Free Tutoring by Sconiers Homeless Preventive, Inc.

For grades 1-8, Mondays & Wednesdays, 3-6 p.m. Fridays, 3-5:45 p.m. and Saturdays, 9:15 a.m.- 1 p.m. (Please note that the library closes promptly at 6 p.m. on Friday.) Tutoring is provided by volunteers recruited by Sconiers Homeless Preventive, a local nonprofit organization. Tutors will consist of some certified teachers, plus other adult and High School volunteers.

Advance appointments must be made in advance with Rosalind Sconiers, 770 473 7081 or via email at sconiershomelesspreventive@yahoo.com Tutors will meet with scheduled students in the public “story time” area in the back of the Youth Services section. The library and tutors will not have textbooks so students should bring both their textbooks and their assignment information. All questions should be addressed to Ms. Sconiers, not to the library. Parents must remain in the Youth Services section with students under age 8. For the safety of the children, parents of students ages 8 and older are also requested to remain in the Youth Services area. The library is merely providing space for these tutoring sessions as a service to the community and does not monitor or oversee the students.

Also make sure to get a library card and use Live Homework Help to connect with an American tutor online via the library’s web site, http://www.claytonpl.org/ A library card is required for access to this free-to-the-public service for students in grades 4-early college which is funded by the Clayton CountyLibrary Foundation and Clayton County Public Schools. Also scroll down to the bottom of the library’s home page and click on “Learning Express” for free access for practice tests in various subjects, grades 4-early college. This service is funded by the Clayton County Library System. If you don’t have access to an Internet computer, you may sign up to reserve a session or sessions (up to 120 minutes daily) on the library’s computers. Frequently there might be a “wait time” until a computer becomes available.

Scholastic Half Off Book Fair, Dec. 4 (3:30)-Dec. 13

Tuesday, December 4	3:30 p.m/ -8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 5	9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 6	9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Friday, December 7	9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 8	9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 9	1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Monday, December 10	9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 11	9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 12	9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 13	9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

The library accepts purchase orders, cash, checks, all major charge cards & debit cards with charge card logos. Special orders can be taken ONLY for book titles shipped on the initial book fair shipment that have sold out. Clayton County Headquarters Library, 865 Battle Creek Rd., Jonesboro, GA. 30236. Directions at www.claytonpl.org For more information call 770 210 5238, 770 473 3850, or email Janice Arcuria, arcuriaj@claytonpl.org. 

Learn CPR Nov. 3, 2-4 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 3, 2-4 p.m. Learn CPR. This free class is sponsored by Sconiers Homeless Preventive, a local, non-profit organization.  The class will be taught by Kim LaFourche from “A Call to Living.”  For older youth and adults.  Please register in advance at 770 473 3850 (ask for the Youth Services Dept.) or email: BeaMengel@claytonpl.org  Clayton County Headquarters Library, 865 Battle Creek Rd., Jonesboro, 30236. (large meeting room off lobby). For directions go to www.claytonpl.org

Mother Goose Hits the Road

Our very own Mother Goose (a.k.a. Ms. Judy) has been travelling around Clayton County visiting child care centers and sharing her rhymes and stories with children.  Although Mother Goose Day is on May 1st each year, she believes that these wonderful nursery rhymes should be shared year round.  Unfortunately, she could not find her goose, who likes to hide all the time, so she enlisted the help of her good friend Duck to go along on her travels to the different schools.  As you can imagine, Duck did not mind one bit.  Here is a picture of the two of them before a storytime:


These are some of our favorite Mother Goose books that you can share:

Here Comes Mother Goose by Iona Archibald Opie

My First Real Mother Goose Bedtime Book

Nursery Rhyme Book by Beatrix Potter

Teddy Bears’ Mother Goose by Michael Hague

Dona Blanca and other Hispanic Nursery Rhymes and Games by Isabel Schon

Riddledy Piggledy by Tony Mitton

We have many Mother Goose and other nursery rhyme books in our collection.  Visit one of your local libraries to find these and more!  Remember, if you need help finding them there is always someone at each of our branches who will be more than happy to help you find just what you're looking for.

Guys Read

I read an interview with Jon Scieszka in the Horn Book Magazine September/October 2007 special edition on boys and girls, and in it was the link to his website Guys Read. (Go ahead, click it! You know you want to!) Basically- Jon Scieszka is an advocate for getting guys to read. There aresome suggested books for young guys, middle guys, and older guys.  

So I got to thinking- why is it so hard to get a guy to read? Do girls like to read more? Is it easier to write books for girls?

According to Scieszka, its not that guys don’t like to read-they just read for different reasons and enjoy reading things like comics, graphic novels, non-fiction, etc.  

In my quest to get more info, I turned to one of my guy friends (taken straight from our AIM chat so excuse the lack of sentence structure, proper grammar, etc)… 

Him: what sort of “guys reading” stuff are you looking for?
Me: mmm idk… why some guys may not like reading…what they preferred reading instead…things like that
Him: boys have been encouraged to be active, into sports, etc-reading carries the “nerd stigma” [note from me: it really doesn’t but meh you know how it is when you’re in school L]the trick is to give them books about what they’re interested in-dragons, or space combat, or dinosaurs, or adventure, or whateverlisten to what kind of games they make up, and find books like that
Me: mmmm interestingand yes, that is exactly what I am looking for
Him: I read a ton as a kid, though…and played soccer. kids who play Halo? there are books [Halo: First Strike  & Halo: the Flood are two that CCLS own]to set the backstory for the game-and then segue into Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” to teach them about literary influences
there are warcraft books, of course. [Hey, it’s me again-these ‘warcraft’ books? from the online game World of Warcraft of which I have unfortunately sold my soul L. Halo is an XBox game. Halo is rated M for Mature, WoW is rated T for Teen]
kids like animals? Watership Down!
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, too
There’s also all sorts of non-fiction-sports biographies, etc.  

And thinking about it, it all makes sense in the end! They like video games? Find a book, or in some cases a comic or graphic novel, based on that! They like the Star Wars movies? We have a whole series of Jedi Apprentice books, not to mention some adult fiction Star Wars books.  

So yeah, in the end, find the guy’s interest, and find a book that relates. Don’t push them, but encourage them to reading-if they want to, they will.  But, if you still want a bit of help, take a peek these books! 

Books:
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz
Stargirl & Loser by Jerry Spinelli [Granted Stargirl is about a girl, but written from a guy’s point of view.]
The Contender by Robert Lipstye
Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
Every Man for Himself: 10 Short Stories about Being a Guy
Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan
Pendragon series by D.J. Machale

Authors:
David Almond  
Rodman Philbrick
Christopher Paolini
Walter Dean Myers
Chris Crutcher
Gary Paulsen
Brian Jacques
Garth Nix
Avi
Markus Zusak 

Other items of interest:
Graphic Novels!
Comic Books!
Non-fiction books!             
Maybe he might like sports (796s) or war info (350s) or automobiles (629s) or want to know how things work (600s and 604-609s), or maybe drawing (741.5 & 743.6), or any number of things.

Till next time-keep flipping those pages!
~Ginny

Halloween: The Devil’s Holiday?

 

 

Some time ago, a friend of mine referred to Halloween as “the devil’s holiday.”  It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard the phrase.  Many devoutly religious folks I’ve known have uttered the words, usually with a spin of contempt, whenever the festivities surrounding October 31 come about.  The phrase and people’s use of it has always amused me, because Halloween is meant to be a sacred observance.  But my friend and others’ perspective on Halloween is not without reason. 

The Celts, who occupied parts of Europe some 2,000 years ago, celebrated a festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in).  This was their year end and harvest celebration, and a time, as they believed, when spirits of the dead returned to the land of the living.  Some spirits were good, and some not so good.  To prevent the mischief that the bad spirits caused, a number of rituals were performed to scare them off.  They built bonfires, sacrificed animals to Celtic deities, disguised themselves in costumes to fool the spirits, and carved scary faces in turnips, the precursor to the Jack O’Lantern.

Around the 9^th century, the Christian church blended Samhain with All Saints’ Day, the celebration of saints and martyrs.  This was done as way for Celtic converts to celebrate their traditional festivals in a sacred context.  Samhain became known was called All-hallows Eve, later shortened to Hallowe’en.  Thus, Hallowe’en became a Christian observance.

Not all of the Celtic converts bought into the holy version of Samhain, however, and continued to celebrate it as before.  The invocation of gods, commemoration of the dead, and divinations were some of the customs that continued to be practiced by them and others.  When immigrants came to the New World in the late 19^th century, they brought a number of these customs with them, although they were observed in a traditional rather than religious sense.  Protestants already in the New World weren’t keen on Halloween’s pagan origins and occult-like practices to begin with, and were less enthused when witches began observing their Sabbath on the same day.  Such observances were diametrically opposed to Protestant doctrines; thus the objection of some Christians to Halloween, sacred status notwithstanding.

So, in the Christian community, there are two viewpoints on the observance of Halloween.  One side celebrates it as the early church intended:  Part of a celebration of saints, dead and living.  They turn the negative association of death and evil into a positive of eternal life and good.  Then there’s the side that sees Halloween for its pagan roots, with its preoccupation with death, evil, occult symbols and witchcraft – things the faithful should have no part of.

As a holiday, Halloween has blended and meshed with many beliefs and customs of different European and Native American ethnic groups until the spiritual – good and otherwise – significance is lost.  Commercialization of the holiday has further reduced it to a night to dress up in costumes and solicit candy from neighbors.  But many of the faithful recall the origins and/or reason for Halloween, celebrate or denounce it accordingly.  Whether one sees it as a celebration of saints, dead and living, or an abomination depends largely on point of view and personal convictions.

In the future, when my friend speaks of “the devil’s holiday,” I’ll be less inclined to laugh up my sleeve.

 This essay was written for the information and entertainment of our patrons.  It is not intended to offend, promote the belief systems of any religious group, or to express my personal opinion on the issue contained. 

The sources for this essay are available by e-mailing harts@claytonpl.org.

Celebrate Children’s Book Week, Nov. 12-18

Read to, and with, your child! Since 1919, educators, librarians, booksellers, & families have celebrated Children’s Book Week during the week before Thanksgiving.  This special week is sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, a nonprofit trade association  that promotes the use and enjoyment of children’s trade books and related literacy materials for young people.  Visit the 6 Clayton County public libraries for several CBW events or come in to select some great reads!  www.cbcbooks.org/cbw  ; www.claytonpl.org 770 473 3850

 Next year Children’s Book Week will move to May!! 2008 CBW dates are: May 12-18.

Al Waller’s Animation and Puppet Show

Don’t miss the “the Varmints present . . . The Be a Know-It-All Road Show!” for families with kids ages 6-12.  A great FREE program to celebrate Children’s Book Week, Thursday, November 13, 7-7:45 p.m.  Headquarters Library, 865 Battle Creek Rd., Jonesboro. Please register in advance by calling 770 473 3850 or emailing Bea Mengel: BeaMengel@claytonpl.org  Meet these wonderful puppet & animated varmints at www.BeAKnowItAll.net ; more programs at www.claytonpl.org

Safe Toys for Kids by Keenan’s Kids Foundation of Atlanta

Worried about how to select SAFE toys for your kids?  Want to know which toys are on the dangeous toys list?  Plan ahead for selecting holiday toys. Attend this informational session for parents and concerned adults at the Headquarters Library, 865 Battle Creek Rd, Jonesboro, Thursday, November 8, 7-8 p.m. Children may attend a story time and craft program during the parent session.  Register by calling 770 473 3850 or by emailing Bea Mengel, BeaMengel@claytonpl.org For more information:  www.claytonpl.org ; www.keenanskidsfoundation.com

Learn to Play CHEXAGON, a New, Educational Game!

Come to the Riverdale Branch Library, 420 Valley Hill Rd., Riverdale, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 7-8 to learn how to play many variations of a challenging new game, Chexagon.  The local game inventor, Rev. George Lanier will be present to demonstrate the various games from simple checkers, to advanced checker variations, plus new games, “Connection” and “Gammon.”  These games are strategy and math games.  Please register in advance so we can plan on how many game sets will be needed.  Adults and teens, this game is challenging for you too. To register call 770 472 8100 or email Ramona Clark, clarkr@claytonpl.org  www.chexagon.com ; www.claytonpl.org