Ellen Baker, I Gave My Heart to Know This

Best-selling author Ellen Baker will present a talk about writing her novel I Gave My Heart to Know This (Random House, 2011), set in Superior, on Monday, October 1, at 6:30 p.m. The novel draws from Ms. Baker's historical research about women who worked in Superior's ship building industry as welders during World War II. The novel has been widely praised, with novelist Elizabeth Berg writing, "I really loved reading this powerful and poignant book." Baker's first novel, Keeping the House, has been a popular book club selection, and I Gave My Heart to Know This is proving to have similar appeal. More than 130 people attended Ms. Baker's appearance at the Superior Public Library last fall, and since then she has toured the East coast where she now lives. Baker, who grew up in Superior, is returning to the area for a few days and will also be teaching a writers workshop at UWS. You can learn more about her books from her webpage: http://www.ellenbakernovels.com.

FAMILY COMEDY MUSIC SHOW COMES TO CLOQUET PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Cloquet Public Library will host Glen Everhart’s Heebie Jeebies Family Comedy Music Show at 10 a.m., Thurs., Oct. 4, as part of its regular story time that morning. The program is free of charge and open to the public.

Preschool children and home school students can take advantage of Everhart’s perfect entertainment for families. Kids will laugh, move, and dance their way through Glen’s 45-minute show full of original kids’ comedy songs from his popular CD Young People of the World.

Admission to the event is free thanks to funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. For more information, call 879-1531.

New Library Book Club This Fall

A new book club is about to launch at the library, with an organizational meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, September 24, in the large meeting room. Members will decide when and how often the group will meet and how many books will be discussed per year. Although there are other book clubs in the area, the library has not sponsored a book group for many years. And the Cloquet Library Reading Group plans to appeal to a wide range of readers, both men and women—high school students are welcome, too. New members may join at any time. The focus will be on contemporary fiction, but not necessarily the most recent best-seller. Instead, quality fiction that has proven itself for a few years will make up most of the selections, from which members will make the final choices. Plans are for at least one literary classic to be included in the mix, and at least one non-fiction work, for the coming year. Mark, our Adult Services Librarian, has selected the first book to be read and discussed, the somewhat off-beat and thought-provoking novel Life of Pi by French Canadian philosopher Yann Martel. The book has been taught at the high school level, so the prose isn't difficult – but the ideas lift this story of a shipwrecked boy from India to a higher plane. The film version of the novel will be coming out this fall, directed by Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee, so a portion of a later meeting will be devoted to comparing the film to the book.

CLOQUET PUBLIC LIBRARY RECEIVES WOOD CITY RIDERS DONATION

The Cloquet Public Library is again the gracious recipient of a generous gift from the Wood City Riders. The charitable Cloquet organization donated $400 towards supplies and books for the Children’s Department. Pictured above is Sandy Olean, Club manager, with Children’s Librarian Lisbeth Boutang, who just accepted the much appreciated bequest. President of the Club is Bill Soboleski.

JOIN THE CLOQUET PUBLIC LIBRARY’S AFTER SCHOOL LEGO CLUB

The Cloquet Public Library will host a monthly Lego Club beginning at 4 p.m., Mon., Sept. 24. The Club will meet the last Monday of every month during the school year. All Lego lovers are invited to bring their blocks and build something creative, something mechanical, something challenging!

Toys do belong in a library, especially those colorful interlocking blocks. Hands-on manipulative games like Legos use tactile and kinesthetic learning, which increases student understanding, according to a study in the journal Science and Children. In other words, play paves the way for learning!

Parents are welcome to join their children, and our children’s librarian will come up with a building theme for each meeting. For more information, call 879-1531.

International Film Series: The Flowers of War

Our International Film Series resumes on Tuesday, September, 11, at 6:30 p.m. with "The Flowers of War." The 2011 Golden-Globe nominated film depicts Japan's "Rape of Nanking" in 1937. This is a Chinese production, directed by the notable Zhang Yimou and featuring Academy Award winner Christian Bale. Bale plays an American who reluctantly disguises himself as a priest in order to protect two groups of women from the marauding Japanese: girls from a local convent school and prostitutes from a brothel. The film was one of the most expensive and the highest grossing Chinese movie of all time. Languages include English and Mandarin. The film's content is graphic and intended for mature audiences only. Despite the horrors of war depicted in the film, however, the viewer is ultimately moved by a historically based story of the resilience of the human spirit and the triumph of understanding over prejudice and hatred.