Blog posts

Astoria Library holds a weekly Summer Reading Program; children from the age 5 and up are welcome to join. (The summer reading program requires you to sign up with Mrs. Sofia, so we may would be able to know what reading level you’re at).  Books are picked out according to reading level, while the children are assigned to a group according to their reading level.  One of the books read was The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen, (donated by the Read & Seed Club).  The children read a book about how an imaginary garden came to be with just Theo’s love and the help of Poppa.  The children later on answered a questionnaire, so we know that they not only just read, but they are able to apprehend what they read. 

Astoria library holds a weekly Science Club for children. This week, the kids participated in an experiment in which they simultaneously learned about sound vibrations and used old resources! They made sound carriers out of old plastic and Styrofoam cups (don't worry, they were cleaned) and discovered whether or not a plastic sound carrier or a Styrofoam sound carrier would be an efficient mode of sending sound vibrations. They tested this by talking into the mouth piece and having a partner listen and report what they heard when putting the other side to their ear. The kids found that the plastic cups carried a significantly greater amount of sound.

This week the kids at Astoria Library have been busy working in the outdoor garden. They’ve been transplanting peppers from pots kept inside the library to the raised beds outdoors. In addition, they’ve been weeding and tending to the plants in the Shakespeare Garden.The kids put the weeds and dead leaves that they’ve raked into our compost bin. The children loved taking turns to water the plants and were very enthusiastic about all of the gardening activities!

On March 2nd, the kids at Steinway library helped start its first indoor garden!For our flower pot, we used plastic cups (cups that would have been thrown out anyway) and seeds that I bought 5 for $1.00 in a nearby store. The kids were divided into five groups with five different types of flowers. Each group had to work together to put the soil into the cups. Once each group got the soil into their cups, we used a pencil to make holes so that we can easily drop the seeds into the soil. Lastly, we placed our flower pots on the window ledge and watered them very carefully. The kids were so excited and interested in the project, that everyone wanted to take a plant home. However, after explaining to them that the plants were to stay at the library, they got even more excited when I explained the concept of "Gardener of the Day." This role is extremely important because each day a new child will take care of the plants and water them. This project will not only teach them how to take care of plants, but will show them that gardening is easy and fun!

Erik’s Reptile Edventure came to Steinway library this week and put on an amazing interactive performance for the kids. Erik, the Reptile Ranger, came in with different creatures including: two different kinds of snakes, toads, a snapping turtle, a lizard and even an endangered alligator! The kids loved being able to learn about these different types of critters AND being able to touch some of them. One brave girl,  had the opportunity to feed the alligator a dead mouse! This program was definitely enjoyed by all and we can’t wait for Erik and his reptiles to visit us again!

On Friday June 15th, Stephanie Huffaker visited the Woodside Library to show us all how to make her wonderful and eco friendly bracelets. This fun craft included regular bangles, tape, a needle, clear thread, Plastic bags of various colors and LOTS OF PATIENCE! Not only were the bracelets beautiful but they projected a conscious effort in helping to make our world a greener place. Are you aware that plastic bags take approximately 20 to 1000 years to breakdown? They simply sit in landfills or end up killing over 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles. It’s our job as consumers to ensure that this doesn't continue. Simply reuse your bags, by turning it into something as simple and fun as a bracelet!

Here at Steinway Library, we are big on environmental awareness and in order to show everyone how much we care about the Earth, we made an Earth Day quilt. Every child received a blank piece of paper and was instructed to write what they will do to save the planet and draw a corresponding picture. There were so many beautiful ideas and pictures that once we collected all of them, we “stitched” them together on one big piece of paper that resembled a quilt and posted it on our bulletin board. The kids love looking at the different pictures that their friends drew and reading the different strategies on how to be more conservative. I just hope they are taking each others advice!

Worldwide economic collapse, totalitarian U.S. government and televised gladiatorial killing are not new to The Hunger Games. Now with that film’s enormous success, chances are good that we will be seeing many more futuristic, blood-sport-centric films hitting the cinemas in the coming years. Until then, there are DVDs available at Queens Library with the same general plot lines and social commentary that will keep the fire alive as you await the anticipated sequels of The Hunger Games.

Set in the year 2012, Death Race is a sequel/re-make of the 1975 movie Death Race 2000. In this story’s version of the near future, American society has collapsed, unemployment and crime have sky-rocketed, and prisons are run for profit. Much of the profits come from marketing “the Death Race,” where prisoners are offered a chance of freedom if they manage to survive five brutally sadistic car races. The character that brings the films together is called “Frankenstein” and is played by several different actors wearing the same mask. Where the original film was satirical and campy fun, the second film just manages to be fast and furious. The car chases make the movie worthwhile, but the pointed commentary of reality TV gone amuck ironically just gets lost in the action. A more recent “prequel,” Death Race 2, was released direct-to-DVD last year. This third film is for completionists only and will really strain your brain as you try to figure out how a movie set in 2012 can be a prequel to a movie set in 2000.

In 1987, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was box office gold, Tristar Pictures released The Running Man with Schwarzenegger as the star. The set-up is familiar — only this time the year is 2019 and prisoners have to outwit and outlast “stalkers” who hunt them down while they try to make it through the game zone to the finish line. Similar to The Hunger Games, there is a smarmy TV game show host (played brilliantly by a real life TV game show host — Richard Dawson, of Family Feud) and an underground resistance movement. The Running Man is a popcorn movie, an entertaining diversion from our own reality that may be a little too close for comfort to current events. However, that is ultimately the point of these dystopian fictions — projecting our current fears on to a future where the results of our present inaction might just be the death of society as we know it.

It seems like we get books like this in regular intervals — Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale, and now The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins — books that make us examine the prospects for the future of humanity and the good and bad of our very real present day society. With the movie version of The Hunger Games opening this week, on March 23, there’s been a frenzy to read (or reread) the books of this trilogy, and despite it being marketed as a YA book, these are very good reads for readers of all ages. Panem is a future version of North America that exists after some vaguely described wars that, while important to the lore, do not require detail in order to be significant in placing things. Seventy-four years before the story begins, a civil war occurred in which one of the districts of Panem tried to rise up against the Capitol. In the years since, two youths are culled from each of the remaining 12 districts and forced to participate in The Hunger Games, a fight to the death in which only one can emerge the victor. Katniss Everdeen is a poacher in the Coal Mining District, District 12. Of course, the district is so poor that to the people living there, illegal hunting and trading is necessary to survive. When the time to pick tributes comes around, Katniss’s younger sister Primrose’s name is picked, and Katniss steps up to take her place in the games. The main thrust of the novel is the juxtaposition of life in the districts and in the Capitol, with those who barely have enough to get by compared with those who have everything they need and more; those who are giving their lives and those who are watching for entertainment. It’s difficult to read these books without finding yourself offended at some point or another, and that’s what makes reading them so great. In fact, finding offense is the point. The book can very easily be read as a criticism of consumer society, a critique of people who are willing to give up their liberties when those in power demand it for a temporary and false sense of security, as the characters in Battle Royale did. It can remark on how easily we are willing to give up our humanity just to survive, as the characters in The Lord of the Flies did. However, I personally see it foremost as a deconstruction of what it means to be a hero. Katniss is not the usual idolized version of a hero that tends to pop up in books like these. She’s not fighting for change. She’s not trying to keep the peace. She’s merely out to survive. She lies, she backstabs, she plays dirty … but, when it really counts, her honesty, hope, and humanity shine through. And in the second and third book … Well, you’ll just have to read the series, won’t you? Though currently in high demand, all of the books from The Hunger Games series are available at Queens Library. Are you looking forward to the movie? Share your review of the books or the movie in a comment!

Free music for you to own legally is now available at Queens Library thanks to our new partnership with Freegal. The name Freegal comes from “free and legal” and they offer three songs a week to Queens Library cardholders from the Sony Music Entertainment catalog. For more information about Freegal, use the FAQ on the site.
Most music shoppers search by artist, so my first Freegal tip is to use the alphabetical search function on the bottom right of the homepage rather than the search box or the advanced search in the upper-right corner. While all three will work, only the alphabetical search at the bottom of the homepage will show the results with album artwork, release dates, running times, and information other than artist, album title, and track name. Also, be aware that articles such as “the,” “a,” and “an” are considered to be part of an artist’s name, so The Byrds would be found under “T,” not “B.” Also, solo artists are listed by their first name so Michael Jackson is listed as “M,” not “J.” Try the same search with all three search options and see for yourself which one you prefer.
My favorite recent discovery and recommendation was found scrolling through the “T’ section.  I’ve been following The Chesterfield Kings since the late 1980’s and was sort of amazed that I saw them listed on Freegal, since I thought they weren’t signed to any Sony label I knew. It turns out that their current label, Wicked Cool Records, is now being distributed by Sony. This is great news for me since Wicked Cool is owned by “Little” Steven Van Zandt (of E-Street Band and Sopranos fame), who also runs my favorite satellite radio station, Little Steven’s Underground Garage. Many of the modern bands played on the station are also distributed on Wicked Cool, so now I have a ton of music already in my wish list for future downloading. If you enjoy 1960’s style garage punk and psychedelic music, give The Chesterfield Kings and other Wicked Cool artists a try. Click on the blue arrow next to a song title to get a 30 second preview and decide for yourself. If that’s not your style, search Freegal and tell us what you found that made you jump for joy.
As The Chesterfield Kings would say, it’s outtasite!