More Books to Read

This month's new books list, provided by librarians Roberta Greifer, Lea Rude, and Carol Small, features Andrea Alban Gosline's welcoming ceremonies for newborns, a look at life in Yemen, and a story about a family vacationing on an elevator. To check out a book's availability, call 695-5095, or visit the Noe ValleySally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street, just off Castro. Besides books, the branch offers magazines, CDs, videos, an outside deck, computers with Internet access, and the archives and index to the Noe Valley Voice. Hours are Tuesdays, 10 to 9; Wednesdays, 1 to 9; Thursdays, 10 to 6; Fridays, 1 to 6; and Saturdays, 10 to 6.
Adult Fiction
- Rosemary Stubbs finds out that being the chaplain at a small liberal arts college isn't as peaceful as she hoped it would be, when she ends up tracking down a campus murderer in Overnight Float, a new mystery by Claire Munnings.
- Piranha to Scurfy is a chilling collection of nine short stories--including the novella "High Mysterious Union"--by award-winning author Ruth Rendell.
- In The Blackwater Lightship, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Colm Toibin tells the story of an Irish-American family coming to terms with an untimely death.
- Gerald Hasslam, praised as one of the most important California writers since Steinbeck, depicts three generations who live and work in the farmlands and oilfields of the Central Valley, in Straight White Male.
Adult Nonfiction
- Tim Mackintosh-Smith, who lived in Yemen for 13 years, offers an intimate and humorous portrait of one of the most fascinating countries in the Arab world, in Yemen: The Unknown Arabia.
- In Intersecting Circles: The Voices of Hapa Women in Poetry and Prose, edited by Marie Hara and Nora Okja Keller, Hapa women in Hawaii contemplate issues of ethnicity, gender, politics, and family.
- Welcoming Ways: Creating Your Baby's Welcome Ceremony with the Wisdom of World Traditions, by Andrea Alban Gosline, will inspire you to create a unique and meaningful event to welcome your new baby.
- Mary Griffith gives practical advice and resources for teaching your child in The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom.
Annotations by Lea Rude
Librarian, Noe Valley Branch
Children's Fiction
- A small mouse tests his independence one summer night--and his parents test theirs, as well--in Monk Camps Out, by Emily Arnold McCully. Ages 4 to 5.
- A tiny animal loses his home but is later able to find a new one in A Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue, by Jan Wahl. Ages 4 to 6.
- Jessie doesn't realize how lucky she is to have a brother who is actually a superhero in the nighttime adventure Captain Pajamas, Defender of the Universe, by Bruce Whatley and Rosie Smith. Ages 4 to 6.
- In High-Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Climbing Cat, by Cynthia Rylant, detectives Bunny Brown and Jack Jones use their complementary skills to quickly (and intelligently) figure out who made off with Miss Nancy's binoculars. Ages 6 to 8.
- In spite of the fact that all the rooms at the hotel are taken, the Wilsons (Walter, Winona, Winslow, and Whitney) have a lovely San Francisco vacation, then rescue heiress Lizzy Chronicle, in The Elevator Family, by Douglas Evans. Ages 7 to 10.
- In Magic Steps, the first book in the new series "Circle Opens" by Tamora Pierce, Lady Sandrilene fa Toren (Sandry) finds she must teach Pasco how to use his magic, and use her own to help solve a murder mystery. Ages 10 and up.
Children's Nonfiction
- From the beginning ("Preparing for Passover") to the end ("Nirtzah: End of the Seder"), Rahel Musleah provides a wealth of ideas for involving the entire family in the seder, in Why on This Night? A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration. All ages.
- By focusing on the lives of Mifflin Gibbs and Peter Lester, Jerry Stanley illustrates the strong racism in mid-19th-century San Francisco in Hurry Freedom: African Americans in Gold Rush California. Ages 10 and up.
Annotations by Carol Small
Children's Librarian, Noe Valley Branch
Special Events in April 2001 at the Noe Valley Library, 451 Jersey Street
Poet Kay Ryan
- California native and Marin County resident Kay Ryan, a recent recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, reads from Say Uncle and her four other published collections of poetry, at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, April 18.
Poet Chana Bloch
- 1999 California Book Awardwinner Chana Bloch, director of the Creative Writing Program at Mills College, reads from her latest book of poems, Mrs. Dumpty, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25.
Multicultural Music Festival
- Chris Molla performs songs from many countries for preschoolers at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24.
Preschool Story Time
- Children ages 3 to 5 will hear delightful tales at the library's preschool story time,
10 a.m., Tuesday, April 3.
Films
- Preschoolers 3 to 5 can watch films at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 17.
Wednesday and Saturday Lapsits
- Come and enjoy stories, songs, and fingerplay with your baby or toddler at the library lapsits, held two times a week, on Wednesdays, April 4, 18, and 25, 7 p.m.; and Saturdays, April 7, 21, and 28, 10 a.m.