September is National Library Card Sign-up month. The campaign started in 1987 as a response to then Secretary of Education William Bennett, who stated, “Let’s have a campaign … Every child should obtain a library card and use it.”
But cards are not just for kids. Adults should get a card so they access digital content though cloudLibrary as well as use the Chanhassen Library in person.
You can sign up for a card in person at the Chanhassen Library or at www.carverlib.org/services/apply-for-a-library-card.
With Wonder Woman as the official spokesperson for the 2020 campaign, be a superhero by powering up your life with a library card!
ARMCHAIR TRAVEL
Your library card is your ticket to great getaway reading. If you didn’t get to take a trip this summer, then this list is for you: armchair travel novels.
“The Empty Nesters” by Carolyn Brown. Dear friends and army wives Diana, Carmen, and Joanie have been through war, rumors of war, marital problems, motherhood, fears, joy, and heartache. But none of the women are prepared when their daughters decide to enlist in the army together. Facing an empty nest won’t be easy, and so they embark on a road trip to the small town of Scrap, Texas.
“The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris” by Jenny Colgan. Anna Trent may be a supervisor in a chocolate factory but that doesn’t necessarily mean she knows how to make chocolate. So, when a fateful accident gives her the opportunity to work at Paris’s elite chocolatier Le Chapeau Chocolat, Anna expects to be outed as a fraud. After all, there is a world of difference between chalky, mass-produced English chocolate and the gourmet confections Anna’s new boss creates.
“The Promise of Elsewhere” by Brad Leithauser. A professor at a modest college in Michigan who’s nearing both a second divorce and a possibly disastrous medical diagnosis, middle-aged Louie Hake decides to get relief by touring the world’s most stunning architectural sites, from Rome to London to the Arctic (icebergs are the big draw there). Leithauser’s journey novel wonderfully mixes pathos and comedy, and Louie, as he struggles for a sense of value and self, is endearingly and wonderfully human at every moment.
EVENTS FOR KIDS
Silly Animal Storytime: Join Trisha Speed Shaskan and Stephen Shaskan on the Library’s Facebook page, through Sunday, Sept. 13. We’ll sing songs, read books, and end with a craft. Trisha Speed Shaskan and Stephen Shaskan will read their picture book “Punk Skunks.” Stephen will read his picture books “A Dog is a Dog” and “Toad on the Road: A Cautionary Tale or Toad on the Road: Mama and Me.” Music to get everyone moving and a craft to let your creative side shine.
Virtual Book Buddies: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17. Do you love to explore the world with a good book? Book Buddies is for you. Join us on Zoom for a virtual book club. Listen to part of a story, discuss a book, play a game and enjoy reading this fall. You get to keep your book to add to your bookshelf. Pick up your book at the library and get ready to read. In September we will be reading a graphic novel, “Mr. Wolf’s Class.” You must sign up to receive a book. Ages 7-10.
EVENTS FOR ADULTS
Protect Your Privacy: Staying Safe Online, Part II: 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Sept. 13. This class follows Part I by discussing malvertising and safe searching, using ad blockers, setting up a secure home wireless network, using standard vs administrative accounts, encryption and VPNs. Learn to better protect your digital life.
Club Book with Author Morgan Jerkins: Monday, Sept. 14, 6:30–8 p.m. Information on where to view this program online will be added closer to the date by checking the Club Book website at https://clubbook.org/portfolio-posts/morgan-jerkins/. Morgan Jerkins is only in her 20s, but she has already established herself as an insightful writer who isn’t afraid of tackling tough, controversial subjects.
In Jerkins’ first book, a collection of linked essays titled “This Will Be My Undoing”, she interweaves her incisive commentary on pop culture, feminism, black history, misogyny, and racism with her own experiences to confront the very real challenges of being a black woman today.
Jerkins’ latest release, “Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots” (2020), explores the connections between her family’s deep history and that of other African Americans over the last 100-plus years.
Between 1916 and 1970, six million black Americans left their rural homes in the South for jobs in cities in the North, West, and Midwest in a movement known as The Great Migration. It is a timely and enthralling look at America’s past and present, one family’s legacy, and a young black woman’s life, filtered through her sharp and curious eyes.
Making Art for Social Change: 6:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17. It takes all kinds to change the world for the better, and we’ve all got different skills to bring to table. In this class we will look at different forms of art commonly used to get people to rally around a common cause: painting, printing, and text art.
Materials you’ll need to have before class starts: cardboard, pencils, cardstock/ heavy paper, acrylic or tempera paint, paint brushes, a ruler. This class will be taught via WebEx, we’ll send out more information on that platform and specific class information closer to the class date.