Just Life| Crenshaw, a children book

Crenshaw is a children's book by the award winning author Katherine Applegate. It is about a young boy named Jackson, his family, and Jackson's imaginary friend Crenshaw who happens to be a giant cat.

It is a sad story about a family who has fallen on hard times. Jackson's family is forced to sell everything in their apartment trying to make the next month's rent.

Jackson has too much on his mind and now he has to deal with his imaginary friend Crenshaw. 

Jackson is worried. Is he losing his mind? He is entering the 5th grade in the Fall. Isn't he is too old to have an imaginary friend?

Can they save enough money for the rent or do they have to live in their minivan again? You have got to read this book to find out.

This is a good book for 4-6 graders. The AR level is 3.0 

There are many kids in our own city who may be facing similar hardships.

In Stockton, we have the "One TLC School" for homeless children. If your are interested, please check out their Facebook page. They can use your help. 

Homelessness can happen to us all.

https://www.facebook.com/one.TLCSchool


Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| Walking to the library

Imagine walking for an hour to get to the library when it is 45 degrees outside. That is exactly what one of our teen volunteers did on Dec 31. She walked for an hour with a bag full of books to get to the Troke library. 

It totally blew me away that a teen would do that. So I asked her what her plan was for New Year's eve, and she said that she would be reading. 

I was so impressed. 

So, cheers to a wonderful year of reading.

By the way, what is the tallest building in town?  The library, because it has the most stories.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| New Year wish

The year 2016 is fast approaching and all I wish and hope for is lots of happiness for all of us.

I pray that this coming year, brings limitless happiness to all my family and friends and co-workers. 

I think once you are happy, you can handle anything that comes your way.

So for this coming year, all I wish for is lots of happiness. 

And if you feel a little blue these days, please pickup one of these books from your local library to improve your mood.

• Happiness by design: change what you do, not how you think

• Code to joy : the four-step solution to unlocking your natural state of happiness

• The happiness project

• Happier at home 

• Spontaneous Happiness

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| Christmas Stories

If you are already exhausted from all of that holiday shopping and you need a break, stop by your local library to pickup some heart warming Christmas stories to enjoy during this holiday season. 

Here are a few of these books. Click on any of these books to place it on hold.

• Treasury of Christmas stories

• Startling joy : seven magical stories of Christmas

• Christmas in my heart : a timeless treasury of heartwarming stories

• Finding Noel 

• Mistletoe promise

• The magic of Christmas miracles : an all-new collection of inspiring true stories

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season.

Please keep in mind that all the Stockton- San Joaquin County Public Libraries are closed on December 24-25, 2015.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| Books For Christmas

There are only a handful of days until Christmas. If you are gift shopping for family and friends, please don't forget about books. 

They can be the best presents. 

If you are thinking about buying an E-reader for a loved one, I recommend that you checkout a Nook from your local library and use it for a few days to see if you like it or not. You can borrow these E-readers for three weeks free of charge. 

Here are a few of these pre-loaded Nooks from the library. Click on any of these choices below to see which books they contain.

Nook Teen

Nook Childrens

Nook Adult, mystery

Nook Adult, non-fiction

If you don't know what types of books to buy, a bookstore gift card would be great too. Who doesn't like gift cards, right? 

Happy reading and happy book shopping!

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| New Books & More

At our libraries, we are constantly adding new materials to our shelves. For example at the Troke library, we receive hundreds of new items every week.

So if you are wondering how you can browse these new library materials from the comfort of your home, here are the steps:

• Go to www.ssjcpl.org 
• Click on "Catalog Home" from the top of the page
• Then on the left side of the the screen, you can view the new library materials such as: new DVDs, new fictions, new non-fictions, new audio-books, new music and the new large print.

If you find something interesting while browsing these new materials, you can place it on hold and then you can choose a library close to you for the pickup location.

It is easy and convenient.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha 

Just Life| Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree

If you are looking for a fun picture book to read to your child, the "five little monkeys sitting in a tree" by Eileen Christelow is a good pick. 

This is the story of five naughty monkeys who were trying to tease Mr. Crocodile. This is quite an entertaining picture book and it introduces counting to children as well.

Of course, my very favorite book by Eileen Christelow is the" five little monkeys jumping on the bed". This is the perfect storytime book.

Kids totally love this book. Every time I use this book for my story-time, half of the kids know the entire book by heart and they all help me read it. 

If you would like to learn more about this author, please visit her website:

http://www.christelow.com/

We have many books by Eileen Christelow in our library system. Here are a few of these books:

• Five little monkeys reading in bed

• Five little monkeys go shopping

• Not until Christmas, Walter!

• Letters from a desperate dog

Happy reading!

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha