Celebrate National Library Week

National Library Week will hold its 51st celebration this year from Sunday to April 18. The annual celebration focuses on the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians, and includes all types of libraries — public, school, academic and special.

It's easy to forget about the immense value of that which is so readily available to us — our libraries, librarians, and the resultant access to information. Stop and think of it for a moment — if it weren't for our libraries and librarians, we'd be back in the dark ages.

Recently, reader Thomas E. Shelton wrote and made the following comment: "People who do not read have not learned to think. Logic and clearer understanding comes only through reading and pondering the written word." Those are powerful words of truth.

This year, National Library Week will be celebrated with the theme, "Worlds connect @ your library." If you're not already an active patron of your local library, make a point of it — for you and the children in your life. A well read individual will develop the ability to think clearly and logically. We cannot afford to be a nation that is otherwise.

Books to Borrow

The following book is available at many public libraries.

• "Day of Tears" by Julius Lester, Hyperion, 176 pages

Read aloud: age 9—10 and older.

Read yourself: age 9—10 and older.

Through shifting first-person accounts, author Julius Lester recreates the largest slave auction in history and weaves what he imagines were some of the emotions that must have been felt by those who "did not have the opportunity to tell their stories for themselves."

An extraordinary and powerful work of historical fiction, this selection should be required reading in the classroom, the home, and beyond.

Librarian's Choice

Library: Yuba County Library, 303 Second St., Marysville

Library Director: Loren MccRory

Outreach and Programming Coordinator: Kathleen Stewart

Choices this week: "Where's Your Smile, Crocodile?" by Claire Freedman; "But Excuse Me That Is My Book" by Lauren Child; "The Supernaturalist" by Eoin Colfer

Books to Buy

The following books are available at favorite bookstores.

• "A Mighty Fine Time Machine" written and illustrated by Suzanne Bloom, Boyds Mills Press, 2009, 32 pages, $16.95 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4 — 5 and older.

Read yourself: age 7 — 8.

Grant and Antoine had just traded 20 Yummy Gummys and a bag of Buggy Bonbons for a cardboard box time machine. Their friend, Samantha, said it wasn't a good trade. After all, where were all the gadgets to assemble the time machine and make it work?

Sam knew her friends needed her help. After several failed attempts to put everything together in just the right way, the trio once again tried to launch their mighty fine time machine. This time, the machine and its occupants were actually moving. But when the box finally toppled over, the friends discovered what their box was really meant to be, and that idea pleased everyone very much!

Comical and promoting a terrific message about the value of ingenuity and reading, kids are certain to enjoy "A Mighty Fine Time Machine."

• "Christian the Lion" by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall, adapted for children by Ruth Knowles, Delacorte, 2009, 128 pages, $14.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 8-10.

Read yourself: age 9-10.

When Ace and John were shopping in London's famous department store, Harrods, they came across a most unusual item for sale — a lion cub. The friends couldn't bear the thought of the little cub being cramped up in a cage. So they purchased the cub, named him Christian, and took him to their small home in London.

After a year of fun and love and mischief, John and Ace knew that Christian would be better off living free with other lions. Fortunately, they met a couple who would help them do just that — return Christian to the African wild and train him to acclimate to a life of freedom.

"Christian the Lion" is a remarkable and heartwarming true story. Christian's life journey is one that affirms the inseparable bonds between humans and animals, which explains why this selection will be enjoyed by the whole family.