Noe Valley Voice December-January 2008
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More Books to Read: Library Now Open on Sundays

A lonely moose and a boy ballet dancer shine in this month's book selection, provided by Voice bookworm Karol Barske and children's librarian Carol Small, of the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Branch Library. To check out books--or CDs or DVDs--drop by the library at 451 Jersey Street, near Castro Street. There's a good chance the doors will be open, because the branch just added another day to its schedule: Sunday. Hours are now Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday, 1 to 9 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 1 to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. For information about book availability or library programs, call Small or branch manager Alice McCloud at 355-5707; www.sfpl.org.

Adult Fiction

- Six new stories appear in the rerelease of Holidays on Ice, David Sedaris' collection of seasonal essays, which includes tales from his stint as a Macy's elf.

- During a visit to their father on the Swedish island of Hammarsi, three half-sisters recall buried childhood memories in A Blessed Child by Linn Ullmann.

- In The Wettest County in the World, Matt Bondurant taps his own family history to tell the Depression-era story of two moonshining brothers, whose trial for conspiracy is covered by a fictionalized Sherwood Anderson.

- The stories of an American spy, a young Afghan man raised by the Taliban, an elderly English doctor married to an Afghan woman, and a Russian woman looking for her missing brother intertwine in The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam.

Adult Nonfiction

- Savannah Knoop describes her masquerade as a celebrated transgender ex-prostitute author, whose books were actually written by her sister-in-law Laura Albert, in Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT Leroy.

- In The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld: A Prosecution by Book, Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, presents a mock trial of 14 U.S. government and military officials.

- Mark Richardson retraces the 1974 journey of the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig.

- John Mitchinson and John Lloyd, masterminds of the British quiz show Q!, give the facts about 100 animals, including the critters' sometimes disturbing mating habits, in The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong.

Children's Fiction

- Moose has no family or friends, but his life turns upside down when he rescues a bird who cannot fly, in The Lonely Moose by John Segal. Ages 4 to 6.

- Mo Willems' early reader I Love My New Toy features an optimistic, reckless pig and a pessimistic, cautious elephant. Ages 4 to 6.

- Tucker Dohr, The Only Boy in Ballet Class, always gets to play the prince, but he sometimes gets teased, so when the football team needs an extra player, Tucker uses his dance skills on the field. Written by Denise Eliana Gruska. Ages 4 to 7.

- In Bones and the Math Test Mystery by David A. Adler, Jeffrey Bones has to follow the clues to find his missing paper. Ages 4 to 8.

- When their cousin Salim disappears from a ride on the giant ferris wheel, Ted and Kat search London for him in The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Ages 10 and up.

Children's Nonfiction

- Mazes Around the World, by Mary D. Lankford, with illustrations by Karen Dugan, describes many varieties of mazes, including an 8,000-year-old Egyptian labyrinth and the "Minotaur's Maze" in Greece. Ages 8 and up.

LIBRARY EVENTS

Lapsits and Story Time

- Enjoy songs, stories, and finger plays at the infant/toddler lapsits, on Tuesdays, Dec. 2, 16, 23, and 30, from 10:15 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. Then stay for a half-hour preschool story time, for children ages 3 to 5, starting 11 a.m.

Movies for Kids

- Films for kids 3 to 5, including "Morris' Disappearing Bag," "Pete's a Pizza," and "Remarkable, Riderless, Runaway Tricycle," will be shown on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 10:15 and 11 a.m.

Events are held at the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Branch Library at 451 Jersey Street. For information, call 355-5707.