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Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the ever popular, Madeline books
April 27, is the birthday of Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the ever popular, Madeline books. He was born in Meran, Tyrol, Austria (1898) and came to New York when he was sixteen years old. He worked in a series of hotels, then started his own restaurant, which became very successful. He didn't think about becoming a writer until a friend in the publishing industry happened to see his childlike drawings on the walls of his apartment, and suggested that Bemelmans write and illustrate a children's book - and that was Madeline (1939), which begins: "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. In two straight lines they broke their bread, and brushed their theeth, and went to bed. They smiled at the good, and frowned at the bad, and sometimes they were very sad. They left the house at half past nine, in two straight lines, in rain or shine ... the smallest one was Madeline!" - Source: The Writer's Almanac
Book Trailer Contest - June 1 - July 31, 2012
Teens: want to do something more imaginative than just writing a review for Summer Reading books that you have read? Create and submit a book trailer review for Summer Reading, and you could win a Kindle Fire! Upload a short clip, no longer than 4 minutes, to YouTube, providing your review of the book. Be creative! The contest is open to all participants in the Teen Summer Reading Celebration.
How to enter:
- Create your own book trailer, reviewing a book that you read for Summer Reading. You can submit more than one video, but each video has to be for a separate book.
- Post the video on YouTube using the tag: SJPL2012SRC
- Sign up for Summer Reading here, starting in a few weeks.
- When you log the book you read on the Summer Reading website, make sure to include a link to your video in the review field.
Entries will be judged on creativity and content by a panel of library staff.
Need some examples? Check out the winning entry from last year's Book Trailer Contest, created by Nathan Verdonk.
Here are links to some professional book trailers:
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Teens who submit links to their Book Trailer will automatically be entered in the contest. The top 3 winners will receive:
- 1st place: Kindle Fire
- 2nd place: $50 gift card for iTunes
- 3rd place: $25 gift card for Jamba Juice
Entries for the contest must be submitted between June 1 and July 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in August.
District 10 Election Candidates Forum at the Almaden Community Center
The Almaden Senior Association will host a Candidates Forum for District 10 on the evening of Thursday, May 10, from 7:00-8:30pm, at the Almaden Library and Community Center, located at 6445 Camden Ave. This meeting is open to the general public. There is no admission charge. All six candidates for the District 10 seat will participate. For more information on the Candidates Forum, please call 408-268-1133.
The election for City Council District 10 as well as Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 will take place on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. Register by May 21 to vote on June 5. Call 1-800-345-VOTE for questions about voting or to determine your voter registration status. For more information, see smartvoter.org/ca/state/#register.
Graphic Novel Making Contest - June 1 - July 31, 2012
Congratulations to the winners! - Check out their Work!
Children up to age 6
1st place: Joaquin Albornoz, age 5, “Joaquin’s Birthday Party”
Honorable Mention: Kapil Kumar age 5 1/2 , “Sharing and Friendship”
Children ages 7-12
1st place: Nathan Koketsu, age 11, “Adventure in the Open Sea”
2nd place: Madurya Suresh, age 9, “The Search for the Sun”
3rd place: Laura Shieh, age 12, “Silver Dandelion”
Honorable Mention: Audrey Chiang, age 8, “The Firefly and her Glow”
Teens
1st place: Apanuba Mahmood, age 14, “Flaming Resolve! – Fleeting Demon Encounter”
2nd place: Huyen Nguyen (Chibi Teresa), age 15, “Phantom Dream Hunter: The Prologue”
3rd place: Sienna Gonzales, age 14, “Colored Pencils”
Honorable Mention: Thu Nguyen, age 14, “Terra”
Adults
1st place: Queena Xu, “Butterfly Wish”
2nd place: Christine Bainbridge, “A Dream”
3rd place: Eric Elemen, “Super Busy Dad”
Honorable Mention: Darren Tat, “Death Match”
For more photos, please vist the San Jose Public Library Flickr site.
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If you have a talent for creating comic/manga style illustrated short stories, you are invited to enter San José Public Library’s Graphic Novel Making Contest for all ages as part of our Summer Reading Celebration, 2012. This contest is sponsored by San José Public Library, Hijinx Comics, San José Museum of Art and TRY Japan Culture Group.
Here’s how to enter …
- Create your own comic book with a maximum length of 8 pages, including the cover page.
- Use letter-size paper (8.5 x 11) with black-and-white drawings and text on one side only.
- Each submission must be the creative and original work of a single individual—the author/illustrator.
- The contest is limited to amateur authors/ illustrators only.
- Computer generated images are acceptable as long as they are your original work (no clip art)
- Consider submitting a photocopy that is an accurate reflection of the original (as submissions are non-returnable).
- San José Public Library reserves the right to reproduce your work. You can reuse all your work after the contest.
- Be sure to print and complete the creative works release form. Include your Name, Age, Contact Information and Signature.
- Entries can be submitted to any San José Public Library location no later than 8p.m. on Wednesday, August 1, 2012. There is a limit of one entry per contestant.
Entries will be judged on content and illustrations by a panel of library staff and comic industry professionals. All cash prizes will be awarded as gift cards.
- Children (up to age 6): first place will receive Art Supplies
- Children (7-12): first place $40, second place $20
- Teens (ages 13-17): first place $100; second place $70; third place $50
- Adults (age 18 and above): first place $100; second place $70; third place $50
Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at a reception to be held at the Berryessa Branch Library on Saturday, August 25th at 2:00 p.m.in the Community Room.
Check out the award winning entries from 2011 and 2010. We're discussing last year's winners and other graphic novels in the Online Book Club during June and July.
Learn how to make your own comic book, graphic novel or manga! Oliver Chin will be teaching this free workshop for teens at some San José Public Library branches.
San José Public Library staff members are ineligible to participate.
San José Public Library reserves the right to refuse submissions that are not appropriate for a general audience. This contest is open to all California residents.
Multicultural Books for Little Ones
Are you looking for some books to expose your child to new places and different cultures? Well, here are some titles/series that you may want to explore.
The series True Book covers many countries including Egypt. The series includes interesting facts about the country without overwhelming children with details. It starts off with two questions about the country to which the children will find the answer reading the book. The book has gorgeous pictures and not too much text. I have found that this book can be read to a pre-schooler without too much editing, and for a 1st or 2nd grader, this series/title would be perfect for reports. One caveat: this series is an old one so you need to be selective about the titles. Be sure you find the newer edition. The library owns many older editions, but the newer ones are better.
What We Wear by Maya Ajmera is a beautiful book of costumes and dress, celebrating children from around the world. It has a map of all the nations represented in the book and pages of suggestions of what to do with your children to explore different cultures: visit a folk festival, check out a museum, or ask about clothes of the past. The book has visually stunning photos of children from all the cultures of world, doing different things at different times. I really recommend everyone to take a look.
D is for Down Under: an Australia Alphabet is a beautifully illustrated picture book part of a larger series which highlights the contributions of each country. Part of a larger alphabet series that covers democracy to Fenway Park, many of the authors are famous in their own right. The books are written in verse with enormous pictures to illustrate the alphabet, and each of the alphabet letters represent one important aspect of the country or culture. In addition, the pages include detail about the topic which the teacher or adult can choose to elaborate upon and read. Take a look at this series. The only unfortunate aspect of this series is that it is not catalogued in a way so that you can find the titles of the series easily. You must look up the title individually. On the back of the book, there is a good representative list of the titles in the series. Also, if you go to the website: www.discovertheworldbooks.com you will find a list of the country books.
True Books and the Discover the World series are shelved in the Countries/States area. If you have any questions, ask the librarian to show you the section. You can find a plethora of country books. Browse at your leisure.
Fun Alphabet Books!
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker, Alpha Oops! the Day Z Went First by Alethea Kontis and Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham are three picture books with fun and zany story lines for the alphabet. I never imagined the alphabet could be so fun. I read these stories to my pre-school age son, and he loved them. The pictures are wonderful and the twists and turns between the alphabet characters make the story so fun. I recommend these stories highly. LMNO Peas and Alpha Oops! the Day Z Went First are displayed on the concept display pyramid, and Z is for Moose is a new book on the new book display shelf. Check for these titles at your next visit. If you don't find them, don't be surprised because they are very popular and may be checked out!
Helpful YouTube tutorials for the Nook and the Kindle
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There are some very helpful YouTube tutorials for the Nook and the Kindle, in the San Jose Public Library downloads help areas: http://sjpl.org/ebookguide (towards the top of the page) and http://sjpl.org/ebookfaq (at the end of the page). YouTube also has a number of other videos that cover the Nook, Kindle, and even other devices.
May Day
When I was gr
owing up in the midwest it was common for teachers in the elemenary schools to celebrate May 1 and begin looking forward to summer. Students might bring treats to share with their classmates and teachers might have a small party for the students. In some countries it is an official holiday. In Russia during the time of the Soviet Union May 1 was observed as the International Workers Day and was celebrate with large parades in major cities, like Moscow. In other countries such as Germany, England and Ireland, people might erect a May Pole, crown a May Day queen, or light bonfires. For a brief overview of this often overlooked holiday, you can investigate the Wikipedia entry for May Day.
The San Jose Libray has a wide variety of materials available (childrens books, cookbooks, history books, etc) that talk about May Day. Check out our catalog if you want to know more.
Meet Children's Author Todd Parr and Get a FREE Copy of His Latest Book
Favorite children's author and illustrator Todd Parr will be at Almaden Branch Library this Saturday, April 21, at 3:30 PM as part of the Silicon Valley Reads program.
So save the date and tell your friends!
Todd — author of It's OK To Be Different — will talk and draw for young children and families, and there will be a book signing afterward.
FREE copies of It's OK To Be Different will be distributed at this event, compliments of First 5 Santa Clara County. One book per family. Quantities are limited.
Don't miss it.
District 10 City Council Candidate Forum
On Tuesday, April 17, the Almaden Valley Community Association (AVCA) will be hosting a Candidates Forum featuring people who are running for the City of San Jose's District 10 Council Seat.
The Forum will take place in Holy Spirit Church's Parish Hall, 1200 Redmond Avenue, San Jose 95120 and will run from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.
According to the AVCA website, "The format of the forum will be audience-driven. Each candidate will be provided two minutes for opening remarks, followed by questions submitted on index cards by the audience. The moderator will summarize the questions, and each candidate will be allowed up to two minutes to respond. No questions will be directed to individual candidates. Candidates will be invited to provide a one-minute wrap-up at the end of the meeting."
The six candidates running for the seat are expected to be at the Forum.
The election for City Council District 10 as well as Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 will take place on Tuesday, June 5, 2012.
Register by May 21 to vote on June 5. Call 1-800-345-VOTE for questions about voting or to determine your voter registration status. For more information, see smartvoter.org/ca/state/#register.
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