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 Issue 4, Winter 2006 |
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![The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest men of past centuries. [Descartes]](www_graphics_srl/basics/home_page_quote.gif) |
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NEW NEW NEWChildren's Picture Books |
Check out the Children's RoomAFTER SCHOOL STORY HOURSThis winter the theme will focus on The Dewey Decimal System with Ten Weeks of Dewey Fun and each week devoted to a different group of information the Dewey Decimal numbers represent. Kindergarten and First grades meet Wednesdays, 3:30 - 4:30January 25, February 1, 8, 15, 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Second, Third and Fourth grades meet Thursdays, 3:30 - 4:30January 26, February 2,9, 16, 23, March 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6 Other events this season at the library includeChess clubOur informal gathering of chess enthusiasts will meet Monday, January 9, February 13, March 13, April 17, May 8, 3:30-4:30. All levels and ages welcome. We have a few chessboards, some snacks, and a desire to play and learn a few techniques. Sewing CircleIf you are just learning to sew or have some experience, we welcome you to work on a few craft projects with us by hand and on a machine. We meet the first and fourth Mondays each month between 3:30-4:30 January 28 through May 1. Ages 8 & up. For Our Teens And Tweens!!!PIZZA NIGHT!Friday, February 3rd, 3:00-5:00 at the Marbletown Community Center We will spend the afternoon making our own pizza’s. Participants will get a chance to make pizza dough as well as creating and tasting their own delicious pizzas. Ages 11 & up Crazy About Dragons?!We like to see if we can get a group of Dragon aficionados to get together and create a Library Newspaper highlighting these (and maybe other) Mythical beasts! If you want to share your ideas, draw pictures, write about a specific dragon species, review a book, or anything else, join our group. I hope to have our first meeting Friday, February 10th around 3:00. Simple snack provided.
As always to register for any of these programs or to get more information please call Julianna at 687-2044 or check our website: www.stoneridgelibrary.org To e-mail me: contact Julianna See you soon! Julianna Muth Children's Service 'Literary' texts no more?Project reduces classic works to text messagesAssociated Press (CNN.com) - 11.17.05 -LONDON, England (AP) -- "Romeo, Romeo -- wher4 Rt thou Romeo?" It could be the future of Shakespeare. Dot mobile, a British mobile phone service aimed at students, says it plans to condense classic works of literature into SMS text messages. The company claims the service will be a valuable resource for studying for exams. Academic purists will be horrified. Hamlet's famous query, "To be or not to be, that is the question," becomes "2b? Nt2b? ???" John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost" begins "devl kikd outa hevn coz jelus of jesus&strts war." ("The devil is kicked out of heaven because he is jealous of Jesus and starts a war.") Some may dismiss the summaries as cheat notes for the attention-deficit generation, but John Sutherland, a University College London English professor who consulted on the project, said they could act as a useful memory aid. "The educational opportunities it offers are immense," said Sutherland, who chaired the judging panel for this year's Booker Prize for fiction. Sutherland said the compressed nature of text messages allowed them to "fillet out the important elements in a plot." "Take for example the ending to Jane Eyre -- 'MadwyfSetsFyr2Haus.' (Mad wife sets fire to house.) Was ever a climax better compressed?" But political commentator and author Oliver Kamm said the terse texts were "more than a travesty." "What you lose with text messaging in literature is what makes literature what it is -- the imagery, the irony, the nuance," he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "What I fear will happen with text versions of Shakespeare is that students will be encouraged not to read the books but to settle for something else, and people don't need excuses not to read books. They don't read enough as it is." Books planned for the service include Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," whose tale of the interminable legal suit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce is reduced to a few snappy lines, and Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," which describes hunky Mr. Darcy as "fit&loadd" (handsome and wealthy). Dot mobile said it planned to launch the service in January, with Shakespeare's complete works available by April. The texts will be free to subscribers to the company's phone service. |
Great WebsitesThe Chronicles of NarniaDevoted to Narnia, the imaginary country created by C.S. Lewis in his seven-book series, "The Chronicles of Narnia." Contains information about Lewis and the illustrators of the books; the birds, beasts, mythological creatures, and people of Narnia; and a brief description of each book, with one full-text chapter. From one of the companies that produced the Narnia movie of 2005. Narnia Trouble in ToylandThis annual survey of toy safety "provides safety guidelines for parents when purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards." Discusses choking and strangulation hazards, toys that could cause hearing loss, and toys that could expose children to hazardous chemicals. Includes photos illustrating potentially hazardous toys and information about online toy retailers. From the National Association of State PIRGs. ToySafety Cooking With KidsCollection of recipes for foods children can help prepare. "Many of these recipes include step-by-step instructions for your children to follow including useful information about kids using microwaves." Includes recipes for heart-healthy food and snacks. Also includes suggestions for helping to get "children involved in mealtimes and to help them develop positive attitudes about food." From the website for home and family magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens. Note: Site generates pop-ups. Cooking With Kids Cooking With Kids With Lynn FredericksThis site features children's activities related to ingredients (along with related recipes), with thoughts from chefs "about feeding their own children and ... some of the recipes for the foods that their kids like to eat." From StarChefs magazine, "serving the foodservice industry and food aficionados since 1995." Cooking With Kids With Lynn Fredericks Kidshealth: RecipesCollection of recipes for healthy foods children can prepare. "Making food yourself -- with a little help from a parent -- is a great way to learn about food and meal preparation. And we have plenty of recipes for you to try -- from pizza to pancakes." Includes recipes for children with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, lactose intolerance, and celiac disease, as well as vegetarian recipes. Each recipe includes a nutritional analysis. From the Nemours Foundation. Kidshealth: Recipes Kids Design the FutureInformation about a program in which children are involved in the design of new technology for use by other children. The site features a description of projects (such as a "digital library of information about animals"), papers (on topics such as the role of children in the design of new technology), and video clips. From the Human Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland. Kids Design the future Sudoku for KidsThe object of sudoku "is to fill in the digits from 1 to 9 so that it appears only once in each column, row, and small three by three square." This site for children provides a booklet "How To Do Sudoku Puzzles" (written for children, but also useful for adult beginners), printable sample puzzles in varying levels of difficulty, a weekly (free) email subscription, and related material. Note: Includes some commercial content. Sudoku $100 Laptop"The MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop -- a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. To achieve this goal, a new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created." Includes images, a FAQ, and news about this wind-up-powered computer, which is "not yet in production" and which will only be available through governments. From the Media Lab at MIT. laptop History of Toys and GamesThis exhibit on toy and game history features a timeline (4000 B.C. to the 1990s), essays on inventors (such as Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley) and toys (Barbie dolls, crayons, and teddy bears), and a quiz. From the website for the History Channel. Games |
