Shelf Life [adult]

A Room with a Pew: Sleeping Our Way through Spain’s Ancient Monasteries by Richard Starks and Miriam Murcott

@SPL: 217.00946 Sta

When one picks up a memoir of a traveler who chooses to stay in monasteries, one might expect a somewhat religious bent to the writing, and experiences more spiritual than secular. This makes A Room with a Pew a contradiction, as it is less about religion and more about a journey looking for the root of faith.

The writers are agnostic at best, explaining the history of Catholicism in Spain and its various monasteries which they use as cheap alternatives to hotels or B&Bs. They are intrigued but not inspired by those who have devoted their lives to Christianity.

The monasteries in which they stay are run by different orders which follow Catholicism in slightly different ways, and within those orders – Cistercian, Benedictine, Trinitarian, Dominican and Franciscan – there are varying degrees of religious observance.

The authors muse on these differences, meet and debate with their hosts of nuns and monks the roots of faith, and do so with a healthy dose of irreverent skepticism. They confess being disturbed by a religion that “has degraded and abused its god… then also eats his body as well as drinks his blood.”

It is not until they visit the strict-observance Cistercian “Trappists” of El Monasterio del la Santa Maria de las Escalonias in Andalucia do they step into the shoes of the monks for themselves and live as they do for a few days. Here, although the authors do not “find faith,” they come close to understanding at least some reasons for which people are drawn to the life, and while they agree religion is mostly a good force that people need, they also realize that life is not necessarily any easier for those who have faith in it.

As much a readable history of Catholic monasticism as a memoir of a spiritual journey, A Room with a Pew is an enjoyable, sometimes highly amusing and often thought-provoking look at faith by a couple who try hard at staying neutral on the subject, and let you come to your own conclusions.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 29, 2012. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

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Digital Petting Zoo

Are you considering buying an eReader or tablet, but overwhelmed by the number of choices? Our Digital Petting Zoo will give you the opportunity to see and play with a variety of devices, including the Sony PRS T1, Blackberry Playbook, Samsung Galaxy, Kobo Reader, and iPad. Talk to our experienced library staff to find out how different devices can work with library materials and meet your needs.

After you play at the zoo, fill out a ballot for a chance to win a Kobo Mini!

Thursday November 29, 6:30-8:30pm in the Library Auditorium.

If you can't make it Thursday night but are planning on shopping for an eReader or tablet and want it to work with library ebooks, be sure to check the supported device centre. The one thing to remember is that the Kindle device is not compatible in Canada. 

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We Might Be Grownups But We Like Pictures Too

This November library staff were asked to send in their favourite past and present picture books to celebrate National Picture Book Month. Turns out that adults are just as enthralled and mesmerized by these books as the little ones they're intended to entertain. I was surprised when I counted over 60 titles that had been sent to me in less than two weeks. There were some overlaps but the list below includes almost 50 favourites that can be found at the library. This winter, take time to read a great book with the little ones in your life; your time, your enthusiasm, and a lesson in literacy are three amazing gifts perfect for every day of every season. Enjoy!

Bemelmans, Ludwig.  
Madeline JP FIC Bemel

Breathed, Berke.
Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big JP Breat

Brett, Jan.
The Hat JP Brett

The Mitten JP Brett

Brumbeau, Jeff. Miss Hunnicutt's Hat  JP Brumb

Butler, John.
Ten in the Den JP Butle

Crisp, Marty.
Titanicat JP Crisp

Cronin, Doreen.  M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual) JP Croni

Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type JP Croni

Czekaj, Jef. Oink-A-Doodle-Moo JP Czeka

Dewdney, Anna. Llama, Llama Red Pajama JP Dewdn

Dobbins, Jan. Driving my Tractor JP Dobbi

Evans, Nate.
Bang! Boom! Roar! A Busy Crew of Dinosaurs  JP Evans

Fagan, Cary.
Ella May and the Wishing Stone JP Fagan

Fisher, Colleen.
Miss Martin is a Martian JP Fishe

Gay, Marie-Louise. Rabbit Blue JP Gay

Gray, Libba Moore.
Is there room on the feather bed? JP Gray

Horton, Joan.
Working Mummies JP Horto

Juster, Norman. Neville JP Juste


Lindbergh, Reeve.
Homer the Library Cat JP Lindb


Litwin, Eric.
Pete The Cat Saves Christmas JP Litwi


MacDonald, Hugh.
I is for Island: A Prince Edward Island Alphabet JP MacD


Munsch, Robert. Moose! JP Munsc                           
The Whingdingdilly  JP Peet

Peet, Will. The Wump World JP Peet

Polacco, Patricia. 
Babushka Baba Yaga JP Polac


Rodriquez, Sonia.
T is for Tutu: A Ballet Book JP Rodri


Root, Phyllis.
The Rattletrap Car JP Root


Rudy, Maggie. The House that Mouse Built JP Rudy

Sadler, Marilyn.
Pass It On! JP Sadle


Say, Allen.
Grandfather's Journey JP Say

Shoulders, Debbie. T is for Titanic: A Titanic Alphabet J910.91634 Sho

Stead, Philip Christian. Bear Has A Story To Tell JP Stead

Stone, Jon.
The Monster At The End of This Book JP Stone

Stuchner, Joan.
Can Hens Give Milk? JP Stuch


Thompson, Lauren. 
Little Quack JP Thomp

Thomson, Sarah L.  Imagine A Day JP Thoms

Imagine A Night JP Thoms
Imagine A Place JP Thoms

Van Allsburg, Chris.
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick J FIC VanAl

Well, Rosemary.
A Christmas tree for Ruby JP Wells

Morris's disappearing bag: a Christmas tale JP Wells

White, Linda. Too Many Pumpkins JP White

Wilbur, Helen.
M is for Meow: A Cat Alphabet J 636.8 Wil

Willems, Mo.
The Duckling Gets a Cookie?! JP WilleKnuffle Bunny JP Wille

Wilson, Karma.
Horseplay JP Wilso

Wood, Don. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear JP Wood

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Shelf Life [adult]

Consent of the Networked by Rebecca MacKinnon 
@SPL: 302.231 MacK

Pah, you think, what could possibly be said on the topic of internet freedom that adds to the conversation? In the cultural imagination the internet is vast, ethereal, beyond the ken. It is so distributed among us, it seems beyond the sway of hegemonic corporate or political interests or even physical structure. Consequently, it’s often thought of as the perfect social justice solution, when people think of the internet at all.

In a short 20 years, the internet has managed to become so normal that we’ve actually ceased thinking of it, kind of like we stopped thinking of written text as a technology. But – just like the early days of the printing press – something new has been unleashed; and though it has become normal, it is not neutral. MacKinnon’s Consent of the Networked illustrates this by taking into account the many ways the internet is tethered to governments, corporations and physical infrastructure.

Using case studies focusing on nations as well as companies, MacKinnon illustrates for readers the very high-stakes power struggles that determine the degree of open and free operation for the internet. She is quick to point out that not all these affiliations are inherently bad news for free speech on the internet, and that many internet bigwigs actively promote its use as a public space – particularly social media companies. But though social media can be a great help to activists wishing to be heard, we’d all do well to remember we use these spaces by privilege, not by right.

As MacKinnon reminds us, speech in these spaces is ruled by Terms of Service, not protected by constitutions or human rights. MacKinnon calls into question assumptions made by those in positions of power, and lays out eloquent arguments for why we must speak truth to these powers. And, while she is optimistic about the potential of the internet as a tool for free speech, she is realistic about the extent to which we can expect it to become a public space available to all.

Consent of the Networked might be a bit of a dense read, but it also presents the most thoroughly researched and reasoned arguments I’ve yet read on the role of the internet within the public sphere. It’s very highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the Arab Spring, net neutrality, media studies, or political science.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 22, 2012. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

Bang! Boom! Roar! A Busy Crew of Dinosaurs, By Nate Evans and Stephanie Gwyn Brown, 34 pages.
@ SPL: JP Evans

A busy construction crew of hard-hatted dinosaurs are ready and eager to help preschoolers learn their ABC’s in this colourful new rhyming alphabet picture book. The industrious dinos are working with angles, blueprint plans, cement mixers, dump trucks, engines of every sort, forklifts and so on through the alphabet to get their construction job done, from A to Z.

Each letter is featured in a four-line rhyme with plenty of alliteration. For example, “H” is highlighted in “Hard hats, tool belts, heavy boots; Hammers hanging from their loops. Heave and hoist! Hydraulic muscle! Heavy metal, high-wire hustle!” The language and the mixed-media collage illustrations can be described as “energetic” in this fast-paced book, in which the dinosaurs are building a wonderful new children’s playground and park area. The wealth of detail to be found in the illustrations will bring children back to look at this book over and over.

A list of specific things to find in the busy artwork is also given – a lollipop, a cantaloupe, some bananas, walkie-talkies, skateboards, a megaphone, etc., as well as a hidden letter on each page. Children will also discern many touches of humour which the authors have included – such as the comic facial expressions of the other dinosaurs when one of them gives a tremendous sneeze, or the sight of the dinos eating, slurping and spilling their food at lunchtime.

Over 20 types of dinosaurs, plus a variety of heavy-duty construction equipment, plus lots of humour, is certain to equal a winning alphabet book for the preschool set!

** Recommended for ages three to six.

ABC Doctor: Staying Healthy from A to Z, By Harriet Ziefert and Liz Murphy, 26 pages.
@ SPL: J 618.920075 Mur

From appointments, bandages and checkups to wheelchairs and X-rays, Harriet Ziefert and Liz Murphy’s picture book is a gentle, reassuring introduction to the world of medicine and doctors for young children. Using an alphabet format, the authors seek to familiarize children with the typical procedures and equipment that they are likely to see during a visit to the doctor.

Some good health habits – such as hand hygiene – are covered, and the book also describes a vaccination procedure. Simple, easy-to-understand text and mixed-media illustrations are used in this positive book, which ends on a happy note: a little boy who is sick and feeling “Yucky” visits his doctor and then feels a “Zillion times better!”

ABC Doctor would be a good book to read with a young child who is experiencing some first-visit-to-the-doctor jitters or fears. (It could be nicely paired with Barbara deRubertis’ comical picture book, “Izzy Impala’s Imaginary Illnesses,” in which young Izzy invents a number of impossible illnesses so that she can spend more time with her grandfather, a very busy doctor.)

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 22, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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Britannica Image Quest

The library would like to introduce you to the latest member of our database collection, Britannica Image Quest.

Image Quest provides access to two million high-quality, rights-cleared images from over 50 of the best collections in the world. Rights-cleared means that these images can be used for non-commercial, educational use and are ideal for teachers and students. Search this database to find images to include in teacher lesson plans, assignments, poster presentations, creative collages, school websites, newsletters, newspapers, flyers, and bulletins.

Images in the collection are organized by subject matter and are searchable using keywords. For example, search results for "Weimaraner" included 88 pictures. Here are a few:

Click for access from within the library.
Click for external access from home or school.
(You will need to know your library card number to access this database externally).

Images can be downloaded, printed, saved in a "Lightbox" or virtual folder, or e-mailed as jpegs. If you have questions about using this new resource call, email, or come into the library and we'd be happy to get you started.

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Shelf Life [adult]

Interzone002: images and animation created with code by Laura De Decker
@SPL: 776 DeD  

There is only one book in the library of the new campus of the University of Waterloo in Stratford, and this is it. (Or, this was it, at the time of this review.) Published in 2010, it is a collection of abstract prints that artist Laura de Decker created with computer software, Visual Basic 6.0, and these colourful, almost sculptural images are currently decorating the interior of the new campus.

The artists’ theory is that there is no real difference between the arts as vocational or practical, and she works with what are traditionally opposing things, like spherical and Cartesian coordinates (see her “Target Sphere,” for instance). She uses 16,777,216 different shades of colour in her works – some are lost in the reproducing process of book printing and other shade differences are nearly impossible to discern, but each work is a marvel in which to get lost for a time.

Some images may remind one of Mondrian, others of Warhol, and most have elements of optical illusion, like Escher. Many would not be out of place in a psychedelic club, especially when viewed in a series, they are that hypnotic. To satisfy your inner computer-programmer, the code used to create the art accompanies each image, like the context notes one would find under paintings in a gallery.

Go visit the campus to enjoy the full-scale renditions at the new campus, and if you find them too intense at that size (or want a sneak peek before you go) check them out in the book, which can be found at the library.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 15, 2012. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

I Have the Right to be a Child, By Alain Serres, 48 pages.
@ SPL: J 323.352 Serre

What, exactly, does “the right to be a child” mean? In its “Declaration of the Rights of the Child,” the United Nations, on November 20, 1956, identified the rights that children everywhere should expect to have. They have been explained and beautifully illustrated for young children in a new picture book by author Alain Serres and artist Aurelia Fronty.

Children have the right to enough food to eat and enough water to drink in order to grow and be healthy. They have the right to shelter and to be cared for by their family. They have the right to breathe clean air and the right to attend school and learn, without having to pay. Girls and boys alike, of every country, whether they are “black or white, small or big, rich or poor, born here or somewhere else,” have the right to be respected and to be treated equally. Children have the right to be safe from violence such as war and child abuse. They also have the right to be “cured with the best medicines that were ever invented” and to be helped if they have special needs.

Since 1956, 193 countries/states have adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. However, in many parts of the world (including some of the world’s richest countries), the basic needs and rights of some children are still not being met. The young narrator of this book asks “When will all children everywhere really have their rights respected?” Alain Serres, a former kindergarten teacher in Paris, is now an author and the founder of the French-language publishing house “Rue du Monde”, which specializes in books that help children question and imagine their world.

A short afterword to this engaging book, translated from the original French publication, further explains the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. November 20 is known as Universal Children’s Day, observed each year to honour children, celebrate childhood, and promote the welfare of children everywhere.

** Recommended for ages five to 10.

My Brave Year of Firsts: Tries, Sighs, and High Fives, By Jamie Lee Curtis, 40 pages.
@ SPL: JP Curti Following

“It’s Hard to be Five,” Jamie Lee Curtis’ newest picture book celebrates the growing independence of a young child and the courage which children need to try things for the first time. Frankie is experiencing many “firsts” this year – some of them good, and some of them challenging. She learns to ride – and crash – a bicycle.

She is given her first dog, learns how to tie her shoes and starts grade one at school. She begins taking riding lessons on a pony named Ace. (And when Frankie has her first fall, she learns to hold tightly to the reins, how to command the pony, and how to trot.)

Later in the year, there are even more firsts for Frankie. She gets her first public library card and chooses her first book. She participates in her first pony show, begins a ballet class and plays her first game of T-ball. Most of Frankie’s firsts are happy, but a few are not – such as her first experience of getting caught (by her parents) in a lie.

Like Curtis’ other picture books, My Brave Year of Firsts will be popular with young children, featuring an appealing story and the detailed, amusing watercolour-and-line sketches of illustrator Laura Cornell.

** Recommended for ages four to seven.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 15, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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New Copyright Bill and You

You may have heard about a new copyright bill in Canada, Bill C-11. You may have tried to understand what the new laws meant to you and your life. Well, let us help you find some answers!

Busy Television Viewers
Timeshifting TV shows for personal purposes is now legal in Canada (used to be up in the air).

Changing With The Times
People can also make backup copies of their favourite eBooks, TV shows, movies, music and the like, even if it’s in different formats than they were originally purchased – good news for those who want to digitize their vinyl collection, for example.

Comedians Unleashed
Expansion of fair dealing (ie circumstances in which people may use or copy content for free without fear of legal retribution). Fair dealing now includes education, parody and satire. So if you're a stand-up comedian you can use news reports in your skits. These are added to the original fair dealing purposes: research, private study, news reporting, criticism and review. That said, users planning to access or copy content under fair dealing would do well to educate themselves on the 6 factors courts use to decide whether a given instance of copying constitutes fair dealing. Fair dealing is a judgment call, and the more informed users are, the more accurate their judgment calls are likely to be.

Doin' the Mash
There’s a new user-generated content provision that protects users who create remixes or mashups without commercial gain in mind – great news for YouTubers who want to use a licensed song in the background of a video they post. 

Library Patrons
Laws have been changed to allow for easier interlibrary loan of documents from university libraries’ eresource collections, like journals and databases. Instead of photocopied or printed pages of a requested electronic document a link will provide access.

downloadLibrary Patrons
It is not legal to break DRM (digital rights management) software on files for any reason. The library uses downloadLibrary and software including Overdrive media Console and Adobe Digital Editions to lend ebooks and eaudiobooks to patrons. These materials are protected by DRM and cannot be copied for personal or commercial use.

EasyBib

   
Questions about copyright and citing your sources? Try:
EasyBIb Citation Guide
Bibliographic Citation Manuals and Handbooks from the library
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Or, come visit us at the reference desk, email us at askspl@pcin.on.ca or call 519-271-0220.

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Shelf Life [adult]

The Blondes By Emily Schultz, 386 pages.
@SPL: FIC Schul

Pause and ask yourself, how do you feel about blondes? For the five days it took me to read The Blondes, by Emily Schultz, I looked at every blonde with one part fear and one part anger for the mayhem they were causing (in the fictitious world I inhabited between book pages). Weaving a lively tale of end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it chaos and deeply human emotional struggles, Schultz entertains and delights readers with her novel that defies CanLit stereotypes.

The so-called heroine of the novel, Hazel Hayes, finds she is pregnant by her married professor and, as a first-person narrator, tells her story to her unborn child. Almost simultaneously, the ‘Blonde Fury’ begins infecting true and fake blondes all over the world causing irrational and dangerous acts of self and public harm.

Confused in this semi-apocalyptical environment, Hazel attempts to migrate from her current locale in New York City to her hometown in Toronto and then to Northern Ontario, resulting in a complicated and suspenseful adventure.

You can read the novel in many ways; blondes gone wild, prochoice versus prolife, action-thriller, authors against blondes, etc.

Some critics have chosen to focus on the woman-to-woman relationships and the genderization portrayed throughout the writing. In an interview with The Star, Schultz says she was inspired by a Gucci advertisement in Vanity Fair showcasing blonde models that “looked like a gang of absolutely murderous women.”

Her sense of humour is evident in the text as well and I was caught many times giggling quietly to myself. Quill and Quire call The Blondes an “exploration of physical beauty and its effects on women.” It sure left a lasting impression on me, a content brunette.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 8, 2012. Written by Laura Paprocki, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

To Hope and Back: The Journey of the St. Louis, By Kathy Kacer, 204 pages.
@ SPL: J 940.53180922 Kac

In May of 1939, the St. Louis, an ocean liner, left Germany to find a new home across the Atlantic Ocean for its almost 1,000 passengers. Under the Third Reich, Germany was becoming a dangerous place for Jewish people of all ages, even children. Fearing for their lives, 938 people boarded the St. Louis in hopes of finding safety in Cuba or the United States.

Their hopes for refuge were dashed when the liner was denied entry to both countries. At first, it appeared the liner would have to return to Germany, but soon came the joyful news the ship’s passengers would be allowed into Britain, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. (However, the latter three countries were later invaded and occupied. Close to a third of the St. Louis’s passengers did not survive the Holocaust.)

To Hope and Back recounts the voyage of the St. Louis for young readers through the eyes of two real-life children: Lisa, whose family shared a large first class cabin, and Sol, who traveled below in third class with his parents. In this very realistic account, readers will feel as if they are actually on board the ship. They will share the families’ feelings of despair and will share in the great relief that was felt by all when safe havens were finally found.

Extra insight is provided with chapters entitled “What the Captain Knew,” in which readers will learn how Captain Schroeder advocated for and assisted his passengers. An epilogue continues the story of Lisa as an adult and Sol, now living in the United States.

A forward to the book provides helpful background information, and black and white photos are included. Readers will be interested to know that in January 2011, a monument named, “The Wheel of Conscience,” designed by Daniel Libeskind, was unveiled at Pier 21 in Halifax as a memorial of this voyage. Toronto author Kathy Kacer has spoken to young people around the world about the importance of remembering the Holocaust. She is the author of many other children’s stories about this subject, such as Hiding Edith and The Diary of Laura’s Twin.

** Recommended for ages nine and up.

Making Bombs for Hitler, By Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, 160 pages.
@ SPL: J FIC Skryp

Making Bombs for Hitler brings to light one of the lesser-known aspects of World War II and the Holocaust – slave labourers, often teenagers or young people in their early 20s. Captured by Nazi soldiers in Russia, especially in the Ukraine, they were brought to Germany and forced to perform dangerous work from dawn to dusk.

Regarded as “expendable,” they were shot if they became too sick to work. In Marsha Skrypuch’s story, Lida was one of the youngest slave labourers. When she was taken by Nazi soldiers, Lida was separated from her parents and her younger sister and sent to a labour camp. Surviving on a meager daily portion of bread and thin soup, and clothed in only a thin dress, Lida survived the long days of hard work only through luck, resourcefulness and the desire to find her sister.

Then, with a group of other girls, she was assigned the dangerous work of constructing bombs that would be used by the Nazis to kill allied soldiers and civilians. How Lida survived the terrible days which followed was later a mystery to her.

But she did survive, barely, and was later rescued by allied soldiers, only to find that she could not go home. Joseph Stalin regarded anyone who had been captured by the Nazis to be a Nazi. Such people were either killed or sent to work camps in Siberia.

Making Bombs for Hitler is a companion book to writer Marsha Skrypuch’s award-winning Stolen Child, which relates the story of Lida’s sister, Larissa. Both of these stories, told with sensitivity and compassion, are based on historical fact.

** Recommended for ages nine to 12.

These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 8, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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Hats Off to the Friends of the Stratford Public Library

Have you met the Friends of the Stratford Public Library? I'm fairly new to the library but have already been impressed by the active roles and initiatives the Friends assume on a regular basis. Here's what they've been up to the last few months:

Book Sale
The annual Friends of the Library Book Sale saw record-breaking results this fall raising $6,500. Over 1,000 eager shoppers poured through the doors of the Rotary Community Hall on October 20th and many volunteers lent their skills all in support of free childhood literacy programs. The next book sale will be held on October 19, 2013 so mark your calendars now.

Penny Pots
If you've been into the library's main floor lately you may have already seen the Penny Pots at the reference desk. As you can see in the picture there isn't much room left for pennies so I suggest coming in soon and relieving yourself of those pesky cents weighing down your wallet. Stay tuned for a call for volunteers to roll these pennies and count results.

I am sending out a round of cyber-applause to the Friends of the Library and many volunteers who have lent their time, treasure, and talents to the Stratford Public Library.

Upcoming Events

The next events are Ann Reynolds musical afternoons at Royal Palisade Retirement Residences. These will occur in January and February next year so keep checking our website for details to come.

Want to become involved? 

Volunteer! Visit our Volunteer webpage for details

Become a Friend! Visit the Friends of the Stratford Public Library webpage

As a Friend, you can:

HELP OUT - with the Early Literacy Library Programs and annual Book Sale.

CHECK OUT - a magazine to sponsor.

SPREAD THE WORD - about the programs & services of your Library.

SPEAK OUT - raise your voice and be an advocate for your Library.

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Shelf Life [adult]

Frozen Heat by Richard Castle
@SPL: FIC Castl  

A little bit Micky Spillane, a little bit Abbott and Costello, this fourth installment of the Nikki Heat series by fictitious author “Richard Castle” finds the NYPD detective coming within an inch of catching the person who killed her mother a decade earlier.

With her de facto partner (and lover) journalist Jameson Rooke by her side, Nikki has to overcome more obstacles than usual since she gets stonewalled from foes and friends alike, including a new captain who is fonder of seeking the spotlight more than justice, a co-worker more interested in mani-pedis than the beat, a dad who is more haunted by the past than she is, and a few folks who seem friendlier than they really are.

Author Richard Castle (whoever he or she is) keeps the pace moving quickly, and of course there are more than a few bones thrown to fans of the Castle TV show (as well as fans of its lead, Nathan Fillion), not that being a fan is a necessary pre-requisite for enjoying the novels. Gimmicky? Sure. But given that the Nikki Heat novels do not even pretend to be great literature, enjoy them for what they are – sweet little adventures set in not-always-glamorous New York (although Frozen Heat has a side-trip to romantic Paris), with lots of tough-talkin’ cops, great dialogue, pathos and humour.

There is not much gore, only tantalizing hints at sex, and a smooth unraveling of a well-plotted mystery. Who could ask for anything more on a commute or a cozy autumn evening with the wind howling?

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 1, 2012. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

Stupid Criminals: 150 Brainless Baddies Busted, Plus Wacky Facts, Edited by Robin Terry, 171 pages.
@ SPL: J 364.1 Stu

The history of crime is riddled with true cases of incredibly stupid swindlers and careless criminals. Consider the man in Pennsylvania who opened a bank account under his real name, and tried to rob the same bank only a few minutes later!

Consider the thief who discussed detailed plans for a robbery, all of which were overheard by a 911 dispatcher because the code was accidentally pressed on his cell phone in his jeans pocket! Yet another thief left his wallet, with ID, in the apartment he was robbing … and actually returned to retrieve it. In Texas, a trespasser tried to escape from the police by crawling into a narrow drainage pipe. He quickly became stuck. In fact, he was so tightly wedged that police had to pump in air so that he didn’t suffocate. (It took 10 hours for the city’s water department to dig him out.)

When two masked men held up a pizzeria on Staten Island, they told staff to hand over “the dough.” The staff did as they were told. The men took off, not realizing that they had pizza dough instead of money.

One hundred and fifty cases of hilarious “brainless baddies” have been selected for this National Geographic Kids Book, one of the latest in the “Weird But True” series. Some truly wacky laws are also brought to light in this absorbing book. Did you know that it’s illegal to walk a pig along Miami Beach? It’s also illegal to wake up a bear in Alaska to take its picture, to bring a skunk into the state of Tennessee, and to predict the future in Yamhill, Oregon.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” With its well-selected, high-interest content and eye-catching collage-style illustrations, this “Weird But True” title is sure to catch and keep the attention of reluctant as well as enthusiastic readers.

** Recommended for ages eight to 13.

Danger!, By the editors of Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 192 pages.
@ SPL: J 500 Dan

With a bright red cover entitled “Danger!” and the warning, “Open with Extreme Caution!” kids are almost certain to grab this book and open it enthusiastically at breakneck speed. Then, they’re quite likely to become lost in it for a long time.

What sort of “dangerous” content is included in this absorbing 192-page children’s book? The first chapter, “Nature’s Nasties,” enters into the world of sharks and other killer animals, animals that sting or feed on human blood, “monsters” which live in the deep sea, predators, and poisonous plants. Subsequent chapters include the themes usually of great interest to kids: explosives, Frankenstein (and other frightening monsters in literature and history), medical horrors, alien encounters, biological dangers, the science behind car crashes, and other gruesome topics in medicine and other sciences, history and geography.

The colourful illustrations and the astounding information will thoroughly captivate readers as young as nine or 10 years of age (although the Dorling Kindersley website states that the book is targeted at ages 12 years and up). Danger! is a book that readers can easily pick up, put down and pick up again – although it’s doubtful that they will want to put it down even for a second.

** Recommended for ages nine and up.

These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on November 1, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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