February 2007 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

This month's library selections, provided by San Francisco librarians Pam Ow and Carol Small (and Voicers Karol Barske and Sally Smith), include Michael Crichton's latest sci-fi novel and an award-winning book for young teens about a pre­Civil War slave auction. To find out if they're available, or to look for other books or DVDs, call or stop by a local branch library or visit the San Francisco Public Library online at www.sfpl.org. Be aware that the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street remains closed for renovation until late 2007 or early 2008. However, the Mission, Glen Park, Bernal, and Eureka Valley libraries are all within short hikes of Noe Valley. For information, call 557-4400.

Children's Fiction

- A young bear cub shares the joys of a day with his dad in Sebastian Braun's I Love My Daddy. A variety of animal moms care for their babies in Braun's I Love My Mommy. Ages 1 to 5.

- Nina Crews' lively photographs--some with special digital effects--feature urban, multi-ethnic children enacting 41 nursery rhymes in The Neighborhood Mother Goose. Ages 3 to 5.

- A boy and his sister go on a bilingual Spanish/English search through the house to gather different-colored items needed for their afternoon Siesta, as told by Ginger Foglesong Guy. Réne King Moreno's illustrations depict many household objects for readers to identify. Ages 3 to 6.

- The life cycle of A Grand Old Tree that nurtures many creatures is respectfully honored in an appealingly illustrated story by Mary Newell DePalma. Ages 4 to 8.

--Pam Ow, Eureka Valley­Harvey Milk Library

- Each character, whether historical or fictional, contributes his views to the moving story about a slave auction in 1859, in Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue, by Julius Lester (2006 Coretta Scott King Author Award). Ages 10 and older.

- In Marlene Carvell's Sweetgrass Basket, Mattie and her sister, Sarah, are at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School at the turn of the 20th century, trying to "be good," as requested by their father, and to survive the strict, even cruel treatment by some of the adults at the school. Ages 10 and older.

--Carol Small, Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library

Adult Fiction

- In The Children's Hospital, a Noah's ark-inspired tale by physician Chris Adrian, a young woman medical student tries to save the last inhabitants of an earth that has been submerged beneath seven miles of water.

- Next, the newest thriller by author Michael Crichton, focuses on genetic engineering, hybrid creatures, and the perils of mixing human and chimpanzee DNA.

- A man dying of Lou Gehrig's disease dictates his family story, starting in 1871 with the journey of his half-Chippewa great-grandfather from Minnesota to Michigan, in Returning to Earth, by Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall.

- In Trap Door, the 10th "home repair" mystery by Sarah Graves, Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree continues tinkering on her haunted house in Eastport, Maine, while searching for a missing man and avoiding a killer.

- Author Thomas Harris delves into the early-life traumas that formed the character of villainous cannibal Hannibal Lecter, in Hannibal Rising, the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon.

Adult Nonfiction

- In From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, The Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism, Fred Turner draws a direct line from the 1960s to current technology, examining the complex environmental impact of computerization.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who accompanied her anthropologist parents to Africa in the 1950s, recalls her experiences with the Ju/wasi Bushmen, in The Old Way: A Story of the First People.

- In Saddam's Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein, former general Georges Sada (with co-author Jim Nelson Black) offers proof of Hussein's tyranny and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction.

--Karol Barske, Noe Valley Voice staff

LIBRARY EVENTS

Rhythm, Rap & Rhyme

- In honor of Black History Month, Tureeda Mikell presents a program of "Rhythm, Rap, and Rhyme," for children under 6, at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Noe Valley Library's temporary home: Bethany United Methodist Church, 1268 Sanchez Street.

Lapsits and Story Time

- Bethany Church will also host the Tuesday infant/toddler lapsits, at 10:15 a.m., and preschool story time, a read-aloud program for kids 3 to 5, at 11 a.m., on Feb. 6, 20, and 27.

- The Noe Valley Bookmobile will be parked at 665 Elizabeth Street near Diamond Street on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.