Women of Action!
I was thrilled when I was asked to compile a list of movies featuring strong female characters. I love movies featuring women who can take control of an uncontrollable situation and get the job done. Whether it's Sarah Connors saving the fate of mankind in T2 (1991) or Annie making sure the bus never drops under 50 mph in Speed (1994), I love movies that feature strong, uncompromising female leads.
Are your kids history buffs? Maybe, maybe not. For me there's so much to delve into that I could spend unreasonable amounts of time on it. Believe me, I've spent many hours in cemeteries and archives soaking up all that info! Much more than just dates in a textbook, history is made up of family dramas, battles and wars, advancements in science, math, philosophy, etc. I think there's a lot to learn from, but also to appreciate. Now, if your kiddos are into personal stories of individuals throughout history (as the popularity of Hamilton seems to attest to), there are certainly some budding historians among the newest generations. Maybe it's that they love George Washington as much as I do or anything on Madame C.J. Walker is automatically added to the "want-to-read"shelf. Clearly there are a few people throughout history who really pique our interests.
During the quarantine last year I took the time at home to practice my sewing and stitch one a bunch of band patches to my denim jackets and decided to make it into one of our library guides when I got back, showing how to make your own battle jacket and I even complied some lists of heavy metal and punk inclined reading for our youth, young adult and adult collections (you can find the full guide here). Below I've curated some of my favorite family friendly titles to share with your children to introduce them to some of your favorite genres and artists...though I must admit I am a bit partial to punk and metal:
Picture Books
Who Exactly is The Sandman? - A Brief History
The upcoming series "The Sandman" is based on the series of comics written by acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman, though his incarnation of the Sandman character wasn't the first.
Golden/Silver Age Sandman
I didn't know Random Acts of Kindness Day, which happens on February 17 this year, even existed until very recently. Of course, I know there are people who choose to be kind every day, but I had no idea it was an official day! So I found out more. As any modern person does, I searched online. Discovering the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation was pretty exciting for me! On their website, the Foundation shares tons of resources including real-life stories, downloadable materials, and many celebrations of kindness you can see and do in every day life. This got me thinking of the types of stories and inspirations we at the library have to offer for Random Act of Kindness Day. Of course, the library has many materials to choose from. However, I am including in this particular blog only children's nonfiction books.
With the new year, the American Library Association (ALA) has released the 2021 Youth Media Awards which recognizes youth and young adult books for outstanding achievement based on certain criteria, below I've listed the awards winners and when available linked the titles we have currently in the library catalog. For a more in depth look at past and present winners and honorees check out our comprehensive libguide, Award Winning Youth Books.
The John Newbery Award is named after an 18th century British bookseller and given annually for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
Most organizing books have the same general principle, although they each have their own spin to them. Out of the many organizing books, these three stuck out the most to me personally. If there is a particular one you liked and want to read similar books or just books similar to the author, you can use our Novelist tool to find them.
1. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
"Contrary to what we may have been taught to think, unnecessary and unchosen suffering wounds us but need not scar us for life. It does mark us. What we allow the mark of our suffering to become is in our own hands." - bell hooks, All about Love: New Visions
I love juvenile non-fiction. Imagine me spreading my arms out wide and saying, “I love juvenile non-fiction this much.” Why? Juvenile non-fiction teaches children about the world they live in with vibrant illustrations and photos, and exciting text. Really--the juvenile non-fiction books of today are not the books you or your parents read. Gone are the days of pages and pages of text and one or two pictures. Juvenile non-fiction has made an incredible transformation from then to now and I am going to highlight 5 new non-fiction titles that have come out this month. Click on the photo to put the title on hold in our system. You can put all five on hold—I won’t tell.
Black History Month is a great reason to explore new books to read and broaden your horizons. Over the past several years I've built the library's adult graphics collection with a number of voices, perspectives and cultural representations. In honor of this month, I've curated some of my favorite titles either by black creators, or featuring black characters or non-fiction titles about black history.
