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New This Week

January 30, 2012

Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby

After suffering from type 1 diabetes for over 30 years, Chuck Eichten�"director of Nike--came to understand that no matter what he did, he could not make it ever go away. In “The Book of Better,” Eichten describes how he was able to make his life with the disease drastically improved, and how others with the disease can do the same.

John Cleare’s “Epic Climbs” is aimed at young readers, illustrating the how and why people continue to tackle the world’s inhospitable and impossibly hard mountains.

Preschool Story Time this Wednesday at 11:00 am, 1:15 pm, & 6:30 pm, and Toddler Story this Friday at 10:30 am will be all about Trucks!

The Library is currently offering one on one computer training sessions for anyone who is interested in any aspect of computers and the internet. Training is available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Please contact the Library to book a session, or contact Jenna at 426-4063 for more information.

The ninth annual Friends of the Cranbrook Public Library Magazine Sale (and AV) is coming up soon. It’s two days only �" Friday, March 2 (10 am to 6 pm) and Saturday March 3 (10 am to 4 pm.) Donations will be accepted up to Thursday, March 1. Once the sale starts, we are unable to accept donations. Donations (gently used) dated current and 5 years (2007 �" 2012) accepted at the Cranbrook Public Library circulation desk during business hours.

\\\"And while you\\\'re looking for magazines to donate, please include any books, in good shape, which you no longer want. The Friends work year round sorting and packing for the Fall Book Sale so your donations are greatly appreciated.\\\"

This month’s display is a collection of beautiful watercolors by Mary Letcher--a self-taught artist, who has been painting for the past 15 years. Mary finds that painting energizes and frees her spirit, and she seldom begins with an end in mind. She enjoys learning new techniques, and will be incorporating encaustics into her future work.



ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:

The Book of Better: A More Excellent Life with Diabetes (616.462)
The Age of Steam �" Thomas Crump (621.109)
Pitch Black �" Arthur Black (819.8)
A Season in Hell �" Robert R. Fowler (966.2605)
Ancient Grains for Modern Meals �" Maria Speck (641.591822)
A Treasury of Tom Thomsom �" Joan Murray (759.11)
Designing Bead & Wire Jewelry �" Renata Graham (745.5942)
Booze Cakes �" Krystina Castella (641.8653)
Cheat on Your Husband (With Your Husband �" Andrea Syrtash (j646.78)
The Compass of Pleasure �" David J. Linden (612.8)
The Ceramics Bible �" Louisa Taylor (738.14)
Creating Personal Presence �" Dianna Booher (658.4092)
The Rice Krispies Treats Cookbook (641.86)
Water in Canada �" Hanneke Brooymans (333.9100971)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Changing Old Habits for Good (158.1)
Tales & Trails �" Lynn Martell (971.2332)
Full Voice �" Barbara McAfee (808.5)
Fodor’s Cancun and the Riviera Maya 2012 (917.26)
Oliver’s Twist �" Craig Oliver (bio)
The Doc’s Side: Tales of a Sunshine Coast Doctor �" Eric J. Paetkau (bio)
The Wandering Falcon �" Jamil Ahmad (fic)
Tuesday Night Miracles �" Kris Radish (fic)
The Wedding Quilt �" Jennifer Chiaverini (fic)
To Love and to Hold �" Tracie Peterson (fic)
The Queen �" Steven James (mys)
A Very Simple Crime �" Grant Jerkins (mys)




YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY ACQUIRED ITEMS:
Darker Still �" Leanna Renee Hieber (ya fic)
Winter’s Knight �" Richard Argent (ya fic)
Drummer Girl �" Karen Bass (ya fic)
The Daughters Take The Stage �" Joanna Philbin (ya fic)
Epic Climbs �" John Cleare (j 796.522)
How To Steal A Dragon’s Sword �" Cressida Cowell (j fic)
Catopia �" Anne Mortimer (j 636.8)
Fairyopolis �" Cicely Mary Barker (j 398.21)
Return to Fairyopolis �" Cicely Mary Barker (j 398.21)
Blizzard of Glass �" Sally M. Walker (j 971.622503)
Twist It Up �" Jack Witherspoon (j 641.5)
Experiments with Motion �" Susan H. Gray (j 531)
Experiments with Rocks and Minerals �" Carol Hand 9552)
Museum ABC �" The Metropolitan Museum of Art (j pic)
Museum 123 �" The Metropolitan Museum of Art (j pic)
Museum Colors �" The Metropolitan Museum of Art (j pic)

MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:

“Little House on the Prairie” appeared for the first time 75 years ago. It was the third book in a series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the first two being “Little House in the Big Woods,” and “Farmer Boy.” While the entire series recounts Wilder’s childhood on the American Frontier, “Little House on the Prairie” would have a profound impact on the United States (and later around the world), establishing Wilder as one of the most popular children’s authors of all time.

Wilder was born in 1867 in the “Big Woods” of Wisconsin. The struggle against poverty caused her family to be frequently uprooted, complicated by infant brother’s death and her older sister’s blindness. At 15 she became a schoolteacher, and at 18 she married Almanzo (Manly) Wilder. She and her husband settled on a farm in Missouri and�"much like her childhood�"the hardships came frequently. Her son died soon after being born, and a bout of diphtheria paralyzed her husband.

In 1911, the newspaper “The Missouri Ruralist” asked Wilder if she would write a weekly column. “As A Farm Woman Thinks” appeared for 10 years, with Wilder giving advice on anything from poultry farming and bread recipes, to world travel and woman’s rights. Unable to type, she wrote each column with a pencil, with her daughter Rose acting as proof reader.

The end of the Depression also saw the deaths of Wilder’s mother and sister Mary, triggering a desire to write about her childhood. She wrote a book titled “When Grandma was a Little Girl,” which was published by Harper & Brothers in 1932, under the title “Little House in the Big Woods.” A big success, Wilder went on to publish seven more in the “Little House” series, all handwritten in pencil. A ninth book, “The First Four Years” appeared after her death (in 1957, at age 90) as well as numerous other books of her letters and journals. The books became international hits in the 70s after “Little House on the Prairie” was adapted as a television series.

As hard as it is to believe, these warm and endearing stories about a young girl named Half-Pint who spends her time climbing trees with her sisters in Walnut Grove, have attracted not one but two separate highly controversial issues.
The first surfaced in the late 90s, found in the book “Bloodland” by Dennis McAuliffe. McAuliffe called for the banning of all the “Little House” books, stating Wilder’s portrayals of the Osage Indians were racist and denigrating. He states the Ingalls family were illegal squatters on Osage land, writing “she left that detail out of her 1935 children’s book.” He also compares Charles Ingalls to Charles Manson, listing horrific atrocities white settlers rained upon the Osage, and takes Charles Ingalls to task for not learning the Osage language. Like most book banners, McAuliffe should have actually read the book first, as “Little House on the Prairie” concludes with the federal government moving the Ingalls off of the Osage land.

The second issue also appeared in the 90s, in the book “The Ghost in the Little House” by William Holtz. Holtz asserts that the “Little House” books were not written by Wilder, but by her daughter Rose, who was a successful journalist and novelist in her own right. However, historian John Miller examined Holtz’s evidence, and concluded that the books were indeed written by Wilder.

Today, the “Little House” books are just what they have always been: a warm and intimate look at a family, experiencing the joys and pains of life in a rapidly changing country. Wilder’s substantial contribution to American literature remains without peer, and her books continue to be the most cherished and beloved children’s books ever written.