Happy Thanksgiving! The library is, of course, closed Thursday 11/22, as well as Friday 11/23 and Saturday 11/24. It will re-open as usual on Tuesday 11/27. Enjoy your holiday! (And if you can, please wait until next week to return your books, so the book return bins don’t fill up like in this photo from the Monterey Public Library! Yikes!)
Thanks to 510 Families contributor Juanita Villa for the shout-out to the library in her Parents’ Guide to Montclair this week:
The Montclair Library is a fantastic place for kids. They have a nice play area in the back with toys that you can take your tots to go play, and even have a baby bounce class on Thursdays. The library also has great $2 books sales with good finds!!
We couldn’t agree more!
The Medicine Warriors Dance Troupe performs at the OPL Asian Branch. Photo courtesy of Yu Ming School.
Thursday, November 8th, 2012
Toddler Storytime – 10:20am
Baby Bounce – 11:30am
Saturday, November 10th, 2012
Medicine Warriors Dance Troupe – 2:00pm
The Medicine Warriors Dance Troupe will help us celebrate Native American History Month with dances and drums. We might even get to join in the dancing!
It’s Election Day! (Just in case you haven’t heard that, oh, 4 million times already.) If all the hoopla has your young reader curious about the process, here are some books about voting and elections from the Montclair Library:
Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone (grades K-3)
Vote! by Eileen Christelow (grades 2-5)
One town’s mayoral election provides a lucid introduction to voting (including a recount). Includes additional information such as a voting timeline, activities and a list of internet resources.Voting in an Election by John Hamilton (e-book)
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin (grades Preschool-2)
If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier (grades 1-3)
Six children discuss their decision to run, campaigning, primaries and conventions, debating, being interviewed, meeting the public, voting and being sworn in on Inauguration Day as if they were running for president.Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio (grades 2-5)
Werewolves Don’t Run for President by Debbie Dadey (grades 1-3)
LaRue for Mayor: Letters from the Campaign Trail by Mark Teague (grades 1-4)
When the tough-talking mayor decides to crack down on the free-roaming dogs in his town, Ike the dog decides his civil liberties are in danger and jumps into the mayoral race.
And lastly, any grownups who aren’t totally overloaded on politics at this point might enjoy Trail Fever: Spin Doctors, Rented Strangers, Thumb Wrestlers, Toe Suckers, Grizzly Bears, and Other Creatures on the Road to the White House by Michael Lewis.
Posted in Just for Fun | Tags: books, children, elections, voting
Saturday, November 3rd is the American Library Association’s (ALA) 5th annual International Games Day. Did you know the Montclair library has board games in the children’s room you can borrow to play while in the library?
Or get more abstract and read a book about a board game, like Chris Van Allsburg’s Jumanji or Zathura. Or see this article from The Horn Book about board games inspired by children’s books.
The Oakland Public Library also stocks video games you can check out for Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, and PlayStation 2.
Posted in Just for Fun | Tags: books, games, services
Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Stephanie Yun. Photo by Moya Fotografix.
Stephanie is a graduate of Montclair Elementary, Montera Middle School and Skyline High School, and currently attends UC Berkeley. Way to go, Stephanie! Last week’s Montclarion had a front-page story about Stephanie.
Posted in News | Tags: community, library news, poetry, teens
As part of her ongoing project to collect information about the history of Montclair and the Montclair branch, Branch Manager Lynne Cutler found a great old photo of the library when it opened in 1930, looking like a country cottage in a grassy field. A copy of the photo is now framed and hanging in the library — have a look next time you’re in, and pick up the printouts about the Montclair branch history and storybook architecture to learn more about our unique building.
Posted in News | Tags: history, storybook architecture, village
It’s National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo! In what organizers describe as “a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing,” participants attempt to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel between November 1 and November 30. If you’ve always wanted to try writing a novel instead of just reading them, here’s your excuse to get started! Check out the NaNoWriMo website for details, inspiration and encouragement.
If you’re writing, the library makes a nice, quiet place to work on your novel. Or maybe you’re looking for some inspiration? The official manual for the event, Chris Baty’s No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days is not surprisingly already checked out with a hold on it. But, assuming you have time to read while writing your 1,667 words per day, how about one of these books at the Montclair branch for inspiration?
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard
So You Want to Write: How to Master the Craft of Writing Fiction and the Personal Narrative by Marge Piercy and Ira Wood
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
Fiction: The Art and Craft of Writing and Getting Published by Michael Seidman
The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art by Joyce Carol Oates
Get that Novel Started! (And Keep it Going ’til You Finish) by Donna Levin
Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and other Dreamers by Carolyn See
Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (not at Montclair, but it’s a classic, worth requesting)
Posted in Just for Fun | Tags: authors, books, nanowrimo, writing
There is a new feature available to patrons on the Oakland Public Library website: You can now choose to retain your “reading history,” which means the site will remember everything you check out. This is an “opt-in” feature, which means that in order to use it, you need to log in to your account, click on the button “My Reading History” button on the left, and then select the “opt-in” button. If you ever decide to opt out, you can cancel your reading history by repeating these steps and selecting the “opt-out” button. You can sort your reading history list by title, author or check-out date. Thanks to Branch Manager Lynne Cutler for the tip!
Posted in Library Services | Tags: services, website
This week, come to the library for back-to-back storytimes on Thursday, October 25th.
Toddler Storytime at 10:20am
Baby Bounce at 11:30am
Friends of Montclair Library 