71 Monell Avenue
Islip, NY 11751

T: 631-581-5933

F: 631.277.8429

71 Monell Avenue
Islip, NY 11751
T: 631-581-5933
F: 631-581-8429

71 Monell Avenue
Islip, NY 11751

T: 631-581-5933 

F: 631-581-8429

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Archive Monthly Archives: December 2015

A Different Kind Of Entertainment

​When borrowing a movie from the library, most people seem to want the latest blockbusters or something by way of children’s television shows to keep the troops busy while grown-ups take care of business. How about trying some family viewing that’s a little out of the ordinary when making your video selections?

Our Children’s department offers a large and varied collection of non-fiction videos, some of which will open your eyes to fresh experiences and fill you with a sense of wonder. Others will teach you a craft or skill you always wanted to learn. Yet more may explain something you’ve always questioned but never got an answer for, whether it concerns events or people in history, how something works, or what it’s like in places you’ve never been.

For instance, we have many DisneyNature, National Geographic, Eyewitness, and family-friendly PBS videos. Of special note are Mysteries of the Unseen World, a Blu-ray that reveals phenomena all around us that is invisible to the naked eye; Animal Odd Couples, which celebrates heart-warming friendships among different species; and visually stunning IMAX films that open our eyes to the glorious natural wonders of the Earth, such as Ring of Fire, Tropical Rain Forest, and Deep Blue Sea.

Are you interested in learning sign language, origami, or how to play the drums? Are you coaching children’s baseball, basketball, lacrosse or soccer and need some drills for practice? Are you an educator or home-schooling parent who would be helped by science, math, and history videos that teach and reinforce skills vital to the Common Core (our Schlessinger Media films even include booklets that aid in creating lesson plans)? Curious about the lives of the famous (or infamous)? We have DVDs that cover all of these subjects and more!

Short historical documentaries and biographies (10-15 minutes long) are also available at the end of each episode of George Lucas’s Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, a television series that covers Indy’s exploits from ten years old to young adulthood. He encounters revolutionaries, inventors, artists, writers, idealists, criminals, and other major historical figures while participating in world changing events. This special features option expands on topics and people Indy meets, and even includes an interactive timeline.

Also, as parents, we don’t always have the answers to child rearing dilemmas. Our Parenting Collection videos can come to the rescue! Notable experts have created films that cover a wide range of subjects, such as potty training, the vaccination debate, sleep solutions, child development, discipline, learning about and living with differently-abled family members, grieving, and divorce. Newly pregnant couples have access to resources that ease the transition from pregnancy into parenthood, including exercise and breastfeeding. Babies can learn about their world with our Baby Genius videos. Family vacations can be planned, and experienced with ease as well, by watching our Travel with Kids series.

Whether they are informing us about our world in an entertaining fashion or creating a way to share an “I didn’t know that!” moment with our families, non-fiction videos are a great alternative to the usual and the ordinary.

Recently Announced National Book Award Finalists and Winners

Fiction Winner:

Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson – six new stories by the author of The Orphan Master’s Son

Fiction Finalists:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – novel about four men, later in life, who had been college roommates

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff – the story of a marriage told from the wife’s point of view, and from the husband’s point of view

Refund: Stories by Karen E. Bender – a collection of fourteen stories exploring the impact that money has on people’s lives

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy – novel depicting a half-century of family life on Detroit’s East Side

Nonfiction Winner:

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – the author shares personal experiences and history of racial discrimination in the United States

Nonfiction Finalists:

Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann – memoir of family life by a renowned photographer

If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power – an award-winning foreign correspondent and a madrasa-trained sheikh embark on a yearlong journey through the text of The Quran

Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet explores coming of age and the meaning of home against a backdrop of race, faith, and a bond between a mother and a daughter

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery – a naturalist examines the surprising intelligence, emotions, and various personalities of octopuses

Poetry Winner:

Voyage of the Sable Venus: And Other Poems by Robin Coste Lewis – a poetic meditation on the black female figure through time

Poetry Finalists:

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón – poems examining the chaos that is life and the dangerous thrill of living in the world

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay – fast-paced poems of gratitude for all that makes life worth living

Elegy for a Broken Machine by Patrick Phillips – sad and powerful poems that bear witness to the beauty and inevitable losses of life

How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes – stunning poems of home, history, race, music, drawing, family and love

Technology Tips for Teens

  • Always think before you post something on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or text something to your friends. Any pictures or text messages posted circulate and you can’t take them down.
  • When buying a new phone or computer save all your warranties. The warranty states how many years from the time you bought it and can get your items fixed or replaced. So keep your receipts.
  • Always unplug your devices. If you leave your cell phone on 24/7 it will cause wear and tear on the battery. Turning your phone off for a little while can save you from having to change the battery.
  • Always log out, and sign off when using computers, or other sites that you need passwords. You don’t wan’t a stranger or friend seeing what you posted.
  • Keep track of your passwords with all your email accounts, library card pins, website usernames. Make a list and write them down someplace safe.
  • Know the difference of different types of websites. So when you are looking things up for school look for domain names ending in:
    • .org = official organizations
    • .edu = educational (universities, research centers)
    • .gov = government
    • .com or .net = commercial sites

¡Que pasen un feliz año nuevo junto a tu familia!

Sí ponerte en forma es una meta que quieres lograr este año nuevo sin que parezca una carga y sin gastar dinero, hay muchas opciones…

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