The Public Libraries of Birmingham/Jefferson County

the READER

Vol. 13, NO. 2 dot  MAY, JUNE, JULY  dot 2003

  
     

 

 FREE
Computer
Classes		   The Regional Library Computer Center is located on the third floor of the Linn-Henley Building at the Birmingham Public Library. The following classes are currently being offered:
 
  • Basic PC operation
  • Basic Internet
  • Free E-mail on the Web
  • Job Sites on the Web
  • Access 97 (Part 1 & 2)
  • Word 97 (Part 1 & 2)
  • Microsoft Publisher
  • Excel
  Pre-Registration is required for all classes.  Call (205) 226-3799 for further details and registration information.  Class schedules are available at your local public library

 
  For Teens
Books Ahoy! Treasures at Your Local Library
 By Heather Miller, Homewood Public Library 		  
  Sun…Sand…Waves…Libraries? You read me right…this summer you’ll want to take a closer look at your local library. This year’s theme, Books Ahoy!, has given young adult librarians plenty of great ideas. At the Hoover Public Library, teens will be able to read for prizes straight from the washed up treasure chest and attend programs like Mad Science’s Wacky Waves. There will be an end of the summer drawing for prizes such as movie passes and gift certificates, and Ms. Nylen has planned a Hawaiian-style luau as an end-of-summer bash. At Homewood Public Library you can attend creative camps, enter weekly contests and attend a final party aboard the LOVE (Reading) BOAT. Ms. Wallace at Five Points West is kicking off the summer with karaoke, games, and a DJ from JAMM Entertainment.

Are you an active young adult? Do you like to get involved? Give Ms. Hutto at the Birmingham Public Library a call about her Summer Volunteer program. Young adults just like you will be helping with the younger children’s craft times, conducting a reader’s theater, and much, much more.

If you were stranded on a desert island . . . what would you read?

Dr. Franklin’s Island by Ann Halam
When their plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean, three science students are left stranded on a tropical island and then imprisoned by a doctor who is performing horrifying experiments on humans involving the transfer of animal genes.

Overboard by Elizabeth Fama
Escaping from a sinking ferry in the waters off Sumatra, fourteen-year-old Emily fights for survival for herself and a young Indonesian boy, who draws courage from his quiet but firm Islamic faith.

Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs  
After fourteen-year-old Andy slips away from his kayaking group to visit the wilderness site of his archaeologist father's death, a storm strands him on Admiralty Island, Alaska, where he manages to survive, encounters unexpected animal and human inhabitants, and looks for traces of the earliest prehistoric immigrants to America.

  
     

Trussville Public Library Presents

Clyde Bolton
 Alabama Author

Popular Alabama author, and former sportswriter for the Birmingham News, Clyde Bolton will be at the Trussville Public Library, Sunday, June 22, 2-4 p.m. signing his latest book Turn Left on Green.

Call Trussville Library, (205) 655-2022, for additional information.

An Interview with Jo Kittinger
Alabama Author
1. Tell us a little about your background.
I moved around quite a bit as a child, and was shy, so I didn't have many friends. But books were always there to keep me company. It wasn't until after my children were born that I realized I could merge my creativity, my passion for books, and even my love of nature in the creation of children's books.

2. Where do you get your ideas for your children's books?
I stand in awe of creation-both God's and that of men. That naturally leads to my non-fiction books. As for fiction, imagining "what if" is a great way to generate possible story lines.

3. How did you connect with your illustrators?  
Many people think that if you write books for children, you have to arrange for the artwork. Actually, most publishers prefer to add their vision to what the book should be, by pairing the illustrator they think will best compliment the text. Generally, the author does not even get a voice in the decision.  
<<Previous page | Contents  
Page 5  
   

Books Ahoy! 2003 Summer Reading Program