Keeping libraries open must be priority

June 27, 2009 Last Updated: June 27, 2009 02:45 PM Community

Everybody knows we are experiencing very difficult economic times, and that when the economy suffers, funding is reduced for all sorts of things.

This makes logical sense. What doesn't make sense is when those responsible for deciding where to spend taxpayer dollars decide to eliminate funding for public libraries.

In the best of times and the worst of times, one of the top priorities our elected officials must have is to keep our public libraries open. If a poor economy disables citizens from being able to afford to purchase books and officials choose to close libraries, surely we will return to something akin to the Dark Ages.

Think about it. Make your voice heard. Our public libraries are one of our most valuable assets and rights.

Books to BorrowThe following book is available at many public libraries.

"Tops and Bottoms" adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens, Harcourt, 36 pages; read aloud: age 3 to 6; read yourself: age 6 to 7.There once lived a very wealthy, very lazy bear. His father had been a hard worker and smart businessman, and had left everything to his son. But the only thing Bear wanted to do was sleep.Down the road from Bear's house lived Mr. and Mrs. Hare and their children. Hare was a clever fellow, but sometimes he got into trouble. Finding himself in a tight spot with no land to raise crops to feed his family nor a penny to his name, Hare and his wife put their heads together and devised a plan.The next day Hare and his family hooped down to Bear's house. Hare presented Bear with a proposition."We can be business partners! All we need is this field right here in front of your house. I'll do the hard work of planting and harvesting, and we can split the profit right down the middle … I'll work and you sleep."All Bear had to do was to choose which part of the harvest he wanted, the tops or the bottoms.Rooted in European folktale traditions and slave stories from the American South, readers will love this funny trickster tale of using brains and wit to beat hardship.

Library: Zelienople Public Library, 227 S. High St., ZelienopleLibrary Director: Jan LawrenceChildren's Librarian: Kay HowardChoices this week: "Pamela Camel" by Bill Peet; "Down Girl and Sit: Smarter Than Squirrels" by Lucy Nolan; "Russian Girl: Life in an Old Russian Town" by Russ Kendall

The following books are available at favorite bookstores."Machines Go to Work" written and illustrated by William Low, Henry Holt, 2009, 42 pages, $14.95 hardcover; read aloud: age 2 and older; read yourself: age 6 to 7.Toddlers are fascinated with things that go and make lots of noise, and big machines certainly fit that description.That's what readers will find in William Low's clever book. From a backhoe to a fire truck, a helicopter to a cement mixer, a tugboat and a train, children will be captivated by the story, the illustrations, and lifting the flaps to discover what these big machines are doing."Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From" by Catherine Thimmesh, photos: various credits, Houghton Mifflin, 2009, 64 pages, $18 hardcover; read aloud: age 10 to 11 and older; read yourself: age 11 to 12 and older.In November, 1974, Donald Johanson was in Hadir, Ethiopia, hunting hominids: skeleton bones of human ancestors.When he happened upon a bit of an elbow jutting out of the sediment, Johanson was ecstatic. He soon discovered it to be a partial skeleton of a single hominid individual; an even more remarkable find.But as the scientists progressed in solving answers to their many questions about their discovery, they would come to know just how very incredible their specimen really was.At once comprehensive and fascinating, "Lucy Long Ago" is an extraordinary book.Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.