The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Hear Yea, Hear Yea! By Royal Decree, the staff of SPL are dressed up for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee! You will see crowns, tiaras, and even a facinator or two! 

The Diamond Jubilee celebrates the Queen's 60 years as Monarch. For more information on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee check out the official website. 

The official SPL fascinator, designed by Deputy Director Wendy Hicks

SPL Shelf Life [adult]

Was I the Wave by Miracle Fortress
@ SPL : CD 13 / Mirac


Fans of indie music are well aware Stratford offers more to the music world than the bright pop charm of Justin Bieber. For a relatively small fish in the vast cultural ocean, we are uncommonly fabulous in many ways, and people do pay attention.
Local-born musician Graham Van Pelt is one of the reasons why. As the driving force behind Miracle Fortress, his dense, wall-of-sound approach to creating jangly, ethereal electropop has earned him a Polaris Prize nomination for each of his two records.
His second album, *Was I the Wave?* incorporates the same dense, orchestral Wilson-esque harmonies as Miracle Fortress’ debut, *Five Roses.* But, rather than getting stuck in a rut trying to create the same kind of *Pet Sounds* spell a second time around, he moves into territory more influenced by Brian Eno and other producers of 1980s glammy new wave.
Van Pelt’s superior mixing and production keep the 80s influences from feeling stale, updating chiming harmonies and driving drum machines with more complex rhythms and melodies that will feel familiar to fans of Caribou from back when he was still Manitoba. If I just lost you there, try the album anyway – as could be expected of an album that evokes Eno, it’s a proper, complete album, complex enough for music geeks to get excited about. But fans of pop music shouldn’t shy away because of that; it’s also pretty and accessible enough to make great, happy background music on a patio or on a long car ride. *Was I the Wave?* is the perfect summer album for anyone looking for lush, happy harmonies, a good beat, and a little more substance.


This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on May 31, 2012. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian. 

SPL Shelf Life [kids]

Children’s Book of Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters, by Deborah Lock (and other Dorling Kindersley publishers), 142 pages.

@ SPL:  J 201.3 Chi

Would children be interested in a book of myths and legends?

They’re almost certain to be intrigued by the mythical monsters, legendary beasts, quests, battles, adventures and magic featured in this colourful, appealing book of myths and legends - especially with the recent popularity of author Rick Riordan’s mythological series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

With hundreds of illustrations and well-written, readable text, readers are introduced here to some of the finest myths, legends, and traditional stories from around the world.

Stories are not organized by time or culture - instead, three main categories are used: “Nature and Nation”, “Magic and Mayhem”, and “Quests and Battles”. Within these categories, legends and myths from various cultures are brought together by themes such as shapeshifters, warrior heroes, warrior heroines, dragons, flood stories, etc.

Unusual creatures as well as the more familiar are included: the kappa (a Japanese water spirit), the selkie (Northern-European seal-like creatures) as well as the hydra, griffin, the one-eyed Cyclops and many more.

The book also makes interesting comparisons between various legendary creatures and today’s animals… for example, between the bunyip of Australian mythology and today’s marsupials and hippopotamuses.

Dorling Kindersley is noted for its publication of appealing and informative children’s books such as this.  Complete with a character index and glossary, the Children’s Book of Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters will definitely hold kids’ interest and will likely lead to further research and reading on their part.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 11 years.

Fantasy: An Artist’s Realm, by Ben Boos, 83 pages.

@ SPL:  J 700.415 Boo

Of the many books which offer a visual escape to another world, author-illustrator Ben Boo’s Fantasy: An Artist’s Realm is one of the very best.

In descriptive, lyrical prose and lovely, intricate artwork, readers are transported to New Perigord – a mystical land whose “strange cities, green fields, giant mountains, deep dark forests”, caves and enormous fortresses are filled with fairies, elves, dwarves, minotaurs, mages, paladins, warriors, rogues, troglodytes, “undead horrors” and many other creatures and peoples.

From the airy to the eerie, and from the misty to the magical, the imaginary land of New Perigord - with its similarities to the worlds of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series and C.S. Lewis’s Chroniclesof Narnia series - will absolutely captivate and delight children of all ages (and adults) who are interested in fantasy. 

There are many special aspects of this stunning book to note; among them are the meticulously detailed, elaborate illustrations and the equally detailed text – both of which cause the reader to believe that they are actually in the mystical land of New Perigord, with its unique creatures, peoples, customs, dwellings, implements, tools and weapons.

As an introduction, the book begins with a large full-colour map of New Perigord and its various regions, from “airy elven forests to misty coastal fortresses and to the eerie Necropolis”. At the end of the book, an author’s note encourages readers to imagine and draw their own fantasy world. 

Ben Boos, the talented illustrator and author of Fantasy: An Artist’s Realm, notes that in creating this richly imagined book, he was inspired by “endless daydreams and the light of many minds”… yet the Perigords “are fuller of wonders than could be listed or described in the lifetime of a mere mortal.”

** Recommended for ages 9 years and up.


These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on May 31, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian

A Penny... And Your Thoughts?

The Friends of the Stratford Public Library are reaching out to our community and to all the wonderful visitors who come to Stratford to vote for their favorite kinds of books by dropping their pennies in our Penny Pots here at the library and also at selected shops around town. 

 

“This is a new initiative by the Friends to collect all those loose pennies everyone has stashed away at home or weighing down their wallets.  Two of our members, Marthe Jocelyn and Dorothy Washbern came up with this fundraising idea weeks before the government announced they were no longer going to be printing pennies,” states Irene Miller, current Chair of the Friends.  “And another member, Ann Devereux generously sponsored all of the pots.”

 

At the library, simply drop your pennies into one of our pots labeled with your favourite kind of books.   The Friends will be keeping track of which kinds of books are collecting the most pennies...whether it’s Fiction or Non-Fiction, Reference, Magazines, Young Adult or Children’s. 

 

Irene added: “We already have several Library supporters who will match the first $25 donated in our Penny Pots.”

 

The funds collected in our Penny Pots will help to keep the library’s children’s reading programs free for every child in this community. 

 

So drop by the library or look for our Penny Pots around town.

 

Bring your pennies to us!

 

There are approximately 130 Friends of the Library, and several new corporate members who help out, check out, find out and speak out on behalf of Stratford’s library serves.

 

For more information on how you can display a Penny Pot in your shop, please contact Dorothy Washbern at 519 275-2475.

Attention Kids! Come Read with Gisele!

Kids can learn and laugh with Gisele from the TVOKids' show, Gisele's Big Backyard, at the Stratford Public Library.  Gisele will be reading the book of the month from the Big Backyard Book Club and share her love of reading with all her fans. Children will receive a free book, bookbag, and bookmark. 

Come to the Library Auditorium on Saturday June 23 at 2pm. This event is free, but tickets are required. The free tickets will be available as of Friday June 1st at the lower floor circulation desk.

SPL Shelf Life [kids]

Emily Included, by Kathleen McDonnell, 124 pages.

@ SPL:  J 362.40830971092 Eaton-M

Emily Eaton, a 12-year-old girl, wanted to continue attending her regular neighbourhood school instead of transferring to a school for disabled children.

Born with cerebral palsy, Emily used a wheelchair. She could not control her arm or leg movements, and it was a challenge for her to communicate with others. Nevertheless, Emily wanted to be a normal kid as much as possible - which included attending a regular school and being in a normal classroom.

For two years, Emily had been attending such a school and had enjoyed being there, making many friends and learning new skills. The other students had benefited too, learning to be comfortable and helpful around someone who had special challenges.

Now, school board officials had decided that Emily, despite her wishes and those of her family and the other students, would transfer to a “special” school.

Emily's parents decided to contest the decision.    

Emily Included is based on a true account of a young girl’s four-year battle not to be forced out of her school – a case that the family fought for the sake of every child with a disability. It was a case that went right to the Supreme Court of Canada, and it was watched closely by disability groups all over Canada. Many considered Emily’s situation to be discriminatory and in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which defends the right of every individual to be treated equally “without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, or mental or physical disability.”

Emily’s inspiring story is one of determination, and readers will be happy to discover that she and her family were, in the end, successful in their pursuit for Emily’s rights to equality and inclusion.  Photos of Emily and her family are included with her story.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years. 

Shannen and the Dream for a School, by Janet Wilson, 206 pages.

@ SPL:  J 971.00497323092 Koost-W

Shannen Koostachin was another young Canadian who fought for the right to attend a “normal” school.  

The remote northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat, home to about 2000 people, is situated at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River on the west shore of James Bay.

For years, Shannen and the other children of Attawapiskat had been hoping for a new school to replace their cold, overcrowded portable classrooms. In Shannen’s classroom, the day’s lessons didn’t begin until an old scarf was stuffed into the gap below the door against the frigid outside air that crept in everywhere. Students wore their coats and boots throughout the day.

Shannen loved learning – but not in the discomfort of the portables. Why couldn’t her community have a regular school – with a gymnasium, safe water, heated classrooms and hallways - as government officials had long ago promised? Didn’t they care that education is a key to surmounting the many problems faced by communities such as hers (such as high student dropout rates, unemployment, loss of hope for the future, depression, suicide and substance abuse)?

Shannon, her family, friends and community decided to act. They made a YouTube video. They traveled to Ottawa to speak to politicians, and their cause – that all children, including First Nations children, deserve an education - garnered national attention. When Shannen and her fellow student ambassadors went to the United Nations, the Attawapiskat School Campaign became the largest child-led children’s rights movement in Canadian history – and it finally met with success.

The new school in Attawapiskat, with a playground and athletic fields, is scheduled to open in 2013.

Tragically, Shannen will never see the new school. Returning from a trip to Ottawa in May 2010, she was killed when the minivan in which she was a passenger collided with a transport truck.

The touching story of Shannen and her dream is a true story, and author Janet Wilson has included a glossary of Cree words, a timeline and other helpful background information.

** Recommended for ages 9 to 13 years.


These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on May 24, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

SPL Shelf Life [adult]

Why Men Lie by Linden MacIntyre

@SPL: FIC MacIn, or search “Why MenLie” in downloadLibrary

Fans of CanLit likely remember Linden MacIntyre’s 2009 Giller Prize win for The Bishop’s Man, the second novel in his Cape Breton triology. Having made readers wait 10 years between the trilogy’s opener, The Long Stretch, and his prize-winning follow-up, MacIntyre evidently felt a rush to move on with the final novel in the trilogy, Why Men Lie. Was the rush worthwhile?

It’s a provocative title, to be sure, and it’s a reasonably bold book, examining its titular question through the eyes and life of a female character. This final novel follows the life of Effie MacAskill, sister to Father Duncan MacAskill, central character in The Bishop’s Man. It doesn’t directly stare down such heavy material as the child sexual abuse that forms the plot backbone of The Bishop’s Man. It has its own agenda, interested in the more general effects such atrocities have on communities and individuals’ private lives.

Effie is well into a contented-enough solitary middle age when she runs into an old Cape Breton friend on the St George subway platform in Toronto. JC has been off-the-radar with her crew for years, having been part of a crop of Canadian journalists recruited to American networks in the 1970s. His work has taken him all over the world and through countless human rights atrocities. Suffering the psychological trauma not uncommon in his line of work, he decides to come back to a tamer beat in Canada. The two embark on a tentative relationship, but it’s immediately apparent their respective baggage and Cape Breton ties threaten their bond and their health.

If this sounds like an overwhelmingly heavy read - well, it is and it isn’t, but the end result is entirely worthwhile. MacIntyre is the master of the light touch, using one well-timed phrase in dialogue or a raised eyebrow to convey what other writers would need pages to illustrate. This approach allows readers to - in a sense - choose their level of exposure to the darker themes that run through the novel. Tightly written, and with a photographic capture of Cape Breton culture and dialogue, this novel is highly recommended to any fans of dark, character-driven Canadian literature.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on May 17, 2012. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.