The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Title: The Giver of Stars
Author: Jojo Moyes
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 2019
Genre: Historical fiction
Setting: Depression-era Kentucky

Description: Alice Wright never fit in at her proper English home because she has a mind of her own and refuses to be silent, so everyone is relieved when handsome American visitor Bennett Van Cleave sweeps her off her feet and takes her away to Kentucky.

Then and Now, Libraries

My errands today started at the Brighton Branch Library, part of the BPL where I got my very first library card when I was six! The library is one of the first renovated City of Boston buildings that incorporates the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Commercial Interiors guidelines. I had not been inside since the library reopened in 2010 so was curious.  The staff were just as friendly and helpful as Judith Lieberman and Bonnie (whose surname I do not remember) were to me as a child.  I remember it was the first library I

knew to have a YA section - I think you were supposed to be in 8th or 9th grade to use it but I ignored that rule.

It is very shiny and new inside - much nicer than it was in the 70s after the first renovation - not only did it look like a prison but they had to stop using their book return slot because vandals enjoyed dropping in lighted matches! The book I was looking for, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, was purportedly on the shelf but could not be located. Luckily, it turned out my sister owns a copy which I borrowed later. However, the book sale yielded a hardcover copy of Madensky Square (yes, I already own at least one copy but I couldn't leave that behind) and a book by Mary Hooper (recommended both by Monica Edinger and my friend Nicky Smith, who sent me the author's At the Sign of the Sugared Plum, which I enjoyed not long ago). I also bought a hardcover copy of Ballet Shoes for a friend's baby.

I first read Betsy Was a Junior from the Brighton Library as it was one of two Betsy-Tacys the Newton system did not own. We loved the Brighton children's librarian, Judy Lieberman, who got great pleasure in challenging me to read books outside my usual genres. Sometimes it worked (The Endless Steppe)(I did not know there was a BT connection until many years later) and sometimes not (The White Mountains).

The original library had huge amounts of character but it was dark and I mostly remember it was on a steep hill and had narrow steps leading to the front door. Once our car broke down in front of the library - it was too far to walk home so it was fortunate we were in a place we liked to linger until AAA came to rescue us. I was glad to find a photo of the old building hanging in the children's room this morning. I also noticed a new Abbott's Frozen Custard just down the street but resisted temptation as I was on my way to the gym . . .

My childhood branch
stood on a hill

Shipping up to Boston

I am pleased to hear that ALA Midwinter is going to be in Boston this year, just a few blocks from my office. I have attended ALA conventions twice, once tagging along with my mother, then a librarian at Northeastern, and as an exhibitor in 1999 in DC, but those were in the summer and it is in the winter that the Newbery Medal is awarded. For those who are interested, there is a blog at School Library Journal that actively discusses the potential contenders.

Bob Ryan disses librarians!

The Boston Globe, October 18, 2007
IT ISN'T often that librarians make the pages of an opinion piece. When they do, it is usually because of standing up for patrons' rights or other fights for the freedom of information. This time, however, it came in the form of a negative stereotypical viewpoint of sports columnist Bob Ryan ("QB receives more support this season," Sports, Oct. 15). Ryan wrote, "And you can be sure [Tom] Brady will be seen in public with a homely librarian before he engages in any discussion about the difference between the receivers he was forced to work with last season and the ones he has now." Not only is that offensive, but it reinforces a stereotype that librarians fight against. It is outrageous how Ryan essentially equates librarians as lesser people to be associated with in comparison to, say, supermodels or actresses whom Brady may date more frequently.

It is time to stand up as a society and realize how important it is to break stereotypes and show respect to some of the most valuable community members we may be fortunate enough to "be seen with." As for Ryan, I would advise him to get to know his local librarians better.
TED SCHELVAN, Norwell, MA
The writer is a librarian at Norwell High School.

HOMELY LIBRARIANS unite - Boston Globe beautiful-person expert Bob Ryan doesn't think you are suitable for Tom Brady. Which is saying something, considering that Ryan looks like a cross between Bilbo Baggins, Tip O'Neill, and Elmer Fudd; comes from New Jersey; and makes his living watching other people play games.
On second thought, homely librarians - don't pay attention to what Ryan writes. It doesn't really matter.
JAY PARK, Easton, MA

I will say that Bob had an awesome piece today about sports fans which (partially) makes up for his insensitivity...