Ronald McDonald is Coming to the Library!

“Ronald’s Sunsational Reading Show!” Friday, Jan 2, at 11am.

What do big red shoes, sunshine, books and fun have in common?

Ronald McDonald loves them all!

“Ronald’s Sunsational Reading Show”, will excite you with 30 minutes of reading fun.

Dive into magical adventure and hike through some “Wild Reads” to “Catch the Reading Bug”.

Celebrate reading with Ronald McDonald

New graphic novels and comics

BHot-tempered 15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of the popular fantasy-adventure Bleach, has the unsettling ability to see spirits who are unable to rest in peace. His sixth sense leads him to Rukia, a Soul Reaper who destroys Hollows (soul-devouring monsters) and ensures the deceased find repose with the Soul Society. When she's injured in battle, Rukia transfers her sword and much of her power to Ichigo, whose spiritual energy makes him a formidable substitute Soul Reaper. But the orange-haired teenager isn't sure he wants the job: too many risks and moral dilemmas.leach - volumes 1-24

In 2001, audiences first met and fell in love with a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind named Artemis Fowl. Since then, the series has sold over seven million copies in the United States alone. Now, this phenomenally successful series is being translated into a graphic novel format. Eoin Colfer has teamed up with established comic writer Andrew Donkin to adapt the text. For the first time, rabid fans will be able to see what Foaly's tin hat looks like; discover just how "Beet" Root got his name; and of course, follow their favorite criminal mastermind as he plots and connives in action-packed, full-color panels.

He's a chicken! He's a hare! He's Chickenhare! And he's your new favorite comic-book character, whether you know it or not! Night is falling on the frozen landscape as Chickenhare and his turtle friend Abe find themselves on their way to be sold to Kaus - an insane taxidermist with a penchant for unique animals and enough emotional baggage to go on a very long vacation. With the help of two mysterious new companions, our fuzzy, feathered and amphibious heroes endeavor to escape their dire fate. But they soon discover that might not be so easy when they get caught up in an adventure that could bring Klaus's villiany to an end for good... or they all might die. Whatever happens, Chickenhare is sure to charm, scare and delight readers young and old alike!

Volume one contains material originally published in single magazine form as World of warcraft 1-7, 2008, and World of warcraft preview, 2007

New Kids' Nonfiction

Wyatt Earp, who was by turns a cowboy, a railroad worker, a deputy marshal, and a deputy sheriff, was a proud and courageous man. A part of the famouse 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral and a lawmaker of his own, he lived far longer than many of his opponents; dying in California in 1929. Movies have turned him into a western legend--find the truth behind the legends in this book. Background information on Wyatt, his family and their companions are included, along with a timeline of important dates.-

Imagine that you're walking on the moon.
What is it like? For thousands of years people looked up at the moon and wondered about it. Now we know what the moon is like. There is no air on the moon and nothing grows, but there are towering mountains and deep craters--and much more!
Colder than the desert, the hotter than the desert, the moon is an amazing place to explore.

Bobbi and Bob Cat are the best of friends. When their hometown of New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina, many lost everything. But not Bobbi and Bob Cat—they still had each other. Only by staying together could they survive. This is the story of their remarkable friendship.

This revised and expanded edition of AMC's popular seashore guide helps kids discover nature along the Atlantic coast through detailed illustrations, "fascinating fact" hunts through each chapter, and a special section for coloring.

Being a monster isn't all frightening villagers and sucking blood. Monsters have their trials, too. Poor Frankenstein's cupboard is bare, Wolfman is in need of some household help, and it's best not to get started on Dracula's hygiene issues. What could be scarier?
Nineteen hilarious poems delve into the secret lives of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bigfoot, Godzilla, and others.

New movies

Amazon.com-----After the dark brilliance of No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading may seem like a trifle, but few filmmakers elevate the trivial to art quite like Joel and Ethan Coen. Inspired by Stansfield Turner's Burn Before Reading, the comically convoluted plot clicks into gear when the CIA gives analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) the boot. Little does Cox know his wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton, riffing on her Michael Clayton character), is seeing married federal marshal Harry (George Clooney, Swinton's Clayton co-star, playing off his Syriana role). To get back at the Agency, Cox works on his memoirs. Through a twist of fate, fitness club workers Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt in a pompadour that recalls Johnny Suede) find the disc and try to wrangle a "Samaratin tax" out of the surly alcoholic. An avid Internet dater, Linda plans to use the money for plastic surgery, oblivious that her manager, Ted (The Visitor's Richard Jenkins), likes her just the way she is. Though it sounds like a Beltway remake of The Big Lebowski, the Coen entry it most closely resembles, this time the brothers concentrate their energies on the myriad insecurities endemic to the mid-life crisis--with the exception of Chad, who's too dense to share such concerns, leading to the funniest performance of Pitt's career. If Lebowski represented the Coen's unique approach to film noir, Burn sees them putting their irresistibly absurdist stamp on paranoid thrillers from Enemy of the State to The Bourne Identity. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The magical world of C.S. Lewis beloved fantasy comes to life once again in Prince Caspian, the second installment of The Chronicles Of Narnia series. Join Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, the mighty and majestic Aslan, friendly new Narnian creatures and Prince Caspian as they lead the Narnians on a remarkable journey to restore peace and glory to their enchanted land. Continuing the adventure of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe with more magic and a brand-new hero, Prince Caspian is a triumph of imagination, courage, love, joy and humor your whole family will want to watch again and again.

Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives

Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006) stars in this action-packed comedy as Hancock, a sarcastic, hard-living and misunderstood superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public. When Hancock grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from idealistic publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, Juno), his life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right again--until he meets a woman (2003 Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron, Best Actress, Monster) with similar powers to his and the key to his secret past.

On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother a scientist his nephew & their mountain guide discover a fantastic & dangerous lost world in the center of the earth. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 10/28/2008 Starring: Brendan Fraser Anita Briem Rating: Pg

Enthusiastic, big and a little clumsy, Po works in his family’s noodle shop while daydreaming about becoming a Kung Fu master. His dreams soon become reality when he is unexpectedly chosen to join the world of Kung Fu and study alongside his idols-the legendary fighters Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey-under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it’s up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a Kung Fu hero into reality? Po puts his heart and his girth into the task, and ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.

New music

Limited Edition pressing of their 2008 album comes in double fold digipak packaging. On Attack and Release, Danger Mouse is more creative co- conspirator than traditional figure behind the boards. He doesn’t radically alter the duo ’s sound so much as coax out more of its inherent soulfulness, groove and bittersweet emotion. Two versions of 'Remember When' illustrate how the duo can swing easily from smoldering ballad to thrashing rocker. 'I’ m more pleased with the sound of this record than any one we’v e ever made,' says Carney, and Auerbach concurs: 'We never let it all go l ike we did for this one, anything was game. It was just fun to make, and that’s why I t hink it’s so successful.

After over 5 million albums sold in the US, Slipknot returns with their most powerfulstatement yet - All Hope Is Gone. Filled with the fury people have come to expect fromSlipknot as well as some extraordinary surprises, this album is the culmination of theband' s 9 unique members, three platinum albums and their 10 year journey at the topof the Hard Rock genre. Kicked off by the powerful crescendo that is Execute andGematria (The Killing Name) and ending with the blistering track All Hope Is Gone- the album is a cohesive statement about the world today and truly cements theband as one of Rock' s heavyweights. The lead single Psychosocial will propel the newalbum to match and exceed the success of the last album, Vol 3: Subliminal Verseswhich produced numerous Top 20 songs at Rock radio

including a Top 5 track at Active andModern Rock radio.

Carrie Underwood’s Some Hearts, hastily made and released some five months after she won the 2005 American Idol crown, was surprisingly solid and tuneful. For her follow-up, producer Mark Bright steers her toward the big Martina McBride skies, with a plethora of strings and huge emotional crescendos. Underwood co-wrote four songs, mostly with the tried-and-true tunesmiths who made Some Hearts soar. On the torchy heartache ballad "I Know You Won’t," she gives a beautifully nuanced and controlled performance, but if that song would suit any number of lush female pop stars from Celine Dion on down, "Flat on the Floor" rocks hard while preserving co-writer Ashley Monroe’s Appalachian angst. Still, there are missteps: the easy tears of the unlikely war ballad "Just a Dream," a too-obvious attempt to repeat the sass of "Before He Cheats" ("The More Boys I Meet"), and the Shania-ish bad-girl-on-Cuervo stomp of "Last Name." The big payoff, then, is how much 24-year old Underwood has improved as a vocalist. How often listeners line up for this Carnival Ride depends on their attitude about country music’s continual melding with pop, and how they feel about a princess upstart taking home the awards that used to go to her heroes. --Alanna Nash

Product DescriptionNickelback have established themselves as one of the biggest rock bands in the world. With over 26 million albums sold worldwide they have made their mark in rock and roll history. Their new album, 'Dark Horse', is one of the most anticipated releases this year. The band brought in legendary producer Mutt Lange to produce the record with Nickelback and longtime collaborator Joey Moi.

"Take It To The Limit" is Hinder's much anticipated follow-up album to their breakthrough 3X platinum smash Extreme Behavior. The new CD, Take It To The Limit, was produced by Extreme Behavior producer Brian Howes, Largely credited with reviving the `live fast-play hard' work ethic embodied by many of rock's seminal 1970s bands, Hinder blazed new trails in virtually every music platform the past two years.

Circus is the seventh album by Britney Spears. It rolls into town on the heels of an MTV VMA awards sweep, where Britney walked away with three Moonmen awards for 'Video of the Year', 'Best Female' and 'Best Pop Video' for 'Piece Of Me'. Circus is the follow up to her critically well received album, Blackout, just in in time for her 27th birthday. The lead single, 'Womanizer' (produced by the up and coming Atlanta production team The Outsyders) has already created a frenzy amongst Britney fantaics, radio and the media alike-underscoring Britney's continued reign as one of the Queens of Pop.

Brad Pailey won his first GRAMMY Award in 2008 for Best Country Instrumental Performance and he is believes in 'more music, less talk' with his 2008 album, Play, which promises to increase axes across the board, alongside some of the guitar world's great heroes. Featuring guest vocal and musical collaborations with B.B. King, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, and Buck Owens

American Idol winner David Cook is set to release his self-titled debut album on November 18th, 2008. Produced by Grammy winning Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock), David Cook is a quality album full with radio hits. Cook co-wrote 9 songs from his debut, along with songwriters like Chris Cornell, Brian Howes & Cathy Dennis. The 1st single "Light On" was co-written by one of rock music's most influential innovators, Chris Cornell, lead singer and songwriter for Soundgarden and Audioslave, and acclaimed producer / songwriter Brian Howes, who has worked with superstar rock bands such as Hinder and Puddle of Mudd.

New fiction

Product Description:Following the instant # 1 New York Times bestseller Stone Cold, Oliver Stone and the Camel Club return in David Baldacci's most surprising thriller yet . . .

Known by his alias, "Oliver Stone," John Carr is the most wanted man in America. With two pulls of the trigger, the men who destroyed Stone's life and kept him in the shadows were finally silenced. But his freedom comes at a steep price: The assassinations he carried out prompt the highest levels of the U.S. government to unleash a massive manhunt. Behind the scenes, master spy Macklin Hayes is playing a very personal game of cat and mouse. He, more than anyone, wants Stone dead. With their friend and unofficial leader in hiding, the members of the Camel Club risk everything to save him. Now, as the hunters close in, Stone's flight from the demons of his past will take him from the power corridors of Washington, D.C., to the small, isolated coal-mining town of Divine, Virginia-and into a world every bit as lethal as the one he left behind.

Stephen King-who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies-delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since Everything's Eventual six years ago. As guest editor of the bestselling Best American Short Stories 2007, King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Esquire and other publications.
Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-a-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating-and then terrifying-journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable-and resourceful-as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana," a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, "N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside . . . or keep the world from falling victim to it.

In his 14th book, bestselling author Nicholas Sparks tells the unforgettable story of a man whose brushes with death lead him to the love of his life. Is there really such thing as a lucky charm? The hero of Nicholas Sparks's new novel believes he's found one in the form of a photograph of a smiling woman he's never met, but who he comes to believe holds the key to his destiny. The chain of events that leads to him possessing the photograph and finding the woman pictured in it is the stuff of love stories only a master such as Sparks can write.

At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her own greatest work, Anita Shreve delivers in TESTIMONY a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellinglyexplores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

New teen fiction

If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.
From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight--she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

2008 National Book Award - Young Adult Fiction

Blundell, author of Star Wars novelizations, turns out a taut, noirish mystery/coming-of-age story set in 1947; it's easy to picture it as a film starring Lana Turner, who is mentioned in these pages. When first met, 15-year-old Evie and her best friend are buying chocolate cigarettes to practice smoking. Evie sheds that innocence on a trip to Florida, where her stepfather, Joe, back from the war in Europe, abruptly takes her and her beautiful mother, Beverly, and where Evie falls in love with glamorous Peter, an army buddy whom Joe is none too happy to see. But after a boating accident results in a suspicious death and an inquest, Evie is forced to revisit her romance with Peter and her relationships with Joe and her mother, and to consider that her assumptions about all three may have been wrong from the beginning. Blundell throws Evie's inexperience into high relief with slangy, retro dialogue: Peter calls Evie pussycat ; Beverly says her first husband kicked through love like it was dust and he kept on walking. Readers can taste Evie's alienation and her yearning; it's a stylish, addictive brew

Three middle schoolers are brought together at Moon Shadow, an isolated campground where thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare and extraordinary total eclipse of the sun. Ally's parents own Moon Shadow, where she's lived pretty much her entire life. When her parents tell her they're moving away to the city, she's suddenly frightened of the world beyond the campgrounds and desperately wants to stay at the only home she's ever known. Bree is popular, gorgeous, and on her way to becoming homecoming queen (when she gets to high school). With scientist parents and a brainiac little sister, Bree is the black sheep of the family. When her parents break it to her that they're moving to Moon Shadow, Bree realizes that popularity doesn't mean a thing when there's no one there to see it. Overweight and awkward, Jack is confused when his science teacher asks him to go on a trip to view the eclipse at Moon Shadow, especially since he failed science class. Although this is a chance for Jack to make up for his failure and bypass summer school, it also gives him the courage to come out of his shell and find true friends for the first time. Told from these three perspectives, Wendy Mass weaves an intricate and compelling story about strangers coming together under different circumstances and establishing unlikely friendships. With breathtaking descriptions of nature and its ultimate phenomenon, the eclipse, Every Soul a Star is a powerful and humorous story about dealing with change and discovering one's place in the universe

That's what I am. A funny girl. A friend. Nobody's girlfriend. The girl with the pretty face.
Hayley wishes she could love living in Santa Monica, blocks from the beach, where every day—and everybody—is beautiful and sunny. But she just doesn't fit in with all the blond, superskinny Southern California girls who have their plastic surgeons on speed dial. Hayley is smart and witty and has such a pretty . . . face. Translation: Don't even think about putting on a bikini, much less dating superhot Drew Wyler. A bikini will never be flattering, and Drew will never think of her as more than a friend.
Just when Hayley feels doomed to live her life in the fat lane, her parents decide to send her to Italy for the summer—not for school, not for fat camp, just for fun. It's there, under the Italian sun, that Hayley's vision of herself starts to change. She's curvy, not fat. Pizza isn't evil. And life is so much more than one-size-fits-all. Who knows? Once Hayley sees herself in a new light, maybe the girl with the pretty face will finally find true amore

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...
It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians--including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if handto- hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks....This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

New biography

Product DescriptionFinally, after four hit novels, Carrie Fisher comes clean (well, sort of ) with the crazy truth that is her life in her first-ever memoir. In Wishful Drinking, adapted from her one-woman stage show, Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of "Hollywood in-breeding," come of age on the set of a little movie called Star Wars, and become a cultural icon and bestselling action figure at the age of nineteen.
Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It's an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty -- Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher -- homewrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.

Product DescriptionCory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell.AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE is the true story of Cory and his family's decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment. It is a heart-rending story of struggle and triumph with a climax as dramatic as any James Patterson thriller. (2008)

The astounding story of one girl's journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative.
As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry.
But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands.
Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown.
In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.

New nonfiction

Product Description: Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers–that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory.One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will–or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House–from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman–have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision.Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe–no matter what it took. Jon Meacham in American Lion has delivered the definitive human portrait of a pivotal president who forever changed the American presidency–and America itself.

Product Description: Most people think that beauty revolves around such things as lipstick, sweet eyes, or skinny jeans -- all those things that we can see (and obsess over) in the mirror. But the fact is that beauty isn't some superficial pursuit, and it's not some random act that you can thank (or curse) your ancestors for. There are, in fact, scientific standards to beauty. Beauty is purposeful, because it's how humans have historically communicated who we are to potential mates. Beauty, in fact, is really about your health and happiness. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz bust the myths and stereotypes about the way we view ourselves -- and how we define beauty.

This Week for Kids

Tonight at 6pm: The final Christmas Movie Night feature is The Polar Express! Come in your jammies with your pillow and stuffed animal for a good movie and Starbucks hot chocolate. Running time is 100 minutes, approximately twice as long as previous features.

Tomorrow at 4:15--Reading to Aspen. There is one slot left open at 4:15. If you'd like to use it, please call or e-mail me.

Wednesday and Thursday--We are closed. Merry Christmas!

Friday at 11am: Drop in Story time. Don't worry, it will be quite low-key!

New Kids' Fiction

1. My name is Sam.
2. I am eleven years old.
3. I collect stories and fantastic facts.
4. I have leukemia.
5. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead.
Living through the final stages of leukemia, Sam collects stories, questions, lists, and pictures that create a profoundly moving portrait of how a boy lives when he knows his time is almost up.


Monty Gerald Morris may be small and shy, but he's a mighty smart kid and an A+ reader. In an endearing follow-up to Mostly Monty, the quiet first-grader continues to come into his own — playing the part of a tree in a comically miscued school play, sharing his enthusiasm for ants at an outdoor birthday party, even signing up for karate class despite his asthma. Once again, Johanna Hurwitz finds gentle humor in everyday situations and offers a charming portrayal of a likable character many young readers will relate to.

Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays’ apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy.After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can’t go through with the plan without Marvin’s help. And that’s where things get really complicated (and interesting!).

After the death of her beloved Gramps, Delores Colchester, better known as “Itch,” moves with her grandmother from Florida to Ohio. Starting over is hard, and Itch feels like an outsider in her new school, until she becomes friends with popular baton-twirling Gwendolyn. On the outside, Gwendolyn seems perfect: talented, smart, and beautiful. But she has a dark secret, which Itch begins to suspect and soon discovers is true. “Speaking up takes courage,” Gramps had always told Itch, and she’s about to discover just how much.

On April 10, 1912, fourteen year old Christopher Watkins boards the Titanic with his family. While sailing across the Atlantic, the giant ship strikes an iceberg and begins to sink! Christopher must quickly find a way to save his family.

Young Mekhai, better known as Bird, loves to draw. With drawing you can erase the things that don't turn out right. In real life, problems aren't so easily fixed.
As Bird struggles to understand the death of his beloved grandfather and his artistic brother's decline into drug addiction, he escapes into drawing as an outlet for his emotions and imagination. Along the way, with the help of his grandfather's friend, Bird finds his own special somethin' and wings to fly.

This Week for Kids!

Monday's drop-in craft will be available upon request since we were closed due to lack of power.

Tuesday's Reading to Aspen session was also cancelled.

Wednesday's 6pm Christmas Movie Night is on! We will be watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town and drinking Starbucks hot chocolate. Come join us in your jammies, with a stuffed animal...

Thursday:
At 6pm, there will be a storyteller to present The Polar Express! Wear your jammies and come enjoy Starbucks hot chocolate and carol singing! Come out and spend some warm cozy time with friends.

new movies

The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. Heath Ledger stars as archvillain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel Dawes. Returning from Batman Begins are Gary Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.

Fred Claus has lived in his little brother's shadow for most of his life. Fred is in jail and Nicholas has to bail him out on the condition he come to the North Pole and repay his debt.

State-of-the-art digital technology and a new orchestral recording bring to life this fantastical retelling of Sergei Prokofiev s classic fable of a magical world in which little boys can find the strength and courage to overcome their fears and the ever-present dangers that surround them.

Youngsters probably don't know that a long time ago, chimpanzees were sent into space in NASA rockets before astronauts got the chance to go. But they will certainly know more about that historical fact after seeing the very clever and funny Space Chimps, a computer-animated film in which primates are sent off-planet once again by a space agency. When a probe from Earth gets zapped into a wormhole and ends up in the hands of a wannabe tyrant (voiced by Jeff Daniels) on a distant planet, a chimp crew is thrust in that same direction to see what's up. The simian team includes a by-the-book commander (Patrick Warburton), a brilliant scientist (Cheryl Hines), and a wild card named Ham III (Andy Samberg), a circus chimp whose grandfather happened to be an astronaut legend in the old space program. The script by Kirk De Micco and Robert Moreland is like a string of lighted firecrackers: rapid-fire puns, wisecracks, and blink-and-you'll-miss-them visual gags that will appeal to every age. De Micco, making his directorial debut, keeps the comic engine humming, but he also supervises radically different art direction schemes underscoring how different Earth is from the Seussian-like planet on which Ham and the other visitors find themselves. Ratcheting up the humor even more are three NASA-nerds harboring party animals within their pocket-protector-covered hearts, and a funny performance by Stanley Tucci (Big Night) as an imperious senator. --Tom Keogh

Brennan Huff, a sporadically employed thirty-nine-year-old who lives with his mother, Nancy. Dale Doback, a terminally unemployed forty-year-old who lives with his father, Robert. When Robert and Nancy marry and move in together, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. As their narcissism and downright aggressive laziness threaten to tear the family apart, these two middle-aged, immature, overgrown boys will orchestrate an insane, elaborate plan to bring their parents back together. To pull it off, they must form an unlikely bond that maybe, just maybe, will finally get them out of the house.