Book of the Week #4

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson; pictures by Beth Krommes (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008)

This book, illustrated by Peterborough resident Beth Krommes, has just been awarded the 2009 Caldecott Medal. Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, this medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

Beautiful black-and-white scratchboard illustrations, highlighted with glowing golden accents reassure the reader that all is well in the darkened world. I especially liked the rendering of Starry Night that is included in one of the pages.

Thanks to Brian at the Peterborough Town Library for bringing this wonderful book (and it's accomplished illustrator) to my attention.

Book of the Week #3

Our Playhouse: 75 years of the Peterborough Players by Van Allen Sherman (Peterborogh, NH: Peterborough Players, 2008)

The Peterborough Players grew out of the prolific artistic community that flourished in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire in the 1920's and 30's. This volume, published by the Players, tells the stories of this thriving professional summer theatre.

Book of the Week #2

The American College Town by Blake Gumprecht (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2008)

This book, by UNH professor Blake Gumprecht, was discussed on The Exchange yesterday and sounded very interesting. From the cover:

"In this book - the first work published on the subject - Blake Gumprecht identifies the distinguishing features of college towns, explains why they have developed as they have in the United States, and examines in depth various characteristics that make them unusual. In eight thematic chapters, he explores some of the most interesting aspects of college towns - their distinctive residential and commercial districts, their unconventional political cultures, their status as bohemian islands, their emergence as high-tech centers, and more. Each of these chapters focuses on a single college town as an example, while providing additional evidence from other towns."

The Future of Libraries

The Diane Rhem Show did a segment this morning on the role of libraries in tough economic times. Her guests were Carla Hayden, executive director, Enoch Pratt Free Library and past president of the American Library Association; Jim Rettig, President of the American Library Association ; and Ginnie Cooper, Chief Librarian for the District of Columbia Public Library (former Executive Director of the Brooklyn Public Library). Thanks to Darlene (at NHSL) for letting me know about the show!

Book of the Week - the widget

Beginning with today's posting, the Book of the Week from the Center for the Book at the NH State Library is available as a widget that you can put on your own blog, facebook page, website, whatever.
To get the widget visit Book Notes New Hampshire and click on the GetWidget link at the bottom of the 2009 Book of the Week widget (in the right hand panel of the site). Choose the type of site you want to install the widget on. The MORE button takes you to additional options, including Blogger and WordPress. Then follow the prompts to install the Book of the Week on your site.

This is my first experiment with WidgetBox, the site I used to create the widget, so please let me know what you think.

Book of the Week #1

Here Up Country: Poems of New Hampshire by James Hofford; illustrated by Joyce Paradis (AuthorHouse, 2008)

I received this book as a Christmas gift (Thanks, Ginny!) and it is perfect for the first book-of-the-week of the new year.

In her review of this book Rebecca Rule says, "You'd be hard pressed to find a more New Hampshire book." I agree.
It is divided into seasons -- not really by the calendar, more by the actual weather in northern NH. Beautiful pen and ink drawings by New Hampshire artist Joyce Paradis accompany the poems.

Speaking of accompaniment, James Hofford and his wife Ellen Gale have been creating video poetry. Check it out at Vid-po.com