Check out the artwork at Lawrenceburg, or my mother's been busy

The artist and her craft

Greetings everyone!  Happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays.  I have some new things to share with you today.  My mother Tara has been busy at the Lawrenceburg Public Library, doing some new artwork for the Youth Services Department there.  She's been working very hard, and the results are awesome.  You WILL have to go check them out in person.  Like any great work of art, pictures are nice, but it's something different to see the work up close.

Tara Callahan King hard at work

The circus comes to the library

WHOO WHOO, all aboard!

Can you name the books these characters are from?

The 16th President of the United States

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HEY!  Who is that handsome guy?!

I have heard the library is working on another big surprise for the Youth Services Department!  It is going to be so cool.  Sorry, I can't tell you any more, you will have to check back.

PEACE
LOVE
BOOKS,

Take Care,
Bugzy

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Greetings everyone!!  Sorry I've been gone for a little while, I have been busy getting ready for turkey day.

I just love Thanksgiving.  It's such a wonderful day. It is such a simple day too.  Get together and be thankful.  Simple.   It is so great to get together with family (like Chip) and friends, eating and drinking and giving thanks.  People get too much in a hurry to start Christmas.  Enjoy the holiday.  Give thanks.

What I am I thankful for?  I am thankful I get to be in such a beautiful library every day.  I am thankful that so many nice people come by to see me and take their picture with me.  I am thankful to be here with such a nice library staff.  I am thankful for my family.  I am thankful for my health.  I am thankful to live in an area with so many people who are so passionate about their libraries.  I am thankful that I was taught to love to read. I am thankful for all those who helped me and encouraged my love of reading, like my mother, brother, and all of the wonderful staff who work for the library.   I am thankful to be able to talk to all of you in this blog.

What are YOU thankful for?

Bugzy

Meet North Dearborn's Beth B.

Greetings everyone!!  Hope you had a safe and fun filled Halloween.  I know Chip and I did!  So exciting that Thanksgiving is on the horizon.  I love Thanksgiving.  Food and fun and family.

Speaking of giving thanks, I'm thankful to get to work with the talented Ms. Beth Buescher at the ND Branch.  She's smart and funny and loves to help people.

                                                         
Bugzy:  Hey Beth, nice to see you again.  Have a fun Halloween?

Beth:  Yes, my  family and I did.  Thanks for asking.

Bugzy:  That's why I'm here for! To ask questions!

Bugzy:  What is your name?

Beth:  Beth Buescher
Bugzy:  What is your favorite color?
Beth:   Blue-Green
Bugzy:  What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Beth:  African or European?
Bugzy:  I don't know!
Bugzy:   I'll be serious now. What is your favorite movie for kids? 
Beth:   Wizard of Oz
Bugzy:  Oooh, great answer. Classic from 1939.  Who played some of the parts, like the Scarecrow?

Beth:  Ray Bolger was the Scarecrow.  Bert Lahr played the Cowardly Lion.

Bugzy:  All I know is Judy Garland.  She was fabulous!!

Bugzy:    What is your favorite pizza topping (Besides cheese)? 
Beth:  Mushrooms and Light cheese please!

      Bugzy:    Who is your favorite author?

      Beth:   Jane Austen and Holly Payne.      

      Bugzy:  I don't know, what did Holly Payne write?

      Beth:  One of her books "The sound of Blue"  

      Bugzy:  Thanks, I'll have to check that out.   What is your earliest library memory?  

      Beth:  Sitting on those little wicker stools and reading  the mini-sized Beatrix Potter books at Groesbeck Library in Cincinnati.

      Bugzy:  Why do you like reading?  

      Beth:  It is a much-needed peaceful escape from reality….just for me.

      Bugzy:  What did you want to be as a child when you grew up?

      Beth:   A movie star/singer (!) and a mom.( One out of three ain’t bad!)

     Bugzy: What is your favorite children’s book?  You can have several

     Beth:   A Fly Went By  written by Marshall McClintock , The Snowy Day  written by Ezra Jack Keats

     Bugzy:   Who is your favorite Muppet? 

      Beth:  “Animal!”  

        Bugzy:  What do you like best about being an a librarian? 

        Beth:  Getting to browse all of the amazing books that come across the counter.

       Bugzy:  What fun thing would you do if you had four arms like me?

       Beth:  I would probably climb tall buildings and trees on my lunch break. And I would get a ton of laundry done : )       

     Bugzy:   Thanks for speaking with me today Beth.  It was a lot of fun.  I'll see you around the library!

Halloween? What does it mean?!

Halloween, Halloween, oh what does it mean?  Lots and lots of tales and stories.  Stories of monsters, vampires, werewolves, demons, and signs of woe, black raves and black cats.  People tell stories from years ago before anyone called it Halloween.  People decorate their houses with evil and dark things, zombies, big black spiders, webs and graves.  Spooky orange lights.  Children and candy, trick or treating.  What does it mean, Bugzy, what does it mean?!  I'm so confused,  you say!  B is here to help!

What is the true meaning of Halloween that I promised you?    I'll ask  Chip.  He's younger than me, but he reads lots of books, like me.   He told me he knew.

Bugzy:  Hey, Chip, come over here please.
Chip:  Yes, Bugzy, what is it?
Bugzy:  What is the true meaning of Halloween?  I've so many stories of some people called Druids, black cats, bats, vampires and such.  What does it mean?
Chip:  It probably started out as a simple feast of the harvest, in the fall when the crops were in and the weather was turning cold.  People probably danced and had fun.

Halloween is a day of role-reversal, according to some books I have read.  It's simple.  What do kids do?  They dress up in masks.  They never do that.  They go to strangers houses.  They never ever do that.  Kids ask strangers for candy, then they eat it.  They never EVER do that.  Adults tell children stories of bad things to scare them. Children play "tricks" on adults who don't give them what they want.   They never do that.  It's a day of role-reversal.  Simple.

Bugzy:  That is very interesting.   Kids taking candy from strangers and such.

Chip:  I have read books about Halloween.  It's history is very complicated.  It seems we've taken parts from various European and Catholic cultures, as well as popular culture in America.  But it's still role reversal.

Bugzy:  When did you get so smart, little brother?!

Chip:  Reading every day.  Everything I can.

Bugzy:  I KNOW HOW,  you love to read like I do.  I mean "when."

Chip:  OK, my bad.  I love to sit in a quiet place outdoors and read, in the car, or somewhere when I have to wait, at night before bed.  That's a great time to read about Halloween!

Bugzy:  Enough of that, LET'S GO GET SOME CANDY!  AND SCARE MOM!!

Chip:  How can we scare her a good one?  Vampire masks?

Bugzy:  Not good enough.  Let's go tell her how much money it'll take to send us to college.  That should do it!!

Chip:  Naahhh, too mean.

Bugzy:  OK vampire masks it is.

Happy Halloween!

Bugzy

What are YOU going to be for Halloween?

Greetings everyone!  Bugzy here again.  I was just wondering what everyone what going to dress up as for Halloween this year?  Moms, Dad, kids, teens, everyone!  You probably saw my costume!

Me in my Halloween Costume

Here are a few good links on the history of Halloween:

http://www.halloweenhistory.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/a/History-Of-Halloween.htm

My friends at the library have told me that people spending money on Halloween costumes only started recently; when they were kids, everyone made their own costumes or just bought a mask.  Sometimes people spend over $100 on a costume.  How times have changed!  Even someone as young as me knows that!

According to many websites, there is no clear history of Halloween; how it got started, who started it, why it started, when it was first celebrated.  You can read up on it and decide what you think with my links!  

Do you know what the real meaning of Halloween is?  One thing you won't find on any website?  Want me to tell you?  The answer next time.  The clue is children.  I see it all the time here but you probably never think of it. Until next time,

Bugzy

Famous brothers (like us!)

Greetings everyone and good day.  Hope all is well with you and your families.

Since you know now that I have a little brother (Chip), you know I'm not an only child and there are more like me at home.  If you are an only child, that's ok too, because everyone is different.  And there is no right or wrong answer for how big a family should be.  And sometimes, brothers and sisters don't get along too well.  I talk to my little brother all the time, I hope you do too.  It takes some effort to get along with him, but it's worth it.  He's always on my side.  (And then he'll make some jokes about me being heavier than him, but that's part of the effort).  Like Kermit and Fozzie Bear.  No, they were not brothers, but friends, and Fozzie drove Kermit crazy sometimes, didn't he?!

Have you thought about famous brothers?  How many famous brothers have there been in history or recently?  Do you remember some from school?  How about these brothers:

Earp Brothers

• Ben and Casey Affleck  (actors)
• Duane and Greg Allman (musicians)
• John and Jim Belushi  (actors)
• Jeff and Beau Bridges (actors)
• George and Jeb Bush (US President and Governor)
• Joel and Ethan Cohen (screen writers)
• Jermone (Dizzy) and Paul Dean (baseball pitchers)
• Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp (old west lawman)
• Don and Phil Everly (musicians)
• Marc and Pau Gasol (NBA players)
• Ralph and Joseph Fiennes (actors)
• Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm (writers)
• John and Jim Harbaugh (football coaches)
• Frank and Jesse James (outlaw criminals)
• Henry and William James (writers)
• John F and Robert Kennedy (politicans)
• Payton and Eli Manning (football quarterbacks)
• Tom and Ray Magliozzi (radio talk show hosts)
• Groucho, Chico, Gummo and Zepo Marx (actors)
• Randy and Dennis Quaid (actors)
• Charles and John Ringling (circus owners)
• Charlie and Emilio Estevez (Sheen) (actors)
• Richard and Robert Sherman (songwriters)
• Dick and Tom Smothers (comedy duo)
• BJ and Justin Upton (baseball players)
• Owen and Luke Wilson (actors)
• Orville and Wilbur Wright (inventors of the airplane)

Eli and Payton Manning

Orville and Wilbur Wright

That's just some real life brothers.  Want to hear about some fictional brothers you probably recognize:

• Frazier and Niles Crane
• Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes
• Michael, Sonny and Fredo Corolene
• Faramir and Boromir
• Tyrell and Orel Sackett
• Romulus and Rhemus

So if you have a brother, be proud of him!  Give him a call or text right now!  Put down the computer and go call him...

Bugzy

More questions and answers with Chip

INTERVIEW WITH CHIP PART 2

B:  So Chip, everyone knows now I have a little brother.  How does it feel to have such a famous big brother?

C:  Words can’t describe my feelings at the moment.

B:  I’m sure you’re so excited, you can hardly contain yourself.

C:  Slightly bored with be more like it.

B:  Ok I’ll give you a serious question:  what is your favorite children’s book

C:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  It introduced me to a whole knew world of fantasy and adventure, which I like.  And some great characters that I grew to know and love, and some villains I really didn’t like.

B:  Good answer Chipper. 

C:  Thanks B.  You see, I’m deeper than you think I am.  I like skateboarding and the outdoors, but I still enjoy reading.

B:  Yes that’s true.  People of all ages and types should enjoy to read.  It’s a  lifelong skill than can help you in many things.

C:  I also enjoy hot air balloon rides.  It’s something we both enjoy doing.  Even you who like it.

B:  Yes I do.  It’s fun and relaxing and thrilling at the same time.  If you really want to see something, like you’ve never seen before, try going to the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque New Mexico.  http://www.balloonfiesta.com/

There is over 750 balloons from all over the world.  It’s incredible.  

C:  You want to go outside and go on a little adventure, brother?

B:  Yes, let’s go.