An Event for Those Curious About George

Everyone’s favorite monkey will be at Barnes and Noble in Fashion Island tomorrow, March 19 at 1 p.m. Fans will be able to meet Curious George, listen to some of favorite Curious George stories and have their picture taken with him.

For the serious fan, “The Complete Adventures of Curious George” Deluxe Book and CD Gift Set is a hardbound book containing the original seven Curious George stories, a bonus photo album of the authors Margaret and H.A. Rey and five audio CDs.  The set is $35 and is available at the store.

Also, not to be missed is the amazing story behind the story.  In “The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey,” Louise Borden meticulously details the Reys’ ordeal from leaving Paris in 1940, just hours before the Nazis marched in to take over the city, until their safe arrival in New York.

The Reys fled Paris on bicycles that H.A. had himself built from used parts. For three days they rode with little more than the clothes on their backs. One of the only things they refused to leave behind was the manuscript for a children’s book they had been working on together. They held it carefully as their odyssey unfolded.

Once the Reys made it to the Spanish border, the couple sold their bikes for train tickets to Portugal, where they boarded a ship headed for Brazil and eventually New York. Shortly after arriving in New York City, they got a deal with Houghton Mifflin to publish their book and in 1941 “Curious George” became an instant success. The Reys wrote and illustrated six more Curious George Books together.

Other interesting facts are included in the book. Hans Augusto Rey, a Jewish man born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898, grew up close to the famous Hagenbeck Zoo. Hans spent hours at the zoo, drawing pictures of animals – foreshadowing a career that would include some of the most recognizable illustrations of animals in children’s literature.

Although a children’s book, the story is a fascinating read for adults, too. 
Writing and illustrating were not the only passions the Reys shared. Both Margret and H.A. were outdoor enthusiasts who actively pursued gardening, hiking, and bicycling. H.A. was very interested in astronomy, and wrote two books on the subject; a children’s book called “,Stars, a New Way to See Them”, and a young adult book called “Find the Constellations.”

The Reys’ legacy of encouraging curiosity includes more than just their world famous books. Now, The Margret and H.A. Rey Center and Curious George Cottage in Waterville Valley, NH, supports learning in many areas. The center, much more than a destination for Curios George fans, includes an observatory and nature trail. The Curious George Cottage, the former summer home of the Reys, is dedicated to honoring their memory by providing educational and recreational programs for children, adults, and families.

Sherman Library Stocked With History

Since the mid-’60s, Sherman Library and Gardens has been a fixture on Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar.

Arnold D. Haskell bought the property in 1955. It then included a small adobe house and a small nursery. Over the next two decades Haskell expanded the site and named it Sherman Library and Gardens as a tribute to his mentor, Moses H. Sherman, an educator and early California pioneer who also lent his name to the city of Sherman Oaks.  

The idea to add on a library came to Haskell because he had all of Sherman’s papers - boxes and boxes of documents related to Sherman’s involvement with development in California.  According to Sherman librarian Jill Thrasher, Haskell was a very successful man who believed in public libraries, and wanted a place where people could conduct research.

Today the focus of the two-story library is the history of the Pacific Southwest including California, Arizona, adjacent parts of Nevada, and the upper end of the Gulf of California. 

Thrasher points out that because California and the surrounding areas grew so much more recently than most areas of the country, there is a tremendous amount of information that was recorded. Many original documents including papers detailing population growth, mining rights, water development, local histories, geography, and geology are housed in the library. 

Thrasher plays a pivotal role in helping the users of the library - mainly scholars, genealogists, historians, authors, and environmental consultants - find what they are looking for.

“The resource that is used most frequently is the city directories,” said Thrasher.  The city directories date back to 1890. An environmental consultant working with a developer can look up an address to see if there was a gas station or dry cleaners at a specific address, learning what may need to be tested for in the soil.

“There was a man writing a biography of Wyatt Earp and he used the directory to confirm some of his residences in California.  Also, people love going through the directories, it is exciting to find their family members addresses from the ’40s or ’50s.”

While many of the documents are open to the public, there are also archives that are kept downstairs that are not. These archives are used mainly by scholars for research – Ph.D. candidates, masters level students and professors.

There was one historian Thrasher spoke of who has a keen interest in the citrus industry. He has used the library for much of his research and even had access to old citrus crate labels to study.

The library also houses old photographs for the Newport Beach Historical Society.  The photographs are available for the public to look at and Thrasher can make photocopies, scan the historical photographs or send copies out for a fee.

The map collection is unique to the Sherman Library. 

“We have two map cases filled with historic maps of the area. Even one that shows California as an island,” said Thrasher.

The library frequently hosts authors and lecturers.  This Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m. Douglas Westfall, a writer, lecturer, and publisher who has written historical materials over the last two decades, will be speaking at the Library. He will take a look at aviation during World War II and discuss the book “Rain of Fire – B-29 Over Japan, 1945” by Charles L. Phillips, Jr.

More information about Douglass Westfall can be found at www.specialbooks.com,

The event is free for members and non-members, but an RSVP to 949-673-2261 is highly recommended as coffee and cookies will be served. 

The Sherman Library and Gardens is at 2647 E. Coast Highway in Corona del Mar. Library hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Newport Celebrates Read Across America Day

The National Association of Education’s annual Read Across America Day is observed in schools and libraries nationwide this week. The actual day is March 2^nd, which is in honor on Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodore Geisel in Springfield, Mass., in 1904. He attended Dartmouth College, where he wrote and then became editor in chief of the school newspaper. This is when he adopted the pen name Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss went on to write and illustrate more than 60 books in 54 years, between 1937 and 1990.

I spoke with librarians at elementary schools in Newport Beach and discovered that many exciting things took place this week in honor of Read Across America Day.

Peggy Rains, the librarian at Anderson Elementary School, said, “Just because Read Across America Day is observed on Dr. Seuss’ birthday everyone thinks they have to read Dr. Seuss books, but the real point is just to encourage reading in general. Although Dr. Seuss books are good for all ages, there are so many other great books as well.”

Rains is thrilled Anderson School was able to host a visit from author and illustrator Jon Sciezska, author of “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” and his newest book, “Spaceheadz.” Sciezska, who is a huge advocate for fostering a love of reading in all children, was also named the Library of Congress’s first national ambassador for young people’s literature in 2008.

The Anderson students were also encouraged to participate in a bookmark contest. This year’s theme was “Serve Up a Good Book.” Winners received an autographed copy of “Spaceheadz” and were honored this morning during a school-wide flag assembly with a framed copy of their winning bookmarks.

Winners were 1^st grader Alexa Raak, 3^rd grader Kristin Fredrick, and 4^th grader Caitlin Purdy.

 At the Harbor Day School, Librarian Mary Ann Mailloux says they celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with cake in the library, shared by all the students. Mailloux also reads a biography of Dr. Seuss to the kids and has trivia and printable games from the Read Across America website.

Also, Mrs. Burke’s 3^rd grade class really embraced the spirit of the day by bringing their slippers, pillows, little snacks and big pile of books into the library where they settled in and cozied up to the fire to read for a couple of hours. Science teacher

Newport Coast Elementary celebrated with an Author Festival. Scott Sutton, author and illustrator of the “Dinosaur Dog” series and the “Family of Ree” series, was the celebrated guest. The focus of his presentation was how to draw and the process of illustrations. Librarian Carmen McCormick noted the parallels between Sutton and Dr. Seuss: “They both create their own characters and write books that rhyme. “

Two lucky second graders were chosen to be the Fairy Escorts for the day. Ashley Zieper and Chloe Gebelin, donned a dress and fairy wings. The Fairy Escorts had the honor of escorting Sutton around campus and keeping him on track to where he needed to be and when. They also enjoyed lunch with the author, librarian and a few teachers in the library.

McCormick said that it is important for children to be exposed to authors.

“By meeting authors and illustrators [kids] feel they can be a good writer just like the person they’ve met. We’re all writers, writing is so important in life. If they learn to write well, kids will learn to enjoy reading more.”

Read Across America is a day set aside each year to celebrate reading and honor the great Dr. Seuss, but I think it is also a great time honor and celebrate our own wonderful Newport Beach school librarians and teachers - those who work hard every day to instill a love of reading, bring magic to the library, and expose our children to a variety of authors and illustrators. 

Newport Celebrates Read Across America Day

The National Association of Education’s annual Read Across America Day is observed in schools and libraries nationwide this week. The actual day is March 2^nd, which is in honor on Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodore Geisel in Springfield, Mass., in 1904. He attended Dartmouth College, where he wrote and then became editor in chief of the school newspaper. This is when he adopted the pen name Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss went on to write and illustrate more than 60 books in 54 years, between 1937 and 1990.

I spoke with librarians at elementary schools in Newport Beach and discovered that many exciting things took place this week in honor of Read Across America Day.

Peggy Rains, the librarian at Anderson Elementary School, said, “Just because Read Across America Day is observed on Dr. Seuss’ birthday everyone thinks they have to read Dr. Seuss books, but the real point is just to encourage reading in general. Although Dr. Seuss books are good for all ages, there are so many other great books as well.”

Rains is thrilled Anderson School was able to host a visit from author and illustrator Jon Sciezska, author of “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” and his newest book, “Spaceheadz.” Sciezska, who is a huge advocate for fostering a love of reading in all children, was also named the Library of Congress’s first national ambassador for young people’s literature in 2008.

The Anderson students were also encouraged to participate in a bookmark contest. This year’s theme was “Serve Up a Good Book.” Winners received an autographed copy of “Spaceheadz” and were honored this morning during a school-wide flag assembly with a framed copy of their winning bookmarks.

Winners were 1^st grader Alexa Raak, 3^rd grader Kristin Fredrick, and 4^th grader Caitlin Purdy.

 At the Harbor Day School, Librarian Mary Ann Mailloux says they celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with cake in the library, shared by all the students. Mailloux also reads a biography of Dr. Seuss to the kids and has trivia and printable games from the Read Across America website.

Also, Mrs. Burke’s 3^rd grade class really embraced the spirit of the day by bringing their slippers, pillows, little snacks and big pile of books into the library where they settled in and cozied up to the fire to read for a couple of hours. Science teacher

Newport Coast Elementary celebrated with an Author Festival. Scott Sutton, author and illustrator of the “Dinosaur Dog” series and the “Family of Ree” series, was the celebrated guest. The focus of his presentation was how to draw and the process of illustrations. Librarian Carmen McCormick noted the parallels between Sutton and Dr. Seuss: “They both create their own characters and write books that rhyme. “

Two lucky second graders were chosen to be the Fairy Escorts for the day. Ashley Zieper and Chloe Gebelin, donned a dress and fairy wings. The Fairy Escorts had the honor of escorting Sutton around campus and keeping him on track to where he needed to be and when. They also enjoyed lunch with the author, librarian and a few teachers in the library.

McCormick said that it is important for children to be exposed to authors.

“By meeting authors and illustrators [kids] feel they can be a good writer just like the person they’ve met. We’re all writers, writing is so important in life. If they learn to write well, kids will learn to enjoy reading more.”

Read Across America is a day set aside each year to celebrate reading and honor the great Dr. Seuss, but I think it is also a great time honor and celebrate our own wonderful Newport Beach school librarians and teachers - those who work hard every day to instill a love of reading, bring magic to the library, and expose our children to a variety of authors and illustrators. 

Author Mines Newport’s Paradise

“This Vacant Paradise” by Victoria Patterson takes a look beneath the glitz and glamor, past the yachts and mansions in Newport Beach and into the pain that can reside just under the surface.

The main character is Esther Wilson. Esther knows that to ensure a lifestyle that is acceptable to herself and her family, she must marry well. But the competition is fierce. Women go to great lengths to make sure they are beautiful, thin, coiffed, and desirable. In order to compete, one must defy gravity and outsmart Father Time.

While close to snagging one of Newport Beach’s wealthiest bachelors, Esther is fighting against falling in love with the wrong man, college professor Charlie Murphy. With Charlie, Esther cannot help feel elevated to a higher ground and is finding tools (intellectual curiosity, courage, and introspection) she never knew she possessed. Can Esther work at sharpening the tools enough to begin cutting away at all that binds her?

In the same vein as Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Patterson’s characters exemplify the absence of real values. The worshipping of material possessions and status symbols, the disdain for anything that isn’t visually perfect or doesn’t have a large dollar amount attached to it. Being cavalier about hurting others to further one’s position.

While the very beginning of the book may seem a simple novel exploiting and bashing a stereotypically shallow upper-crust lifestyle in Newport Beach, Patterson develops the main characters more deeply than I expected. Esther is struggling in a riptide of societal and family expectations to stay afloat. Readers will find themselves rooting for Esther not only to stay afloat, but to find the strength to go against the tide itself.

Patterson can also be proud of her rich descriptions of the beautiful physical surroundings in Newport Beach. An ironic contrast at times to the man-made ugliness that Patterson populates it with. Among my favorite descriptions were of the ever-present, yet ever-changing ocean - mirroring the core within all of us. At times calm, other times stormy, shining brightly, or “solid as steel.”

 Victoria says her own relationship with Newport Beach is complicated.

“I lived in Newport Beach during junior high and high school.” Although she remembers being “very rebellious - having a rough time,” she also thinks of Newport as “the most beautiful and secure place I have known.”

Her grandparents built a house on the bay the same year Victoria was born and she treasures the memories of her family’s frequent visits.

When asked about the characters of “This Vacant Paradise” being based on people she has known, Victoria answers, “The characters are figments - conglomerates of people, perhaps, but really creations.”

She shared a favorite quote by Richard Yates, "The emotions of fiction are autobiographical, but the facts never are."

And her opinion of whether it is harder to be a man or woman in Newport Beach? Victoria, in the true spirit of a writer responded, “I think it's hard to be a man and a woman both--equally. It's difficult to be human.”

“This Vacant Paradise” is now available at Lido Village Books and other booksellers.

Victoria Patterson is also the author of "Drift" a collection of short stories, teaches through the UCLA Extension Writers Program and as a visiting assistant professor at UC Riverside.

Paige Turner can be contacted at paigeturner.nbindy@yahoo.com.