If you aren’t a regular West Branch patron, you may be wondering where Wednesdays @ West has been over the past couple of months.  We’re on a bit of a hiatus because I, the author of these fabulous bi-weekly blog posts, have temporarily moved to the Main Library to serve as Interim Assistant Director until the library’s new permanent Director is hired.  But the gracious and wonderful staff member who oversees our blog is allowing me to still pop in occasionally when the spirit moves me.  So today, I bring to you a special Ten Ways to Explore a Book that focuses on American Treasures by Stephen Puleo.

As regular readers of this blog know, I am a bit of a history and political geek, so it’s unsurprising that I would be a fan of this book.  American Treasures charts the creation and little-known (but thrilling) journeys of America’s most priceless documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address.   Until reading American Treasures, I, like most people, was  unaware of all of the intriguing history behind our nation’s founding documents and the great lengths that Americans in times past have gone through to protect and defend them during times of national danger.  If you enjoy American Treasures as much as I did, I invite you to extend your reading experience in the following ways:

1.  Come meet Stephen Puleo at the West Branch next Thursday, May 18th at 7pm.   Mr. Puleo will discuss American Treasures, answer questions and sign his books.  We’ll have his books for sale from Wicked Good Books in Salem.  If you plan to come, please let us know by signing up at our events calendar.
2. In preparation for hearing Mr. Puleo speak or if you can’t attend, listen to his radio interview with WBUR about American Treasures.3. Read America’s founding documents.  It’s pretty much impossible to read American Treasures and not come away with a renewed understanding and appreciation for the importance of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other documents that helped create or sustain the United States.  With all your newfound knowledge, you’ll want to explore, for the first or the tenth time, the actual text of these amazing pieces of history.  The National Archives website allows you to look at images of the originals and transcripts.

4.  American Treasures does a great job explaining the principles that guide the American Republic in the context of the Constitutional Convention debates.  To learn more about how these ideals influence the workings of democracy now and throughout the country’s history, watch one or more of the videos produced by the Bill of Rights Institute on the Constitutional Principles.

5. The  National Constitution Center is about to debut an exhibit which shares both a title and a subject with Stephen Puleo’s book.  If you’re going to be in the Pennsylvania area this summer, it sounds like the exhibit alone is worth a side trip.  If not, you can listen to a podcast about the roll that Pennsylvania’s native son, James Wilson, played in writing the Constitution.  Starting tomorrow, you can also explore the entire American Treasures exhibit interactively from the comfort of your home or library.

6.  FDR’s Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish, played a crucial role in ensuring that America’s treasures were safely hidden and protected during the Second World War.  The details Puleo provides about MacLeish show what an interesting individual he was.  As it happens, our current Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, is a similarly cool American, who is worth reading about and perhaps, following on Twitter.

7. Speaking of the Library of Congress, it happens to be a real trove of American treasures.  If you’re heading to D.C., make sure the LOC is on your itinerary, but make sure you also check out the Library of Congress website so you can marvel at all that’s available.

8.  A trip to Pennsylvania or D.C. is not the only way to immerse yourself in the history of our founding era.  If you’d like a reminder of the role that Massachusetts played in the birth of the United States, take a stroll down the Freedom Trail on a nice day this spring.

9.  American Treasures recounts the fascinating battle over the upper house of Congress that took place during the Constitutional Convention.  None other than George Washington described the proper role of the United States Senate this way: “We pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.”  The Senate is, in fact, an unusual legislative body with its own culture and set of norms.  To learn more about the Senate, take a trip over to the Edward Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston where you can assume the role of a Senator during your trip and debate legislation in a manner that would make Washington, Madison, and Franklin proud.

10.  Once you’ve soaked up your fill of information about the most important documents in the United State, you can further extend your fascinating historic knowledge by reading some of Stephen Puleo’s other narrative nonfiction: The Caning, Dark Tide,  A City So Grand, The Boston Italians and Due to Enemy Action.

It occurs to me, dear readers, that it has been far too long since we did a Ten Ways to Explore a Book post.  I especially enjoy writing these posts because they allow me to dive back into a book that I’ve read and enjoyed and I always learn a great deal in the process.

Since the first two Ten Ways posts I’ve written focused on novels, I wanted to select a nonfiction book for this third entry.  After much thought, I selected The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall.  As I’ve admitted before, the three Peabody sisters, Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia, have long intrigued me.  With their rich, interesting lives, their fascinating connections to so many historical figures and their local connections, these three women have a lot to offer those of us who wish to deeply explore a book.

Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia Peabody were the daughters of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Nathaniel Peabody of Salem.  They had three brothers, but the male Peabodys did not leave quite the impact on history that their three sisters did.  Elizabeth Peabody was an educational pioneer and helped launch the kindergarten movement in the United States.  Although she never married, she worked closely with and helped inspire many of the famous men in the Transcendentalist movement.  Mary Peabody Mann (who is, incidentally, my favorite Peabody sister) was an amateur botanist, a teacher, a writer, and a reformer.  She eventually married the educational reformer and politician Horace Mann.  Sophia Peabody Hawthorne is perhaps the most famous of the three sisters.  Despite living much of her life in poor health, she was an accomplished artist.  She also married famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne.

A number of books have been written about the Peabody sisters, but Megan Marshall’s biography of them is one of the best.  She traces the women’s lives from childhood through adulthood, demonstrating how they influenced and were influenced by some of the other great minds of their day.  Once you’ve made it through the Marshall book, you will be intrigued enough to want to spend more time with Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia.  To help you do so, I offer these ten suggestions:

1. Explore Salem (you can wait until after Halloween!).  The Peabody sisters were born in Salem and spent a good portion of their lives there.   The Peabody Essex Museum owns several of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne’s paintings.  For more ideas on what to see in Salem, check out the North Shore Literary Trail.
2. Explore Concord.  We’re quite lucky to have so many literary destinations right in our backyard.  The Peabody sisters (especially Sophia and Mary) spent a great deal of their married lives in Concord, as did any number of the other Transcendentalists, so the town is a wonderful place to get a feel for the intellectual and spiritual roots of the movement.  Sophia Peabody is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.
3. Keep a journal.  Mary and Sophia took a life-altering trip to Cuba before their marriages.  Sophia’s journals from that trip were shared widely by her sister Elizabeth and their mother and were eventually published.  Even if your journal never reaches a wider audience, it can have great value to you.
4. Write a book.  The Peabody sisters were quite prolific writers.  They kept journals and wrote many letters.  In addition to Sophia’s published journals, Mary Peabody Mann had a book of letters published.  She also wrote a biography of her husband, a book for children called The Flower People, which you can read on Google books for free, and a novel based on her experiences in Cuba.  Mary and Elizabeth also collaborated on more than one book concerning their theories of education.
5.  Host philosophical conversations with your friends.  When Elizabeth Peabody owned a bookshop in Boston, she hosted a series of small-group conversations led by Margaret Fuller.  Be a modern day Transcedentalist and discuss and debate religion, literature, morality and philosophy with a group of select people.
6. Paint.  Take your inspiration from Sophia and try your hand at portraits and landscapes.
7. Read the Transcendentalists.  The Peabody sisters were surrounded by the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and other prominent transcendentalists.  Reading the words of these men and women can deepen your appreciation for the sisters.
8. Read fiction.  Elizabeth was more of a nonfiction reader and often scoffed at novels (although she championed her brother-in-law, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s work), but Mary was an ardent defender of fictional books long before she wrote one herself.  If you’re looking for something Peabody-sister inspired, consider the works of Louisa May Alcott, who was a contemporary of our trio.  If you’re looking to move beyond Little Women, I suggest Eight Cousins.  You could also compare what you learned in The Peabody Sisters to the fictionalization of the life of Sophia Hawthorne in The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck.  And last, but not least, you could also read one of Hawthorne’s novels.
9.  Teach something to a child.  It is impossible to discuss the Peabody sisters without acknowledging their dedication to education.  Even if making your livelihood from teaching or tutoring, as the sisters often did, is not for you, you can keep their legacy alive any time you teach something to a child.
10.  Become a reformer.  Both Mary and Elizabeth were passionate about education reform and the abolition of slavery.  Pick an issue you care deeply about and work for reform.

The patrons, staff and members of the afternoon book group at the West Branch have a wide variety of opinions about The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant.  Some liked it, some hated it.  Personally, I fell into the like category.  Maybe it’s because I listened to it on audio and the narrator really nailed the “grandmother telling stories to her granddaughter” aspect.  Maybe it’s because I a fascination with settlement houses (I like to think that today’s public libraries serve some of the same functions).  Maybe it’s because I like stories of immigrants.  Maybe it’s because I relish historical fiction where women buck familial or societal expectations.  In any case, I found it to be an enjoyable story, with just the right amount of local, historical and sociological interest for a Ten Ways to Explore a Book post.  So here we go:

1. Addie relishes telling her life story to her granddaughter.  Research tells us that knowing your family’s stories is important.  Take the time to interview an older relative about his/her life.  Storycorps can help you get started with questions to ask and tips to make the process smoother.  You can also download their app to record your interview.
2. Learn about settlement houses and how they influenced the lives of countless women, children and immigrants.  For the definitive work on settlement houses, check out Jane Addams’ Twenty Years at Hull House.
3. One of the major functions of settlement houses was to help immigrants learn English and improve their language skills.  Miss Chevalier would be proud if you carried on this important work by volunteering to lead an English Conversation Circle at the library.
4. The North End that Addie describes is a far cry from what we see today.  Take a walk down the North End (no one will blame you if you stop for a cappuccino and cannoli) and try to imagine what it looked like in the early part of the last century when Addie lived there.
5. Addie says, “How did I get to be the woman I am today?  It started in that library, in the reading club.  That’s where I started to be own person.”  Reading and discussing books can be a powerful way to learn about ourselves.  To tap into that power, consider joining one of the library’s book clubs.
6. Memorizing poetry has gone a bit out of fashion, but there’s still something special about knowing a piece of literature “by heart.”  Memorize the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and recite it to whoever will listen.
7. Visit Rockport.  Try to see the natural beauty through the eyes of a poor urban teenager.
8.  Channel your inner Filomena and take an art class.  Check out the library events calendar to see if we’re offering a free art class in the near future.
9. The characters in The Boston Girl lived and learned about the major social issues of their day: immigration, Prohibition, women’s suffrage, lynching, child labor.  Do some research on a social issue (your choice) of our time.  Discuss what you’ve learned with your friends over sandwiches and coffee (not tea or tea cakes).
10. When you are ready to move on, Novelist can help you find lots of read-a-likes for The Boston Girl, but if you want my suggestion read (or re-read!), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

Wednesdays @ West at been on a bit of a hiatus for the past few months as I was out on maternity leave.  Now that I’m back in the swing of things, I’m pleased to be back blogging about books and other lovely topics for Free for All.

I discovered the idea for this series of blog posts quite by accident.  I was reading a blog post about children’s library services, in which a fellow librarian mentioned that her library in Homer, Alaska is creating a series of posters that encourage families to explore books together.  For each title, they are suggesting “10 Ways to Explore a Book.”

I was intrigued by the idea and it occurred to me that this is one of many ways that we let children have all the fun with books.  After all, when I fall in love with a book, I am sad to see it end, wishing I could dwell within its world a bit longer.  So this series is aimed at helping you do just that.

We’re kicking it off 10 Ways to Explore a Book by offering suggestions as to how to delve into the world of Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.

According to Novelist, my favorite book discovery database (available for free with your library card number, of course), Flight Behavior is complex, issue-oriented, atmospheric, moving, lush, richly-detailed literary fiction.  How’s that for some adjectives?  In terms of plot, it’s the story of Dellarobia Turnbow, a poor farmer’s wife who discovers that an amazing colony of butterflies has taken up residence on her family’s land.  Dellarobia soon finds herself immersed in the science of the phenomena in ways that begin to expand her worldview.

Ok, I admit, I’ve already written about Flight Behavior here and here.  But you can’t have enough Barbara Kingsolver in your life.  At least I can’t.  And if you can’t either, then I encourage you to check out these ten tips that will allow you to savior the world she created just a bit longer.

1. Read the 1976 National Geographic article, “Found at Last” by Fred Urquhart, which first alerted the wider world to the phenomenon of the monarch butterfly’s winter residence in Mexico.

2. Visit the Museum of Science’s Butterfly Garden.

3. Treat yourself to some good news for a change.   Listen to the NPR story about how monarchs are making a come back.

4.  Get up close and personal with some butterflies by planting a butterfly garden.  For guidance check out Design Your Own Butterfly Garden by Susan Harkins for inspiration.  If gardening isn’t your thing, you can still get started with Super Simple Butterfly Gardens by Alex Kuskowski.

5.  Take inspiration from Dellarobia and commit to learning the wonders of science by taking a biology class with a lab at a local community college.

6.  Watch Barbara Kingsolver discuss Flight Behavior.

7.   If you are a reader who finds the world of farms exotic, go check one out in person.  Find a nearby farm at Northeast Harvest’s website.

8. Learn to knit so you can make unrecognizable creations.  (Need help?  Try Start to Knit by Lynn Bryan). Bonus points if you do it on the side of a mountain.  Even more bonus points if you use sheep’s wool and dye it yourself. If you really want to geek out, shear the sheep yourself and spin the yarn.  For assistance, watch this Time video on How to Shear a Sheep.

9.  Remember the obnoxious environmentalist who Dellarobia tells off when he suggests ways “people like her” can lower their carbon footprint?  Well, many of us aren’t forced to be so eco-friendly by economic desperation.  So we could stand to be a little more green.  Try out of a few of his recommendations: fly less, eat less meat, bring your own containers to restaurants for left-overs and repair things instead of automatically replacing them.  Just don’t become condescending and sanctimonious when encouraging others to be more green too.

10. Finally, when you are ready to move on from Flight Behavior, check out our Pinterest board of read-a-likes.

Stay tuned for more 10 Ways to Explore a Book. And be sure to let us know what book you’d like us to tackle next.