Play and Read With Puppets

Join us for a come-and-go early literacy program that encourages dramatic play and narrative skills formation in a fun, entertaining way.  Play with puppets while reading stories about them on Saturday, January 7 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the North Branch Library, 3020 N. Locust St.  This program is for children ages 2-5 and their caregivers.

 

For more information, contact Dana Tucker, Public Services Librarian at 940.349.8715 or at dana.tucker@cityofdenton.com, or visit www.dentonlibrary.com.

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our Web site at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Links and click on Press Releases.

E-book Extravaganza at Denton Public Library

Photo by Mike Baird

Did you un-wrap a new E-Reader, iPad or Smart Phone over the holidays? Do you want to know how to use it to check out E-books from the library? The Denton Public Library offers thousands of popular E-book titles. At the following free come-and-go sessions you will learn how to download and checkout E-books, audiobooks and more using the Denton Public Library website. A librarian will be available to answer all of your questions. No registration is required.

01/07/2012 North Branch Library 2-4 pm

01/09/2012 North Branch Library 6-8 pm

01/10/2012 South Branch Library 3:30-5:30 pm

01/11/2012 Emily Fowler Central Library 3-5 pm

01/12/2012 South Branch Library 12:30-2:30 pm

01/13/2012 South Branch Library 9:30 – 11:30 am

01/13/2012 North Branch Library 3-5 pm

01/14/2012 Emily Fowler Central Library 3-5 pm

If you are unable to make any of these sessions you may always “Book-A-Librarian” for free at any of the Denton Public Library branches. Please call 940-349-8752 for more details.

For more information, contact Kimberly Wells at 940-349-8796, or kimberly.wells@cityofdenton.com, or visit .  

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Residential Landscape Design 1.0

 

Denton County Master Gardeners and North Branch Library present Residential Landscape Design on Tuesdays January 17 and January 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at North Branch Library. Learn the classical elements of design and the design process.  The first class will cover constructing a plot plan, needs and desires of property, site analysis and use areas, and trial design.  The second class will focus on the art of design, developing the landscape planting plan, using landscape plans, and much more.  Participants will receive a 36-page booklet and landscape design kit.  Class size is limited.  There is no charge to attend, however, registration is required.  For more information or to register, please call 940-349-8752.

 

 

When:             Tuesdays, 1/17 & 1/24 6:30 pm (two part class)

Where:           Denton Public Library – North Branch

                        3020 North Locust Street in Denton

 

 

For more information please call Carmen Grant at 940/349-8778 or e-mail carmen.grant@cityofdenton.com.

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Everyone seems to be in love with Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the new book by Laini Taylor, and I have to say it’s with good reason. It’s been on my list for awhile, namely because of all of the great reviews, but once I actually started to read it,  I couldn’t put it down.

The story centers around Karou, a seventeen year old art student who lives in Prague. Karou is a little strange and mysterious. Her hair grows blue, she’s covered with tattoos, and she fills dozens of sketchbooks with creatures that could surely only exist in the imagination. Karou never talks about herself and deflects all questions from friends so that they don’t find out the truth. See, Karou isn’t really from Prague. She’s not from anywhere, actually. She’s from Elsewhere. Karou grew up in a shop with four chimaera and was raised by the Wishmonger, Brimstone. Brimstone, like all of the chimaera, is part animal, part human with the head and horns of a ram, eyes of a crocodile, torso of a human, legs of a lion, and feet of a dragon. Brimstone sells wishes to any who can pay the price, but instead of cash and coins, Brimstone’s currency is teeth, and only the best teeth will do.  He gives Karou small wishes and provides her with money and a place to live in the outside world, and even a fake grandmother to enroll her in school. In return, Karou runs errands for Brimstone, errands that are often very dangerous and even life-threatening, but Brimstone is the only family she’s ever known. Karou doesn’t even know who she really is, but a chain of events that starts with handprints scorched into the doors to Elsewhere leads her to find that the chimaera are not the only ones in Elsewhere, and her family is under attack by beautiful, winged creatures.

Laini Taylor creates a world – two worlds, really –  that is complex and rich in detail. Karou is the perfect, fierce heroine, good enough to rival Katniss of The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins and Katsa of Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Here’s an insider tip for all of you: Read the book now before it starts getting a huge hold list! The movie rights have been acquired by Universal Pictures, and the second book is due out September 2012. I predict that this book is only going to get even more popular.

- Heather Botelho, South Branch Library

Give the Gift of a Library Card!

Looking for the perfect present for the holidays? How about giving the gift of knowledge? Friends and family of non-residents of the city of Denton may purchase a full service Denton Public Library card as a gift. The library card will give the recipient access to thousands of items (books, DVDs, audiobooks and CDs) at three different library locations.

 

If you are also thinking of giving an eReader as a gift the Denton Public Library card will also give the recipient access to a large selection of downloadable ebooks and audiobooks. They can check out up to 10 at a time and will never have any late fees.

 

A one-year, full service library card is available for the price of $50. You can also purchase a six-month, full service card for the price of $25. For any questions about the Denton Public Library card, please call 940-349-8752 or visit any of our three library locations which can be found at www.dentonlibrary.com.

 

 

For more information, contact Kimberly Wells at 940.349.8796 or at Kimberly.Wells@cityofdenton.com

 

For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

 

Professor’s Corner: Robert Penn Warren and Robinson Jeffers

Robert Penn Warren

Professor’s Corner, a discussion group devoted to literary texts, will meet at the South Branch on Wednesday, December 14 at 7 pm.  Keri Overall, professor of English at Texas Woman’s University, will lead a discussion about the symbolism of the red-tailed hawk in some poems by Robert Penn Warren and Robinson Jeffers.

 

The Southern poet, Robert Penn Warren, and the Western poet, Robinson Jeffers, though separated by nearly forty years, both employed the red-tailed hawk in several poems.   For both poets, the hawk was a symbol of the downfall of power and man’s destructive effects on the natural world.  We will discuss two poems by Warren and two poems by Jeffers that focus on the red-tailed hawk and reveal a striking similarity in their importance for the authors’ lives and in their view of the world.

 

When:             Wednesday, December 14 at 7:00 pm

Where:           Denton Public Library – South Branch

                        3228 Teasley Lane in Denton

 

For more information, please call (940) 349-8752 or email Fred.Kamman@cityofdenton.com.

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Links and click on Press Releases.

Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 12.8.11: Herschel Evans

    In the late 1930′s, the Count Basie Orchestra featured two tenor saxophonists: Lester Young and Herschel Evans of Denton. Books, movies and thousands of words have, rightfully, been dedicated to the former. Only a true jazz geek knows of the latter. Herschel was born in Denton on March 9, 1909,  and is found at our Ancestry.com database in the 1930 Census where he appears to be living with an aunt in Bexar County, Texas (San Antonio) while working in the Troy Floyd Orchestra. Click on image below for larger size:

Herschel in San Antone, 1930

           In the census record you can see three important pieces of information that prove this is the same Mr. Evans: 21 years of age, Negro, and musician employed in an orchestra. Here is an early recording with Floyd from 1929, Dreamland Blues. His solo starts @ 1:58.

Lady Hersch

  There is a storied Texas Tenor saxophonist tradition going back to Herschel and on through to Buddy Tate, Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, David “Fathead” Newman, King Curtis, Donald Wilkerson, Booker Ervin, James Clay, Marchel Ivery, on up to UNT alum Shelley Carrol who performs regularly in Dallas. The thread that runs through all of them is a full-bodied tone that always has a blues flavor.

  By the mid-’30s, he was working in Kansas City and landed a seat in the Count Basie Orchestra when they expanded their size after being signed to Decca Records in 1936. In the Basie band, he finally achieved fame through the following recordings (with time his solos start): One O’ Clock Jump 00:45, Doggin’ Around 00:40, Texas Shuffle 1:56 and his most famous solo performance, Blue and Sentimental.

In the Basie reed section

                          

Herschel on left with fellow Basie-ite, Buck Clayton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Herschel died at age 29 in 1939 of a heart attack and was replaced in the Basie band by fellow Texan, Buddy Tate. It was said that Lester mourned his section mate, paid his funeral expenses, and Evans’ passing may have helped precipitate his leaving Basie the next year. Here is footage of the Count Basie Orchestra at Randall’s Island in New York City in 1938. The music on the video is overdubbed but, at 1:41, you can see him sitting down with his sax to the right of singer Jimmy Rushing who is standing.

posted by Chuck.

Pet Santa Tree at Emily Fowler Library

 

You can remember our less fortunate furry friends this holiday season by donating to the Pet Santa Tree inside the Emily Fowler Central Library located at 502 Oakland St. All donations will be delivered to the City of Denton Animal Shelter, benefitting homeless pets. Current needs at the shelter include:

 

• Clay cat litter
• Small blankets
• Dawn dish washing liquid
• Bleach

 

Others items of use include pet food and treats, dog and cat toys, and bedding. Donations can be placed under the tree during regular library hours. Photos of available pets are featured on the tree. This is the third year for the Emily Fowler Central Library to organize support for the Animal Shelter.

 

 

 

For more information, please call (940)349-8752, or e-mail library@cityofdenton.com

For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

 

Buying an e-Reader Class

Learn about the different types of e-Readers and how to choose the one that is best for you at the North Branch Library. Buying an e-Reader will be presented on Wednesday, December 7th at 7:00 p.m. Participants will learn about the prices and features of the major e-Readers available this holiday season.

 

When:             Wednesday, December 7^th at 7:00 p.m.

Where:           Denton Public Library – North Branch

                        3020 North Locust in Denton

 

There is no charge to attend.

 

For more information contact 940-349-8752

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

 

 

Meet Santa at the Denton Public Library

Alexander and Jasmine Jawhari meet Santa at the North Branch after Santa StoryTime 2010.

Ho, ho, ho!  Join us at the library for stories, songs, puppets, and a special guest appearance by Santa Claus himself.  Remember to bring your camera to take pictures with Santa at the end of the program. Best for ages 1 to 5.

December 7, 7 p.m. at the South Branch Library, 3228 Teasley Lane

December 8, 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the South Branch Library

December 14, 11 a.m. at Emily Fowler Library, 502 Oakland St.

December 16, 11 a.m. at the North Branch Library, 3020 N. Locust St.

 

 

For more information, contact Dana Tucker, Public Services Librarian, at 940-349-8715 or at dana.tucker@cityofdenton.com.

For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Links and click on Press Releases.