While there's still an entire month left of summer, SPL has already had some great special guests at our programs. Olivia Kramer, the Stratford Star, sang and read at Whale of a Tale, just like Petals the Clown and Jamie Cottle from MixFM. Kristen helped us make flip books for Click! and the Kelsey from the Red Cross taught about safety and being prepared during Happy Hikers. Also at Happy Hikers, Elspeth from the OSPCA visited, along with her two special kitten friends. Watch for Elspeth and her special animal friends to come again for the TD Summer Reading Club Splash! Program Tuesday August 9 from 10:15-11:15, and more Whale of a Tale guests on Mondays.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
In addition to recycling books, we also collect used batteries and cell phones. Simply bring your used alkaline sealed cell batteries (those you may find in flashlights, radios, clocks, remotes, pagers etc) and your old cell phones to the reference desk, bag them with our special bags, and then drop them in our recycling bucket.
Thursday, 21 July 2011
These reviews appeared in the Stratford Gazette on July 21, 2011 Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian
Thumbelina: The World’s Smallest Horse, by Heather C. Hudak, 24 pages.
When Thumbelina was born in 2001, she weighed only 8.5 pounds, which is very small for a horse - even a miniature horse. Her owners were worried about her size, but she grew up to be strong and healthy. Today, Thumbelina is the world’s smallest horse – a fact which has been confirmed by Guinness World Records.
Like most miniature horses, Thumbelina lives on a farm. Here, her life is similar to that of most horses. She has a horse stall (although she prefers to sleep in a doghouse). She eats the same foods as the other horses, and despite her small size, she isn’t afraid to boss even the biggest horses. In fact, the other horses follow her around the farm!
Thumbelina’s best friend is a large dog, Cassie.
Away from the farm, Thumbelina’s life is quite different. Because she is friendly, loves people, and is small enough to be taken into buildings, she visits children all over the United States
Readers will be enchanted to meet this endearing little horse in Heather Hudak’s very attractive book, with its colorful photos.
** Recommended for ages 4 to 8 years.
Charlie the Ranch Dog, by Ree Drummond, 40 pages.
Meet Charlie! A “ranch dog”, he’s an easy-going, loveable hound with big paws, droopy eyes, dangly ears and short legs. Charlie loves his home at the ranch; he loves breakfast bacon (and any other food), and, although he’s convinced that he’s a hard-working dog, he’s more often to be found sleeping or snoozing. He’s certainly a contrast to his friend Suzie, a younger, more energetic dog, who chases the cows out of the yard and the squirrels out of the garden before Charlie can do anything more than think about it!
Ree Drummond’s engaging book follows Charlie through one of his typical days on the ranch.
Much of the understated humour in this picture book is due to the detail captured in the colourful illustrations of accomplished picture book artist Diane DeGroat. For example, children will delight in finding a mischievous little chipmunk on each spread – the same chipmunk that Charlie never seems to notice!
The author, Ree Drummond, known as “The Pioneer Lady”, has also written “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” and “The Pioneer Woman Black Heels to Tractor Wheels”. Her first story for children is based on her real-life basset hound, Charlie. Young readers and listeners will be charmed!
** Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years
This review appeared in the Stratford Gazette on July 21, 2011
Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian
Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
@SPL: FIC Winsp
@SPL: FIC Winsp
In the eighth Maisie Dobbs novel, the private investigator feels the winds of change upon her. Her business is successful, she is newly wealthy (thanks to the legacy of her former mentor), and after years of healing from physical and emotional wounds sustained during WWI, she has finally found love once more.
But there are much wilder winds approaching her homeland as well. There is a new political party making waves in Britain, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – The Nazi Party.
While her faithful employee Billy keeps the business running smoothly, Maisie is seconded to the Secret Service. Her mission: to infiltrate a college at her alma mater, Cambridge, to sniff out any events or attitudes that are anti-British.
But Jacqueline Winspeare hasn’t turned the Maisie Dobbs series into one of espionage – as Maisie takes up her post a murder falls into her lap, and she finds that her two jobs intersect in a very brutal way. And then the school’s secretary goes missing. And then so does her new employee, Sandra, whose husband met with a mysterious accident at work.
As if this was not enough on her plate, Maisie finds she has doubts of her new flame’s feelings – he is supposed to be in Canada, but his letters are posted in England. And why is her beloved father so reluctant to move into a bigger home, now that Maisie can afford to see him comfortably settled in retirement? What is Frankie Dobbs trying to hide?
With several domestic puzzles to solve as well as those of greater international import, Maisie truly does get A Lesson in Secrets from all sides. The novel is told in its carefully constructed way, although Maisie herself has loosened up considerably from her first novel.
You can't blame everyone for talking about the weather this week - what with today's temperature of 36C and all. And it's in every Canadian's nature to talk about the weather - its just something that comes naturally to us. But where do you get your weather information? There's the news on tv and on the radio, as well as the dedicated weather station on tv - but you can also access weather information online.
By accessing weather forecasts online, you obtain current information when you want it and when you need it. You can also get the information sent to your mobile phone in a variety of apps.
It's not just the temperature you can access either. You can see radars, satellite imagery, weather warnings, where lightning is striking - and not just your local forecast - but around the world. There are marine forecasts, golfing reports, and even pollen reports. And not only for today - but there is the long range forecast and past forecasts. What you can find is just amazing - you just need to take a few minutes to explore. Some of my favourite sites include:
By accessing weather forecasts online, you obtain current information when you want it and when you need it. You can also get the information sent to your mobile phone in a variety of apps.
It's not just the temperature you can access either. You can see radars, satellite imagery, weather warnings, where lightning is striking - and not just your local forecast - but around the world. There are marine forecasts, golfing reports, and even pollen reports. And not only for today - but there is the long range forecast and past forecasts. What you can find is just amazing - you just need to take a few minutes to explore. Some of my favourite sites include:
- The Weather Office - by Environment Canada
- The Weather Network (Canada)
- Accu Weather Canada
- Accu Weather
- UV Forecast for Canadian Cities
- Weather.com (US)
What is your favourite go to source for your weather?
Join SPL and the Canadian Red Cross in a presentation featuring special guest Dr. Gezaghn Wordofa, a former Goodwill Ambassador from the United Nations.
Topic: Children Affected by War
When: Wednesday, July 27 6:30-8pm
Where: Stratford Public Library Auditorium
Who: Youth ages 12-25
Topic: Children Affected by War
When: Wednesday, July 27 6:30-8pm
Where: Stratford Public Library Auditorium
Who: Youth ages 12-25
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Due to extreme heat and humidity, Big Stories at Little Falls in St. Marys 9:30-10:00 will be relocated from the new playground to the 1/3 room at the Pyramid Recreational Centre on Thursday July 21. Come out of the heat and into a room of cooler temperatures and cool stories. This free drop-in storytime is geared for children 4-8 years of age and will includes songs, storytelling and really great books.
Reading By the River, St. Marys will be relocated to St. Marys Public Library at 10:30 on Thursday July 21. This free drop-in storytime is geared to preschoolers and will include songs, puppets, fingerplays and really great books. Get out of the heat and into the comforting setting of the library!
For a full listing of PLOW program locations, visit the PLOW website at http://www.pcin.on.ca/Plow/locations.html
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
This review appeared in the Stratford Gazette on July 14, 2011
Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian
Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian
Waterfalls of Ontario by George Fischer and Mark Harris
In this time of economic recovery, “stay-cations” are more the norm than traveling abroad. Whether you are new to nature or you are already one with the wolves, this expanded edition of Waterfalls of Ontario will show you plenty of reasons to venture into Ontario’s wilderness and find the white water of our natural falls. Not content with being a gorgeously photographed nature book (George Fischer’s work has appears in Explore magazine and the New York Times), author Mark Harris is a geographer who gives a thorough, geological explanation of how waterfalls are created and their general classifications (Niagara Falls is a plunge, while Minnehaha is a cascade), and includes a not-to-be-skipped section on safety and environmental awareness around waterfall habitats. That being said, the waterfalls are divided by geographic region on helpful maps that indicate their grades, then each fall on the map is listed alphabetically with driving directions, and a brief overview of its river, class, size, trail, distance and activity level (Niagara Falls: very busy. Cantebury Falls: quiet.) The waterfalls nearest Stratford are on the Hamilton regional map, but there are sections for cottage country and Lake Huron too. A larger, more narrative description accompanies full-colour photographs so lush that can almost hear the roar and feel the spray. Harris does caution that many of the falls pictured cannot safely be seen from the photographer’s angle and should therefore be enjoyed from the top if you are a novice hiker, so read these descriptions carefully before setting out. Novice hiker or not, getting to some of these hidden waterways can be tricky, and the author has added latitude and longitude coordinates to be used with any modern GPS device. So pack a picnic, mosquito repellant and a camera (and other things listed on page 25), and go explore some of Ontario’s most beautiful waterfalls.
While the heat wave continues this week, the City of Stratford is launching its "Keep it Kool" program. The following City facilities and programs will be available to the public, starting this evening.
Tuesday, July 19
Kiwanis Community Centre - open 8:30am - 9pm - games room
Stratford Public Library - open 10am - 9pm - magazines, newspapers, free public internet, wireless hotspot
Wednesday, July 20
Kiwanis Community Centre - open 8:30am - 9pm - games room
Stratford Public Library - open 10am - 9pm - magazines, newspapers, free public internet, wireless hotspot
Stratford Lions Pool - 6-8pm - Free Swim
Thursday, July 21
Kiwanis Community Centre - open 8:30am - 9pm - games room
Stratford Public Library - open 10am - 9pm - magazines, newspapers, free public internet, wireless hotspot
Stratford Lions Pool - 6-8pm - Free Swim
Friday, July 22
Kiwanis Community Centre - open 8:30am - 9pm - games room
Stratford Public Library - open 10am - 6pm - magazines, newspapers, free public internet, wireless hotspot
Stratford Lions Pool - 6-8pm - Free Swim
For additional public swim times, please visit www.stratfordrecreation.ca or www.facebook.com/cityofstratford. Regular admission for public swimming is $3.00 per child (2 years to 15 years); $3.75 per youth (16 to 18 years); $3.75 per senior or special population; and $4.75 per adult. Season passes, day passes and 5-visit card passes are also available for purchase at the pool.
For a complete listing of children’s programs at the Stratford Public Library, please visit www.stratford.library.on.ca
Friday, 15 July 2011
Thanks to all who came out to skate with us this afternoon! Lots of people came out, and everyone had lots of fun. Whether you were just learning to skate, or skating circles (literally!) around the rest of us, the event was suited for all. One lucky family won a $25 gift certificate for Dunny's Source for Sports. Thanks also to the Rotary Complex for use of the rink and dressing rooms.These reviews appeared in the Stratford Gazette on July 14, 2011
Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian
In our rushed, overscheduled age, in which so much time is spent indoors, taking fifteen minutes each day to escape to the outdoors is – well – like a breath of fresh air. And there’s no lack of ways in which to spend that outdoor time. From playing hopscotch, blast ball or flashlight tag, to creating ice cube art, engaging in some bubble or water play, making a butterfly station, growing some herbs or vegetables or simply observing clouds or hummingbirds, 365 uncomplicated projects, games and crafts perfect for your backyard or the neighbourhood park are detailed in this practical book. Parents will also find suggestions for activities at night, in the winter and in rainy weather. The whole family will have fun together, enjoying some fresh air away from the television or the computer screen, while making connections with nature and creating some positive family memories.
With busy parents (or grandparents) in mind, the suggestions are easy and inexpensive, requiring little or no planning and few resources. Intended for either rural or urban families, the book is organized into twelve chapters – one for each month of the year.
Rebecca Cohen is a “spokesmom” for the U.S. National Wildlife Federation’s “Be Out There” program.
** Recommended for parents, grandparents and caregivers.
Fun Family Projects: 15 Great Ideas that Mom, Dad and Kids Can Build and Enjoy! by Edward Potokar and the “crew” of “This Old House”, 141 pages.
@ SPL: J 728.9 Pot
Parents will find that these projects are more time-consuming than the activities in “15 Minutes Outside” (reviewed above), but all are quite doable, and again, are activities that families will enjoy together. Some tools are required.
Materials to buy, an estimated cost and the tools needed, are listed for each project. Easy-to-follow instructions, which include photos and diagrams, are supplemented by templates and how-to videos available on the “This Old House” website. Safety is emphasized – for example, safety glasses are always recommended, and parents are advised to use any power tools.
This easy-to-use resource is just one of the various craft and activity books to keep children and families busy this summer, available at the Stratford Public Library.
** Recommended for parents and grandparents.
Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian
15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect With Your Kids, by Rebecca P. Cohen, 228 pages.
@ SPL: J 790.191 Coh
@ SPL: J 790.191 Coh What could your family do together, outside, in just fifteen minutes a day? Quite a bit, says Rebecca Cohen, mother of two and host of a television series, “Get Out of the House”.
In our rushed, overscheduled age, in which so much time is spent indoors, taking fifteen minutes each day to escape to the outdoors is – well – like a breath of fresh air. And there’s no lack of ways in which to spend that outdoor time. From playing hopscotch, blast ball or flashlight tag, to creating ice cube art, engaging in some bubble or water play, making a butterfly station, growing some herbs or vegetables or simply observing clouds or hummingbirds, 365 uncomplicated projects, games and crafts perfect for your backyard or the neighbourhood park are detailed in this practical book. Parents will also find suggestions for activities at night, in the winter and in rainy weather. The whole family will have fun together, enjoying some fresh air away from the television or the computer screen, while making connections with nature and creating some positive family memories.
With busy parents (or grandparents) in mind, the suggestions are easy and inexpensive, requiring little or no planning and few resources. Intended for either rural or urban families, the book is organized into twelve chapters – one for each month of the year.
Rebecca Cohen is a “spokesmom” for the U.S. National Wildlife Federation’s “Be Out There” program.
** Recommended for parents, grandparents and caregivers.
Fun Family Projects: 15 Great Ideas that Mom, Dad and Kids Can Build and Enjoy! by Edward Potokar and the “crew” of “This Old House”, 141 pages.
@ SPL: J 728.9 PotA lemonade stand, soccer goal net, tree swing, sandbox, stilts, bat house, birdfeeder, mini golf course, tree fort, easel, toy chest and a wall cubby are just some of the fun and very eye-catching projects outlined in Fun Family Projects.
Parents will find that these projects are more time-consuming than the activities in “15 Minutes Outside” (reviewed above), but all are quite doable, and again, are activities that families will enjoy together. Some tools are required.
Materials to buy, an estimated cost and the tools needed, are listed for each project. Easy-to-follow instructions, which include photos and diagrams, are supplemented by templates and how-to videos available on the “This Old House” website. Safety is emphasized – for example, safety glasses are always recommended, and parents are advised to use any power tools.
This easy-to-use resource is just one of the various craft and activity books to keep children and families busy this summer, available at the Stratford Public Library.
** Recommended for parents and grandparents.
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Wanted to see a recent movie on the big screen, but forgot? Meant to go again, but couldn't? Community Living and SPL have the perfect solution - Thursday Theatre! Every Thursday, at 1:30pm in the Lower Optimist Hall at 72 Water Street. For only $2, which includes admission to the movie and a snack, watch some recently released family movies, including Gnomeo and Juliet, Tangled, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thieves. This afternoon - Toy Story 3!
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
These reviews appeared in the Stratford Gazette on July 7, 2011
Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian
Have You Ever Seen a Hippo with Sunscreen? by Etta Kaner, 32 pages.Young children, for whom this book is intended, will agree that some of the things which people use are completely unnecessary for animals.
Does a hippopotamus need to use sunscreen? No - of course not! While people use sunscreen to protect their skin from the strong sun, hippos actually produce their own sun protection from the sweat that oozes from their skin. Do beavers need combs? No – they “comb” their fur with their front and hind claws to remove tangles, dirt and twigs. In the same vein, turtles don’t need snorkels; alligators don’t require sunglasses, seals have no need of nose plugs and snowshoes aren’t a necessity for a lynx, whose distinctive feet are constructed for walking on the snow instead of sinking into it.
Each of these animals has unique characteristics which are explained in a light-hearted, easy-to-understand question and answer format.
Toronto-area author Etta Kaner is the author of the new Have You Ever Seen series of books for young readers, which are filled with fun facts in the form of questions and answers about the fascinating world of animals. Accompanied by bright, colourful illustrations, a related activity for children can be found at the end of each book. Have You Ever Seen a Duck in a Raincoat? and Have You Ever Seen an Octopus with a Broom can also be found at the Stratford Public Library.
** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
World’s Weirdest Creatures; a Ripley’s Believe or Not! Book, edited by Mary Packard, 85 pages.
School-aged readers will find a wealth of wild and wacky facts in this slim volume dedicated to some of the world’s strangest and most unique animals and insects. Using brief, concise text, World’s Weirdest Creatures describes some of the amazing characteristics and habits of Earth’s animals and insects. Among many other details, readers will learn that starfish snap off all of their arms when frightened, that a tiger’s roar can be heard up to two miles away, and that a female Madagascar hedgehog (also known as the “tailless tenrec”) can produce as many as 32 babies at once!
Did you know that pheasants can live up to an entire month without eating; golden eagles will attack airplanes and helicopters that fly too close to their nests; blue whale infants gain from eight to ten pounds per hour (which is about 200 pounds a day!), and an ostrich can stun or kill a lion with its strong kick? Young readers will also be intrigued by the book’s description of a very unusual animal - the okapi, which has striped legs like a zebra, a head like a giraffe, a neck similar to that of a horse, a body like an antelope, a tail like an ox and a two-foot-long tongue that is black-blue in colour. (Because okapis live in the rainforests of central Africa, Canadians are quite unlikely to stumble across one of them.)
Children are fascinated by animals and insects, which really are amazing in so many ways. Colourful photographs, quizzes and “brain busters” are interspersed throughout the book for added interest.
** Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years.
This review appeared in the Stratford Gazette on July 7, 2011
Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian
Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian
How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee
How neurotic an eco-geek are you? How neurotic would you like to be? These are important questions to ask yourself as you embark on the data-rich eco-journey that is How Bad Are Bananas? As Berners-Lee himself notes, the calculation of a given item's carbon footprint is a shifting target. It's never ending, the best we can do is use what we know to get it in the ballpark.
And that is precisely what Mike Berners-Lee does. As a member of Small World Consulting, a firm that calculates carbon footprints for the corporate sector, Berners-Lee has been crunching these numbers long enough to see the forest and the trees, and to have a sense of humour about how easy it is to confuse the two. He does a fine job of bringing the math and science around to a level that's easy to understand for people without a science degree. The best example of this simplification is his decision to represent greenhouse gas impact in units he calls “co2e”, or, carbon dioxide equivalents. Using this standard measurement makes comparing very different activities on the basis of climate change impact a much simpler proposition.
If you've ever been caught at the grocery store in the dead of winter, trying to decide between tomatoes from California and tomatoes from Leamington's greenhouses, this book is for you. Berners-Lee breaks the book down by carbon impact, beginning with society's least carbon-intensive outputs. This graduated format allows readers to get a sense of carbon use and impact at the daily level, and has roughly the same effect as asking physics students to comprehend the distance, say, from here to Shakespeare, before asking them to comprehend the distance from here to Neptune. One pleasant surprise? Bananas are actually a pretty low-carbon snack, even here in Canada. Also, flying from Niagara Falls to New York City isn't a whole lot worse than driving. Flying is better, actually, if you were considering taking your Land Rover to look rugged and established. Whether this is good news to flyers, bad news to drivers, or a very good reason to look into staycations is left to the reader.
Berners-Lee is open about the fact that good carbon sense doesn't necessarily make good moral sense, and in cases where the two diverge he frankly admits the contradiction. At the end of the day, though, How Bad are Bananas? was never meant as a moral treatise. Berners-Lee's goal is to help readers gain a more solid concept of the carbon consequences of our choices, so that we can make our own moral decisions about the footprint we leave. If your footprint has given you pause, but doing the calculations leaves you feeling neurotic, confused or apathetic, How Bad Are Bananas? can help, and it's a good little read to boot.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
At SPL you can find books on cd that you can listen to in your car cd player (kids on lower floor, adult and teens on the main floor) - or browse the 1900+ collection online.
You can also download audiobooks from our downloadLibrary web service. With downloadLibrary, you can check out and download digital titles to your computer and then transfer them to your mp3 player or iPod. For detailed directions on how to do this, click here.
Enjoy your vacation, and happy reading... er... happy listening... no reading... hmmm.
For teens who read during the summer (we know you're out there!), Stratford Public Library is running a program for you! If you have used our online catalogue, Bibliocommons, before, you already know how to enter our draw. While on Bibliocommons, click on the link to Teen Summer Reading, on the right hand side of the links at the top. Once you join, add ratings, comments, and tags to the books you read to earn Community Credits. The more you earn, the more chances you have to win summer prizes!
http://spl-src-teen.bibliocommons.com/program
http://spl-src-teen.bibliocommons.com/program
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Derek Foster left the rat race at the age of 34. His investing approach allowed him to become a millionaire in his 30s – but is simple enough for any 6-year-old to understand.
Take this rare opportunity to meet him and learn these strategies as they are revealed in person. Ask any questions you want. This presentation might change your financial future!
Take this rare opportunity to meet him and learn these strategies as they are revealed in person. Ask any questions you want. This presentation might change your financial future!
Thursday, July 14, 7:00pm - 8:30pm - Library Auditorium
Monday, 4 July 2011
Visit the PLOW website for more details on PLOW all its locations this summer. You can also "Like" PLOW on Facebook for regular updates on programs.
The Stratford Public Library is holding a craft show on Saturday October 1 and we are looking for vendors to participate!
Handmade Culture
A Show and Sale of Stratford’s Craft, Culture & Creativity
Saturday October 1, 2011 10am - 3pm
Stratford Public Library Auditorium
19 St. Andrew Street, Stratford
The aim of this event is to showcase the talent of local artists and crafters. We hope to create a fantastic opportunity for you to display your talent within your own town in a friendly, community setting while supporting your library.
The show and sale will be held in the Library Auditorium. The auditorium is a large, bright space ideal for displays.
Your fee will support the Friends of the Stratford Public Library. Vendors will receive a tax receipt from the Friends for the table fee (minus $5 which will be used for advertising). We will be actively promoting this event: online (library website, kijiji, Facebook, twitter), in local newspapers, in the library itself and around town.
Please take a look at the attached Artists Registration and Agreement and consider joining us. We would love for you to take part and show Stratford your “handmade” talent. If you have any questions, please contact Krista Robinson at 519-271-0220 ext. 31 or krobinson@pcin.on.ca.
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