Do the Dinosaurs Come Alive at Night?

Today’s post is from Deanna, a volunteer in the Music, Film and Audio Department.

Teaching at the Carnegie Museums is fun. I enjoy taking students through the museums and teaching in the classrooms hidden beneath the Museum of Natural History. Giving them a learning experience they cannot normally receive in their regular, school classroom is a rewarding adventure. When we travel through the Jurassic Period of dinosaurs in the museum, many students notice that there are glass panels with books behind them. Regular patrons of the library know that from the book side of the glass, you can look down into the museums and see the Diplodocus (right) and Apatosaurus (left). These are the two main dinosaurs that trigger the question: “Do the dinosaurs come alive at night?” I say that they will have to ask security because I am not at the museum at night.

I tell students about how special it is to have a public library as vast and impressive as the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Depending on the age of the students, I receive various responses to this. Some students want to tell me about their library at school. Others want to know how many books are in the library (Ed. note: There are more than a million items in the collection at Main!). Once in a while, however, I get a student who says something to the effect of, “So what?” One student asked, “Why have a library when I can just go to the bookstore and buy the book?”

I smile at this, knowing that I used to be like this kid. When you’re ten years old, what is the difference between a library and a bookstore? They both have books, right? One has books that you take home to read and never worry about again because you’ve already paid for it. The other has books that you take home to read but you must take care of the book and you bring it back or else you pay a fine. To a ten-year-old, this seems like a common perspective.

The parents and teachers participating in my museum learning experiences smile too, but not for the same reason. Many of these adults love to learn and they want to instill that love into their children, hence why they are in the museums in the first place. They also know what anyone who pays bills or student loans knows: These books are free! When that ten-year-old asked what is so great about a library, his parent immediately piped up, “Don’t you see? Someone else bought those books for you so that you don’t have to! Instead of worrying about a fine, you just need to remember to bring it back!” The student said, “Oh,” in the way young people do when they understand what you mean but haven’t really changed their minds.

Lately, I answer these types of questions about the library in a slightly different manner. I ask the student what their favorite books or TV show is or their favorite movie. I get a lot of the same answers: Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Hunger Games, and a range of DC and Marvel comics and their movies. Then, no matter what the student answers, I tell them that they can probably find that comic book or movie or book in the Library.

Students are smarter than me though. “What if it isn’t in there?” they ask. I respond, “They can ask another library to borrow it.” Again, students are smarter. “What if they don’t have it?” “Then,” I say, “they will buy it for you to keep in their collection, and all you need to do is show them your library card.”

By now, it starts to dawn on them: Libraries are cool. All those books for free, and when they hear that they can also check out DVDs and CDs, their eyes light up in a way that all educators live for. Sometimes, I mention dinosaur books and books on mummies. That generates excitement and a nice transition for us to return to the class topic.

After class, I stay to answer questions from the adults. They ask more challenging questions regarding the museum and the class I taught, but they also have library questions. They want to know where they can pick up a library card and often, when I’m leaving the museum or volunteering for the Carnegie Library, I see them pick up a library card and take their child to a place in the library with materials that interest them both.

Remember that ten-year-old? The one that didn’t think libraries are cool? While leaving with his new dinosaur book that he had to return in a few weeks, he muttered a thank you to his dad, who was holding Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, before saying: “Okaaayyyy, I guess libraries are cool.”

-Deanna

A Legend For All Times – Beverly Cleary

Today is the 100^th birthday of outstanding children’s author Beverly Cleary.  She is most well-known for her funny, laugh-aloud, homespun tales featuring Henry Huggins, Beezus, Ramona (the Pest) and the Mouse and the Motorcycle, all beloved characters who have stood the test of time and are still well-read today.

Aside from a biography about Queen Elizabeth and her playhouse, which I mentioned several years ago on this blog, the earliest “novel” I recall reading was the Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary.  It was published in 1958 — just imagine!  It was a coming of age story for pre-teens, a romance which set in place my longstanding partiality for this genre.  I think I must have read it in 1962 around the age of 12.

The cover depicted a girl in a pink raincoat with a black velvet collar.  Shelley, the girl, wanted a yellow slicker like all of the other girls in her class, but her parents refused and Shelley was stuck with the pink coat.  She stood out like a sore thumb, much to her dismay and humiliation.  I really identified with Shelley.  My parents were strict and we had little extra money to indulge me and my sisters in the latest trends of kids’ fashion.  Typically we got three new outfits as the school year began and they rotated with our older clothes, which in turn became hand-me-downs.  I was the luckiest girl in my family as I was the oldest.

I can clearly remember having a huge fight with my dad over whether or not I could wear lipstick in 7^th grade to my Confirmation!  He finally relented as my mother, aunts and teenage neighbor girls — Judy, Linda and Sis, pleaded my case.  I only wear lipstick now on special occasions, probably some deep-seeded, principle-only victory.

Shelley — the Luckiest Girl — got a reprieve when she was sent for the school year to live in California with an old friend of her mom’s.  There, she gets a taste of freedom she never imagined at home.  And when she meets Hartley, a boy who wants to be a writer, and Philip, a boy on the basketball team, what a dilemma — sigh! It’s first love.  This book was bound to make a lasting impression on a young, wanna-be rebel girl like me.

Happy birthday and thanks, Beverly Cleary.  Ms. Cleary lives in California and is assured an enduring place in children’s literature, having won the Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw and having had both Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father named as Newbery Honor Books. Cleary also won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association for “substantial and lasting contributions to children’s literature”.  She was a great read then, as she is now.

Introduce her books to your young friends.

-Sheila J.

Hambone, Hambone, Where You Been?

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Eleventh Stack are celebrating Black History Month by highlighting books, music and movies by African American Artists. The following is a guest post by Brittany, a library assistant in the Children’s Department at Main. We also have a ton of great events and programs for children, teens and adults. You can view all of our Black History Month posts here.

I often reflect on my past, and this Black History Month is no exception. I wonder if I’m different from the girl I was twenty-plus years ago. I know the answer is yes, but the question is why?

Cheryl Warren Mattox (1950-2006) wrote a book that consumed my childhood, Shake It to the One That You Love the Best. Published in 1990 by a little known publisher, JTG of Nashville, Shake It to the One that You Love the Best contains twenty-six songs and lullabies that kids can sing along to. What’s special about this book is that the songs and lullabies come from African-American heritage. They come from my heritage and as a young African-American girl growing up in the South, that’s more than something special.

Around the age of eight, I sat with my great-grandmother one hot Kentucky day and pulled out Cheryl Warren Mattox’s book. It was given to me by someone in my family. I remember the cover vividly, its Kente cloth design, the words written on the cover and the three girls of my age that stared back. These girls were me. From the pink and white church dress worn by the girl in the middle, to the braids and barrettes that I’m sure were shaking from left to right. From what I can remember, some versions of the book came with a cassette. I remember mine having a small keyboard attached, the keys stained by marker or crayon or whatever art form I was into at the time.

When I pulled out the book and began to sing, to my surprise my great-grandmother already knew the words. What I failed to realize at the time was that the songs the author collected were songs innate to my great-grandmother.

Hambone, Hambone, where you been?
Round the world and back again…

My great-grandmother sang, patting her knee and rocking back and forth.

Hambone, Hambone, have you heard?
Papa’s gonna buy you a mockin’ bird…

She told me I was doing it wrong, (which I probably was). She knew this song, “Hambone.” Originally a dance known as the Pattin’ Juba, it was performed during gatherings on plantations.

I was no stranger to the other songs contained in the book. I had been singing “Down, Down Baby” and “Mary Mack” with my cousins for years.

Standing on our front porch, we stood in a circle and clapped our hands to the beat:

Down, down, baby, down by the rollercoaster
Sweet, sweet, baby, I’ll never let you go
Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop,
Shimmy shimmy, pow
Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop,
Shimmy, shimmy, pow.

Mary Mack had become not only part of our playtime, but part of our bodies. Our limbs knew how to move, this way and that, our hands knew the claps before our mouths could spit out the words:

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
All dressed in black, black, black
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons,
All down her back, back, back.
She asked her mother, mother, mother
For fifty cents, cents, cents
To see the elephant, elephant, elephant,
Jump over the fence, fence, fence

Years later, as I think about the words to the songs, it’s as if they never left.

He jumped so high, high, high
He touched the sky, sky, sky
And never came back, back, back
Til the fourth of July…

In her early years, Cheryl Warren Mattox received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Kansas, then a Master of Arts from San Francisco State University. She founded Warren-Mattox Productions, producing educational material that reflected African American culture.

Cheryl Warren Mattox was not alone in the creation of Shake It to the One that You Love the Best. Illustrators Varnette P. Honeywood and Brenda Joysmith also contributed to the childhood favorite.

Daughter of two elementary school teachers, Varnette P. Honeywood honed her artistic skills at the Chouinard Art Institute, currently known as the California Institute of the Arts. Her artwork offers positive views of the African American family. One portrait, entitled Malcolm, Marcus, Martin shows a father sitting with his two children as they flip through a red and green book. Hues of blue, yellow, brown and pink compose the portrait Adinkra Quilt Conjure Queens, Upon closer inspection, Honeywood utilized Adinkra symbols to layer the artwork.

Brenda Joysmith also contributed her artistic talents to Shake It to the One That You Love the Best. Her impressionistic artwork depicts life as it is. A child with yellow hair bows made of yarn stares over a fence in Open Gate. A group of girls sit in a chair, giggling over a doll in Doll Play. A father and grandparent teach a young boy how to play baseball in Developing a Winner. Joysmith’s work takes you back to the time that you were a child and makes you wish you had never left at all.

Twenty years ago, this book was my life. It was memorized, not by reading the words repeatedly, but by playing the hand games that corresponded with the songs. Twenty years later, this book is still my life. It’s the image of childhood that’s displayed on the cover, an image that brings back memories of my own childhood. Most importantly, it’s the words within that evoke not only feelings from years previous, but memories.

Hambone, Hambone, where you been?
Round the world and I’m going again…

-Brittany

You’ve got a Friend in Me: Reading Buddies at the Library

This summer, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh launched a brand-new volunteer program called Reading Buddies. The program was developed out of an initiative called Hazelwood Reads Together, and here’s the gist: trained volunteers are stationed in the library to read to and interact with kids, one on one or in small groups.

We know that kids succeed when they read, and that having a caring mentor doing the reading can be a big part of helping children develop a long-lasting love of books and reading. What we were also happy to discover is that volunteers love the experience, too.

Reading together at CLP – Hazelwood

One volunteer, Maddie, explains it like this: “I decided to become a Reading Buddies volunteer because I was working full time at a job that I was getting nothing out of … I decided to check out the library’s website and see if any volunteer opportunities were available. I saw the Reading Buddies post and was instantly drawn to it. I have always loved working with kids and I knew I would be a good fit. It became the highlight of my work weeks. My day would go faster knowing I was going to leave work and do something I actually enjoyed while giving back at the same time.”

Another volunteer, Sally, agrees: “The kids love to read, create puzzles and create stories … It’s nice to give all of the kids attention that takes them away from the computers.  The kids are appreciative of the time and I appreciate the opportunity to engage with them in a fun, relaxed way. Reading Buddies is enjoyable for everyone. ”

Besides having the opportunity to give back by encouraging youth literacy, volunteering to read with kids helped some volunteers reflect on mentors who played a role in their own learning.

“My fourth grade teacher used to read my class a chapter of a book at the end of each day. He almost always picked one of Roald Dahl‘s books,” Maddie remembers. “I was always a pretty big reader, but when I started hearing these stories I was hooked. I still think of that teacher today when I see someone reading a Dahl book or see the old copies on my book shelf. I think of how my teacher did a great job of picking books our class would connect with, and I try to do that as a Reading Buddy.”

A kiddo relaxes in the reading nook at CLP – Hazelwood

Adrienne, a Reading Buddy and a twenty-year veteran of teaching, recalls: “As a child, I always enjoyed being read to or reading with someone.  Some of my favorite books were: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein,  the Dr. Seuss books, the Paddington series by Michael Bond, The Box Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner and books by Judy Blume.”

Since June, twelve Reading Buddies volunteers have spent more than 150 hours volunteering to support early literacy at CLP – Hazelwood.  As library staff, we appreciate and recognize the dedication of those who give their time and talents to support young minds in this way.

We’re currently recruiting Reading Buddies volunteers for three different Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh locations:  Hazelwood, Hill District and Sheraden. If you’re interested, you can apply online or contact us for more information.

-Ginny

Better Than a Chocolate Bunny

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

For me, Easter is all about the books.

Obviously, the holiday is about chocolate and – for some of us – family and church. In my world, Easter has been (and always will be) connected with reading.

I wasn’t a kid who indulged in a lot of candy.  I had quite a few dental woes as a child, including one tooth being so decayed that it required a silver cap when I was all of three years old.  Good times, those.

So, whether it was because he was particularly sensitive to my parents’ having adult-sized dental expenses for their fun-sized toddler, the Easter Bunny who was assigned to my house got a little creative when it came to filling my basket.

There was a ceramic bunny which looked uncannily like the real deal and which made its appearance every year, long after ceramics were no longer A Thing. (Hey, this was the ’70s. Ceramics were IT.)

There were a few Hershey’s Kisses and the requisite plastic eggs.

And there were the books.

Oh, the books.

Because he hangs with Those Holiday Things Who Magically Know Stuff About Children, the Easter Bunny knew how much I loved to read.  Perhaps the fact that my birthday was (and, hey, it still is!) around Easter might have been a giveaway.  But every Easter morn, there it was: a brand new book with a springtime theme tucked in my basket, inscribed with a message written especially for me.

To Melissa, age 5
Happy Easter
1974.

There would be my new friends: Little Quack and Gertie the Duck and The Velveteen Rabbit, which I still turn to when, at 46 years old, I need a reminder of its timeless lessons.

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse.  “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real, you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse.  “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to folks who don’t understand.”  ~ The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

All these years later, I still have each of these books that the Easter Bunny put into my basket.

More importantly, I have the love of reading that several special people – bunnies and all – gave me, too.

And that’s much better (and less cavity-inducing) than all the candy in the world.

~ Melissa F.

Déjà Vu All Over Again

First, I must apologize. I should have let you all know about this a long time ago. But hindsight is 20/20 and there’s no time like the present. (You can insert here any other belated/late and time related clichés that come to mind.)

This Saturday, November 16th at 11:00am will be the second meeting of our newest book group. The Déjà Vu Book Club will be discussing Judy Blume’s coming-of-age classic, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

The book is a tale about a young girl trying to find her place in her new school, her circle of friends, her religious beliefs and within herself. Margaret is at that age where she knows what’s to come and just can’t wait for it to get here. (Periods, boobs, boys, kissing – you know, the usual stuff!) Yet, she also would like things to stay the same. Her sounding board for all of her adolescent conundrums is her own personal God. While her extended family wants her to choose a religion, she finds it difficult because she just doesn’t feel His presence in those houses of worship the way she does when they’re alone.

Besides waxing nostalgic over this pre-teen female rite-of-passage book, we’ll be sure to discuss a bit of the “controversy” surrounding the re-writing of portions of the book by Ms. Blume, to bring certain details into the more modern age. As an aside, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is one of Judy Blume’s most challenged books.

The Déjà Vu Book Club is for people of all ages who are interested in reading, or re-reading, children’s and young adult classics. Come with your best friends, your daughter or son, or by yourself to meet other people who love and have fond memories of the same books you do.

We’ll also be deciding what titles to read next year at this Saturday meeting. If you have a favorite title from your childhood or teenage years that you’d like to read again and discuss, we’d love to know what it is!

So, if you’ve ever read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, either the original or revised version, please come and talk about it with us on Saturday morning. And for those of you who may not have read it yet, please do! We have copies available at the library. You can check it out today and be done by tomorrow. It’s a slim book and a quick read, I promise.

Also, tomorrow morning there will be doughnuts!

-Melissa M.

A Few More Books for BUCtober and Beyond

Even thought we’ve already had an Eleventh Stack blog about our winning baseball team in this Steel City, it’s so rare that the major sports news in October should be about anything but the Pittsburgh Steelers. I felt that another post highlighting one of our other black & gold teams–the Pittsburgh Pirates–wouldn’t be overkill, but a tribute to their great season.

This post-season of the Pirates is the team’s first since moving into their new home on the North Shore, just blocks from the Allegheny branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Their level of play this season has been enough to get even the fairest weather of fans behind this team that has a heart as big as the rubber duck docked along the Allegheny River. Personally, I’m thrilled with their success this year, since my family was convinced that both my move to Pittsburgh twenty-one years ago, as well as my inter-rival-city marriage (Cleveland v. Pittsburgh) which took place the same day as the last post-season home game in the Pirates’ modern history, had something to do with this alleged curse on the Pirates. No matter how long this post-season play lasts for the Buccos and their fans, the thrills and intricacies of baseball can last beyond October with some great reads for all ages. Many of these are favorites amongst the rabid baseball fans in my own household.

It’s impossible to recommend any baseball books for Pittsburgh fans without talking about two of our baseball greats: Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner, who both provide a great deal of literary fodder. Fellow Eleventh Stack blogger, Scott, has listed several great reads, including 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente. The Pride of Puerto Rico: The Life of Roberto Clemente, by Paul Robert Walker, is another great avenue for younger readers to learn about this baseball player and humanitarian. Bruce Markusen’s Roberto Clemente: The Great One is often the go-to tome of the right fielder for adult readers. It will soon be obvious to readers of any Clemente biography why Pittsburgh has a bridge named after the Hall-of-Famer, and Major League Baseball annually awards players who model Clemente’s work on and off the field.

Honus Wagner is another famed Pirate and he is honored in children’s literature through Dan Gutman’s Honus and Me, the first in an historical fiction, time travel series tied to the thrill of collecting baseball cards. In real life, Honus Wagner baseball cards are as coveted as the fictional Willy Wonka Golden Ticket. Gutman uses this rarity as the jumping off point for his children’s book series which goes on to introduce the subjects of racism and women in non-traditional female roles in subsequent titles.

Speaking of female roles, and since I’m the lone female in my household, I would like to take this opportunity to recommend some other titles which either highlight their role in baseball history or are characters in some great baseball literature. For the younger set, and a book I relished reading to my young sons to highlight the importance of women in baseball, check out Sue Macy’s A Whole New Ball Game. If you or your children aren’t aware of the role women played by continuing the tradition of baseball during World War II, when male baseball players were hard to come by due to the war, this is a great introduction to that era of baseball history.

Shirley Wong is one of my favorite female characters in kids’ historical fiction. A Chinese immigrant to Brooklyn, New York, Shirley learns English and how to acclimate to her new world thanks to the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson, in Betty Bao Lord’s In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. While my colleagues and I might tend to recommend the Lupicas and Christophers when it comes to sports fiction for kids, this is one of many non-traditional characters in baseball stories we can point young readers to.

The women in Bernard Malamud’s The Natural and W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe (you might know this one as the movie Field of Dreams) are no shrinking violets. The main female characters in these novels really get into the heads of the baseball-obsessed men in their lives, for good or for bad. And as it turns out, maybe the men aren’t the only ones obsessed with this sport and the drama it can bring to one’s life. If you only know these titles from their movie presence, I would highly recommend that you read the poetry these authors have created in bringing baseball to life on the printed page.

Many of these titles share space on the shelves in my home library, but there are many copies available for borrowing through the library’s Next Generation Catalog. In fact, I just used the catalog to put a title on my own holds list. I’ve recently been introduced to another female in baseball lore, Effa Manley, who apparently played a pivotal role throughout the history of Negro League Baseball, in which Pittsburgh played a huge role with its own Crawfords and Homestead Grays. The biography, The Most Famous Woman in Baseball: Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues, by Bob Luke, is the next baseball read that I can’t wait to get started on. However, it may have to wait until BUCtober is over, because for now, the Pittsburgh Pirates are holding most of my attention.

These are just a few of the multitude of baseball books available to any reader who wants to read more beyond the statistics and standings of the regular season play. The post-season will soon come to an end, and regardless of how the Buccos finish off, there can be plenty of baseball to keep any reader occupied until spring training picks up again next February.

–Maria J.

I Read Kids’ Books–So What?

Please welcome our newest writer, Natalie, to the Eleventh Stack blog team. You can read Natalie’s bio–and the bios of the other team contributors–on the About Us page.

We’re all adults here–well, you are, at least–so I thought this would be a great forum to discuss a very important adult topic: children’s fiction! Specifically, having fun as an adult reading children’s fantasy fiction. Look, before you roll your eyes and close your browser, let me explain where I’m going with this. If you’re between a certain age–let’s say, older than nineteen and still breathing–you lived through the Harry Potter craze as it was happening. Those books got everyone reading them, not just the kiddos.

To a certain extent the HP series introduced a whole new generation of adults to childrens fantasy. By the release of the fourth book I was a college student and addicted to the series. I spent those years working in an independent toy and book store, so not only did I end up reading the books as they were being released, but I also got to read many new children’s fantasy books…books that I would have never given a second look when I was a kid. But then again, I am a firm believer that these books just didn’t exist for readers like me when I was a kid. My friends read a lot of books about baby sitters, silly crime-solving teenagers, and horses: a lot of horses. What is it with the horses? But books about adventures and living in worlds completely different from ours, they just didn’t seem to exist (or at least I wasn’t being introduced to them).

This all means that I have the need to spend many a night reading books meant for ten year olds. Over the years it has gone from me hiding the cover art while commuting on the metro to sitting in the dining room while my family is asleep and my dishwasher is running.  And that is why I am here at Eleventh Stack today, to tell you about my latest obsession. I have two words for you: Skullduggery Pleasant. This series, like HP, comes from across the pond, but this time it is Ireland, the cradle of magic. While it focuses on sorcerers and saving the world, Derek Landy, the author, assumes his readers are a little more quick-witted than J.K. ever allowed for.

This series is so much fun to read that on many occasions I have stayed up until 3 a.m.* It feels silly to become so addicted to a fictional, flawed hero; but as I read on the old super-reliable internet, therapists say there is nothing wrong with becoming fixated on fictional heroes…because everyone needs a stable presence in their life. For me it just so happens that my stable presence is a 400-year-old dead sorcerer skeleton detective. So if you are looking for a fun book to read, and you don’t mind looking silly at the coffee shop reading a book with a fireball-throwing skeleton and Children’s Fiction sticker on it, then join me on the Skullduggery train. Later we can talk about watching our kids’ cartoons after they have left the room.

–Natalie

*I have a four-year-old. Staying up to 4 a.m. is the dumbest thing a parent of a four-year-old can do because it guarantees that said four-year-old will wake up at 7 a.m. ready to PLAY. So sorry to disappoint Mr. Landy, but quick-witted I am not.

Dog Days of Summer*

I became a dog person the moment I saw my dog at a family picnic. I loved everything about her; her happy swishy tail, her sweet personality, her beautiful amber eyes and tiny little nose. I liked her foot fringe and her bounciness and her curly ears. Then I found out that she was an abused shelter dog, rescued by my boyfriend’s cousin (thanks, Dan!) from being euthanized. So, despite the fact that I’d only been dating this guy for a few months, that I never owned a dog, that I wasn’t even allowed to have a dog in my apartment, and knew nothing about caring for a dog, I got a dog.

Ozzy Girl

That was 13 years ago. The boy and the dog are still the same.

It goes without saying that librarians love cats. But we love our dogs, too!

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Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Pets!

My Favorite Books About Dogs

Go Dog Go!, P.D. Eastman

This was my all-time favorite when I was a kid. My parents probably have horrible flashbacks just looking at the cover. To this day, my heart lifts when I see the cover.  Basically, it’s a bunch of colorful dogs doing things like racing cars and bicycles and  partying in trees. Exactly what you think it would be.

Zorro Series, Carter Goodrich

This children’s series is unbearably sweet and so funny. The illustrations are gorgeous, too. Anyone who has brought another dog home will be able to relate to the disgust Mister Bud feels when Zorro, a little pug with a big attitude, shows up on the scene. Mister Bud has a schedule and he sticks to it. He doesn’t want to share anything, ever and is grumpy about this new mutt. Then one day Mister Bud realizes that Zorro has the same schedule! Suddenly nap time is more comfortable and walks are more fun and even though Mister Bud could still be grumpy, they become best friends.

Dog Boy, Eva Hornug

In 1998, the end of the Cold War and the breakdown of the Russian economy created over 2 million homeless children. Many parents simply packed up and left, leaving children as young as two years old to fend for themselves. Dog Boy was inspired by the true story of Ivan Mishukov, a four-year old who lived with a pack of wild dogs for two years until he was “rescued.” If you are interested in the real story, it is included in Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children by Michael Newton. Dog Boy is a work of fiction (and one of my favorite books), and it is so beautifully and realistically rendered that I found it so easy to imagine to sleeping in a pile of smelly wild dogs, burying my face in their warm bellies to escape the harsh Moscow cold and sharing scraps of food with them. Four-year-old Romochka and the dogs work together to survive and that includes preying on other people. Eventually they earn the notice of the “authorities” and Romochka is “rescued” from the dogs. I honestly don’t know what I expected, but I found the ending heart-breaking. This book stayed with me for a long time.

Cujo, Stephen King

Cujo is the reason every kid who grew up in the 80s has an unnatural fear of rabies. Do you know how many people in Pennsylvania contracted rabies last year? 450. Out of a population of 12.76 million. Dudes, you’re not getting rabies. I read the book and saw the movie. Believe it or not, the book is sympathetic to the poor dog. Cujo didn’t want to get sick; in fact, there are chapters from his point of view that are downright heartrending. He is simply a dog with a hurt nose and can’t figure out why he wants to hurt “his” boy. According to King, he wrote this novel while he was drinking heavily and barely remembers writing it it all and in fact, wishes he could remember writing the good parts.

Walter the Farting Dog Series,  William Kotzwinkle

I’m married to a guy named Walt, so obviously I find these books extra-hilarious (and the stuffed animal!) Walter is an apologetic-looking dog who passes gas morning, noon and night, which causes him to be banned from all kinds of places. However, he also foils burglars with his smelly farts! Yet poor Walter isn’t allowed at the beach, on a cruise ship or yard sales. Interestingly, Walter is based off of a real dog whose owner fed him beer and doughnuts.

Dog Stories, Diana Secker Tesdell, Editor

Mark Twain, Tobias Wolff, Jonathan Lethem and Anton Chekhov are only a few of the authors featured in this Everyman’s Library Pocket Classic, Dog Stories. In “Her Dog” by Tobias Wolff, a man talks to his dead wife’s dog to assauge his grief. But Victor the dog will have none of it, saying, “…I loved her more than you. I loved her with all my heart.” There are humorous tales from a dog’s point of view, including tales from P.G. Wodehouse and O. Henry and many more touching portraits about man’s best friend and his ability to amuse us, touch our hearts, and drive us crazy.

Also, if you feel like crying your eyes out, read the prologue to Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. It’s written from the point of view of a dog who is grieving his lost owner.

Now go cuddle with your pooch-
suzy

*From the Columbia Encyclopedia:

Dog Days is the name for the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11. Named in early times by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction of Sirius (the dog star) and the sun.

Tiny Books for Tiny People

About this time last year, I was celebrating my nephew’s first birthday. He’s a just few weeks away from getting two candles on his cake and there’s a little sister due to arrive any day now (I have St. Patty’s day in the due-date pool). We’re getting more into books now – at least when he isn’t ripping pages out in an effort to see what happens next – and if I have to read the books, I might as well pick some that I’ll enjoy, too.

We don’t normally feature children’s books on here (we like to leave such things to our friends over at the lovely Story Pockets blog), but for my fellow aunts and uncles out there wanting to step up their story time game, these books are ones to add to your rotation.

The Monster at the End of This Book – Spoiler alert: the monster is Grover! This is classic Sesame Street and is a nice break if the tiny person in your life is obsessed with all things Elmo (or “Melmo,” in my nephew’s case).

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus – I want to hang out with Mo Willems.  His books are silly enough for kids, but crafted with smart puns and word-play to keep adults amused. 

Llama Llama Red Pajama – For the budding rhymer in your life. Anna Dewdney‘s books about a young Llama cover everything from first day of pre-school anxiety to toy-sharing.

Moo Baa La La La! – You can both work on your animal sounds with this book! I also dig Sandra Boynton‘s What’s Wrong Little Pookie?

Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink – Aside from adorableness, Amy Krouse Rosenthal‘s three books are a great way to introduce opposites (and/or irony). Pea has to suffer through eating his sweets before he can enjoy his vegetables; Hoot just wants to go to bed, but is expected to stay up all night; and Oink loves to keep things tidy.

– Jess, who also just realized she’s hit her one year anniversary with 11th Stack! Yay!