Interactive Storytime for Families -- Coming January 28th!
Do you love reading to your children? It can be one of the greatest things you can do with and for your children. The more you read to them stories they love, the more they learn to be better readers. You can't go wrong.
Do you enjoy a good story with juicy characters, pathos, and thought-provoking conversations? Then come join the Masterpiece Book Club at the North Independence Branch. On the 14th of this month, we will be sharing ideas on A Passage to India by E.M. Forster.
It's a common misconception of librarians that we get to sit around reading all day for a living! Don't get me wrong, this would be amazing. But, in fact, we are usually busy helping our customers, preparing programs for the community, and otherwise facilitating free and open access to information. We do this through a wide range of services, and this leaves very little time to devote to reading!
This Christmas involved a lot of baking on my part, and the festivities just wouldn't have been complete without a batch of cookies or two. This year though, I deviated from the tried and true sugar cookies and went for something a little more culturally interesting. I made peppernuts. What are peppernuts? Well, they involve neither pepper nor nuts, so don't let the name scare you away. They're tiny round cookies that are meant to be eaten by the handful. And they involve something that's difficult to find around here -- cardamom.
It's easy to get tunnel vision around the holidays. But while you're making your (grocery) list and checking it twice, fighting crowds at the mall, waiting in line at the post office, decorating your space, and trying to get five pies baked for that potluck you'll be attending, someone's just trying to figure out how to make ends meet, how to get to work, or how to explain to their children why Santa isn't coming again this year. Luckily, there are a number of great organizations in the Kansas City area that do what they can to help out those in need.
Let me start by saying that I've always been a fan of Tolkien. Since I picked up a copy of The Hobbit that my mother had lying around the house, I fell in love with his fantastical world-building, unique characters, and boundless wit. But looking back, I was a superficial fan for a really long time. I devoured The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and even made my way through The Silmarillion, which is the history of the elves in Middle-Earth.
December 8th marked the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Hanukkah, which means "Dedication" in Hebrew, lasts for 8 days and nights, a length of time that is symbolic of the miracle that is said to have occurred during the Second Century BC when the Second Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated. Despite the fact that rebels defending the temple from their Greek-Syrian oppressors had only enough oil to keep the candles burning for a single night, the oil lasted for 8.
Big Changes for North Independence Branch Homeschoolers @ the Library
Nationwide, 1.5 million children are homeschooled. The number of children being educated at home increases each year.
To more effectively meet the needs of homeschoolers and their parents, the North Independence Branch would like to announce that we are enlarging our Homeschoolers@ the Library program. Starting on January 9, 2013, we will be having an activity for homeschooling families every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.
Many of you will either gift a shiny new eReader this holiday season or receive one yourself, and your situation will be different than mine was back in 2009 when I oohed and ahhed over the first-generation Nook. Bulkier than many newer models and equipped with only a partial touchscreen, my device doesn't hold a candle to some of the eReading options available today. Here are a few readers that are worth your consideration. They are linked to the corresponding product page.
Come one, come all! Join us for Movie Night at the Library! We focus on a different actor, theme, or genre every month. In December, we'll be bringing you It Rhymes with Star: A Deborah Kerr Retrospective. There's no need to register, and admission is free. All events are BYOP-Bring Your Own Popcorn! Here are the films we'll be showing this month. Each title is also a link to the corresponding Internet Movie Database page.
