Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio

Everyone wants someone to love, even the undead. Meet Mortimer, a dashing young zombie, who is simply looking for another zombie to share his undead life with.

Mortimer has tried being funny, charming, and dashing, but when you dine on brains daily, the girls aren’t lining up around the corner.

Mortimer has finally decided to take out a personal ad with hopes of meeting that special girl. With instructions to meet him by the punch bowl at Cupid’s Ball, will Mortimer finally meet his perfect someone?

 Find out by checking out Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio, a delightful picture book that will have you rooting for this young loveable zombie.   

Holiday Books That Make Us Merry

Nothing says holiday cheer quite like the bright red and gold covers on our favorite children’s Christmas stories. Here at TCL we gear up for the most wonderful time of the year by pulling out our stacks and stacks of Christmas books. Each December it is like meeting up with old friends, let us introduce you to some of our favorites.

Different books evoke different emotions. Among some of our most beloved are; The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket because of its ability to make us snicker, The Little Red Elf by Barbara McGrath because who doesn’t love an elf who perseveres while still looking cute, and Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett with illustrations that look good enough to eat. The story The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg has to rank high on our list because we can all hear Santa’s sleigh bells. Finally, our top five wouldn’t be complete without The Tale of Three Trees Retold by Angela Elwell Hunt, it has a timeless ability to shed new light on the nativity story. 

Feel free to stop by this holiday season and read these stories as well as find some favorites of your own. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us here at Homewood Public Library Children’s Department!

My Name is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee

“My name is Elizabeth! Not Beth, Liz, Lizzie, or even Betsy!” Elizabeth loves her name, it is just perfect for her with its nine letters and the interesting shapes her mouth makes when she says her name. She cannot understand why people want to change it though. In My name is Elizabeth, a young girl named Elizabeth deals with the daily frustration of people trying to shorten her name! I understand this frustration, because ever since the first day of kindergarten people have been trying to change my name. I wonder if Elizabeth’s mother sent her to school with a note saying that her daughter’s name is Elizabeth and if she wanted her called Liz, she would have named her Liz. Maybe that was just my mother then. Elizabeth is quite a character and she is determined to make sure people get her name right! Even if she has to tell them five hundred times…a day!

 

It you would like to take My Name is Elizabeth home with you today, you can place your hold here.

2011 JCPLA (Jefferson County Public Library Assoc.) Library Champions

Thank you Library Champions! We couldn't do it without you!

December 7, 2011

Seriously...I'm Kidding

It’s hard to believe that it has been eight years since Ellen DeGeneres’ last book. The comedian/author/talk show host/music judge/spokesperson/voice of Dory has been everywhere the last couple of years. In Seriously…I’m Kidding, she talks about becoming a Cover Girl model, joining American Idol as a judge, and getting married. There are tons of laugh out loud moments in this book that will have you grinning from ear to ear.  All in all, it’s a cute and quirky read that you will enjoy, especially if you are a fan of her show. A perfect read if you are in the mood for something light and silly.

Plaster and Poison: A Do-It-Yourself Mystery by Jennie Bentley

Avery and Derek have finished remodeling the house on Becklea Drive and now are waiting for it to sell.  Until that time when they can buy another fixer upper they have been hired by the owner of the local Bed and Breakfast, Kate, to remodel the carriage house.  Kate and Wayne plan to live there after they are married rather than living in the B & B.  With a two month deadline, Derek has begun his work on the remodel and Avery has planned the decor.  One morning when checking the loft area they were shocked to find Kate's ex-boyfriend  who was very dead.  Soon after that Derek's step sister disappeared.  This small town of Waterfield, Maine, has had a murder case with each house Derek and Avery have given new life.   It does tend to slow things down when they need to suspend work until the investigation is over.  Who killed Gerard and what happened to Beatrice?  Did she just leave or was she kidnapped?  Friends and relatives tried to account for her whereabouts so they could find her.  They even wondered if Beatrice was involved in Gerard's death.  Someone in Waterfield must know what is going on. 

Place a hold today!

~Beth H.

Three on a String Comes to the Library, November 2011

Three on a String Comes to the Library, November 2011, a set on Flickr.

What a fabulous show! Three on a String is the full package: talent + comedy = entertainment.

The Outsider by Ann H. Gabhart

When Gabrielle was young she and her mother had entered a Shaker community to live and grow in peace and harmony.  Through a gift of the Spirit, Gabrielle had a vision of a fire in the barn and because of this she was able to direct someone to the spot where one of the brothers was trapped.  The doctor who rescued Nathan treated the burns and stayed with this Shaker brother giving treatments and exercise for his legs.  According to the rules of the community, Dr. Scott was an outsider who must have permission to speak with members of the Shakers so they would not be exposed to worldly influences.  Dr. Scott met Gabrielle when she was attending Nathan after the fire.  Their opportunities for communications were limited but he made a point of seeing her later when he came to check on Nathan's progress.  It was after Gabrielle and Dr. Scott met in the woods that she was put under months of constant supervision.  During that time Dr. Scott joined the Kentucky Militia to fight redcoats and Indians in the northern territories.  His thoughts went often to the beautiful girl in the Shaker community and she thought often of him, too.  Her ever present guard did not trust Gabrielle but could not know what went on in the mind of her charge.  Would Gabrielle endure and be trusted again and would Dr. Scott survive war and continue in his efforts to bring Gabrielle away from the Shakers?

The Outsider is available in the catalog in book, large print, and book-on-CD format.

~Beth H.

Half Broke Horses

This past month the Oxmoor Page Turners, the Homewood Public Library's very own book group, read Jeannette Walls's Half Broke Horses. Walls gained fame for her 2006 memoirs, The Glass Castle. In the Glass Castle, Walls tells the story of her troubled childhood with her parents, Rex and Rosemary Walls. In Half Broke Horses, which was released in 2009, Walls writes a fictional portrayal of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. "A true life novel", is what Walls calls the heartwrenching story of her grandmother's life. Lily Smith is one heck of a woman. From riding 500 miles on horseback at the age of 15 to become a teacher to running a moonshine operation, Lily was determined to survive. Walls decided to write Half Broke Horses from Lily's perspective. This really helps the reader dive into Lily's story and understand her strength and spirit.

If you haven't read The Glass Castle, don't worry! You will fall in love with characters and want to pick up with their story in The Glass Castle.
To place a hold on Half Broke Horses, click here.

If you are interested in joining the next meeting of the Oxmoor Page Turners, we will be meeting on Tuesday, December 13th at 6:30 PM in the Lucretia M. Somers Boardroom. We will be discussing Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.

Here's to Friends by Melody Carlson, The Four Lindas book 4

Abby, Caroline, Janie and Marley have reconnected in Clifden, Oregon, after years of living in other parts of the country.  As each experience challenges such as a strained marriage, the remodel of the family house, a long distance romance and abandonment of a child, the four Lindas are support for each other.  Abby has opened the doors of her bed and breakfast but business is slow which is frustrating.  Why isn't Paul more enthusiastic about her hard work and dreams?  Maybe Bonnie is more than a business associate to him.  Sylvia and Leah appear at a perfect time to help care for Hunter but is Sylvia competing with Marley for Jack's attentions?  And when Lisa arrived at Janie's home obviously needing help in kicking her addiction, the Lindas and their other friends come together in caring fashion.  Convincing Lisa to work at rehab was another challenge.  Life was looking bleak until the Lindas opened up to each other for help and strength.

Reserve it.

~Beth H.

Veterans Day

On Veterans Day we take a moment to honor those who have served our country in its defense both domestically and overseas. The children's staff here at HPL wants to pass along some of the following titles, which highlight children's roles in protecting our country, to you as you celebrate the freedom we all enjoy.

Just as a reminder the library will be closed Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.

The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter
To reserve this title click here.

The Wall by Eve Bunting
To reserve this title click here.

When Energy Efficiency Upgrades and Ghost Stories Meet

"New heating and cooling equipment has saved the Homewood Public Library thousands of dollars a year. It hasn't done anything about the ghosts, though."

Read the full article on the Energy.gov website.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

In the bucolic village of Bishop’s Lacey, England in the l950’s, there is a mad woman in the woods, a beloved puppeteer, a German obsessed with the Bronte sisters, a spinster aunt, malicious older sisters, a Philatelist father, and the mysterious deaths, of a child and a popular puppeteer.

Quick-witted, Flavia de Luce, a precocious heroine, is articulate, glib, and a self-educated chemist. She is quick thinking and “more often than not, busy fantasizing of new and interesting ways of bringing her enemies to sudden death.” Her philosophy: poisons were put on earth to be put to good use by persons with the wits but not necessarily physical strength. Flavia, a fully developed child character, must solve the riddle of both deaths. Canadian, Alan Bradley has written a thoroughly satisfying mystery.

Reserve this book here.

HPL & HMS Ice Cream Party!

HPL & HMS Ice Cream Party!, a set on Flickr.

HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY presents MYSTERY DINNER THEATRE 2011

Here are a few pix from the performance. We enjoyed excellent food and entertainment!

Murder, She Wrote: The Fine Art of Murder by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher

Friends had encouraged Jessica to take a vacation to relax.  So she went to Rome, Italy, for her enjoyment, not as a research trip for another book.  But while there she 'experienced' the world of art theft.  Having a gun pointed directly at her and being pushed hard enough to send her to the hospital as well as witnessing a murder certainly kept her from relaxing.  When she returned to the U.S., writing her next novel consumed her time and was progressing quite nicely until she had an unexpected visitor.  The step son of a friend in Chicago appeared on her doorstep soon after his father was murdered.  Jessica became involved in investigation of the Chicago case and the art theft and murder in Italy as well as supporting her friend.  When Mafia involvement became an issue Jessica was really scared.  She certainly was not in control of this investigation.  

The descriptions of the architecture and art in Italy are good and help imagine the setting of the story and objects of the crimes.  I enjoyed this fast paced story revealing the world of art theft.  It is a change of pace to have Jessica 'along' for the ride.

We have this book in the Adult Department or you can reserve it in the catalog. ~Beth H.