Sara Campbell


Rowan Public Library

February 10, 2012


The dresses, the drama, the affairs. No, I’m not talking about Hollywood, but rather PBS’ popular series Downton Abbey. Set at the end of the Edwardian Age, it was a time when the British class system was very rigid. It also marked a time of rapid change. War was fast approaching and industrialization was changing the life they’d known. Attention and concern was shifting towards the poor and the status of women. It would be the last time corsets would be worn as a standard of everyday life, and women’s suffrage was gaining momentum. Many authors and book titles that are still well-known, were in their prime – Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, Frances Hodges Burnett’s The Secret Garden, J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, and Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit, just to name a few. Albert Einstein was working on his mathematical theories, and the 1908 Summer Olympics had just concluded in London. If you would like to read more about this time period, try some of these books available from Rowan Public Library.

The Remains of the Day is a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro which was also made into a film in 1993 starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Ishiguro’s novel, told in diary form, relates the life of a butler, Stevens, and his time spent in service to Lord Darlington. Stevens obviously holds his dignity and honor above all, as becomes evident over his missed life of love with Miss Kenton and his unwavering loyalty to Lord Darlington. As with Downton Abbey, class is highly evident, along with Stevens resolve to hold oneself to impossibly high standards. Banter and Stevens lack of humor becomes a joke in itself. British to the core, The Remains of the Day and a good scone will not leave you wanting.

Daisy Goodwin’s The American Heiress tells the story from the young American wannabe heiress point of view. In 1893, Cora Cash’s mother is set on finding a title for her daughter. Cora knows all the ins and outs of American society but quickly finds that her spoiled attitudes are not appreciated in European society. Becoming a Duchess seemed like a grand plan, but Cora quickly discovers that it’s not all fun and games. Can she fit in with her very proper mother-in-law who dotes on her son, a house full of servants who want nothing to do with her, and life in such a strange place?

In 1911, England was a blissful place if you were one of the lucky elite. George V had just been crowned and a common pastime was to throw lavish parties. One such party, The Shakespeare Ball, treated 600 members of the British upper class to a concert hall which had been transformed into an Elizabethan-Italian garden. A blue sky covered the roof, lower seat boxes became yew hedges (complete with birds), cypress trees lined the edges of the hall and the upper levels were designed to looked like marble terraces. The entertainers were mostly real-life descendents of Shakespeare himself. Most did not realize that in a few short years, they would be in the midst of a world war, because in 1911, England was enjoying The Perfect Summer, by Juliet Nicholson.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnarvon takes you behind the scenes of Highclare Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey. Almina was the daughter of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild and married the Earl of Carnarvon at age 19, bringing with her a substantial dowry. She was able to pay off the Earl’s £150,000 debt and still manage to have enough left of over for them to live in style, hosting parties for 500 with a staff of eighty. All this changed when World War I descended upon England and the house was turned into a hospital and convalescent home.

For all these Downton Abbey read-alikes and many more, look no further than Rowan Public Library. You can read a book and pretend you are a countess or an earl – if you can find someone to bring you tea.

Library Notes / February 6, 2012


Dara L. Cain

The 2012 Newbery and Caldecott Winners Are…


If you haven’t already heard January was a very exciting time in the library community! The Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association has announced this year’s Newbery and Caldecott Medal winners for titles published in the previous year. Writer Jack Gantos has won this year’s Newbery Medal for Dead End in Norvelt. In 2001, Gantos received the Newbery Honor Award for his book Joey Pigza Loses Control. This year’s Caldecott Medal has been awarded to Chris Raschka, illustrator and writer of A Ball for Daisy. Raschka also won the Caldecott Medal in 2006 for The Hello, Goodbye Window.

The Newbery Award was established in 1922 and became the first children’s book award in the world. This prestigious award is named in honor of eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery. The intent of the award is "to encourage original creative work in the field of books for children” and “is awarded to the author for most outstanding contribution to children’s literature.” Set in a real Pennsylvania town created during the Great Depression the character Jack Gantos (named after the author) manages to find himself “grounded for life” at the beginning of his summer vacation in Dead End in Norvelt. Jack’s punishment is to help an arthritic old neighbor, Miss Volker type obituaries filled with stories about the citizens who have lived in the town. As one obituary leads to another Jack finds himself entangled with twisted promises, voices from the past, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, Hells Angels, and possibly…a murder. In this funny adventure story Jack learns that being grounded may have its unexpected share of surprises as he learns about facing death and his fears.

It became apparent to many people after the Newbery Award was established that the artists designing picture books for children were equally deserving of recognition and encouragement. As a result, the Caldecott Medal was established in 1938 and was named in honor of the nineteenth –century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott. “This medal is to be given to the artist who had created the most distinguished picture book of the year.” Every child has a special toy and in the wordless picture book A Ball for Daisy illustrated by Chris Raschka most children will be able to relate to Daisy, an energetic black-eared dog whose favorite red ball is deflated by a big brown dog. Daisy is heartbroken but learns that sometimes losses can lead to unanticipated gains when Daisy and the big brown dog become friends and the big dog gives her a blue ball that they both can play with together. Raschka is successful in portraying the emotions of the story without the necessity of words by using ink, watercolor, and gouache artwork. He effectively creates large close-ups of Daisy to emphasize emotion and smaller panels for the action scenes.

Dead End in Norvelt and Daisy’s Red Ball can be found at Rowan Public Library!!! Remember, to also look for this year’s Newbery Honor Books: Inside Out & Back Again, written by Thanhha Lai and Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. For the younger audience be sure to check out the Caldecott Honor Books awarded this year: Blackout, illustrated and written by John Rocco, Grandpa Green, illustrated and written by Lane Smith, and Me…Jane illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell.