Who doesn’t like toys? And as piles of festively wrapped favorites start piling up under trees, how about heading over to the History Channel for a look at The History of Toys? “Discover the origins of your favorite toys and games, from chess and checkers to Barbie and Atari. Find out how many crayons are produced each day, who invented Lincoln Logs, and which classic toy truck is the brainchild of a group of Minnesota school teachers.”  As an added bonus, see what the story is behind Santa Claus, an American icon with a long history.

A lot of people have the misconception that librarians are all about books…only books, all the time. Not true…as a librarian, I am all about information…books are just one way to get information to the masses…and in the case of new fiction, one of the only ways (unless you want to throw in electronic reading devices, but that’s another topic).

Today, I’d like to mention the environment…specifically, the in-depth reporting that CNN’s Anderson Cooper is doing in the series Planet In Peril, airing this weekend on CNN, check your local listings. I encourage anybody who reads, eats, breathes or lives on this planet to visit the companion website, watch the special report, and contemplate the consequences the current environmental crisis will have on not just future generations, but the next few years of this one.

Planet in Peril: Battle Lines will run Saturday and Sunday night, 8pm-10pm EST on CNN.

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon by Melissa Anelli

I enjoyed this book. It is an interesting account of the rise of Potter-mania from both a fan’s perspective and from someone behind the scenes; Melissa Anelli is both. I think she sells herself short when she describes herself as just a fan and the Leaky Cauldron as just a fansite; she has done a great job in helping to bring timely, relevant and, most importantly, reliable information to those in the Harry Potter community. Reading her book has prompted me to take The Sorceror’s Stone down off the bookshelf and start re-reading the series.

The City of Ember: The First Book of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

A great book, with lots of themes to discuss. Government corruption, the dangers of relying exclusively on your religious beliefs for salvation, over-dependence on technology, and the need to do what is right over what is popular. Lina and Doon are suitable heroes, although this is definitely Lina’s story; it’s interesting to watch her grow from a schoolgirl eager just to accept her place in society to a responsible person willing to take an enormous risk for a chance to save her city and, as it turns out, possibly the human race. The writing captured the growing danger and felt suitably claustrophobic, particularly during the passages when the city and its inhabitants were in total darkness. I was a bit disappointed with the film — the added action sequences seemed forced, and detracted from what was already an exciting tale. The book’s ending wasn’t as ambiguous as the one in Lois Lowry’s The Giver, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.