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Aug 27, 2008

New Kids' Read-Alongs

Read-alongs are picture books that come with an audio cd. We have a collection of read-alongs on cassette, but are just starting to collect read-alongs on cd. These are the first arrivals!

In this astonishingly beautiful and imaginatively illustrated picture book, Mosquito tells Iguana a tall tale that sets off a chain reaction that ends in jungle disaster. Iguana is so upset at being told such nonsense that he plugs his ears. So, of course, when Python says good morning, Iguana doesn't hear and ignores him altogether. Python suspects Iguana is plotting mischief against him, so he hides in a rabbit hole - which terrifies Rabbit. And so this amusing African legend goes, until finally the chain of mishaps reaches Mother Owl, who reacts by refusing to hoot and wake in the sun.
Eventually all is resolved, and jungle life returns to normal. But although Mosquito learns her lesson and gives up telling tall tales, she adopts a worse habit.
A gentle, poetic story that lovingly depicts the special companionship of a young child and her father as they take a nighttime stroll to look for owls. Complemented by award winning soft exquisite watercolor illustrations. Perfect for reading aloud and sharing at bedtime.



What could be more natural, when invited by the King and Queen to tea, than to ask to bring a friend? And that, of course, is what the hero of May I Bring a Friend? does. Not only to tea, but to breakfast, lunch, dinner, apple pie and Halloween - one invitation for each of six days of the week.
The King is most gracious. "Any friend of our friend is most welcome," says he. And his graciousness extends to giraffes, lions, hippos, monkeys, all kinds of friends. Not all of whom are on their very best behavior.
It must be assumed however, that everyone (including the reader) enjoyed the friends, for why else would the king and queen step off to the zoo for tea on the seventh day.
In this traditional Ashanti tale, Anansi sets out on a long, difficult journey. Threatened by Fish and Falcon, he is saved from terrible fates by his sons. But which of his sons should Anansi reward? Calling upon Nyame, the God of All Things, Anansi solves his predicament in a touching and highly resourceful fashion.In adapting this popular folktale, Gerald McDermott merges the old with the new, combining bold, rich color with traditional African design motifs and authentic Ashanti language rhythms.

Aug 18, 2008

New Kids' Movies

It's an Alphabet Play Date in Blue's Room and some ABC Blue's Clues games, too! All 26 letters have come over to Blue's Room for an alphabet play date with Blue and YOU! Play "Spell It/Pretend It", draw letters with Doodleboard, figure out a Polka Dots Puzzle Surprise Word, read a story, and develop Alphabet Power with your friends. Joe and Blue are making an Alphabet Train with a boxcar for each letter! What does Blue want to put in the last boxcar? Play an alphabetical game of Blue's Clues to figure it out.




Penelope Wilhern has everything a girl could want: A wealthy, socialite family, an enchanted bedroom and some of the coolest clothes around. There is only one problem: She was born into a cursed family and has the face of a pig.
Hidden away from the world, Penelope now finds herself subjected to a string of snobby, blue-blooded bachelors in a desperate attempt to find her a husband in order to break the curse. Penelope decides to break free from her family and go out into the world in search of adventure. Hiding her true identity with a scarf, Penelope discovers a wondrous world where freedom opens her eyes to possibilities she never knew existed. Making new friends along the way, she discovers happiness in the most unexpected places.
What do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favorite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year--the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though--he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar for "the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film."
Do you believe in dragons? Ruling a make-believe world of fantasy and fairy tales these terrifying winged predators never existed in real life. But what if they had? With CGI special effects this landmark exploration takes an in-depth look at these ferocious beasts of myth and fable from their unique anatomy and evolution to their legendary ability to breathe fire. Combining live action natural history and state-of-the-art computer animation DRAGON'S WORLD: A FANTASY MADE REAL will reveal everything you ever wanted to know about these spectacular flying creatures and much much more.
On a seemingly ordinary day in November, 2001, something amazing happens at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Baby Kandula is born. His birth marks a rare success and huge scientific milestone for the zoological community: The 320-pound newborn is only the second Asian elephant to be born through artificial insemination. Watch as this playful, rambunctious youngster grows up right before your eyes, taking his first steps, learning to feed and figuring out how to manipulate objects with his trunk in rare footage of an Asian elephant progressing through the newborn and toddler stages.

Aug 15, 2008

new FICTION

Death Angel by Linda Howard.
In Linda Howard's gifted hands, second chances, unexpected romance, and unrelenting action combine into a riveting new novel of suspense. In Death Angel, bad girls can wake up and trust their hearts, bad guys can fight for what's right . . . and dying just might be the only way to change one's life.
A striking beauty with a taste for diamonds and dangerous men, Drea Rousseau is more than content to be arm candy for Rafael Salinas, a notorious crime lord who deals with betrayal through quick and treacherous means: a bullet to the back of the head, a blade across the neck, an incendiary device beneath a car. Eager to break with Rafael, Drea makes a fateful decision and a desperate move, stealing a mountain of cash from the malicious killer. After all, an escape needs to be financed.
Though Drea runs, Salinas knows she can't hide-and he dispatches a cold-blooded assassin in hot pursuit, resulting in a tragic turn of events. Or does it?
Left for dead, Drea miraculously returns to the realm of the living a changed woman. She's no longer shallow and selfish, no longer steals or cheats or sells herself short. Both humbled and thrilled with this unexpected second chance, Drea embraces her new life. But in order to feel safe and sound-and stop nervously looking over her shoulder-she will need to take down those who marked her for death.
Joining forces with the FBI, supplying vital inside information that only she can provide, Drea finds herself working with the most dangerous man she's ever known. Yet the closer they get to danger, the more intense their feelings for each other become, and the more Drea realizes that the cost of her new life may be her life itself-as well as herheart.


The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge.
The greatest superpower of all isn't to be part spider, part man, or to cast magic spells — the greatest power is the power to create.
Daniel has that power.
Daniel's secret abilities — like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to recreate himself in any shape he chooses — have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn't have a normal life. He is the protector of the earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond what anyone could imagine.
Daniel X works alone. Having watched from the shadows as the brutal murder of his own parents unfolded before him, he has been forced to make his own way in a dark and unforgiving world with a heavy task handed to him.
Daniel's father was an alien hunter, working his way through a fearsome "wanted" list of aliens intent on seeking control and wreaking devastation. But as he planned his next target, his own time was running out. Following his parents' sudden deaths, Daniel faced an uncertain future: he knew little about his family nor where he came from but a few things were clear, he had inherited the list from his father and a unique ability to create anything that he needs including some very devoted friends to help him along the way.
His life has become dedicated to the mission. Every day has been transformed into a terrifying hunt, watching each step he takes for danger awaits around every corner and lurks within the shadows. His ultimate aim is to exact revenge against number 1 on his list: his parents' murderer. But first he must target the others: each more sinister and gruesome than the last.


The Coming Storm by Tracie Peterson.
Heirs of Montana book 2, the sequel to the bestselling Land of My Heart. With the love of her life missing in the Montana wilderness, a young woman must manage a ranch on her own. 1870 Montana ranching proves to be a hard life for Dianne Chadwick. Her ??anc??, Cole Selby, has yet to return from his journey east. Unbeknownst to her, he has been captured by Indians, and Takes-Many-Horses, who also loves Dianne, must decide whether or not to let him live. When her uncle is attacked by a grizzly, Dianne is left to care for his family and manage the ranch. Can she hold on to her faith and ride out the storm?



Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell.
Jill Breck was just doing her job as a river guide when she saved the life of Lane Faroe, son of two of St. Kilda Consulting's premier operators. But when a string of ominous events—including a mysterious fire that kills her great-aunt and a furor in the Western art world raised by a dozen Breck family paintings—culminates in a threat to her life, Jill reluctantly calls in a favor.
Zach Balfour works part-time as a consultant for St. Kilda. His expertise is gathering and analyzing information from unlikely and often dangerous sources. Though he's got the skills to be a highly effective bodyguard, being a bullet catcher isn't his preferred way to spend time.
Protecting Jill will take him into familiar territory—among a strange, savagely competitive bunch of collectors who'll do anything to stay at the top. But Jill is in deeper waters than she's ever known; as she soon discovers, the perils of running wild rivers are tame compared with the hidden dangers in the high-stakes game of art collecting.
From the cozy rooms of the Breck homestead cabin to the cold multimillion-dollar galleries of the Western art circuit, Zach and Jill must race against time to unmask a ruthless killer hidden in a blue smoke of money, threats, lies, and death. . . .


Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.
On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoe, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.






new NONFICTION

Escape from the Deep: the Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and her Courageous Crew by Alex Kershaw
By October, 1944, the U.S. Navy submarine Tang was legendary-she had sunk more enemy ships, rescued more downed airmen, and pulled off more daring surface attacks than any other Allied submarine in the Pacific. And then, on her fifth patrol, tragedy struck-the Tang was hit by one of her own faulty torpedoes. The survivors of the explosion struggled to stay alive in their submerged “iron coffin” one hundred-eighty feet beneath the surface. While the Japanese dropped deadly depth charges, just nine of the original eighty-man crew survived a harrowing ascent through the escape hatch. But a far greater ordeal was coming. After being picked up by a Japanese patrol vessel, they were sent to a secret Japanese interrogation camp known as the “Torture Farm.” They were close to death when finally liberated in August, 1945, but they had revealed nothing to the Japanese-not even the greatest secret of World War II.


Eldercare 911: The Caregiver's Complete Handbook for Making Decisions by Susan Beerman.
Continuing as the best how to book on the market for anyone facing the challenges of caring for an elderly loved one. This revised, updated, and expanded edition offers the best step-by-step recommendations for over 200 situations, providing even the most experienced family caregivers as well as professionals with invaluable new insights and guidance for managing eldercare needs.



Cables: Mittens, Hats and Scarves (Vogue Knitting on the Go)
With its elaborately beautiful results and simple technique, cable knitting is irresistible to almost anyone who knits. But knitters also love the practicality of small and easy-to-make cold-weather accessories such as hats, gloves, and mittens. Combine the two and you have the ingredients for perfect knitting projects. And that’s exactly what this newest volume in the Vogue® Knitting On the Go! series provides: 21 fabulous designs to work on anytime and anywhere. Knit easy caps, an elaborate buttoned neck warmer, fingerless gloves, self-striping mittens, and many more. The items vary from beginner friendly to challenging for those with a little more experience. Embellished with pompoms, fringe, and adorable earflaps, these stylish pieces are truly one of a kind.


The Bureau and the Mole: The Unmasking of Robert Philip Hanssen, the Most Dangerous Double Agent in History by David Vise Robert Philip Hanssen was one of the FBI's most trusted agents, a twenty-five-year veteran who was a devout Catholic and devoted suburban family man, who attended the same church and sent his children to the same school as his boss, bureau director Louis J. Freeh. But as he rose up the ranks to become one of America's foremost counterintelligence experts, he was also leading another life as a devilishly clever spy for the Russian government, selling secrets that would destroy billions of dollars of painstaking intelligence work and compromise a host of America's most closely guarded national security secrets, including the names of clandestine operatives and the top-secret-survival plan in the event of nuclear attack. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David A. Vise untangles Hanssen's web of deceit to tell the story of how he avoided detection for decades while becoming the most dangerous double agent in FBI history — and how Freeh and the FBI eventually brought him down. Vise probes Hanssen's personal history to uncover how a seemingly all-American boy ultimately became the perfect traitor by employing the very sources and methods his own nation had trusted him with — from covert drop sites to cryptography to the use of seemingly innocuous markings on telephone poles and signs — to jeopardize America's national security for over fifteen years. Drawing from a wide variety of sources in the FBI, the Justice Department, the White House, and the intelligence community, Vise also interweaves the narrative of how Freeh led the government's desperate search for the betrayer among its own ranks, from the false leads to the near misses to its ultimate, shocking conclusion. Fascinating, gripping, and provocative, The Bureau and the Mole is a harrowing tale of how one man's treachery rocked a fraternity built on fidelity, bravery, and integrity — and how the dedicated perseverance of another brought him to justice. This edition includes an index and epilogue bringing the book up-to-date with the sentencing of Robert Hanssen.

Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale & Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte.
An incisive, intrepid, and habit-changing narrative investigation into the commercialization of our most basic human need: drinking water.
Having already surpassed milk and beer, and second now only to soda, bottled water is on the verge of becoming the most popular beverage in the country. The brands have become so ubiquitous that we're hardly conscious that Poland Spring and Evian were once real springs, bubbling in remote corners of Maine and France. Only now, with the water industry trading in the billions of dollars, have we begun to question what it is we're drinking and why.
In this intelligent, eye-opening work of narrative journalism, Elizabeth Royte does for water what Eric Schlosser did for fast food: she finds the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that bring it from nature to our supermarkets. Along the way, she investigates the questions we must inevitably answer. Who owns our water? What happens when a bottled-water company stakes a claim on your town's source? Should we have to pay for water? Is the stuff coming from the tap completely safe? And if so, how many chemicals are dumped in to make it potable? What's the environmental footprint of making, transporting, and disposing of all those plastic bottles?
A riveting chronicle of one of the greatest marketing coups of the twentieth century as well as a powerful environmental wake-up call, Bottlemania is essential reading for anyone who shells out two dollars to quench their daily thirst.





new BIOGRAPHIES

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Doris Kearns Goodwin's classic life of Lyndon Johnson, who presided over the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and other defining moments the tumultuous 1960s, is a monument in political biography. From the moment the author, then a young woman from Harvard, first encountered President Johnson at a White House dance in the spring of 1967, she became fascinated by the man—his character, his enormous energy and drive, and his manner of wielding these gifts in an endless pursuit of power. As a member of his White House staff, she soon became his personal confidante, and in the years before his death he revealed himself to her as he did to no other.Widely praised and enormously popular, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream is a work of biography like few others. With uncanny insight and a richly engrossing style, the author renders LBJ in all his vibrant, conflicted humanity.


You Can Observe a Lot Just by Watching by Yogi Berra.
What does it take to be a real team player, especially in a society that glorifies selfishness and a corporate culture that often uses team player as a buzzword but rewards only the showboaters and prima donnas? Well, You Can Observe a Lot by Watching. In this happy and hilarious guide to teamwork, sportsmanship, and winning, Yogi Berra draws on the timeless wisdom handed down by example from ballplayers who came before him to inspire you to make the right choices and become not only a better team player--at sports, at work, and in life--but a better person.
Filled with colorful stories from his life and career, not to mention the down-to-earth wit and insight that Yogi fans love, You Can Observe a Lot by Watching shows you how to make a bad team good and a good team great.

The Snake Charmer by Jamie James.
On September 11th, 2001 while exploring a Burmese jungle, Dr. Joe Slowinski was bitten by a krait, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. His colleagues kept him alive for 26 hours with mouth-to-mouth respiration, waiting for medical help that would never come because of the global disruption caused by the attacks in America. This is narrative nonfiction in the great tradition of Into the Wild and The Perfect Storm, detailing Slowinski's entire life as an expert on poisonous snakes, structured around the dramatic story of his last expedition in the jungles of Burma. It will include first-person sources including Slowinski's colleagues and members of his family as well as material on snakes, the jungle, science and exploration, and Slowinski's own personality and passions.




A Final Thank You to Our Summer Reading Program Sponsors

G'Day for Reading was a wonderful success: 74 children signed up and read 219 hours! Not only that, you read not for prizes for yourself but to help save the animals. You did an absolutely wonderful job! Three cheers!

Thanks to the New Hampshire Humane Society for their program (remember Triscuit?), their collaboration with us and most of all for taking care of the animals.

Thanks to Seabrook Station for their generous gift that made Wildlife Encounters possible. That one program drew the most people of the entire summer!

Thanks to Sam's Club for their gift, also for the cake and ice cream at the final party--how could we have a party without cake and ice cream?!

Thanks to Pet City for their gifts to the animals to use as prizes for the kids--they were the first contributors.

Thanks to Shaw's for their gift that helped with party and program supplies--useful gifts that made it comfortable.

Thanks to Papa Gino's for our pizzas, napkins and plates at the final party. The pizza was delicious!

Aug 10, 2008

Picnic and Puppets In the Library


Picnic and Puppets in the Library
(BYOB—Bring Your Own Blanket)
You bring your food, we’ll have the lemonade!
Thursday, August 14th
6:00 pm
Featuring: Carol and Crew. She and her puppets will be performing favorites like Chester the Crabby Crab and Harley Hippo's Hiccups.
No bugs, no rain, no sunburn!

Aug 8, 2008

New Parent/Educator Titles

Internet safety expert Nancy Willard provides you with need-to-know information about those online dangers, and she gives you the practical parenting strategies necessary to help children and teens learn to use the Internet safely and responsibly. Willard shows you how simple strategies can be translated from the real world to the cyberworld, and that you don't have to learn advanced computer skills to put them into effect. As you work on these strategies with your child, you will also discover that remaining engaged with what your children are doing online is much more valuable than any blocking software you could buy.


A complete guide to raising healthy kids. Environmental activist and children's advocate Deirdre Imus addresses specific issues faced by children in every age group -- from infants to adolescents and beyond. With a focus on preventing rather than treating childhood illnesses, Deirdre concentrates on educating and empowering parents.






Toddlers can drive you bonkers…so adorable and fun one minute…so stubborn and demanding the next! Yet, as unbelievable as it sounds, there is a way to turn the daily stream of “nos” and “don’ts” into “yeses” and hugs…if you know how to speak your toddler’s language. In one of the most useful advances in parenting techniques of the past twenty-five years, Dr. Karp reveals that toddlers, with their immature brains and stormy outbursts, should be thought of not as pint-size people but as pintsize…cavemen.


Remember how simple school lunches used to be? You'd have something from every major food group, run around the playground for a while, and you looked and felt fine. But today it's not so simple. Schools are actually feeding the American crisis of childhood obesity and malnutrition. Although many schools have attempted to improve, they are still not measuring up: 78 percent of the school lunch programs in America do not meet the USDA's nutritional guidelines.
Chef Ann Cooper has emerged as one of the nation's most influential and most respected advocates for changing how our kids eat. Ann has worked to transform cafeterias into culinary classrooms. In Lunch Lessons, she and Lisa Holmes spell out how parents and school employees can help instill healthy habits in children.
Everything new parents need to know about the care (and feeding) of an infant, from the authors of What to Expect® When You're Expecting. Covers monthly growth and development, feeding for every age and stage, sleep strategies that really work. Filled with the most practical tips (how to give a bath, decode your baby's crying, what to buy for baby, and when to return to work) and the most up-to-date medical advice (the latest on vaccines, vitamins, illnesses, SIDS, safety, and more).

Aug 6, 2008

Movie this Friday: National Treasure:Book of Secrets


This week's Friday Flix is National Treasure:Book of Secrets
Friday, August 8, 2008
2:00 PM
Rated PG - all ages welcome
Seabrook Library's Friday Flix shown every Friday in our meeting room during the month of August. We will pop popcorn and provide a drink, you are welcome to bring your own snack.

Aug 5, 2008

Story Time Sign-Ups

Story Times are starting August 18th! The survey results have been tallied and this schedule suits the most requests:
Toddlers (1-2 years old): Mondays at 10:30, Aug. 18th to Sep. 22nd.
Walkers (2-4 years old): Fridays at 11:00, Aug. 22nd to Sep. 26th.
Runners (4-6 years old): Wednesdays at 6:00pm, Aug. 19th to Sep. 23rd.

This is a six week session and you will need to sign your child up for it. Please call 474-2044 and ask for Lisa, e-mail me or come talk to me when you visit the library.

Library Club, for school-age children, will start after school is in session and everyone has had a chance to figure out their schedule.

Aug 1, 2008

Craft Free For All!


Come to the Craft Room this week, August 4-8, for the last of the Australian crafts! If you missed any of the craft sessions during the summer reading program, now is your chance for cave art, sharks, sheep, koalas, turtles, .....etc.


This is while supplies last!