"Classic" Children's Novels I Recommend To Patrons and Friends
All of A Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
First in a series about 5 little girls growing up at the turn of the century on the Lower East Side of New York. I learned a lot about Jewish culture from these books, but above all they're great family stories.
Anne of Green Gables
and all other books by L.M. Montgomery
They are aimed at children, but the picture of life in turn of the century Prince Edward Island is a delight for adults!
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfield
Very English and very charming.
Betsy-Tacy
First of the series, by Maud Hart Lovelace
My older daughter(10) loves these too.
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
First in the series by Hugh Lofting.
Don't settle for the movie messes made of these wonderful books!
Heidi
by Johanna Sypri
This is not that easy for a kid to read--and some may find it saccharine. But it's always enchanted me...
Little House in the Big Woods
first in the series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Another series my daughter loves as much as I do!
A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
There's only been one good version of this on film--a BBC mini series. If you haven't seen that one, you don't know this story!
Little Women
and all other books by Louisa May Alcott.
I read this first in 6th grade, but I didn't understand a lot of it until college..
The Moffats
by Eleanor Estes
A family you'd love to belong to.
Pinky Pye
also by Eleanor Estes
You don't have to be a cat lover to love this, and if you're not, Pinky just might convert you!
Mr Popper's Penguins
by Florence Atwater
The tone is deadpan but the humor is pure slapstick.
A well loved read aloud.
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
There have been good films of this, but nothing beats the book, especially with the delicate Tasha Tudor illustrations!
The Trumpet of the Swan
by E.B. White
I love Charlotte's Web , but kids should also meet Louis the mute swan who gains a voice and a love. And if you liked Make Way For Ducklings (another favorite of mine) you'll recognize one of the settings......
The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Not a young child's book at all,but a beautifully written book about friendship, greed, self centeredness and love.
The best illustrations are by Ernest Shepherd. He was also the first (and only REAL!) illustrator of Winnie the Pooh!
Blueberries For Sal (& One Morning In Maine)
and other books by Robert McCloskey
The Nutshell Library
4 book set by Maurice Sendak
The music to go with the books is on:
Really Rosie by Carole King
Where the Wild Things Are
also by Maurice Sendak!
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
by Hildegarde Swift
(A beloved NY landmark!)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
and every other book by Eric Carle
Caps For Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Beloved by little girls long before the toys or the movies!
Yes, I Read "Grownup" Books Too--When They're Worth It!
And These Are:
Silver Pigs
(1st of the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries) by Lindsey Davis
Welcome To Temptation
(and all other books) by Jennifer Crusie
Breakup
(Kate Shugak mysteries)by Dana Stabenow
And Ladies of the Club
by Helen Hooven Santmyer
The Cazalet Chronicles
(4 books) by Elizabeth Howard
Poldark
(the whole series)by Winston Graham
The Mitford Years
(series) by Jan Karon
Stranger In A Strange Land
(& just about any other book) by Robert Heinlein
Making Money By PAYING Your Taxes
The only people who hate April 15 more than librarians probably are Postal Service employees.
Though on line tax services have cut wayyy down on the number of tax forms we have to have available for the public, there are still lots of people who (gasp!) either don't have computers or don't feel safe filing on line. So we are always besieged by last minute tax procrastinators.
Several years ago on April 15 a transformer blew in the building next door and started a fire. The fire department made us evacuate the building. We got to close for the day and enjoy the sweet spring weather. Anyone who hadn't gotten to the library was just out of luck......
A lot of people need help with their taxes. Unfortunately, we are NOT qualified to help them--indeed we are not SUPPOSED to help them, though we do usually help them figure out which basic form they need.
The so-called 1040 EZ is NOT easy for most people to fill out. It's only one page, but the instruction booklet is about 36 pages long. It should take only about 45 minutes to do (mine used to take about 15, back when I was single and childless!), but seeing people struggle with it is a fine comment both on bureaucratic jargon and the fact that far too many Americans are essentially functionally illiterate...
By the way, there is a fascinating piece in the NY Times proposing that since the IRS already HAS the information needed for a 1040EZ, that instead of having Joe/Jane Citizen fill out the forms, the IRS should do the form, and send it to the citizen. Though there are pitfalls to that, it makes a lot of sense to me after 20 years of dealing with the public and their tax forms.
Meanwhile, take heart. The bright news is that because April 15 falls on a Saturday, the IRS has kindly consented to making April 17 (Monday) this year's tax filing deadline. So you have time to get zonked on chocolate bunnies and Peeps before you have to buckle down and deal with your W2s.
And here's even better news, as proclaimed by our emperor president on his weekly radio address.
"The good news is that this year Americans will once again keep more of their hard-earned dollars because of the tax cuts we passed in 2001 and 2003."
Certainly, his vice president is making out like the gonif (definition 1) that he is. From the NY Times:
Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne,reported that their taxes were $529,636. The Cheneys' adjusted gross income was $8.82 million, but most of it was not taxable: $6.87 million was proceeds from stock options that the couple had set aside for charity and that were distributed last year, plus charitable contributions that came from royalties on books written by Mrs. Cheney.
As a result, the Cheneys' taxable income was $1.96 million. In a statement, the White House said that over the course of the year, the couple paid $2.5 million in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments, in part to deal with the exercise of the stock options. Given that their 2005 taxes are a little over half a million dollars, they are due a refund of about $1.9 million, the statement said. Doesn't it make you feel GREAT knowing that Dickie Boy and his Ice Queen are going to get all that nice money back? Just think of all the houses and hunting trips and nice outfits to wear to state dinners they can buy with all that moolah! If it weren't for those nice tax cuts that money might have gone to silly things--like buying body armor for all those troops doing Dickie's dirty work over in Iraq. Or it might have gone to the schools to which little Lynnie is peddling those patriotic children's books of hers, some of which are attended by children whose parents are off fighting that same war. Or one of those other publicly funded programs we're not supposed to need because those tax cuts have trickled down to the rest of us, giving us well paid jobs that enable all of us to have a chicken in the pot and a Hummer in the garage of our McMansion. Enjoy your Saturday, folks. And if you haven't gotten those tax forms yet, we're open till 5PM.............................
