Wishbone to the Rescue!

The Jack Russell Terrier who goes where no dog has gone before-into the pages of Robin Hood, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Don Quixote, and on a Journey to the Center of the Earth!

Join Wishbone in 4 classic literary adventures:
Paw Prints of Thieves

Joe nearly gets suspended when he helps the school lunch lady donate leftover food to a local shelter. Wishbone is reminded of Robin Hood, who risks arrest when he robs from the rich to give to the poor.

The Impawssible Dream
Joe's "impossible dream" of making it into the Encyclopedia of World Records for basketball free throws, inspires Wishbone's imagination. He remembers the story of Don Quixote de la Mancha and his dream to conquer giants and knights to win the kingdom.

The Hunchdog of Notre Dame
During a roller hockey game, Wishbone is reminded of the tale about the famous hunchback of Notre Dame cathedral. Imagining himself as the deformed bell ringer, Quasimodo, Wishbone gets involved in a life-and-death struggle with his evil master, Frollo.



Hot Diggety Dawg
While helping Wanda dig, Wishbone finds a mysterious treasure. This reminds him of Professor Liedenbrock, who digs his way to the mystery that lies at the center of the Earth in Jules Verne's 'A Journey to the Center of the Earth.'

Latest from the Teaching Company and Modern Scholars Audio and DVD Series

School is now in session --
here are a few highlights from the new DVD and Audio CD collection for courses that you may not have taken when you were in school!

Classics of Russian Literature a three-part series that explores the background and context of a country whose literature has been described as focusing on the "depths of the human soul".
Among the 40 works of novels, stories, plays and poems by Russian authors are War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Dr. Zhivago, and The Seagull and ends with Solzhenitsyn's writings.

How the Earth Works an eight part DVD series discusses the making of our planet from the Big Bang theory to the formation of the solar system,to the subsequent evolution of Earth, including plate tectonics, glaciers, earthquakes and all things geological.

An Introduction to Number Theory is four-part DVD class which provides an overview of high-level number concepts, with step-by-step explanations, anecdotes and demonstrations covering geometric progression, the Binet Formula, prime numbers, cryptography, and Fermat's Last Theorem, among other theories.

Visions of Utopia: philosophy and the perfect society is explored on audio CD through the Modern Scholars Series. Included are Plato's Republic, Thomas Moore's Utopia, and Rousseau's The Social Contract.

The Hebrew Bible discusses what is known as the Tanakh, or how the Old Testament came to be, and how it has been passed down and interpreted through the ages.

Take me out to the ballgame: a history of baseball in America covers the origins and fundamentals of the game, starting in the 19th century, with detailed decade coverage of the 20th century.

Wintry Tales

Doctor Zhivago Originally released as a motion picture in 1965 (remember the first glimpse of the enchanting Ice Palace?) This DVD features: audio commentary, an introduction by Omar Sharif, 30th-anniversary documentary Doctor Zhivago: The making of a Russian epic, 10vintage documentaries, music-only audio track, vintage audio track interviews,and the December 1965 New York premiere coverage.


Silent Night: the story of the World War I Christmas Truce. It happened in spite of orders to the contrary by superiors; it happened in spite of language barriers. And it still stands as the only time in history that peace spontaneously arose from the lower ranks in a major conflict, bubbling up to the officers and temporarily turning sworn enemies into friends. In December 1914 the great war was still young, and the men who suddenly threw down their arms and came together across the front lines, to sing carols, exchange gifts and letters, eat and drink and even play friendly games of soccer, naively hoped that the war would be short-lived, and that they were fraternizing with future friends. It began when German soldiers lit candles on small Christmas trees, and British, French, Belgian and German troops serenaded each other on Christmas Eve. Soon they were gathering and burying the dead, in an age-old custom of truces. But as the power of Christmas grew among them, they broke bread, exchanged addresses and letters and expressed deep admiration for one another. When angry superiors ordered them to recommence the shooting, many men aimed harmlessly high overhead. Sometimes the greatest beauty emerges from deep tragedy. Surely the forgotten Christmas truce was one of history's most beautiful moments, made all the more beautiful in light of the carnage that followed it.

Smilla's sense of snow by Peter Hoeg An international bestseller, the main character is a woman who is an authority on ice classification. Set in Denmark and Greenland, this literary thiller explores the conspiracy behind a young boy's death.

Novels & Stories by Jack London Includes Call of the Wild, Klondike, White Fang and other stories set in Alaska. Classic tales of conflict and survival, battling the elements and human nature as well.

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
In a large, neglected estate house near the Scottish fishing town of Creagan,
on the shortest day of the year, the lives of five people will come together and be forever changed. Winter Solstice is a novel of love, loyalty and rebirth.

The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs When a devastating house fire reveals a rare treasure among her grandfather's belongings, leading her on a search for the truth, Jenny Majesky returns to the only place she feels safe, The Winter Lodge, where she finds an ally in the local police chief who makes her feel safe--and loved. Second tale set among the Lakeshore Chronicles. Preceded by Summer at Willow Lake

Parrots, Penguins and Pale Male, the red-tailed hawk

Availabe as both books and DVD's in the library collections are these three tales of "birds" and the diverse places they inhabit.

New York City is home to the Pale Male, a red-tail hawk caring for his offspring, after his mate meets an untimely death. His predicament and how he raises the babies, nesting in a ledge of an apartment complex, is a point of fascination to the worldly New Yorkers who flock to Central Park to view the progress of this apartment-dwelling bird and family. The DVD is narrated by Joanne Woodward, and originally aired on PBS.

San Francisco is one of the homes of a colony of Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill . Follow the ups and downs of a flock of wild urban parrots within the green niches of San Francisco. Along the way meet unforgettable characters like Picasso and Sophie, the inseparable parrot lovers, and Connor, the lovable outcast of the flock. And the humans involved in have their own stories too. Read about Mark Bittner's experiences in The wild parrots of Telegraph Hill : a love story ... with wings


From the United States to Antarctica, the award-winning documentary
March of the Penguins on DVD includes special features: "Crittercam: Emperor penguins" documentary; "Of men and penguins" documentary; "8 ball Bunny": a classic WB animation short with Bugs Bunny and a penguin.
The official children's companion to the documentary, March of the Penguins
is available at all library locations.

Toy Train Layout ideas

In conjunction with the Piedmont Model Railroaders exhibit coming up
here are some resources to inspire your own efforts:

Tracks ahead. Great model train layouts Visit some of the most amazing model train layouts across America on this DVD from the producers of the award-winning public television series Tracks Ahead. Filmed in high-definition, this program visits famous model train sites around the country: New Jersey's Northlandz, Florida's Cypress Gardens model railroad, the Decoster Garden layout of Connecticut, the Lash layout, Washington DC, The Baldwin layout, Georgia, the Robinson layout, Pennsylvania, the Watson layout, Wisconsin, the Zane layout and the Strong layout, Maryland.

Great toy train layouts of America Over five-hours full of great train action. See sleek Lionel diesels, powerful steamers puffing smoke, switchers with backup lights, passenger trains with their lights shining brightly, log and coal loaders, illuminated stations, powerful magnetic cranes, hills and rivers, cities and towns filled with little folk--all the enchantment and thrills that toy train layouts have provided five generations of kids, dads, and granddads. 14 layouts from around the country--from Ward Kimball's multi-gauge layout, to Chuck Brasher's Standard Gauge, Stan Roy's 32-train O gauge, Paul Nelson's outstanding S-gauge, and many more--all capturing the history romance, and fun of toy trains. Includes interviews with the layout builders, tips on building, and more toy trains in action than you'll find anywhere. This series, originally released in 1987, was the first to show classic toy trains in action, and contributed significantly to the dramatic growth of this hobby in the nineties.

A Century of Lionel Trains This DVD, narrated by Tom Snyder, covers the history of the famous train line.

How to build realistic model railroad scenery Covers backdrops, foregrounds, water, rocks, and changing seasons.

Playing with trains : the unexpected world of model railroading A former Grand Prize racer and Emmy Award-winning sportswriter examines the human love affair with model railroading, detailing his own panoramic layout, a model based on the historic Colorado Midland, and describing how his hobby has led to unexpected friendships, its impact on personal and family relationships, and the lost world of the steam engine.

Model Railroader Magazine Available at Bealeton Branch library, along with many other specialized model railroading titles.

Earth, Sea and Sky

Planet Earth on DVD is now available at all library locations.
Narrated by David Attenborough, this is a
stunning 11-part series that captures rare action, impossible locations, and intimate moments with our planet's best-loved, wildest, and most elusive creatures.
In addition to the series, the DVD's include these
special features: 110 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage - one 10-minute behind the scenes program for each episode; "Planet Earth: the future" 3-part, 2 1/2 hour documentary.

Blue Planet
Again, the familiar voice of David Attenborough narrates this exploration of the earth's oceans featuring incredible undersea videography on 4 discs, including eight behind the scenes featurettes, interviews, compelling exploration of men's impact on the oceans, photo galleries, fact files, trailers

Winged Migration Follows bird migrations flying over the seven continents: from one pole to the other, from the seas to snowcapped mountains, from the canopy of heaven to mangroves and swamps-shot over the course of three years, exhilarating footage includes the Himalayas, with an acclaimed soundtrack.

Cheesemaking and Bread baking

Artisanal cheeses are coming into their own as the next big local resource.

The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese includes a listing by state of specialty cheese producers,
plus indexes by types of cheese: cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo, raw milk and organic.

For learning about how cheeses are made, the The Cheese Nun on DVD provides a fascinating and delightful personal journey as Sister Noella Marcilleno becomes a champion for artisanal cheesemakers on both sides of the Atlantic.

If you're ready to try it on your own, Home Cheese Making: recipes for 75 homemade cheeses will get you started.

For general information about all types of cheese, check out
The Cheese Primer by Steve Jenkins which discusses the principles of cheesemaking and describes the cheeses of Europe and North America.

To accompany your cheese, some resources on bread baking include:
Video Bread Series.
This is a very non-threatening set of 8 DVDs, good for a complete novice, on all aspects of bread baking: kneading, rising, punching down, etc., plus tips on pizza making, muffins, sweet rolls, pie crusts, and how to really get some use out of your dusty bread machine.

If you're more comfortable with the bread baking process, check out Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads which offers over 600 pages of bread baking recipes. It covers more than just bread, and is very thorough in approach.
America's best-loved bread-baking authority returns with the 30th anniversary edition of the New Complete Book of Breads, the definitive version of this baking classic.

Reading Rainbow on DVD

The library has recently added new DVDs in the Reading Rainbow Series at all three branches.

Click here for a list of titles:
Reading Rainbow DVDs

Brush up your Shakespeare

Washington is celebrating Shakespeare with a six-month festival, featuring his legacy through plays, dance, music, museums, and online discussions.
See the Washington Post Sunday, January 7, 2007 Arts Section for more details.
Also, check out these websites for a list of events and ticket information:
www.washingtonpost.com/Shakespeare
www.shakespeareinwashington.org

For those who want to explore aspects of Shakespeare in anticipation of attending a performance, or afterwards, the library offers many different ways to become more familiar with Shakespeare's life, work, and enduring fascination to actors, historians, philosophers, and sleuths.

Firstly, the Plays:
The Complete Dramatic Works of Shakespeare on DVD
available at Warrenton and Bealeton branches.
Additionally, there are copies of the plays on VHS as well at both locations.

Secondly, about Shakespeare the writer:
Peter Saccio, a noted lecturer on Shakespeare"s works has several courses available through the Teaching Company, on audio cassette and CD.

Thirdly, about Shakespeare the man:
In Search of Shakespeare" on DVD with Michael Wood and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Over the course of 4 hours, he explores the documentary evidence available to provide an intimate and illuminating portrait of Shakespeare's world.

For more information about individual plays, browse in the call number
822.33 SHA
For his sonnets, see that number plus 821. 3 SHA

If you are doing more academic research, in addition to the many print works in the library's collection, there's also the Bloom's Literary Reference Online an online collection available to any Fauquier County library cardholder, that provides in-depth literary criticism on specific works, by Shakespeare and many other authors.

This is just a small sampling of the many diverse resources available at the library about Shakespeare.

Complete New Yorker on DVD

A treasure-trove of American literature, humor, and social history from the famed weekly is now available for use in the Warrenton Branch reference collection.

Every cover, cartoon, illustration, article and advertisement in the New Yorker magazine from February 1925-February 2005 is included on 8 DVD-ROM discs (for computer use only), plus a booklet describing highlights of the magazine's history. That's over 4,000 issues and half a million pages.

James Thurber, E.B. White, Joseph Mitchell, Truman Capote, Roger Angell, James Baldwin, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Garrison Keillor, John Updike, Vladamir Nabokov are just some of the names which appeared regularly over the years.

Searching for those obscure J. D. Salinger short stories that weren't in his published anthologies? You'll find them here, plus poems by Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, Seamus Heaney, cartoons by Charles Addams, George Booth, columns from Calvin Trillin, and fifty years of letters from Paris by Janet Flanner.

Theatre, dance, and film reviews from 1925 onward; a horse-racing column, The Race Track, that ran from 1926-1978; and "Talk of the Town" gossip provide an overview of the
culture, sophisticated and popular, through the decades.

Quite a few books began as published articles in the pages of the New Yorker, including reportage from Jonathan Schell, Neil Sheehan, Rachel Carson, and Seymour Hersh.

The New Yorker's weekly slice of life from the Roaring 20's through the disco 80's into the 21st century is distinctive, distinguished, and entertaining.
Complete New Yorker

Baby Einstein DVD's expanded

Recent additions to the Children's collection includes more Baby Einstein on DVD.

Baby Monet playfully journeys through the four seasons in art work of Monet and the music of Vivaldi
Baby Newton presents concepts of shape through real objects, plus puppets and an animated clown
Baby Wordsworth explores language with words from around the house, plus a bonus feature with phrases in sign language from Marlee Matlin

For the 11 titles available, see Baby Einstein
All items may be requested at any branch location.

New Teaching Company titles have arrived!

Fauquier library has many fans of the Teaching Company, and a new batch of titles are available, some on audio CD and some on DVD.

On Audio CD

Plato's Republic

Vikings

Francis of Assisi

Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis

On DVD

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age

High Middle Ages

Italian Renaissance

Change and Motion: Calculus Made Clear

Particle Physics for Non-Physicists: A Tour of the Microcosmos

From Monet to Van Gogh: a history of Impressionism

Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance

For a complete list of their courses at the library,
you can do a search under
Teaching Company in the online catalog.

The collection includes audio cassette and video format as well as audio CD's and DVD of their courses on art, music, literature, history, science, mathematics, economics, philosophy, religion, mythology, psychology, on aspects of world culture through over 70 titles.

For more information about the Teaching Company, go to their website:
http://www.teach12.com

Dancing through Time

Participating in Costume balls, historical plays, Renaissance Faires, and other festivities?

Do you have a desire to find out just what is a Quadrille, how to present a "Grand March", how to dance the Mazurka or the Minuet, the intriguing "Nest of Love"?

The library's DVD collection includes the 6 part set "How to Dance through Time"

Each volume covers a particular time frame: Baroque Social Dance, Renaissance, Ragtime, Victorian, and 19th Century Ball and 19th century couple dances (think Jane Austen).

Programs range from 35 to 50 minutes in length and provide information about costumes, period drawings, and aspects of their social etiquette as well.

Health Choices on DVD

The latest DVD series at the library includes 11 programs that examine the array of choices available in medical therapies and treatments.

Confronting Cancer...an integrated approach follows a young woman of 30 battling progressive breast cancer through treatment at major cancer centers such as Sloan-Kettering, and UCSF. She also has, with support from her doctor, used energy healing, acupuncture and herbs.

Spiritual healing reviews research in spirituality and healing, and includes interviews with
Dr. Kenneth Pelletier, author of The Best Alternative Medicine, Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madronna, a psychiatrist of Native American heritage and knowledge, Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Naomi Judd who has stuggled with Hepatitis C.

Othe program topics include genetic research, chronic pain, the aging process, herbal medicines, the mind/body connection, and sickle cell anemia.

Each program is approximately 30 minutes long. The series is available at the Bealeton and Warrenton branches.

For more information from the catalog:
Health Choices DVD Series

Today's Homeowner DIY Series on DVD

Thinking of remodeling a kitchen or bath?
Converting a carport or garage?
Doing something with driveways? decks? room additions?

From flooring to roofing, over 20 episodes of Today's Homeowner series, hosted by Danny Lipford, are now available to borrow from the Warrenton Library.

For more detailed information, here is a list of titles:
Today's Homeowner DVD Series

Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends

Shelley Duvall's humorous retelling of famous American legends
features familiar faces such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny Glover, and Martin Short
in the recently released DVD versions of
Annie Oakley, Davy Crockett, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill
plus a few more.
Available soon at the Warrenton Branch.
You can request a copy to be sent to another pickup location
through the library's catalog by clicking on the "Place a Hold" button
on the screen for a specific title in the catalog.
Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends

Dickens on DVD

Winter time is the season for Dickens.

Look for these newly released DVD's
at Bealeton and Warrenton Libraries.

All are BBC versions of Dickens Novels


Bleak House (with Diana Rigg, not the latest PBS version)
This was originally aired in 1985. It has 8 episodes, with 4 on one side of the disc, and 4 on the other side of the disc-7 hours of viewing.
At the court of Chancery, the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case grinds on for years with no end in sight. Entangled in the lawsuit are a growing number of innocent victims: Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a child with mysterious parentage; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. As the case staggers onward, yet more people become embroiled in the furious legal battle, including the proud Lady Dedlock, who finds herself persecuted by the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn, then hunted by the determined Inspector Bucket, one of the first detectives to appear in English literature. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core.


Great Expectations -almost 6 hrs long, starring Joan Hickson
In the gloom of a country graveyard, a young boy encounters an escaped convict, a chance meeting that later leads the boy to tragedy, mystery and wealth.

Hard Times -with Alan Bates, Bill Paterson, Richard Grant
Local MP and schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind raises his children, Louisa and Tom, in the utilitarian fashion, stressing reason and fact and dismissing imagination and emotion. Under his influence, Louisa grows cold while Tom turns to a secret life of drinking and gambling. To be nearer her brother, Louisa accepts an offer of marriage from his boss, the self-mad, self-important banker Josiah Bounderby, though she does not love him. But soon finds herself succumbing to the attentions of the lothario James Harthouse. All the while, Mrs. Sparsit, a former aristocrat who now works for Bounderby, obsessively watches as the drama unfolds, longing for Louisa's downfall.


Martin Chuzzlewit -with Paul Scofield, Tom Wilkinson, John Mills
Who will inherit the riches of wealthy old Martin Chuzzlewit? The only person he trusts is his companion and nurse, the young orphan Mary Graham, but she is employed on the understanding that she will not inherit a penny. He has disinherited his grandson, Young Martin, suspicious of the motives of the young man's love for Mary. With such a fortune at stake, the rest of the family closes in like sharks. The obsequious Pecksniff, whit his daughters, Mercy and Charity, attempts to grovel into the old man's good graces, while the wicked Jonas will stop at nothing...even murder.


Our Mutual Friend -a tale of two turbulent love affairs amidst a tangled web of wealth, corruption, passion and betrayal in 1860's London. Almost 6 hours long.

Historic Hotels of America

Have you ever wondered what some of the famous, grand old hotels looked like on the inside?

A new DVD series on Historic Hotels in America reveals their special features.

The library has the following titles:

The Greenbrier, Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia
Hotel Hershey, Hershey ,Pennsylvania
The Jefferson, Richmond, Virginia
The Mayflower, Washington DC
The Morrison Clark, Washington DC
The Wayside Inn, Middletown, Virginia
The Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg, Virginia

Test Anxiety?

Perhaps one of your New Year resolutions is to improve your grades.
Test-Taking Strategies for Students may be just the boost needed to overcome test performance anxiety. This 7 part DVD series covers the gamut from answering test questions, effective note-taking, study skills, how to master essay tests, math tests, and reading comprehension. Available at the Warrenton branch.

Davenport's Grimm DVD Series

American versions of classic folk and fairy tales From the Brothers Grimm
by Delaplane's own Tom Davenport are now available in DVD format.

You may have seen some of these stories on PBS a while back.
These award-winning live action Appalachian versions of traditional tales have a unique style and flavor, with memorable characters and settings in the hills and regions of the South.

Included are the following stories:
Ashpet, an American Cinderella set in the rural South during the early years of WWII
Hansel and Gretel, Bearskin, The Frog King
Jack and the Dentist's Daughter (based on The Master Thief)
Mutzmag
Rapunzel, Bristlelip, the Goose Girl,
Soldier Jack, or the man who caught death in a sack
Willa, an American Snow White.

As a lagniappe, special features are incorporated with the tales.
Documentaries from the American Traditional Culture series by Davenport, such as The Ballad of Frankie Silver, a real murder immortalized in song, that took place in Morganton, NC in 1833, and Being a Joines: A Life in the Brushy Mountains about a master tale teller from Wilkes County, NC. enhance some of the DVD's.
Interviews with the filmmaker and behind the scenes footage and commentary are also provided.

Please note: some of these titles are recommended for older children.
The complete series is available at all three library branches.
For additional information and teacher resource guides check out Tom Davenport's website www.davenportfilms.com.