After Harry Potter: What to Read Next

By Katy Searcy, Children’s Department

My childhood was largely influenced by my obsession with Harry Potter. I spent far too much of my time writing and reading Harry Potter fanfiction, having analytical discussions with strangers on Harry Potter forums, and creating perfect Harry Potter costumes. I even took a fantasy lit class in college just because Harry Potter was on the syllabus. Embarrassing confessions aside, Harry Potter helped me through some difficult experiences and taught me lots of life lessons along the way. Needless to say, I was devastated when I finished the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, less than twenty-four hours after I’d waited in line at midnight to secure a copy. I just knew that I would never find another book to love like I loved Harry Potter.

So in honor of the tenth anniversary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I bring you read-a-likes! This list of recommendations is for you, Harry Potter lovers of all ages. I know they won’t be the same, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them.

For Children:

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (J F BLACK)
Warned away from magic all of his life, Callum endeavors to fail the trials that would admit him to the Magisterium only to be drawn into its ranks against his will and forced to confront dark elements from his past.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (J F MCMANN)
In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where kids hone their abilities and learn magic.

Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood (J F LITTLEWOOD)
Twelve-year-old Rose Bliss wants to work magic in her family’s bakery as her parents do, but when they are called away and Rose and her siblings are left in charge, the magic goes awry and a beautiful stranger tries to talk Rose into giving her the Bliss Cookery Booke.

Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull (J F MULL)
Whisked through a portal to The Outskirts, an in-between world, sixth-grader Cole must rescue his friends and find his way back home–before his existence is forgotten.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (J F CHAINANI)
At the School for Good and Evil, failing your fairy tale is not an option.  Best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed–Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.

For Teens:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (YA F MAAS)
Celaena Sardothien is an assassin serving a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, and she is summoned to the castle; not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. But when competitors start dying one by one, her fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (YA F BARDUGO)
Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold.

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan (J F FLANAGAN)
Fifteen-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (YA F TAHIR)
Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older (YA F OLDER)
When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on–then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.

For Adults:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (F MORGENSTERN)
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. Behind the scenes, two young magicians prepare for a duel that they have been trained for since childhood. Despite themselves, the duo fall in love, but what they don’t know is that this game can only leave one standing.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (F GROSSMAN)
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A high school math genius, he’s secretly fascinated with a series of children’s fantasy novels set in a magical land called Fillory, and real life is disappointing by comparison. When Quentin is unexpectedly admitted to an elite, secret college of magic, it looks like his wildest dreams have come true. But his newfound powers lead him down a rabbit hole of hedonism and disillusionment, and ultimately to the dark secret behind the story of Fillory. The land of his childhood fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he ever could have imagined.

The Passage by Justin Cronin (F CRONIN)
The latest test subject in a covert government experiment, abandoned six-year-old Amy is rescued by an FBI agent who hides them in the Oregon hills, from which Amy emerges a century later to save the human race from a terrifying virus.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (F BUTCHER)
For Harry Dresden—Chicago’s only professional wizard—business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (F HARKNESS)
Witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont. The orphaned daughter of two powerful witches, Bishop prefers intellect, but relies on magic when her discovery of a palimpsest documenting the origin of supernatural species releases an assortment of undead who threaten, stalk, and harass her.

Billy the Kid vs. Pat Garrett: An Old West Showdown

By Lindsay Roseberry, Reference Department

On July 14, 1881, Billy the Kid was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett.  Those are the facts, nothing but the facts.  Oh, but the legends on these two and how they are linked forever in history makes this killing as important as the OK Corral in the annals of history.

Billy the Kid

So, who exactly was Billy the Kid?  History gives him several names: probably born as Henry McCarty, and took the aliases Henry Antrim and William H. Bonney.  Information is sketchy about his early years: it is known that he was born in New York City in to a poor Irish family.  Not much is known about his early years but he ended up in New Mexico Territory in 1873.  Again, not much is known about him at this time, but 4 years later he arrived in Lincoln County, New Mexico.  This is where he makes history, mostly of the notorious type.

Lincoln County had just been established and was divided between two factions of cattlemen, the John Tunstall/ Alexander McSween side and the James Dolan faction, allied with the county sheriff William Brady.  William Bonney (Billy the Kid) joined the Tunstall side, which was ultimately the losing side as well.  Each faction had enforcers (gunfighters and criminals).  Tunstall was murdered and in revenge, his men, “the regulators”,  killed the sheriff.  That brought on what came to be called the Lincoln County War, a five day gunfight and siege battle.  The regulators were surrounded, McSween was murdered and the Tunstall men that were able to escape scattered.   Billy the Kid was on the run for two years before being captured by Pat Garret the first time.  The Kid was tried, convicted and incarcerated.  He escaped from jail, after shooting both guards, and rode off into the sunset—for a while.

Pat Garrett

And Pat Garrett??  More is known about him (there usually is for lawmen).  He was born in Alabama in 1850, but the family moved to Louisiana in 1853, and lost everything after the Civil War.   In 1869, he headed west, resurfacing in 1876 as a buffalo hunter.  As the buffalo disappeared, he headed to New Mexico territory.  He became a ranch hand for Pete Maxwell, married and had children.  Pat Garrett was sworn in as the new sheriff of Lincoln County in 1880 with the understanding that he would clean up Lincoln County.  Several times he almost caught Billy, but each time he slipped away or Garrett was given the wrong information.  He finally caught him, arrested him and put him in jail.  Garrett was away from jail when the Kid escaped.  Eight months later, Garrett found out that Billy was staying with Pete Maxwell, at his ranch.  He came at night, and shot and killed Billy the Kid.

Almost immediately, Billy the Kid became a folk legend, which in turn mage Garrett seem an assassin.  Garrett wrote a book about tracking and killing Billy.  It didn’t sell well, but has become quite the collectible.  The book was later found to be full of errors and imaginative tales.  It was ghost written by a friend of Garrett.  Pat did not run for sheriff again, but moved with his family to Texas and briefly became a Texas Ranger.  He returned after a year or so to Roswell, New Mexico where his ranch was.  He had several businesses that never prospered and moved back to Texas in 1892.  In 1896, he returned to New Mexico where he was appointed sheriff of Dona Ana County.  He was nominated by President Teddy Roosevelt as customs officer in El Paso, and confirmed by the Senate.  He burned his bridges with Roosevelt and was in deep debt the rest of his life.  He also was highly disliked for killing Billy, as the Kid had become a folk hero.  He was shot in the back as he was going from his ranch into town.  His murder was never solved.

Dick Brewer, Billy the Kid, and the Regulators by John Hacker, and Andy Thomas

As time passed, some people started the rumor that Pat Garrett either shot somebody else and claimed it was Billy or helped him fake his death.  Someone even claimed to be Billy in the 1940s.  Even so, historical records show that Billy’s body was identified by several different people—most generally agree that Pat Garrett got the right man—Billy the Kid.

Interesting Facts:

• Billy the Kid was involved in at least nine murders.  He was said to have committed as many murders as he had years—he was killed at age 21.  (He may have been his own best publicist.)
• Over 50 movies have told this famous historical event.  He worked on his reputation before his death, and afterward his legend only grew.  The first movie was the silent film in 1911, entitled Billy the Kid.  Other stars who played him on the silver screen have been Paul Newman, Val Kilmer and Emilio Estevez (in Young Guns, which we have in our collection.)
• When Bill Richardson was governor of New Mexico, Billy the Kid found another champion.  Richardson was a New Mexico history buff and was publicly thinking about pardoning William Bonney posthumously.  Before Billy the Kid died, he appealed to then governor, Lew Wallace (who while in office wrote Ben Hur!) for a pardon for his role in the Lincoln County Wars.  Wallace agreed, but the pardon was never given to him because he was killed.  So when Richardson was thinking about this pardon, he churned up old history.  The descendants of Pat Garrett started a petition to stop the pardon from going ahead.   Bill Richardson is no longer governor of New Mexico, so this pardon will never happen, but it just goes to show that the past is not that far away.

Mo Books, Mo Fun! The Wonderful World of Mo Willems

By Stacy Parish, Children’s Department

I often say that having the great fortune to be employed in a library—yes, Darling Reader, paid to be here—is a wondrous thing, but it really cuts into one’s reading time.  Library Mythbuster Numero Uno:  we don’t get paid to sit around and read.  What, you think the books get back on the shelves all on their own? And that all library patrons are as smart and savvy as you and don’t need my assistance and expertise?  I’m so sorry to be the one to burst your bubble if you were operating under that premise, and were making career plans accordingly.  We are, however, expected to possess an extensive breadth and depth of knowledge of the materials that are available to patrons, especially in the departments in which we spend our days (and evenings. And weekends.  Library Mythbuster Numero Dos:  this is not a 9-to-5 weekday gig.)  Some of us amass this knowledge through advanced degrees in Library Science and/or work experience in libraries, and others of us learn about the abundance of wonderful children’s books from the hours we spent reading to our own offspring.  (Some of us also have a deep-seated loathing for certain children’s books, usually through no fault of the author but because of the stultifying number of times we have read certain books that our kids loved but that we did NOT.  That’s a topic for a future blog, but I have two words for you in the meantime:  Johnny Tremain.)  It saddens me a little that I missed out on the joy of reading Mo Willems’ books with my children, but I have immensely enjoyed perusing them since signing on to the Children’s Department at WCPL and recommending them to patrons.

If you have children, or have ever spent any time with children, you surely know that they have these acute, finely-tuned internal sensors that enable them to see right through any awkward attempts by adult humans to try to be funny or whimsical or relatable when they just aren’t.  One thing that differentiates Mo Willems’ books from the paper-and-cardboard sea of kiddie lit is that they are very, very funny.  I mean . . . a picture book about a naked mole rat who just wants to express himself through creative sartorial choices?  Come on, people, that’s freaking hilarious, I don’t care who you are.  Willems’ formula works due to the culmination of several factors:  excellent timing, precise word choices, and just-right repetitions of words and phrases.

 

Mo Willems was born in February 1968 in suburban Chicago and grew up in New Orleans.  He graduated cum laude from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.  After graduation, Willems spent a year traveling around the world, and he commemorated this journey by drawing a cartoon each day.  These cartoons were subsequently published in the book You Can Never Find A Rickshaw When It Monsoons.  When he returned to New York after his adventure, Willems began his career as a writer and animator for Sesame Street, where he was awarded six Emmy awards for writing during his tenure from 1993 to 2002.  Since 2003, Willems has authored dozens of books for children, many of which have earned him critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.  (A bibliography of Willems’ books appears at the end of this article.)  My personal favorites include, in no certain order:  the previously mentioned  Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed; Edwina The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct;  Knuffle Bunny:  A Cautionary Tale; and Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late! Check ‘em out, Darling Reader.  (See what I did there?  Y’all know I couldn’t make it through a blog without a pun.)  Happy reading–

Is Williamson County the Australia of America? Williamson County’s Most Feared Bugs

By Lance Hickerson, Reference Department

Someone told me they thought that living in Williamson County is like living in the “Australia of America.”  Just like in Australia, there are many strange bugs here as compared to the rest of the world.  This is most certainly an overstatement, but due to our mild winters, Williamson County does have significant insect concerns.  Some insects are mostly nuisances, such as Japanese Beetles munching on tree leaves.  Other insects, however, can cause significant injury or damage.  What follows are five of the bugs of Tennessee that register higher degrees of fear among residents of our area.  We will go from number five to number one.

Numbers Five and Four:  Hard working but harmful Beetles or Borers.  Most give little thought to various beetles that fly about our area, but those who manage our forests and those who love beautiful landscape trees soon learn to respect the menace that certain beetles pose.    Landowners and cities see some of their favorite, older shade trees die within three years after being attacked by the Southern Pine Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer.

5. Emerald Ash Borers (EAB)

Adults are dark green and fly in Tennessee especially in May and June.  They spend the rest of the year as larvae eating away under the bark of ash trees, leading to the decline and death of their host tree.  EABs emerge from the trees as adults and leave a small, distinctive D-shaped hole in the bark.

4. The Southern Pine Beetle

It is native to our area, causing extensive damage to pine trees during times when its population expands.   When Tennessee’s southern pine beetle population gradually began to build in 1998, the beetles killed close to 350,000 acres and $358 million of pine in the years that followed.

3. Imported Fire Ants (IFA)

Lest the reader think I am exaggerating, I will quote from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture regarding this newcomer to the county which has a low tolerance for humans.

Imported Fire Ants (IFA) were accidentally introduced into the United States from South America, beginning in about 1918, and have spread to many counties in Tennessee, including Williamson County….   Imported Fire Ants are very aggressive when disturbed and cause a painful sting that produces a small white pustule about 8-24 hours following the sting.

Fire ant colonies build mounds that may be 10 inches or more in height, 15 inches or more in diameter, and 3 feet or more in depth. ….

Imported Fire Ants cause harm and economic losses in a variety of ways.  Stings from fire ants inflict intense pain to millions of Americans each year with thousands requiring medical treatment.  A small number of people develop a life-threatening allergic reaction to IFA stings.  The number of human fatalities resulting from IFA stings is not known due to lack documentation.  However, there have been confirmed deaths due to IFA in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.  Imported Fire Ants also attack and kill domestic animals and wildlife as well as destroy seedling corn, soybeans, and other crops.  Fire ant mounds can damage farm equipment and lawn mowers.   IFA are attracted to electrical equipment and chew on insulation, resulting in short circuits and interference with switching mechanisms.  Fire ants can shut down air conditioners, traffic signal boxes, and even airport runway lights.  Approximately $2 billion in damage, including costs for insecticide for fire ant suppression and eradication, is caused by IFA in the United States each year.” [https://www.tn.gov/agriculture/article/ag-businesses-ifa]

 

Wiki commons “Face of a southern yellowjacket”

2. Yellowjackets (Paper Wasps, and Hornets runners up)

UT Assistant Professor of Entomology, Karen Vail, tells us:  “Yellowjackets are often considered the most dangerous stinging insects in the United States. They are more unpredictable than honey bees and will sting readily if their nest is disturbed….. During late summer and fall, yellowjacket colonies are near maturity and large numbers of workers forage for food.  Sweets support large populations of foraging

wasps. They are particularly fond of sweets (e.g., fruit, soft drinks, ice cream, beer), but they will also eat meats, potato salad and just about anything we eat.”

Many county residents are unaware of where yellowjackets build their paper nest.  They nest mostly  underground, which makes their presence harder to detect.  They can be highly aggressive and sting multiple times.

 

Public Domain, Wiki

1. The Brown Recluse Spider

The most feared bug of Tennessee as reported by several exterminators is the brown recluse spider.
Most of us are familiar with the Brown Recluse, if not by sight, then certainly by its reputation.  I have unfortunate personal experience with the Brown Recluse, receiving two bites over the years that left the horrendous pain and scars that their bites can sometimes do.

So I am an informal “expert” on the spider, trying to avoid being bitten again.  I even discuss them with our “bug man” exterminator named Joe from All-Pest Solutions, who sprays our house four times a year.   He recently added to my knowledge about the spider when I explained the enormous size of one I saw last week. The “bug man” said that Recluses do get that big, but no bigger.  What I saw was likely a female adult (larger than the males) in her prime (who can give birth to 130 little recluses just like that).  So they will be around.

But the exterminator also gave me some good news.  He said, “Did you know that they can’t bite you without help?  Their mouths are too small.  They have to be mashed or pushed into the skin, most often by ourselves, and then they have the force to bite.”    I asked for clarification, “You mean if one just gets on you, or you hold it in your hand, it can’t bite you?”   “Yes, that’s right.  They have to have help.”  That was news to me, and good to know.

Something else came out about the spider during my second bite (this one to the temple of my head from lying on an old, rolled up blanket for a pillow while camping).  The venom of the Brown Recluse is interesting.  It is only 15% or so actual poison, so it basically tricks the body into turning on itself in reaction.  It is powerful through deception.  Further, unlike the immediately painful and burning bite of the Black Widow spider, the Brown Recluse bite seldom hurts at first.  In fact, the venom, for the first 24 hours,  tends to create a state of euphoria (extreme gladness) in the human victim.  I experienced this very thing.  But afterward, the effects of the tricky venom begin to turn living tissue into dead tissue.  The victim must wait and see just how deep the wound will go.

Check Out from Total Boox

By Lisa Lombard, Reference Department Total Boox is an app that provides another way to read digital books while you are on the go or at home sitting in your favorite reading spot. The app is available for Android, Amazon Kindle and iPad users. Some great features of this app include; no waiting lines, you can read books offline (you only need to be online to download books), there is no return date, and once the book is on your device, it stays on your device until you decide to delete it. So you can keep books on your device for as long as you have the app and read them as many times as you want without having to re-download. Another perk of this app is that if you get a new device all of your books will be automatically downloaded onto that device so you do not have to search for them again. I’m going to take you through the app from start to finish and I hope that you will consider adding this as a way to read more books in the future!

If you need visual help to learn how to use the app you have two options. One option is a user guide located at the bottom of every page under the heading “readers” and shows you how to best use each section (pictures are provided as part of the guide). The other option is a YouTube tutorial.

An important detail is making sure you get the app that is for libraries so you have FREE access to books. Once you have downloaded the app and open it you will be prompted to login. To login make sure you have Williamson County Public Library selected then enter your library card number and pin, the next screen will ask for your email address.

Once you have completed those steps you will be taken to the “home” screen which in this case is the “My Library” page. From here you have two options: you can either click on “Get Books It’s Free!” or the “+” to create a new shelf. By tapping on the “Get Books It’s Free!” iconic book you will be taken to a page that has several options. These options include sections titled “editors’ picks,” “featured authors,” and “just arrived” sections and have several books to browse through by scrolling right to left. By tapping on a book cover you will be given the synopsis of the book along with the option to read it or download the book, by selecting to read, it will automatically open and if you select download the book will be placed on your “My Library” page.

The other ways to find books include the search area (great for if you know the title or author), browsing through the categories tab or browsing through the shelves tab. If you want to search by category you are in luck there is a wide variety of categories to choose from, 28 total. Of those 28 categories, 18 have sub-categories. This is a great way to browse for something if you have a specific idea in mind or you know you want a historical fiction book. The shelves tab is an awesome option for getting a lot of books from specific categories onto your “My Library” page quickly. For example, there is a shelf titled “Great books to take on your next flight.” In this shelf there are a total of 15 books (for right now), a brief description of the type of books in the section, who shared the shelf and when it was last updated. By clicking on the download button all 15 of these books will be available to you with the shelf title on your “My Library” page. None these books are automatically downloaded to your device you still have to click on “read” to have them available to read without the internet.

Once you have a book open there is a pop up tool bar (tap in the empty area on the bottom of the page) with 5 options at the top: Home, Table of Contents (for the current book), Font size, Browse Bookmarks (for browsing where you have placed bookmarks for the opened book before), and Add a Bookmark. Also to be found when you tap in that empty space is a drag bar that allows you to jump further ahead or behind in the book which is much easier than going page by page.

Back on the “My Library” page you can create your own shelves by moving around the books you have downloaded or selecting “copy” from a book that’s on another shelf and moving it to the desired shelf. You also have the option to delete your books when you desire, all you have to do is tap on the book cover and select the delete option.

While you might not find the most popular books and authors in this app I think it’s worth the time to get to know and it search around, because you will find classics, books in your favorite genre you wouldn’t of normally read and who knows what other good books you might run across. I already have a shelf downloaded and two books ready to read!

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

By Lindsay Roseberry, Reference Department

What’s the best 3D movie:

A Play!

Ever since plays moved to the screen, back when they were black and white with text dialogue, movie makers have been trying to recreate that feeling of being in the middle of the action, of the immediacy of the people on stage.  But no matter what they add (sound, color, 3D effects with glasses), I doubt they will ever be able to recreate the feeling of closeness and investment that you get from attending a play, which is why they’re still amazingly popular today.  So in honor of the longevity and popularity of plays (in particular Shakespeare’s), let’s take a look at one of the most famous stages in history: the Globe Theater.

The Globe Theatre was built in six months in 1599 by William Shakespeare’s company, run by Richard Burbage—Shakespeare had a small stake in the theatre.   It was a three story, open-air amphitheater that could hold up to 3,000 people.  There was standing room area at the front where the poor could watch the play for a penny.  There were three tiers of seats; the fee increased by one penny as the tiers rose.  Those who sat of the fourth tier were paying four pennies, and they were the richest audience members.  They would have to stand up during the whole play.  During bad weather, the plays were put on elsewhere, often at other theatres with roofs.

Then a tragedy occurred on June 29, 1613; London’s Globe Theatre burned down.  Of course, in the time of thatched roofs, wooden building and torches and other open flame lighting, buildings burned down all the time.   The fire started during a performance of Henry VIII, probably when the cannon on stage misfired, (that’s what you call a realistic performance). The sparks caught the thatch on fire and spread rapidly to the wooden beams.  It was lucky that the only reported injury was a man whose pants were on fire; he was able to put them out with a bottle of ale.

In 1614, the Globe theatre was rebuilt by Burbage and Shakespeare, and this theatre was running until 1642, when it was shut down by the Puritans.  All theaters were.  The Puritans outlawed gambling, bawdy plays, prostitution and many more fun activities.  That was one reason, perhaps the main one, which was Cromwell’s downfall.  Charles II reinstated all of the vices, but The Globe was never rebuilt.

In 1949, actor Sam Wanamaker went to see the sight of the original Globe Theatre.  He was very disappointed that there was no memorial to Shakespeare.   In 1970, he formed the Shakespeare Globe Trust, which constructed a replica of the Globe Theatre near the site of the first one.  The theatre opened in 1997; the first play was Henry V.  The theatre still stands today, thanks to much better fire retardant materials!  They did top the roof with thatch though.  It just wouldn’t be right otherwise.

In the 1990, the new Globe Theater was built, some distance away from the site of the first one.  While they were excavating, they found the pit area of the theatre lined with hazelnut shells, the detritus of years of the poor standing room only eating food and dropping the shells.  This did cushion the feet of those standing to watch the plays.

Interesting facts about the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre:

1. During Shakespeare’s day, theatre companies advertised what plays they were putting on with flags: white for comedy, red for history and black for tragedy.
2. The city of London did not allow theatres to be built in the city proper.  All theatres were built along the South Bank, where most of them still are today.
3. The Globe was built to look like the Colosseum in Rome, but on a smaller scale.
4. The Globe was closed several times because of outbreaks of the plague or the Black Death.

Gale Literary Sources Database

By Lindsay Roseberry, Reference Department

We have a great new database for anyone researching authors, literature or writing papers for school. It’s called Gale Literary Sources.

To get to the database from our home page:

1. Go to our website.
2. Scroll down to eLibrary, the second link (next to Books & More),
3. Choose databases.
4. Choose the Literature category, which takes you to Gale Literary Sources.
5. In this database you can access primary sources, critical articles, literary analysis, and biographical information. Gale has created a single research database to help you in your research.
6. To login, use your library card number. (This database is free for all of our library users—all you need is a library card and you can access it.)

Our library subscribes to these components that make up our database:

• Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and other specialized reference sources. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7.
• Using Gale’s Literature Resource Center, you can find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on nearly 130,000 writers from all time periods, and from around the world.
  Scribner Writers Series provides original, scholar signed essays on the lives and works of authors from around the world from all time periods. Entries include concise essays and biographical information.
• Twayne’s is devoted to in-depth critical introductions to the lives and works of major writers of the world. It provides insightful and original commentary on the history and influence of the author and his/her world.

When you search for an author or a title, type the name in the search box. You get the first three articles in several categories. Here is a list of them:

The Content Types tell us that there are 435 critical articles on Ray Bradbury, 358 biographies, 114 overviews, 868 reviews, 126 primary resources and 55 multimedia entries. The multimedia entries are usually NPR interviews which you can listen to or print or download the transcript.

You must keep in mind that some of these articles may be written by Bradbury; maybe he wrote a critical article on an author.

Once you find an article you want to use, you have a choice of offerings from Gale as to how you retrieve your article. You can email it to yourself (this is very helpful when you are here at the library researching, and don’t have money to print out the article. You can email it to yourself and print it at home.) You can download the article and save it on your computer or you can print it out. You can even download the MP3 of an interview. With the citation tools, you can choose your format, or what your teacher wants you to use. You can even get it translated into your language or choice. It will be a machine translation and only in print, but if you need sources for your Spanish class in Spanish, this might be a good way to find articles.

Gale has also created a way for you to highlight areas of text that you want to perhaps emphasize, remember or use as a quote. Once you highlight a section of text or write a note about a section of text, you’ll see the number change in the Highlights and Notes section. You can also print out your notes and highlighted sections. You even have a choice of highlighting colors.

One new feature from this Gale database (and all Gale databases, actually) is that you can save your documents to your Google drive or to Microsoft Live. If you write your papers or reports on either of these, you can put all your documents in the same place!

As if this wasn’t good enough, Gale has upped the ante even more. There is a way you can select the articles you want to look at further. I went through a list of articles and selected the ones I wanted to look at further. These become documents in your folder. When you pull up the folder list, you can open the articles you want to look at, print save or email them.

We hope you have an opportunity to use our new database! We love it at WCPLtn!

June is Zoo and Aquarium Month

By Katy Searcy, Children’s Department

Celebrated annually during the month of June, National Zoo and Aquarium Month honors the role of zoos and aquariums in conservation, education, recreation, and research. The best way to celebrate National Zoo and Aquarium Month is obvious: Visit your local zoo or aquarium, of course! But if you can’t do that, here’s a list of books to bring all the fun of the zoo right into your living room.

Worms for Breakfast: How to Feed a Zoo by Helaine Becker
(J 636.0889 BEC)
Feeding time is one of the most popular events at zoos. But what do different animals eat? How much food to they need to stay healthy? And where do zookeepers get all that food anyway? Packed with facts from experts at zoos and aquariums, Worms for Breakfast answers all these questions and more! And just in case reading about feeding time makes you hungry, this book also includes recipes for meals like eucalyptus leaf pesto, kelp tank goulash, and mealworm mush.

Bridge to the Wild: Behind the Scenes at the Zoo by Caitlin O’Connell
(J 636.088 O’CON)
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work in a zoo? Written by a real animal researcher with special behind-the-scenes access, Bridge to the Wild goes inside Zoo Atlanta. Readers learn about the people who work with the animals and discover exactly how zoos help world populations of animals.

 

My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki
(J 597.0074 ALI)
Take a trip to the aquarium in My Visit to the Aquarium! Based on several specific aquariums, this book follows a young boy through a kelp forest, a muggy tropical rainforest, a coral reef, and other various exhibits.

Fur, Fins, and Feathers: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo by Cassandre Maxwell
(J 92 BARTLETT)
When Abraham Dee Bartlett was growing up during the early 1800s, there were no zoos, only indoor menageries, where animals were kept inside small, bare cages with no room to explore and nothing to play with. This picture book biography tells young readers how Bartlett became superintendent of the London Zoo and dramatically improved conditions to ensure that all animals could be happy and healthy.

What’s New? The Zoo!: A Zippy History of Zoos by Kathleen Krull
(J 590.73 KRU)
Beginning 4,400 years ago, this title takes readers on a journey throughout history and around the globe tracing the history of zoos.

A Day at a Zoo by Sarah Harrison
(J 590.73 HAR)
In eight action-packed scenes from the same view, A Day at a Zoo invites readers to see what happens during a full day at a busy zoo. Watch as zookeepers wrangle a new okapi, a gibbon escapes its enclosure, and schoolchildren hide in the meerkat pen.

A One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

By Lindsay Roseberry, Reference Department

Quinn Porter was an absentee father. He knows it and his ex-wife reminds him of it often as well.  He didn’t get to know his son well before his early and untimely death.  He assuages his grief (and guilt) by continuing his son’s Cub Scout responsibility of helping out Ona Viktus, an 104-year old Lithuanian immigrant.  Quinn learns about his son as he helps her and becomes involved in her life.  The young boy had to interview a remarkable person for school and he chose Ona.  You learn about her life in interspersed chapters.  Quinn grows as a person and Ona remembers what she thought she never knew.  A quiet revelatory book.

Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen

By Lindsay Roseberry, Reference Department

Nettie Lonesome is a half-breed orphan raised by unloving caretakers who use her as a servant. When a stranger attacks her, she defends herself with a stick.  To her surprise, he turns into black sand.  More surprising, she is now aware of the real world full of monsters and evil.

So she sets off to find a new home, and maybe find friends along the way. The setting was interesting and Nettie is truly one of a kind.  A great pick for those wanting to read books with multi-racial characters.