Award-Winning Author Jordan Sonnenblick To Visit Bernardsville Library

Jordan Sonnenblick, author of the books Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Dodger and Me, After Ever After (winner of the Schneider Family Award) and more, will visit Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 to talk to students about being a writer and his experiences as an author.

As a twelfth grade student of Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, Sonnenblick found that he thrived in creative writing. He studied English in college, volunteered for Teach for America upon graduation, and then took an English teaching job in New Jersey that would change his life forever. Sonnenblick had a student whose brother was being treated for cancer. While she did not outwardly show distress, Sonnenblick asked her mother if he could recommend a book about a teen going through a similar situation. When her mother said yes, Sonnenblick realized that there was no book published that fit the bill. So he wrote Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie.

Bernardsville Public Library will host a “Meet & Greet” (for adults only) with Mr. Sonnenblick from 5:00 to 5:45 pm—for teachers, parents, and all other adults in the community. This “Meet & Greet” will be followed by a 7:00 pm program, “An Evening with Jordan Sonnenblick,” open to all ages. After his talk, Mr. Sonnenblick will take questions from students only and will then be available to sign books. Books will be available for purchase that evening.

Superintendent of The Somerset Hills School District Peter Miller commented on Sonnenblick’s visit: “This program is a great example of the school-community partnership that exists in the Somerset Hills, and we look forward to additional opportunities in the future.” Youth Services Manager, Lia Carruthers concurs, “Without the generous funding of the Somerset Hills Municipal Alliance and Youth Services Commission and the cooperation of the school district, this program would not have been possible. Introducing students to authors is always magical and I am thrilled we could make this evening happen.”

Advance registration is required for “An Evening with Jordan Sonnenblick.” As seating is limited, please register early at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/. Follow the link to Kid Stuff.

Last Minute College Application Tips

College applications are almost due and Bernardsville Library’s “Moms Mentoring Moms” has organized a panel of first year students and parents “in the know” to give this year’s applicants some last minute tips on Tuesday, December 27 at 7:00 pm.

“Moms Mentoring Moms” is a program designed for parents of high school students and seeks to provide a forum in which parents can come together for an opportunity to interact with other parents to provide support and insight as they wade through the high school years with their children. This particular program is designed to help both parents and students. Moms, Dads and students are all welcome.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

The National Register of Historic Places: The Role it Plays in Our Local Communities

Historic Preservation Consultant Kathleen Galop will speak about the National Register of Historic Places at Bernardsville Public Library on Monday, December 12 at 7:00 pm.

Established under the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and expanded by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register serves as the official list of historic resources at the national level. Attendees will learn about the properties and landscapes in our area which have received this national distinction and gain a better understanding of how and why they are protected. Hundreds of New Jersey properties are among the 77,000 listed on the National Register.

Kathleen P. Galop, Esq. serves as Principal of Preservation Possibilities LLC, an historic preservation consulting firm based in Summit, NJ. An attorney with extensive experience and a national reputation in the administration of historic preservation projects, Ms. Galop was the recipient of a John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Research Grant and a White House Historical Association Grant to conduct historic preservation research on Jacqueline Kennedy. She lectures frequently throughout New Jersey on historic preservation and also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Certificate in Historic Preservation Program at Drew University in Madison, NJ where she lectures on preservation and historic landscapes and teaches a course on Grant Writing.

This program is offered through the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

There is no charge to attend this slide presentation, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Free Concert by String of Pearls @ Bernardsville Library

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to announce a free concert on Sunday, December 11 at 3:00 pm by “String of Pearls,” a female jazz vocal trio that performs vintage "girl group" music and modern vocal jazz with swing, style, and superb musicality. The concert is the last of this year’s Sundays at Three concerts, funded by the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library. Doors open at 2:45 pm. No sign-up is needed to attend.

The performers are Sue Halloran, Jeanne O'Connor and Holli Ross who were all working as professional solo singers in New York in the 1980s when they were brought together to perform at a nostalgia-oriented concert. Since then, the group has created a sophisticated repertoire that ranges from authentic re-creations of Boswell Sisters songs from the 1930s to adventurous original jazz vocal arrangements. Their charming show can move from Andrews Sisters to Sinatra, Basie, Brazilian, bebop, and pop.

The three singers have brought their harmonies to festivals, concerts, and clubs in the U.S. and abroad. The group has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as part of the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. In its New York home region, the group has appeared in the JVC Jazz Festival, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, The Manhattan Center, and the Battleship Intrepid. The "Pearls" have recently been on the bill at Sweet Rhythm, Shanghai Jazz, and the Blue Note. They have taken part in the well-known "Lyrics and Lyricists" program at the 92nd Street Y, the annual Jazz Nativity, the New York Cabaret Convention, and the Millbrook and Mohonk Jazz Festivals. Recently the group appeared at the Cape Cod Jazz Festival and the Provincetown Cabaret Festival.

There is no charge to attend the concert and advance sign-up is not necessary. For further information, call the Library at 908-766-0118.

New Jersey Noir Authors Will Appear at Bernardsville Library

Meet authors S.J. Rozan and Hirsh Sawhney, contributors to the new anthology New Jersey Noir, at Bernardsville Public Library on Saturday, December 10 at 2:00 pm. The authors will read from their work and discuss the book, which is edited by Joyce Carol Oates. It continues the series of groundbreaking noir anthologies launched by Akashic Books in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir which became a best-seller.

The newly released New Jersey Noir is comprised of all-new stories and poems, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location in the state. The book has an introduction as well as a new story by Joyce Carol Oates. Other contributing authors, besides Ms. Rozan and Mr. Sawhney, are Jonathan Safran Foer, Robert Pinsky, Paul Muldoon, C.K. Williams, Gerald Stern, among many others.

The wide range of stories and styles is described in a review in Shelf Awareness as "A lovingly collected assortment of tales and poems that range from the disturbing to the darkly humorous." Said Publishers Weekly, "Oates's introduction to Akashic's noir volume dedicated to the Garden State, with its evocative definition of the genre, is alone worth the price of the book."

Booklist describes the book as “worth the wait” and writes "... More than most of the entries in the series, this volume is about mood and atmosphere more than it is about plot and character . . . [and] also serves as a very good introduction to what is a popular but often misunderstood term and style of writing."

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the reading. There is no charge to attend, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Architecture: New Jersey’s Best

Local architect Philip S. Kennedy-Grant, FAIA, will discuss examples from the AIA New Jersey’s list of the 150 best building and places in our state at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, December 7 at 7:00 pm. He will talk about the sites that make the architects’ list and what these buildings reveal about our culture and ourselves.

AIA New Jersey Guidebook: 150 Best Buildings and Places reveals the state’s rich architectural legacy and the eclectic mix of periods and styles that make it unique. Only in New Jersey can you find the cradle of America's industrial revolution, stately Victorian inns, and distinctive “Doo Wop style” motels. The volume includes both justly renowned buildings and hidden architectural gems with color photographs that capture the beauty of New Jersey’s architectural heritage. Compact and organized by region, the AIA New Jersey Guidebook is a wonderful traveling companion for road trips across the state or sightseeing day trips.

Mr. Kennedy-Grant is the editor and co-author of AIA New Jersey Guidebook: 150 Best Buildings and Places, published by Rutgers University Press in October. In 2007, the national organization of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) celebrated 150 years. The New Jersey Chapter decided to honor this milestone by creating a list of the 150 best examples of architecture in this state. A committee was established to oversee the project, and the nearly 2,000 members of AIA New Jersey were asked to submit their suggestions for the list. Once this list was compiled, the leadership determined it should be published in book form. Mr. Kennedy-Grant, who served as chairman of the editorial board for nine years at Architecture New Jersey, a former publication of AIA New Jersey, was tapped to undertake the book project.

Mr. Kennedy-Grant in turn asked two distinguished architects/architectural historians, Mark Alan Hewitt, FAIA of Bernardsville and Michael J. Mills, FAIA of Princeton, to assist with writing informative text about the 150 locations. Sandy Noble, also from Bernardsville, was selected as the photographer, responsible for new images of all 150 sites. Internationally renowned New Jersey architect Michael Graves, FAIA, wrote the foreword, with Karen Nichols, FAIA.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Saturday Samplers Book Group to Meet

Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, December 3 at 3:30 pm to discuss The Complete Stories of Truman Capote.

This collection was published on the occasion of what would have been Capote’s eightieth birthday, and the volume confirms his status of one of the masters of the short fiction form. His stories range from the gothic South to the chic East Coast, from rural children to aging urban sophisticates—encompassing all the unforgettable places and people of Capote’s oeuvre.

Truman Capote was born in New Orleans in 1924. In 1948, his first novel, “Other Voices, Other Rooms,” was published to international critical acclaim, assuring his place among the prominent postwar American writers. He was the recipient of the O. Henry Memorial Short Story Prize twice and was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Led by Readers’ Services Assistant, Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and even teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked books. Readers can find information about the group and about the books and authors on the reading list at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com/. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.