October 2009 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

Noe Valley Voice

October 2009

Tales with Taste

You can learn how to make gingerbread men, women, or babies by picking up a book from this month's list, provided by retiring Noe Valley Librarian Carol Small and Voice speed-reader Karol Barske. Their selections are but a fraction of the books available at the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street near Castro. The branch is open six days a week (see hours below). When the doors are closed, you can log on to www.sfpl.org and sign up for your favorites. For information, call Branch Manager Alice McCloud at 415-355-5707.

Children's Fiction

- The 26 letters each have one thing to do before they say goodnight in Judy Sierra's read-aloud book Sleepy Little Alphabet. Ages 2 to 4.

- Gingerbread Baby goes to the village to look for a friend, but finds them back at home, in Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett; recipes included. Ages 3 to 5.

- Mr. Bungles races to be on time to teach school, but everything goes wrong, in Late for School! by Stephanie Calmenson. Ages 4 to 6.

- Judy Goldman's Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead tells the story of the Mexican holiday celebrated Nov. 1 and 2. Ages 6 to 8.

- Abigail ("the Great One"), Jacob ("the Pain"), and Fluzzy the Cat reappear in Judy Blume's latest chapter book, Friend or Fiend? Ages 6 to 8.

- The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, edited by Bill Martin Jr., includes almost 200 poems, by authors from Robert Louis Stevenson to John Ciardi. All ages.

Children's Nonfiction

- Andrew Chaikin's Mission Control, This Is Apollo tells the story of the first voyages to the moon. Ages 8 and up.

Books selected by Children's Librarian Carol Small

Adult Nonfiction

- Terry Gould tells the stories of seven journalists who were murdered during their attempts to do investigative reporting, in Marked for Death: Dying for the Story in the World's Most Dangerous Places.

- Zeitoun is Dave Eggers' account of a Syrian-American man who mysteriously disappeared following Hurricane Katrina.

- In Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, Chris Hedges claims America is being destroyed from within by its powerful elite.

- The East, the West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters, by Richard Bernstein, examines Western males' obsession with the "exotic" East.

- In Hungry: A Mother and Daughter Fight Anorexia, Sheila and Lisa Himmel discuss their separate and combined problems, and their work toward a solution.

- Ian Halperin considers the last five years of the pop star's life in Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson.

- Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963 concludes Kevin Starr's seven-volume history of the state.

- Josh Neufeld, author of the graphic-novel American Splendor, depicts the lives of seven New Orleans residents who survived Hurricane Katrina, in A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge.

Annotations by Karol Barske, of the Voice staff

How to Photograph Your Children

- Noe Valley professional photographer Fima Gelman will teach parents how to capture special moments with their cameras, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7 to 8 p.m. Gelman, an award-winning photographer, will also present a slide show featuring photos of orphans taken during a trip to Siberia.

Book Discussion Group

- Attend the Noe Valley Book Discussion Group on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7 to 8:45 p.m.

Stories and Rhymes for Little Ones

- Babies and toddlers to age 3 will love the songs and rhymes at Toddler Tales, held Tuesdays Oct. 6, 13, 20, and 27, from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. Family Story Time, for children to age 5, follows a half an hour later, from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Call 355-5707 to confirm.