Tuesday, November 8, 2022 – 3:30-4:30pm Teen Crafting @ Montclair Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:30pm. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 – 2:00-3:00pm Dinovember! Discover the wonders of dinosaurs! Create an origami dinosaur or build one with Legos. Perhaps you want to make a dinosaur snow globe or save one from the Ice Age While you’re enjoying one of our crafts, please make sure to check out all the fantastic books we have on dinosaurs.
Thursday, November 10, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Thursday, November 17, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime
Remember: Masks are required inside all library locations so we can all stay healthy and keep having in-person events! (And if you’re not feeling well, please stay home and take care of yourself.)
Maybe it’s the Harry Potter generation growing up, maybe we’re all looking for a little escapism in the Covid era; whatever the reason, the last couple of years have brought us a cauldron-full of rom coms with a magical bent. Here for your Halloween reading pleasure are nine fun books that mix romance and witches (plus two bonus ghost stories). You’ll find all the usual tropes here — second-chance romance, fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity — along with a welcome smattering of diverse representation. (For even more witchy books, see this list from October 2020.)
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling “Vivienne Jones handled the biggest break-up of her life the way that any witch would: vodka, bubble baths, and a curse on her ex. That was nine years ago. Now Rhys Penhallow, descendant of the town’s founders, breaker of hearts and still irritatingly gorgeous, is back…But when his every move results in calamity, Vivi realizes that hexing her ex might not have been so harmless after all…Vivi and Rhys must put their personal feelings aside and work together to break the curse and save not just the town, but also Rhys’s life.” — FantasticFiction.com. (If you like this book, the next book in the series is The Kiss Curse.)
Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper Reviewers described this book as “the Sapphic modern Gothic I didn’t know I needed” and “John Tucker Must Die meets the Tri-Wizard Tournament,” as witches with a lot of history between them converge on the magical town of Thistle Grove for a spellcasting tournament. (If you like this book, check out the sequel, From Bad to Cursed.)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna “As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos “pretending” to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic.”
Witch Please by Ann Aguirre “Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls in this adorable witchy rom-com” between a cursed bisexual baker and a thoroughly modern witch whose family runs a magical tech repair shop. (There are two more books in the series: Boss Witch and Extra Witchy.)
Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare “When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she’s astonished to find that she’s not applying to work at her favorite card game…but to be an actual familiar for an actual witch.” The only problem “is warlock Ben Magnus, her employer’s nephew and the most arrogant, insufferable, maddening man to ever cast a spell.”
Not The Witch You Wed by April Asher A magic-less witch in New York City and a werewolf who broke her teenage heart end up fake dating to circumvent arcane Supernatural Laws requiring them to find mates.
Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin “On the eve of her ten-year high school reunion, Lucy…casts a spell that brings trouble in the form of…her high school crush merman Alex…But once he discovers that his new neighbor is the witch who got away, Alex starts to rethink his plan” to flip his new house and get back to the ocean.
The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton Witchcraft, pirates, flying houses and madcap humor make for a rollicking historical romance with added magic as witch Charlotte Pettifer joins forces with pirate Alex O’Riley to track down a missing amulet. (There is some dispute about who is kidnapping whom.)
What the Hex by Alexis Daria “The Addams Family meets Miami in this short and steamy witchy rom-com” set on “Isla Bruja, a secret magical enclave home to the richest and most powerful Latinx witch families.”
Plus two bonus ghostly romances about ladies who can see (very handsome) ghosts: A Ghost in Shining Armor by Therese Beharrie and Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
October 4, 2022 – 6:00-7:30pm Poetry of the Senses: A Creative Writing Series Come take a break from the demanding news of the day with The Poetry of the Senses, a series of six creative writing sessions at Montclair Branch Library.
October 6, 2022 – 10:15-10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
October 11, 2022 – 6:30-7:30pm One Village, One Book Club After a brief 2-year hiatus (ahem), we are bringing back our book club reading set in Oakland! Books will be selected from a variety of genres and eras, so you’re sure to find something you’re interested in. We’ll get to learn more about our city, meet some neighbors, and discuss what we’ve read. At this meeting we’ll be discussing the cookbook Flavors of Oakland by Elazar Sontag and Anya Ku.
Join us for in-person events for kids and adults this month. Remember: Masks are required inside all library locations so we can all stay healthy and keep having in-person events! (And if you’re not feeling well, please stay home and take care of yourself.)
September 5, 2022 LIBRARY CLOSED (Labor Day)
September 6, 2022 – 6:00–7:30pm Poetry of the Senses: A Creative Writing Series Come take a break from the demanding news of the day with The Poetry of the Senses, a series of six creative writing sessions at Montclair Branch Library. Each session will focus on finding inspiration from one of the senses, such as by viewing touching and tasting a blackberry, examining and smelling a lavender flower, looking at a painting, or visiting the library’s garden under the blue sky in the wind. Sessions will consist of inspiration time (model poem, discussion, sense experience), writing time, and sharing time.
September 8, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Join us for in-person events for kids and adults this month. Remember: Masks are required inside all library locations so we can all stay healthy and keep having in-person events! (And if you’re not feeling well, please stay home and take care of yourself.)
August 9, 2022 – 6:00–7:30pm Poetry of the Senses: A Creative Writing Series Come take a break from the demanding news of the day with The Poetry of the Senses, a series of six creative writing sessions at Montclair Branch Library. Each session will focus on finding inspiration from one of the senses, such as by viewing touching and tasting a blackberry, examining and smelling a lavender flower, looking at a painting, or visiting the library’s garden under the blue sky in the wind. Sessions will consist of inspiration time (model poem, discussion, sense experience), writing time, and sharing time.
August 11, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
Join us at Montclair Library in July for fun events for all ages. Remember: Masks are required inside all library locations so we can all stay healthy and keep having in-person events! (And if you’re not feeling well please stay home and take care of yourself.)
July 12, 2022 – 6:00–7:30 PM Poetry of the Senses: A Creative Writing Series Come take a break from the demanding news of the day with The Poetry of the Senses, a series of six creative writing sessions at Montclair Branch Library. Each session will focus on finding inspiration from one of the senses, such as by viewing touching and tasting a blackberry, examining and smelling a lavender flower, looking at a painting, or visiting the library’s garden under the blue sky in the wind. Sessions will consist of inspiration time (model poem, discussion, sense experience), writing time, and sharing time.
July 13, 2022 – 1:00-1:45 PM Yoga Storytime Join Librarian Pat this summer for Yoga Storytime. Pat invites you to make shapes with your body, practice deep breaths, and enjoy a few stories.
July 14, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am Storytime At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.
July 20, 2022 – 1:00–2:00 PM Traveling Lantern Theatre Mr. Sharky, your snaggle-tooth camp counselor has planned a fish-fact-filled voyage to the bottom of the sea. All hands-on deck as we get underway for Camp Ocean.
July 26, 2022 – 4:00–5:00 PM Teens: Let’s make Tiny Art! Come in and make a mini masterpiece for our tiny art show, featuring tiny paintings by teens all around Oakland! (And yes, you can have your art back when the show is over.) Don’t miss out on this opportunity to earn raffle tickets for our Summer Program, which includes prizes like a Nintendo Switch, an electric guitar, beats earbuds, and so much more! No registration required, all teens welcome. All supplies will be included!
Protect access to local libraries for everyone in Oakland – without raising taxes – by voting YES on Measure C on the June 7 ballot. Ballots will be mailed to Oakland voters the week of May 9.
Measure C will extend an existing, voter-approved parcel tax (which you may remember as Measure Q from 2004). Oakland’s libraries are largely funded by two parcel taxes, overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2004 and 2018 for 20 years each. The measure passed in 2004 expires soon and must be extended to keep libraries open and maintain library services. Bottom line: Without Measure C, our neighborhood libraries will be forced to cut hours and services, and some will likely close.
Recent polls show a lot of Oaklanders aren’t even aware of Measure C, and the campaign could use your support getting the word out. Here are four ways to help the Measure C campaign, courtesy of FOPL:
Tell all the Oaklanders you know to VOTE YES ON C to protect access to local libraries for everyone in Oakland – without raising tax rates. Did you know that Measure C funds can be spent only for Oakland Public Libraries? You heard that right – the City cannot spend this money for any other purpose. And the measure includes exemptions for low-income seniors and residents, community oversight and regular independent audits. We voters have approved this funding in the past. Let’s approve it again!
Sign up to phone-bank and ask your friends to join. Supporters are phone-banking on Mondays from 5 to 8 pm. If you can sign up for even ONE three-hour session, you would be giving OPL some high-quality support. Please go to the VolunteerSignUp ASAP!
Banned Books Week isn’t until September, but lately every week is starting to look like Banned Books Week with all the challenges to books and libraries (including actual book burnings) around the country.
After you’ve taken a minute to learn about the deeper issues behind book banning and some ways to fight it, or maybe even formed your own banned book book club, check out one of these 14 books spotlighted by The Atlantic recently as frequently banned or challenged. As Emma Sarappo writes, “The following 14 books employ difficult, sometimes upsetting imagery to tell complicated stories. That approach has made them some of the most frequently challenged, or outright banned, books in America’s schools; it also makes them perfect examples of what literature is supposed to do.”
OPL recently hosted a book launch for Alex Harris’s new book, Birds of Lake Merritt, “a richly illustrated birding guide to the nation’s first official wildlife refuge.”
The world of birds is wide and fascinating, from obsessive bird watchers to birds that navigate huge swathes of the globe without a map to the romances and intrigues of the birds in your own backyard. Here are 12 more books to help you learn more about the lives of birds and those who observe them.
If reading about birds makes you want to make your outside space more bird-friendly, this post from the OPL blog from December 2020 has lots of book recommendations.
Note: Descriptions are from the OPL catalog except where noted, although they may be condensed or edited for clarity.
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman (598 ACKERMAN) “Beyond highlighting how birds use their unique genius in technical ways, Ackerman points out the impressive social smarts of birds. They deceive and manipulate. They eavesdrop. They display a strong sense of fairness. They give gifts. They play keep-away and tug-of-war. They tease. They share. They cultivate social networks. They vie for status. They kiss to console one another. They teach their young. They blackmail their parents. They alert one another to danger. They summon witnesses to the death of a peer. They may even grieve. This elegant scientific investigation and travelogue weaves personal anecdotes with fascinating science.” (See also Ackerman’s The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent and Think)
Birds of Berkeley by Oliver James (598.09794 JAMES) This charming, full-color field guide to 25 birds easily found in Berkeley proves that even the city’s avian residents are a little quirky. James takes a delightfully creative approach to his write-ups of each species, inviting you to imagine that a Cooper’s Hawk, for example, is Steve McQueen in a ’68 Mustang, and you, “a pigeon in a rental car with a poor turning radius,” are fleeing through traffic.
Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds, edited by Billy Collins (821.008 BRIGHT) A former U.S. poet laureate joins a top bird illustrator to create a collection of images and classic and contemporary verse devoted to a variety of birds, in an array that include poems by Chaucer, Robert Browning, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, John Updike, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens and many more.
Bird Sense: What It’s Like to Be a Bird by Tim Birkhead (598 BIRKHEAD) Describes the senses of birds that enable them to interpret their environments and interact with one another, drawing on cutting-edge science to explain how bird senses compare with those of humans and how they are able to detect distant and extraordinary elements from an upcoming storm to the Earth’s magnetic field.
Bird Brains: Inside the Strange Minds of Our Fine Feathered Friends by Budd Titlow (ebook) Through a hundred short vignettes, Bird Brains looks at the antics, behaviors and idiosyncrasies of wild birds and the often wild and wacky lives of birders–those who are always ready and willing to drop everything at a moment’s notice and “twitch off” to some exotic locations just to add another checkmark to their life lists.
Flights of Fancy: Birds in Myth, Legend and Superstition by Peter Tate (398.24528 TATE) A beautifully illustrated odyssey into the world of birds looks at the myths, legends, and superstitions surrounding some of the world’s best-known birds, drawing on traditions from every corner of the globe to explore the stories of some thirty avian species, from doves and geese to cranes and blackbirds.
Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah Strycker (598.07234 STRYCKER) The author tells the story of how he traveled across forty-one countries in an attempt to see half of the world’s birds in one year, sharing the challenges that he faced, as well as the birds and bird-lovers he found on the way.
The Meaning of Birds by Simon Barnes (598 BARNES) An illustrated examination of the lives of birds looks at how birds achieve the miracle of flight; why birds sing; what they tell us about the seasons of the year; the uses of feathers; what the migration of birds can tell us about climate change; and much more.
City Birding: True Tales of Birds and Birdwatching in Unexpected Places by Kenn Kaufman (598.07234 CITY) From the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the French Quarter of New Orleans, some of the country’s best-known birders observe birds in places where thriving bird life comes as a surprise in this funny, informative and thought-provoking collection of true stories.
The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickefoose (598.07234 ZICKEFOOS) A wild bird rehabilitator and nature artist describes her painstaking efforts to rescue injured birds and her experiences when those birds come back to visit, looking at the personality and quirks of individual birds of different species
On July 8, the library is offering a virtual program about owls with an East Bay Regional Parks naturalist – including the opportunity to dissect an actual owl pellet – stop by the library to pick up your own regurgitated owl waste – supplies are limited!
Owls, with their wise reputation and ambassador-of-the-night status, seem like perfect bedtime story main characters. If you’d like to learn more about owls, check out one of these 20 picture books, from non-fiction to traditional stories to explorations of siblinghood, friendship and neighbors who are different from you. Authors seem to find owls particularly suited to stories about night and bedtime, of course, and for safely exploring fears about the dark and being lost.
(Descriptions mostly from the library catalog with occasional fine-tuning and editorial comments.)
Owls by Gail Gibbons (J 598.97 GIBBONS) Gibbons is the queen of simple non-fiction picture books that introduce readers to the key facts about a subject, and this book is a good introduction to and overview of owls around the world, including “the twenty-one most popular types living in North America,” their habitat and life cycle.
Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien (J PICBK TAYLOR) Hoot Owl flies through the night and assumes numerous disguises – with decidedly mixed results – in his attempts to catch a meal.
Whoo Goes There? by Jennifer A. Ericsson (J PICBK ERICSSON) Cumulative rhythmic story of a hungry owl watching for his dinner.
Little Owl’s Nightby Divya Srinivasan (J PICBK SRINIVASA) Little Owl enjoys a lovely night in the forest visiting his friend the raccoon, listening to the frogs croak and the crickets chirp, and watching the fog that hovers overhead.
A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na (J PICBK NA) While other animals sleep at night, some quietly and others noisily, some alone and others huddled together, a wide-eyed owl watches. (Also available in Spanish.)
Whooo’s There? by Mary Serfozo (J PICBK SERFOZO) An inquisitive owl keeps track of the comings and goings of woodland creatures all night long.
Good Night Owl by Greg Pizzoli (J PICBK PIZZOLI) Owl takes drastic measures to have a good night’s sleep.
“I’m Not Sleepy!” by Jonathan Allen (J PICBK ALLEN) After staying up all night as all owls do, Baby Owl insists that he is not sleepy, despite his yawning and stretching and acting very grumpy. (See also the popular “I’m Not Cute.”)
Oliver the Curious Owl by Chad Otis (J PICBK OTIS) A curious owl and a friendly bug ask questions that lead them on a grand adventure away from–and back to–their home tree.
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson (J PICBK WADDELL) Three owl babies whose mother has gone out in the night try to stay calm while she is gone. (Also available in Spanish.)
Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton (J PICBK HAUGHTON) While his mother is away finding food, a newborn owl falls out of his nest and anxiously tries to find her, receiving help from various forest animals. (Also available in Spanish.)
Night Owl by Toni Yuly (J PICBK YULY) A baby owl flies through the night, listening carefully to different sounds as he tries to find Mommy Owl.
Owl Love You by Matthew Heroux & Wednesday Kirwan (J PICBK HEROUX) Illustrations and simple, rhyming text reveal many ways to show love as a mother owl promises to play with, teach, protect and care for her baby from sunset to sunrise.
Owl Eyes by Frieda Gates (J 398.24 GATES) Retells the Mohawk legend of Raweno the Everything-Maker and the exasperating Owl.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (J PICBK YOLEN) On a winter’s night under a full moon, a father and daughter trek into the woods to see the great horned owl in this book about patience and humans’ connection to the natural world.
White Owl, Barn Owl by Nicola Davies (J 598.97 DAVIES) When a family of barn owls moves into a nesting box nearby, a young girl and her grandfather look for them every night. “Lyrical text provides intriguing facts about the wondrous world of the barn owl.”
Tanna’s Owl by Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley (J PICBK QITSUALIK) “When Tanna’s father brings home an abandoned owl, she is not eager to take care of the needy, ugly little bird.” When the owl begins to “sprout a beautiful adult snowy owl coat,” Tanna is “relieved not to have to care for it anymore, but also a bit sad. This heartwarming story based on the author’s own life experience teaches young readers the value of hard work, helping and caring–even when the thing you are caring for does not love you back.”
Hoot and Peep by Lita Judge (J PICBK JUDGE) Hoot the owl is excited to teach his younger sister all of his wisdom–but much to his annoyance, Peep is more interested in capturing the magic of the world around her than in listening to his advice.
Owl Bat, Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (J PICBK FITZPATRI) In this wordless picture book, an owl family and a bat family endeavor to share living spaces on the same tree branch, where initial wariness is overcome by the curiosity of the families’ babies on a wild and stormy night that compels them to set aside their apprehensions.
Who’s Next Door? by Mayuko Kishira (J PICBK KISHIRA) When Owl moves in next door to Chicken, they must find a find a creative way to enjoy each other’s company despite their different schedules.
Friends of Montclair Library 