November 2008 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

You can learn about pirates or what it's like to be the grandson of an ayatollah, by perusing two selections on this month's list, brought to you by Voice bookworm Karol Barske and children's librarian Carol Small, of the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library. To see if books are available, search for titles at www.sfpl.org, call Small or branch manager Alice McCloud at 355-5707, or drop by the library at 451 Jersey Street at Castro. While you're there, check out the CD and DVD collections. Hours are 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.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Adult Fiction

- In Erin McGraw's The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard--a novel inspired by the author's own grandmother--a young woman leaves her husband and two daughters in rural 1901 Kansas and winds up out west as a dressmaker to the stars.

- Jazz musician and con man Louis Greenberg tries to break into the bebop scene in 1948 Los Angeles, in Early Bright, Ami Silber's debut novel.

- In 1952, a young, ambitious Yale psychology professor develops a mood-enhancing drug that has disastrous consequences, in Pharmakon by Dirk Wittenborn.

Adult Nonfiction

- In An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King, William F. Pepper, an attorney and friend of the civil rights leader, describes his 30-year investigation into what he believes was a large-scale conspiracy and cover-up.

- Jon Katz tells tales about his two newest dogs, an emotionally damaged border collie and a black lab with training issues, in Izzy and Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me.

- Hooman Majd, the Western-educated grandson of an ayatollah, explores Persian social mores in The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran.

- In The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, Henry Hitchings sifts through 350 languages to examine the roots of our vocabulary.

Children's Fiction

- In David Bedford's Moms, children can lift flaps to find out about various animal mothers, including Camel's mom, who has knobby knees, and Whale's mom, who leaps for the sky; illustrations by Leonie Worthington. Ages 1 to 3.

- Christopher Rabbit tries to count everything, even his mother's goodnight kisses and the stars in the sky, in Christopher Counting, written and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev. Ages 3 to 6.

- Except for Taln the Potter, all the villagers of Maldinga tell their unpleasant secrets to Kali, The Secret Keeper, in Kate Coombs' modern fairy tale. Ages 6 to 9.

- Folding origami cranes at her grandmother's flower shop helps Angela cope with her parents' impending divorce, in Naomi Hirahara's 1,001 Cranes. Ages 10 and up.

Children's Nonfiction

- Irene Luxbacher includes clear step-by-step directions for the creation of relief prints, folds, and etched art, using everyday materials and tools, in 123 I Can Make Prints. Ages 4 to 8.

- John Matthews' survey of knaves on the high seas, Pirates: Most Wanted, features Blackbeard, Black Bart, Black Sam, and a few notorious women. Ages 7 to 12.

LIBRARY EVENTS

Tell Me a Story

- Children 3 to 5 are invited to attend preschool story time, a read-aloud program from 11 to 11:30 a.m, on Tuesdays, Nov. 4 and 25.

Monster Films

- Films for kids 3 to 5, including "Chicka, Chicka 1, 2, 3" and "Leonardo the Terrible Monster," will be shown on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 10:15 and 11 a.m.

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