Staff Picks

Award Winning Children’s Books

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Every winter children’s librarians anxiously anticipate the announcement of the premier awards given to citizens or residents of the United States: otherwise known as Newbery & Caldecott Awards. This year’s winners are: “The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate (Newbery Medal for the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published by an American publisher) and “This is Not My Hat” by Jon Klassen (Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children). I’m happy to report that you can find copies of both books at the Gardiner Public Library.  Unfortunately since they were …

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GET ME OUT OF HERE!

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    Many of us may feel like shouting this as the temperatures in Maine hover around zero degrees in January and February. So…….how about getting away on a vacation?  Maybe not literally as funds may hold us back, but a movie can take you away to a warmer climate with unusual adventures with the click of a remote control.  Pick your destination, choose the movie, and away you go! Here are a few suggestions of movies available at the Gardiner Public Library that will help you escape the cold…..at least for the time being. American Werewolf in London (1981) …

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Poetry From The Shelves – A Tribute To Danielle Steel

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Many times, as books pass through my hands, I have thought how interesting it might be to write a story using only book titles.  There are SO MANY interesting? fascinating? intriguing? just plain odd? titles available!  For my first attempt, I used only one author, Danielle Steel – she has over 80 titles currently available.  I shuffled through the titles, let them fall together, shifted several, and good, bad or indifferent, here is what I came up with. Family Album Legacy Granny Dan Daddy A Good Woman Answered Prayers Sisters    –    Friends Forever Wanderlust Dating Game Toxic Bachelors Changes Irresistible …

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Marcel Marceau

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It is always enlightening to learn something about a person which changes ones entire perspective about who that individual truly was. My perception of the legendary mime, Marcel Marceau, was that of a talented performer who’d enjoyed a long career of entertaining audiences around the world.  And although this was correct, he was so much more.  Born Marcel Mangel, a Jew, in Strasbourg, France, he joined the French underground during WW II and was instrumental in rescuing hundreds of Jewish children by leading them out of France over the high Alps to the safety of Switzerland. He also altered the …

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Movies for New Year’s Eve!

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Ah, New Year’s Eve!  The promise of a fresh start in a new year!  There are many movies we can think of right off that deal with the Christmas holiday season, but how well has Hollywood dealt with the holiday of New Year’s?  Quick – what movie comes to mind when I say “Happy New Year!“?  Not much comes to mind, does it? So, in the spirit of the holiday, here are a few movies that have New Year’s as the background for important plot lines: Poseidon Adventure (1972) – At midnight on New Year‘s Eve, the SS Poseidon is …

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Off on a trip . . .

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When I set off on a vacation, particularly to a place I have never been to before, I enjoy borrowing travel books so I can have the lay of the land and major “hot spots” already in my mind.  The library has many volumes of travel books such as Fodor’s, Frommer’s, and Idiot’s Guides to help you plan and think about your trip way before you actually arrive and begin to make those decisions on the spur of the moment. I was saved during my first trip to Disney World by these guides.  Without them I would have had no …

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