June 2005 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

This month's book list, chosen by Noe Valley head librarian Carol Small, librarian-in-training Catherine Starr, and Voice bookworm Karol Barske, features stories based on Janis Ian's songs, a history of the Burning Man spectacle, and a book on "outsider art." To find out which books are available at our branch, go to www.sfpl.org, call 355-5707, or visit the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street near Castro Street. Besides books, the library offers magazines, newspapers, DVDs, music CDs, Internet access, and the archives and index to the Noe Valley Voice. Branch hours are Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesdays, 1 to 9 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 1 to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Adult Fiction

- In Sabine Durrant's poignant and humorous The Great Indoors, the carefully controlled life of a young London antique dealer changes dramatically when she lets in "the messy world."

- A man searches for meaning by exploring his childhood in a Chicago detention center, in Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott.

- Stars: Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian, edited by Janis Ian and Mike Resnick, features interpretations by Orson Scott Card, Terry Bisson, and Harry Turtledove.

- In Century of November by W. D. Wetherell, a Canadian judge visits the World War II battlefield where his son died, and searches for the Belfast woman who was pregnant with his grandchild.

Adult Nonfiction

- The origins of a growing American underground community, and all its trappings, are chronicled in This Is Burning Man by Brian Doherty.

- In Fear and Other Uninvited Guests, Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., offers strategies to break the grip of anxiety, fear, and shame.

- John Banville's Prague Pictures: A Portrait of the City describes the rich past and present of Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.

- Bill Ellis examines the dark side of the human imagination in Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture.

Children's Fiction

- In Giggle-Wiggle Wake-Up!--written by Nancy White Carlstrom with illustrations by Melissa Sweet--toe-tapping text and warm watercolors capture the excitement the preschooler finds in daily events. Ages 2 to 5.

- Lullaby Moons and a Silver Spoon includes 21 bedtime songs and rhymes, some simple, some comical, and all sleep-inducing. Ages 2 to 8.

- A bookmobile librarian mistakenly ends up at the zoo, where she finds the perfect book for each animal, in Wild About Books, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown. Ages 4 to 8.

- James Howe's Kaddish for Grandpa in Jesus' Name, Amen addresses the subjects of family, religion, and grief when a little girl struggles with her grandfather's death. Ages 5 to 9.

- In Bruce Edward Hall's Henry and the Kite Dragon, illustrated by William Low, children in Chinatown confront children in Little Italy for destroying Mr. Chin's magnificent kites. Ages 6 to 9.

- In Homespun Sarah, author Verla Kay and illustrator Ted Rand pay tribute to the hard work an 18th-century Pennsylvania farm girl puts into making a new dress. Ages 6 to 9.

- A 13-year-old girl, frustrated about having to move to a creepy house in New Jersey, finds the presence of Lily's Ghosts even more aggravating, in a mystery by Laura Ruby. Ages 9 and up.

Children's Nonfiction

- A woman in an internment camp, a man in prison, and a Kenyan child in a devastated village are among the "outsider artists" showcased in Art Against the Odds by Susan Goldman Rubin. Ages 8 and up.

LIBRARY EVENTS

A Jam with Charity Kahn

- Charity Kahn leads a "funky, groovy, and original music and movement experience" for kids of all ages, at 10 and 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 2.

Saturday Lapsits

- Infants and toddlers, with a parent, will enjoy the stories, songs, and finger plays at the lapsits on Saturdays, June 4 and 18, at 10:30 a.m.

Preschool Story Time and Films

- Children ages 2 to 5 are invited to attend a preschool story time at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, June 7, 14, and 28.