Monday, September 28, 2015

October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month!

Every one has his/her unique way of learning.  Learning differences makes collaboration and classrooms interesting.  Learning Disability, however, is an official clinical diagnosis not to be confused with learning difficulty.  To raise the awareness of Learning Disabilities, October is declared Learning Disabilities Awareness Month by the Learning Disabilities Association of America.  Here are some recent books that are helpful.


This book helps parents understand and accept learning disabilities in their children, offering tips and strategies for successfully advocating on their behalf and helping them become their own best advocates.
371.9 ELI






A collection of personal essays written by parents of children of all ages with ADD, ADHD, OCD, PDD, ASDs, SPD, PBD and/or other diagnoses. These essays focus on honest feelings, lessons learned, epiphanies, commonplace and extraordinary experiences.   JPT 618.928 EAS



This book offers parents of children with autism and other disabilities a unique way of approaching and tackling the problems that can arise relating to the IEP collaboration between school and parents.
371.9 LAU



A spirited, wry, and utterly original memoir about one woman's struggle to make her way and set up a life after doctors discover a hole the size of a lemon in her brain. The diagnosis explained her struggle with a series of learning disabilities.  The book describes how she navigates the unique world she lives in.  BIOG COHEN COH





This book tells you how to figure out an individual's strengths and then harness those skills in order to learn and excel.
371.9144 FOS






Expertly designed workbook which helps professionals use the sensory system to teach complex social skills and build self-awareness in children with autism, sensory processing disorders and learning disabilities.
618.9285882 DEL

Thursday, September 24, 2015

POETS AND WRITERS OF ANTIQUITY


Facing the entrance to the Reference Room one sees on the left (in descending order) the philosophers  Aristotle, Socrates and Plato.  Relaxing with his dog is Diogenes the cynic who actually did live in a tub. These gentlemen were all relative contemporaries having been born within 100 years of each other.

To the right are the military historians (note the helmets and shield), chief among them Xenophon who was a student of Socrates. Seated is Aesop the fable writer about whom little is known. 




Thursday, September 10, 2015

Lyric Opera's New Season

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2015-2016 season opens September 26th with Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.  Recordings, DVDs, scores, and librettos for it and other operas of the coming season are listed on our web site's Lyric Opera Resources page.  Links from that page will take you to the items in our catalog, showing availability and location.  Lyric Opera of Chicago's own online resources are available at its Lyric U(nlimited) page.


This season's operas are listed below.  Match them up with with the one-phrase plot summaries taken from the Lyric Opera of Chicago's opera descriptions, and bring your answers into the Reference desk before Oct. 1st.  If your answers are correct, you'll receive a Lake Forest Library sticky note booklet, pictured here!

1. Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)    a. “...he meets his match in Anna...”  
2. Cinderella (Rossini)               b. “He's a Montague and she's a Capulet...” 
3. Merry Widow (Lehar)             c. “Politics. Religion. A dangerous love triangle.”
4. Bel Canto (Lopez)                       d. "more salon drama and backroom maneuverings than a whole season of Downton Abbey" 
5. Nabucco (Verdi)                    e. “a poverty-stricken soldier is working to support Marie and their young son”
6. Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)   f. “unlikely alliances form between captors and captives
7. Romeo and Juliet (Gounod)    g. “mean girls aren't the Prince's style”
8. King and I (Rodgers)              h. “she's so rich that the economy of her homeland depends on her marrying a local”
9. Wozzeck (Berg)                     i. “Sophie receives an engagement rose from the Baron.”


Thursday, September 3, 2015

AUTUMN CHILDREN’S BOOK DISCUSSIONS


Welcome readers in grades 2-6!  This fall we will host two different book discussion clubs in September, October & November or December: Junior Readers for grades 2 & 3 and Family Book Club for grades 4, 5 & 6.  Written by popular, award-winning authors, these books should spark some lively, entertaining discussions!

JUNIOR READERS  
Wednesdays 7-8 pm
 
September 23  --  Mr. Klutz is Nuts!  by Dan Gutman         
      The kids from the My Weird School series can expect craziness as part of the curriculum.  Join A.J and his  pals as  their skateboarding princi ‘pal’ offers unusual incentives to his students to motivate them to learn more.

October 28  --  Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise
            Children's book author, I. B. Grumply, gets more than he bargained for when he rents a quiet place to write for the summer.  It’s already occupied by a ghost and her human friend.

December 2  --  Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
            While picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space encountering and escaping from lady pirates, volcanoes, dinosaur professors and near death!

FAMILY BOOK CLUB  

Wednesdays 7-8 pm

September 16  --  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
            Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea.  For his own protection, his mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.  First book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.

October 14  --  The Witches by Roald Dahl
            Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. This spine-chilling story will tell you all you need to know about the cunning masqueraders, and bring you face-to-face with a true hero, a wonderful old grandmother who smokes cigars.

November 18  --  Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak
            Tender-hearted Mikis is thrilled when his grandfather buys a new donkey, but soon begins to worry that he is overworking the animal.  He and his friend Elena take the donkey under their wing and learn that an animal can be both pet and worker.

Stop by the Children’s Library to register and pick up a copy of book.

Funded by Friends of the Lake Forest Library

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Remisoff murals


Facing the library entrance one sees on the right the Roman poet Virgil, author of the Aeneid and other classics. None of the other figures is named; the man lying on his stomach doesn’t look too happy.

On the left is the orator Cicero and listening intently on his right is the philosopher Seneca.  Cicero eventually irritated Mark Antony to the point where the Roman consul had him executed.