Posts by Miranda J. McDermott

I love horses, and Jill Greenberg makes them look like works of art. The horses in her photographs look so majestic that they do not look real. She has some spectacular photographs of equines, and she masterfully uses light to accentuate the horses. The horse on the cover looks almost fluorescent.

People may not be aware of how much they eat, wear, buy and throw out in their lifetimes. This book brings in the numbers.

In your lifetime, you will drive 627,000 miles in a car, eat enough bread to equal your body weight every three years, take 28,433 showers, and eat 12,888 oranges. You will spend $52,972 on clothes, and you will likely own 12 cars.

Dolores came from a privileged family, and she grew up to be a teacher. Cesar's family were migrant laborers and they worked under harsh conditions. One day, the two met, and they agreed to work together for better living and working conditions for farm employees. They organized the workers and urged them to fight for justice.

Breathtaking. That is the first word that comes to mind when flipping through the spectacular visual art in this book. The dark cover photo of a relaxed, beautiful flaxen chestnut horse sets the tone for this set of pictorial works.

Tessa and Lucas, friends forever; however, Lucas wants more and Tessa does not. Lucas asked Tessa to go to the prom with him in a dramatic way; Tessa, meanwhile, is infatuated with deli Josie. Tessa's parents own Giant Brookfield Markets "Giant Brooks" grocery store—even in a small town. I guess Tessa's parents had in mind a dress for her when they gave her money for the prom because when she bought a tux, they did not even think it was for her.

Writing a personal check... purchasing items online... throwing out the trash, and bringing in the mail. You probably did not think that these activities could be putting you at risk, but you could be wrong. Personal checks are full of information that identity thieves relish. Hackers love stealing personal information online, possibly while sipping a cappuccino in the comfort of their homes. Thieves may also sift through your trash and steal mail.

Want to start investing in mutual funds? This is completely the book for you.

Not sure you want to invest, but you want to learn more about personal finance? This is your book.

Want to ensure that you enjoy a safe happy retirement? You may want this book.

Not happy with your financial situation, and longing to feel in control of your money? Pick up this book.

Shel Silverstein's poems are humorous; no one can deny this.

In "How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes," kids learn how to avoid this onerous chore. Silverstein's advice? Drop one onto the floor. The illustration includes a huge dish that is covering a girl's entire body.

I love the cat breed illustrations on the inside of the front and back covers of this book. All of the cats look so happy! The book is full of poems that indicate the nature of cats, and anyone who has experience with cats or who has lived with cats knows exactly what Crawley is talking about in these cat poems.

A Food Network Star! I am a big fan of the Food Network, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover that TeenLIVE at the NYPL was hosting Johnny Iuzzini, head judge of Top Chef: Just Desserts, "Pastry Chef of the Year" in 2006, and author of Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef at the Jefferson Market Library.

This is a story about bats taking over the library at night when it is closed: "Bat night at the library." What could be better? It is a bat holiday that bats wait for all year, like Christmas.

A shopping trip with mama and baby. But Llama Llama is disappointed because he wants to play. Countless other types of animals also shop at the Shop-O-Rama. Llama Llama does not like shopping for clothes... or food.

Ever wanted a yellow cow? How about a green salamander? Or a turquoise frog? You will not find any salamanders or frogs in this book. And if you did, they would not be green or blue. However, the yellow cow is a winner in this tale.

Simon loved peanut butter and only three other foods. Like many kids, it was hard for him to break his eating routine. Luckily for him, peanut butter was plentiful at Nutley School. The principal was named Mrs. Filbert (a type of nut), and the school had teachers called Mrs. Hazel and Mr. Almond. Havoc almost erupted when new student Grant arrived. Grant was on a peanut-free diet. Eating even a single peanut could make him very sick, so it was extremely important for him to avoid any contact with peanuts.

I was struck by the gorgeous, exalted look of the dancers in the illustration on the cover of this book. Isamu Noguchi, an artist, made the stage set for the ballet, Martha Graham was the choreographer, and Aaron Copland was the American composer who helped create the ballet Appalachian Spring. The first performance of this classic ballet was on October 30, 1944 at the Library of Congress. The three created a dance about America, a story communicated through movement. Martha creates unusual dance moves, and her choreography is not always popular. As she says:

"My dancers never fall to simply fall. They fall to rise."

I was super excited to tour the National Archives at New York City (part of the National Archives and Records Administration or NARA) on February 12, 2013 because I thought that it would be a terrific experience for the staff of the library. I became even more convinced that it would be a great experience when I saw a photo of the new location of the NARA library at a METRO (Metropolitan Library Council of New York) conference. The architecture in the building is spectacular! The new location is as follows:

This blog post was actually spawned from a visit to Devon Saddlery near Washington, D.C. I saw a poster there for a horse event, which included information on the National Sporting Library. I then became curious as to what other horse libraries were out there.

This book reads like a brief biography of prominent people, and it includes their essays about the people who influenced their lives. It focuses on the importance of mentoring in young people's lives. Matilda Cuomo wrote about the fact that it was personally fulfilling for her to see the girls she mentored in Albany succeed in life. Many of the people mentioned their parents as mentors, and some mentioned teachers.

At 19 months of age, Keller loses her sight and hearing. A girl spends five years in darkness and silence, yet she runs with strength and is healthy and vigorous. Frenetically, she reaches into everything, is fascinated by people, and is in constant gestural communication with her mother and family members. She remembers the layout of the house, so she is able to freely run through it. She loves being with her dogs and her pony, but she cannot grasp sophisticated meaning from her limited world until her teacher, 21 year old Anne Sullivan, arrives in 1887 to greet the 7-year-old Keller.