Posts by Miranda J. McDermott

I cataloged a couple of gay libraries in Dublin, Ireland and Albany, NY, and there has been much in the news media lately about LGBT rights since New York State began recognizing gay and lesbian marriages in 2011. I think it is awesome and terrific that people are now able to legally marry who they love regardless of the gender of the spouses. Below are some LGBT libraries and museums that I found.

Tired of living with the same people every day? What about being a drifter who gets to experience life in different people's bodies every single day? You can never be in the same person's body for more than one day. Of course, identical twins are a different story.

No consequences for your behavior the next day. Luckily, the book's main character is the responsible type.

Lexy longs to perform in dances, but stage fright nixes that dream. Instead, she decides to become a dance teacher so that she can dance and avoid the stage. After all, dance teachers do not have to perform. Unfortunately, recruiting students seems impossible, even for free dance lessons. Frustrated, she quits being a dance teacher, but, unbeknownst to her, the next day a bunch of furry blue friendly giants show up at her doorstep, looking for a free dance class.

Ever wonder what you could do to help the environment? This book provides a plethora of suggestions. Following are just a few of the ideas you can read about in this work.

Horse reproduction! I never thought that I would learn so much about this subject by reading a book about wild horse scientists, but I guess that it makes sense. After all, managing the numbers of wild horses on islands, especially publicly protected land in which predators are few and far between, is a challenge.

Every spring, the NYC Teen Author Festival takes place at various locations around the city, including bookstores and NYPL locations. Teens, authors, librarians, and anyone interested in teen literature can attend for free and participate in the exchange of ideas about teen literature.

When the librarian told the kids that the library was slated to close because it was in a state of disrepair, the kids brainstormed about how to help the library. In fact, at each step of the way, not surprisingly, they read books to educate themselves about the logistics of their ideas and to flesh them out.

This book is the story of a song written by Florence Reece in 1931. Florence's son tells how his father is a miner, their family resides in a company house, and his father gets paid in money that is only good at the company store.

The boy's father says that this is why they need a union. The workers ask for better wages, but if they do not get them, they sometimes strike, or refuse to work until they get better working and living conditions.

One day, librarian Molly decided to drive her mobile library van into the zoo, and all of the animals were flummoxed! She read from Dr. Seuss and the zoo animals were drawn toward her. They were fascinated by reading, and went wild over the many different kinds of books that the library van displayed. The animals read together or alone or while eating lunch, and some, unfortunately, had overdue books.

15-year-old exercise rider Jack Walsh hopes and dreams that someone will promote him to "bug boy," a.k.a. apprentice jockey. However, in no way, shape or form did he aspire to take advantage of the misfortune of Showboat, the leading jockey at his barn. 116 pounds is much too heavy for a jockey; ten pounds to lose in two days.

Some animals in the world are treated badly, and vegans do not want to be a part of that. They do not use animals for food, clothing or fun. This is good for the animals, our health, and the environment.

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.