Hats Off to Our Summer Reading Club Sponsors!


books on the beachI think everyone will agree that our summer reading clubs are a lot of fun. The staff puts a tremendous amount of time and energy into the planning and execution of all three clubs, and donations from the community add the extra spice. Without their contributions there would be no professional performances, very few raffle prizes, and final prizes would be reduced to a pat on the back. With that said, I'd like to send one more round of thanks to our many sponsors:


Final Prizes:
McDonald's of Hudson
Bugaboo Creek
Papa Gino's
O'Neil Theatres

Other Prizes:
Boston Celtics
Boston Red Sox
Build-a-Bear Workshop
Canobie Lake Park
Currier Gallery of Art
Flowers on the Hill
Friends of the Library
Hannaford
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Manchester Monarchs
Manchester Wolves
Margarita's
New England Revolution
The Painted Lady
Papa Gino's
Passaconaway Country Club
Professor's Sports Pub
Romano's Pizza
Shaw's
T-Bones/Cactus Jack's
Tee Off at Mel's
Wal-Mart
Water Country

Event Sponsors:
Continental Paving
Friends of the Library
Granite State American Kenpo
Jolt Electric
Litchfield Garage
New England Small Tube
Optimum Building Systems & Mgmt.
Pantry Pride
Tim's Turf
Willy's Pizza
Wilson Farm

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Don't Forget to Get Your Tickets


photo courtesy of woodsyMaster the Art of Reading summer reading clubbers need to come in by Friday at 6:00 p.m. to get their final raffle tickets for books read, reviews written, and this weeks last activity. The Great Giveaway winners will be announced on Tuesday, August 26th. There lots of great prizes, so don't miss out!

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Another Weekly Winner


photo courtesy of strong_desCongratulations to Stephanie Perry, winner of week 7's raffle in the Master the Art of Reading summer reading club.

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Doodle-dee-do


photo courtesy of jazzaThis is the final week of the Master the Art of Reading summer reading club. Come in and turn our doodle into a picture to earn your chance at the weekly raffle!

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Board Meeting Minutes


clipart courtesy of clipartheaven.comThe approved minutes, and other reports, from the July 14, 2008 Board of Trustees Meeting are now available for viewing.

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Coming to a Theater Near You!


cover artKate DiCamillo's children's novel, The Tale of Despereaux, has been made into a movie, and is scheduled for release on December 19th.

The Tale of Despereaux is "a charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution. Foremost is Despereaux, a diminutive mouse who, as depicted in Ering's pencil drawings, is one of the most endearing of his ilk ever to appear in children's books. His mother, who is French, declares him to be "such the disappointment" at his birth and the rest of his family seems to agree that he is very odd: his ears are too big and his eyes open far too soon and they all expect him to die quickly. Of course, he doesn't. Then there is the human Princess Pea, with whom Despereaux falls deeply (one might say desperately) in love. She appreciates him despite her father's prejudice against rodents. Next is Roscuro, a rat with an uncharacteristic love of light and soup. Both these predilections get him into trouble. And finally, there is Miggery Sow, a peasant girl so dim that she believes she can become a princess. With a masterful hand, DiCamillo weaves four story lines together in a witty, suspenseful narrative that begs to be read aloud. In her authorial asides, she hearkens back to literary traditions as old as those used by Henry Fielding. In her observations of the political machinations and follies of rodent and human societies, she reminds adult readers of George Orwell. But the unpredictable twists of plot, the fanciful characterizations, and the sweetness of tone are DiCamillo's own. This expanded fairy tale is entertaining, heartening, and, above all, great fun." (From School Library Journal)

Why not read the book before you see the movie? Click here to view the movie trailer.

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Getting Caught Up


Wow! Our Books are Tundra Fun Summer Reading Club kept us sooo busy, I didn't have time to keep the website up to date. So let's play a little catch up--now where were we? Oh yeah...

photo courtesy of shouftas

The Sled Dog Show was a great time. 124 people ventured over to LMS to find out about sled dogging and meet Gail Guerin's dogs. Visit our scrapbook.

The Cold Weather Fun Contest stories were very entertaining. Congrats to winners Connor MacDonald, Andrew Fay, and Harrison Hidalgo.

Apparently our summer readers really love animals. 162 people filled the LMS cafeteria for the Wildlife Encounters show on August 5th. Audra showed a variety of animals to the audience, including a chinchilla, a skunk, an alligator, and a snake. Visit our scrapbook.

Books are Tundra Fun ended with the Shiver by the Spoonful Ice Cream Party. 136 guests ate ice cream sundaes on the library lawn while they waited for the prize raffle to begin. Over 40 prizes were given out, including passes to Canobie Lake Park, a Fun Pack to Mel's Funway Park, Build-a-Bear Bucks, stuffed animals, books, and other goodies. Final Prize packets were also given out to those children who met their summer reading goal. And we did all of this before the rain began! Visit our scrapbook.

photo courtesy of dmpp

Congrats to Sam Harvey, winner of the Team Logo Contest. The logo for Sam's team, the Cutler Coyotes, is on display in the Teen Room.

Weekly Contest Winners include Katie Keane (week 3), Ryan Francis (week 4), Amy Bois (week 5), and Sam Harvey (week six).

Emily Freise is the winner of the Cereal Box Contest. Emily's cereal, Super Swimmy's, featured Dara Torres. Way to go Emily!

Don't forget, point logs are due at the library by noon on Friday to be eligible for the raffle during the afternoon pizza party at 3:00. If you plan to join us for pizza, be sure to rsvp Friday at noon. Raffle prizes include passes to Canobie Lake Park and Water Country, a Fun Pack to Mel's Funway Park, t-shirts from the Manchester Monarchs and Wolves, and autographed photos from the Boston Red Sox and Celtics.

Clubbers who earned 10 points over the 7 weeks, with at least 5 points coming from reading, will receive a movie pass to O'Neil Theaters in Londonderry. Point logs must be turned in by the end of the month to be eligible.

photo courtesy of lusi

Weekly raffle winners include Kelly Bois (week 4), Nathalie Hirte (week 5), and Irene Roberts (week 6). Each winner took home an art kit.

This weeks activity, worth one weekly raffle ticket, is What are They Thinking. Rearrange the letter tiles to form a sentence that explains what the farmer-couple is thinking in Grant Wood's painting American Gothic.

The final weekly activity next week, Doodle-dee-do, asks participants to turn a squiggle into a picture. That should be fun!

Clubbers must come in by 6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22nd to fill out their final raffle tickets to be eligible for the Great Giveaway on August 26th. Raffle prizes include a gift cards to area businesses, a membership to the Currier Museum of Art, and passes to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston.

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New Stuff for Kids @ Your Library!


book coverNew children's books recently added to the collection:

Board Books:
More Please by Nancy Cadjan

Picture Books:
Dog and Bear by Laura Seeger
A Dog Needs a Bone by Audrey Wood
Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words by Jane O'Connor
Hello Day by Anita Lobel
I'm Bad by Kate McMullan
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems
The Searcher and the Old Tree by David McPhail

book coverChapter Books:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy Hawking
Ivy + Bean Take Care of the Babysitter by Annie Barrows
Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig by Kate DiCamillo
Outcast by Erin Hunter
Queste by Angie Sage
Uh-Oh, Cleo by Jessica Harper

On CD:
Best Friends by Ann Martin
The Secret Book Club by Ann Martin

These books are available for check-out now. If the book you want has already been checked-out, place it on reserve at the Circulation Desk.

edited 8-15-08

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New Stuff for Teens @ Your Library!


book coverNew fiction recently added to the collection:
Airhead by Meg Cabot
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Raven Rise by D. J. MacHale
Stop in the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
When You Wish by Kristin Harmel





New Non-Fiction:
American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks,and the Legend of Iron Crotch by Matthew Polly
Cheerleading: From Tryouts to Championships
The Billboard Illustrated Musical Instruments
title by author

These books are available for check-out now. If the book you want has already been checked-out, place it on reserve at the Circulation Desk.

edited 8-15-08

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New Stuff for Adults @ Your Library!


book coverNew stuff recently added to the collection:

Fiction:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver
Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel
Burnt House by Faye Kellerman
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
Fisherman's Bend by Linda Greenlaw
The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva
My Sister, My Love by Joyce Carol Oates
Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell
Nothing to Lose by Lee Child
The Other by David Guterson
Phantom Prey by John Sandford
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
Plague Ship by Clive Cussler
Rogue by Danielle Steel
Sail by James Patterson
Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner
Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen
So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger
Swan Peak by James Lee Burke
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
Tailspin by Catherine Coulter
Tribute by Nora Roberts

Fiction on CD:
Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

book coverNon-Fiction:
1434: the Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance by Gavin Menzies
Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts
The Last Fish Tale: the Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town by Mark Kurlansky
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Medical Myths That Can Kill You by Nancy Snyderman
The Physics of NASCAR by Diandra Leslie-Pelecky
Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty U: 100 Easy Projects the Whole Family Can Enjoy All Year Long

On CD:
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

These books are available for check-out now. If the book you want has already been checked-out, place it on reserve at the Circulation Desk.

edited 8-15-08

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New Movies @ Your Library!


cover artNew fiction recently added to the collection:

10,000 BC (PG-13)
The Bucket List (PG-13)
Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium (G)
National Treasure 2 (PG)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG)

These DVDs are available for check-out now. If the book you want has already been checked-out, place it on reserve at the Circulation Desk.

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Crime Novels Not So Cozy


According to Booklist, the 10 best crime novels of the past 12 months aren't so cozy: "As crime fiction continues to attract more and more writers of a distinctly literary bent who want to use the genre to build mutlifaceted characters and to explore sensitive social issues and address questions of profound moral ambiguity, it is almost inevitable that darker worldviews and less formulaic plots will come to dominate 'best' lists." (Ott, Bill. "The Year's Best Crime Novels." Booklist 104.17 (2008): 8-9.)

Here they are:
  1. The Ancient Rain by Domenic Stansberry

  2. Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett

  3. Devil's Peak by Deon Meyer

  4. Down into Darkness by David Lawrence

  5. The Good Physician by Kent Harrington

  6. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

  7. The Readbreast by Jo Nesbo

  8. The Second Objective by Mark Frost

  9. Victory Square by Olen Steinhauer

  10. Zugzwang by Ronan Bennett
All of these books may be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

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This Week in Summer Reading


polar bear photo courtesy of whatadgrBooks are Tundra Fun! (age 3 - 5th grade)

Last Chance for Tundra Fun Story Time
Meet on the library lawn, weather permitting, on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. for story time fun with Miss Carrie-Anne.

Skate Yourself Silly This Week
Earn 4 points by picking up a craft kit on Wednesday or Thursday to take home and put togehter.

Wildlife Encounters Zoo Visits
Meet an alligator, a snapping turtle, a skunk, a fox, and more on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Litchfield Middle School Cafeteria.

Update Your Point Logs
Make sure your point logs are up to date and turned in by noon on Friday to take part in the raffle prize drawing on Friday afternoon. Turn them in by August 29th to get your final prize.

Time for Ice Cream
Celebrate the end of the summer reading club with ice cream on Friday at 3:00 p.m. Raffle prizes will be drawn, and coupons for final prizes will be available. Please RSVP by Wednesday so we know how much ice cream to buy!


Get Your Game On--Read 4 the Fun of It! (grades 6 & up)

Volleyball Trivia Question and Photo Identification
Answer the weekly trivia question and identify the picture. Earn 1 point each in your Playbook!

Sports Ball Lantern Craft
Paint or decorate a paper lantern tolook like a sports ball, or anything else you like, on Wednesday at 3:00p.m. Registration is required. Call Ann to sign up. Earn 1 point in your playbook.

Library Olympics
A combination of physical and mental activities add up to great sporting fun in Thursday's Library Olympics at 4:00 p.m.

Pick Up Keeper
Get your copy of Mal Peet's Keeper and join the group on Wednesday, August 13th at 6:30 p.m.

Master the Art of Reading (adults)

Mix It Up Weekly Activity
Try your hand at Mr. Potato Head Picasso-style. Arrange the kit of Mr. Potato Head features in the cubist fashion and give Picasso a run for his money. Earn 1 weekly raffle ticket.

Bring in Your Artrageous Masterpiece
Alter a piece of art a or photo using pictures found in magazines or online, and make the familiar strange, the ordinary extraordinary, or the usual absurd. Earn 1 weekly raffle ticket.

Master the Artrageous
Come up with your own piece of altered art and earn 1 weekly raffle ticket. Alter your photo or picture to include reading and earn 2 weekly raffle tickets.
edited 8/5/08

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All Booked Up Reads Teacher Man for September


book coverAll Booked Up is reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt for their September 3rd meeting of the minds.

"In Teacher Man Frank turns his attention to the subject that he most often talks about in his lectures-teaching: why it's so important, why it's so undervalued. He describes his own coming of age-as a teacher, a storyteller, and, ultimately, a writer. He is alternately humble and mischievous, downtrodden and rebellious. He instinctively identifies with the underdog; his sympathies lie more with students than administrators. It takes him almost fifteen years to find his voice in the classroom, but what's clear in the thrilling pages of Teacher Man is that from the beginning he seizes and holds his students' attention by telling them memorable stories. And then it takes him another fifteen years to find his voice on the page.

With all the wit, charm, irreverence, and poignancy that made Angela's Ashes and 'Tis so universally beloved, Frank McCourt tells his most exhilarating story yet-how he became a writer." (From Publishers Weekly)

Copies are available at the Circulation Desk. Don't forget to join the group at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3rd!

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Book of the Month Club Reads The Forest Lover in August


book coverSusan Vreeland's The Forest Lover, telling the story of artist Emily Carr, is August's featured novel, during our Master the Art of Reading summer reading club. Copies are available on the Main Level of the library.

Reading this book will earn you 2 raffle tickets: 1 for the read + 1 for the art theme. Submit an answer to one of the provided discussion questions, and earn yet another!

"It was Emily Carr (1871-1945)-not Georgia O'Keeffe or Frida Kahlo-who first blazed a path for modern women artists. Overcoming the confines of late Victorian culture, Carr became a major force in modern art. Her boldly original landscapes are praised today for capturing an untamed British Columbia-and its indigenous peoples-just before industrialization would change it forever.
In her latest novel, Susan Vreeland brings to life this fiercely independent and underappreciated figure. From illegal potlatches in tribal communities to prewar Paris, where her art was exhibited in the famed Salon d'Automne, Carr's story is as arresting as it is vibrant. Vreeland tells it with gusto and suspense, giving vivid portraits of Carr and the unconventional people to whom she was inevitably drawn: Sophie, a native basket maker; Harold, the son of missionaries, who embraces indigenous cultures; Fanny, a New Zealand artist who spends a summer with Carr painting in the French countryside; and Claude, a French fur trader who steals her heart. The result is a glorious novel that will appeal to lovers of art, native cultures, and lush historical fiction." (From the Publisher)

Reading Group Guide

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Remember to READ 4 THe FuN oF iT @ Aaron Cutler Memorial Library!

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