Noe Valley Voice July-August 2005
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Books in our Branch

This month's book list, chosen by Noe Valley head librarian Carol Small, librarian-in-training Catherine Starr, and Voice bookworm Karol Barske, features a novel by Ruth Prater Jhabvala, an investigation of Lincoln's assassination, and a retelling of King Arthur legends. 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

- Ruth Prater Jhabvala writes "invented vignettes" of a life she may have wished to live, in My Nine Lives, her first novel in over nine years.

- New Orleans is the scene of the crime in Poppy Z. Brite's cocktail of mayhem and murder, Liquor.

- In A Child's Night Dream, filmmaker Oliver Stone fictionalizes the life journey and various states of consciousness of a young man named Oliver Stone.

Adult Nonfiction

- In Not Much Just Chillin': The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers, Linda Perlstein examines the difficult transitions in the lives of seventh- through ninth-graders.

- Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev recount how a dwarf family of actors--the Lilliput Troupe--survived Auschwitz, in In Our Hearts We Were Giants.

- Historian Michael W. Kauffman describes the plot to topple the Union in American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies.

- In Wrong About Japan Peter Carey and his 12-year-old son explore the roots of manga and anime comic-book art in Tokyo.

- In Hitler Youth, Michael H. Kater examines the Nazis' method of indoctrinating and reprogramming children aged 10 to 18.

Children's Fiction

- In Trish Cooke's Full, Full, Full of Love young Jay Jay visits his grandma's house, where his extended family celebrates over a meal; Paul Howard illustrates. Ages 2 and up.

- Nancy Raines Day brings simple math to Double Those Wheels when a mirthful "retro" monkey delivers a pizza using various modes of transportation; illustrated by Steve Haskamp. Ages 4 to 8.

- Lazy lass Ninny Nanny and her Gram decide to catch a leprechaun and claim his pot of gold, in Lorna and Lecia Balian's Leprechauns Never Lie. Ages 4 to 10.

- A small animal with a big heart helps his owner out of poverty in The Impudent Rooster, adapted from a Romanian folktale by Sabina Rascol, with illustrations by Holly Berry. Ages 5 to 8.

- In Bad Dog, Dodger! 9-year-old Sam is determined to teach his new puppy to behave; written by Barbara Abercrombie, and illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Ages 6 to 10.

- In Arrowhawk, Lola Schaefer describes the care and healing of a red-tailed hawk found with an arrow in his thigh; Gabi Swiatkowska illustrates. Ages 6 to 12.

- In Merlin and the Making of the King, writer Margaret Hodges and illustrator Trina Schart Hyman retell great adventures from three Arthurian legends. Ages 7 to 10.

- Suzanne Fisher Staples recalls the summer between fourth and fifth grade--her family, her loneliness, and the dog she loved--in The Green Dog. Ages 9 to 11.

LIBRARY EVENTS

Summer Reading Club

- The San Francisco Public Library sponsors "Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds," a reading program with prizes for children up to age 13, from June 11 to Aug. 6.

Preschool Festivities

- Dono the Clown performs magic for ages 3 to 5 on Thursday, July 21, at 10 and 11 a.m. In "Make Merry!" Catherine offers music, movement, and stories for babies through age 4 on Saturday, July 30, at 10:30 a.m. The Nick Barone puppets perform "Tales from the Enchanted Forest" for ages 3 to 5 on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 10 a.m.

Saturday Lapsits

- Infants and toddlers, with a parent, will enjoy the stories, songs, and finger plays at the lapsits on Saturdays, July 23 and Aug. 6 and 13, 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, July 5, 19, and 26, and Aug. 2, 9, 16, and 23. and 30. Films will be screened at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12.