public Library on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 10:00-10:45 and 1:30-2:15pm. This program is for students in Kindergarten through 8th grades, no registration required. For more information, please call the Children’s Library: 414-471-8486.

Supporting Your Child's Literacy Development

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:13:00 GMT

Try reading this.
"The mixing between qq̄ meson and qq̄qq̄ tetra-quark states is examined within an effective QCD Coulomb gauge Hamiltonian model. Mixing matrix elements of the Hamiltonian are computed and then diagonalized yielding an improved prediction for the low-lying..."

(For those of you who would like to read more, the article is in the European Physical Journal

C-Particles & Fields , Nov. 2008, Vol 55, Issue 3, p409-415, 7p.)

Now imagine somebody saying “look up the words you don’t understand”, or “why can’t you get it?" This demonstrates what many of us do to our children everyday. We hand them reading material on a level we think they should be or material we want them to have interest in because it is classic or recommended.

In order to instill the love of literacy here are a few things to remember.
·         Help children find material at their reading level that they have a strong interest in.
·         Support their literacy development and love of reading through a print rich environment in the home. An easy and inexpensive way of accomplishing this is not to limit the material they would like to check out. This will offer choices when beginning a book and finding it isn’t what they thought it would be. It also enables them to have books in the home, in the car or packed up for vacation. Leaving them with no alternatives means boring reading, frustration, and losing out on the gains that could have been made as they wait for the next visit to the library.
·         Being involved in literacy-related events at the library will surround them with other children that are reading and have families where literacy is a priority. Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid are examples that have shown us that children talking about books sell well to other children. Being in the library environment and listening to the excitement of a child talking about a certain book or series is enough to make another child wander over.
·         Don’t forget yourself! Role modeling is one of the most important factors in instilling the love of literacy in our children. They need to see you reading for pleasure and fun too.
·         Have Fun!

Recent Additions: Some Titles to Tempt You

Wauwatosa Public Library — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:49:00 GMT

Books

Change Up: An Oral History of 8 Key Events that Shaped Modern Baseball/Larry Burke

Complete Compost Gardening Guide: Banner Batches, Grow Heaps, Comforter Compost, and Other Amazing Techniques for Saving Time and Money, and Producing the Most Flavorful, Nutritious Vegetables Ever/Barbara Pleasant

David Mamet: A Life in the Theatre/Ira Nadel

Enchantress of Florence/Salman Rushdie

Front/Patricia Cornwell

Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What it Means to Be an Educated Human Being/Richard M. Gamble, ed.

Medical Myths That Can Kill You: And the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life/Nancy Snyderman

Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube & the Future of American Politics/Morley Winograd

Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work/Carol Kinsey Goman

When You Are Engulfed in Flames/David Sedaris

Yum-O!: The Family Cookbook/Rachael Ray

Books on CD

Deportees and Other Stories/Roddy Doyle

Dreamers of the Day/Mary Doria Russell

Fighting 69th: One Remarkable National Guard Unit's Journey From Ground Zero to Baghdad/Sean Michael Flynn

Lady Killer/Lisa Scottoline

Wild Nights: Stories About the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway/Joyce Carol Oates

Music on CD

Day Trip/Pat Matheny

Rain/Joe Jackson

Still/BoDeans

Twilight World/Marian McPartland

What Doesn't Kill Us/What Made Milwaukee Famous

DVDs

Country Matters

Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Complete Sixth Season

Jane Austin Book Club

Shoot 'Em Up

1968 With Tom Brokaw

Catch the Reading Bug

Wauwatosa Public Library — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:49:00 GMT

Most people associate the name, “Wauwatosa” with firefly, perhaps due to the line, “Saw the fire-fly, Wah-wah-taysee, Flitting through the dusk of evening,” from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, Song of Hiawatha. The name fits our city, for twinkling fireflies are a common sight near the Menomonee River or the Honey Creek on warm summer nights.

Fireflies are one of the few land creatures that can make their own light, produced by a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. This cool light elevates the firefly from a rather ugly beetle to an insect of legend and lore. They are found throughout the world where the climate is wet with warm, humid summers.The early Spanish explorers reported that the Native Americans used caged fireflies to light their homes or tied the large, flashing bugs to their heads as guide lights. Japanese school children liberate thousands of the caged insects on the Emperor’s birthday, perhaps because one legend explains that fireflies are the ghosts of brave warriors who died protecting Japan. Some Italians believe that these glowing insects are the spirits of departed ancestors. A Persian botanist from the 14th Century wrote a cure for earache that includes ground fireflies.

This summer, fireflies and a great number of other insects will be visible in the Children’s Library. “Catch the Reading Bug!” begins with Kick-Off Day on Monday, June 16, 2008. Dr. Bob Kann, Storyteller/Magician/Juggler/Author, will present the program of “Go Buggy: Read! It’s Magic!” at 10:00-10:45 am, repeated at 1:30-2:15 pm in the Civic Center Auditorium. This free program is suitable for families with children 3-years-old and older. For more information: 414-471-8486.

Prom Season-The Rites of Spring

Wauwatosa Public Library — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:17:00 GMT

Spring gardens aren’t the only places you find bright colors in May; it’s prom season at high schools across the country. As one of the first formal events in the life of a teenager, the high school prom is considered a vital rite of passage to becoming an adult. Proms today can be lavish, elaborate events that involve limos, hotel ballrooms and dresses worthy of any red carpet.

However, they didn’t start out that way. High school prom (short for promenade, meaning a march of the guests at the beginning of a ball or other formal event) became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 40s. At the beginning, a prom was a simple affair; students would wear their Sunday best for tea, socializing and dancing. In the 1950s, automobiles and fancy prom dresses became much more important, as did the social status of the members of the prom court. Prom night became a significant picture taking event as well, similar to a graduation or a wedding, marking an important step in a young person’s life.

Although some of the social rules about proms have changed, for instance, groups of teens will sometimes go together instead of the traditional boy-asks-girl arrangement; prom remains a major event in the social life of high school students. It can also be a major expense. The average prom couple can spend close to a thousand dollars for a dress/tux, dinner, flowers, hair and nails, limo (a stretch Hummer has become a favorite!), tickets, and after-prom parties. The hot fashion tips for 2008? Traditional tuxes for the guys, with vest and tie matching their dates’ dress. For the ladies, bold colors or metallics, beading or sequin detailing and beaded corsage wristlets that double as bracelets after the prom.

Prom 2008 at Wauwatosa East and West is coming up May 17^th. Watch for the stretch Hummers!

New Releases-Some Titles to Tempt You

Wauwatosa Public Library — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:52:00 GMT

Books

AARP Crash Course in Estate Planning: the Essential Guide to Wills, Trusts, and Your Personal
Legacy by Michael Palermo

Bobby Flay's Grill It by Bobby Flay

Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs

Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects by Jo Lauria

Quicksand by Iris Johansen

Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations that Make Your Garden Look
Fantastic Right From the Start by C. Colston Burrell

Physics of the Impossible: the Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields,
Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku

Runner's World Guide to Road Racing: Run Your First (or Fastest) 5-K, 10-K, Half-Marathon,
or Marathon by Katie McDonald Neitz

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

What Moves at the Margin: Selected Nonfiction by Toni Morrison

Audiobooks on CD

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Last Lecture by R. Pausch

Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

Santa Fe Dead by Stuart Woods

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

DVDs

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Doctor Who: the Complete Second Series

Enchanted

Juno

There Will Be Blood

Music on CD

Terry Riley: the Cusp of Magic/Kronos Quartet and Wu Man

Juno: Music From the Motion Picture

Moment of Forever/Willie Nelson

Standards & Ballads/Wynton Marsalis

Watershed/k.d. lang

Books on MP3 CD? What Are They??

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:30:04 GMT

Audio books on CD are now common in the library; in fact, we no longer purchase books on tape. But you may recently have noticed a new format for audio books – MP3 CDs.

The MP3 CD format has some advantages for audio books, most importantly the fact that a book that requires up to 20 regular CDs will fit on just one or two MP3 CDs. The cost is also considerably lower.

Will you be able to play this new format on your existing players? Many CD players sold in the past few years, even boom-box style ones, can play them and many new cars are coming with MP3 CD-capable CD players installed as standard equipment. In addition, almost any DVD player sold in the last few years will play them with no problem.

The library has just under 100 of these on the shelves now, with titles ranging from recent fiction to literary classics, to current non-fiction. Here’s a sampling:

The 47^th Samurai by Stephen Hunter

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

The Boys of Everest by Clint Willis

Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack by Charles Osgood

Emma by Jane Austen

Good Rat by Jimmy Breslin

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

No Simple Victory by Norman Davies

Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott

Swim Against the Current by Jim Hightower

You can spot them by the bright red spine label with white lettering that says, “MP3 CD Your CD player must be able to play the MP3 format.” We hope that you’ll give them a try.

April Fools' Day

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:29:00 GMT

April Fool n. The March fool with another month added to his folly.
The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

Hopefully, you were lucky enough to survive April Fools’ Day without mishap or humiliation. If you were one of the unlucky victims of an April Fools’ prank, you might be wondering how, where and why this tradition started. Well, in short, no one really knows. There have been many explanations for the holiday’s origin (some have been hoaxes themselves!) Its origins are probably related to the turn of the seasons and the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.

Some ancient cultures celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1st (closely following the vernal equinox). In the Middle Ages, much of Europe celebrated the beginning of the new year on March 25th, the Feast of Annunciation.

In 1582, the Gregorian Calendar replaced the old Julian Calendar making New Year’s Day January 1^st. France was one of the first countries to adopt the new calendar and make January 1^st officially New Year’s Day. Those people who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1^st, either because they weren’t aware of the change or didn’t wish to acknowledge it, were often subject to ridicule, sent gag presents or tricked into believing something false. This tradition of foolery spread throughout Europe and beyond. The French call the April Fool, Poisson d’Avril or April Fish (in April, the sun leaves the zodiac sign of the fish). Traditionally, the French celebrated April 1^st by placing dead fish on people’s backs. Today, paper fish have replaced real fish and fish shaped candy and bakery are popular treats.

Many cultures throughout time have had days of foolishness in the spring around the beginning of April. Whatever the origin of April Fools’ Day, people the world over feel lighthearted in the spring and like to have a little fun (often at someone else’s expense). So, if you were the victim of a nasty prank on April Fools’ Day this year, just remember, in another time and place, it could have been worse, you could have had a dead fish slapped on your back!

Spring Leadership Luncheon

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:26:00 GMT

The Wauwatosa Public Library Foundation cordially invites you to the Spring Leadership Luncheon Thursday, April 17, 2008 at the Zoofari Conference Center, 9715 Bluemound Road. The luncheon will be from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. (registration will begin at 11:30 a.m.) and will include a program featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Bob Gleeson, M.D., the presentation of the Arthur B. Kohasky Leadership Award and Leadership Awards to area high school students.

Dr. Bob Gleeson, M.D. is one of Milwaukee’s foremost specialists in internal medicine. As Medical Director of Northwestern Mutual and President and Chief Medical Director of Health Now, he has dedicated his life to studying the habits of healthy people. In his book, What Healthy People Know: and the 7 Things They Do to Stay Healthy and Live Long, Dr. Gleeson presents the science behind the daily choices that healthy people make to promote good health. He uses solid research to tell us how to lower our risk of chronic disease and enhance our quality of life, which will, in turn, substantially reduce health care costs and disability rates. A frequent writer and lecturer on wellness, chronic illness and epidemic disease, Dr. Gleeson is working on a second book, tentatively titled, Your New Life, Longer than You Thought.

       The Arthur B. Kohasky Leadership Award will be presented to Dr. and Mrs. Craig Larson. Craig and Ann Larson have been dedicated Wauwatosa volunteers for two generations. While their children were young, both were active in the Washington School PTA. Craig served on the Wauwatosa School board for 25 years and was a member of the Underground Traveling Medicine Show, a group of doctors who provided emergency care during stadium and Summerfest concerts. Ann was a devoted supporter and tireless fundraiser for the Wauwatosa East Marching Band, Orchestra and Theater Department. She has also been an active volunteer for the Medical Society Balls, raising funds for scholarships, in the Washington Highlands Homeowners Association and has served as an election judge at Wauwatosa’s polls for years.

Also on the program, will be the presentation of Leadership Awards to high school students from DSHA High School, Marquette University High School, Pius XI High School, Wauwatosa East High School, Wauwatosa West High School and Wisconsin Lutheran High School.

Get your ticket today! Tickets cost $35.00 and are available at the Library Information Desk. Corporate sponsorships are available. All proceeds will benefit the Wauwatosa Public Library Foundation. Call the Information Desk at 471-8485 for additional information.

Recent Additions-Some Titles to Tempt You

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:26:00 GMT

Books

Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife by Marianne Williamson
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Films of Sergio Leone by Robert C. Cumbow
How Your House Works: a Visual Guide to Understanding & Maintaining Your Home by Charles Wing
Knitter’s Book of Yarn: the Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn by Clara Parkes
Me, MySpace, and I: Parenting the Net Generation by Larry D. Rosen
Predictably Irrational: the Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
7^th Heaven by James Patterson
Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of
     Everyday Life by Sandra Aamodt
Where Does the Money Go?: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis by Scott Bittle

Audiobooks

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Logic of Life: the Hidden Economics of Everything by Tim Harford
Lush Life by Richard Price
Panama Fever: the Epic History of One of the Greatest Engineering Triumphs of All Time-the Building of the
     Panama Canal by Matthew Parker
Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer

DVDs

Beowulf
In the Shadow of the Moon: Remember When the Whole World Looked Up
Into the Wild
Moliere
No Reservations

Music on CD

Bach/Canadian Brass
In Rainbows/Radiohead
Long Road Out of Eden/Eagles
My Foolish Heart/Keith Jarrett
Once: Music from the Motion Picture

New Children's Books

Wauwatosa Public Library — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:25:21 GMT

More than 5,000 new books for children are published every year. How do you know which ones are the good ones? The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is a network of more than 4,000 children’s librarians, children’s literature experts and other adults committed to improving library service to children and their families. In addition to choosing the recipients of some of the most prestigious awards for children’s books in the English language, the ALSC publishes the ALA Notable Books for Children List or the best of the best in new children’s books. The Notable Children’s Books List includes a summary of each book and notes major ALA awards the book has won. It is divided into four categories: Younger Readers, Middle Readers, Older Readers, and All Ages. Lightship by Brian Floca, a notable in the Younger Readers category, is also a 2008 Sibert Honor Book. This book’s spare prose and marvelously detailed pictures make this book a good choice for a very young reader looking for nonfiction. Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!: America’s Sproutings by Pat Mora is an inventive mix of haiku and brilliant illustrations about 14 foods that originated in the Americas. This delicious book is for Middle Readers. The New Policeman by Kate Thompson is an intriguing fantasy set in Ireland that mixes Irish music with fairy lore. This book for Older Reader asks the contemporary question: Where is all our time going? Let It Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals by Ashley Bryan demonstrates the power of spirituals with kaleidoscopic cut-paper collages that fairly jump off the page. Bryan’s book, a notable for All Ages, is also the 2008 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Book.

The Wauwatosa Children’s Librarians compile their own annual list of the best of the best new books for 2008. They will present their choices at the “Annual Review of New Books” held from 10:00-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, 2008 in the Story Room of the Children’s Library. This list of new children’s books includes the major award winners and many ALA Notables. For more information or to register, please call the Children’s Library: 414-471-8486. This program is for Adults only.

THE + IRS = THEIRS

Wauwatosa Public Library — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:03:00 GMT

"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 16^th 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 16^th 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 16^th 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 15^th has not always been the filing deadline. March 1^st was the date chosen by Congress in 1913 after the passage of the 16^th Amendment. In 1918, Congress moved the date forward to March 15^th where it remained until 1954 when it was again moved forward to April 15^th.

April 15^th 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 15^th. Call the Adult Reference Desk to make an appointment.

Frog and Toad

Wauwatosa Public Library — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:02:20 GMT

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.

Recent Additions-Some Titles to Tempt You

Wauwatosa Public Library — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:02:00 GMT

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

2008 Children's Book Awards

Wauwatosa Public Library — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:01:00 GMT

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

What Is the Business Center?

Wauwatosa Public Library — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:31:00 GMT

The Business Center is a specialized library with the Wauwatosa Public Library.

If you’re looking for a job, the Business Center contains books on careers, job outlook, test preparation and how to write resumes and cover letters.

If you own your own business or want to start a business, the collection has books on business start-up, business plans, management, marketing, advertising and selling.

If you’re looking for personal finance and investment information, the library has books and databases (S&P, Morningstar and ValueLine) you can utilize to help you make sound financial decisions and investments.

Selling your house, redesigning your office, coping with a difficult boss or co-worker? Take a look at what the Business Center can do for you.

Speaking of investments, if you just can’t “bear” it anymore, here are some new additions to the

Business Center to help get you through:

Active value investing: making money in range-bound markets by Vitaliy Katsenelson

Anatomy of the bear: lessons from Wall Street’s four great bottoms by Russell Napier

Bull in China: investing profitably in the world's greatest market by Jim Rogers

Chindia: how China and India are revolutionizing global business
ed. by Pete Engardio

Complete guide to currency trading & investing: how to earn high rates of return safely and take control of your investments byJamaine Burrell

Complete turtletrader: the legend, the lessons, the results
by Michael Covel

Entries & exits: visits to sixteen trading rooms by Alexander Elder

Forex patterns & probabilities: trading strategies for trending and range-bound markets
by Ed Ponsi

Full of bull: do what Wall Street does, not what it says, to make money in the market
by Stephen McClellan

Stock Traders Almanac 2008