www.indiebound.org

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independent.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff, and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among these are Personality, Purpose and Passion. The history of the present indies is a history of experiences and excitement, which we will continue to establish as we set our sights on a more unconstrained state. To prove this, let’s bring each other along and submit our own experiences to an unchained world.

We, therefore, the Kindred Spirits of IndieBound, in the name of our convictions, do publish and declare that these united minds are, and darn well ought to be, Free Thinkers and Independent Souls. That we are linked by the passions that differentiate us. That we seek out soul mates to share our excitement. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the strength of our identities, we respectively and mutually pledge to lead the way as we all declare that we are IndieBound!

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independent.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff, and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among these are Personality, Purpose and Passion. The history of the present indies is a history of experiences and excitement, which we will continue to establish as we set our sights on a more unconstrained state. To prove this, let’s bring each other along and submit our own experiences to an unchained world.

We, therefore, the Kindred Spirits of IndieBound, in the name of our convictions, do publish and declare that these united minds are, and darn well ought to be, Free Thinkers and Independent Souls. That we are linked by the passions that differentiate us. That we seek out soul mates to share our excitement. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the strength of our identities, we respectively and mutually pledge to lead the way as we all declare that we are IndieBound!

I signed the Declaration at Anderson's Bookshop. You can visit an IndieBound bookstore or sign it online at http://www.indiebound.org/

You can buy your own Indiegear at http://www.indiebound.org/indie-gear. I'm still deciding on a shirt but am leaning toward this one...

Tape Transcript by JANE TEMPLE

MONEY BOX

Presenter: Paul Lewis

TRANSMISSION 7th APRIL 2001 1200-1230 RADIO 4

War Pensioner Benefits Cuts

Barclays Bank Branch Closures

Stakeholder Pensions

Changing Foreign Currency

Minimum Income Guarantee

ANNOUNCER : Now it's four minutes past twelve and time for MONEY BOX with Paul Lewis.

LEWIS Hello. In today's programme war pensioners face hardship as one council slashes help with their housing costs. Money Box is told other councils may follow suite. A year after Barclays closed 171 branches we look at the consequences for local people:

MAN Less people pass the door - less trade through the door, less money in the till. I suppose I've lost 10-15% of overall trade.

LEWIS How small firms are trying to cope with the new stakeholder pensions. The disappearing dollars if you're with the Woolwich and major changes in benefits start on Monday. All that in Money Box today. First though the Royal British Legion is warning that concessions on rent and council tax which help thousands of war pensioners and widows could be under threat after the London Borough of Harrow decided to stop the rebates from May. War pensioners in the borough will lose on average nearly £1700 a year each. At the moment the council takes no account of their war pensions when it works out entitlement to help with rent and council tax. Almost every council in Britain does the same but councillors in Harrow North London have decided to withdraw this help leading to large rises in the rent and council tax for the 53 war widows and pensioners in the borough. Dorothy's husband was killed in l944 and she told me her reaction to the council's plans:

DOROTHY I felt very angry because I feel that a lot of these people that are sitting behind the desks, I maybe wrong, but I feel that most of them probably weren't even born during the war so they don't know what we suffered and how we had to struggle. They haven't a clue what us older war widows went through.

LEWIS Tell me about your husband, about what happened?

DOROTHY He was transferred from the Somerset light infantry to the Blackwatch and sent over to Italy. I didn't even get the official telegram that everybody else got -I got just got a little bit of paper saying we regret to inform you your husband was killed on the 9th July.

LEWIS And were you alone ever since then?

DOROTHY I've been on my own ever since yes, yes. My - my daughter died last year unfortunately so I'm on my own completely now, there you are. No that's what makes me so angry about this see because I feel that they don't realise what we had to go through.

LEWIS If they go ahead with it how much difference will it make to you each week?

DOROTHY If it means paying the rent it's £50 - 58.79 is it? And then of course all the community tax as well.

LEWIS So that's £58.79 a week plus the council tax? Will you be able to afford that?

DOROTHY I shouldn't think so. Well if I did it would mean going without food and what have you cos there's nothing left - there will be nothing left.

LEWIS But Harrow council says it had no choice. Keith Toms is deputy leader at the Labour controlled council. He has voted twice to cut the benefits paid to Dorothy and the 52 other war widows and war pensioners:

TOMS It's not an economy that we look at with a great deal of pleasure, but on the other hand when you come to consider that there are 53 people that are in receipt of £88,000 from the borough then you know this might mean that we can employ 4 school teachers or 4 social workers so we really have had to look at the budget very hard this time. You can put up your list of priorities and say what you think, but we've had to make some harsh decisions.

LEWIS No I appreciate that but you seem to have picked on one of the poorest groups and one of the worst groups to pick to take away £58 a week in the case of Dorothy and an average of £1660 a year from 53 people. Why pick on 53 of the poorest people who suffered in the last war rather than other areas where you could save money?

TOMS Well the actual grant is not means tested - well can you say to me what should we do? - abolish meals on wheels? cut clothing grants to children going to school? Those are the decisions we've had to make. They are hard decisions.

LEWIS But of 353 councils in England and Wales only 6 penalise war pensioners like what you're planning to do, and all of them are Labour councils?

TOMS Well in that case we are in a position where we've had to make some decisions. We need to get to the stage where I believe it shouldn't be left at the discretion of local authorities - however small that number is. We need to have a national agreement on this. We will be approaching our MPs and we will be lobbying as hard as we can along with the British Legion to make sure there is some consistency nationally.

LEWIS Harrow councillors will have one more chance to vote on this decision at the full council meeting on May 1st. If they go ahead with the cuts the Royal British Legion is warning that other councils may follow suite, reversing a trend of recent years which has seen this concession become almost universal. Tom House, the Legion's head of pensions, says this is not just about the war pensioners in Harrow:

HOUSE 53 people are 53 people who have given either their spouses up to their country to defend it or indeed they've lost their health because of it. If we let down these 53 people it will snowball and we would have let down thousands. I think this is the thin end of the wedge, and I believe that if we let this go then other councils will follow suit and we've let everybody down who served us and defended this country from the last war onwards.

LEWIS Do you have any sympathy with the council? - they're facing a big rise in the council tax anyway - they have to save money. I think they're saving around five and a half million pounds. This is part of those savings. Do you have any sympathy with the - the difficulties they have?

HOUSE Would they be sitting there making those decisions if it wasn't for the people that were sent out during the last war to save our country as it is now? - the answer is no.

LEWIS Tom House from the Royal British Legion and as I said the final decision on that will be made by Harrow on May 1st. Now it's exactly a year today since Barclays Bank caused an outcry when it closed 171 branches in small towns and villages across the country. There were claims that communities would be destroyed, customers wouldn't be able to manage and businesses would go bust. 12 months on Money Box's Martin Stott has been to one of the communities made bankless by Barclays to find out how life's changed:

STOTT I'm standing outside the old Barclays Bank in Stotfold, about 15 miles south of Bedford. 12 months on the sign in the window warning people of this bank's closure still remains to taunt angry locals like Isabel Collier who spent a week on this pavement last year leading a doomed campaign to save the branch:

COLLIER Well I think we got nearly 1300 signatures in a week. I have to admit most people do use the machine - that was what they were coming for but a lot of people were inside the bank.

BRIAN That's a map of Stotfold - the large area in here is for 640 houses

STOTT Isabel's husband Brian is chairman of Stotfold town council. This is quite a sizeable community - it's home to Motorola's UK head office. There are a couple of schools, 4 take-aways and 7 pubs. 8,000 people live here and Brian Collier says housing developments approved by the council will increase that by half as much again in 5 years. He believes that in withdrawing Barclays has snubbed a good business opportunity and he claims his worst fears about the damage the bank's closure would have on other businesses have proved true too.

BRIAN An electrical shop has closed down, a toy shop has closed, a newsagents has closed down and immediately prior to that a greengrocers closed as well.

STOTT It's hard to say for sure just how much the bank's departure impacted on the businesses that are no more in Stotfold, but Ian Boscul who owns the fish and chip shop next door to Barclays has certainly suffered:

BOSCUL Apart from the sheer inconvenience now of having to go out and do my banking in what would normally be my dinner break, it's also affected my business that less people pass the door, less trade through the door, less money in the till. I suppose I've lost 10-15% of overall trade.

STOTT Since Barclays closed the local post office has stepped up its facilities and now cashes and banks cheques, but not for business accounts. Alan Farquharson runs a small industrial engraving firm. Like Ian Boscul he now has to bank in Letchworth, 4 miles away:

FARQUHARSON 2 months after they went we lost our car - it was stolen, so we now have to go up on the bus which is over a 2 hour round trip - £2.40 a time and the bus is full of people going up to the bank.

STOTT And it's not just the inconvenience and security risks that these people are complaining about. The community's found an unexpected additional problem: a money circulation crisis. Behind me is the supermarket which offers a popular cash back service for shoppers - many of whom then pop across the road to Jill Shepherd's knitting and craft shop.

SHEPHERD From a shopkeeper's point of view we have a great deal of trouble because we get £20 notes more often than we want to because there's a great shortage of £5 notes and quite often £10 notes because various pensions, cash back and everything is paid in the high notes. So we have a change problem too.

STOTT Barclays was the last of 3 major banks to close in this town, but the building still remains, unused and housing a busy temporary cash machine. Locals say it's regularly empty but at least it's there - until Barclays decides to dispose of the building for good. The hope people in Stotfold are clinging to now is that the building will be reopened as a new community bank run by a neutral agent providing a counter service on behalf of all the banks. Ian Boscul says it's just what communities like Stotfold need.

BOSCUL Well I think it would be excellent. I'm sure there's a lot of people in particular the small businesses in Stotfold would welcome it - even if it's not next door, at least it's within the same town and you're only away from your business for just a few minutes to attend to things rather than this - this trek across the country to do what you need to do.

LEWIS Ian Boscul ending Martin Stott's picture of life in Stotfold, one year after Barclays. And as we heard they're still hoping a community bank might be the answer. Well Money Box's Chris Acourt is with me. Chris, could community banks be the answer to these bankless areas?

ACOURT Well some hope is still alive on that Paul. It could just happen. Of the 171 branches Barclays closed a year ago the bank told me this week that it still owns 49 of the now empty buildings. Some could be used for community banks. Barclays withdrew some properties from auction with that thought in mind. Community banks becoming a reality depends largely though on whether the whole banking industry gives the idea the thumbs up. An announcement is due soon and if the response is positive then campaigners want around 20 pilot projects to be set up all around the country, including one in Stotfold.

LEWIS Thanks Chris. One to keep our eye on. Now the new stakeholder pensions started on Friday, and in 6 months time almost every business with 5 or more staff will have to offer one to them. But many small employers are finding the process a bit daunting. Rob Higginson is typical of the bosses who've contacted Money Box - he runs Soils Limited, an environmental engineering consultancy with 14 employees. He knows the regulations mean he has to do something, but he doesn't know exactly what, when or how. So I took financial advisor Alistair Conway from Conway Clarke to meet Rob Higginson at his Epsom office.

CONWAY Rob, nice to meet you - Alistair Conway from Clarke Conway.

HIGGINSON Rob Higginson - Soils Ltd - shall we try and find an office and

CONWAY Maybe I can answer some of those questions you had

HIGGINSON Okay - okay. Basically what is a stakeholder pension?

CONWAY A very simple low cost pension facility

HIGGINSON What as an employer do I have to do?

CONWAY You need to offer access to that scheme via the pay roll system at work. You haven't got to pay anything into the scheme.

HIGGINSON We don't have to make a contribution but we can make a contribution?

CONWAY If you want to, that will be welcomed I've no doubt by your employees, but there's no obligation under the legislation for you to do so.

HIGGINSON What will be involved in making pay roll deductions?

CONWAY It really is a case of deducting a net payment off net salaries for employees and passing on a cheque to an insurance company.

HIGGINSON So is the pension owned as it were by the employee or by the employer - is it a company scheme or is it an employee's?

CONWAY It's very much a collection of individual employee contracts. You are acting as a collection point for contributions from the employees to pass on to the insurer providing the scheme.

HIGGINSON Okay what sort of time scales are involved?

CONWAY Need to be set up from April 6th onwards and your latest completion date is the 8th October, but I think the key thing here is to make this a positive exercise not a negative exercise. You as an employer setting something up pro-actively rather than looking as though you're rushing to meet the deadline for legislation which is in October.

HIGGINSON What if some of my employees actually have existing pension schemes?

CONWAY Employees will have a need to seek advice about whether or not they'd be better off staying with the arrangements they've already got or setting up their own stakeholder plan independent of your company or joining the company scheme. Now they'll either have to get that advice off an independent advisor separate from you or you as an employer might decide to offer that service to your employees. That's up to you.

HIGGINSON What if my employees decide they don't want to partake in a stakeholder pension?

CONWAY They are free to choose to join it or not. All you must do is provide access, provide the facility.

LEWIS I've been listening into this conversation between you two and one of the things that strikes me is that what you haven't asked Rob is how you choose a scheme. Have you given any thought to that?

HIGGINSON Not as such. As they're fixed charges I guess - are there better schemes? - worse schemes or whatever?

CONWAY Well I think historically if you'd gone through this exercise one of the biggest parts of the debate would have been about comparing charges between contracts. I think that differential is going to be much smaller in future and it's going to be about picking schemes that are well administered by the insurance company who's providing it and about companies who've got good fund performance.

HIGGINSON I thought charges were fixed. I thought it was 1% - I seem to recall

CONWAY The upper 1% limit is fixed as a maximum, but it's clear that some insurers are choosing to go in at a lower level than the 1% or some are discounting as the funds get bigger.

LEWIS What about costs? - I mean there are fixed management charges but you're going to make a charge to Rob to sort all this out for him. He is going to face expenses initially?

CONWAY Yes he's either got to decide that he bears the cost of that himself by doing the homework himself or he comes to somebody who is independent who will go around the market. We would normally charge a fee for doing an initial consultation and research of the market and then stages of fees for doing presentations to the staff, individual one to one meetings, and if Rob as an employer wants to pay for advising the employees on choices that they've got in relation to existing plans they've got, again that's something we can indicate costs to him for.

HIGGINSON What sort of scale are we looking at? - what sort of fees are we?

CONWAY Typically for a company of 20/25 staff we're finding the fees run somewhere between £1500 and £2000 for that initial set up and advice process.

LEWIS Is that a price you'd be willing to pay or would you rather do all the work yourself?

HIGGINSON I think for a smallish business £1500 represents quite a large expenditure to getting what appears to be precious little?

CONWAY As with everything people have got to make a judgement of whether they feel any fee charged by any professional justifies the cost saving to them of not spending their time going around the market. Personally if I went into a field which I wasn't familiar with, I would want the reassurance of knowing that I'd gone to somebody who spends all their time working in that area to provide me with a final recommendation and certainly a lot of employers we've spoken to quite like the idea of the responsibility of the choice of the provider resting with somebody else other than them.

LEWIS That was Alistair Conway of Clarke Conway and we'll be seeing how Rob Higginson gets on with stakeholder pensions over the next few months and there are plenty of links and contacts about stakeholders on our website - details of that later. How would you feel if you'd paid a cheque into your bank and half of it disappeared in charges? Well that's what happened to one Money Box listener when he got a cheque from the USA and Chris Acourt's got more details - Chris:

ACOURT Yes Paul, this is how one man lost over half of the value of a cheque which he paid into a British bank - the Woolwich. Dr. Lindsay Bashford told us he was astonished when he paid in a cheque written out for $175 American dollars - worth around £120 and received an American Express cheque in return worth just £58. He'd been charged over £60 for the conversion from US to UK currency.

BASHFORD They have collected their £7.50 charge but they had also paid on our behalf a foreign bank charge of £52.75 and so together it came to more than half of the value of the cheque

ACOURT What we found is that the Woolwich is unique in having an arrangement with American Express to convert customer's dollars cheques to Sterling. There's a minimum £7.50 charge but American Express also passes on the fees that the American bank issuing the cheque makes as part of the conversion process. Woolwich customers end up paying for the lot, though the Woolwich itself doesn't take a cut.

LEWIS Well Chris the high charges were a shock for this listener but surely Woolwich could have warned him how much it might cost?

ACOURT Well both Woolwich and American Express told us that they can never predict what the American banks will charge each time - in this case it was the First National Bank of Maryland.

LEWIS And could Lindsay Bashford have saved money by joining a different bank if he needs to pay in more dollar cheques for examples - Barclays maybe?

ACOURT Yes, Barclays which now owns the Woolwich would charge a £9, but banks charges and policies do vary a great deal. The cheapest for converting Dr. Bashford's value of cheque we found to be HSBC with a flat fee charge of £6 for its customers - Lloyds would have charged its customers £8 but also passes on the charges made by the cheque issuing banks, so it's another place to tread very carefully if you don't want to end up paying dearly for the cheque conversion service and results from our charges survey are on the website and with our audience line.

LEWIS Details of those later, but Chris is Woolwich changing its policies?

ACOURT The bank says it's now looking into whether it can adopt the same charges and procedures as Barclays but it isn't happening yet. Money Box has got a result for Dr. Bashford though - the Woolwich told us it will refund the £60 he lost because it accepts it wasn't - he wasn't made fully aware of just how high the charges might be. So naturally we've passed on the good news:

BASHFORD I'm pleased about that but I think they probably really should draw their attention to customers - that there's the possibility of when they cash a foreign cheque through their mechanism of very much larger charges.

LEWIS Yes not so much the wonder of Woolwich as the wonder of Money Box I think there Chris. Anyway thanks for that. From Monday at least 100,000 people over 60 will be able to get a boost in their income from the government if they apply for it. The government's minimum income guarantee is being improved with higher weekly amounts and much easier rules on savings. To explain the changes let's talk to Sarah Sulley a welfare rights expert with Birmingham City Council. Sarah these are big changes. Just explain exactly what they are?

SULLEY The system itself is much simplified. There's only going to be one rate in essence whereas there were three before. What it means is that people can have a much higher income level and still be entitled to the minimum income guarantee top up and also the savings limits have been increased dramatically.

LEWIS So what sort of income can you get help up to?

SULLEY If you've got any income - if you're a single person and your income is below £92.15 a week then you can get a top up to that figure and if you're a couple the figure is £140.55.

LEWIS So these are way above the basic retirement pension aren't they?

SULLEY That's the very important point. We found when minimum income guarantee was introduced that many people were confused and expected to get this as their state retirement pension. It is something that they have to apply to - to get.

LEWIS And we also know don't we that around half a million pensioners who could claim this don't do so. Now there's another £100,000 maybe more who can get it. Why aren't they applying?

SULLEY There are lots of reasons. In Birmingham we run particular campaigns to try and encourage people to claim these benefits. We know we've got around 18,000 before these changes and another 4,000 as a result of the changes. We see various things being brought to us - most important perhaps is the stigma that people still associate with claiming a means tested benefit.

LEWIS And how do people do it? - is it a difficult process?

SULLEY The form isn't exactly easy. There are lots of places that you can go to get help. But basically it's a question of filling in the form, giving details of what income you already have, providing the evidence for that income and then waiting to see if you qualify. Really the easiest way to discover whether you're entitled to a top up in this way is to make the claim.

LEWIS And of course these exchanges also extend entitlement to help with your rent and help with your council tax don't they?

SULLEY That's very, very important. You only have to have a few pence coming into you through this minimum income guarantee scheme to get full help with your rent and council tax. And then also for things like funeral expenses payments should you need them later.

LEWIS Now I know a lot of other changes start on Monday. Briefly, what are they?

SULLEY They're have been quite dramatic increases in such things as carer's premium. There's the introduction of the new bereavement premium which won't actually come on stream till next year because bereavement allowance will come in before that. They're quite complicated so I would advise anybody to get help to work their way through the system.

LEWIS Sarah Sulley thanks very much for talking to us from Birmingham. And we will be covering all the benefit changes that start next week on our phone-in MONEY BOX LIVE on Monday as well as benefits for older people there are changes for disabled people, young people, as Sarah said for carers and for families. So whatever your concern you can e-mail questions now to moneybox@bbc.co.uk or of course call us on the day on Monday. Now it's emerged this weekend some people are receiving income tax demands when they've already paid - Chris you've got more on this:

ACOURT What's happened is that a fortnight ago the Inland Revenue carried out a sweep of people who haven't settled last year's tax - that was the tax due to be paid on 31st January this year. The Revenue produced warning letters for them dated 23rd March but unfortunately it didn't send the letters out immediately and therefore people who paid up since then have been getting the warnings and demands in the post this week.

LEWIS That must have upset them a bit?

ACOURT Yes and caused some havoc at the tax offices - people who've already paid have swamped the Inland Revenue phone lines with enquiries and often couldn't get through but the Revenue says the lines are now sorted and open today until 10 p.m. so the number to call if you're affected is 0645 000 444 That's the self assessment help line. They should be able to tell you if you still owe tax or not.

LEWIS Thanks Chris and there's also been another interest rate cut hasn't there? - the Bank of England reduced base rates by a quarter percent to 5.5% - how's that affecting mortgages and savings?

ACOURT Most people on variable rate mortgages will see a cut in their monthly payments either immediately or quite soon. The biggest mortgage lender Halifax cut its standard rate by a quarter of one percent on Thursday. Nationwide will do so from the 1st May. Abbey National though is not passing on the full cut but keeping a bit back for itself. It reduces mortgages by .24 of a percent from next Tuesday.

LEWIS And savings very briefly?

ACOURT Not much change yet although all savers and people relying on income from savings will find that they suffer eventually - lower rates.

LEWIS Thanks Chris. That's all we have time for today. If you'd like more information about any of the items on today's programme call the BBC Action Line - 0800 044 044 Calls are free: 0800 044 044 Or of course look at our website: www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox. MONEY BOX LIVE on benefit changes is on Monday. There's more personal finance on Working Lunch throughout the week - BBC-2 at 12.30. I'm back with MONEY BOX at the same time next week. Today the producer was Paul O'Keeffe and I'm Paul Lewis.

Title: Grace for President

Author: Text by Kelly S. Dipucchio and pictures by LeUyen Pham

ISBN: 978-0868-3819-3

Reading level: K-4

Schu’s notes: The perfect book for teaching about primary elections, the electoral college, and politcal sexism.

Schu’s rating: Four :) out of Four  

I would recommend and pass along Grace for President, even if Hillary Clinton were not my number one Democratic nominee for President.  Grace reminds me of the star of Molly Lou Melon,--a character who stands up for her beliefs and represents the common person.

When Grace’s teacher shows pictures of all of the presidents, spunky and fun Grace shouts, “Where are all of the girls?” Her teacher explains that America has not had a female commander in chief. After much thinking, Grace decides that she can be an effective president. Grace ends up running against Tom, the “smartest” boy in her grade. Grace and Tom run a full fledged campaign that beautifully parallels Hillary and Barack. In the end, the candidate who is the most prepared and ready from day one is delcared the winner! J J J J J J J J

I plan to give many copies as gifts. Thank you, Kelly DiPuchhio and Leuyen Pham!

Visit the author's website @ http://www.kellydipucchio.com/ 

Title: Curious You on Your Way

Author: Illustrated by H.A. Ray

Published: 4/08

Read on:  3/31/08

Notes: Perfect for the graduate

Schu's rating: Four :) out of four

Publisher's description:

Curious You: On Your Way! is a perfect sendoff for children of all ages entering a new phase of their lives. Follow along with George in classic scenes from many of his original books as he provides words of congratulations and encouragement to anyone who has accomplished much but still has many things to see, to do, and to dream! The ideal gift book for a graduation, a promotion, or any occasion, Curious You: On Your Way! helps to celebrate all of the milestones of our lives. This inspirational story reminds readers young and old who are moving up or moving on that they have a special someone cheering for them as far as their curiosity can take them!

Title: The Rubber -Legged Ducky

Author: John G. Keller

ISBN: 978-0152052898

Published: 4/08

Read on: 3/31/08

Notes: Perfect for an elementary unit on fitting in and self-esteem.

Schu's rating: Three :) out of four

Publisher's Description:

Title: Rabbit and Squirrel: A Tale of War and Peas

Author: Kara LaReau

ISBN: 978-0152063078

Published: 5/08

Read on: 3/31/08

Notes: The perfect elementary school book to show the importance of friendship and getting along with others.

Schu's rating: Four :) out of four

Publisher's description:

 

 Title: The Juggling Pug

Author: Sean Bryan

Notes: picture book and recommended for ages 4-8.

Schu's Rating: Three out of four :)

What if a pug could juggle? Would he become the talk of the town, hugged by everyone? What if this clever, mischievous pug was also messy, digging holes here and pooping there? Would fame help or only make things worse? From the award-winning authors of A Boy and His Bunny comes an amusing tale, told in wacky rhymes and witty illustrations, that is sure to entertain young readers, and their parents, too. 
 

A good friend and I often remind each other how great it would be to open an independent bookstore, particularly when the day isn't going so well. Everyone deserves to experience how I feel at Anderson's Bookshop, my favorite independent bookstore. LISNEWS directed me to this wonderful article about the revenge of independent bookstores in Canada.

A good independent bookstore is a place you enter looking for the latest Dwell magazine, begin flipping through Types of Canadian Women and of Women Who Are or Have Been Connected with Canada, Vol. 2, by K. I. Press (2006), strike up a conversation with a PhD student, and leave with Robertson Davies.

Such bookstores closed in droves in Toronto in the past decade, killed by the Chapters/Indigo juggernaut and Amazon.ca.

But something odd is happening in Toronto: New little bookstores are popping up like crocuses in the spring earth. Type, the eclectic bookshop that two Toronto scholars opened two years ago on Queen Street West across from Trinity-Bellwoods Park, last November opened a second store in a nook in Forest Hill Village. And two weeks ago, Book City, the 32-year-old chain of small bookstores, gave Type some competition of its own, opening a location on Queen West. Type and Book City share the same streetcar stop, Niagara Street.

Ben McNally opened a boutique bookstore on Bay Street last year, and next year Winnipeg-based McNally Robinson, Canada’s largest independent bookstore (No relation to Ben) is opening a location in Don Mills.

What gives? It appears that, Internet age be damned, a growing number of people like to read actual books, and seek them out in little shops with literate staff.

“I like that it’s small, not Indigo,” says Kyle Wyatt, 26, whom I meet browsing in Type in Forest Hill Village.

The whole strip here has a rustic feel; next door at the Forest Hill Barber Shop, a man is leaning back in an old steel chair while the barber lathers him up for a shave.

“It’s easier to find eclectic little titles,” Mr. Wyatt continues. “It’s so anonymous to just sit at home and surf the Internet and buy books. I come from a town of 1,800 people [Albion, Neb.] that was two hours from the nearest bookstore, so for me bookstores are really fantastic.”

He leaves with Katherine Barber’s Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do With Pigs, $16.95. Down on Queen West, Samara Walbohm, who founded Type with fellow University of Toronto Canlit PhD scholar Joanne Saul, is none too thrilled by the arrival of Book City two blocks away.

“It’s very early days,” she says of the new competition. “We think that we helped to build this community as a book-loving neighbourhood. We were definitely surprised that they decided to open shop so close. They saw the nice book community we created, that’s why they moved in.”

For Book City, the decision was simple: The firm last month closed its shop at Yonge and Charles streets, which had mostly lunchtime and weekday business, says staffer Jim Nicholson, and he and the books moved to this location, where locals have time to browse, especially weekends.

The new Book City has an improvised air: Unopened boxes of books fill part of the front, and signs reading “gift,” “art & photography” and “design & architecture” are written in felt pen on pieces of paper taped to the shelves.

“We really tried to bang out the store as quickly as possible,” says Ian Donker, 33, son of Book City founder Frans Donker. Irene Luxbacher, a children’s book author (The Jumbo Book of Art) is leafing through a kids’ book. She lives next to Type and is a regular there, she says.

“It’s nice to see that there’s another independent, smaller bookstore,” she says. She used to shop a lot at the original Book City, on Bloor Street in the Annex. How do Type and Book City compare?

“Type has a very nice selection of books. It’s edited well,” she says. “Book City, the hours are late, you can eavesdrop on some interesting conversations.”

Mr. Donker says the family isn’t in the book business to get rich. “You can make a living at it,” he says. “There’s better businesses to be in, like banking. We like our size at six stores.”

He says the rising Canadian dollar has forced publishers to charge closer to the U.S. price for books, cutting into margins. He doesn’t want to kill Type, he adds.
“It will be a great neighbourhood for book junkies,” he says.

In its basement, Type runs an after-school literacy program, Word/Play, Thursdays for 18 kids in Grades 4, 5 and 6 at three local schools. Volunteers feed the kids a snack and help them with reading. It would be nice to see Book City foster community spirit as well, rather than just sell hardcovers at 10% off.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/03/24/revenge-of-the-independent-book-stores.aspx

Scaredy Squirrel is back! This time he  is afraid to go to the beach. There are way too many potential hazards--falling coconuts, pirates, lobsters, seagulls, and sea monsters. Scaredy decides to build his own safe beach but it does not fuilfill his needs for long! What will Scaredy do?

 

I picked up Monkey with a Tool Belt and put it down twice. Charge me with judging a book by its cover. I'm so thankful for picking it back up, especially since my laugh carried throughout Anderson's Bookshop. Two women stared at me as if I were insane.

Chico Bon Bon is a monkey that can build anything with his tool belt. Check it out...

Will his tools come in handy when an organ grinder captures him in the hopes of turning him into a circus monkey?

 

Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic  first caught my eye because of the Marx brother film with the same name.  Max decides to prepare a delicious soup and puts his culinary skills to the test. Max is MIA when Bebe the bird, Dakota the cat, and Brody the dog enter the kitchen. The animals search for Max...who knows where he just might turn up. :)

When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick chronicles the story of Marian Anderson, a talented singer and the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. It is told through narration and traditional songs. It beautifully depicts Marian's perseverance to achieve her dreams while facing  multiple roadblocks. Brian Selznick's uncle Richard's recollections inspired the telling of this tale, even though Richard's memory proved exaggerated and sometimes untrue. Selznick's illustrations drew my attention more than the text. (The picture is of my signed copy by Brian Selznick.)

The Dumpster Diverproves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder; one woman's trash is another person's treasure. It is the story of Steve, a boy who dives in the neighborhood dumpster. He seeks out the perfect gifts for his neighbors The author, Janet Wong, provides the inspiration behind the book on her website:

Why did I write The Dumpster Diver?
 
I am drowning in junk. My basement, garage, and closets are full of just-slightly-broken furniture, outdated electronics, parts and pieces of my son’s old toys, and strange doodads that people thought would make a funny gift. Every year I take a big load of my best junk to Goodwill. I leave the slightly-broken stuff at home. I could throw the broken stuff away, but that would seem too wasteful. And so the piles in my basement, garage, and closets continue to grow.
 
A few years ago I met Kerry Wade, an artist who makes furniture out of old things. I loved the chair he crafted out of broken wooden skis. When I asked him how he got the idea to make it, he answered, “Oh, I’m just a Dumpster Diver!” The idea of this intrigued me; I don’t want kids to start jumping into Dumpsters, though! In The Dumpster Diver, the kids decide (at the end of the book) that asking neighbors for old and unused stuff is much better than digging through trash.
 
The Dumpster Diver is a call-to-action to all of us to stop throwing good stuff away. I would be thrilled if my book started a trend: I’d like to see groups of children and adults get together to fix and build new things out of Useful Junk. This would be a good Earth Day project. Or something fun and unusual to do at birthday parties, or in the summer. A substitute for frenzied shopping at the mall—and good practice that might lead to becoming an inventor, engineer, or Mad Scientist!
 
My message to kids: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle! Have fun with your junk, while you make this world a better place!

Meet Jeff Kinney, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

 The 2009 Master List was announced this week. The books are as follows:

For more information visit http://www.fi.edu/learn/automaton/index.html

Literago.org provides news and information about literary events happening in the Chicagoland area. It is founded and maintained by Sussannah Felts, a magazine editor and author, and Maria Villanueva, a librarian at the Harold Washington Library.

 

Naperville Reads is modeled after the popular Seattle Public Library program. Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind:Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future , and Brian Selznick, author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, are the Naperville Reads authors of 2008.

Brian Selznick will appear at Naperville North High School on February 4 at 7:00 P.M.  Daniel Pink will appear at North Central College on February 25 at 7:00 P.M.

Tickets are available at Anderson's Bookshop.

Visit www.napervillereads.org for more information.

Iggy Peck Architect, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

I would welcome an entire class of Iggy Peck's. He's been building his entire life. As a baby he assembled an entire tower out of dirty diapers. His mother simply responds with, "Good Gracious, Ignacious!" Iggy is faced with a problem when his second grade teacher dislikes architecture. The teacher's prejudice stems from a bad childhood experience with sky-scrappers. (I would use the teacher's experiences to teach about how actions make more sense when we delve beneath one's iceburg). Iggy does not let his teacher stand in his way! He continues to build bigger and better things. In the end, Iggy's artistic prowess might just save the day! :)

Recommended for ages 4-8.

A friend of mine who teaches 5th grade bought this from Anderson's Bookshop last week. I became quite excited while looking through her copy because it is a great suplement to my unit on Negro League Baseball.  Kadir Nelson will sign copies at Anderson's Bookshop tonight.

The folllowing is a Booklist review.

Award-winning illustrator and first-time author Nelson’s history of the Negro Leagues, told from the vantage point of an unnamed narrator, reads like an old-timer regaling his grandchildren with tales of baseball greats Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and others who forged the path toward breaking the race barrier before Jackie Robinson made his historic debut. The narrative showcases the pride and comradery of the Negro Leagues, celebrates triumphing on one’s own terms and embracing adversity, even as it clearly shows the “us” and “them” mentality bred by segregation. If the story is the pitch, though, it’s the artwork that blasts the book into the stands. Nelson often works from a straight-on vantage point, as if the players took time out of the action to peer at the viewer from history, eyes leveled and challenging, before turning back to the field of play. With enormous blue skies and jam-packed grandstands backing them, these players look like the giants they are. The stories and artwork are a tribute to the spirit of the Negro Leaguers, who were much more than also-rans and deserve a more prominent place on baseball’s history shelves. For students and fans (and those even older than the suggested grade level), this is the book to accomplish just that.

— Ian Chipman

@ crema, originally uploaded by aaron schmidt.

The above picture meets the eyes of all who enter the Newport Beach Public Library. Yelp is a wonderful place to market the library. According to the website, Yelp is the "fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great--and not so great--in your area." I surfed around the Chicago site and found some great reviews and helpful information about Dunlay's, my favorite eatery in Lincoln Park. Anderson's Bookshop of Naperville is listed on Yelp. Yay!!!!!! Happy yelping!

]]> http://mrschu81.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/award-winning-literature/ Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:43:27 +0000 mrschu81 http://mrschu81.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/award-winning-literature/  

Award Winning Literature, originally uploaded by mrjohnschumacher.

Can you believe that I did not find out about the top winners in children's literature until entering Anderson's Bookshop tonight? I even marked on my calendar: American Library Association announces top books. My day started with a 7 A.M. meeting and ending at the orthodontist. The list is not too surprising. I knew that Hugo would win either the Caldecott or Newbery.

Unfortunately, I do not have time tonight to review or read all of the winners. Instead each book is followed by the publisher's description. Congratulations to all of the winners!

 Here are the top winners among children's literature:

NEWBERY AWARD WINNER: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! By Laura Amy Schiltz

Step back to an English village in 1255, where life plays out in dramatic vignettes illuminating twenty-two unforgettable characters.

Maidens, monks, and millers' sons -- in these pages, readers will meet them all. There's Hugo, the lord's nephew, forced to prove his manhood by hunting a wild boar; sharp-tongued Nelly, who supports her family by selling live eels; and the peasant's daughter, Mogg, who gets a clever lesson in how to save a cow from a greedy landlord. There's also mud-slinging Barbary (and her noble victim); Jack, the compassionate half-wit; Alice, the singing shepherdess; and many more. With a deep appreciation for the period and a grand affection for both characters and audience, Laura Amy Schlitz creates twenty-two riveting portraits and linguistic gems equally suited to silent reading or performance. Illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings by Robert Byrd - inspired by the Munich-Nuremberg manuscript, an illuminated poem from thirteenth-century Germany - this witty, historically accurate, and utterly human collection forms an exquisite bridge to the people and places of medieval England.

NEWBERY HONOR and CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR AWARD: Elijah of Buxton

It's 1860, and eleven-year-old Elijah is a first-generation freeborn child. His Canadian town of Buxton, located just across the border from Detroit, serves as a haven for runaway slaves and their children, where Blacks can live free and govern themselves away from the horrors of pre-emancipation America. When the town's corrupt preacher steals money from a citizen who's been saving to buy his family's freedom, Elijah sets off for Detroit in pursuit. He encounters a group of captured runaway slaves; unable to save them all, he escapes with the youngest--a baby--and returns to Buxton a hero.

NEWBERY HONOR: The Wednesday Wars

Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero in THE WEDNESDAY WARS—a wonderfully witty and compelling novel about a teenage boy's mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling—he's sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

NEWBERY HONOR: Feathers

“Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading inschool. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he?

During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light—her brother Sean’s deafness, her mother’s fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with feathers.”

Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl’s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface.

CALDECOTT MEDAL: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

 ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

 CALDECOTT HONOR: Henry's Freedom Box

Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. When Henry grows up and marries, he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.

CALDECOTT HONOR: First the Egg

This is a book about transformations...from egg to chicken, seed to flower, and caterpillar to butterfly. But it's also a book about creativity as paint becomes picture, word becomes story...and commonplace becomes extraordinary.

CALDECOTT HONOR and the SIBERT INFORMATIONAL BOOK AWARD: The Wall

I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side—the Communist side—of the Iron Curtain.” Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities—creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed.
 
By joining memory and history, Sís takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art.

CALDECOTT HONOR: Knuffle Bunny Too

Trixie can't wait to bring her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school and show him off to everyone. But when she gets there, she sees something awful: Sonja has the same bunny. Suddenly, Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so one-of-a-kind anymore. Chaos ensues until the bunnies are taken away by Ms. Greengrove. After school, Trixie finally gets her beloved bunny back. But in the middle of the night, Trixie realizes something. She has the wrong bunny!

Daddy comes to the rescue again as a midnight swap is arranged with the other bunny, the other little girl, and the other daddy. Needless to say, the daddies are not very happy. By the end of the story Trixie has her beloved bunny back, but she has also gained something new: her very first best friend.

In the tradition of the Caldecott Honor-winner KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE, this is another heartfelt, hilarious picture book that children (and their parents) will love.

CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR HONOR: The Secret Olivia Told Me

Olivia has a secret -- a BIG secret. It’s a secret that she tells only to Jade, her very best friend. And Jade promises she won’t say a word. But the secret is really big and really juicy. What happens when Jade slips and the secret gets out?

CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR HONOR: November Blues

When November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she's faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh's parents take the news? She's never needed a friend more.Jericho Prescott lost his best friend when he lost his cousin, Josh, and the pain is almost more than he can bear. His world becomes divided into "before" and "after" Josh's death. He finds the only way he can escape the emptiness he feels is to quit doing the things that made him happy when his cousin was alive, such as playing his beloved trumpet, and take up football, where he hopes the physical pain will suppress the emotional.
But will hiding behind shoulder pads really help? And will his gridiron obsession prevent him from being there for his cousin's girlfriend when she needs him most?This sequel to The Battle of Jericho is a no-holds-barred look at
what happens when life doesn't go as planned, by the acclaimed author of the 2007 Coretta Scott King Award winner Copper Sun.

CORETTA SCOTT KING ILLUSTRATOR AWARD: Let it Shine

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
With a kaleidoscope of color and cut paper, Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee and two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan celebrates three favorite spirituals: "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The power of these beloved songs simply emanates through his joyous interpretations. Come, sing, and celebrate!

MICHAEL PRINZ AWARD: The White Darkness

 

Sym is not your average teenage girl. She is obsessed with the Antarctic and the brave, romantic figure of Captain Oates from Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole. In fact, Oates is the secret confidant to whom she spills all her hopes and fears.But Sym's uncle Victor is even more obsessed--and when he takes her on a dream trip into the bleak Antarctic wilderness, it turns into a nightmarish struggle for survival that will challenge everything she knows and loves.

Duck for President '08, originally uploaded by mrjohnschumacher.

I've given this book as a gift but did not have a personal copy. Synopsis:

What is courage? Certainly it takes courage for a firefighter to rescue someone trapped in a burning building, but there are many other kinds of courage too. Everyday kinds that normal, ordinary people exhibit all the time, like "being the first to make up after an argument," or "going to bed without a nightlight."
Bernard Waber explores the many varied kinds of courage and celebrates the moments, big and small, that bring out the hero in each of us.

I plan on using The Dumpster Diver to teach organization. Here's a review retrieved from Amazon.

PreSchool-Grade 2—This urban trash-to-treasure tale will resonate with city dwellers and send suburbanites and kids in rural areas searching for similar adventures. A boy waits at his bedroom window for his adult neighbor Steve, a.k.a. "the dumpster diver," to set things in motion. Five taps come on the boy's window and two other young residents of the building also receive the signal to report to duty. The children are "Hose Handler #1," "Hose Handler #2," and "The Fauceteer." Armies of insects are dislodged when Steve dives into the back-alley Dumpster and hauls out seemingly worthless junk, but worth is in the eyes of the beholder, and the three assistants share his reverence for discarded objects. Broken skis, blenders, and lamps can all be reincarnated, and half the fun is finding a tenant who will appreciate some newly fashioned object. Steve's enthusiasm and creativity are so infectious that neither he nor his helpers are deterred by the building grouch, who thinks that the man should get a real job. The text aptly appears on torn scraps of paper or, in the case of the final words, a Band-Aid that Steve will need, having incurred a "work related" injury and convalescing in a homemade wheelchair! With his unmatched gloves and flippers, goggles, and hooded yellow slicker, Steve is a lovable comic figure. Roberts portrays him with a playful elasticity that perfectly matches Wong's playful story

Uploaded by ISU Milner Library  (My Alma Mater)

Tomie dePaola visited Anderson's bookshop a few weeks ago; I regret not going.  

NEW LONDON, N.H. - Though he is one of America's most prolific children's author/illustrators, outside that genre Tomie dePaola has flown under the radar of fame.

"His books are everywhere," said Roger Sutton, editor of the Horn Book, the Boston-based children's book review. "You couldn't find a library without a couple of books by him. But he has never gotten the attention he deserves."

Since the mid-1960s, dePaola has written or illustrated about 200 books. His best-known is probably "Strega Nona" (1975), about an affable magic healer in southern Italy. Notable others include his Mother Goose collection, a book of favorite poems, a seven-volume chapter-book series called "26 Fairmount Avenue" about his childhood during World War II, "Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs," about a small boy's discovery of death, religious books such as "Francis, the Poor Man of Assisi," and "The Clown of God," about a juggler performing before a statue of the Christ Child. His new book is "Front Porch Tales and Country Whoppers," written in Vermont dialect, with a glossary.

Click here for the rest