Alzheimer's... so many families are coping with this disease, trying to make sense of it, and trying to figure out how to help suffering family members or friends. I just read an excellent fiction book that tackles this subject, and the nice twist is that this book is for young audiences, generally about 10 to young teen. An Early Winter by Marion Dane Bauer is the story of an 11 year old boy who can’t believe there's anything wrong with his grandfather... he seems just fine most of the time. The book is thoughtful and sensitive, and very on target with the confusion, emotions, and difficulties faced by so many families in this situation. I recommend this book highly, but it made me wonder if I could find similar books for a young audiences. I found a few:  A Beautiful Pearl by Nancy Whitelaw, The Graduation of Jake Moon by Barbara Park, and If I forget, You Remember by Carol Lynch Williams. For younger children there's What's Happening to Grandpa by Maria Shriver. In Spanish there’s El Abuelito Ha Cambio (Grandpa Has Changed). All are available in SJPL libraries.

- Claire Glennon, SJPL

National Autism Awareness Month

My Brother Charlie, by Holly Robinson Peete

For all ages, My Brother Charlie is a beautifully written, heart packed, brightly illustrated, clear and simple introduction to autism.

National Autism Awareness Month (A few facts)

• Autism is a developmental disorder, occurring in children before the age of 3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/

• "Autism affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. A baby with autism spectrum disorder may be unresponsive to people, or focus intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time.  A child with ASD may appear to develop normally and then withdraw and become indifferent to social engagement." http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm

• About 1 in 88 children have been found to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD.)  Rates appear to be increasing, but this may be due to the increased awareness and diagnostic procedures currently in place. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtm/ss6103a1.htm?s_cid=ss6103a1_w

• Autism is three to four times more common among boys than girls. http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism

San José Public Library Resources on Autism:

Materials

• General: http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~/a?searchtype=X&searcharg=autism&SORT=D&searchscope=1
• Fiction: http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~S1?/X(Autism)+and+(Fiction)&SORT=D/X(Autism)+and+(Fiction)&SORT=D&SUBKEY=(Autism)+and+(Fiction)/1%2C53%2C53%2CB/browse#anchor_25
• Nonfiction: http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~S1/X?SEARCH=((Autism)%20and%20(nonfiction))&SORT=D

Social Workers in the Library

• http://sjpl.org/blog/social-workers-library-1

Story time

• Inclusive Storytime at the Library: http://sjpl.org/tags/inclusive-story-time

Additional Resources:

• Autism Society: http://www.autism-society.org/about-us/national-autism-awareness-month/
• First 5 of California:  www.f5ac.org/files/AutismScreeningppt.ppt

• Parents Helping Parents:http://www.php.com/
• Plane Tree Medical Library http://www.planetree-sccl.org/
• PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002831/

Celebrate the Month of the Young Child at the San Jose Children's Faire! 

Saturday, April 21

10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Faire is expected to draw over 5,000 attendees to the outdoor festival, held at Discovery Meadow (in front of the Children's Discovery Museum), in downtown San José.

The theme this year is "Rock, Roll & Read" and features family-oriented stage entertainment, special attractions, and activity booths offering hands-on activities for children ages 2 -12.  Families can obtain information about education, child care, recreational programs and health and safety resources. 

For more information call (408) 808-2617, or visit www.sjpl.org/moyc

According to the City of San José's Environmental Services Department

Facts About Bags weblink :

Californians consume over 600 plastic bags every second.

Less than 4 percent of all plastic bags are recycled.

Plastic breaks down into toxic bits that take centuries to decompose.

14 million trees are used easch year to produce paper bags in the U.S.

It takes 4 times more energy to produce a paper bag versus a plastic bag.

It takes 10 times more energy to recycle paper versus plastic.

Starting January 1, 2012, the City of San José will ban plastic carryout bags at grocery stores, pharmarcies, small and large retailers. The San José Public Library  is offerring an excellent opportunity for families on January in craft workshops to learn on how to be green by decorating a bag to take home and use for shopping at various library branches.

The Alviso Branch Library is having this craft workshop on

Thursday, January 19th at 4pm.

We invite kids, teens, tweens and their families to join in the fun.  All supplies will be provided.

Eily, Michael and Peggy O’Driscoll are hungry. They are growing up in Ireland during the Great Famine. The potato crop has failed year after year, so their Father has gone looking for work, their baby sister died recently, and now their Mother is also leaving. She’s determined not to let her three remaining children go hungry, so she walks to town to try to sell her last few personal possessions, her wedding dress and lace shawl.

Mother returns with a little food and stories of famine and fever, both of which left many of the townspeople dead. In some cases entire families have fled the town, some leaving Ireland for other countries. After a few days Mother decides she must leave again to search for her husband, as once more the family is close to starvation. When she doesn’t return, as expected, the children are threatened with eviction from their home and are to be sent to the workhouse. The three children leave a message for their Mother with a neighbor and begin the journey to a far off town where they hope to find relatives to care for them.

The remainder of the book takes us along on this very difficult and challenging journey as the children try to reach their Mother’s family. They walk through all types of weather, finding food along the way, while trying to avoid anyone who might wish them harm. They are amazingly resourceful as they deal with illness and wild creatures.

The author has written a fictionalized, but historically based book of what we now call the Irish potato famine. It can be difficult to read some of the situations involving the children, but throughout the book they encourage each other and overall remain hopeful. Marita Conlon-McKenna provides a brief history of the Great Famine of 1845-1850.

Under the Hawthorn Tree, is the first in a series called The Children of the Famine, other titles in the series are Wildflower Girl and Fields of Home.

When Heidi was just a newborn, she and her mentally disabled mother mysteriously appeared at the door of their kindly next-door neighbor, Bernadette. Although Bernadette has agoraphobia and is afraid to leave home, she discovered a connecting door between the two apartments that made it possible for her to look after Heidi and her mother. The three of them create their own unique household and family bond. As a young child, Heidi is content and has little reason to question her origins or her unusual living arrangement. However, at age 12 several nagging questions begin to haunt her. Her mother calls herself So B. It… does she have another, more conventional name? And what is the meaning of the strange word, soof – the only word in her mother’s 23-word vocabulary that isn’t a common one? When Heidi discovers some old photographs showing her mother at a Christmas party in Liberty, New York, she vows to find answers about her family history… even though it means embarking on a solo cross-country bus trip from Reno to New York. In So B. It, author Sarah Weeks has created a strong and likable heroine. You’ll find yourself routing for Heidi in her quest to unravel the mysteries of her past and discover her true identity. Recommended for grades 6-9.