Holiday Gifts Suggestions: Picture Books
Looking for that perfect gift for a young child? Well, maybe we’re a bit biased, but we think that picture books make the perfect present. While they may lack glitz and glamour, they’ll be around long after all the batteries have died. All books published in 2017.
 Here’s something that’s high energy and full of fun: The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt, illus. By Adam Rex. “Laugh-out-loud funny and outrageous at times, this read-aloud will have listeners jumping out of their seats. This is the sort of story that makes children love to read”—School Library Journal. And loving to read is what it’s all about, right?
 Kevin Henkes is a brilliant illustrator, and in Egg he …”taps into the deepest emotions of preschoolers with the simplest of stories. …Pacing is, as ever, perfect, taking full advantage of the switch from the early, snappy paneled pages to a series of wordless spreads that tell the story of the budding four-way friendship”—Horn Book.
Westchester own’s Jerry Pinkney is back with a wonderful retelling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. "Pinkney brings a thoughtful, nuanced perspective to this classic tale...helps readers see that cleverness, community, and confrontation all have a time and place in dealing with a bully."―School Library Journal
 With text by Useni Eugene Perkins and illustrated by the acclaimed Bryan Collier, Hey Black Child “…dazzles in every way and is bound to inspire so many more viral videos of black children speaking their abundant futures into existence. All black children need to know Perkins' prideful poem, possibly by heart, because it's really that doggone good"―Kirkus Reviews
 Can a lone rooster stand up to authority? Read The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet, by Carmen Agra Deedy and illus. by Eugene Yelchin, to find out. “Deedy's original tale about standing up to oppression couldn't be more timely. Yelchin's saturated, folksy, mixed-media paintings are the perfect partner, fleshing out the characterizations and offering visual humor. This subtle, modern multicultural tale is a must have."—Kirkus Reviews
Brian Kenney
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Year End Giving
During this season of year-end giving, we invite you to contribute to the Foundation’s annual appeal. Your donation will help ensure another successful year of responsive library programs. Throughout 2017, while much of the first floor was closed for renovations, we received more visits than ever before with over 600,000 people using the library. And 2018 is expected to be even busier.
 Demand for services is growing because today’s patrons are using our library for many different purposes -- to learn a language, upgrade computer skills, work with a tutor, search for jobs, find resources to start a business, collaborate with colleagues, discover new books, conduct research about local history, explore new technology, and much more. All of these activities are improved and sustained through contributions to the Foundation. Thanks to hundreds of generous donors, the library maintains its role as a welcoming destination, available to everyone, every day.
Your tax-deductible contribution to the Foundation’s annual appeal will make a difference in the lives of thousands of people throughout the coming year. To make a gift, please donate on-line at foundation.whiteplainslibrary.org (where you’ll also find instructions to donate stock) or mail a check to 100 Martine Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601. Thank you for your commitment to the Library.
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Reader Poll: Best Books of 2017
 While we've shared some Best of 2017 lists (last week we shared the best albums, and below you'll find a list of the best films) compiled by library staff, for our Best Books of 2017 we thought we'd ask our library patrons and newsletter subscribers to vote on your favorite reads from this year. Visit our survey where you'll find a quick fill-in box. You can submit as many as five picks, but if you only have one standout book from the year that's fine, too. The only requirements are that the book was published in 2017.
So make sure to vote and we'll be back next week with our final newsletter of 2017, where we'll announce the top five picks as voted by you!.
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This Week in White Plains
Whether you're looking to get a last few holiday gifts for your loved ones or you're looking to see the best local artisanal foods and gifts White Plains has to offer - you won't want to miss Winterfest. The City of White Plains' downtown holiday market opens next Wednesday, December 20, and runs through Christmas Eve. You'll find food and crafts, music, dance and much more on Court St. between Main and Martine.
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Best Films of 2017
Here's our list of staff favorite films from 2017. Just click the title to place a hold!
 Get Out (Dir. Jordan Peele)
Daniel Kaluuya ( Skins, Sicario) and Allison Williams ( Girls) star as a couple going to meet the parents of girlfriend Rose (Williams) at their isolated home upstate. Awkward introductions takes a terrifying turn in this dark comedy. "Blending race-savvy satire with horror to especially potent effect, this bombshell social critique from first-time director Jordan Peele proves positively fearless.” -- Variety
 A Ghost Story (Dir. David Lowery)
While A Ghost Story is not a horror film, the beautifully composed soundtrack by Daniel Hart combined with the superb acting from Rooney Mara as M, wife to musician C (Casey Affleck) will certainly haunt you long after your first viewing. Empire calls it "...a highly unusual and, at times, emotionally shattering fable."
 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
In Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell's second film together this year (following Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled), they play a couple whose neat arranged domestic life is altered in unexpected and unsettling ways by the arrival of a fatherless teen boy. Alicia Silverstone also stars in what The Atlantic describes as "...a tense, heart-wrenching tale with an admirably askance view of humanity."
 The Big Sick (Dir. Michael Showalter)
Kumail Nanjiani stars as a fictional version of himself, in a retelling of his real-life romance with screenplay writer and wife Emily V. Gordon. The Big Sick follows Kumail and Emily (Zoe Kazan) as they meet and hook up before Emily falls sick with a mysterious and life-threatening illness. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter also star in this romantic comedy that deals with the struggles of cross-cultural relationships.
 I Am Not Your Negro (Dir. Raoul Peck)
Rounding out the list is a documentary directed by master filmmaker Raoul Peck and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book writer James Baldwin never finished but described to his literacy agent in 1979. Peck combines Baldwin's own words with archival footage to illuminate and examine race in America from the Civil Rights Movement to today's Black Lives Matter movement. |
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Photo of the Week
Above: In front of the Library looking east on Martine Avenue at 4:14pm on Monday, 6 November 2017. Photo by John Lolis.
We want your photos! In each issue of This Week on Martine we will feature one patron submitted photo that was taken in White Plains. To submit your photography for a chance to be featured, visit our photo submission page, upload one of your photos and fill out our form with a short description of the photo and your name.
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