Chance's Corner: Kingdom Keepers Series

Have you ever wanted to sneak into any of the parks at Walt Disney World after hours and have the whole park to yourself? If you just screamed yes at your computer screen, then I have a series for you! It's called the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson, and we have it right here at the Franklin County Library.

The Kingdom Keepers series is about a group of young kids who are chosen to be holographic Disney Host Interactive (DHI) tour guides at the Disney Parks. Sounds great, right? Well, the new DHI program has some unexpected side effects for the kids. At night, in their deep sleep, the kids wake up as their holographic replica inside the Magic Kingdom. Is it a dream? Nope. Is it fun? Yeah! Well, it is for awhile... until a mysterious, old Cast Member (Disney employee) named Wayne tells them of the sinister Overtakers who want to take over the parks for themselves. Who are the Overtakers? Oh, it's just all the Disney villains such as Ursula, Jafar, Cruella de Vil, and the baddest villain of them all... Maleficent.  With Wayne's guidance, it is now the Kingdom Keepers' goal, over the course of seven books, to solve puzzles and riddles, while fending off dangerous and deadly traps, to stop Maleficent and her minions once and for all.

Overall, the Kingdom Keepers series is just a light-hearted Disney romp for Youths, but the young at heart are sure to love it as well. I know I do. The real magic is in the detail that Ridley Pearson puts into the Disney Parks. I've been to Disney World several times, and as each book traverses the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney Studios, and Animal Kingdom, I actually feel like I'm there again. It's a wonderful feeling to be home away from home.

Image from www.burningthroughpages.org

Lisa's Cheesy Summer Vegetables

Looking over the blog, I realized that it has been awhile since I've put up a recipe.  To remedy that, I am posting Cheesy Summer Vegetables.  Lisa brought this recipe to our recipe exchange back in May.  I (Julie) was a little hesitant about it because I generally don't like baked squash.  However, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is.  I made it and took it to a meal with my husband's parents and grandparents and they all liked it as well, so I judged that a great success!

Cheesy Summer Vegetables

 

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1 medium zucchini

1 medium yellow squash

1 medium potato

1 medium tomato

1 medium bell pepper*

1 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Italian cheese

 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic.  Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).
2. While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
3. Spray the inside of an 8x8 or round baking dish with non-stick spray.  Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish.  Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern.  Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil, top with cheese, and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

*The original recipe does not call for bell pepper, but Lisa doesn't like tomatoes, so she substituted the pepper for the tomatoes.  I used both pepper and tomatoes.

 

The original recipe is from http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/summer-vegetable-tian/.  

Book Hate

One of the functions of a library blog should be recommending new books and authors and reviewing books.  But what if we read a book and absolutely hate it?  Wouldn't you want to know that as well?

I (Julie) found an article online today about Book Hate.  http://the-toast.net/2014/07/04/lets-talk-books-hate/#idc-cover  I am still reading through the comments about all the books that readers have absolutely hated.  The commenters are almost gleeful about finding a safe place to vent their hatred for certain books.  It's as though someone finally gave them permission to express their secret dislike of some of the most popular books out there.  All genre's are mentioned; romance, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, and, of course, classics we are all supposed to love. 

I asked Chance what books he had ever read and hated and he had his answer for me almost before I finished the question.  He HATED The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.  He said he had a hard time grasping Faulkner's stream of consciousness writing.  He also didn't like Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger because the main character was jaded and blamed a lot of his problems on other people and near the end he went "a little nuts".  Chance said the boy had nothing else to do but gripe.  

As for me, I hate Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  It's completely depressing and never gets any better.  It's basically about falling in love with people you can't have and then you die.  Oh joy.  I've tried it a couple of times at different points in my life, but I never connected with it.  I am also not a fan of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is one of Chance's favorite books.

So, I am throwing the question to you?  What book have you read and hated?   Has anyone ever enthusiastically recommended a book to you and then you hated it?  Do you normally finish books you hate, or do you put them down once you know you hate them?  Let us know in the comments!

Julie's Journal : Learning Something New From Everybody

All my life my father has told me to try and learn something new from everybody I meet.  It is a philosophy that has been very useful to me.  And though, of course, sometimes the things I learn are negative, most people have something positive, useful, or just interesting to teach me. 

The last two years I have put this idea into practice with our summer help.  You may remember Abby from last summer.  She taught me how to use Twitter, which is something I use everyday now, and she taught me about a really awesome drink combination from Sonic.  Ask for a Peach-Cranberry Sprite sometime.  It is AMAZING!  It tastes like the Peachie-O's candy. 

 

This year's summer worker is Kristin.  Kristin has taught me about Instagram (see the new tab at the top of this blog for a link) and origami.  A few days after she started working here, I noticed a tiny little paper crane sitting on top of one of the computer monitors.    Well, naturally, I wanted to know how to make one.  And then...........well, we made a bunch!  Now we have several hanging in the front window. 

We have also learned how to make pretty little dresses, and Kristin even made a jacket and pants.  Next I think we're going to learn how to make butterflies.  We may have all kinds of fluttering creatures in here before the summer is over. 

 

 

What have you learned recently from the people around you?



Giveaway and a Monkey

Update

Cindy Maxton and Cassie Cochran are our winners!

Congratulations!!

Don't forget our ongoing giveaway!  Just comment on this blog or like our post on Facebook to be entered to win one of two summer prize packages. 

 



Also, we are hosting Miki the Monkey this afternoon at the First Baptist Church gym.  Come and see his crazy antics at 2:00!

Giveaway!

We are giving away two summer gift baskets.  They include books, beach towels, sunscreen and book related paraphernalia.  One is themed for adults, and the other for children.

 

To enter to win, either comment on this post or like the Giveaway post on our Facebook page.  We will draw for winners at 2:00 on Tuesday, July 1st.

 



 

 

Good luck!

Book in a Jar

Recently, Lisa saw this idea online and we thought we would try it.  We took a book that had been removed for the shelves due to poor condition and put it in a jar.
 

If you can guess the title of the book, you will be put into a drawing for a cool prize.  You are allowed to pick up the jar, shake it, and turn it, but you cannot take off the lid.  We have several books we have removed from the shelves lately so we will be changing out the jar regularly.  Come on in and see if you can guess what the book is!!

Also, come back to this blog next week for a GIVEAWAY!!

The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne

Josh Hanagarne can bench press 350 pounds, which he says won't impress anybody in a power lifting gym, but is impressive in the world of librarians.  His fascinating book details his struggles with Tourette's syndrome and his faith (Mormonism).  He tells how he came to use weight lifting as a means of combating his Tourette's symptoms. 

He also is a librarian at Salt Lake City's Public Library, a massive building housing about 500,000 items at a time.  The collection actually numbers over 1,000,000 items, but according to Mr. Hanagarne about half of the items are checked out at any one time.

Mr. Hanagarne's thoughts on libraries and their function in a community are intriguing:

• "It's a safe place to explore, to meet with other minds, to touch other centuries, religions, races, and learn what you truly think about the world."
• "A community that doesn't think it needs a library isn't a community for whom a library is irrelevant.  It's a community that's ill.  It doesn't know what it needs."
• "Anyone could enrich their life by spending some time here, if only they were willing to look around."
• "I really want this building to serve the purpose for which it was intended - as a breeding ground for curiosity."
• "The public library contains multitudes.  And each person who visits contains multitudes as well.  Each of us is a library of thoughts, memories, experiences, and odors."
• "The library taught me that I could ask any questions I wanted and pursue them to their conclusions without judgment or embarrassment."

Embedded at the bottom of this page is a video of Mr. Hanagarne speaking about his Tourette's.  It's impossible to imagine having to live with the issues he has.  The book is engaging and compelling.  It is available for check out at Franklin County Library.

Chance's Corner: Hot Air Balloons

Ever had one of those "spur of the moment" adventures? Well I had one this past Saturday in Sulphur Springs, Texas at the Hopkins County Dairy Festival. There was a FREE hot air balloon show behind the Shannon Oaks Church, and I just can't turn down anything free. As usual, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

I was very impressed with the hot air balloon show. I plan to attend next year!











The Ladybugs Find a New Home

Today we released our ladybugs.  We received them as weird yellow and black bugs in the larvae stage, watched them curl into their shells in the pupae stage, and watched them emerge a few days later as ladybugs.  The information in the Ladybug Land package said that the ladybugs would not live very long in the habitat once they had emerged, so today we sent them to their new homes on our plants outside.

 

 However, after we released them, we found one more, still hanging out in the library...

 

Do you see him?  Shortly thereafter he found a new home on the plants outside as well!

Now, we are in need of roly-poly bugs, so if you have any bring them in.  We have a habitat, but no residents. 



More Science Stuff!

All the science-y things that I have on the ledge above my computer have been so popular that we decided to get a few more.  Lisa had the opportunity to run in a Hobby Lobby store, and picked a several things up.

I put together this salt-water powered robot this morning.  It works on a battery made of aluminum, carbon and salt.  It was simple to put together and fun to watch work.

This hand boiler is interesting too.  The liquid inside is ethyl alcohol and the heat from simply holding the bulb in your hand causes the liquid to boil.

We also have a gyroscope, which Chance can make work, a "hippie-stick" which explores centrifugal force, and a space age crystal growing kit, which I haven't got set up yet. 

We've already conducted one experiment, by watching the reaction between milk and coke (it grossed out most of the staff!) and plan to conduct several more.  Come on in and see what is going on this summer at the library!

Petting Zoo Pics!

221 people enjoyed the animals today.  There was a llama, a cow, pot bellied pigs, a giant turtle, ducks, chickens, and goats. 

 

 

Next up is Pint Sized Polka!  It'll be Thursday at 3:00 in the First Baptist Church gym.  See you there!

Bubble Day Pics!

162 kids of all ages enjoyed playing with Bubbles today on the square at our first event of the summer.  There are many more activities to come, so be sure and check our schedule.  Next up is the petting zoo Tuesday from 10:00 - 12:00, also on the square.  Hope to see you there!

Library Replica

Recently a few different high school students came in asking about the dimensions of our building for a geometry project.  We didn't realize that they were creating an actual physical replica.  Today, now that grades are in, one student brought his project and donated it to us.

We thought it turned out really well, and were very excited that he decided to donate it to us!  Come on by and see it!