October is Lake Forest Reads:Ragdale Month

Join your friends and neighbors in reading the novel, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea during Lake Forest Reads:Ragdale, October’s celebration of literature and the arts in Lake Forest. Then choose from a schedule of related activities ranging from a festive Mariachi Band performance, to book discussions, to a lecture on Mexican-American border issues. The month-long calendar culminates in a visit by the author, Luis Alberto Urrea on October 28th. (Click here for the full schedule,)

Into the Beautiful North is the story of nineteen-year-old Nayeli who works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who left for the U.S. when she was young. He hasn’t been home since then and his letters have stopped. While watching the film, The Magnificent Seven, she decides to go north herself and recruit seven men -- her own "Siete Magníficos"-- to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the banditos who plan on taking it over. This funny, poignant story deals with topical issues surrounding the United States’ relationship with Mexico and our policies along the Mexican-American border. 

Lake Forest Reads:Ragdale is a one book/one community program sponsored by Lake Forest Library and The Radgale Foundation.  The program encourages the Lake Forest community to read one book by a writer affiliated with Ragdale, the artists’ residency that has supported emerging and best-selling authors and their creative process for over 35 years. Community Partners include Dickinson Hall, Friends of Lake Forest Library, Jolly Good Fellows, and Lake Forest College. Programs are being held throughout the community and all are open to the public. Most are free unless otherwise noted.  Copies of the book are available to borrow at Lake Forest Library and to purchase at Lake Forest Book S

tore.

Luis Alberto Urrea, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 13 books, Urrea has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. Urrea's recent novel, Into the Beautiful North, a national best-seller, earned a citation of excellence from the American Library Association Rainbow's Project and was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for their Big Read program.  Urrea lives with his family in Naperville, Illinois. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Fall in Chocolate

     This years Lake Forest Reads Ragdale book selection is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.  Read his novel and then stop in at the Adult Services Desk  to fill out a coupon to try Jolly Good Fellows Feisty Brownie  free with any $5.00 purchases  October 1 through November 1. 

Seriously Bitter Sweet : the Ultimate Dessert Maker's Guide to Chocolate 
(Alice Medrich)    These days, people are accustomed to seeing chocolate labeled 54%, 61%, or 72% on grocery store shelves, but some bakers are still confused by what the labeling means and how to use it. In Seriously Bitter Sweet, Alice Medrich presents 150 meticulously tested, seriously delicious recipes—both savory and sweet—for a wide range of percentage chocolates.

The Paleo Chocolate Lovers' Cookbook : 80 Gluten-Free Treats for Breakfast & Dessert
(Kelly V. Brozyna) The Paleo Chocolate Lovers Cookbook features 80 gluten-, grain-, and dairy-free recipes for the health-conscious chocolate lover. Kelly Brozyna, host of the delightful cooking blog, The Spunky Coconut, has created delicious chocolate treats made with coconut and ground nut flours for both breakfast and dessert. 

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris 
(Jenny Colgan)

It's true that Anna Trent is a supervisor in a chocolate factory...but that doesn't necessarily mean she knows how to make chocolate. And when a fateful accident gives her the opportunity to work at Paris's elite chocolatier Le Chapeau Chocolat, Anna expects to be outed as a fraud. After all, there is a world of difference between chalky, mass-produced English chocolate and the gourmet confections Anna's new boss creates. But with a bit of luck and a lot of patience, Anna might learn that the sweetest things in life are always worth working for.

The Chocolate Heart

(Laura Florand)

When Summer Corey takes over ownership of the Parisian restaurant where chef Luc Leroi works, their workplace clashes turn into private passions.

Chocolates for breakfast : [a novel] 

(Pamela Moore)

Courtney Farrell is a disaffected, sexually precocious fifteen-year-old. She splits her time between Manhattan, where her father works in publishing, and Los Angeles, where her mother is a still-beautiful Hollywood actress. After a boarding-school crush on a female teacher ends badly, Courtney sets out to learn everything fast. Her first drink is a very dry martini, and her first kiss the beginning of a full-blown love affair with an older man.
A riveting coming-of-age story, Chocolates for Breakfast became an international sensation upon its initial publication in 1956, and it still stands out as a shocking and moving account of the way teenagers collide, often disastrously, against love and sex for the first time.

Fall Crafts

Here are some recent craft and DIY titles from our collection having at least a few Fall-themed ideas that are highlighted in the annotations below.  Just click on the link to find the books in our catalog or give us a call at the Reference Desk (847-810-4610) to check availability.

Candy aisle crafts : create fun projects with supermarket sweets   Levine, Jodi.  (Potter Craft, 2014)

Regular grocery store candy finds are used to fashion festive treats.  Thinking Halloween?  Try the Boo and Spider cake topper using licorice candy sticks, shoestring licorice, and skewers (p. 34).  And alter regular s'more ingredients a bit with scissors to create Monster S'mores (p. 72).

Felt-o-ween : 40 scary-cute projects to celebrate Halloween  

Sheldon, Kathy. (Lark, 2014)

   
Much more cute than scary, along with the many Halloween projects are these strictly Fall ones: Silly Scarecrow Plant Picks (p. 58), Pumpkin Napkins (p. 76), and Felted Fall Acorns (p.96).

Mini quilts : fresh, fun patterns to quilt in a snap 
Davis, Jodie. (Taunton, 2013)

Among these 16" x 16" quilt patterns are many done in fall colors:  Frayed Star (p. 44), Hawaiian Gone Modern Stenciled Quilt (p. 54), and All Tied Up in Wool (p. 68). Each mini project highlights a quilting technique.  The book includes instructions for making mini quilts into other items such as a tote bag, quilt pillow, and table runner.

Modern quilt perspectives : 12 patterns for meaningful quilts 
Knauer, Thomas. (KP Craft, 2014)

This is a Fall craft book if you associate quilting with the cooler weather.  It has no Fall-themed quilts, but does contain patterns for 12 striking, imaginative, and symbolic quilts from artist and designer Thomas Knauer.






30 min-knits : what can you knit in half an hour or less?  Meldrum, Carol.  (Barron's, 2012)

These quick projects fall under the categories of Useful Items, Accessories, Whimsies, Hats and Headbands, and For Little People.  "Fallish" items include Apple Pincushion (p. 22), Pencil Case (p. 27), Picture Frames- school picture size (p.52) , Acorn (p. 95), and Tumbling Leaves (p. 96).

Our New Catalog

We are excited to introduce our new online catalog! This new system will give us more opportunities to connect with you, our patrons, and for you to be able to search more of our print and digital collections. Here's what you can expect now and in the upcoming weeks:

• An easy way to view all of our new materials
• The ability to search our eBook collections and download them directly
• An option to start saving your checkout history up to two years back
• Text yourself a call number

You will still have access to see your checked out items, renew items, and see what you have on hold. You can log in using your same password and your full library card number instead of a username.

Searching
There are two drop-down menus for searching: one for what you want to search and another for what you want to search by. For the first choose either Lake Forest Library (default) or All Member Libraries for many area libraries. Look for eBook & eAudiobooks soon! You can also search by keyword, author, title, ISBN, etc. with the next drop-down menu.

Search Results
When you get your search results, you'll see some valuable pieces of information right up front. You will see the title, author, format and availability. Our library will always appear first in bold. To find the item just look next to Lake Forest Library under the Call Number column. If the item is not checked in (Main Level, Upper Level, etc.) you can log in and use the Place Hold button to hold the item for you. If you would like to see if it is in another library, click the View more copies... button below our holdings.

Our New Materials
On the main page you will see a sliding image with our new items. The drop down list will let you choose what type of new items you would like to see and also includes items from the NY Times best sellers list. Alternatively, a full list can be found below under New Items.

Save Your Checkout History
To start saving your checkout history first log in using your library card number and password (default: patron). Next click on My Account at the top. Under the Personal Information tab choose Preferences and check both boxes at the bottom (Show and Record My Checkout History). Now, anything you checkout will appear in the Checkout History category of the Checkouts tab.

Text a Call Number

Want to send the location of a book in our library or another library to your phone? Just click on the Text This To Me button next to the item.

 Put in your phone number and carrier and a text will be sent with the item name, author, and call number!

September 11 and Its Place in History

As the tragic events which occurred on September 11, 2001 have receded in the public consciousness, they have become embedded in our nation’s history.  Enough years have passed that school children today have no clear recollection of the attack on the World Trade Center and its aftermath. Children’s writers came out with informative, sensitive books dealing with the events within several years of the terrorist attacks, but children’s fiction writers have rarely used the attacks as subject matter.  They are more likely to write  about characters whose relatives are involved in the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.   If you would like to educate your children about 9/11;  the background of the targets and the stories of bravery and selflessness, here are some recently published books:

 Ground Zero Dogs by Meish Goldish.  Profiles of dogs who performed admirably during the aftermath: guide dogs who led their masters to safety, FEMA dogs performing sniff & rescue, therapy dogs who could provide comfort & cheer to the human workers.


 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy.  Beautifully illustrated picture book tells of the Kenyan Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah who returned to his Masai village after witnessing  the attacks of Sept. 11. He and his people are moved to offer 14 cows, which to them mean life, as gifts to the US  "Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort."

 America is Under Attack : the Day the Towers Fell (Actual Times series) by Don Brown. Told in a narrative with quotations from eye witnesses and first responders.  Drawings illustrate the events as they unfold.

 The TwinTowers (A Place in History series) by David Abbott.  Iconic photographs and extensive background on the building of the Twin Towers, the rise of Islamic extremism and Al Qaeda through the  attacks of Sept. 11 to the wars in Iraq  and Afghanistan.  

  The War on Terror (Secret History series) by Brian Williams.  Informational panels and photographs provide  background on terrorism and terrorists, along with previous attacks.

 The World Trade Center (History’s Great Structures) by Adam Woog.  For children who might wonder why the twin towers were targets of Al Qaeda, this book provides information about the building, use, and destruction of the World Trade Center buildings in New York.

And finally, some fiction:

  The Attacks of September 11, 2001 (I Survived series) by Lauren Tarshis.  Written in response to requests from students during school visits, this story follows Lucas, whose father and family friend work as NYC firefighters.  Lucas is visiting the fire station the morning of Sept. 11 and finds himself caught up in the terrorist attack, witnessing how firefighters and others responded.

  A Long Way Home by Alice Walsh.  Rabia & her family are escaping the brutal rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan and are on their way to the USA when their flight is diverted from NYC to Newfoundland due to the terrorist attacks.  They and other stranded passengers are taken in by the residents of the small community of Gander.  In the middle of world wide tragedy and anxiety, they find unexpected kindness, surprising adventure and the hope that the future can still be bright.