National Poetry Month

When was the last time you read a poem?  If you're like me, it may have been awhile.  But each year the arrival of April, which is National Poetry Month, reminds me to take another look at my favorite poets.

In 1996 the Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month, an annual celebration of poets and poetry. Thousands of organizations participate through workshops, readings,and book displays.  

The stated goals of National Poetry Month are to
-  highlight the legacy and achievement of American poets
-  introduce more Americans to the joys of reading poetry
-  bring poets and poetry to the public in innovative ways
-  make poetry an important part of our schools' curriculum
-  focus media attention on poets and poetry
-  increase the publication, distribution and sales of poetry books
-  increase public and philanthropic support for poets and poetry.

For more information, visit Poets.org. The Poetry Foundation also has a great website.  Click here to sign up for their newsletter or to receive a poem-a-day in your email.

This year the Library celebrates by bringing you a list of our new poetry books, acquired since last April. To find additional titles, stop by the Library, visit 3M Cloud Library for eBooks, or go to MyMediaMall for eBooks and eAudiobooks.

Best American Poetry 2013

Aimless Love by Billy Collins
Alight by Fady Joudah
Book of Hours by Kevin Young
Dog Songs by Mary Oliver
Go Giants by Nick Laird
Late Parade by Adam Fitzgerald    
Paul Celan: 70 Poems



                                                                

Books Suggestions for Your Book Club!

Are you an avid reader who loves to discuss books with friends?  Is your book club in search of its next great read?  The librarians at Lake Forest Library are always happy to offer reading suggestions for book discussion groups and to provide help in obtaining needed copies of selected titles.  To make choosing a new title for your group a little easier, the library has created a special new collection of "Book Club" books.  The collection consists of multiple-copy sets of popular, well-reviewed titles in a variety of genres, with narratives and themes we believe will promote lively discussion.  The new collection is also a great place to browse for titles sure to satisfy individual readers as well!

For a quick taste of what's available, we've highlighted two titles in the collection below:

 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena  by Anthony Marra

Set against the backdrop of war-torn Chechnya in 2004, an eight-year-old Chechen girl witnesses her father's abduction by a band of Russian soldiers.  Found hiding in the woods by a neighbor, the pair seeks refuge at a nearby hospital, where a sole Russian doctor works tirelessly to save lives amidst increasingly deteriorating circumstances.  Over the next five days, the trio's lives become inextricably linked as connections in their past lives are slowly revealed, and the survival of the young girl becomes a shared goal and a rare source of optimism. 

Marra's powerful novel, named a 2013 Notable Book by both the New York Times and the American Library Association, is a moving testament to the power of love and hope to sustain us, even in our darkest moments.

For added help in leading a group discussion of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, you can find a LitLovers reading guide here. 

The Story of Beautiful Girl  by Rachel Simon

A young couple falls in love in 1968, but their relationship faces seemingly insurmountable odds.  Lynnie is white and developmentally disabled; Homer is African American and deaf.  Each is a resident of the Pennsylvania School for the Incurable and Feeble-minded. The couple plots their escape from the abusive institution after Lynnie becomes pregnant, and the pair seeks refuge in a farmhouse belonging to Martha, a retired schoolteacher.  Homer manages to escape as authorities in search of the pair close in, but Lynnie is caught.  Before Lynnie is returned to the institution, she begs Martha to hide their precious, newborn daughter.  In a moving and powerful story that spans forty years, the lives of the four will remain forever bound by an extraordinary pledge of love. 

You can find a wonderful group discussion guide prepared by the publisher of The Story of Beautiful Girl  here. 

We hope you'll stop in to check out our new Book Club collection very soon!  We'll be adding new titles on a regular basis.  You can find a list of Book Club books that are currently available here and here. 

Letters, Numbers, Virtues, We Have Them All

Schools here in Lake Forest utilize a variety of evaluation methods in determining books at a technically appropriate level for each student.  So far, we here at the Children’s Library have seen Fontas & Pinnell Guided Reading, Lexile, Accelerated Readers.  In our desire to work with local schools, we have put together extensive lists of books we own according to the each system.

The Guided Reading System, created by Fontas & Pinnell, is used by the elementary schools for newly emergent readers.  A letter designates books from A (learning to read) to Z (high school).  We have labeled many books with colored dots on the spine indicating levels A – T.  We keep a master list of these titles by level at the circulation desk.

Older students in public school are tested and graduate to a Lexile Number.  The Lexile system ranges from 0 to over 1500 in units of 10, although most new readers score at least 100.  There are so many books that have been given a Lexile number that a list would be too cumbersome.  The Lexile website is freely available to anyone wishing to determine if a book has been assigned a Lexile number and to find books at a certain level.  We have distilled a list of age appropriate books that we own for students reading above the 1000 level.  This is especially helpful for young gifted readers.

St. Mary uses the AR (Accelerated Reader) program in their literature classes.  Numbers are given as to a book’s difficulty ranging from 0 – 12, corresponding roughly to school grades.  We have created a highly granulized list of selected books we own spanning levels .2-4.9.  We have also put together a select list of chapter book series with various AR levels listed.  The AR website is freely available, but be advised that we might not own books they have listed.  We’d be happy to put together a sampling of books for your child.  Just call us with the child’s AR level and we will come up with half a dozen books put aside for you to peruse within the following few days.

District 67 has embraced 5 character traits as part of instilling emotional wellness in their students: Caring, Honesty &Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Teamwork.  Our librarians have carefully selected a reading list of books for a variety of ages demonstrating one of these character traits.  We currently have a display of the books.

Our library catalog now often includes Guided Reading, Lexile and AR levels.  Just click on Full Record tab and then Marc Display at the bottom.  The information is usually in the 500 fields. 

 Too much librarian techno jargon?  

Then just ask us; we’d love to share our lists with you. (a lot easier!)

April Adult Book Discussions

The library is looking forward to hosting two Adult Book Discussions this month.  Make plans to join us.


THE NEWS FROM SPAIN
On Thursday April 10 at 7:15 pm Elise Barack leads a discussion of The News From Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story by Joan Wickersham. The "seven" are short stories, each set in a different time and place, about the power and vagaries of love . The author explores how we never really know what's in another person's heart, and how it's even difficult to understand our own experiences with love.

Joan Wickersham was born in New York City and  graduated from Yale University with a degree in art history. She currently lives in Cambridge, MA and writes an op-ed column for The Boston Globe.  Her earlier works include a memoir entitled The Suicide Index, and her essays and reviews have appeared in Yankee Magazine, The Los Angeles Times and The International Herald Tribune. She won an NEA grant in 2010.

For reviews of The News From Spain click below:
The Boston Globe
The New York Times 


LIFE AFTER LIFE
And on Thursday April 17 at 12 noon Judy Levin looks at Kate ATkinson's Life After Life, winner of the 2013 Costa Novel award.  In this book the main character Ursula Todd lives and dies over and over again.  Born into a comfortable, middle class British family at the beginning of the 20th century, her existence seems almost cyclical, as the author explores a life of imagined possibilities.But while Ursula knows nothing of the vicissitudes of her life, the author's narrative pushes us to think about our own choices in life.

Kate Atkinson was born in York, England and currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her first novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum won the Whitbread Book of the Year award.  

For reviews on Life After Life see the links below:
The Guardian 
The New York Times 
L.A. Times

All programs will meet in the Adult Programming Room and are funded by Friends of Lake Forest Library.