December New Releases

We're going to be closed for the next three days - better hurry in and pick up some new books to get you through to Saturday!

Picture Books

The Snow Queen: A Tale in Seven Stories by Hans Christian Andersen
"Hans Christian Andersen's beloved tale The Snow Queen is an enchanting story of the bond of love and friendship between young playmates Kai and Gerda."

Telephone by Mac Barnett
"In this picture book a string of birds on a telephone wire plays a game of telephone, with the usual mixed up results."

Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Mônica Carnesi
"Beatrice the bunny wants to share winter with her best friend, Bear, but he will be busy hibernating."

I am Jazz! by Jessica Herthel
"Presents the story of a transgender child who traces her early awareness that she is a girl in spite of male anatomy and the acceptance she finds through a wise doctor who explains her natural transgender status."

Angelina's Big City Ballet by Katharine Holabird
"Angelina goes to the most famous city in Mouseland to perform at the Big Cheese Dance Show with her cousin Jeanie, but the two clash over whether tap or ballet is better."

Chapter Books

Magic in the Mix by Annie Barrows
"Life seems to be back to normal for 'newly twinned' sisters Miri and Molly until their magical house sends them on a new time-traveling adventure to the Civil War, where they must risk everything to save two unusual soldiers and come to terms with the emotional truth about Molly's past."

Ballerina Dreams: From Orphan to Ballerina by Michaela DePrince
"At the age of three, Michaela DePrince found a photo of a ballerina that changed her life."

Ares and the Spear of Fear by Joan Holub
"After overcoming many challenges, Zeus and his fellow Olympians arrive at the temple of Delphi -- only to find a giant snake guarding the entrance!"

Nuts to You by Lynn Rae Perkins
"After surviving being carried off by a hawk, a young squirrel resolves to find his way home, as his best friends begin their search for him."

I Survived True Stories: Five Epic Disasters by Lauren Tarshis
"...From the group of students surviving the 9.0 earthquake that set off a historic tsunami in Japan, to a boy nearly frozen on the prairie in 1888, these unforgettable kids lived to tell tales of unimaginable destruction -- and against all odds, survival."

Teen Books

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
"Spending her summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer."

Confessions: The Paris Mysteries by James Patterson
"Sixteen-year-old Tandy Angel moves to Paris for a fresh start with her siblings and to be reunited with James, her lost love, but her detective work soon uncovers long-buried family secrets that threaten to destroy her life."

If You're Reading This by Trent Reedy
"For a responsible sixteen-year-old Michael Wilson has a lot of problems -- his father was killed in Afghanistan in 2005, his overworked and overprotective mother will not talk about their situation, and does not want him playing football, and he has suddenly started to receive letters that his father wrote before his death."

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
"Sixteen-year-old Maude Pichon, a plain, impoverished girl in Belle Epoque Paris, is hired by Countess Dubern to make her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, look more beautiful by comparison but soon Maude is enmeshed in a tangle of love, friendship, and deception."

The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, his Horse Midnight, A Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides by Ben Tripp
"In eighteenth-century England , young Christopher 'Kit' Bristol unwittingly takes on the task of his dead master, notorious highwayman Whistling Jack, who pledged a fairy he would rescue feisty Princess Morgana from an arranged marriage with King George III."

Staff Avoidances - Our Least Favorite Holiday Songs

Because, sometimes, the best advice isn't about what you SHOULD see, it's about what you should keep away from. Below are the results of a poll asking staff members to list their least favorite holiday songs.

"The Little Drummer Boy" (Original title "Carol of the Drum," written by Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941)

• "Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum - can't stand that line. It's like fingernails on a chalk board to me."

"Wonderful Christmastime" (Written by Paul McCartney in 1979)

• "I love Paul McCartney, but I don't like this song. I have no explanation why."
• "I agree!!!"

"Feliz Navidad" (Written by José Feliciano in 1970)

• "OMG - over and over and over. Makes me want to hurt people."

"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (Written by Randy Brooks in 1979)

• "Please. Once in a lifetime is enough."
• "So agree!"

"Dominick the Donkey" (Written by Ray Allen, Sam Saltzberg, and Wanda Merrell in 1960)

• "Most annoying, but oh, so awesome! (Not)"
• "This song makes me want to punch a radio. Donkey...your reckoning will come."

"All I Want for Christmas is You" (Written by Mariah Carey in 1994)

• "This song NEEDS TO NEVER BE PLAYED EVER AGAIN!"
• "Incorrect; Mariah is flawless."

"Any Christmas Song Done By a Country Singer!" (That's a whole category, not a song title.)

"A Holly Jolly Christmas" (Written by Johnny Marks in 1964)

• "When it...comes on the radio - I quickly turn the dial - you can't get it out of your head!"
• "Agreed!"

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (Written by Tommie Conner in 1952)

• "I'm sorry, no matter who sings it, it is Disturbing!!"

"Santa Baby" (Written by Joan Javits in 1953)

• "Okay, 'Santa Baby' is my pick. There is no singer who doesn't make it sound creepy. Michael Bublé sings it with particular weirdness, and I love that jazzy Canuck."

"In brief summary - All of them!"

Collection Highlights for December 2014

December is a busy month for many people, but if you have a little time to spare to unwind, come to the library and check out our featured collections!

Children's Holiday Books, Movies, and CDs

Our holiday books are always a popular part of the collection, but there's plenty more to choose from! We have a large Christmas collection, in addition to our books about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Winter Solstice! The carts are divided into a few different sections - books about the Religious Aspects of Christmas, the Tales of Santa Claus, and Christmas Family, Friends, and Flubs. We also have a section for Hanukkah Stories, Kwanzaa Celebrations, and Holiday Media.

Staff Picks

• Kwanzaa by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate
• Just Enough is Plenty by Barbara Diamond Goldin
• Manga Claus: The Blade of Kringle by Nathaniel Marunas
• The First Christmas by The National Gallery, London
• Three French Hens by Margie Palatini

Children's Winter Stories

If you'd rather read books about winter fun, we have plenty of those too! Also on this table are take-home holiday coloring booklets and a coloring holiday banner.

Staff Picks

• Snow Moon by Nicholas Brunelle
• Sled Dogs Run by Jack London
• My Little Polar Bear by Claudia Rueda
• Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling
• A Hockey Story by Richard Torrey

Adult Holiday Books, Movies, CDs, and Audiobooks

Adult Recipe Guides and Other Non-Fiction

We have so many holiday items, we had to use two tables to display them! Across from the circulation desk, you'll find our adult holiday movie and fiction collection, at the table across from the computer lab, you'll find cookbooks, decorating guides, and other non-fiction. Both tables have an extensive collection of CDs, come in and take them off our hands!

Staff Recommendations - Favorite Holiday Movie

The weather outside...is actually pretty great right now, but just in case you want to cozy up in the glow of your television with a mug of cocoa and a bag of chocolates, here are some viewing suggestions.

White Christmas (1954)

From IMDB: "A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former general."

From the staff: "I like Bing's voice."

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

From IMDB: "When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing."

From the staff: "It sends a fantastic message of how not to be selfish!"

A Christmas Carol (1983)

From IMDB: "A bitter old miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve."

From the staff: "This version has a great cast and a wonderful look to it, it is a...family favorite."

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

From IMDB: "Repelled by the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas."
From the staff: "A classic with a great score - great message and I love his tree!"

Home Alone (1990)

From IMDB: "An 8-year-old boy who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas must defend his home against idiotic burglars."

From the staff: "I love the kid's resourcefulness in foiling the 'bad guys'."

Olive the Other Reindeer (1999)

From IMDB: "When Santa cancels is annual flight because of a hurt reindeer, a young Christmas loving dog named Olive is convinced she has what it takes to get Santa's flight off the ground and save Christmas."

From the staff: "Sweet and funny and great art."

Holiday Inn (1942)

From IMDB: "An inn, which is only open on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer."

From the staff: "Classic and because I like the idea of only working on holidays."

Love Actually (2003)

From IMDB: "Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England."

From the staff: "Too many stories...but the rest are great. And what a cast!! Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth."

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

From IMDB: "Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship."
From the staff: "Nora Ephron + Harry Connick + 2 X-Mas scenes. Flawless."

A Christmas Story (1983)

From IMDB: "Ralphie has to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940s."
From the staff: "'You'll shoot your eye out!' And who can forget the F-bomb?"

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

From IMDB: "A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville."

From the staff: "Who doesn't love Cindy Lou Who who's no more than 2?"

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)

From IMDB: "A misfit reindeer and his friends look for a place that will accept them."

From the staff: "The Bumble gets me every time! Also the friendship between the Bumble and Yukon Cornelius is quite sweet."

A Year Without a Santa (1974)

From IMDB: "When a weary and discouraged Santa Claus considers skipping his Christmas Eve run one year, Mrs. Claus and his elves set out to change his mind."

From the staff: "Heat meiser & cold meiser that is all."

The Nutcracker (1993)

From IMDB: "On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep after a party at her home and dreams herself (or does she?) into a fantastic world where toys become larger than life..."

From the staff: "Always loved this ballet went to see it when I was 8 and I remember getting my own nutcracker that year for Christmas and completely loved it."

Elf  (2003)

From IMDB: "After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity."

From the staff: "Will Ferrell is great in it and I love when they sing, 'Baby, It's Cold Outside.'"

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

From IMDB: "A creature is intent on stealing Christmas."

From the staff: "My all time favorite!! Classic and very funny."

Christmas Vacation (1983)

From IMDB: "The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster."
From the staff: "I am all about National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Would that we could all have a Griswold Family Christmas."

The Family Stone (2005)

From IMDB: "An uptight, conservative, business woman accompanies her boyfriend to his outgoing and eccentric family's annual Christmas celebration and finds out she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life."

From the staff: "My favorite...because it's depressing and I'm always depressed @ Christmas."

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

From IMDB: "In the year before the 1904 World's Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York."

From the staff: "This movie is a total pick-me-up, everything works out of the best, even the attempted overturning of a trolley car; besides, Judy Garland is amazing."

NPR Best Books of 2014

NPR came out with its list of Best Books of 2014. Below we've listed those titles available here!

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (In LP only)
Quest by Aaron Becker
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Life Drawing by Robin Black
Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth (Book on order)
Flashlight by Lizi Boyd
Do or Die by Suzanne Brockmann
Night Heron by Adam Brookes
Firebird by Misty Copeland
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Perfidia by James Ellroy
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee (Book on order)
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
The Peripheral by William Gibson
Gray Mountain by John Grisham
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
California by Edan Lepucki
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Tinseltown by William J. Mann
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride
The Children Act Ian McEwan
All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu (In LP only)
How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
Family Furnishings by Alice Munro
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Some Luck by Jane Smiley
Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
Deep Down Dark by Héctor Tobar
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson

Recipe Recommendation

With the holidays coming up, you might be at a loss for what to bake - never fear, the William Hall Library staff loves to eat and, consequently, loves to bake! 

Glazed Lemon Nut Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel/zest

2 cups of flour (sifted)

2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp of salt

3/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp sugar

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and lemon peel, beat well. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt and add in small batches to the creamed mixture, alternating with milk. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts. Pour into 8 and 1/2 by 4 and 1/2 by 2 and 1/2 inch loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes or until cooked through.

While the bread cooks, combine the 2 tsp of lemon juice and 2 tbps of sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Let cool in pan for ten minutes, then spoon mixture of lemon juice and sugar over the top.

Remove and cool before serving.

(If you don't like walnuts, either don't add them, or reserve chopped walnuts in a bag and add last as a crunchy topping.)

Better Late than November - November New Releases!

Here's a few recommended titles from our Children and Teen Shelves (practically) brand new!

Picture Books

Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly Bingham

"When Zebra and his enthusiastic friend Moose are asked to exit a book about shapes, Moose has other plans."

The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino

"A little crocodile cannot get himself to like water, and then finds out the reason why."

Don't Turn the Page! by Rachelle Burk

"Sammy knows that the end of story time means bedtime. 'Don't turn the page,' he repeatedly tells his mother. But curiosity continues to get the best of him, and he wants to know what happens next as his mother reads him the story of Little Bear."

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd

"In this story without words, a boy explores the woods after dark with a flashlight." 

Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece by Patricia Polacco

"Because she is afraid to read an essay aloud in English class, Patricia is invited to take Mr. Wayne's drama class where she paints sets, participates in fun exercises, and memorizes every part of the play the others are rehearsing."

Chapter Books

Copper Magic by Julia Mary

"The year is 1906, and twelve-year-old Violet Blake unearths an ancient talisman -- a copper hand -- beside the stream where her mother used to harvest medicine." 

Fantasy League by Mike Lupica

"In Los Angeles, twelve-year-old Charlie's skill at fantasy football gains the attention of both the local media and the owner of a professional football team."

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

"Who says princesses don't wear black? When trouble raises its blue monster head, Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses and becomes the Princess in Black!"

Treasure Hunters: Danger Down the Nile by James Patterson

"Twelve-year-old twins Bickford and Rebecca Kidd and their two older siblings travel to Africa to track down priceless artifacts that will keep their family's treasure hunting business afloat long enough to rescue their kidnapped mother -- and possibly find their missing father." 

The Witch's Boy by Kelly Reagan Barnhill

"When a Bandit King comes to take the magic that Ned's mother, a witch, is meant to protect, the stuttering, weak boy villagers think should have drowned rather than his twin summons the strength to protect his family and community, while in the woods, the bandit's daughter puzzles over a mystery that ties her to Ned."

Teen Books

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

"In alternating chapters, eighteen-year-old Darcy Patel navigates the New York City publishing world and Lizzie, the heroine of Darcy's novel, slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack and becomes a spirit guide, as both face many challenges and both fall in love."

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

"In 1959 Virginia, Sarah, a black student who is one of the first to attend a newly integrated school, forces Linda, a white integration opponent's daughter, to confront harsh truths when they work together on a school project."

Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson

"Emily Bird is an African American high school senior in Washington D.C., member of a privileged medical family, on the verge of college and on the edge of the drug culture, and not really such which way she will go--then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what happened."

Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales ed. by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant

"An anthology of stories explores the intersection of fear and romance, ambition and sacrifice, loneliness and rage, love requited and avenged, and the boundless potential for connection, even across extreme borders."

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

"High school junior Leila's Persian heritage already makes her different from her classmates at Armstead Academy, and if word got out she liked girls life would be twice as hard, but when a new girl, Saskia, shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual, so she struggles to sort out her growing feelings by confiding in her old friends."