Spooky Stories

by Marissa Creamer   Rowan Public Library                                                                                                                       

                ‘Tis the season of ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night. It’s the perfect time to enjoy a good scary story.  “Ghostly: a Collection of Ghost Stories,” is an anthology of some of the best ghost stories of all time. This collection was edited and illustrated by Audrey Niffenegger, the bestselling author of “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” who also includes a new story of her own. Niffenegger traces the evolution of the ghost story genre with tales ranging from the eighteenth century to modern day, including tales from such authors as Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Wharton, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, and many more.

                A spine-tingling tale for young readers comes from the traditions of Native American stories—“Skeleton Man,” by Joseph Bruchac. When Molly’s parents vanish, she is taken to live with a sinister old man claiming to be her great-uncle.  Why does he never eat, and why does he lock her in her room at night? Why does he appear in her dreams as the “skeleton monster” from her father’s Mohawk stories?  Molly must decipher her dreams to solve the mystery of her parents’ disappearance.

From centuries-old legends to modern best sellers, the vampire has captured the reader’s imagination like no other fictional character. “The Silver Kiss,’ by Annette Curtis Klause, tells the story of 17-year-old Zoe, who is grieving for her dying mother. In a deserted moonlit park, she meets the enigmatic Simon, a vampire who has spent centuries trying to avenge his mother’s death, and agrees to participate in a dangerous scheme to trap his mother’s supernatural killer. 

“I will be brave,” thinks Coraline. “No, I am brave.”  In Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline” the title character, lonely and bored, ventures through a mysterious door into a parallel reality. In this new world, Coraline enjoys doting parents, wonderful food, and interesting toys. But this world may not be as perfect as it seems. Why are her new parents, with their shiny, black button eyes, so keen to keep her on “their” side of the door?  What has happened to her real parents?  Coraline strikes a risky bargain to save them in this delightfully creepy fantasy.

In “The Game of Sunken Places,” by M. T. Anderson, two boys are caught up in an enchanted board game. When they visit the isolated gas-lit mansion of Gregory’s eccentric Uncle Max, Gregory warns Brian that his uncle is not just strange, but “probably insane. He lives in a different world from the rest of us.  You know? The kind of world where electricity is a lot of invisible spiders.  The kind of world where there’s organ music that gets louder when he eats refined sugar.”  Soon, the boys are drawn into a real-life high-stakes quest, facing axe-wielding trolls and fleeing bloodthirsty ogres in this humorous, action-packed suspense novel. 

Look for these and other chilling tales at Rowan Public Library.

               

Inquisitive children

by Pam Everhardt Bloom  Rowan Public Library

Inquisitive children make the best patrons at a library and often ask the toughest questions.  With tablets in their hands and a bombardment of news surrounding them, sometimes these queries arise from subjects adults might deem unsuitable for kids. The right words may be difficult to find, particularly with young children. Some recent additions to the Children’s Room at Rowan Public Library will resonate with young and old alike and may trigger some important conversations.

Sudden death can be inexplicable and young children, often excruciatingly literal thinkers, may ask questions adults aren’t prepared to answer. Two books written by mother and son, Elke and Alex Barber, illustrate the questions Alex had when his father died unexpectedly when he was three. Is Daddy Coming Back in a Minute? and What Happened to Daddy’s Body? are both followed by the subtitle, Explaining (Sudden) Death in Words Very Young Children can Understand. Forewarning - the straightforward stories from these books are reality based and adults may find them difficult to read. Be reassured, the illustrations by Anna Jarvis depict events from ambulance to crematorium in a kid friendly style and the books are packed with hope and love.

A new series for the library, Being the Best Me! By Cheri J. Meiners, provides short, illustrative stories about feelings in a story format with large illustrations that depict differing facial expressions.   Each book also includes a longer adult guide for reinforcing the book theme and a list of games and activities to reinforce each concept.  Titles are: Forgive and Let Go; Be Positive; Bounce Back; Feel Confident and Have Courage! This series not only answers questions, the books also promote emotional intelligence.

 The following new biographies provide a historical perspective to many social justice questions children may inadvertently view on the news. Pete Seeger gave author Anita Silvey his blessing to write his biography, Let Your Voice Be Heard, the Life and Times of Pete Seeger.  The dialogues in the book come directly from Seeger and are factual accounts of what he said and what others said to him. Complete with photographs, source notes, an informative afterword, and under 100 pages, this book is an excellent fit for age 10 and up. Just add music and you will be ready for thought provoking discussions.   Other new biographies include, The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton, Poet by Don Tate; Believe, the Victorious Story of Eric Legrand with Mike Yorkley; She Stood for Freedom, the Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland by Loki Mulholland and Angela Fairwell; The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton and Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells, the Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist by Philip Dray.

  Hug your child and become as inquisitive as your kids. Stop by for a look at juvenile non-fiction. Find answers for those hard questions in life while enjoying a good read.  You may discover that today’s popular adult narrative non-fiction style has long been present in the Children’s Room at Rowan Public Library; children just call them stories.

Buried Treasure

by Paul Birkhead  Rowan Public Library
     
    Rowan County has such a long and interesting past that it’s hard not to wonder what relics we might be walking over every day.  From Revolutionary War campsites to Civil War skirmishes, the local area has seen its share of history.  While I personally haven’t heard any local tales of buried gold, Rowan Public Library has many items in its collection that are sure to spark an interest in treasure hunting.
    It seems I’ve always been fascinated by history, archaeology, and buried treasure.  One of the first books I ever remember reading was a Hardy Boys mystery titled The Secret of the Lost Tunnel.  In the book, the Hardy brothers follow clues and elude the bad guys in a search for gold buried during the Civil War.  This title is #29 in the series, so if you (or a reluctant young reader you know) like it, there are plenty more where that came from.  Another book from my childhood, available at Rowan Public Library, is Treasure Under Your Feet.  My grandfather knew the authors, Roy Volker and Dick Richmond, and I read his autographed copy many times.  The book talks about the hobby of metal detecting and instructs the reader where the best places are to look for treasure on land and under water.  Another book to consider is Treasure Hunting for Fun and Profit by Charles Garrett.  Mr. Garrett pioneered the development of the modern- day metal detector and founded Garrett Electronics, which became the world’s largest manufacturer of the devices.
    Sometimes the story behind a particular treasure is so fascinating it almost doesn’t matter that it might not be true.  One such legend is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and it is called the Beale Treasure.  The story goes that in the early 1800’s, a man named Thomas Jefferson Beale entrusted a box to his friend and told him to open it in ten years if he didn’t return.  Well, after Beale did not return and more than twenty years had passed, his friend opened the box and found three letters inside written in code.  Without a key, this man had no luck decoding the letters, and shortly before his death he gave them to an acquaintance.  That man, James Ward, was actually able to decipher one of the letters using the Declaration of Independence as a key.  The letter explained how the hoard of gold and jewels came to be acquired.  However, the other two letters that explained where to find the treasure could not be deciphered.  When Ward published a pamphlet about his efforts, a treasure mystery was born.  A book that tells about the treasure and efforts to find it, including how the Declaration of Independence was used, is Gold in the Blue Ridge, by P.B. and Walter Innis.
    Another popular treasure story is the Oak Island Money Pit.  This place is a lot farther from Rowan County as it is on the southern shore of Nova Scotia, Canada.  A discovery of a pit on the island by some young boys in the 1790’s started a two-hundred year quest to find out what treasure lies at the bottom.  Most theorize that pirate loot is buried there, while others speculate that Templar treasure or a literary cache from some ancient civilization awaits the finder.  Whether a treasure exists or not, more than a few lives and several fortunes have been lost over the years while attempting to find it.  The dig even managed to captivate a famous United States President.  To learn more, read The Secret Treasure of Oak Island by D’Arcy O’Connor.  It can be checked out from the library as well as DVD sets of Seasons One and Two of the popular History Channel Series The Curse of Oak Island.
    Whether the treasure you seek includes diamonds, gold or just a good story, don’t forget Rowan Public Library is the best place to start your search.   
   

Myths and Legends

by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt  Rowan Public Library

            It’s that time again; the time of year when the young and young at heart choose what to be for Halloween.   Will they be the latest Disney princess or the darkest Sith Lord, a brain-eating zombie or little Red Riding Hood?  When ghouls, ghosts and Marvel heroes populate our streets later this month what mysterious tales will be shared.

            In her book “Zombies” of the Creatures of Fantasy young adult series, Amy Hayes, describes the increasingly popular phenomenon of zombies.  Hayes delves into beginning of the zombie legend with origins in Caribbean voodoo traditions, continuing with creatures from other traditions that resemble zombies, the Draugar from Norse mythology and the Ojibwe tribe’s baykok.   In examining, the current status of the zombie in popular culture, she touches on scientific research, movie cult classics and the increasingly trendy “walk of the zombie.”   The first Zombie Walk was held in Sacramento California to promote a midnight horror film festival in 2001.  A few years later “Zombie Walks” were all the rage drawing crowds of 4-800 in cities across the US celebrating the 2006 remake of the movie “Dawn of the Dead.”  Zombie walks are popular in other countries as well; in 2012 twelve thousand people showed up in Santiago while twice that number gathered in Buenos Aires.  She rounds out her entertaining narrative by describing types of zombies and how to stop them.

            Another book in the Creatures of Fantasy series turns to lighter fare and explains the variations of the “little folk.”  They include all the creatures that dwell in the borders of places – the edge of the woods, in the overlap of adjacent worlds.  Many among us might describe fairies as petite, female winged creatures like Tinker Bell in Disney’s Peter Pan.  However, fairies can be gnomes, brownies, elves, banshees, leprechauns and other similar characters.  The term fairy might come from the French ‘fees’ which translated to English is “enchanted” making fairy tales stories of enchanted peoples.   Greg Clinton relays in his book the characteristics and special powers of the fairy, for instance the control of wealth or time.  One such story tells of two fiddlers invited to play for an evening party find one night’s revel is over a hundred years in their own time.    Clinton examines the appearance of fairylike creatures in other literature from Tolkien to the elusive Persian/Iranian Peris.  Beautifully illustrated, Clinton shares the history of the fairy from changelings to the appearance of fairies in the modern Renaissance Faire.

            If your costume selection leans more toward Thor and the Lady Sif, check out “Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology and Magic” by Claude Lecouteux.  It begins with a short explanation of its use and the history of the pantheons of the Germanic world, both Aesir and Vanir.   While the entries define specific terms, many legends and tales are recounted from this lesser known tradition.   For instance, the hammer of Thor, Mjollnir or “The Crusher” fulfills multiple roles; it is a religious instrument as well as one of battle and in  old Germanic law  taking possession of a piece of land involved the throwing of a hammer.   Lecouteux describes the variations of the “Wild Hunt, “often believed to be about a cult of the dead when the dead can return and the gateway to the otherworld is open.  A fun and unusual look at information and illustrations not readily available for the curious reader.

           

Skill Toys and the Performing Arts

by Emma Rose Rowan Public Library

Most people are very familiar with Rowan Public Library’s materials that can be read, listened to, and watched. But did you know that the library also has Skill Toys – items that you can throw, catch, spin, kick, twirl, and more? Skill Toys are a variety of hands-on props that improve participants’ hand-eye coordination, sense of balance, and reflex speed and accuracy.

Anyone between the ages of 11 – 17 years old is eligible to check out a Skill Toy from RPL’s collection. The Skill Toys available at Rowan Public Library include yo-yos, flower sticks, hacky sacks, the Kendama, juggling balls, spinning plates, jitter rings, and the Diabolo. Most of these items include an instructional element such as a DVD, book, and/or booklet explaining how the skill is performed. To check out a certain Skill Toy, simply visit your nearest Rowan Public Library branch and let a children’s or teen’s staff member know that you would like to browse through the collection. Skill Toys may be checked-out for two weeks.

Skill Toys, also known as Variety Arts Toys, were introduced at RPL through a North Carolina-based group called Flow Circus, which promotes active learning and play through the juggling arts. Mastering a skill toy not only provides gentle exercise and improves rhythm, but it can also give you an entertaining act to relay on for community events, parties and talent shows. In addition, this type of stimuli improves personal development and brain functioning.

Developing positive habits that can increase brain health and functioning is invaluable to young adults as their brains mature. Skill Toys can aid personal development in many ways, providing a sense of achievement upon learning new things, improving problem-solving skills, increasing concentration ability, building self-confidence, and provoking an interest in life-long learning. They can also directly benefit physical health. For example, studies show that juggling has a positive impact on the brain’s structure.

According to a study published in the science journal “Nature,” “Mastering the skill [of juggling] increases the amount of grey matter in areas of the brain that process and store visual information, proving what was not thought possible – that new stimuli can alter the brain's structure. A comparison of brain-imaging scans of non-jugglers and other volunteers before they learned to juggle and three months later, revealed an increase in grey matter in certain areas of the newly trained jugglers' brains.” Skill Toys offer RPL patrons an opportunity to experience these health benefits firsthand.

            Aside from the aforementioned benefits, Skill Toys are just plain fun. This is especially true if you enjoy acting and other performing arts. Those interested in Skill Toys might also check out some of these other items available at Rowan Public Library that can help in any and all endeavors to amuse and amaze:

“Balancing magic and other tricks” by Ormond McGill.

“Performing arts” by Z.B. Hill

“Comedy scenes for student actors : short sketches for young performers” by Laurie Allen

“Circus Skills” by Stephanie Turnbull

“Crafty Juggling” by Nick Huckleberry Beak

“The Kids' Guide to Magic Tricks” by Steve Charney

“275 Acting Games, Connected : A Comprehensive Workbook of Theatre Games for Developing Acting Skills” by Gavin Levy

“How to Make Art : A Book of Ideas, Inspiration, Theory and Practice” by Mel Elliott


Work Cited

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/22/offbeat.juggling.brain.reut/