Holly Havlicek

“Nothing in the Whole World Felt as Good as Being Able to Make Something From a Sudden Idea”

These words were uttered by beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary, who passed away last week at 104 years old. Her love of reading started at an early age. Her own school librarian suggested she should write books when she grow up. She did just that, after first becoming a librarian herself, when a young patron asked her “Where are the books about kids like us?” From this came her first book, Henry Huggins, introducing us to the characters of Henry, his dog Ribsy, and sisters Beezus and Ramona. Hearing news of her passing makes me want to take a trip down memory lane and re-read some of the wonderful books that I grew up with. If you’d like to join me, check out what we have in our catalog!

Never Before Seen Van Gogh Painting Set To Go To Auction

Street scene in Montmarte,” an 1887 painting by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, has been privately owned by a French family and rarely seen by anyone in public. It is set to be publicly displayed for the first time in Amsterdam and Hong Kong before being auctioned off by Sotheby’s. It is estimated that it will sell for almost $10 million. I think I’ll have to stick to checking out these books in our collection for now.

View 1 of Scène de rue à Montmartre (Impasse des Deux Frères et le Moulin à Poivre)     .
Photo from Sotheby’s

“Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee” on This Day in History

On this day, February 25, 1964, a young 22-year-old Muhammad Ali, then still known by his birth name of Cassius Clay, defeated Sonny Liston to become the Heavyweight Champion. One of his best, and arguably most famous, phrases , “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see” was uttered about this fight, a fight in which Ali was was not favored to win. But win he did, and from it we got another unforgettable Ali quote, “I am the greatest!”

Interested in learning more about the Muhammad Ali? Check out some of the library’s resources about him here.

Enjoy this photo from the TIME 100 Photos Collection

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston | 100 Photographs | The Most Influential  Images of All Time

It Is Officially Spooky Season!

I know, I know, this whole year has kind of felt like “spooky season” right? But now that it is October 1st, I feel like I can officially break out the scary movies. Here are some titles that are available to stream at any time through some of Moraine Valley Library’s online services:

Get Out (2017) - IMDb
Get Out: A young Black man visits his white girlfriend’s family and discovers the sinister reason for the invitation
Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Photo Gallery - IMDb
Sleepy Hollow: Based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a detective is called to investigate a series of murders in which victims’ heads go missing
Suspiria (1977) - IMDb
Suspiria: A newcomer to a ballet academy discovers the school is a cover for something supernatural after a series of murders
Psycho (1960) - IMDb
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho: The tale of an ill-fated traveler who checks into the Bates Motel

These are just some options to get a good horror movie marathon going. Don’t forget to check out all that is available on Hoopla, Kanopy, and Swank!

Women in Sports

Looking for a current topic to write about? Something that has been very prevalent in the news, are the recent wins for women in the world of sports. For example, we have the new WNBA contract, in which we see salary increases, travel improvements, and new family-planning benefits, among other things. We also have Katie Sowers, who is not only the first female assistant coach to head to the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, but also the first openly gay assistant coach to make it that far as well.

You can also check out the many resources we have here at the library and take a look at our online news databases for plenty of past stories on an ever-changing topic.

And just as a celebration for these wins for women, let’s not forget the photograph heard around the world, from the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, given to us by the great Brandi Chastain.

Image result for brandi chastain"

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

Do you love animated films as much as I do? If so, then you probably already know that Disney’s Frozen 2 is being released in theaters this weekend. But did you also know that the original Frozen is based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale called The Snow Queen? Andersen is also responsible for other classics such as The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, and The Ugly Duckling, to name a few.

If you are interested in reading Andersen’s complete collection of fairy tales and stories, you can check that out here.
If you would like to just read a selection or them, check out this.
You can also check out all that the library has to offer from Andersen here.
Lastly, if you haven’t seen the original Frozen you are in luck because the library has a copy! Fair warning, you will have the song Let It Go stuck in your head for a good three months afterwards.

Margaret Atwood Receives Award and Honors

Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, has been named a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for her services to literature by Queen Elizabeth. This is an award given to those with outstanding achievements in the arts. The Testaments was also awarded the 2019 Booker Prize, sharing the honor with Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other. The sharing of this prize has caused a controversy, as the rules state that the prize may not be divided. The chair of the judges revealed that it was a unanimous decision to split the prize.

In 2016, Hulu began production on the dystopian drama, The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Atwood’s 1985 novel. The show has received critical acclaim and has so far released three seasons. Don’t have Hulu and still want to catch up? You can find Season 1 and Season 2 here at the library!

Miss Navajo Nation

November is National Native American Heritage Month. Learn a little more about the rich history and traditions of the Native Americans here.

This past September the Diné, or Navajo people, crowned a new Miss Navajo Nation, Miss Autumn Montoya. See some pictures of that journey and the week long celebration that accompanied it here. And congratulations to Miss Montoya!

I personally had the pleasure of living in Flagstaff, AZ for a little over a year and was able to work for and volunteer with many members of the Navajo Nation and I couldn’t be more grateful for my time there. Some of the things I learned from them was patience, stopping and seeing the beauty in all things, and true and genuine kindness. What are some things that you have learned from another person or group of people?

Look Up!

Did you know that you will be able to see Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, tonight? Head out to the Telescope Open Viewing at the G. Jack Bradley Observation Deck in the Nature Study Area to check it out! You should also be able to see the waxing crescent moon as it travels eastward, making these next couple of nights something to see! Interested in keeping up with the night sky? Check out a couple of resources here and here and you will always know when to look up and what to look out for!

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