How to Love Your Neighborhood

Do you love where you live, or is it starting to wear on you? Maybe you recently moved and still haven't decided how you feel about your new location? Melanie Warnick author of This is Where You Belong says walking can help. Of course, science has proven that walking is good for your mental, emotional, and physical health, but Warnick argues it's also good for your "place attachment."

Here's how it works. First, walking helps you know where you are. You are more likely to understand the lay out of your streets, restaurants, grocery stores, malls etc. if you walk rather then drive. Walking is slower and allows you to absorb more of what you see then a car windshield. You also will start to notice little things you might otherwise miss such as: whose kids play in the yard all the time, that neighbor only plants purple flowers, this neighbor has the same dog as you, or that neighbor must be an expert on berries. This noticing and memorizing your streets increases what is known as "place attachment" or how much you love where you currently live.

Warnick says that loving where you live is a lot like falling in a love with a person. You need to put in time and effort. And no, a drive through date with your block while you are late for a doctors appointment doesn't count as a relationship. So, if you are wondering how to begin building the bond with your new home, or you need to shore up the relationship with your long time home - go for a walk. Go on lots of walks. Put some time into knowing your neighborhood and you just might fall in love.

Talk it up, Mom and Dad

Did you know that there is a huge difference between kids whose parents talk to them a lot and those whose parents don't.  Studies show that kids with talkative parents can start kindergarten having heard as much as 30,000 more words than kids with less talkative parents.  The more words kids hear, the better readers they will be because it is much harder to learn to read a word you have never heard before than one you already know. 

The best way to talk with kids is through two way conversation.  Don't just give directions, like, "Come here," or "Turn of the TV." Ask questions and listen to your child's answers, and then listen and answer when they ask you questions. Conversations involve more complex grammar and sentence structure than simple commands.  By using these complex patterns early with your child, their brain develops structures ready to understand the wonderful richness of language.

To learn more about Early Literacy visit our Early Literacy 

Most Popular Picture Books: Willems and Seuss on the Loose!!

The Library has over 8000 picture books.  Have you ever wondered which ones check out the most? During 2019 two authors dominated the top ten, Mo Willems and Dr. Seuss.  Most people know who Sr. Seuss is, but if you haven't had a pre-schooler in the house in the last ten years you might not know Mo Willems.  If you don't you are in for a treat!  Wickedly clever and amazingly funny, there is a reason he is on this list over and over again.  Stop by the Library and check him out.

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy: by Mo Willems
The Lorax: by Dr. Seuss
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: by Mo Willems
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Needs a Bath: by Mo Willems
Oh, the Places You'll Go!: by Dr. Seuss
We are Growing!: by Mo Willems
If I Ran the Circus: by Dr. Seuss
Dragons Love Tacos: by Adam Rubin
Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann

BTW

Many of the Pigeon books are available as video through Overdrive?  Why not keep one downloaded on your phone for "long check-out line" emergencies.

Click on the Top Ten label on the right to see other top 10 lists from last year.

Time for a change!

Hi Highland Library Friends

We have been posting book reviews on this blog for about a year and decided it was time to change things up a bit.  Stay tuned for new kinds of posts full of fun and interesting facts about the library and about life.  When we do, let us know what you think.  If you like a post, comment and let us know so we can do more of the same. If you think of something you would like us to post about, let us know that, too, and we will see what we can do.

Crispin and the Cross of Lead

Crispin and the Cross of Lead
by Avi
Hyperion Books for Children, 2002, Intermediate Fiction, 262 p.
Astor's son has always lived with his mother on the edge of starvation in a small town in 14th century England.  The mother has been shunned for some reason her son doesn't understand, and he shares in her status.  When she dies of illness, Astor's son doesn't know where to go or what to do, but he soon discovers that the overseer of the manor wants him dead as well.  A kindly priest gives him a cross that used to belong to his mother, tells him his birth name is Crispin, and urges him to flee the city.  Out on the open road Crispin meets a juggler, called Bear, who takes him on, first as a servant and then as an apprentice.  The juggler is also more than he seems, and soon both he and Crispin are running from the magistrates.  Will Crispin ever truly be free?

Avi gives a "warts and all" view of life in medieval England.  Crispin is an authentic character for the time period, having grown up without any hope of ever being free from servitude.  The beauty of the book is how he slowly learns to see himself as a free soul who might choose his own path. This book won the Newbery Award in 2003 and is a great choice for  a junior high age student who is required to read a historical fiction or for anyone who likes the per-renaissance.