The Multiple Gifts of Story Time

One of the many good things about working at NPL is the pleasure of seeing parents and children heading in to story time each Wednesday and Friday. It's Tot City, and it's beautiful!

Story time is no mere frill. As I read an surge (you should pardon the expression) of articles on the struggles of schools trying to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind, I find myself thinking about the many institutions within the community that contribute to the education of children. As the African elders said, and Hillary Clinton echoed, it takes a village.

Story times provide toddlers with socialization, the development of an attention span, and exposure to a wide range of books, not to mention familiarity with the friendly face of the children's librarian. In addition, they give mothers and dads a chance to gather together, a break from the isolation of the home. With more parents working, the demand for story time doesn't go down; it goes up, since work schedules tend to vary, necessitating the involvement of both parents. We have some dedicated dads who bring their children to story time.

I live in a town south of Norwich which, a few years ago, allowed its citizens to be bamboozled by a misinformation campaign that ultimately meant passing on the establishment of a strong central library in favor of the preservation of the small village libraries. When the dust settled, the library for the largest of these villages had been shut down. So much for the preservation of small village libraries.

In my town are many children who find themselves hard pressed to keep up with their peers in wealthier towns. It's short-sighted to think that the job of developing literacy is that of the schools alone. Parents have a vital stake, as do community institutions, the chief of which is the public library.

The parents who make the most of our library are rich indeed, not necessarily in personal finances, but in opportunities for their children. Some of them come in and check out bags full of books at a time, knowing that their children will love some of them, reject others. They are developing interest in and enthusiasm for reading that will last their kids a lifetime.

It's ironic that struggling schools can seldom afford the services of a good public library. They're the ones who need them most.

The Sweet Music of the Spheres

It's that time again--pull out a poem that you've been wanting to share with other people and reserve the evening of Friday, October 26, to join us in the Community Room of NPL for the Poetry and Dessert Potluck. The fun starts at 7:30 p.m.

Poet Peter Money will emcee the event, and area poets are likely to show.

Don't let potential luminaries limit your participation, though. Lots of attendees are people who simply love poetry and are willing to share a longtime favorite. If you simply want to listen rather than read, feel free to come.

The event is open to everyone from grandparents to grandchildren. Bring a dessert to share, and let's see you there!

Kill-a-Watt?!? You bet!

A patron asked for it before it was even catalogued--NPL's new Library Energy Kit.

Assembled, it looks like one of the Discovery Packs from the Children's Room, but its intended audience is us big kids, so look for it upstairs.

Provided by the Norwich Energy Committee and the Sustainable Energy Resource Group (that's SERG to you), the materials provide information about the effects of global warming and ways to reduce energy use. Between reduced energy use and the switch to renewable resources, SERG estimates that many homeowners can cut energy bills by up to 50 per cent.

In the kit are a mix of tools and information: a watt meter (or Kill-a-Watt Monitor, according to SERG) with instructions on how to test appliance efficiency, two DVDs--An Inconvenient Truth and Kilowatt Ours. There are books: The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis by Greg Pahl, and Your Green Home by Alex Wilson. Consumer's Energy Guide helps with product selection and use for maximum energy savings. Additionally, there are a collection of "energy briefs" from the Rocky Mountain Institute, and a home energy calculator produced by SERG.

The kit will circulate for a week (it'll be 50 cents a day for overdues, so be sure to return it on time).

Lucinda is anxious to use it for an energy analysis here at NPL.

Here's to better conservation, one household --and one library!-- at a time.

Art and Libraries--Out on a Limb?

I didn't make the connection at first, but fortunately, Dale Copps certainly did.

Copps, a Friend of the Windsor Public Library in word and deed, was looking for a way to involve Vermont artists in the cause of public libraries across the state. His inspiration: art on a limb.

Libraries too frequently hang precariously from the bough of public good will. Their places in the community aren't always affirmed, come budget time. I live in a nearby town which underwent a lengthy public debate on whether or not we should centralize library services in a nice, big library, only to have the proposal go down in favor of "local control," after which time my village's local library was closed!

Go figure! But I digress.

Art on a Limb involves a series of wooden maple leaves, each decorated by a Vermont artist, with the proceeds from its online auction going to the library of the bidder's choice.

As is the case with most events involving Vermont artists, the responses to the basic problem of design vary wildly. There's something for everyone.

Bidders purchase a "paddle" for the auction for $25, and that's applied to the bid on the chosen art. At this time bidders designate the library to receive their donations.

Online bidding goes until October 14. The winning bids will be announced October 15.

Go to Windsor Library's site and take a look at the wonderful array of available artwork. Treat yourself or someone special to you to a one-of-a-kind gift that supports an important part of your community.

Don't Ask To See a Printed Menu

Scrambled dregs. Fresh mudburgers. Hot frogs.

Ewwww!

There's shivery glee in the gross, a vein of gold that writer Roald Dahl mined richly. His Revolting Rhymes recast fairy tales into hilarity. His Vile Verses collects his frisky couplets from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Rhyme Stew, Fantastic Mr Fox, and many others.

Although she is every inch a lady, Children's Librarian Beth Reynolds is hosting a celebration of the works of the frolicsome author Thursday, September 13, at 3:30 p.m., featuring fare from the Revolting Recipes book. The party is best experienced by kids in grades 3-6, who have had the opportunity to read the books and learn to stomach Mr. Dahl's truly unique literary voice and... um... subject matter.

It's best if you call ahead to reserve a place at the table. Lady Beth wants to be sure that she's made a sufficient batch of Bogtrotter's Cake for anyone who might want to attend. She's rather punish herself with a month's worth of Stink Bug Eggs than run out of food for her guests.

Azor 'Peach' Goodwin Writes 'If I Lived at Hogwarts'

Here's the winning entry from the recent NPL contest, "If I Lived at Hogwarts."

My name is Azor Peach. I’m a wizard who lives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I’m a fourth year student and I love to study Quiddich and flying. I live in the Gryffindor House and my roomates are Harry Potter, Charlie Weasley, Fred and George Weasley (the twins) and Percy “the Prefect” Weasley. My favorite class is Defense Against the Dark Arts. I love to study about counter-hexes and ways to make dark wizards stop being mean. My magical pet is a Saltwater Crocodile named Ironjaw. He’s not like other crocodiles because he can fly. Ironjaw can tell which wizards are bad and he helps me save people who are being cursed. This year I became a seeker on the Gryffindor Quiddich team. I’m a very good flyer and someday I hope to become a professional quiddich player.

There are 27 players on my team. Our captain is a seventh year student named Oliver Wood. I just got a new broom called the Jetbroom 9000. This is the fastest broom in the world! Our team color is green and Ironjaw is our mascot. He comes to all of our games. Last year Gryffindor won the house cup when Harry Potter was seeker. This year, I’m the seeker and I hope to win the cup again.

Our first match of the year is against Slytherin. Draco Malfoy is a Bludger on the Slytherin team. Draco Malfoy is a dark wizard. He cheats and uses the leglocker curse in the middle of games. Draco Malfoy is scared of Ironjaw because Ironjaw knows he’s bad news. Usually Ironjaw can’t catch Draco Malfoy in a match because we keep him on a leash. Today Fred and George, my roomates, took Ironjaw’s leash off to play a joke on Draco Malfoy. Just when I was about to catch the Golden Snitch, Draco Malfoy yelled “locomotor mortis” and sparks flew my way. Before the curse hit me, Ironjaw flew out of the stands and bit Draco Malfoy on the ankle. He crashed to the ground and the sparks went away. Draco Malfoy spent the next couple of days in the Hospital Ward and Gryffindor won the match.

Gryffindor won every game that season. I was the best seeker in Hogwarts history. Scouts from professional teams came to watch me. I was drafted to play on the Saint Louis Stifflebricks as soon as I finished my seventh year of school.

Amazing Grace

My heart is heavy today. It's bad enough to have lost Molly Ivins earlier this year. Now Grace Paley has departed the planet, or rejoined it, depending on your point of view. I can only hope a child is being born today to carry on.

If you have never read a short story (or twenty) by Grace Paley, one of life's great pleasures still awaits you. If you have read them, you'll doubtless want to read them again. Her output was dwarfed by her political activism; she nonetheless is undisputedly one of our greatest short story writers.

I first stumbled upon her writing when she was to be the featured speaker at a writing workshop I attended each summer on the Left Coast. She would be unable to make her original date, since she had to spend it in jail for pouring blood on the White House lawn.

When she did arrive, she charmed us all with a reading of her stories, which were equal parts witty, earthy, funny, and sad. Her voice was and is singular. I gobbled up her short story collections, The Little Disturbances of Man, Later that Same Day, and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute. She had always said that poetry and short stories were kindred forms, and so it was that her next books would be collections of her poems, Begin Again and Leaning Forward. Her most recent publication was with her husband Robert Nichols, Two by Two.

Here's one of her poems:

Here

Here I am in the garden laughing
an old woman with heavy breasts
and a nicely mapped face

how did this happen
well that's who I wanted to be

at last a woman in the old style sitting
stout thighs apart under
a big skirt grandchild sliding
on off my lap a pleasant
summer perspiration

that's my old man across the yard
he's talking to the meter reader
he's telling him the world's sad story
how electricity is oil or uranium
and so forth I tell my grandson
run over to your grandpa ask him
to sit beside me for a minute I
am suddenly exhausted by my desire
to kiss his sweet explaining lips

When I left Santa Cruz and moved to Vermont, there was Grace. I would see her in the parking lot at the co-op, out in front of Lou's, on the Thetford green, at the puppet show in the art gallery. She was easy to spot in the community with that wonderful, soft mane of fluffy white hair. "Amazing Grace," I would say, loud enough for her to hear, then I would scurry shyly away. I have never been good at chatting up famous people.

Since the news of her passing reached us at the library today, the staff has been bustling about, pulling together words and pictures as a tribute--not merely for purposes of display, but out of deep love and respect for the writer and the person.

I comfort myself with the thought that her writing is a way for me to channel her wit, her wisdom, her inimitable voice for as long as I can read. But I'll sure miss that dear, fuzzy head.