Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Kimball Library News 10/20/09

Are you feeling lucky? Would you like to support a great cause? Did you save the date for Kimball Library’s HALLOWEEN FEST taking place on Friday, October 30th from 5:30-8pm? In conjunction with the Halloween Fest, a raffle fundraiser is available for you to purchase tickets for a chance to win prizes. Just some of the items to be raffled include 4 rounds of golf at Murphy’s Garrison Golf Center, Sunday brunch for two at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club, $50 Exxon/Mobil gas cards, wine baskets, money tree, Halloween candy basket, folk art, New England Patriots rug, Coldwater creek handbag, a state of NH inspection sticker from Buntings, and more! You can put tickets in for just the prizes you’re interested in winning and they can be purchased at the circulation desk—10 for $5 or 25 for $10. Winners will be drawn near the culmination of our Halloween Fest that Friday night, and you need not be present to win even though you’ll be having more fun if you do! All proceeds from the raffle will go toward purchasing a new sign in front of the building. Consider the ticket purchase as a donation, and maybe Friday the 20th will be your lucky night!

ATTENTION ALL GAME LOVERS ages 6-600! National Gaming Day is back, and this year it falls on Saturday, November 14th, from 10am-3pm. We are inviting ages 6 to 600 to join in the fun in various rooms throughout the building. Participate by playing or cheering folks on. Elementary age youth will be able to play Mario Kart in the Children’s Room while grades 6 and up can try out Wii Sports Resort in the Atkinson Room. Simultaneously, we will be running 3 board games as part of a national quest to discover how many people will play games on that day in participating libraries around the country. Drop in, play, and stay as long as you like. The board games (titles to be announced in November) will be played throughout the USA. Please come and be part of the movement.

Feeling crafty? Don’t forget to register for the two-part folk art workshop being taught by Ellen Witherell on Saturday, November 14 & 21, from 10:30am-1pm. The $30 cost to make a lovely decorative tray includes most supplies. Space in the class is very limited, but a check made out to ‘Friends of Kimball Library’ will reserve your seat and kit. For information and registration, call Carolyn Birr at the library (603) 362-5234 or Ellen Witherell at (603) 362-5655.

Friday, October 23, 2009

November Book Discussions

November can be your month to take part in one of our discussions. Books are available for the asking, and participants are always welcome. Not sure? Come listen and you’ll be hooked! Read a hook from the publisher for each book and see…

(TWEENS-GRADES 6-8 from 6:30-7:30pm) N OVEMBER 4~ “PRINCESS ACADEMY” by Shannon Hale.

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.

Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

(YOUNG ADULT-GRADES 9-12 from 6:30-7:30pm) NOVEMBER 11 ~ VETERAN’S DAY—LIBRARY CLOSED

(EVENING-ADULTS from 6-7pm) NOVEMBER 17~ “THE GOOD THIEF” by Hannah Tinti.

Richly imagined and gothically spooky, The Good Thief introduces one of the most appealing young heroes in contemporary fiction and ratifies Hannah Tinti as one of our most exciting talents writing today.
Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. When a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother, his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand persuades the monks at the orphanage to release the boy and to give Ren some hope. But is Benjamin really who he says he is? As Ren is introduced to a life of hardscrabble adventure filled with outrageous scam artists, grave robbers, and petty thieves, he begins to suspect that Benjamin not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well….

(JUNIOR-GRADES 4-5 from 4-5pm) WILL RESUME IN JANUARY

(MORNING-ADULTS from 10:15-11:30am) NOVEMBER 20~ “The INTERRUPION OF EVERYTHING” by Terry McMillan.

Marilyn Grimes, wife and mother of three, has made a career of deferring her dreams to build a suburban California home and lifestyle with her workaholic husband, Leon. She also troubleshoots for her grown kids, cares for her live-in mother-in-law (and elderly poodle, Snuffy), keeps tabs on her girlfriends Paulette and Bunny and her own aging mother and foster sister— and holds down a part- time job. But at forty-four, Marilyn's got too much on her plate and nothing to feed her passion. She feels like she's about ready to jump. She's just not sure where.

Highly entertaining, deeply human, a page-turner full of heart and soul, this time McMillan turns her eye to the question of how one woman can start putting her own needs higher on the to-do list while not shortchanging those she loves. The Interruption of Everything is a triumphant testament to the fact that the detour is the path, and living life "by the numbers" never quite adds up.

November is a great month to join us.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Kimball Library News 10/13/09

Did you save the date for Kimball Library’s HALLOWEEN FEST taking part on Friday, October 30th from 5:30-8pm? Fun will be rolled out in the form of a haunted hay ride, face painting, and donuts on a string. Prizes ($10) will be awarded for the costume competition for pre-school, grades 1-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12 and adult, in each category. Also, special awards will be given for the best pumpkin at each age level so BYOP (bring your own pumpkin) already decorated and ready to enter! There will be raffles, a costume parade, cider and donuts. There will also be ‘revenge of the teen librarian’ who will gleefully stripe kids hair while supplies last. Sound like fun? There’s more! Come by and see. You know you want to and the kids will clamor until you do.

Are you clamoring to be energy efficient? The Atkinson Energy Committee is hosting a fair in the Kimball Library’s large meeting room on Saturday, November 6th, from 9am-12pm. Now is the time to conserve. Now is the time to mark the date. Stay tuned for more detailed information in upcoming articles.

Have you registered for the new and upcoming ‘Folk Art’ workshop? It’s that time of year to come and paint a decorative wooden tray with a peaceful snow scene for your holiday parties or to give as a gift. There is definitely a little bit of ‘craft’ in all of us. This two-session folk art painting workshop is taught by Ellen Witherell on November 14 and November 21 from 10:30am to 1pm and is offered by the Friends of the Kimball Library. These classes are for beginners and intermediates, and instruction will include basic acrylic painting, highlighting and shading. The $30 cost includes most supplies. Space in the class is very limited, but a check made out to ‘Friends of Kimball Library’ will reserve your seat and kit. For information and registration, call Carolyn Birr at the library (603) 362-5234 or Ellen Witherell at (603) 362-5655.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Kimball Library News 10/06/09

Paul Wainwright is a photographer based in Atkinson, NH who works in a traditional manner utilizing sheet film, a large-format camera, and silver gelatin printing. His work has appeared in numerous juried competitions and solo exhibitions, and is included in the permanent collections of both private and corporate collectors, including Fidelity Investments and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He is a mostly self-taught photographer who brings to his images an eye for space and light, subtle details, and an appreciation of history. He will be presenting a program on Thursday, October 15th from 7-8pm regarding some of the details of his marvelous work. Save this date and become educated and fascinated all in one.

He’s a man and a legend, and he’s coming to Kimball Library on Saturday, October 24th from 10:30-11:30am! Come hear about him and his love of apples. A gentle and kind man, it is told that he made his drinking water from snow by melting it with his feet. Johnny Appleseed was a friend to everyone he met. Indians and settlers -- even the animals -- liked Johnny Appleseed. His clothes were made from sacks and his hat was a tin pot. This program is intended for kindergarten age and up. Be sure you do not miss him as he is not often around these parts.

If you are not prepared to make your clothes from sacks or wear a tin pot for a hat, and if your career has been downsized in our troubling economy, or you want to be prepared for the 'if and when', come spend some time with Susan Henry on Wednesday, October 28th, from 6:30-8pm. Susan is a resident of Atkinson, NH and a Certified Career Development Advisor. She holds a BS in Human Services & Psychology (Springfield College) and Master's Level Certification in Career Development (Plymouth State). She plans to address the following: how to survive a job loss, latest trends in the online job search market, how to create a resume that will be read and acted upon, why we still need cover letters, creating and honing your personal network, the best online search engines, and how to prepare for that crucial interview. If time permits, she’ll be glad to give a 10 minute critique of your current resume.

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us! (to the Kimball Library HALLOWEEN FEST taking part on Friday, October 30th from 5:30-8pm.) Family fun for all-SAVE THE DATE!

Friday, October 2, 2009

October Book Discussions

October can be your month to take part in one of our discussions. Books are available for the asking, and participants are always welcome. Not sure? Come listen and you’ll be hooked! Read a hook from the publisher for each book and see…



(TWEENS-GRADES 6-8 from 6:30-7:30pm) OCTOBER 7~ “The Disreputable Reputation of Frankie Landau-Banks” by E. Lockhart.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:

Debate Club.

Her father's "bunny rabbit."

A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.



Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:


A knockout figure.


A sharp tongue.A chip on her shoulder.


And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.



Frankie Landau-Banks.


No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.


Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society.


Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.


Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.When she knows Matthew's lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.


Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:


Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way.



(YOUNG ADULT-GRADES 9-12 from 6:30-7:30pm) OCTOBER 14~ “Impulse” by Ellen Hopkins.
Three teens who have attempted suicide meet in a psychiatric hospital, battle their demons, and begin to heal.
The handsome son of wealthy parents, Connor has everything anyone could want-except his family's love and affection. Jailed for years after killing his mother's child-molesting boyfriend, Tony is confused about his sexuality. Manic-depressive Vanessa cuts herself. All three stories intertwine in a brutally honest story about pain and resilience.



(EVENING-ADULTS from 6-7pm) OCTOBER 20~ “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks.
In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation. In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city's rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah's extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna's investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love. Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotionalintensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.



(JUNIOR-GRADES 4-5 from 4-5pm) OCTOBER 22~ “A Ghost in the Family” by Betty Ren Wright.
Chad Weldon is staying at an old house for two weeks during summer vacation. But he's not the only visitor. Soon after Chad and his friend Jeannie arrive, they discover a horrifying secret -- the house is haunted! And the ghost wants them gone! A swarm of bugs crawls out from under Chad's pillow, a mummy pays him a midnight visit, and a panther leaps out of the closet. What chilling secret is the ghost trying so hard to hide? And who can Chad and Jeannie turn to for help



(MORNING-ADULTS from 10:15-11:30am) OCTOBER 28~ “Loving Frank” by Nancy Horan.
I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current.So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives. In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright. Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion. Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story.


October is a great month to join us.

Kimball Library News 9/29/09

Is it time to focus on your family? We have a series of three workshops lined up for you on Tuesday evenings beginning on October 28th at 6:30-8pm. Other dates to earmark in advance include November 3 and 10. All sessions are offered free of charge, open to the public, and are wheelchair accessible. Register online at http://www.kimballlibrary.com/ or by contacting us at (603) 362-5234.

Family Focus:
Parenting Your School-aged Child Sponsored by Atkinson Academy, Kimball Library and the University of NH Cooperative Extension

The above workshop(s) are for parents and others raising 6 to 11 year-old children. The program will explore the following: Developing positive self-esteem without 'letting it go to their heads', Keys to effective limits: What should they be?, Helping kids make healthy media choices. Let the experts guide you through the elementary years. Now is the time to be on top of your game considering the teen years are right around the corner! Register for all three workshops.

Presented by: Claudia Boozer-Blasco, M.Ed. and Karyn Blass, M.Ed.Extension Educators, Family and Consumer Resources UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County

Visiting the library truly can be a family event. We have programs for all ages at various times. Take time to visit our web page for a monthly view of events or sign up for our jam-packed email that comes out on the 1st and 15th of each month. There you will find upcoming library events, new releases in all mediums, book discussion titles and dates, community interest events, and links to other pages of interest. Ask to be added to the list. Be involved, and be informed.