Blinded by the Meaning

This past weekend I was sitting outside on a patio, enjoying the lovely weather and my morning cup of coffee.  It was at a hotel in the Twin Cities and they have music piped out there.  Generally I ignore the background music, but this playlist was actually pretty good. And then they played it.  Manfred Mann's Earth Band's 'Blinded by the Light.'  I commented to my husband that I had never liked this song, and we got to discussing it.  First off, what are the lyrics?  And what can they possibly mean?  Some kind of druggy trip?  Or a night in a club?

We found out that the song was written by Bruce Springsteen-who knew? When you look up the lyrics, the words don't mean much at all.  It's just a song. No deep meaning.  Just something to be enjoyed (or not).

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

This year the theme of the library's Halloween trick-or-treat is Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', another piece of art that people are constantly looking for the meaning of.  Some claim Lewis Carroll was under the influence of drugs when he wrote it.  Or that Carroll had a problem with children.  There are all kinds of scholarly papers that may be found online explaining the deep, possibly dark, meaning of Alice and her adventures.

My question is, why?  Why are we looking for deep meanings in something that is a charming children's book? And it's not the only children's book to be dissected for some deeper meaning beyond enjoyment.  J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' has been put under a microscope.  So have the Narnia Chronicles by C,S, Lewis. In fact, right now I am reading a book on how the Great War affected both of these men and their writings. Or take  Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials." It is supposedly based on John Milton's "Paradise Lost",  but on his website  Pullman states that when people ask him the meaning of the story his reply is that "I'm not in the message business.  I'm in the 'Once upon a time' business."

My own theory is that as adults we are looking for some more compelling reason why certain stories stick with us from childhood, apart from simple enjoyment.  As adults we must leave that childhood sense of wonder and nonsense behind and find a rationale for our likes and dislikes.  But why?  Why do we need to justify liking this or that story?  As well try to explain why you like 'Blinded by the Light' by Manfred Mann, or why you like chocolate, or anything else that defies descriptions and reasons.  Retaining that childhood sense of wonder and delight is a beautiful thing. And if adults did not retain it, we wouldn't have an Alice in Wonderland, or Frodo or any other beloved characters of fiction, characters so beloved that we carry them along into adulthood.

Yes, perhaps there are deeper meanings to fairy tales and such.  Perhaps they do speak to some deep psychological need in us all.  But that is secondary to the simple enjoyment they give.  I highly recommend re-reading that beloved childhood tale for your own pure enjoyment.  Get reacquainted with your inner child.

I think I'll give Manfred Mann a second listen while I contemplate my Halloween costume.

Take your own trip down the rabbit hole at the Superior Public Library's Halloween Trick-or-Treat! Friday October 30th from 10:00-noon and 2:00-4:00.  Bring along a non-perishable food item for the food shelf.










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What's In a Name?

Lettice.  Cale.  Or, if you want to be more traditional, Kale. Maybe Romaine is more to your taste. A recipe for a salad, you ask?  That would be a good guess, but no.  These are actually trending baby names.  Yes,  Baby Lettice.

We have babies on the brain at the library lately since one of our own is due any minute now.  We're always excited to get new patrons, and the youngest patrons are the library's future.

Did you know that you can get your child of any age a library card?  Just have your own card in good standing, and you can get each of your children their own cards, too.  I still remember the day I got my first library card. I remember how excited and privileged I felt.  Having attained the great age of 5, I was now ready for the responsibilities and rights associated with a library card.  I would walk down 12th Street to the Carnegie Library on Hammond Avenue at least once a week.  I was a quiet child and I enjoyed the quiet pursuits of watching the fish in the aquarium, looking at the stereopticon, and of course, choosing and reading books. The Boxcar Children?  The Fannie Farmer Cookbook? Maybe be daring and get both? My choices were ceremoniously brought up to the desk beneath the Mother Goose painting and the nice librarian would look up my card and check them out to me.  I have very warm memories of that Children's Room.

Circa 1975 Children's Ro

Circa 2015 

You can build your own happy memories with your child in our Children's Room, too. The aquarium is gone, but the painting of all the Mother Goose rhymes is still there as well as the nice librarian.

Any child from newborn on up can get their own library card.  And studies show that when you read to your baby, you build important connections in the brain's language, social, and emotional areas.  Holding baby close while you read to him/her fosters feelings of safety and happiness for both of you, and helps baby learn to connect reading with those good feelings.

How about trying out the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program?  Sound daunting?  If you read only one book to your child each night for 3 years you will have read well over 1,000 books!  You may include ANY books your child listens to, whether read by you, a grandparent, sibling, teacher, Kindle, computer-you get the idea.  So long as your child listens to the entire story, even if it's the same one over and over, it counts towards the 1,000 total.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is just one of many activities in our Children's Room.  There's Story Hour every Tuesday at 10:30, LEGO Club the first Monday of every month, a new craft every month, movies, Summer Reading Program-check out the newsletter at superiorlibrary.org and then stop by the Children's Room to start building your own memories.

Be sure to bring in baby Cale so we can meet him (or her?).

Do you have fond memories of the library?  I would love to hear them! 

Of Blanket Forts and Books

It's official.  The kids went back to school this week.  The air has that crispness in the mornings that we love, but also secretly kind of dread, because we know what's just around the calendar corner.  I won't go into it here.

Even though I am long out of school, this time of year always brings me back to those first days before the start of a new academic year.  The anxiety dreams before school started-I can't find my locker ANYWHERE!  I am late for ALL my classes!  My alarm never went off, I am LATE FOR SCHOOL!  I didn't sign up for any of these classes, WHERE IS MY SCHEDULE?!  Lots of variations on the panic dream. And of course, just lots of stress in general, from "Who will I be sitting next to?"  to "I hope everyone likes this John Travolta folder." I think that sense of anticipation which gets so ingrained in you as a child that you can't  help but feel it still as an adult when September rolls around.

For myself, and many of my colleagues here at the library, reading was (and is) a great escape from a stressful world.  We all have that one favorite book memory, the one that can take us back in time to lying on the bed reading late at night, or making a fort out of blankets, with a glass of milk and some cookies, and a good book.  Someplace to hide from the world and enter a new one.  I asked some of the staff here what their favorite childhood book memories are, and the answers follow.

The 'Golden Stallion' series by Rutherford Montgomery. "I had a Breyer horse collection lead by my own Golden Stallion, a dashing palomino, and his mare buddy, Trey Spot, an appaloosa also from the
series. I spent many hours in horse fantasy with my pal who had her own favorite Breyer, Black Stallion. Golden and Black had many adventures together."

 'Daughter of the Mountains' by Louise Rankin.  Momo's treasured Lhasa Apso Pempa is stolen by traders travelling the Silk Road into India.  Momo follows them, trekking through Tibet, Nepal,
Bhutan, and India to find her beloved dog.  "I was absolutely fascinated by the exotice locale.  And I also wanted very badly to drink some butter tea, and acquire a golden Lhasa Apso for myself. I'm still on the lookout for a prayer wheel."

'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell.  "Not only did I love the book, but my grandmother would tell my sisters and me stories from the book if she was babysitting for the evening. I still remember  listening to Grandma as she regaled us with Black Beauty's adventures."

"Here is my favorite book when I was very young (Rabbit Hill).  I loved animals for as long as I can remember (like a lot of people; nothing special there).  I remember little Georgie rabbit getting hit by a car, but recovers, and the book has a happy ending for all the animals.  Just resonated with me."

Other staffers mention 'A Wrinkle in Time' by Madeleine L'Engle, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew Mysteries, and the Happy Hollisters.

And finally, here is a story that a staffer related to me.  The other evening, 2 staff members were talking about how their absolute favorite childhood book was "Anne of Green Gables."  A child came up to the desk with some books to check out, and one was "Anne of Green Gables."   When she was asked if she wanted to check it out she replied,http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/5-steps-to-building-your-own-epic-blanket-fort#4j501y0 "No, this is my own personal copy."  So good to know that another generation is discovering these wonderful books, and making their own memories about them.  I hope she went home and built a fort to read it in.

Click here for ideas for your own blanket fort! http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/5-steps-to-building-your-own-epic-blanket-fort#4j501y0