In a letter to friends and patrons, founder and owner Odile Hellier cites the reasons – reasons which will surprise no one who follows trends in publishing and bookselling. On-line book retailers such as Amazon and the growing popularity of e-readers, among other market forces, are threatening independent bookstores all over the world.

What is more, when Village Voice opened its doors in 1982, the St. Germain quartier was funkier. Once known as the “triangle d’or de l’edition” and a cultural crossroads in Par

is, Hellier laments, “the neighborhood has been overrun by fashionable boutiques and bars and lost its attractiveness to book browsers and buyers.”

The Village Voice is familiar to expatriates and visitors alike for its unique offerings of books tucked by the thousands into the tiny space’s nooks and crannies, and for the good judgment and personal attention of its booksellers. What is more, for three decades Odile Hellier’s bookshop has been a coveted rendezvous with readers for an incredibly distinguished roster of American and other English-speaking literary figures.

At the Library, we feel this loss acutely. We share a clientele. The bookshop has been our close and mutually supportive partner – providing books for sale at the Library’s evening events (as do other local bookstores) and helping to meet the great demand in Paris for literary presentations of all kinds. The American Library in Paris can’t entirely take up the slack, but we will do our best.

Odile and her colleagues Michael, Vincent and Marc will be saying farewell at the Village Voice on the evening of Saturday 16 June, and everyone is invited to the wake.

- Charles Trueheart

John, Paul, George & Ben: Written and illustrated by Lane Smith

Reviewed by Children’s Library Volunteer Kristen Crans

If you are looking for a fun and interesting way to introduce your child to the United States of America’s founding fathers, then look no further.  John, Paul, George & Ben is a light, comical, and entertaining book, with some real facts mixed in. It introduces readers to the four men who helped shape the United States into what it is today.  The author focuses on one characteristic of each man, and shows how important that characteristic ultimately came to be in the formation of the country, and in the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Lane Smith’s pen and ink drawings, enhanced by 18th century-style illustrative embellishments, coupled with large emphatic text, catches the attention of a light-hearted reader that needs more than words to keep him or her engaged.  It is reminiscent of the style used by author, Jon Scieszca.  The book is rounded out with a true/false section, where clarifications are made as to what contained within the story is factual and what was added just for laughs.  This silly yet somewhat educational read can be found in the Children’s Library with the Easiest Reader Picture Books  under ES.

The House Baba Built, written and illustrated by Ed Young

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer, Carole Black

The House Baba Built – an Artist’s Childhood in China is a picture book tribute to the author’s father who built his family a strong home in the safest part of Shanghai before the outbreak of WWII.   It is the Young family’s history of their childhood home, designed with many rooms, a swimming pool, places to roller skate, to ride bikes and scooters and even to

slide down the banisters!

In this pictorial biography, an eclectic mix of drawings, photos and paper collage on beautiful pastel colored backgrounds, convey the author’s memories of life with family and friends and the changes that took place in the house before, during and after the war.  He talks about his feelings of shyness, his imagination and how he related to those around him.

The House that Baba Built was a very social house, full of family, guests, laughter and life…Baba was the heart of the house, entertaining everyone.  One gets a real sense of what it would have been like to grow up in a big, close-knit family and the improvisations that would have had to be made to accommodate the inevitable deprivations of war.

As the war progressed, the family adapted to many changes.  Extended family came to live at the house in an apartment Baba created on the roller skating rink and, three years later, everyone was asked to compromise again when the bedrooms were converted into an apartment for a German refugee family who came to live at the house.  As

meat became scarce,  the few available seasonal foods had to be stretched to feed many people.

Young provides a descriptive narrative on the impact others had on him, his childhood role-playing adventures, strategy and war games, his interest in fighting crickets and American movies.  His memory of school life in Shanghai includes the student rebellion against enforced Japanese language lessons along with  fonder memories of making origami boxes for trading silkworm eggs.

When the bombing began towards the end of the war, and the family took shelter in the bombproof double-tiered brick-walled hallway with the 18 inch thick concrete slab roof.  Young remembers it as the safest place in the house – windowless, but full of stories and light.

After the war, the family celebrated with a party for family, friends and soldiers with music, dancing and the fresh foods that everyone had missed during the war.  Baba even added a bridal suite for his daughter and her new husband.

Young includes many post war photos of family,  some who stayed at the house and others who left to raise their own

families.  He also provides an interesting time-line of events and an author’s note at the end of the book.

Ed Young also wrote Seven Blind Mice and he has illustrated numerous other children’s books available at the American Library.

New @ the Library:  The House Baba Built may be found in Juvenile Fiction Easiest Readers under EY.

Me…Jane, Written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell
Reviewed by Children’s Library Volunteer Kristen Crans

Budding young scientists who are drawn into the exploration and discovery of nature will find this story recounting the childhood of the famous environmentalist, Dr. Jane Goodall,  to be an inspiration. With her toy chimpanzee, Jubilee, in hand, Jane discovers all that she can in the natural world around her, starting when she is just a young child. The book follows her through to when she is actually able to live out her dreams of studying, helping, and living among the animals in Africa.

Having received a Caldecott Honor for the illustrations in this text, Patrick McDonnell incorporated many techniques into this work, including some of Dr. Jane Goodall’s very own drawings and word puzzles that she created as a child. To check out her word puzzles and drawings firsthand, take a look at Me…Jane, found in the Children’s Library with the  Easiest Reader Picture Books under EM.

David V. Herlihy is the author of The Lost Cyclist and Bicycle: The History, winner of the 2004 Award for Excellence in the History of Science. A leading authority in his field, he has been interviewed by numerous television, radio, and newspaper personalities in the U.S. and abroad, and his work has appeared in a wide variety of general interest and specialty magazines. He is responsible for the naming of a bicycle path in Boston after Pierre Lallement, the original bicycle patentee, and for the installation of a plaque by the New Haven green where the Frenchman introduced Americans to the art of cycling in 1866. He writes:

I have been deeply immersed in bicycle history for about twenty years now. I started by writing a few retrospective articles for Bicycle Guide, a defunct magazine for cycling enthusiasts. Then I learned that the Frenchman who first patented the basic bicycle, in 1866, is buried in my hometown, Boston—and no one knew anything about it! I began to research the life of this forgotten mechanic, Pierre Lallement, originally from Pont-à-Mousson.

I gradually expanded my research to include the early development of the bicycle, the high-wheel era of the 1880s, and the boom years of the 1890s, when the “safety” bicycle was introduced (the modern prototype). Then I turned my attention to the bicycle in the automotive age. This extensive work provided the foundation for my first book, Bicycle: the History, with Yale University Press, in 2004.

Two years ago, I published my second book, The Lost Cyclist, with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It’s about Frank Lenz, a German-American who, growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1880s, discovers a love for the high bicycle. It was a fleet and precarious machine, which suited the dashing Lenz just fine. He rode many hundreds of miles into the countryside, to escape the gritty, industrial city, his boring accounting job, and his unhappy home consisting of a doting mother and an alcoholic stepfather.

Lenz adored Thomas Stevens, an Anglo-American who had just completed a global circuit on his bicycle, as a correspondent with Outing magazine. Chancing upon Stevens’ bicycle on display in Buffalo, following a disappointing finish in a 100-mile bicycle race, Lenz vowed that we would one day make an even grander world tour.

Lenz quickly realized that his best chance to attract a sponsor was to hone his skills as photographer, so that he could record his adventure en route. During his summer vacations in 1890 and 1891, he took several long distance tours with his pal Charles Petticord, lugging along his wooden box camera and glass plates to build his portfolio.

Finally, in early 1892, Outing magazine, the same review that had sponsored Stevens on his world tour, agreed to Lenz’s proposition to tour the world “with wheel and camera.” However, the editor made it very clear to Lenz that he would have to ride a new-fangled “safety” bicycle, with chain and sprocket. Lenz had long resisted this diminutive mount, developed in Great Britain in the late 1880s, but he realized that was that this would be his only opportunity to achieve his dream. So he agreed to the terms.

On May 15, 1892, Lenz set off from Pittsburgh with his 57-pound (25 kilo) Victor pneumatic, laden with some 40 pounds of gear. Somewhat ironically, given his stubborn devotion to the high-wheeler, he became the most prominent proponent of the new style bicycle, which was even beginning to attract female riders. It is not exaggeration to say that his advocacy would help to spark the great bicycle boom.

Two years later, as he neared Europe for the final leg, Lenz vanished myseriously. As pressure mounted on Outing to find their lost correspondent, the editor decided to send William Sachtleben to Lenz’s last known location, in Eastern Turkey. Sachtleben had only recently completed his own, self-funded, “round the world” bicycle journey, along with a college chum named Thomas G. Allen, Jr. The pair had covered the same caravan road that Lenz was following.

Sachtleben’s mission was delayed, however, as Turkey slipped ever deeper into a violent chaos, including a wave of Armenian massacres. The ancient Ottoman Empire itself was on the verge of collapse. Sachtleben reached Turkey in the spring of 1895, a year after Lenz’s disappearance. Under the most difficult circumstances imaginable, Sachtleben began his search. His quest for justice would attract worldwide attention, drawing the direct involvement of the State Department and the Sultan himself.

I very much look forward to lively evening of bicycle history at the American Library!

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Carole Black

Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet is a true to life tale about friendship and the trials and tribulations of auditioning and performing in a ballet.  Nancy and her best friend Bree anticipate that, since they dress up and play mermaids the teacher will surely have to pick them for the mermaid roles in the upcoming class ballet.  This inevitably leads to disappointment and frustration when the parts are announced.   “My mermaid days are over” cries Nancy melodramatically.

Nancy’s understanding parents let her experience her conflicting emotions while supporting her when she needs it. Her mother reminds her that “being part of a ballet is thrilling, whatever part you have”.  Nancy spends time with her mother, verbalizing and accepting her emotions.  Her mother addresses Nancy’s feelings by saying:  “Being a good friend when your friend gets the part you wanted- sharing her joy, then feeling bad because you lied, didn’t mean your weren’t happy for her”, and my favorite:  “It’s hard because Bree got something you wanted very much.  You’re jealous.  But your heart is so generous and warm, it will melt all the bad feelings away”.  This frank interpretation of  her feelings seems to help Nancy and she gives her friend her best shell tiara to use for her costume.

Nancy learns to embrace the character she is assigned, to consider the feelings of other and to channel her emotions into making the best of her role – she even utilizes her sad face in her role as the weeping willow.

The colorful illustrations aptly portray the fantasies and dreams of children.

New @ the Library! You can find Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet in the Children’s Library with the Easiest Reader Picture Books under EO.

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? words and pictures by Mo Willems

Reviewed by Children’s Library Volunteer Amy Coulter.

After trying to drive a bus (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!) and finding a hot dog (The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!), the Pigeon is back!  And this time?  He watches as a sweet little Duckling gets a cookie, just for asking…  It isn’t fair!!  The Pigeon asks for things all the time!  Did the Pigeon get to drive the bus?  Did the Pigeon get to stay up late?  (Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!) The Pigeon feels he never gets to do anything!

Do you think the Pigeon will get a cookie of his own?  Will the Duckling share?  This award winning author’s drawings and dialogue between the Pigeon and the Duckling will have you smiling and laughing.  Maybe you will be packing an extra cookie (or two) on your picnics this spring in case a duckling politely asks you for a cookie.

New @ The Library! You can find The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?, and other titles by Mo Willems, in the Children’s Library Easiest Readers section, under EW.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain, by Barbara Kerley

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Sarah Grandin

This picture book is textually rich and chock-full of excerpts from the manuscripts of Mark Twain’s daughter, thirteen-year-old Susy Clemens. Perfect for aspiring writers, historians, and anyone who likes keeping a diary or enjoys American History, Barbara Kerley’s short biography gives an insider’s perspective on the extraordianry Mark Twain. By directly quoting young Susy’s descriptions of her famous father, Kerley gives us insight into everything from his writing habits and humorous quirks to his favorite vacation spots.

In addition to illuminating the life of Twain, Kerley’s book playfully instructs the reader on how one goes about writing a biography and how one crafts historical fiction. In this regard, this book can be enjoyed by more advanced readers, particularly those who wish to explore Kerley’s historical and methodological explanations in the back.

Finally, the text is complimented by dynamic illustrations that shift boldly in perspective and scale from page to page, evoking both the unique scrawl of Susy’s diary and Twain’s larger-than-life persona. Fans of pop-ups will appreciate that collated to each page is an insert with citations lifted directly from Susy’s diary.

New @ the Library! You can find The Extraordinary Mark Twain in the Children’s Room with the Easiest Reader Picture Books under EK.

The Cloud Spinner, written by Michael Catchpool, illustrated by Alison Jay

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Carole Black

Environmental protection meets classic fairy tale in this thought provoking story.

The opening illustration finds sheep grazing in the shape of a smile on the lush green hilltop, the river rushes by and a sprinkling of puffy clouds gently drift by against a vivid blue sky…

On the hilltop a wise boy spins a few of the clouds into thread and weaves the thread into cloth.  He is ever mindful of his mother’s sage advice:  “Enough is enough and not one stitch more“.

He weaves a modest scarf to protect himself from the cold and is spotted wearing it by the greedy King who, admiring the color and softness of the cloth, demands that the boy make a very long scarf fit for a King.  The boy explains that it is not wise to have a long scarf made from the cloud cloth, but the voracious King does not listen.  He loves his new scarf and further demands a cloak for himself, and dresses “galore” for the Queen and his daughter, the Princess.

While the King and Queen are delighted with their new clothes, the villagers, the animals and the crops start to feel the effects of the cloudless sky…. the leaves are dropping from the trees, the ponds have dried up and the countryside is turning brown.  The wise Princess understands the problem and rushes to the boy’s door, dresses in hand….”Is it too late to undo what has been done?“ she asks……

Throughout the book, the overall cracking in the painted illustrations remind us how truly fragile our environment has become.   The subtle shapes in the clouds, the rich colors of the landscape and its healthy, contented inhabitants contrast sharply with the dry browning landscape, and remind us that conserving our water should be a priority in our lives.  This gentle, compelling story is a wonderful choice for reading to a group or one on one….with plenty of opportunity for discussion.

New@ the Library!  The Cloud Spinner can be found in the Children’s Library with the Easiest Reader Picture Books under EC.

Ruby Lu, Brave and True written by Lenore Look. Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf.

Reviewed by Children’s Library Volunteer Liz Gomes.

Ruby, an (almost) eight-year-old-Asian-American girl describes the best things living at 20th Avenue South, such as starring in her own backyard magic show, or her little brother Oscar. But also the not-so-good things like her parents thinking that she is not old enough to drive.

This is Lenore Look’s chapter-book-debut, and Ruby’s stories are funny, quirky and adorable. It also includes a fantastic Cantonese glossary and pronunciation guide at the back to help readers along.

New @ the Library! You can find Ruby Lu, Brave and True in the Children’s Library with the Juvenile Fiction under J LOO.

In The Rhetoric of Death and The Eloquence of Blood (Berkley/Penguin 2010 and 2011), American writer Judith Rock brought 17th century Paris, ballet producing Jesuits, the college of Louis le Grand, Paris’s first police chief, outlaw Huguenots, seditious beggars, and fire-fighting Franciscans to historical mystery lovers.  Based on her doctoral research (done in Paris), the novels garnered starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, and an Editors’ Choice review from the Historical Novel Society.  In May, Judith returns to Paris at the invitation of the American Library to speak about the books–including the third, A Plague of Lies, which will be released in October, 2012.  One reason she loves writing the series is that it lets her use all of her varied past:  as professional dancer and choreographer, police officer, professor, playwright and actress. Judith will speak about The Eloquence of Blood on Wednesday, May 9 as a part of the Evenings with an Author series. She writes:

“Paris has long been famous as the home of expatriots.  Sometimes, as I write my Charles du Luc historical mystery series, I think of myself as an expatriot in time.  So much so, that when the wonderful invitation to speak at the American Library arrived, my first thought was, “The library is a long way outside the city wall. I wonder how long it takes to get there…”

My Jesuit sleuth and historical mystery series grew out of my doctoral research, done in Paris in the 1980’s.  I researched the 17^th and 18^th century ballets produced by rhetoric teachers at the Jesuit school of Louis le Grand on the rue St. Jacques.  My sleuth, Maître Charles du Luc, is a young ex-soldier turned Jesuit, who teaches rhetoric at Louis le Grand in the 1680’s.

In order for Charles to unravel mysteries, I have to unravel the mysteries of what Paris was like in his time. What did his Paris look like? How did people live? How did they think? Were they really different from us?  Or were they just us in costumes–bravely making do without cell phones and Facebook and sidewalk cafés?

There were cafés, but the only sidewalks were on the Pont Neuf. And those were crowded with vendors’ stalls, and with pedestrians avoiding hurtling carriages and the occasional pair of duelists in the roadway. There was, of course, no Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe,  Champs Élysées, Louvre Museum. No Luxembourg Gardens, no grand Paris Opera building, no Haussman avenues and architecture.  Medieval Paris was receding as modern Paris slowly took shape. The walls were coming down–faster on the Right Bank than on the Left. On my early 18^th century map, Paris stretches only a dozen or so of our city blocks from its north wall to the river, and less than that from the river to the south wall. Its four or five hundred thousand people had long been spilling into the suburbs.  Above all the crowding, Paris bristled with wooden cranes as new, classically designed brick and stone buildings went up–some people called Charles’s Paris “the new Rome.”

Charles solves mysteries that grow out of the real world he lives in. In The Rhetoric of Death, he’s caught in the Catholic-Protestant conflict that erupted after Louis XIV outlawed Protestantism in 1685. The Eloquence of Blood’s mystery is spun from from the legal tangle of adoption in his time: illegal under formal law, legal according to customary law.  In A Plague of Lies (out in October) Charles learns that Louis, “the Most Christian king,” is covertly supporting the Moslem Turks as they attack Eastern Europe.  The books’ characters include real people from 1680’s Paris, like Nicolas de la Reynie, first head of its police, and Pierre Beauchamps, the great ballet master and dance director of the Paris Opera.

Charles’s fellow Parisians kept up with scientific discoveries: the first germs had been seen through microscopes, blood was known to circulate. People were globally connected:  Siamese ambassadors came to the Louis le Grand ballet performance in 1686. And these same people believed that demons of the air caused thunderstorms and that the ringing of baptized church bells made the storms stop.

They weren’t just us in costumes.  But when we “expatriate” in time and visit their world, we may find surprising perspective on our own–and on ourselves.”

Let the Lorax help you introduce your kids to being green, while Lane Smith reminds us just how wonderful nature can be. Scroll down for a few other recommended reads and links to a some great green ideas for children on Earth Day or any day.

Grandpa Green

by Lane Smith

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer, Carole Black

Lane Smith’s ingenious illustrations make me long for the simpler life before  technology!

Grandpa Green’s hobby is to create a garden full of artfully trimmed topiary trees to provide a living history of his experiences.  His grandson relates the story of his life through the topiary trees,  with touching references to his dreams, and a sensitivity to his aging grandfather’s memory.   When I become a grandmother (before I lose my memory), I look forward to reading this to my grandchildren.

Lane Smith’s Grandpa Green may be found in the Children’s Department in the Easiest Reader Section under ES along with other books he has illustrated for Jon Scieszka including The Stinky Cheese Man and Science Verse, Math Verse, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Not So Jolly Roger and James and the Giant Peach to name a few.

How to Help the Earth – by the Lorax

by Tish Rabe. Illustrated  by Christopher Moroney and Jan Gerardi

Reviewed by Children’s Library Volunteer Liz Gomes.

In pure Dr. Seuss classic illustrations and wonderful rhymes, the Lorax will show children ways and handy tips on how they can help and save the environment.  A great book for children just beginning to read on their own and for parents to help children understand and learn about protecting the earth.

New @ the American Library! You can find How to Help the Earth – by the Lorax in the Children’s Library, I Can Read section under ER, or check out the original Dr. Seuss tale, The Lorax, on the Dr. Seuss shelf in the Children’s Library.

Some other recommended reads that you can pick up at the Library:

• I Love Our Earth, by Bill Martin, Jr., and Michael Sampson (find it with the Easiest Reader Picture Books: EM)

• Celebrating Earth Day, by Janet McDonnell (find it with the Easiest Reader Picture Books: EM)

• Every Day is Earth Day, by Jane O’Connor (Find it with the I Can Read Books: EO)

For some fun Earth day ideas, check out this post. For some info on recycling facts, games and crafts check out the California Department of Conservation site.

Ling and Ting, by Grace Lin

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Sarah Grandin

Ling and Ting are twin girls, but as the subtitle of the book states, they are “Not Exactly the Same.” After reading the book to Lucy, age 6, I asked her how she thought the two were different. “Well, one is perfect, and the other’s not,” Lucy mused. My young critic hit the nail on the head. In the book’s six chapters– which treat subjects as fun and varied as dumplings, haircuts, and magic tricks– Lin shows us how Ling and Ting navigate everyday adventures. These are made humorous by Ting’s struggles to sit still, remember things, and control her dumpling-stuffing. Life wouldn’t be nearly as much fun if everything went according to plan!

Though this thoughtfully illustrated and digestible chapter book is perfect for an early reader, adults will also enjoy the vibrant watercolors and the winking nods at storytelling, which include a self-referential story within a story and helpful hints in the margins from the main characters that the book has started and then ended.

New @ the Library! You can find Ling and Ting in the Children’s Library with the I CAN READ books under EL.

Bink & Gollie written by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile.

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Liz Gomes.

Bink and Gollie have two very different personalities, but are the best of friends. They go on 3 different adventures, during which they will need to learn how to compromise.  This witty-award-winning story will make you laugh out loud.

New @ the Library! You can find Bink & Gollie at the Children’s Library I Can Read Section, under ED

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, by Leonore Look and Leuyen Pham

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Robert Preston

The subtitle of the novel is Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, which gives the reader some insight into the challenges Alvin faces. He is a very shy but sweet boy in elementary school who can’t manage to say anything at all while at school. This behavior makes him ignored by most of the other students, apart from one girl. Her name is Flea and she wears an eye patch, which Alvin thinks is cool. She can read how Alvin is feeling by looking at the expression in his eyes. However, Alvin is suspicious of her because she is a girl and he wants to make friends with the bigger boys in his class, despite being scared of them. He overcomes his fear of talking and makes friends with one of the boys named Pinky. But ultimately Alvin has to decide who his real friends are because Flea and Pinky don’t get along. The book shows the challenges a young boy faces as he tries to make steps towards discovering who he is and feeling comfortable with it. Also, the illustrations are great and assist the narrative well.

New @ the Library! You can find Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things in the Children’s Library with the Juvenile Fiction under J LOO.

At the risk of falling into the trap of Qui s’excuse, s’accuse, I very much wanted, when I began this novel about a widow’s all-night vigil beside her husband who has died suddenly, that it not be construed as being autobiographical.  In fact, I fell over myself backward, to have everything in the novel – the characters, the setting, the events – be completely different – despite the fact that I am a widow — from me or my life.  For instance, Philip, the husband in the novel, is tall, dark, thin while my own husband was stocky and blond, Philip is a mathematician, my husband was a lawyer, Philip was born in Wisconsin, my husband was born in Belgium….  I could go on and on pointing out differences.  Not long ago, I read an article in The Atlantic Monthly by Bret Anthony Johnston who is the director of the creative writing program at Harvard and, in it, he writes how he always advises his students to write about what they don’t know.  I agree with him.  If one writes about what one does not know, chances are one will surprise oneself as well learn something new (as opposed to writing what one already knows which offers no surprises and, as a result, may become boring or a cliché).   Both surprising oneself and learning something new keeps the writing of fiction fresh on the page.  In my case, in this novel, I learned a lot about math – physics and quantum mechanics – and although, as a student in high school I had been good at math – in fact, better at math than in English and, had times been different, who knows, I might have become a mathematician – in any case, I had no idea how much I would enjoy and how much I would learn researching this novel.  Also, and this is my point, the real payoff, so-to-speak, as it turned out, was probability.  Probability theory which I write about – since, in the novel, that is Philip’s mathematical field – and which, at the outset, I knew nothing about, became the metaphor for the novel.  More than that, it was a unexpected gift.

In her book, Sustainable Water Resources in the Built Environment, Marilyn Waite discusses the importance of decentralized water collection and savings mechanisms in sustainable construction. She explores these issues with a particular focus on developing countries and how they can benefit from sustainable water practices. Marilyn will present her book as a part of the Library’s Evenings With an Author series on Wednesday, April 11 at 19h30.

As we approach Earth Day on April 22, 2012, many individuals and organizations will partake in hands-on activities to raise environmental awareness. Planting trees, cleaning up rivers, and participating in walks for the environment are all traditionally active ways that can make a difference in communities. But in the information technology age, there are a plethora of tools that help us do even more. We use social and professional online media to pledge “green” acts of kindness, to microfinance sustainable start-ups in local and far-away places, to analyze our water, carbon and ecological footprints, to make eco-friendly consumption decisions, and to nurture new ideas for the planet using virtual communities. The advent of online networks has enabled people to rally around noteworthy issues, share information in order to have a complete picture of a problem, and feel connected despite location differences.

There are many environmental causes that one can “follow,” “friend,” “tweet” or “like” on virtual platforms. Some are open to the general public while others may be associated with alumni groups or institutional affiliations. I recently became a member of a newly-implemented network called ELEEP (Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network). ELEEP is a transatlantic best practices network that brings together people from a wide range of professional backgrounds to exchange ideas on energy and the environment. The network takes place in a private and customized online forum where one can engage in discussions and share information with pre-vetted peers. What is unique about this network is its ability to tie together virtual and in-person activities. Based on a merit-based system of active participation in the network, members are able to participate in study tours. These tours have included analyzing the transformation of the post-industrial cities of Pittsburgh and Detroit, to transforming the energy economy in Denmark and Northern Germany.

For Earth Day 2012, in addition to our normal eco-activities, let us scan our use of information technology to see how we can benefit the planet through its use. Some may send out e-mails for energy and water saving pledges. Some may shop for eco-friendly products. Some may offset the carbon emissions of their next flight. Some may share an innovative idea for sustainability with their networks. Some may step out of the virtual world to put into practice an eco-idea (like capturing heat produced from computers for heating and cooling).

Happy Earth Day.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Marcia Lebre

The story begins when Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor of London, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow, an elderly reclusive widow in the small market town of Crythin Gifford on the east coast of the United Kingdom. While sorting through Mrs. Dablow’s papers at her home Eel Marsh House, he will be affected and terrified by strange noises and sightings.

The Woman in Black is a gripping ghost story with all the elements of the Gothic novel:  an oppressive winter atmosphere, a bleak and eerie landscape of marshes and gray sky, a house completely cut off from the mainland at high tide, the haunting by a woman dressed in black with a haunted wasted face contribute to the growing sense of approaching doom.  This is not a book for the fainthearted, but if you like a good scary story in the vein of Edgar Allen Poe, The Woman in Black will chill you to the marrow!

February 2012 will see the premiere of the feature film of the book, starring Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame), with screenplay by Jane Goldman and Directed by James Watkins. You can find the book in the with the young adult fiction on the Teen Mezzanine under J HIL (YA).

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Reviewed by Children’s Library intern Elisabeth Chaumont

If you have not read  The Hunger Games yet, you should run to the nearest library and check this book out.  Suzanne Collins will show you a future were you must obey the laws of the capital or die.  The story follows  Katniss Everdeen, a young sixteen year old girl that loves her sister more than her own life. When her sister is chosen to be part of  the hunger games, Katniss steps forward to take her place. Now Katniss must kill the other participants in order  to survive herself… But what will happen when she falls in love with one of her competitors… This is a deadly game and the only way out is to be the last survivor.

Can you imagine yourself  in the hunger games, where you could  die for trusting the wrong person? Would you agree to be part of a TV show were you could win fame and glory but the price would be killing people?  Suzanne Collins’ trilogy will make you question all of these things.

You must have heard that the first hunger games is coming out at the movies. Before you go see it you must read the book first – you won’t be disappointed. If you hate violence, maybe this book isn’t for you  (a lot of people die) but it is one of the best trilogies I have ever read.

You can find The Hunger Games (book 1), Catching Fire (book 2) and Mockingjay (book 3) with the young adult fiction on the Teen Mezzanine under J COL (YA).

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Reviewed by Children’s Library volunteer Saskia Cohen

The third time I read this book, it captivated me just like the first time. It’s written like a journal, from the perspective of an honest, introverted and very witty teenager named Charlie. Charlie is dealing with his first year of high school in a way that everyone can relate to—he’s engulfed by the noise in hallways, befriends his first crush, feels awkward at the beginning of dances, and goes on adventures with his friends past curfew. His family life is the other half of his story. He loves his parents and siblings but why they do what they do can be a mystery to him. He finds great comfort in writing letters addressed to “dear friend,” which makes us feel as if we’re the special person he’s addressing—and we just want to read more and wish him the best.