Books On Film | Garfield

Children love Garfield, the titular character from Jim Davis' comic strip. Garfield is a cat who loves to eat and who has humorous one-sided conversation with his owner Jon and Jon's dog Odie. Davis started the comic strip, which holds a Guiness World Record for being the most widely syndicated comic, in 1978 and it still continues today.

As a child, I spent time watching the animated series 'Garfield and Friends.' These days children watch the CGI animated 'The Garfield Show' and it's spin-off graphic novels in addition to collections of the original comic strips.

Besides inspiring several television shows, Garfield was also adapted into two live-action movies (Garfield The Movie & Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties) with comedian Bill Murray voicing Garfield. 

If you know a child who liked the movie try introducing them to the comics.

Learning | Honeybees

"It's a very funny thought that,  if Bears were Bees, They'd build their nests at the bottom of trees. And that being so (if the Bees were Bears), We shouldn't have to climb up all these stairs."

--from the song, "Isn't it Funny How a Bear Likes Honey?"  in Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne

Winnie the Pooh had a few problems with honeybees--namely, finding their hives, and then figuring out the best way to get their honey, without being stung. Some pondering, singing, and talking with his friends usually gets him past any obstacles he faces.

Have you heard about the real life honeybee problem? All over the world, these bees are dying off.  Scientists are still investigating the reasons for this problem, which has been given the name of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD, for short.) 

Would you like to learn more about it? Would you like to learn how to help keep honeybee numbers up?  Then SSJCPL has a book for you:

Apis mellifera--Western Honeybee 
Photo courtesy of woolcarderbee's photostream
 on Flickr.com. Some rights reserved.

The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees: a Scientific Mystery 

by Sandra Markle. 

Markle tells about the discovery of the problem, and explains how a honeybee colony is supposed to work, with female worker bees, drones, a queen, and larvae.  She explains what the worker bees do--like gathering nectar from flowers--and how their work helps both their fellow bees and people.  

She then discusses possible causes of CCD--changes in habitat, parasitic mites, fungus, pesticides or even cell phones! The cell phone theory has been disproved, but it may be that the other possible causes are all contributing to CCD.

Even though the investigation into the cause of CCD has not ended, there are a number of things being done to ensure that we do not keep losing so many bees. Markle explains the things that beekeepers and others are doing to make sure there are more healthy bee colonies, like giving bees a rest, keeping their hives cleaner, and splitting colonies, to name a few.

As if that was not enough, she also gives suggestions for everybody, so they can help keep bees healthy.  My favorite suggestion is to buy local honey; I usually get that at the Farmer's Market here in Stockton.  Mmmmmmm!  When I think about honey, I start thinking about Winnie the Pooh again.  I wonder how much honey I have left in that jar....

I really like the glossary in the back, which defines bee-related terms. Markle also provides a list of books and websites in the back of the book, for those who wish to study the problem further. 

This book is for grades 4-8, but I think there are some bright students in younger grades, who might enjoy having this book read to them.

Just Life| Egyptian Book Of The Dead & More

A couple of years ago, a patron asked me to find him the Egyptian book of the dead. I almost giggled at that question telling myself that there is no chance that we would have such a book. 

Immediately, images of mummies running around London from The Mummy Returns came to mind.

You can't imagine how shocked I was when I found that book in our catalog.

So, I am leafing through this book to find out what this book is all about. 

To my disappointment, you can't bring back the dead with this book. 

In ancient Egypt, the book of the dead (roll of papyrus to be exact) was buried with the deceased person to help him in his journey through afterlife. 

Apparently, afterlife was quite a perilous journey where you would be tested and questioned and attacked by all sort of monsters. There were gates to pass through and questions to be answered before moving to the next stage and before finally reaching the Paradise. There was even the possibility of a second death which was apparently the worst thing that could happen to an already dead person.

 

Depending on your wealth, you could buy a fill in the blank Egyptian Book of the dead or a customized one.

The other perculiar book in our Ready Reference area is the Devil's Notebook. The book is written by Anton LaVey, founder of the church of Satan. I don't have any desire to read this book, but it is available if you want to take a peek at it.

I tell you, this library is full of surprises.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Books On Film | A Day with Wilbur Robinson

The Walt Disney animated film Meet the Robinsons (2007) is a loose adaptation of a 1990 children's picture book by William Joyce called A Day With Wilbur Robinson. In the book, a young boy visits the unusual home of the Robinson family and meets a bevy of eccentric relatives while on a search for Grandpa Robinson's missing teeth. 

The movie borrows the idea of a young boy meeting the eccentric Robinson family, but the similarities pretty much end there. In the movie, an inventive young orphan named Lewis, goes on a time traveling adventure into the future with the youngest Robinson.

Young children will enjoy both the book and the movie, but because of the big differences in plot it might be best to introduce them separately.

Cover courtesy of LibraryThing.

The Reader Digests | Free Hamburgers

What is better than a hamburger?  A FREE hamburger. 

I love anything free, but I was inspired to write about hamburgers this week because SSJCPL is giving out free burgers! Sort of. I mean, librarians haven't turned the info desks into grills or anything like that (but that would be pretty awesome). What I do mean is that SSJCPL is participating in In-N-Out's "Cover to Cover" club. Kids - ages four to twelve - can sign up for this club at any SSJCPL library location. The rules are simple: read five books by April 12, get a burger! And kids can read 15 books for a total of three burgers!

The program got me thinking. I know that I am a fan of burgers, but from where (not what) do burgers originate?  Many people think that hamburgers came from Hamburg, Germany and it is true that is where hamburger, or ground beef, was first introduced. However, hamburgers, the ones we know and love, beef in a bun - or, if you are watching your carbs, lettuce - were first enjoyed at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904! The easy, cheap, and tasty treat was quickly adopted as one of America's all-time favorite foods! We have added plenty of variety to our burgers over the years. People use different meats or meatless patties, a wide array of condiments, other toppings, and different types of breads (or lettuce).

So, here are my personal "burger awards". I would love to hear about your burger awards in the comments section!:

Favorite homemade burger: Beef burger with jalapenos, salsa, guacamole, and cheddar cheese.

Most unique burger: Gott's Roadside Ahi Burger

Best fast food burger: In-N-Out! I went to college in the Midwest and every time I came back to California I always put In-N-Out on my list of places to visit. The fact that they give kids burgers for reading makes them even more cool! 

Book Bucket List | Disney's Frozen and The Snow Queen

Elsa says, "Pin please!"

Disney's latest animated film, Frozen, is a huge hit.  It was released on November 27, 2013 and is still in theaters.  I can't remember when a movie is being released on DVD and the film is still being shown. One of our patrons was kind enough to make us a paper doll of the character Elsa, and boy is she popular.  We get patrons of all ages asking us : a.) If they can have her.  b.) If they can buy her. c.) Who made her and if they're selling her.  So obviously Frozen fever is still around.

So if you're a Frozen fan, here are some fun facts about the movie:

• The character of Elsa was originally supposed to be the film's villain, but the song "Let It Go" was so inspiring that they didn't want to give the song to a villain.  The producers reworked the entire story so that Elsa is innocent and at the mercy of her powers.
• A lot of Olaf's lines were improvised to make the filmmakers laugh.
• The characters Hans, Kristof, Anna, and Sven were named after Hans Christian Anderson.  If you say the names quickly, they sound like Hans Christian Anderson!
• Tangled's Flynn Rider and Rapunzel make a cameo appearance during Anna's "For the First Time in Forever".

Something that not everyone knows about Frozen is that it has been an idea floating around the Disney vault for years.  It has had numerous names and crews that haven't worked out..  They were basing the story on Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen.  We have many versions of this in our system, so be sure to check out the original Frozen story!  We also have non-Disney adaptations of this story, like the picture book The Snow Queen: a retelling of the fairy tale.

Disney has also uploaded the Academy Award winning song "Let it go" to their youtube channel.  You can enjoy it below!

Just Life | Sauce Basics

Do you love to cook?

If the answer is yes, then you should take a look at this book:

" Sauces basics:recipes illustrated step by step" by Keda Black.

I came across this book by accident. I opened it and I was hooked. This book uses simple ingredients, simple directions and wonderful illustrations to teach you how to make different sauces. The pictures are so clean and crisp. Just loved this book's simplicity.

Here is an example of what you find in this book:

There are recipes for salad dressings, pasta sauces and even recipes for making foams. (I don't have the slightest idea what that is.)

What I love about this book is that it doesn't require a gazillion ingredients to make these sauces. The directions are very simple and easy to follow.

I tried the Lemon cream pasta sauce one night and I loved it but my husband & daughter weren't that thrilled.
 

They said that they were shocked by its intense flavor. Basically they weren't expecting such a unique pasta sauce from me. I have to admit, I am boring when it comes to cooking and they weren't expecting such a bold flavored food from me.
 
So to tickle my family's taste buds a bit more, I am planning to cook the following delicacies in the very near future:

Escargot followed by Fried Frog Legs and I would finish it with some "Brain Sandwich" which is a delicacy in Iran.

I am heading to my backyard, this instant to collect some snails...lol.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha