Month: May 2021

Classics Refreshed
By Marcia Allen, Collection Services Manager

You likely remember the tales of ancient Greece, the bickering of the Olympian gods and their interactions with mortals. Maybe you remember reading Homer’s epic poems, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” which spoke of the deeds of the heroes of the Trojan War. It’s time to rekindle an interest in those epic adventures, and contemporary fiction writers are penning some outstanding retellings of those classic tales.

Madeline Miller, who earned her BA and MA in the classics, has written some excellent fiction books. “The Song of Achilles” humanizes Achilles in all his glory and in his shortcomings. She focuses on Patroclus, a prince who lived with and fought alongside the famous Achilles. We learn of the two heroes’ love for each other, their larger-than-life battle experiences, and their reliance on the capriciousness of the gods. We also learn of their ill-fated journey to Troy to avenge Helen’s kidnapping and we discover the heartbreak that followed. Miller’s use of the original tone and accurate historical detail make this book one for the ages.

Miller’s second fictional effort is equally appealing. “Circe” presents the goddess as something of an outcast. Bereft of the special gifts that so many of the deities had, she chooses mortals as her companions and learns that she is gifted with witchcraft. She helps with the birth of the Minotaur, the bloodthirsty bull kept in the labyrinth at Knossos. And Daedalus, the creator of the labyrinth, encounters the tricky Circe. She even meets Odysseus on his return trip to Ithaca after the war, and she bewitches his men, turning them into swine. Again, Miller’s use of the Homeric word flow and her adherence to the original details make for captivating reading.

Jennifer Saint, another author who studied the classics, just published her first effort at retelling those epics with “Ariadne.” Half-sister to the Minotaur, she is love struck when she first meets the young prince, Theseus. Young and reckless, she helps Theseus to kill the Minotaur, and she flees her homeland with the prince, only to be abandoned by him the next day. Her younger sister, also led astray by the handsome Theseus, becomes the prince’s wife, only learning later what a braggart and liar he is. This adventurous story brings to life the love between the god Dionysus and the mortal Ariadne, and cleverly reveals the heartbreak that follows the powerful gods when mortals get involved.

The final title I’d like to mention is my clear favorite, “A Thousand Ships” by Natalie Haynes. This grand book, like the others, also mimics the language of the ancient tales and speaks of the many tragedies of the Trojan War, but it does so much more. Instead of recounting the battle scenes of the war, Haynes chooses to tell of the fate of the women because, as she proves so well, “This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s.” Thus, we witness the horrors that Cassandra accurately predicted, like the fall of Troy and the killing of her brother, Hector, as she mourns the past. We shudder at Hecuba’s revenge against Polymestor who was supposed to protect the queen’s young son, but chose instead to murder him. We witness Penelope’s impatient letters written to the long-gone Odysseus, when she is plagued by the would-be suitors. We also see the part the gods played in the tragic events, and we follow their bitter rivalries.

What is really touching about “A Thousand Ships” is the revelation of the characters of the women. Their monologues reveal their fears and their heartbreak, but also a resignation to their fates. They reflect on a past that has been swept away by war, and they allude to an uncertain future over which they have no control.

So, if you have an inclination to revisit the classics you read long ago, these wonderful books will help. Each is a lively retelling of those distant treasures.

Teen Summer Reads

Rashael Apuya, Teen Services Librarian

The Manhattan Public Library is getting ready to launch its 2021 Summer Reading Program! The program is for all ages and runs from June 1st to July 31st. Participants receive prizes for reaching reading goals and participating in fun activities. You can find more information about the Summer Reading Program, and register, on the library’s website here: https://mhklibrary.org/reading-challenges/summer-reading-2021/  .Sign up anytime online or through the free Beanstack Tracker app.

If you are looking for something to read this summer, I recommend checking out a young adult romance book. There is just something about reading teen romance novels in the summer that makes them that much better. I tend to read them when I need a good palette cleanser between hefty fantasy novels or required reading for school. They are great at lifting your spirits and making you invested in the love lives of fictional characters. Even if they don’t always end happily, it’s nice to get a glimpse of characters’ lives on their journey to find love – whether it’s for another person or themselves. Here are some titles to check out this summer:

“Happily Ever Afters” by Elise Bryant follows sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson, a creative writing student and romance novel enthusiast. She has never seen someone who looks like her in the books she loves, so she decides to write about a character she can relate to. Tessa is going to a new school that actually has creative writing in their curriculum, but suddenly she has writer’s block! To fix it, she looks for some real-life romantic inspiration to write about…and her happily ever after may be closer than she thought.

“Camp” by L.C. Rosen is about Randy Kapplehoff, who loves going to Camp Outland – a summer camp for queer teens. He met all his closest friends there, and it’s where he fell for his crush, Hudson Aaronson-Lim. The only problem is that Hudson is only into “straight-acting” guys, which Randy definitely is not. Oh, and he barely even knows Randy exists. This summer, Randy is going to reinvent himself as a macho guy – which means giving up show tunes and nail polish – to get Hudson to fall in love with him. Now Randy has to ask himself how much he is willing to change for love – and is it love if you aren’t being true to yourself?

In “Fat Chance, Charlie Vega” by Crystal Maldonado, Charlie struggles to find a good relationship with her body when society (and her mother) keep pressuring her to be thinner. Charlie’s best friend, Amelia, has always been there for her. She is slim, athletic, popular, and a great friend. When Charlie starts dating a cute classmate named Brian, everything is perfect until she finds out that he asked out Amelia first. Does that mean she was his second choice?

Romeo and Juliet-inspired “A Pho Love Story” by Loan Le follows Bao and Linh, who are both Vietnamese-American teens with parents who own rivaling Vietnamese restaurants. After years of being kept apart because of their families’ feud, they find each other again. The similarity in their backgrounds and struggles as Vietnamese-American teens draws them closer together, and makes it hard for them to be who their parents want them to be. When they find out the reasons behind the feud, they will have to decide between happiness and family loyalty.

Lara, in “Cool for the Summer” by Dahlia Adler, has had a crush on Chase Harding since freshman year. He is a hot, tall, sweet football player. All of a sudden, Chase starts flirting with her (on purpose), and it’s everything she’s ever wanted. But for some reason, Lara keeps thinking about a romantic summer she spent out of town with a girl named Jasmine. Things get even more complicated when Jasmine walks through the front doors of Lara’s high school.

If you’re looking for a more serious option, “You Have a Match” by Emma Lord is about a teen photographer named Abby. After taking a DNA test, Abby finds out that she’s got a sister – Instagram influencer, Savannah Tully. Abby and Savannah attend summer camp together to get to know each other, along with Abby’s best friend (and crush) Leo.

Don’t forget, anything you read between June 1st and July 31st counts toward your Summer Reading goal – even young adult romance books!

You’ve Got Interests, The Library’s Got You Covered

by Jared Richards, LIS Supervisor

Over the past few months, my interests have been all over the place. I haven’t made it a week without falling down a rabbit hole. Most of the fun comes from the free fall and getting lost in something new, but it’s also fascinating trying to figure out what led me to the fall, whether it’s a movie, a song on the radio, or some random thought.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I watched “The Sandlot,” a movie about a group of neighborhood kids who love baseball and battle with a ball-hoarding beast. I first saw it almost thirty years ago, but I still find myself responding to people and inanimate objects with “You’re killing me, Smalls,” and I can’t hear the word “forever” without saying it in slow motion in my head.

As it turns out, rewatching the movie coincided with the start of baseball season and I started getting recommendations for highlight clips online. I haven’t been interested in baseball since I collected cards as a kid, but I’ve now watched countless hours of highlights online and checked out multiple books from the library.

“Baseball Miscellany” by Matthew Silverman answers random questions about baseball, including the history of sandlots, how a curveball curves, and the history of team names. A lot of teams are named after what their cities are famous for, like the Milwaukee Brewers or the Boston Beaneaters, a name once held by the Atlanta Braves when they were in Boston. But there are also teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, a name based on their team color, and the Chicago Cubs, based on how young their team was in 1902. The football team named themselves the Bears as a play on this in 1922.

Short stories about famous, infamous, and little-known players can be found in “The League of Outsider Baseball” by Gary Cieradkowski. One such story is about Nemesio Guilló, who is credited with bringing the first baseball bat and ball to Cuba in 1864. When the Spanish outlawed the game during the first Cuban War of Independence, it quickly went underground and became a way to peacefully protest the Spanish ban.

Another recent interest has been jazz music, initially sparked by watching videos of jazz drummers, like Larnell Lewis, who’s incredible. He plays with a group called Snarky Puppy, and we have their music on CD and Hoopla, one of the library’s online resources. Then, on my way to work one morning, I heard “Traffic Jam” by Artie Shaw, and it pushed me over the edge. You can also listen to his music through Hoopla. I’ve since started watching “Jazz” by Ken Burns, which we have as a DVD set but it’s also available to stream digitally through Hoopla and Kanopy. You can also check out the companion book for this documentary series, “Jazz: A History of America’s Music” by Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns.It’s packed with information and pictures, including one of a young Arthur Arshawsky, better known as Artie Shaw, who apparently purposefully got kicked out of high school so he had more time to practice music.

“Dungeons & Dragons,” a fantasy role-playing game involving monsters, imagination, and a lot of dice, has always been on my radar, but I only recently got a chance to play. To create my character, a halfling rogue with a green jacket, I spent hours reading through the official “Player’s Handbook” by Mike Mearls. I also looked through “Dungeons & Dragon Art & Arcana: A Visual History” by Michael Witwer, which does exactly what it says, covering the history of the game from its beginning in the mid-1970s through the present. It’s filled with illustrations showing the evolution of the game, as well as pictures from old advertisements and scans of original documents used for the game. It’s a great visual archive for anyone interested in the game.

Most rabbit holes turn out to be more of a divot than a hole, only brief distractions, which is good if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands. Every now and then, however, those rabbit holes open up to a whole new world. It’s important to follow those trails and see where they lead. You might only get a fun fact or two, but you might also pick up a new skill or find what you want to do with the rest of your life. No pressure, but maybe indulge in some of those tangents and see where they take you.

Children’s Picture Books Celebrating Spring Holidays

by Crystal Hicks, Collections Librarian

Spring has many major holidays, ranging from religious to secular to cultural. I was overjoyed to see so many new holiday books coming out this year and loved adding them to our collection. Though most of these holidays have passed, I think it’s still worth checking out these books now or making plans to read these books next spring.

“Seven Special Somethings” starts us off with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, celebrated on March 20, 2021. Written by Adib Khorram and illustrated by Zainab Faidhi, this book follows Kian as he tries to improve the family’s celebration by adding an eighth item (Sonny the cat) to their haft-seen, a collection of seven items that start with “S.”

The Jewish holiday Passover, celebrated beginning March 27, 2021, comes next. “The Passover Guest,” written by Susan Kusel and illustrated by Sean Rubin, adapts the classic Passover story “Der Kunzen-Macher.” In 1933, Muriel’s family is too poor to afford a proper Passover Seder; nonetheless, she gives her last penny to a juggler, who rewards her kindness by creating a feast for her family.

The library didn’t get any new books about Holi this year, but here is one of my favorites about the Hindu festival, which celebrates spring. “Festival of Colors,” written by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, follows a pair of siblings as they prepare flowers that will make the colorful powders used during Holi. This year, festivities occurred on March 29.

Next is Easter, celebrated by Christians on April 4, 2021, oftentimes with Easter egg hunts facilitated by the Easter Bunny. In “Peter Easter Frog,” written by Erin Dealey and illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Peter Easter Frog loves Easter so much that he decides to take it on himself to share Easter eggs with all the animals.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on April 12, 2021, and continues for roughly 30 days. During Ramadan, Muslims fast throughout the day—but only if they’re old enough, as seen in “Hannah and the Ramadan Gift,” written by Qasim Rashid and illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel. Hannah desperately wants to celebrate Ramadan properly, but when she isn’t allowed to fast, her grandfather suggests that she honor the month by “saving the world” through acts of kindness.

As always, Earth Day fell on April 22. “Hello, Earth!,” written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora, is the perfect book for appreciating the planet Earth. Poems and illustrations were composed together and directly address the planet, exploring everything from plate tectonics and ecosystems to the adverse impact of humans on the planet.

Ramadan will probably conclude on May 13, 2021 with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr—the exact date is unknown until the crescent moon appears. Eid al-Fitr includes community celebrations at mosques, so kids have to take off school for the day. Unfortunately for Amira in “Amira’s Picture Day,” written by Reem Faruqi and illustrated by Fahmida Azim, Eid al-Fitr also falls on picture day at school. Amira alternates between feelings of joy and angst, until her family alights on a simple solution.

“A Day for Rememberin’,” written by Leah Henderson and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, depicts the events of one of the first Memorial Day celebrations, on May 1, 1865. Following the end of the Civil War, a newly freed boy watches his father work at preparing what is finally revealed to be Decoration Day, a celebration to commemorate the fallen Black and white Union soldiers buried nearby. This year, Memorial Day will fall on May 31.

June takes a place of pride as Pride Month (pun intended), a month-long celebration for the LGBTQ+ community, often punctuated with Pride parades. In “Pride Puppy!,” written by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Julie McLaughlin, a child and their family lose their dog at a Pride parade. The resulting search makes for a delightful alphabet book that highlights the LGBTQ+ community and everything it encompasses.

Wrap up the spring by celebrating Juneteenth and the end of slavery on June 19. “Juneteenth for Mazie,” written and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, is one of the few picture books on Juneteenth, following Mazie as her father tells her the about the end of slavery, experienced by her “Great, Great, Great Grandpa Mose” on June 19, 1865.

The library has plenty more books about holidays throughout the year, including holiday compendiums. Stop by the Children’s Room and take a look, and we’ll help you find things to celebrate all year long.

Be Who You Want to Be

By Jennifer Bergen, Program and Children’s Services Manager

We recently posted a storytime video on the library’s YouTube channel about stereotypes called “Be Who You Want to Be.” It reminded me of some great picture books I’ve happened across that challenged the classic feminine story tropes, like “Cinder Edna” by Ellen Jackson and Kevin O’Malley. I was intrigued by the brown loafer on the cover instead of a glass slipper. Cinder Edna is smart, practical and comfortable, and she doesn’t need a ridiculous Prince Charming. However, looking back at an older favorite from my childhood, “Miss Suzy” by Miriam Young, I was a little bit appalled. Miss Suzy is a lovely gray squirrel with a cool house in the “tip, tip top of a tall oak tree.” She is trapped in a lot of female stereotypes, though, with her focus on cooking, cleaning, and taking care of men (toy soldiers) who later must rescue her.

Children’s books often remind me that stereotypes influence our thinking in so many ways, whether we find ourselves falling into them or pushing back, and kids are navigating this confusing world as well. Luckily, there are a number of picture books that take the challenge head on and show that we can each choose who we want to be. Check out the fun and enlightening storytime featuring “What Riley Wore” by Elana K. Arnold and “Ogilvy” by Deborah Underwood. The storyteller, who is one of our children’s librarians, also suggests these titles:

In “Sugar and Snails” by Sarah Tsiang, a grandfather mentions the old rhyme which states that boys are made of “ships and snails and puppy dog tails” and girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice,” then continues the rhyme with his own words. His grandchildren both protest—the boy says that he, too, is sweet, and the girl insists that she doesn’t wear dresses. The grandfather continues making up new rhymes to fit the children’s lists of things they do and do not like, and eventually gives up trying to categorize them.

“I Love My Colorful Nails,” by Alicia Acosta and Luis Amavisca, is an import from Spain. Ben is a little boy who loves painting his nails bright colors, but when his classmates tell him that painted nails are only for girls, Ben starts removing his nail polish every Sunday evening before the school week starts. Ben’s father decides to paint his nails, too, and displays them every day when he picks Ben up from school, but things don’t seem to improve until Ben’s classmates surprise him by all painting their nails for his birthday, boys and girls alike.

In “Lena Likes Lizards,” by Liza Dora, Lena and her father go to the park where Lena is excited to play trucks with the other kids. However, the truck-playing boys say she can’t join them because she’s a girl, and the doll-playing girls say she can only join in if she switches toys. Lena is upset until her daddy explains that things don’t have to be divided by gender. Lena thinks about all the different things she enjoys, some of which are stereotypically gendered, like football and ballet, and comes to the conclusion that “maybe we should just let people do the things that they like.”

“Big Bob, Little Bob,” by James Howe, features two young boys. They are the same age and both named Bob, but that’s where their similarities end. Big Bob prefers trucks, dirt, loudness, and running around outside. Little Bob likes quietly playing school or tea party and dressing up. When a new girl moves into the neighborhood, she is disdainful of Little Bob, stating that boys don’t play with dolls. Big Bob sticks up for him, saying that boys can do whatever they want, and when Little Bob invites her to play with them, she admits that she, too, prefers trucks to dolls. They end up all playing together, each child focusing on their own interests.

A few other good choices are “Be Who You Are” by Todd Parr, “Ambitious Girl” by Meena Harris, “Pink is for Boys” by Robb Pearlman, “Dress Like a Girl” by Patricia Toht, and “Pirates and Princesses” by Jill Kargman. We also have several books in our Parent & Teacher Resource Center that discuss gender expectations as well as questions of identity. For more book suggestions tailored specifically to your child’s needs, give us a call at the library. We’re always happy to help.