Geek Mom

It’s like Christmas when I ask the librarians to buy something for me, and it shows up on the hold shelf for me. This was purchased by our lovely craft librarian.

Geek Mom by Natania Barron, Kathy Ceceri, Corrina Lawson and Jenny Williams.
New Book Shelves – Upper Level – CRAFTS 745.5 G

Geek Mom is a blog on Wired Magazine, related to the Geek Dad blog. Geek Dad the book came out a couple of years ago (my love got it for Father’s Day, and there are two others that we don’t have), and now there’s also a Geek Mom book. This, too, is full of projects and ideas for geeky parents, but written by the moms. It looks like I never reviewed it, and my memory is a bit hazy, the projects in that book looked awesome, but maybe requiring a bit more oomph in the supplies acquiring and time setting aside than we usually have. Geek Mom has more crafty, cooking and reading adventures than I remember from Geek Dad. There are still projects that involve electronics, explosions and computers, so don’t go thinking that being from moms makes the projects less cool in any way. There is the occasional fun sidebar, with topics like “10 Geeky Instruments We Wouldn’t Want to Live Without”. The first five were the accordion, ukulele, theremin, keytar, and moog synthesizer. I will note that the lute made the list, but the harp did not. Their Imagination chapter includes making a secret lair, steampunk and superhero costume ideas, learning about history through comics, exploring fandom with kids, and roleplaying with kids including recommended role-playing systems. Here my love opines that the Icons gaming system is much more kid-friendly than the Mouse Guard system they recommend, which is based on cute comic book mice but not especially simple. The Curiosity and Learning chapter includes lots of preschooler-friendly ideas, which can be tricky to find in books like these. It includes things like cartography, hosting a time travel party, topology, and linking classical and rock music. “Mothers and the Digital Revolution” covers a host of computer-related topics, including internet safety, screen time limits, website building, a history of computers (going back to when it was a job title!), and using tech for fitness. “Science at Home” has a lot of very fun projects, including self-propelled boats, a DIY lava lamp, a blob, making plasma in the microwave (only for use with microwaves you’re willing to risk losing) and much more. They use borax crystals to make a Cthulu rather than snowflakes. “Food Wizardry” includes directions for fixing a hobbit feast, catching wild yeast for sourdough bread, and a tetris cake and cephalopod cupcakes. Also, an essay on the pleasures of loose tea - yum. The sewing and crafting chapter includes felt monsters, a crocheted amigurumi, natural tie-dye, a battery light-up sculpture, and electric component jewelry. (Didn’t you make jewelry out of the resistors in high school physics?)

That was a very long list, and at that, just a sampling of the many cool projects. They are clearly described, with cost, age, time, and difficulty given at the start of each. Most of the projects are in the $5 to $10 range, with some more expensive and some with ranges depending on how much you want to put into them. The projects start working from about age 3, and some would be interesting up through the teen years, but most are aimed at elementary school aged kids. Yes, there were a few projects that I wasn’t interested in myself, some advice I didn’t quite agree with, but not enough to outweigh the many good ideas. This is an approachable book chock full of appealing ideas for active families to have all sorts of geeky fun together.

A Walk Across the Sun

A Walk aCross the Sun by Corban Addison
Adult New Book Display Main Level - ADDISON

What a great book! This one is highly recommended to adults and mature teens. It's not warm and fuzzy, but just as John Grisham said in his review across the top of the cover, it is beautiful in story and important in message.

It is about two teenage sisters in India whose family die in a tsunami, leaving them orphaned. The same day, they are kidnapped and sold into the Mumbai sex trade.  The sisters are ultimately separated, and the book tells their individual stories.

Then there is Thomas, a lawyer who leaves his high-profile corporate job to work for an NGO that tries to rescue girls from sexual slavery in India.  Thomas and his wife are separated, and she just happens to have returned to her family in India.  The two meet up and try to salvage their marriage.

I can't give away the whole story, but Thomas's story intertwines with that of the sisters'.  Will have be able to rescue them?  Will the sisters be reunited?

As disgusted as I was reading about human trafficking, I learned a lot from this story. I was moved by the plight of the sisters and the good intentions of the non-profits who work to help girls in their situation.  I was also horrified at the corruption in the Indian legal system and the issues of jurisdiction when the problem crosses borders.  Even those who want to help are hindered by legalities, loopholes, and international politics.

It's a reasonably-sized book at less than 400 pages, but its message is huge and worth hearing.  It's a riveting story, and although this is fiction, I'm afraid it is all too a reality in many young girls' lives.

Shall I Knit You a Hat?

Shall I Knit You a Hat? by Kate Klise. Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.
Youth Holiday – Lower Level – K

When Mother Rabbit hears that a giant blizzard is expected for Christmas Eve, she knits Little Rabbit a hat to keep his long ears warm. He loves it so much that he asks if they can make hats for all their friends. They go out to the Market together, where all their friends are, and find sneaky ways to measure them all – the horse, the dog, the goose, the cat, the squirrel and the deer. Then they go home, where Little Rabbit takes the lead in designing the hats. He puts great effort into making hats just right for each friend, but of course, as Christmas is only a few days away, they can’t be all knit, and incorporate some household objects along with the knitting. Oh, the looks on the poor animals’ faces when they first see themselves in the mirror that Little Rabbit brings along with the gifts. Soon, however, it starts to snow, and all the animals realize how warm they are despite it and how perfectly suited the hats are to them. The bright acrylic illustrations make the story even cozier. This is a wonderful story of friendship and generosity, yarn and carrot cake for Christmas. It’s a little wordy for toddlers, but perfect for preschoolers through early elementary – both my 3 and 8-year old are loving it this season.

There are several more books about Little Rabbit, including

Why Do You Cry?
Imagine Harry
Little Rabbit and the Night Mare
Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth
And newly published this year in a similar vein,
Grammy Lamby and the Secret Handshake.

The Lucifer Effect

The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo
Adult Non-Fiction-Upper Level 155.9 Z

Human beings (and social psychologists in particular) have often wondered what drives people to do horrible things. Are the situations we find ourselves in partially to blame for why normal people do morally questionable things? Famed psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil examines how situational forces and group interaction can cause the average person to commit inhumane acts. Zimbardo is best known for the Stanford Prison Experiment in August 1971 which the majority of this book discusses in detail. In this experiment, Zimbardo took a group of college volunteers and randomly divided them up into “inmate” and “guard” groups while inside a mock prison environment. To complete the illusion, the guards were dressed in realistic guard attire and carried around wooden clubs while the inmates were called by numbers instead of names and were also locked up at night. Zimbardo was interested in seeing how much a certain setting or situation contributes to a person’s actions and sense of identity.

The experiment did not take long to spiral out of control. While the guards were not allowed to physically hurt the inmates, they found other ways of asserting their authority. The guards took away food, forced the inmates to do repeated pushups, and committed other dehumanizing acts. The inmates tried different techniques to rebel such as hunger strikes and blocking the doors to their cells. The experiment was supposed to run for two weeks but was stopped after six days. The participants had completely disappeared into their roles. In the rest of the book, Zimbardo applies his findings to more current events such as the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and discusses how the system failed the people involved. It appears that the book concludes that most people can be coerced into committing horrible acts under the right circumstances if the setting encourages it or does nothing to prevent bad actions. But all hope is not lost as Zimbardo offers steps to help people and society become more humane in order to make sure the situational factors which cause these atrocities can be lessened over time. All in all, a fascinating read for anyone who is curious about why mankind often strays from a nobler path.

Here Comes Hortense!

Here Comes Hortense! by Heather Hartt-Sussman
Picture Book Shelves Lower Level - HAR

I love this book! A little boy is taken to an amusement park by his Nana and her new husband Bob. Bob's granddaughter Hortense is there too. Hortense and Nana hit it off and ride all the scariest rides. Bob and the boy (who I don't think is ever named) prefer to stay closer to the ground, so they hang out together. The boy is jealous of the time Hortense is spending with Nana. The ending is very sweet - I won't give it away. The people in the illustrations are very cartoony with huge heads and mouths, and the action of the amusement park is well-captured. This is a very cute, modern story with a lot to discuss in the picture details.