Little Free Library

Photo taken by John Phelan

Little Free Libraries is a non-profit movement throughout the world that offers free books housed in small containers to members of a local community. The idea for Little Free Libraies began with a gentleman named Todd Bol from Hudson, Wisconsin as a tribute to his mother, avid book lover and teacher. Todd built a small wooden house mounted on a post, filled it with books and placed it near the sidewalk in his yard. A sign on the library read, “Take a book, leave a book” – and people did. The word spread quickly of this amazing little library, and there are over 200 LFL in 34 states and 17 countries.

Plainfield, IN will be adding its name to that growing list of Little Free Libraries in the spring of 2013. The Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library received a grant as well as memorial donations to purchase 4 Little Free Libraries for the town of Plainfield. The purpose behind providing these libraries is to help promote the love of reading throughout the Plainfield community. Locations for the libraries are still to be determined, but the hope is to locate them along the Plainfield trail system, near parks and residential areas. Inside the libraries will be books donated by the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library, Friends of the Library, Barnes & Noble, memorial donations and of course, local residents who take a book and leave a book.

The library will host programs for residents to help decorate the Little Free Libraries in early 2013. One of the libraries will be a memorial library to honor Susan Miller Carter, who worked at the Plainfield library for over 30 years as the manager of the Local History department. Susan loved the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library, as well as the town itself, and made a lasting impression while she was here. When she passed away in 2009 a memorial fund was created to honor her. Susan’s family feels she would have loved the Little Free Libraries concept, and so at this time the funds will be used to help support the program. Susan loved Plainfield, reading, and sharing, and the library’s new Little Free Library system expresses those things appropriately.

Take a look at the slideshow below to see our first Little Free Library, constructed by our very own Tim McClelland and his brother Scott. Stay tuned for more information on how you can take part in the Little Free Library movement this spring.

Little Free Library

'Tis the Season for Awesome Holiday Movies

'Tis the season for awesome movies! I am a big fan of movies in general but I have a special place for holiday movies. Cold weather, hot cocoa and a good Christmas movie can be just the ticket to get in the holiday spirit this time of year.

Here is a list of my top 5 favorite holiday movies.

Frosty the Snowman
Frosty appears and helps a little girl escape from the greedy magician. This animated film is a favorite of mine due to the fact that a snowman comes to life and dances around the town.  Who wouldn’t love that?!

Prancer
This movie came out in 1989 but I didn’t see it until the mid-90s because I wasn’t old enough until then to see it. A young girl discovers a hurt reindeer and nurses him back to health with the help of the town veterinarian. Over time the girl becomes convinced that the reindeer is actually one of Santa’s reindeer, Prancer to be exact. I won’t give away the ending but it is heartwarming for sure.

Elf
A child named Buddy finds his way in Santa’s sack back to the North Pole where he grows up and becomes one of Santa’s elves. When Buddy discovers that he is actually human and not and elf he sets off on an adventure to New York City to find his father. The humor in this movie is beyond fabulous in my opinion – Will Ferrell (who plays Buddy) is a 10.

Home Alone
Home Alone is my generation’s classic Christmas movie as it came out in 1990 when I was about 6 years old. Kevin is a young boy accidentally left at home alone when his family takes a vacation to France for the holidays. Two robbers, the Wet Bandits, are on the prowl to burgle Kevin’s home while the family is away. Once Kevin figures out what they are up to he comes up with a plan and chaos ensues.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
I didn’t see this movie until last year, but I must say I really enjoyed it when I finally did! The Griswald’s are a kooky American family just enjoying the festivities of the season. There are a lot of quirky moments (driving under a semi trailer, speed-sledding through town, and a totally toasted turkey) that make this movie an awesome addition to your holiday movie line-up.

Grumpy Old Men
I am not sure there is anything funnier than watching a couple of self-proclaimed “old farts” fooling around ice fishing on a frozen lake. When an attractive single woman moves into the neighborhood the two men chase after her and do ridiculous things to gain her favor. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau have the bickering banter down to a T as this dynamic duo starred together in the 1968 film classic The Odd Couple.

It’s too hard to narrow down my favorite holiday movies so I’ll add in a few more of my favorites for good measure!

• Christmas in Connecticut
• Love Actually
• It’s A Wonderful Life
• A Christmas Carol
• Charlie Brown Christmas
• The Holiday

Happy Holidays to all!

-Joanna

Graphic Novels!

Graphic Novels! It’s not just for Superheroes!

Did you know that graphic novels go beyond superhero comics? Many of the titles in our collection tell wonderful stories without a cape in sight. Here are 20 of my favorite non-superhero graphic novels.

I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly 

Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way

 

Mercury by Hope Larson

A Strange Day by Damon Hurd

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castelluci

Sin City series by Frank Miller

The Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman

I Saw You:Comics Inspired by Real Life Missed Connections by Julia Wertz 

Wilson by Daniel Clowes

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

 

Fray by JossWhedon

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by Greg Neri

Re-gifters by Mike Carey

Mid-life byJoe Ollmann

Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine

The New York Five by Brian Wood

Chiggers by Hope Larson

Remember to check out our Graphic Novel and Manga Swap Party on January 10th and trade your gently used Graphic Novels with other fans at the library. Whether you have already read them or you received a duplicate over the holidays, bring up to five titles to trade. It's a great way to grow your collection and meet new fans of the genre. You can bring Graphic Novels, Manga titles, or comic books. See you on January 10 at 6pm!

Courtney

Holiday Books for Family Reading

What's your favorite holiday book to read as a family? Need some ideas for holiday books to read together?

Three of everyone's favorite children's room staff members have compiled their five favorite holiday books to read with families or children. Check out Laura's, Jan's, and Brenda's lists below:

The Night Before Christmas
Silent Night: A Mouse Tale
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Small One
Who is Coming to Our House?

Helping Santa: My First Christmas Adventure with Grandma
The After-Christmas Tree
Pete the Cat Saves Christmas
Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!
The Money We'll Save

Polar Express
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Santa's Crash-Bang Christmas

 Have you ready any of these books? Add your favorites in the comments below!

Short Stories and Novellas

Nobody ever says they want to write the great American short story. Or the great American novella. It’s the novel, always the novel. 

This is a shame. These literary forms - the short story and the novella - can be every bit as powerful and carry the same literary punch as their larger cousins. Furthermore, these forms are a great way to fit some reading into your busy schedule. Short stories are also good ways to explore genres or authors you’ve always wondered about but were never quite able to get around to.

Here are some suggestions if you don't know where to start.    

The library recently acquired some new editions of Richard Russo’s short stories. These stories are bound individually and are easy to overlook in the stacks - they are so small! Thirty or forty short pages, you can knock one of these out in one sitting easily.

Still not sure about George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series? Check out his "Tales of Dunk and Egg", set several years before the events of the novels.

Not ready to commit to an 800 page screamer by Stephen King? Try some of the stuff in Everything’s Eventual - a nice mix of horror and more literary stories.

Maybe you’d like to try an up-and-coming modern writer. Karen Russell’s St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised By Wolves is full of surrealist character driven stories. 

Finally, one of my favorite books - A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller - is actually three novellas combined into a single work, tying together in a grand epic.

-Matthew