THANKS.

Did you catch it? Sunday's concert was a hoot.

Upwards of 120 people attended, listened and laughed as these talented young men from UConn sang and entertained.

After expenses, almost $1200 went to benefit the library.

The Friends of the Bakerville Library would like to thank Sharon Mitchell and the Bakerville Methodist Church for all their help, both with this event and with many other past ones. Thanks also to everyone who helped with the refreshments and the flowers, and to everyone who came to the concert, sold tickets, and made donations.

This Sunday--TODAY!

There's still time to get your tickets for Another Completely Different Afternoon with A Completely Different Note. In fact, you can get them at the door this Sunday, April 29th, at 3 pm at the Bakerville Methodist Church.

Tickets are $10 (12 and under free). All proceeds benefit the Bakerville Library.

Refreshments will be served after the concert.

If at all possible, don't miss this very entertaining a cappella group from UConn, including Bakerville's own Patrick Reardon, one of last year's Northwest Idol winners. They're captivating.

(Scroll down for more details and links.)

Children's Books I Like to Read

It's been a week since my last post, and I've made no progress on The Devil in the White City. So just to have a blog entry, and because it's one of my favorite subjects, here are some of the children's books I like best, and am willing to re-read either to myself or to anyone else. (When my kids were little, sometimes it was hard to find a balance between those books they wanted me to read over and over, and those books I wanted to read to them over and over.) (And sorry, I'm having trouble placing these pictures where I want them.)

The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson. This is one of those rare perfect books--perfect chunk of text on each page, perfect placement of juicy drawings, perfect balance of humor and pathos, of familiarity and strangeness. And a bonus--after you're done reading, look for all the vultures in the drawings.

The Three Bears, illustrated by Fyodor Rojankovsky. This is specifically the Little Golden Books version, with illustrations that I used to love when I was little, and still do. I never noticed back then that on each page, the bears and Goldilocks were wearing different clothes, and that the chairs and the bowls and the beds also changed from page to page, as if Rojankovsky hadn't taken his drugs that day. I just got lost in the intense colors and the over-the-top patterns.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series by Betty MacDonald, illustrated by Maurice Sendak and Hilary Knight. I didn't discover these until I read them to my kids, and I think I like them better for that reason. I just crack myself up as I read the names of the kids that Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle cures, or the snidely diplomatic things she says to the worst offenders. These are funnier than her adult book The Egg and I, though that's worth a read, too.

I'll probably think of more later, but maybe you have some of your own? Feel free to comment below.

Just in case you're interested,

I am enjoying the hard copy version of The Devil in the White City. I haven't yet gone past the part that I listened to, but the text without any tone of voice is much more authoritative and interesting.

I did speak with someone else who is listening to the (abridged! but I'm not telling) version by the same narrator, and she doesn't mind it, which is why people really should be commenting, so this stuff isn't all just my opinions.

In the meantime, I am passing time in the car with The Two Towers, by Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is what I depend on when there's nothing else. (I used to depend on Jim Dale and Harry Potter, but I overdosed on that voice and can't listen to it at the moment.) Rob Inglis, who narrates Tolkien, is another great one. He is occasionally boring, but once I get into it, I forget about him and just listen to all the voices.

Spring Newsletter Available

You can find a pdf of the Bakerville Library's Spring 2007 newsletter here.

The Devil in the White City

This is an interim post. I'm on the first CD of the audio version of The Devil in the White City. The information is interesting, and details are plentiful. But the narrator (Scott Brick) seems to imply that everything is really important--especially numbers. Any time he says, for instance, "seven million," he pauses first and then says the number as if he were Ryan Seacrest announcing the bottom three. It gets wearing. I will probably switch to reading this one.

Next Book Club Meeting

The next book club meeting will be Friday, April 27th, when we will discuss The Devil in the White City, about a serial killer at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (nonfiction).