March 2012 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

Noe Valley is celebrating words, language, and reading this month with Noe Valley Word Week, an event sponsored by the Friends of Noe Valley. The festivities begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, with a special program at the Noe Valley Library, “My Favorite Book” (see below for details). Even if you can’t attend, you can always explore the fascinating world of writing, words, and languages by visiting the library. The listings below are a sampling of what you may find.

 

Books for Adults

• The Describer’s Dictionary: A Treasury of Terms and Literary Quotations by David Grambs provides writers with a great tool for finding colorful adjectives and pithy phrases and offers readers who love words a delightful book to browse.

• The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary, by Jean-Claude Corbeil and Ariane Archambault, is a terrific resource for finding the precise terms for tools, clothing, food, parts of the body, you name it! Over 6,000 images are defined in English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

• More Word Histories and Mysteries: From Aardvark to Zombie, from the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, enlightens readers about the origins of commonly used words, including tabby, earwig, and nachos.

• Author Francine Prose recommends books that aspiring writers should read, in Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them.

• Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, with illustrations by Joe Ciardiello, is the novelist’s brief and humorous guide to the pitfalls of fiction writing—fun reading for writers and fans of Leonard’s books.

• Dictionary editor Jeremy Butterfield provides an entertaining look at spelling variations, phrases that drive people crazy, and the evolution of our language, in Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare.

• Lavinia Spalding offers advice on how to find inspiration and avoid procrastination when recording travel experiences, in Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler.

• Mignon Fogarty takes a fun approach to solving grammar and writing questions inGrammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. 

• Creative writing and literature teacher Pat Carr tells us about her sources of inspiration in single-page vignettes in her memoir One Page at a Time: On a Writing Life.

 

Books for Children

 

Thematic Alphabet Books

• My Foodie ABC: A Little Gourmet’s Guide by Puck, ill. by Violet LeMay. Ages 3 to 5.

• We’re All in the Same Boat by Zachary Shapiro, ill. by Jack E. Davis. Ages 3 to 7.

• If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet by Leslie McGuirk. Ages 4 to 7.

• A Call for a New Alphabet by Jef Czekaj. Ages 6 to 9.

 

Words and the Imagination

• Max’s Words by Kate Banks, ill. by Boris Kulikov. Ages 5 to 8.

• Funny You Should Ask: How to Make Up Jokes and Riddles with Wordplay by Marvin Terban, ill. by John O’Brien. Ages 8 to 12.

• F*E*G: Ridiculous [Stupid] Poems for Intelligent Children by Robin Hirsch, ill. by Ha. Ages 9 to 13.

• Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers by Pendred Noyce, ill. by Joan Charles. Ages 10 to 14.

Celebrating Different Languages

• Say Hello! by author/illustrator Rachel Isadora. Ages 3 to 6.

• Everywhere the Cow Says “Moo”! by Ellen Weinstein, ill. by Kenneth Andersson. Ages 5 to 7.

• Yum! Yuck! A Foldout Book of People Sounds by Linda Sue Park and Julia Durango, ill. by Sue Ramá. Ages 4 to 8.

• Baloney (Henry P.) by Jon Scieszka, ill. by Lane Smith. Ages 6 to 10.

 

LIBRARY EVENTS

 

Noe Valley Word Week

“My Favorite Book”: Community leaders, including State Senator Mark Leno, San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, former Supervisor Bevan Dufty, author Ramon Sender, and Noe Valley Association Executive Director Debra Niemann, will read from their favorite books and talk about why they made a difference in their lives. Sunday, March 11, 3 to 4 p.m.

Winners Read: Students from six local schools, including Alvarado Elementary, James Lick Middle School, and St. Philip the Apostle School, will read their literary works. Friday, March 16, 4 to 5 p.m.

 

Great Discussions

The Great Books Discussion Group meets on Wednesday, March 14, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.

The Noe Valley Book Discussion Group meets Wednesday, March 21, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Especially for Children

A near-classic rendering of the Three Billy Goats Gruff tale will be presented by the internationally touring Teatro Calamari on Saturday, March 17, at 11 a.m. Children and adults will participate and laugh together!

Join Children’s Librarian Catherine Starr for her Toddler Tales story time on Tuesdays March 6, 13, and 27 for children 18 to 36 months and their parents/caregivers. 10:15 to 10: 45 a.m. and 11 to 11:30 a.m.

Friday for School-Aged Children: Come watch the heartfelt and visually breathtaking fantasy flick How to Train Your Dragon, based upon a series of novels by Cressida Cowell. Friday, March 23, 3 to 4:40 p.m. For ages 6 and up.

Preschool Films, portraying stories from well-known picture books, will be shown on Tuesday, March 20, at 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. and 11 to 11:30 a.m. For kids 3 to 5 years old and their parents/caregivers.

 

All events take place at the Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Library, 451 Jersey St. near Castro Street. For information, call 415-355-5707 or visit www.sfpl.org.

 

BRANCH HOURS

Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Branch Library

451 Jersey St., 355-5707

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Eureka Valley–Harvey Milk Branch Library

1 José Sarria Ct. (3555 16th St.), 355-5616

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Glen Park Branch Library

2825 Diamond St., 355-2858

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Mission Branch Library

300 Bartlett St., 355-2800

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