A Picture Book Holiday

Read Charlotte Canelli's column in the November 29th edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

In the summer of 2012, the Canelli family moved into a lovely 1870 home in Norwood. It is an interesting house with a magical mixture of eclectic modernism and Victorian embellishment. A long brick walkway leads from the sidewalk to wooden French doors and twin front porches and gingerbread trim add to its charm.  Warm Christmas tree light twinkles softly onto the snowy front lawn. The side porch is roomy enough for an extra Christmas tree to greet holiday guests.  It certainly conjures visions of sugarplums with white icing trim and at the time we bought it we felt that it was a perfect Christmas house.

A Day Never Forgotten

Read Jean Todesca's column in the November 22, 2013 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Jean is Children's Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library.

           November 22, 1963, I clearly remember how ecstatic my 3^rd grade classmates and I were when our teacher announced that class was dismissed.  Boy that dates me back to the era when children could just be released from school.

            As we skipped and cheered at our new found freedom, passing Debbie’s house, her mother scolded us, “You should be ashamed of yourselves on such a sad day!

What's In Name?

Read Marie Lydon's column in the November 15, 2013 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Marie is a Reference Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library.

When our daughter called and asked me to pick up some books on baby names, I was shocked at the weight and thickness of the newer ones.  Just out of curiosity, I checked to compare our oldest books on the subject, “What to Name the Baby (A Treasury of Names) 15,000 Names to Choose From” by Evelyn Wells (1953), at 326 pages and “Naming Your Baby: Rules to Follow When You Name Your Baby” by Elsdon C. Smith (1970), 94 pages. Compare these to “The Complete Book of Baby Names: The Most Names  (100,001+), Most Lists, Most Help to Find the Best Name” by Lesley Bolton, checking in at 675 pages and labeled “#1 Bestselling Baby Names Book!” or “60,001+ Best Baby Names” by Diane Stafford (2011) coming in at 588 pages. It’s hard enough to decide among the books, let alone deciding on a name.

I Love Books

Shelby Warner is a Reference Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read Shelby's column in the November 8th edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

My husband and I were talking about my next article for this column when he started reminding me of his own “reading  journey”.

Red Sox Nation Revisited!

Gerry Canelli kindly pointed out my error in this week's column! Unfortunately, I think it went to press with the mistake.

The Red Sox have won seven World Series – unfortunately none of them in the last 72 years of the 20th century. They won in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918 before breaking the “curse” and triumphing once again in 2004 and 2007.

Only a rookie baseball fan would have made that error!

Red Sox Nation

Read the published version of Library Director Charlotte Canelli's column in the November 1, 2013 edition of The Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Note: There is a typo in this column that has been corrected. The Red Sox won the 2007 World Series, not the 2008 World Series.

Comedian Jimmy Fallon is credited with having said this of fans of the Red Sox: “If you root for something that loses for 86 years, you’re a pretty good fan. You don’t have to win everything to be a fan of something.”

This seems to be at the heart of Red Sox fan devotion. New Englanders adore their sports teams, notably their Sox. And they don’t always have to win. By the time you read this on Friday, November 1, the Red Sox will have won or lost the 2013 World Series contest against the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether the Sox win or lose, most of their fans will remain just that. Loyal fans.