Author Archives: GPL

The Magic of Christmas

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I have been an avid cross-stitcher for decades.   In 1987, when my son was born, I vowed to cross-stitch a unique and special Christmas ornament for him every year.  That promise lasted one year.  Fast forward thirty years and I vowed to do the same for my grandson.  So far, I have kept that promise.

The first two ornaments I made him were cute, but were lacking a certain Je ne sais quoi.  I wanted something that was really charming and special.  I scoured the internet, and while I found a lot of patterns, none of them seemed to have the oomph I was looking for.  Then I searched Evergreen Indiana and found a book titled The Magic of Christmas in Cross-Stitch (Atglen, PA : Schiffer Publishing, 2018).  This book has the cutest, most adorable Christmas cross-stitch charts I have ever seen.  Whether you’re looking for a cherubic child writing a letter to Santa, or angelic children building a snowman, this book seems to have it all.  Last year I cross-stitched two little mice sitting under a mushroom wrapping presents.  When I showed it to a friend, she said it was “beyond adorable.”

This year my grandson will get Santa stuffing his bag full of presents.  My hardest decision now is which delightful design will I cross-stitch next.

My precious little grandson is only two years old and doesn’t yet appreciate that I’m doing this for him, but someday, he’ll hold up these ornaments and say “My Mēmo loves me.”  And you know what?  He’ll be right!

The Value of a Book Club

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So, I love to read.  I love to read what I like to read.  I like mystery/thriller/romance and happy endings.  I occasionally pick up a biography, business book, or one on faith, but for the most part I like to read for entertainment.  When you join a book club you are forced to read things you might never have picked up – ever!  Who am I kidding: I would never have picked them up! This has actually been a really good challenge for me.

With the book club, I have read books that have helped me understand times in our history I know nothing about, it has helped me see other countries in a different light, it has helped me try new genres like dystopian novels, and it has even made me deal with some difficult topics that I don’t like facing.  I help with the Well Red book club at GPL and some of the books we have read have been really, really great – and I would never had read them had I not been a part of the book club.  I am so glad I joined in these conversations about life from all different angles.  Some of my favorites were: The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai – about living in Vietnam during the war; The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – about the Japanese internment camps in the US; There, There by Tommy Orange – about life as a Native American in the US; and Ready Player One (that dystopian stuff).

I highly recommend joining a book club, or at least picking up a recommended book that you would normally never read.  Stick with it until the end and maybe discuss it with a friend or coworker or read the discussion questions on the website.  It can be fascinating and fun.  Don’t get me wrong, there are still books I will never like – horror comes to mind – but, at least now I am willing to give it a try. Now when we get “assigned” a book club book that I roll my eyes and breathe a heavy sigh about, I pick it up and read it all the way through!  I have come to appreciate all kinds of genres I would never have read on my own.  I am a better person for it.

Reviewing Media for Our Children

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One of the most common questions I get from parents of voracious, high-level readers is “How can I make sure what they’re reading is appropriate?” It’s a tricky question. We all have different levels of comfort with what our children read, different definitions of what is “appropriate.” And while some of us would like to be able to screen everything first, that often isn’t possible.

Stetson University’s Christopher J. Ferguson ran a small study showing that reading banned books “is associated with both increased civic behavior and little risk of antisocial behavior.” Click here for the full study. In other words, there don’t seem to be consequences for children reading questionable material. Children often “self-censor” what they read, and will ask questions to understand better. That being said, you know your child best, and you know what they will understand and enjoy! So, how can you stay one step ahead of your prodigious reader?

One of my favorite websites is Common Sense Media. Their goal is to review media – books, movies, games, apps, and even YouTube channels – and track content so that parents, caregivers, and educators can make informed decisions. They give an age recommendation for media and also specifically note what kind of content it contains. Let’s run through a quick example: the oft-banned Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. They recommend the book for children 8 and older. They note positive messages for the book, “Full of positive messages about the power of love, friendship, and self-sacrifice. Also about not letting your background dictate who you become.” There is also a note about violence and scariness, “Kids are in peril often, but it’s mostly at the hands of fantasy creatures…” The description goes on to outline each of these scenarios, so that you know how intense the book will be. If you have an issue with language, you may be happy to know that there is one instance of “Damn.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common Sense Media also provides parent and child reviews, as well as a rundown of each book. There are lists of recommended books, so if you’re looking for something new it can be a great place to start.

Of course, not everything has been reviewed. You may not be able to find every book your child is interested in. If you have any further questions or need more resources, our librarians at GPL are more than happy to help!

 

Summer’s Here – Let’s Garden!

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Summer seems to finally have arrived! If you’re anything like me this warmer weather has you itching to be outside. What better way to enjoy the start of summer and soak up some rays than to be in the garden? Gardening has been proven to reduce stress and provides many physical benefits. Not to mention all of the wonderful food you can grow!

One of the major benefits of gardening is that anyone can do it, no matter the space available. If you live in an apartment try getting into container gardening. Have small children? Get them involved in growing their own food! Have you killed every plant you’ve ever had? Try starting out with succulents which take very little maintenance. There is a plant for everyone and every space. Luckily for you, the library has resources to get you started no matter your situation.

 

Container Vegetable Gardening
By Liz Dobbs

Available on Hoopla

Big Flavor from Small Spaces!

This book will show you how to use the latest practices of high-density patio gardening to grow delicious vegetables, herbs and fruits in containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets. Imagine the satisfaction of diving into a plate full of food that you grew yourself. Stepping out onto your patio and picking fresh ingredients for a meal is a special experience that is possible almost all year long. Whether you want to learn how to grow lemon trees in pots or to create your very own salsa window box with chilies, dwarf tomatoes, scallions, and coriander-Growing Crops in Pots will show you how!

 

Indoor Kitchen Gardening
By Elizabeth Millard

Available on Overdrive

Imagine serving a home-cooked meal highlighted with beet, arugula, and broccoli microgreens grown right in your kitchen, accompanied by sautéed winecap mushrooms grown in a box of sawdust in your basement. And if you have never tasted microgreens, all you really need to do is envision all the flavor of an entire vegetable plant concentrated into a single tantalizing seedling. If you respond to the notion of nourishing your guests with amazing, fresh, organic produce that you’ve grown in your own house, condo, apartment, basement, or sunny downtown office, then you’ll love exploring the expansive new world of growing and eating that can be discovered with the help of Indoor Kitchen Gardening. Inside, author and Bossy Acres CSA co-owner Elizabeth Millard teaches you how to grow microgreens, sprouts, herbs, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and more—all inside your own home, where you won’t have to worry about seasonal changes or weather conditions.

 

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden
By Erin Benzakein

Available on Hoopla

From Erin Benzakein, a leader in the locaflor farm-to-centerpiece movement and owner of internationally renowned Floret Flower Farm, Cut Flower Garden is equal parts instruction and inspiration-a book overflowing with lush photography of magnificent flowers and breathtaking arrangements organized by season. This beautiful guide to growing, harvesting, and arranging gorgeous blooms year-round gives readers vital tools to nurture a stunning flower garden and use their blossoms to create showstopping arrangements. With irresistible photos of Erin’s flower farm that showcase exquisite blooms, tips for growing in a variety of spaces and climates as well as step-by-step instructions for lavish garlands, airy centerpieces, and romantic floral décor for every season, Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden informs and entices gardeners of all skill levels.

 

Square Foot Gardening With Kids
By Mel Bartholomew

Available on Overdrive

For two generations, Mel Bartholomew’s top-selling Square Foot Gardening books have made his revolutionary system for growing vegetables available to millions of people. In Square Foot Gardening with Kids, Mel reveals all of the tips, tricks, and fun projects he has used over the decades in one of his most cherished pursuits: teaching youngsters to build and grow their own kid-sized SFGs. Because of its simple principles and fast payoff, Square Foot Gardening is perfect for children. The easy geometry of the gridded box breaks the complex world of gardening into digestible bites that are easy to approach and understand for enthusiastic young learners, and the sequence of tasks required to grow plants from seeds is repeatable and reassuring. Whether you’re a grandparent, parent, teacher, coach, or any kind of role model to young people, Square Foot Gardening with Kids offers you the proven methods Mel has developed himself to entertain and amaze the kid in all of us.

 

A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening
By Taku Furuya

Available on Hoopla

This book contains all sorts of helpful tips on what to look for when buying a plant, how to troubleshoot when your succulent shows signs of distress, how to trim the leaves and stems, and how to start new plants from cuttings. Clear diagrams and at-a-glance fact sheets for each variety, as well as inspirational photos of attractively and happily-housed succulents, fill the pages of this book. Now is the time to give succulents a try! Let A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening be your guide to get you started and grow your indoor garden one succulent at a time.

 

 

Growing the Midwest Garden
By Edward Lyon

Available on Hoopla

Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region’s climate, soil, and geography. Growing the Midwest Garden, by Edward Lyon, the director of Wisconsin’s Allen Centennial Gardens, offers an enthusiastic and comprehensive approach to ornamental gardening in the heartland. This guide features in-depth chapters on climate, soil, pests, and maintenance, along with plant profiles of the best perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and bulbs.

 

Review: Empire of Sand

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Empire of Sand
by Tasha Suri
4 stars

This one is a little hard to describe.  This epic fantasy story is inspired by the Mughal Empire period in India.  There is a race of people descended from desert spirits, a powerful religious leader intent on using them for their power, and a girl who just wants to survive and find out who she is.  I loved the imagery in this book.  I haven’t read a lot of Indian inspired fantasy, but I may have to search more out based on how much I enjoyed this one.  I loved the characters and was fascinated by the world building.  The pacing is a little slow, but so worth it as you get to immerse yourself in this world of desert magic, rebellion, and sweet romance.  Empire of Sand can be read as a stand-alone, but there is a 2nd book that takes place a few years later and focuses on a different character.

Read alikes:

City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan