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I recently traveled to Mexico City to spend the holidays with my son and his wife who are currently living there. No trip to Mexico City is complete without a visit to Casa Azul in Coyoacan, which was the home of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), who has long been one of my favorite artists. I love the very intimate nature of Kahlo’s paintings which are often self-portraits, done in a wonderfully magical style. Although her paintings are quite dreamlike, Frida stated, “I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” I also admire Kahlo for the way she lived her life with abandon, despite the ever-present pain she was in and the many operations she endured throughout her life after surviving a catastrophic bus accident when she was a teenager. My trip inspired me to put together a list of books about Frida Kahlo that are in the youth collection at the Whitefish Bay Public Library.
The 811 area of non-fiction, where the poetry books are shelved, is a peaceful place. This seems fitting to me as I seek out poetry when I feel unsettled and want to read words that will help ground me and offer me a new way of thinking about and looking at things. As poetry critic Stephen Burt said in his 2013 TED talk Why People Need Poetry, “Poems can help you say, help you show how you’re feeling, but they can also introduce you to feelings, [to] ways of being in the world, [to] people, very much unlike you, maybe even people from long, long ago.”
Humans have practiced beekeeping since the time of the ancient Egyptians over 4,000 years ago. Bees have recently been threatened by “colony collapse disorder” in which the worker bees inexplicably abandon the hive, leaving behind the queen and the larvae. In response to this, urban beekeeping has become more prevalent. Today, beehives can be found on the roofs of buildings in cities all over the world. Here are some books for both adults and children, fiction and non-fiction, that will have you buzzing!
We all engage in rituals, large and small. The smallest rituals (making our bed) help us organize our days. The larger ones help us make sense of our world. By engaging in the same ritual as our loved ones who are far away, or by repeating a ritual through the generations, we can feel a connection to loved ones who are elsewhere, and to those who have come before us.
I’m grateful for warm days, bikes, my family and all their quirks; for friends that never leave your side and loyal dogs that love to cuddle. I’m grateful for new books, good food, and movement. What are you grateful for this holiday season? For every one of us the memory and relevance is different, but equally important. Giving thanks and expressing gratitude is one of the simplest forms of joy. It invites others to express their gratitude and is contagious in its form.
November was designated as Native American Heritage Month in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush. This time of year is a great opportunity to learn more about our native people of the past and of the present day. With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is also important to read about this beloved holiday from the perspective of Native Americans. I have gathered a list of some good reads to help you celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Also visit the library for a larger selection of books for all ages, from picture books to young adult.
Say it isn’t so, Summer has come and gone. The last days of August bring in a slight chill to the air as the sun starts to set slightly earlier, but the most exciting thing about August is the return to school!! Have you bought your school supplies yet, are you ready for that meet and greet, toured the school, found out who’s class you are in this year? What about cookies with k4, team practice, the last of the class playdates? There are so many exciting events that welcome you back to a new year of learning and promote the joy of discovering who your new teacher and classmates are, and as exciting as that may be, sometimes all of that may come with some consternations as well. Never fear, here are some book recommendations to ease those worries and help with those big feelings as our little (and big kids) make their way back into the classrooms.
Hi everyone! Ms. Taylor here. The Summer Reading Program Storytime Session at the Whitefish Bay Public Library has finally wrapped up after six (!) wonderful weeks of beautiful weather, sunshine, and lets face it, some rain and thunder outside at School House Park. I'd like to thank all of the friends, families, and storytime go-ers for their patience, participation, and enthusiasm throughout these sessions! I wanted to share some of my favorites titles and themes that I used over the six weeks so you can read or re-create some of the Monday morning storytimes, too.
August 14th is National Navajo Code Talkers Day, a day to celebrate the contributions made by Native Americans during World War ll. The day was officially recognized in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan and in 2001 President George Bush presented each of the original 29 Navajo marines with a Congressional Gold Medal. The Navajo Code Talkers played a critical role in the war effort by using their complex language for coding and transmitting messages in a time when secrecy was crucial. This code was so complex that it was never broken by the Japanese military. The Navajo Code Talkers transmitted over 800 messages successfully and were instrumental in the success of World War ll. To learn more about these amazing Code Talkers and other spy related novels try:
The arrival of Summer always conjures one feeling or memory, as the sunshine and warm breeze transport you back to that special moment of playing outside as a kid, going to the beach, or even those warm summer nights spent with family and friends. Lovingly titled, “That Summer Feeling” musician Jonathan Richman captures this feeling in song. A staple of any summer playlist, “That Summer Feeling” has inspired a recent picture book display at our library!
June is Pride month, celebrating all things LGBTQIA+. Pride month was started to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. It is celebrated in small and large cities across the United States. Milwaukee has its own Pride celebration at the Summerfest grounds and it is usually the first festival of the season. Librarians Scott and Valerie have assembled a list of titles featuring LGBTQIA+ characters.
March is Women’s History Month! Celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of women all over the world throughout history and today by checking out biographies and non-fiction books displayed in our Youth Services area! From board books to chapter books, no reader is too young to be inspired, empowered, and educated on the vital role of women throughout history. Our Women’s History Month display highlights a variety of authors, scientists, doctors, artists, activists, politicians, and more. Here are some books to read, share, and love during Women’s History Month!
November is Native American Heritage Month! Dedicated to recognize, celebrate, and raise awareness of the traditions, culture, and contributions of indigenous people across North America, this month provides an opportunity to dive deeper into indigenous stories and authors.
July was National Ice Cream month! As if anyone needed another excuse to get a cold treat on a Wisconsin summer day, you can also satisfy those cravings with a few titles from our picture book collection! If you’d like to know how it’s made, all about ice cream trucks, sharing your ice cream with friends, and more, I’ve complied a few titles from our collection here at the library to share with your family, friends, and classroom. Lastly, if you’d like to truly celebrate National Ice Cream Month with reading AND eating (but please, not at the same time!) I’ve also paired some great local ice cream spots in the Milwaukee area with the titles.
March is celebrated as Women’s History Month! It is a month dedicated to commemorating and encouraging the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history, both in years long past and those we look up to today in our contemporary society. From scientists to artists, politicians to athletes, our world and our world’s history is full of trailblazing women, and what better way to celebrate them than picking up a book and discovering their story? Over in the children’s department, we have pulled books from all over our collection to put on display and encourage parents and children to learn about some amazing women! While I can’t mention every single book we have on display, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites to share:
The days are getting shorter, there’s a little chill in the air, and you know what that means—it’s Halloween season! Whether you and your family prefer your Halloween stories frightening or not-so-scary, we have Halloween picture books for younger kiddos that you will love to read together! We have a Halloween section within our Holiday picture books if you’d like to come in and browse books to check out, or you can put a Halloween book on hold from home using the CountyCat website or app. Here are just a few spooky Halloween titles to get started!
Art is the self-expression of feelings, a vision, beauty, or a stance. Art can also unite communities when that art is placed in public view or brings the neighborhood together to create. This is a collection of picture books about inspired individuals and communities that used art as a way to improve their neighborhoods, share, and make a statement. These books are a great way to inspire children to create art of their own and have a voice.
It’s hard to believe, but summer is starting to wind down and we’re getting ready for the start of school! Whether this is your family’s first school year or you’re old pros, the library has lots of books to get everyone pumped for this new beginning. The start of school is a great time to read books together about kindness, separation anxiety, understanding others different from ourselves, and being proud of who we are. Read on for some back-to-school inspiration.
Are you looking for some summer reads to share with the kids? Here is a list of some wonderful and inspiring nonfiction picture books that are new on our shelves. These books are perfect for kids in grades 1-5.
It’s finally spring in Wisconsin! The sun is shining, the snow is melting, the birds are chirping—and after being cooped up inside for months, it’s finally time for kids to get outside and PLAY! Now that the weather is looking up, let’s take a look at some picture books that will inspire your family to put down the devices and get outside! All of these books are available to be checked out or put on hold at the Whitefish Bay Public Library, so stop in today! In a hurry? You can put items on hold by phone at 414-964-4380 or by using the CountyCat online catalog: https://encore.mcfls.org.
Winter is here, and now is the perfect time to cozy up with your kiddo and read stories about the snow! Our picture book reorganization is complete, which means we now have a whole section in the picture books dedicated to winter. Come on in and we can show you how easy it is to find picture books by topic using our new picture book organization.
The Whitefish Bay Public Library’s Youth Services department has completed the reorganization of the picture books by subject! We started this project at the end of July 2018 and have finished this month after reading and reviewing thousands of books and making thousands of decisions on the best place for our patrons to find the books they need and want! We are excited for our patrons to browse our picture book collection and read new discoveries.
If you have visited the Youth Services department recently, you have probably noticed that your favorite picture books are not where they used to be; there are a lot of empty shelves; and there are new colored labels. Youth Services staff is reorganizing the picture books by subjects or categories instead of by the author’s last name. The collection is under construction!
Recently I have been reviewing the Whitefish Bay Public Library’s picture book collection focusing on books by and about Native Americans/First Nations. Unfortunately, many of the books reinforced stereotypes of Native Americans and many more told native stories inaccurately and disrespectfully. So, I would like to share this list of picture books written by Native American writers that we have in our collection.
In the world of children’s picture books, there still exists a lack of diversity in the illustrations and themes available to children. Improvement has been made over the last few years due to increased awareness through organizations like We Need Diverse Books. It is vital for children of all colors and cultures to read books with multicultural faces and characters that reflect the world around us. While there are multicultural picture books that are written and illustrated to reflect a theme specific to a culture there is also a movement toward books with everyday diversity that depict diverse characters doing everyday activities. The most famous and earliest example of everyday diversity is the book The Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats. Here a few of my favorite everyday diversity picture books.
