June 2001 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

This month's new books list, provided by librarians Roberta Greifer, Lea Rude, and Carol Small, features Paul McCartney's poems and lyrics, 100 inventions of the 20th century, and barnyard animals who demand their rights, 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

- The two towns of Truth & Bright Water, separated by a river that runs between Montana and an Alberta Indian reservation, form a unique community in this comic and poignant novel by acclaimed author Thomas King.

- With All the Names, Nobel Prize winner José Saramago has produced a novel about loneliness, chance, and love, seen through the eyes of a middle-aged bachelor who works as a clerk in the Central Registry.

- The Hiding Place, a debut novel by Trezza Azzopardi nominated for the Booker Prize, chronicles the disintegration of a Maltese immigrant family in Cardiff, Wales.

- Demonology is a collection of 13 short stories by Rick Moody, who has been hailed as one of the most original and admired voices of his generation.

Adult Nonfiction

- In State of the Arts: California Artists Talk About Their Work, by Barbara Isenberg, more than 50 painters, composers, and performers discuss their development as artists and reflect on how the environment influences the creative process.

- Inventing the 20th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the World, by Stephen Van Dulken, is a compendium of inventions, "from the airplane to the zipper," which changed the world and our everyday lives.

- In For Rabbit, With Love and Squalor: An American Read, Anne Roiphe confesses her literary love affairs with fictional men, including J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield and Phillip Roth's Nathan Zuckerman.

- Paul McCartney's magical writings are collected for the first time in Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics, 1965­1999, edited by poet and satirist Adrian Mitchell.

Annotations by Lea Rude

Librarian, Noe Valley Branch

Children's Fiction

- As different animals board the bus and make their own distinctive noises, a family on its way to a fair has a very different ride from what they expected in Lenny Hort's The Seals on the Bus, illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Ages 2 to 5.

- Using paper collages, Deborah Lee Rose takes us on an underwater journey, from anemone to zooplankton, in Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet. Ages 2 to 5.

- After a rough time in which he feels guilty and has nightmares, Horace tells the truth about the little truck and comes to be friends with Walter in That's Mine, Horace, by Holly Keller. Ages 4 to 6.

- Emphasizing the telling of the truth above all else, Libby learns the hard way that tact is also very valuable in The Honest-to-Goodness Truth, by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Giselle Potter. Ages 5 to 7.

- Farmer Brown is facing one challenge after another--the cows, hens, and ducks are all demanding their rights in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Ages 6 to 9.

- In Lionel at School, by Stephen Krensky, a young boy makes a new friend and uses a garden hose to rescue his sister from aliens. Ages 6 to 9.

- A lively third-grader has a Venus flytrap for a pet, belongs to the T.P. club with her good friend Rocky, and puts together a great "Me collage" in Judy Moody by Megan McDonald. Ages 6 to 9.

- Using alternating viewpoints, Joseph Bruchac tells the story of a famous expedition and its teenage guide in Sacajawea. Ages 10 and up.

Annotations by Carol Small
Children's Librarian, Noe Valley Branch

Unless otherwise noted, events are at the Noe Valley ­ Sally Brunn Library, 451 Jersey St. * 695-5095

Poetry Reading

- On Wednesday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m., Lisa Gluskin, a San Francisco poet and editor who in April received the San Jose Center for Poetry's annual poetry prize, will read from her work, along with San Franciscan Peter Kane, also a published poet and winner of an AWP Intro Award.

Library Planning Meeting

- The San Francisco Library is holding a planning meeting on Monday, June 4, to get public input to help develop new services and features, and to redesign aspects of the 24 branches included in the branch library bond improvement program. 7 p.m. at the Eureka Valley Branch, 3555 16th St. 554-9445.

Family Sing-Along

- Award-winning singer/songwriter Lisa Atkinson leads a sing-along for all ages, on Tuesday, June 12, at 10 and 11 a.m.

Preschool Story Time

- Children ages 3 to 5 will hear delightful tales at the library's preschool story time,
10 a.m., Tuesday, June 19.

Films

- Preschoolers 3 to 5 can watch films at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26.

Wednesday Lapsits

- Come enjoy stories, songs, and fingerplay with your baby or toddler at the library lapsits, on Wednesdays, June 13, 20, and 27, at 7 p.m.