Noe Valley Voice November 2005
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Books in our Branch

This month's book list, chosen by Noe Valley librarian Carol Small and Voice bookworm Karol Barske, features Jack Kerouac's early journals, a history of Hetch Hetchy, and a story about a boy who objects to playing war. To find out which books are available, go to www.sfpl.org, call 355-5707, or visit the Noe Valley­Sally Brunn Library at 451 Jersey Street. Library hours are Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesdays, 1 to 9 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 1 to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Note: The Noe Valley Library is set to close for renovation in late 2005 or early 2006. Call the library at 355-5707 or the Chief of Branches office at 557-4353 for current information.

Adult Fiction

- A Caucasian boy growing up in primitive conditions in a remote Alaskan sod igloo faces discrimination in an Inupiak village in Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner.

- Pulitzer Prize­winning reporter Philip Caputo's fictional thriller Acts of Faith centers on three Americans involved in relief efforts during the Sudanese wars of the '80s.

- "Rural noir characters struggle with circumstance" in Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2, by Annie Proulx, author of The Shipping News.

- A New York psychoanalyst dredges up a sticky past when he attends a college reunion, in Envy by Kathryn Harrison.

Adult Nonfiction

- In 1941 and '42, Carson McCullers, W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, Jane and Paul Bowles, and Gypsy Rose Lee lived in the same Brooklyn apartment building, February House; author Sherrill Tippins describes the circumstances.

- Robert W. Righter relates the history of California's water supply in The Battle
Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism.

- Jack Kerouac wrote his 1947­54 journals, compiled in Windblown World, during his struggle to finish his first novel, The Town and the City..

- Naked Airport: A Cultural History of the World's Most Revolutionary Structure, by Alastair Gordon, describes how the airport has changed our sense of time and distance, and altered how cities are built.

Children's Fiction

- A toddler likes to prance around with no clothes on and to resist Mom's directives in This Is the Baby, written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Maggie Smith. Ages 1 to 3.

- A class pet loves hearing a story read aloud and discovers several other reasons to visit the school library in Mary Ann Fraser's I.Q. Goes to the Library. Ages 5 to 7.

- Carole Lexa Schaefer shows how a young boy on a South Pacific island, eager to return to his village in time to hear stories, starts to become a storyteller himself in The Biggest Soap, illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen. Ages 5 to 7.

- In Don't Forget to Come Back! author Robie H. Harris and illustrator Harry Bliss show that even while making dire predictions about the evening to come, a child in the company of a good babysitter can have fun and welcome her parents joyfully on their return. Ages 3 to 6.

- Because the puppet play "Saint George and the Dragon" cannot be performed without the missing Saint George puppet, the magician's assistant must go search for it in the Land of Story, in The Magician's Boy by Susan Cooper. Ages 6 to 9.

- In Playing War by author Kathy Beckwith and illustrator Lea Lyon, a new boy in the neighborhood helps a group of children rethink the game they've been playing. Ages 8 to 10.

- On Her Way is a collection of short stories edited by Sandy Asher, in which each story has a strong female narrator who figures out how to navigate her way through a challenging situation. Ages 10 and up.

Children's Nonfiction

- Much information relating to horses--taking care of them, riding them, the different breeds, and their history--is included in Jackie Budd's World of Horses. Ages 7 to 11.

LIBRARY EVENTS

Saturday Lapsits

- The library's lapsits for infants, toddlers, and their parents feature stories, songs, and finger plays on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 10:30 a.m.

Preschool Story Time and Films

- Children ages 2 to 5 are invited to attend a preschool story time at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, Nov. 1, 8, and 29. Films will be shown at 10 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Note: The Jersey Street library is scheduled to close for a two-year renovation, starting in late 2005 or early 2006. Call the library at 355-5707 or the Chief of Branches office at 557-4353 for updated information.