Noe Valley Voice April 2010
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April 2010

Travel Adventures at the Library

By Susan Higgins
Noe Valley Adult Services Librarian

If you're exploring ideas for places to travel this summer, the Noe Valley Library on Jersey Street has lots of materials to provide inspiration. From new editions of guidebooks, to travel essays, language-learning tools, or fiction that takes you away to exotic locations, the library offers plenty of ways to help you plan a great escape.

For Adults

- You'll find a variety of 2010 Fodor's and Frommer's guidebooks, including guides to Italy, France, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and New York. Request additional guidebooks from the Main Library and other branches at www.sfpl.org. (See instructions at right.)

- Trekking the globe? Make the Most of Your Time on Earth: A Rough Guide to the World presents 1,000 ideas for exciting travel experiences, such as cross-country skiing in Norway, vulture-watching in Bulgaria, or attending a culinary school in Thailand.

- Fodor's 1,001 Smart Travel Tips offers ideas for saving money on food and lodging, avoiding problems on the road, traveling with kids, and packing for long excursions.

- If you want to learn a new language or brush up on an old one, the library has a collection of audio CDs using methods from Berlitz and Pimsleur to Living Language.

- The popular Rosetta Stone online learning program is available in the Articles and Databases section of www.sfpl.org. Choose Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Greek, or Mandarin Chinese.

For Teens

- Extreme Cuisine: Exotic Tastes from Around the World, published by Lonely Planet, takes a fun look at favorite dishes in other countries, such as grasshoppers and chicken knees.

- Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, describes his childhood in Wales, England, and Norway in Boy: Tales of Childhood.

- House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende is a powerful saga of a Latin American family.

- Donna Jo Napoli's Zel, set in 16th-century Switzerland, is a retelling of "Rapunzel."

For Children

Picture books for younger children:

- My First Airplane Ride by Patricia Hubbell helps small children understand what to expect at the airport and on the plane.

- In Are We There Yet?--A Journey Around Australia by Alison Lester, three children and their parents take a tour that includes the Great Barrier Reef, a sheep farm, and fireworks over the Sydney harbor.

- Babar's USA by Laurent de Brunhoff takes Babar the Elephant and his family to New York City, the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Chicago, and other favorite destinations.

- A family travels to Paris in Everybody Bonjours! by Leslie Kimmelman and soon discovers that everyone greets them with a cheerful "Bonjour."

Books for older children:

- Ted and Katrina follow a trail of clues across London after their cousin mysteriously disappears in The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.

- In Defending Irene by Kristin Wolden Nitz, a 13-year-old spending a year in Italy discovers what it's like to be an outsider when she joins the boys' soccer team.

- Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope by Beverley Naidoo explores the lives of children in apartheid-era South Africa.

How to Request Materials Online

Search the library's catalog by typing key words in the box located in the upper right-hand corner of the home page at www.sfpl.org. For example, enter France Guidebooks to review a list of books available throughout the San Francisco Public Library system. Click on the title(s) that interest you to see if they are available at the Noe Valley branch. If the branch does not own the item you want or if its copy is checked out, click on the Request It link or Request button. Enter your library card number and PIN, choose your pickup location, and click the OK button. The library will send a copy to the Noe Valley branch and notify you when it arrives. Each library user may request up to 15 items at a time.

LIBRARY EVENTS

For Adults

A Pep Talk on Solar Energy

- On Tuesday, April 20, 7 p.m., the library will host "Is Solar for Me?"--an eco-salon on Roof Solar installation for your home, school, or community building. The free event will cover tips on reducing the upfront cost of solar power and explain legislative measures that support "clean energy" solutions.

Noe Valley's Book Group

- The Noe Valley Book Discussion Group gathers on Wednesday, April 21, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., in the meeting room of the Noe Valley Library. All are invited.

For Kids

Tuesday Toddler Tales

- Toddlers 18 to 36 months (and their caregivers) are invited to come hear rhymes, music, and stories at the Tuesday morning Toddler Tales sponsored by the Noe Valley Library. The events are April 6, 13, and 20, from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.

Family Story Time

- Kids of all ages will enjoy the library's reading aloud program, Family Story Time, on Tuesdays, April 6, 13, and 27, from 11 to 11:30 a.m. On Tuesday, April 20, the library will show Films for children from 11 to 11:45 a.m.

All events take place at the Noe Valley­ Sally Brunn Library, 451 Jersey Street near Castro Street; 415-355-5707.