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Emily and the Mighty Om

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Emily and the Mighty Om by Sarah Lolley
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Children

Poor Albert has gotten himself all twisted up like a pretzel!  While practicing yoga, he attempted an especially tricky asana and found that he couldn’t untwist from it.  He thought it would be easy, but slowly found himself becoming more and more nervous until… his limbs just stayed stuck.  Laying there on the lawn, all twisted up from head to toe all he could manage to say was “O!… O!…OHH!”  It seemed as if Albert is trying to say something, something that might make his body become unstuck, but what could it be?  Some passerby’s tried to guess what he’s asking for, thinking it might help.

“A phone?” a lifeguard asks.

“A gnome?” a police officer tries.

“A poem?” a helpful librarian inquires.

Young Emily thinks she knows what Albert is trying to say.  Albert once described a magic word that everything on the planet understood- people, animals, trees… even the rocks.  Could the thing that will help him relax be as simple as the word “Om”?

Find it in the catalog.  

Peaceful Piggy Meditation

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Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee MacLean
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Children

“Sometimes the world can be such a busy, noisy place.  Sometimes it feels like you always have to hurry, hurry, hurry… and you feel like you can’t slow down- even when you’re sitting down!”- From Peaceful Piggy Meditation

Life can get hectic.  In addition to all of our work, house and family duties there is a very real, very persistent pressure from society to be constantly plugged in.  The urge to be constantly informed of any and all things is a powerful one, but if we’re not careful it can leave us feeling lost and confused in a constantly shifting world.  At the end of the day, instead of getting some vital sleep, many of us use this time to catch up on the events of the day, watch a “must-see” TV show, or any number of things that we’ve been told we must do to be a part of society.

It can be easy to think this is strictly an adult problem, but the young people in our lives are affected by this pressure as well.  The world seems to spin faster and faster every day, and the more we try to keep up with it the more our heads will spin at the end of the day.  The best way to slow it down and be fully present, and this is true for kiddos and adults, is to get off the ride altogether.  To put some space between ourselves and these thoughts.  To find a spot of stillness within ourselves and nurture it until it grows.

Peaceful Piggy Meditation, by Kerry Lee MacLean, describes the basics of meditation to children through a short story involving some piggies that wish to become calmer, kinder beings.  At its core, the practice involves stopping to listen to what is happening inside of you, physically and mentally.  It is so simple that anyone can do it, and the benefits of stopping and slowing down are good for everyone’s mental health, regardless of age.

I meditate with my 2-year-old daughter about once every other day, and it has been amazing to have those moments to slow down and actually be with her, instead of having my mind on something else.  At her age, it’s less about being still and more about knowing that it’s a quiet time to be together, but it is something that I would recommend to all families that may at times feel overwhelmed.  Find it in our catalog. 

The Overstory

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The Overstory by Richard Powers
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Adults

“The single best thing you can do for the world?  The problem begins with the word world.  It means two such opposite things.  The real one we cannot see.  The invented one we can’t escape.”- from The Overstory.

What would you say if I told you that this isn’t our planet?

Sure, we built things on it.  Raised our children on it.  Molded it to fit our every conceivable need.  But really, in the grand scheme of things, we are simply recent roommates to the rest of life that has existed for millennia on this planet before we showed up on its doorstep unannounced.  Showed up with bags in our hands and plans for a renovation.

Have you ever wondered why it feels so good to be in nature?  Why so many of us have images on our desktop of trees, water, sun and dirt?  Why so many movies and scenes in popular culture show the ocean, mountains, and forests so prominently?  It’s because to be in nature is to be in the realm of truth.  Where there are no lies, no misconceptions, no fake news, no hidden meanings or subtext.  Just truth.  A tree is a tree is a tree.  Our world, on the other hand, the one invented by humans, the one that teaches us all the rules of how we are supposed to act and what we should value, is in the realm of fiction.  It’s as invented as the wheel.

The Oversrtory, by Richard Powers, attempts to explain the ideas of truth and fiction from the perspective of trees.  If that seems like a heady concept, then you should strap in for one heck of a profound journey.  At face value, The Overstory is the story of nine geographical separate individuals that find their paths crossing throughout their lives.  What makes it unique is that Powers attempts to tell their stories through the lens of trees, where a human lifetime is a mere afternoon to a tree and one where the most significant of moments happen at a speed too slow for us to even comprehend.  To a tree your story doesn’t start with your birth, it starts generation’s before you were even conceived, with an ancestor that you’ve never thought of or even knew existed.  To a tree, the invented world that we live in is nothing short of perplexing.

We use bits of paper to buy food for our mouths.  Adorable.

We think that having (name the last purchase you made on Amazon) is important.  Silly.

We get into arguments about what people we’ve never met said on the internet.  Downright hilarious.

Although Powers argues that we can never fully escape the invented world, for it is too ingrained into what makes us “us”, we can attempt to glimpse the slivers of truth that we experience in nature.  We may never escape it, but trying to envision our day-to-day problems and worries through the perspective of a tree may help us to realize that many of those concerns aren’t as important as previously thought.  At its core, The Overstory attempts to answer the question “what would the world look like if we valued all life instead of just the life that looked, and talked and thought like us?”  If this type of deep question sounds like something you would like to explore further, then The Oversrtory may be the book for you.

Find it in the catalog.

Homer

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Homer  by Elisha Cooper
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Kids (and adults)

If only you had more money, then you would be happy.

If only you had more friends, then you would be happy.

If only you read more books, watched the hottest new tv show, then you would be happy.

If only you had more vacations, went on more adventures, then you would really be happy.

If only you found a way to lose those pesky extra 15 pounds you’ve been carrying for years, then you would truly be happy.

One of these thoughts has probably crossed your mind at some point.  It’s certainly what we’re being told on a day-to-day basis.  Movies, television, and even our books (Have you seen books like this before? 1,000 books to read before you die: a life-changing list), are constantly telling us that we need to do all the things to be truly happy.  There will always be something more to do.  Another book that you absolutely MUST read.  Another Netflix show that everyone is talking about.  Another thing that you’ve always wanted to do.  They are all waiting for us as soon as we’ve finished with the last thing.

Now, please consider this: if we’re feeling it, then the children in our lives are feeling it as well.

Homer, written and illustrated by Elisha Cooper, is a friendly reminder that we absolutely do not need to do all the things to be happy.  In fact, there is nothing that we have to do at all.  We simply have to Be.  Here.  Now.  Present.

Homer is essentially a story of a dog who is perfectly happy to watch his friends have fun and feels no need to participate himself, but at its core it is a story about the nature of contentment.  Contentment, as in to feel content in the present moment. To be happy with what you have at this exact moment.

There are not many children’s books that express this idea so clearly.  Taking less than five minutes to read, it is well worth the small amount of time it would take to complete it.  Homer teaches a very important lesson that is sorely needed in a society that seems to glorify the doing of all the things.

Find it in the catalog.

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns

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A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Teens and Adults

Archie and Tristan are best friends.  Archie has a beautiful beard, the knees of a 55-year-old (despite being in his early thirties), and uses the pronouns he/him.  Tristan has been drawing comics for over a decade, will always eat an entire bag of Doritos in one setting, and uses the pronouns they/them.

With A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Archie and Tristan deliver an easy to read guide to what can be a confusing or sensitive topic for many people.  It is funny, touching at parts, but most importantly, it explains how to go about using gender-neutral pronouns in a way that is easily understood.  They go over how to ask what pronouns a person uses as well as what to say if you accidentally refer to someone by the wrong pronoun.  (Spoiler alert: the answer to both of these situations is as easy as asking respectfully or apologizing sincerely).

It may be difficult at first, but with all things, practice is key.  Soon it won’t seem so awkward and you’ll have the added benefit of being more respectful to your fellow human beings!

To quote Archie and Tristan “nothing is as cool as being an empathetic and respectful person.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

Find it in the catalog.

My Pictures After The Storm

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My Pictures after the Storm by Eric Veille
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Children, adults that like puns and clever jokes

My pictures: Pail.  Slide.  Ice cream cone.

My pictures after the storm: Puddle.  ǝpᴉlS.  Ice cream gone!

My Pictures after the Storm, written and illustrated by Eric Veille, is one of the cleverest children’s books I’ve read in a log time.  To put that statement in context, I am a professional children’s librarian and reading children’s books and being aware of what children’s books are coming out is a significant portion of my job.  There is very little that comes out that I don’t at least offer a cursory thumb through and this book has impressed me with some of its downright ingenious use of wordplay and visual humor.

My pictures: Mother.  Child.  Father.

My pictures after the baby: High Chair.  Rattle.  Bassinet.  Nightlight.  Baby Food.  Formula.  Bib.  Bottle.  Teddy bear.  Crying little sister.  Scared big brother.

The way that Veille is able to arrange the images in such a way as to hit the joke home is one of his strongest qualities.  In the above example, not only is it funny because with a new baby comes a deluge of stuff for that baby, but the images are arranged in a big circle around the baby with the older brother siting  nearby with look of agitation on his face.  This further illustrates how life can feel as if it literally revolves around a new baby, as well as depict how a first born may feel when they have a baby brother or sister.

My pictures: Apple.  Bread.  Boiled Spinach.

My pictures after lunch: Core.  Crumbs.  Boiled Spinach.

Maybe it’s the dad in me, but I’m always down for a good pun. In terms of wordplay and visual humor My Pictures after the Storm is an example of this style of humor at its very best.  Find it in the catalog.