Albert Lea Public Library

Children's Book Review

Who is Melvin Bubble? by Nick Bruel
(Picture book- O E Bru)
Who is this kid with the funny name?  Well that depends on who you ask.  In this humorous story each zany character has an opinion about who Melvin is.  This is a fun book with colorful illustrations that teaches about perspective and point of view that younger elementary kids will really enjoy.
Review by April C.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
(Juvenile Fiction- jCol)
This is an awesome book about a young boy and his sister who fall through a grate into the dark Underland.  It is reminiscent to Alice in Wonderland.  However, in the city you are much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole.  And if you do, you're not going to find a tea party. What might you find...?  Well, you'll have to read this great series of 5 books to find out!
Review by Patty G.

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper (Young Adult- YA jDra)
What a riveting novel!  Stolen from her village and sold to the highest bidder, 15 year old Amari had only one thing left of her own. Hope.  This book really makes you aware of slavery and the horrible conditions that the slaves lived with. I highly recommend this, it  was one of my best reads of the year.  It was also the winner of the Coretta Scott King book award for 2006.
Review by Patty G.

Children's Activities

It's going to be another week of fun activities in the Children's room at your library!
              Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. is storytime.  Patty will be reading stories about penguins and we will be making our own penguins to take home. 
              Tuesday at 3:30, join us for a  L.A.F. (Library Afternoon Fun).  April and Kacy will show you how to make felt pens to keep for yourself or give as a gift.  We will also be playing some fun games!  All children K-5th grade are welcome to attend. 
There is no charge and no need to register for these activities.

FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO KEEP UP WITH HOUSEHOLD CHORES?

Martha Stewart has compiled  "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: the essential guide to caring for everything in your home".   720 pages in length, it has something for anyone who has a room, an apartment or a home to care for.  The chapters include: how to use this book, cleaning products, room by room, throughout the house (routine cleaning and periodic maintenance), comfort and safety, moving, A-Z materials guide and reference. Come to the Albert Lea Public Library to check out Martha's newest book.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26 IS "FUN AT WORK DAY"

Inject some laughter into your workplace by planning a fun and relaxing activity.  Do something to encourage enthusiasm and openness and to help build rapport and release tensions.  When we enjoy our work, we are more productive and creative.  Annually, the last Friday in January is FUN AT WORK DAY.

LETTERS FROM ANNE FRANK'S FATHER SURFACE

Desperate letters written by the father of Anne Frank, the teenager whose diary of hiding from Nazis documented the horror of Jew during World War II, have surfaced in the United States and will be released next month.  Otto Frank wrote the letters in 1941 in a despairing effort to get his family out of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam before finally hiding the family, including Anne, in an Amsterdam office building for two years until they were betrayed. The family was sent to Nazi prison camps where Anne, her sister Margot and their mother, Edith, died before the war's end.  But Otto Frank survived and returned to Amsterdam where he recovered his daughter's diary.  He had it published  and, eventually, "Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl" turned into a best seller.  The sheaf of Otto Frank's letters, about 80 documents in total, show him seeking escape route to Spain, exit visas from Paris and help to get to the United States or Cuba, all in vain.  The documents were discovered two years ago but legal issues made their existence quiet until now.  The New York Institute will release the letters on February 14.

Kids Trivia

In the book by Barbara Parks,
Junie B. Jones and Some
Sneaky Peeky Spying
Junie gets into major trouble
for spying on whom?

(Read answer backwards) rehcaet reh no

Are you a fan of this series?  Test your knowledge with more trivia, learn about the books and do activities at www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/

Children's activities

Stop by the children's room this week for some fun activites.
            Our storytime theme is about mittens.  Listen to Patty read great stories, we'll do the snowky pokey and marble paint your own paper mitten.  Come either day, Tuesday or Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
             Join us for a L.A.F. (Library Afternoon Fun) on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. when we will be making ice bird feeders and paying some fun games.  All children K-5th grade are welcome to attend. 
There is no charge and no need to register for these activities.

WEIRD MINNESOTA BY ERIC DREGNI

What a fun book the library has just added to their collection.... Weird Minnesota.  This is not your everyday travel guide but promises offbeat places, people and history.  Some chapter titles are: Local Heroes and Villains, Roadside Oddities, Gopher State Ghosts and Cemetery Safari, only to name a few.  Albert Lea has two articles with pictures...one about the Danish maiden statute and one about the Itasca Rock Garden. Check out this book and see how much you know about your state or maybe take a road trip to see "weird Minnesota".

ON JANUARY 19, WE RECOGNIZE:

Robert  E. Lee's 200th Birth Anniversary     1807

The Tin Can Patent Anniversary                  1825

Edgar Allan Poe's Birth Anniversary             1809

Dolly Parton's Birthday                                1946

Jean Stapleton's Birthday                            1923

Popcorn Day      To learn more about this day and for activities to help you celebrate go to:             http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/januaryholidays/l/bljan19th.htm

IT'S TAX TIME

The library has some new informational books to help you in filing your taxes.

TurboTax Income Tax Handbook 2007; the complete guide to tax breaks, deduction, and money saving tax tips.   Easy-to-use format, latest information on the new tax laws and other recent tax changes, audit advice, plus many additional topics.

J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2007; your complete guide to everything deductible.  This book is packed with hundreds of updated deductions and credits, practical advice and real-world examples. You will also get access to an online supplement to this book, bringing you up-to-the-minute tax law changes.

Get your library card today!

What's the best way to take advantage of all the library has to offer?
            
Your library card!!


Stop by the library and sign up for the card that brings you a world of opportunity and lifelong learning.  If you live in MN you can get a library card at no cost.  Just bring in your I.D. and another proof of address such as a bill, and a staff member will be happy to issue you one.

Children's programs

Winter programs for the Children's library begin this week.
                     Storytime
Tuesdays at 10:30 for preschoolers (Age 4-6)
Thursdays at 10:30 for toddlers (Age 2-3)
        L.A.F. Library Afternoon Fun
Tuesdays at 3:30 for kids in k-5th grade.
Join us for stories, crafts, games and snack. 
      All activities are free of charge.

40 YEARS AGO......

On January 15, 1967 the first Super Bowl was played.  Green Bay defeated Kansas City 35-10.

MARTIN LUTHER KING'S BIRTHDAY

The Albert Lea Public Library will be closed Monday, January 15 in honor of Martin Luther King who was born in 1929.  We observe this occasion on the third Monday in January.

HOW YOU CAN - AT ANY AGE-DRAMATICALLY INCREASE YOUR LIFE SPAN AND YOUR HEALTH SPAN

Healthy at 100 by John Robbins     613.2 Rob

This best-selling author has written a revoluntionary book that shows us how to increase not only our life span but also our health span.  He has studied four very different cultures that have produced some of the world's healthiest, oldest people who live to be beyond a century. Along with diet and exercise, Robbins found the quality of personal relationships to be enormously important. This book is packed with "informed and heartfelt wisdom".