Library Happenings

by Julie Jarman

Hello everyone! Welcome to windy March, known for its kite flying, St. Patrick’s Day festivities, March Madness, and the beginning of another MLB season. Spring will soon be here. As we enter the third month of 2022, it is always good to reflect back to some great reading memories from the last 12 months. I also love to see what everyone else read last year, too. It took a bit of research but we were able to compile a list of most read/viewed circulated items from 2021.

Most requested adult fiction: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah in both regular print and large print materials;

Most requested non-fiction adult: a tie between Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and Daring Greatly by Brene’ Brown;

Most popular adult audio book: In Her Shoes by Robert Dugoni;

Adult DVD most checked out: a tie between 42: The Jackie Robinson Story and The Meg;

Children’s DVD: Aladdin;

Children’s Book: Cinders: a Chicken Cinderella by Jan Brett;

Young adult book most requested: another tie between A Conference of Birds by Ransom Riggs, The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien and the Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz;

Most requested juvenile book: For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey;

Most requested children’s local request: Grime and Punishment by Dav Pilkey.

These authors and movies are some of the best of our collection. If you need any book hints, you might try some of these titles.

Speaking of the collection, the library purchases new items every month to acquire some of the most beloved writers of our time as well as some promising newcomers to the literary world. We purchase new movies, too. Last month, the library ordered the very latest from James Patterson, Amy Clipston, Dana Stabanew, and Charles Todd. We also added a few new authors like Charmaine Wilkerson, Nina De Gramont, Tracy Wolff and Daniel Black. Movies such as Dune, Spencer, Venom, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and No Time to Die were also on our purchasing list.

The library has also added the Caldecott winner and Newbery winner of 2022 last month. Every year the American Library Association presents a Newbery award to the author who presents the most distinguished American children’s book published from the previous year. This year that award went to The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera. The same group also honors what is considered the best artist of an American children’s book published the previous year, known as the Caldecott award. This year, Watercress, illustrated by Jason Chin, written by Andrea Wang, was chosen for this high honor. The library ordered both of these books as well as many of the honor books on the final list.

There have been many treasured children’s books over the years that have won these awards – The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, and Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey have all won the Caldecott. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and Sounder by William H. Armstrong were all winners of the Newbery over the years. Please stop by and look up a few of these wonderful books in the children’s room. Most have the beautiful Newbery or Caldecott winner stickers on them.

I am so happy to announce our new series Mine Craft is now in the children’s library. These books have been highly sought after and requested from our library system so it is only natural we include them here.

If you like graphic novels, the library has expanded its collection dramatically in part due to a 2021 Back to Books grant from the Illinois State Library. Lots of great titles are here in the collection beginning with juvenile titles like The Magic Treehouse, Batman, Dogman to young adult books like Dune, Wings of Fire, White Bird and Marvel. We will continue to buy more of these every month, too.

The library has a few tax forms here. We are still waiting for a few more to arrive. Call us at 618-635-3852 before you leave home.

Life is better with a good book to read or a wonderful new movie to watch.

Come see us at the library soon.