Posted in Book Talk

“STEAM”y Reads

Posted on by Meinders Library

STEAM Books

This Saturday, May 18th is Meinders Community Library’s third annual Full STEAM Ahead. Patrons of all ages can come and tinker with us from 10:00am-3:00pm. A free lunch will be served from 11:00am-1:00pm courtesy of the Pipestone Area Friends of the Library, Coborn’s Hank’s Foods, and Pepsi.

For those of you who may not know, STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineer, Arts, and Math. To commemorate our favorite annual event, here’s a list of books divided into STEAM categories. In these books Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math may permeate the entire plot of the book or just be a character’s passion. Many of these books could even fit under multiple STEAM categories.

Science

  • A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole (Adult)
  • The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (Middle Grade)
  • The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Young Adult)
  • Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor by Patricia Valdez (Picturebook)
  • Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Young Adult)

Technology

  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (Middle Grade)
  • Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes (Middle Grade)
  • Railhead by Philip Reeve (Young Adult)
  • When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (Young Adult)
  • The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson (Adult)

Engineering

  • Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty (Picturebook)
  • Genius by Leopoldo Gout (Young Adult)
  • Dreaming Up by Christy Hale (Picturebook)
  • Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by John Scieszka (Middle Grade)
  • Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Young Adult)

Arts

  • Fiber & Brimstone by Laura Childs (Adult)
  • Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (Young Adult)
  • The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby (Young Adult)
  • Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light (Picturebook)
  • The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell (Middle Grade)

Math

  • Counting on Katherine by Natascha Biebow (Picturebook)
  • Stack the Cats by Susie Ghahremani (Picturebook)
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Middle Grade)
  • An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Young Adult)
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Adult)

STEAM Nonfiction

  • Recycled Scince by Tammy Enz and Jodi Wheeler-Toppen
  • STEAM Lab for Kids by Liz Lee Heinecke
  • Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
  • What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  • Radioactive: How Irene Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed The World by Winifred Conkling

-Emily

Posted in Get Connected

So Far, Yet Still So Close

Posted on by Meinders Library

20190509_193112Once again, my Saturday will be filled with travel. This weekend I’m taking a handful of audio books on the road with me to Duluth. Despite traveling solo, I’m super excited that I will have good company.

Thanks to our robust collection of audio books, both physical and digital, I was able to nab four books that intrigued me. From start to finish, the process took eight minutes.

What is an audio book, you may ask? It’s a handy little book you can take anywhere and listen to while doing nearly anything. Audio books can be in CD format or found online. I often like to listen to an audio book when I’m in the car by myself, as it passes the time and allows me to get to the bottom of my ToBeRead pile much quicker. It’s also a great companion when I’m working out or walking, doing dishes, or gardening.

We have two platforms at the library that allow Plum Creek Library System patrons to “read” audio books online.

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OverDrive

OverDrive eBooks audiobooks

 

 

 

When you find yourself far from home, stay connected with a great audio book from Meinders Library!

Jody

Posted in Just for Fun

Cuter Than A Bug’s Ear

Posted on by Meinders Library

favorite charactersMy uncle was quite the character. Every time I saw him, he would tell me I was cuter than a bug’s ear. I didn’t know if this was a good thing or not, but coming from a favorite uncle, I took whatever he threw at me.

Time with Uncle Bill meant freedom and fun and lots of dirty work. While my parents raised us to get in and out of trouble on our own (natural consequences and problem solving skills at its finest), Bill’s house was something just a bit different.

It was a little like Lord of the Flies, but with no malice. The first crop of cousins spent endless hours exploring his property. We shoveled muck in the mornings to earn a trip to the lake for the afternoon. We made homemade coleslaw and kraut, and ate Ramen noodles like they would quit making them. We salted homegrown radishes and the slugs that threatened to eat them.

Bill’s house was my introduction to the dark side via Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It was also the summer of hippies as we piled into a bus and drove across the state to attend a week-long rodeo. It’s with him that I won a first place trophy for calf riding.

Uncle Bill was always bigger than life. To be cliched, he was quite the character, and it made perfect sense that his term of endearment for me would be “cuter than a bug’s ear.” I’m not sure how the game evolved, but my response would inevitably be, “You’re cuter than a dump truck.”

I can only hope that you have a “dump truck” character of your own who taught you so much about life simply because of who they were.

If not, I will provide you with three of my all-time favorite literary characters that have impacted who I am.

My most beloved character is Cassie Logan from Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. Hands down she is the sassiest, sweetest, savviest young lady I’ve read. The life lessons she taught me about perseverance, “fairness”, and heart are unparalleled. Her personal growth over one heartbreaking year of night ridings and burnings, of white girl humiliation, and an uncanny ability to hold a certain innocence in the midst of violence shaped who I am today. It’s a book I’ve read every year since I was 8 years old.

My second fave is Bartimaeus, a nasty little djinn who tries his hardest to wreak havoc in the world of the magician boy who summons him. Jonathan Stroud writes with British wit and charm and infuses stuffy, pretentious Bartimaeus with hope, humor, and a curmudgeonly personality you can’t help but love. The Amulet of Samarkand is the first in a trilogy that quickly became my second annual must read- thanks to Sylvan Learning Center.

My newest love is Boy in The Book of Boy. New to the library, the main character teaches so much about the meaning of home. The message is beautifully told through a medieval pilgrimage that rivals Bernard Cornwell, but for kids. Catherine Gilbert Murdock weaves a tight and intriguing tale that culminates in a somewhat surprise ending. Boy’s transformation of figuring out who he is and where he fits into the world is one we can all learn from. Timeless in its storytelling, this novel is now on my perennial read list.

So there, three characters plus my Uncle Bill to start your day. Hopefully you will find delight in those around you, and that their little quirks can endear you rather than annoy you. If not, just remember that all the characters we meet have something to teach us about ourselves.

happy reading~ jody

Posted in Book Talk

Granite Etching and Artistic Reads

Posted on by Meinders Library

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On Tuesday May 14 at 6:30pm, local artist Liz Rackl will share about her artistic process and techniques for etching granite at Meinders Library. Attendees will also get the chance to create their own granite masterpieces. The event is free and open to all, but registration is required if you want to try etching.

To inspire your creativity, here’s a list of books featuring art and artists with stories ranging from young artists struggling to express themselves to biographical tales of famous artists to complicated art heists.

Middle Grade Fiction

  • Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
  • Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
  • Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
  • The Gallery by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
  • Framed by James Ponti

Young Adult Fiction

  • The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett
  • Original Fake by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
  • You’re Welcome Universe by Whitney Gardner
  • Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
  • I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
  • The Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

Adult Fiction

  • The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
  • The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
  • Still Life by Louise Penny
  • The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

Nonfiction

  • Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
  • How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters by Patrick de Rynck
  • Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe
  • Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh

-Emily

Posted in Get Connected

#GetConnectedAtMeinders

Posted on by Meinders Library

Don’t love blogs? Not a Facebook fan?

Keep reading to learn how everyone can stay on top of Meinders Happenings!

Meinders Community Library is moving into the broader social media arena to meet you where you’re at. Please follow/friend/tweet with us from the comfort of your preferred social media account.

Traditionalists, never fear. We will continue to provide email updates through our blog, and newspaper columns for our die hard readers.

Still like rabbit ears and radio programs? Our programming flyers can be found on the public access channel, and many of our programs are videotaped and shown at a later date. Likewise, we will try to up our game for our auditory patrons by utilizing the radio station to help you #GetConnectedAtMeinders.

May Programming Preview

2019 spring happenings

Our goal is to bring community members together to learn, share, and grow through common experiences. All our programs are free and open to the public, so please attend those that interest you and share with others who may also enjoy what we have to offer!

 

Posted in Just for Fun

Presumed Innocent, mostly

Posted on by Meinders Library

I am a walking crime scene. I have guilt and innocence written all over me. Quite literally in some ways. This morning I noted a giant, deep purple bruise on my hip. It honestly looks like I was bludgeoned despite the fact that I have no idea how it got there.

Add in the bruise on my knee, the other bruise on the other knee, and the wound to my hand from running into a door, and I could easily be mistaken for a victim. Rest assured, however, I am not.

On the other hand, my go-to reading material is a nitty-gritty mystery, complete with burned off fingerprints and purposefully obscured crime scenes. I love the whole investigation process and snapping the puzzle pieces together in the right order to solve who dunnit, with what, and where.

For writing purposes, I’ve been known to deep dive into crazy internet searches that would disturb most people and likely have me on some kind of watch list. This penchant for the dark side may have started with the game of Clue. At the tender age of 8ish, I won without checking off a single box on the score card. Who doesn’t love a game they are good at?

It was all downhill from there. In the fifth grade I fell in love with Mary Higgins Clark. I read Micky Spillane and Agatha Christie with a passion. From there, I started writing my own thrillers with psychological twists. I unraveled human nature and put it back together again. I murdered and pillaged. To this day, I constantly see the opportunity in events around me, and am delighted when a writer can catch me by surprise.

So, you might wonder, am I–reader and writer of all things dark and dangerous–also dark and dangerous? The answer is absolutely not. Nor are your neighbors or fellow congregants who also like the same kind of books or movies.

We seldom are what we read. Nor are we what we write. This is a question asked of authors, as often times, people assume our fiction is based on our own lives. I can assure you that I, like the beloved authors who kill off their favorite characters without blinking, should be presumed innocent.

Mostly~ Jody

P.S. If you like a solid mystery without gore, you can try Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious. This young adult novel reads like an Agatha Christie and seamlessly takes you from past to present and back again. I’ve read it twice in a year, and am now making my way through the second in this series.

P.P.S. I like to read other things, too. Sweeter, gentler books that bring out the best in their readers.

Posted in Book Talk

Calling All Writers

Posted on by Meinders Library

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Tonight at 7:00pm Meinders Community Library will host Minnesota author Candace Simar. Aspiring writers and literary enthusiasts can learn about Simar’s writing process and her tips and tricks for getting published.

Books About Writers and Writing

Middle Grade Fiction

  • The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
  • Ava and Pip by Carol Weston
  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang
  • The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh

Young Adult Fiction

  • Nothing by Annie Barrows
  • Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes
  • Final Draft by Riley Redgate
  • Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
  • Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Adult Fiction

  • Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • Too Many Cooks by Dana Bates
  • A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
  • The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg
  • Nine Perfect Strangers by Lianne Moriarty
  • Tribute by Nora Roberts
  • The Other Story by Tatian de Rosnay

Nonfiction

  • Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories by Jack Gantos
  • Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge
  • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
  • Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter
  • Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy

-Emily

Posted in Get Connected

Summer Crafting Made Easy at Meinders

Posted on by Meinders Library

Summer brings oodles of reasons to invite friends over for food, fun, and fellowship or to preserve memories of good times past. Thanks to our State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant, we have added items to our STEAM Room that can help make your special moments pop.

Just in time for our third annual Full STEAM Ahead event on May 18, we’ve purchased more tools and tech for our makerspace at the library.

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Highlighted today are Cricut cartridges for paper crafting, scrapbooking, and personalized gift making. We tried to pick a broad range of cricut cartridges, but we are always open to more suggestions from our crafty patrons. To date, six of our seventeen cartridges have arrived and are awaiting their first foray into the crafting world.

These will be available for in-house use in our makerspace or for checkout to local patrons. We have a Cricut machine for your die-cut needs, and a Cricut steamer for in-house, fabric creations such as t-shirts, bags, and blankets.

The tools are free to use, while sample supplies of paper, vinyl, and fabric are limited. Patrons will need to purchase their own consumable supplies for projects or crafting sessions.

Our STEAM Room is also available for reservation outside of school hours for individuals working on large projects or groups wishing to dabble with all we have to offer. Educators–both homeschool and public–can also contact us to reserve our makerspace or maker tools to enhance their curriculum and connect their students to the broader world.

 

 

Posted in Book Talk

Earth Day Reads

Posted on by Meinders Library

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! As the days grow longer, the weather warms up, and everything gets greener, it isn’t hard to appreciate Mother Nature. Whether you want to read a book with an ecological theme, a climate fiction dystopia, or a tribute to the great outdoors, Meinders Library has you covered.

Picturebooks

  • Maxwell’s Mountain by Shari Becker
  • On Earth by G. Brian Karas
  • The Earth Book by Todd Parr
  • They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki

Middle Grade

  • The End of the Wild by Nicole Helget
  • Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
  • Falcon Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson
  • Me and Marvin Gardens by A. S. King

Young Adult

  • Feral Youth by Shaun David Hutchinson
  • The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby
  • Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
  • Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Adult

  • Wolves by Cary Griffith
  • The River by Peter Heller
  • Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Nonfiction

  • A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
  • World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky
  • H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
  • Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

-Emily

Posted in Get Connected

When is Easter Anyway?

Posted on by Meinders Library

Bunnies, birds, and Bibles. Easter is celebrated in a variety of ways across the globe. But one thing that troubles most people is the date in which Easter will actually arrive.

Image result for stork cartoon images creative commonsYou see, Easter isn’t one of those “fourth Thursday” kind of holidays. Instead, it’s more of a “due date” holiday that hinges on several factors before arriving each spring. In fact, Easter might grace your calendar anytime between March 22 and April 25.

So, you might ask, how is the date determined? In a nutshell, Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. There’s also a bit of math that goes into it that might tweak the date by a day or two, but for the most part, the answer hinges on the moon and the big guy who made the night skies possible.

This mash up of science and religion to determine a holiday is fascinating, and makes for good conversation and great real-world connections regardless of your personal beliefs.

Safe travels and happy Easter~ Jody