@ Your Library
April is here! Enjoy the season of transitions. In reality, what season isn’t a season of transitions? Enjoy each day to the fullest and find something every day to bring you peace and joy. Make wonder a part of your life. This world is a marvelous place and wonder can really help improve your outlook. Borrow Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer, Barbara Kingsolver’s Small Wonder or Awe: the new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life by Dacher Keltner.
Wonder about the big things like northern lights, borrow the amazing book Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge and Living Connections to the Cosmos by Travis Novitsky and Annette S. Lee for amazing photographs and beautiful essays. Or small things like the amazing world of fungi, lichen and other miniature growths. I became fascinated after reading Forest Walking: discovering the trees and woodlands of North America by Peter Wohlleben and Judith Billinghurst. She has an Instagram page @jane_billinghurst_writer where she shares photos of the amazing life, often in miniature she finds in the forests. Look at the book Fungi Grow by Maria Gianferrari and Diana Sudyka for beautifull illustrations and basic facts about fungi.
Books can definitely open us up to wonder whether outdoors or by learning more about the people of this world. In 2015, Serhii Plokhy wrote The Gates of Europe: a history of Ukraine that was incredibly eye-opening and made for a better understanding of what the Ukrainians are fighting for and why Russia wants it. Or try, Gaza in Crisis: reflections on Israel’s war against the Palestinians by Ilan Pappe published in 2010 and Israel: a concise history of a nation reborn by Daniel Gordis published in 2016.
Help your kids find wonder by exploring STEAM with our monthly Libratory bags and any number of books, movies and kits that allow them to learn new things, delve into favorite topics or just enjoy reading. Visit us regularly and ask us for help exploring the junior room of the library and discovering just how many different topics we have available. I could go on again about the amazing “Scientists in the Field” books or the fun and delightful “Science Comics.” We got a new set of books called “Outdoor Encyclopedias” that include great information about camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching.
And kids can also learn through fiction. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and its two sequels The Wild Robot Escapes and The Wild Robot Protects are a great introduction to a different perspective of the outside world. Anyone have a kid who wants to be something unusual when they grow up? Borrow You Can’t Be a Pterodactyl! by James Breakwell and Sophie Corrigan for a lighthearted look at growing up.
Use your public library and all its resources to expand your world and provide connections within your home, your community and your world. Let us know what you would like to see us provide to help you find wonder.
I think one needs to be careful when recommending political/history books these days. Ilan Pappe is a controversial historian. Although he is enjoying a wide readership, one should at least be aware of why his factual presentations are viewed cautiously:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1_dc2wuteg
Thank you for your concern.