December-January 2001 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

This month's new books list, provided by Roberta Greifer, Carol Small, and other staff at the Noe Valley Library, features a Clive Barker thriller, two views of the Kennedy White House, and a Southwestern rendition of "The Gingerbread Man." To check out a book's availability, call 695-5095, or visit the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street, near Castro Street. Besides books, the branch offers magazines, CDs, videos, an outside deck, 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

- In her short story collection Hotel of the Saints, Ursula Hegi explores how lovers, loners, eccentrics, and artists search for faith in foreign territories.

- Two young girls from widely different social classes meet at adjacent tombstones in a graveyard on the day after the death of Queen Victoria, and their fortunes intertwine as the 20th century gears up in Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels.

- In Clive Barker's thriller Coldheart Canyon, A Hollywood Ghost Story, 1980s action film star Todd Pickett is haunted by the ghosts of Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Theda Bara, and other phantoms of the silent screen.

Adult Nonfiction

- In A Lady First, etiquette and protocol authority Letitia Baldridge remembers an international career in diplomatic circles, including her stint as social secretary at the Kennedy White House.

- Maybe You Know My Teen, by Mary Fowler, is a guide to dealing with the challenges of raising an adolescent with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

- In Mrs. Kennedy: The Missing History of the Kennedy Years, biographer Barbara Leaming offers previously unrevealed material in a deeply sympathetic account of the thousand-day presidency.

- Bill O'Reilly aims a glaring spotlight on President George W. Bush, Senator Hillary Clinton, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, and Dan Rather, among others, in The No Spin Zone.

Annotations by the library staff

Noe Valley Branch

Children's Fiction

- With appealing color photographs and brief explanatory text, Stephen R. Swinburne introduces and illustrates number concepts for young children in What's a Pair? What's a Dozen? Ages 3 to 5.

- Eric A. Kimmel shows us how being over-confident can sometimes lead to someone's demise in The Runaway Tortilla, a version of "The Gingerbread Man" in a Southwestern setting. Ages 3 to 6.

- The students manage pretty well with the substitute, Mr. Tusky, but they joyfully welcome their beloved teacher back in Miss Bindergarten Stays Home from Kindergarten, written by Joseph Slate and illustrated by Ashley Wolff. Ages 4 to 6.

- Although at one point it appears that the emperor's visit might be a total disaster, our favorite penguin saves the day in Helen Lester's Tacky and the Emperor, with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger. Ages 4 to 7.

- In spite of the warnings they are given, Big Anthony and Bambolona do create some problems in Calabria, but Strega Nona knows how to remedy the situation in Strega Nona Takes a Vacation, by Tomie dePaola. Ages 5 to 8.

- In The Basket Counts, we have an active and poetic interpretation of the game of basketball written by Arnold Adoff and illustrated by Michael Weaver. Ages 8 to 11.

Children's Nonfiction

- Information about the selection and care of reptile pets is humorously presented by Dan Gutman in Becoming Best Friends with Your Iguana, Snake, or Turtle. Ages 7 to 10.

Annotations by Carol Small
Children's Librarian, Noe Valley Branch

These events take place at the Noe Valley ­ Sally Brunn Library, 451 Jersey Street * 695-5095

Noe Valley Poets

- A poetry reading on Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. features the work of two neighborhood residents: Zack Rogow, author of Selfsame Planet, from Mayapple Press, and translator of George Sand's Horace, has won a Pen Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Award, among others. Jewelle Gomez, author of The Gilda Stories and three collections of poetry, has won two Lambda Literary Awards for science fiction and fiction; one of her recent poems has been selected for inclusion in Best American Poetry 2001.

Chinese Lion Dancers

- The colorful Chinese Lion Dancers will give a martial arts demonstration in their performance at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 12.

Preschool Story Time

- Children ages 3 to 5 can hear seasonal stories at the library's preschool story time, at 10 a.m., Tuesdays, Dec. 11 and 18, and Jan. 8, 15, and 22.

Movie Tuesday

- Preschoolers 3 to 5 are invited to watch films at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesdays, Dec. 4, and Jan. 29.

January Wednesday Lapsits

- Come enjoy stories, songs, and fingerplay with your baby or toddler at the lapsits, on Wednesdays, Jan. 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, at 7 p.m.