July-August 2001 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

This month's new books list, provided by librarians Roberta Greifer, Lea Rude, and Carol Small, features histories of the Islamic world, the Nobel Prize, and monster movies, and the adventures of a grasshopper detective, in the children's section. To check out a book's availability, call 695-5095, or visit the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street, just off Castro Street. Besides books, the branch offers magazines, CDs, videos, an outside deck, computers with Internet access, and the archives and index to the Noe Valley Voice. Hours are Tuesdays, 10 to 9; Wednesdays, 1 to 9; Thursdays, 10 to 6; Fridays, 1 to 6; and Saturdays, 10 to 6.

Adult Fiction

- Former Confederate soldiers plot to blow up the newly built Brooklyn Bridge, with detective Tom Braddock hot on their trail, in Suspension, an expertly researched historical thriller by Richard E. Crabbe.

- In Midnight Sun, by Elwood Reid, Jack and Burke get more than they bargained for when they agree to venture into the Alaskan wilderness to extricate a young woman from a millennial cult.

- A bank vice president travels to Berkeley in search of his estranged daughter and hooks up with a hippie turned Buddhist monk in Berkeley's Best Buddhist Bookstore, by local author Charlene Anderson.

- A young fox is transformed into a woman through her bond with a nobleman, in The Fox Woman, Kij Johnson's lyrical love story set in ancient Japan.

Adult Nonfiction

- Eeeeek! The Essential Monster Guide: A Century of Creature Features on Film, TV, and Video, by Stephen Jones, rates 3,500 movies, ranging from classic films like Dracula and Frankenstein to cheesy thrillers like Halloween and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

- In A Modern History of the Islamic World, Reinhard Schulze explores the regions in which Islam is the dominant religion-- as disparate as Morocco, Indonesia, Somalia, and Bosnia-- and discusses the impact of colonialism and modernism on Islamic culture and society.

- Comedian Margaret Cho offers a glimpse of her bumpy ride to fame in her memoir, I'm the One That I Want.

- Burton Feldman offers a witty history of Alfred Nobel's award in The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius, Controversy, and Prestige.

Annotations by Lea Rude

Librarian, Noe Valley Branch

Children's Fiction

- Young children will love the playful color photographs of kids experiencing each letter of the alphabet in ABC Kids, by Laura Ellen Williams. Ages 3 to 5.

- Daisy and the Beastie is a beautifully illustrated story about Daisy's search for the mysterious "Beastie," by Jane Simmons, author of Come Along, Daisy. Ages 3 to 7.

- Kate and the Beanstalk, by Mary Pope Osborne, is an imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale, complemented by Giselle Potter's illustrations. Ages 4 to 10.

- In Freedom School, Yes! written by Amy Littlesugar and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, the 1964 Mississippi Freedom School Project comes to life through the eyes of a brave girl, Jolie. Ages 4 to 8.

- Inspired by a passage in Henry David Thoreau's Walden, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, by Donald B. Johnson, tells about two friends' different routes to the town, by train and by foot. Ages 4 to 8.

- Inspector Hopper is a grasshopper detective who solves mysteries with his sidekick, McBugg, in three short stories for beginning readers, by Doug Cushman. Ages 4 to 8.

- Eleven-year-old Thomas and his father must return home to the planet Ormingat, a place Thomas barely remembers, after spending five years in a small English town studying humans, in Space Race by Sylvia Waugh. Ages 9 to 12.

- Sophie is the only girl among the crew of The Wanderer, a 45-foot sailboat journeying from Connecticut to England. The adventure forces her to face not only the high seas, but the secrets of her past, in this 2001 Newbery Honor Book by Sharon Creech. Ages 9 to 13.

Annotations by Lea Rude
Librarian, Noe Valley Branch

Boswick the Clown

- Formerly with the Ringling Brothers Circus, Boswick the Clown performs magic and juggling especially for preschoolers, on Tuesday, July 24, at 10 and 11 a.m.

Preschool Story Time

- Children ages 3 to 5 will hear wonderful tales at the library's preschool story time,
at 10 a.m., Tuesdays, July 3, 17, and 31, and Aug. 7, 14, 21, and 28.

Tuesday Movies

- Preschoolers 3 to 5 can enjoy films at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 10.

Wednesday Lapsits

- Come enjoy stories, songs, and fingerplay with your baby or toddler at the library lapsits, on Wednesdays, July 11, 18, and 25, and Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, at 7 p.m.