Wed 02 18 rdr by Roswell Daily Record

B4 Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Mini Page

release dates: February 14-20

Roswell Daily Record

7-1 (15)

Mini Spy

Mini Spy likes to visit the library cat in her town. See if you can find: q exclamation mark

q lips q acorn q letter M q heart q mitten

q bandage q letter D q sock q number 3 q letter T

q ax q letter J q word MINI q ladder q pumpkin q letter A q kite q letter H q musical note

Curling Up on a Good Book

Cats in the Library

Cats on patrol

photo by OptimumPX, courtesy of Wikimedia

Meet Alan Mills

Story (above and right) loved to “help” kids with their homework. The library recently adopted Booky, a kitten someone had dumped in the courthouse parking lot. Booky also loves to be with kids.

Reading with the animals

Cat burglar

Two cats live at the Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library in Denver City, Texas, along with fish, a tarantula, a gecko, a firebelly frog, gerbils and a red-eared slider turtle. A sister library in the county, Plains Library, has a matching set of all these animals, except for the cats. Instead of cats, Plains has a cockatiel. At first, librarians tried to keep a cockatiel and a cat at the same library, but that didn’t work out well. So now, the bird is at one library, and the cats are at the other one. Pat McNabb, head librarian of the two libraries, said, “The animals are a drawing card for kids.”

“I’m a firm believer that cats and libraries are a good idea,” Pat said. The Cecil Bickley Library cats, Saber, Story and Story’s sister, Penny, were all rescued from a shelter. Saber and Story have now retired and live fulltime with Pat. Story loves people. She is also mischievous. Pat said they had to warn all the women that Story would take things out of their purses. If they couldn’t find their car keys, Story had probably sneaked away with them. The more outgoing Story was, the shyer her sister Penny became. “Penny is very loving and likes kids to pet her, but she doesn’t approach them.”

Rookie Cookie’s Recipe

Crispy Bagel Bites

You’ll need:

photo courtesy Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Cardale Jones

In a team sport like football, a backup player spends most of his time on the sidelines. He may practice and prepare, but the chance to play may never come. Cardale Jones began the 2014 season as Ohio State’s third-string quarterback. By late November, however, the Buckeyes had lost their top two signal-callers to injury. Cardale’s opportunity had come. And he was ready. Cardale led Ohio State on an amazing three-game run in which the Buckeyes captured a Big Ten Conference title against Wisconsin, knocked off No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and then defeated No. 2 Oregon 42-20 for the Height: 6-5 first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship. Age: 22 During that stretch, Cardale had a lot of help from his Hometown: teammates, including running back Ezekiel Elliott, who Cleveland, Ohio ran for 696 yards and eight touchdowns, while Cardale threw five TDs and ran for another. Gus Goodsport’s Supersport

• 5 teaspoons lemon pepper • 1 teaspoon paprika

• 12 plain mini bagels • nonstick cooking spray

What to do:

1. In a small bowl, combine lemon pepper and paprika. Set aside. 2. With an adult’s help, halve the bagels lengthwise. Spray each bagel piece with cooking spray. 3. Sprinkle each piece evenly with the seasoning mixture. 4. Place pieces side by side on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. 5. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 5 minutes, then turn over and bake 5 minutes more. Makes 24 bagel bites. You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick

Purrfect Places for Kitties Animal teachers “The reason that I have these animals in the libraries is that even though we’re in a very rural area, kids don’t see a lot of these kinds of animals,” Pat McNabb said. “Scorpions and taranatulas are native here, but if people see them, they kill them. I’m trying to educate people that they’re beneficial but may just be in the wrong place when people see them.” Pat, a former veterinarian technician, said: “When kids come into the library, they learn to treat animals with respect. When the kids pet the cat and that cat purrs, they see the benefits of being kind. Everything in the library is here for a reason. “There is so little one-on-one communication in our high-tech world today that establishing a relationship with anything on a faceto-face basis is a unique and valuable experience.”

photo courtesy Swansea Public Library

Sometimes people came to pet Penny because somebody else in their house had allergies, so they couldn’t have a cat.

A safe place for everyone Carol said that sometimes people with allergies came to the library especially to see Penny because they could not have cats at their home. But they could handle a short visit with the library cat. “People with allergies know how to deal with them. No one ever complained to us. They’d know not to go too near her or put their face in her fur. People with allergies loved her just as much as everyone else.” Carol pointed out that “the library is a very big place. It’s not like the library is filled with cats. We have windows that open. We’re aired. It’s never really been a problem.”

Look through your newspaper for pictures Next week, The Mini Page is about former South African President Nelson Mandela. and stories of cats.

One morning, when it was 10 to 15 degrees below zero, the librarians at the Spencer, Iowa, library heard something in the bookdrop. Vicki Myron, the head librarian, said a bookdrop is lined with metal, so it was as cold in there as it was outside. When they opened the bookdrop, she said, “On top of all the books in the left-hand corner was a tiny little kitten. He was so hoarse from crying that he didn’t sound like a kitten. I took him out, and he started purring immediately.” The librarians made a bath in the sink to warm him up. “His little footpads were frozen, so it took a couple weeks before he stopped having trouble walking.” They named him Dewey Readmore Books. The Dewey Decimal System is one way that libraries organize books. “He was such a happy guy and loved everybody,” Vicki said. Dewey seemed to know when people needed him. “If somebody had a bad day or lost someone, he’d spend the day on their lap.” After Dewey died, Vicki Myron and Bret Witter wrote “Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story” for middle-grade readers, two picture books and an adult-level book about this beloved cat.

The Mini Page Staff Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

The Mini Page®

Guide to the Constitution The popular nine-part series on the Constitution, written in collaboration with the National Archives, is now packaged as a colorful 32-page softcover book. The series covers: • the preamble, the seven articles and 27 amendments • the “big ideas” of the document • the history of its making and the signers

photo courtesy Johnston Public Library

TMMighty

Funny’s

Mini Jokes

All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?

A famous library cat

photo courtesy Swansea Public Library

In 2013, a man complained about Penny, the cat living in the Swansea Public Library in Massachusetts. He said that Penny would keep away people who were allergic to cats, which was against the Americans With Disabilities Act. People in the community were upset. They loved Penny and petitioned to keep her at the library. The man dropped the fight. Swansea librarian Carol Gafford said that after the incident, people came to the library even more, bringing treats for Penny. There were no grounds for the allergy complaint, she said. “People are allowed to have animals in public buildings. Lots of libraries have animals such as guinea pigs or turtles. People bring in dogs.”

People love Kitty, Betty Burrows said. “She is sweet to everyone.” Kitty still goes outside during the day.

The Johnston Public Library in Baxter Springs, Kansas, was home to a cat named Thomas. He became good friends with Kitty, a neighborhood cat, librarian Betty Burrows said. When Thomas died, Kitty stopped coming to the library for months. Then she began turning up again. Her owners had to move, and they were afraid Kitty would run away to try to find her way back to the library. They asked if the library would take her permanently.

Library Cats Unite Communities Town fights for its cat

Booky and Penny help beautify the Cecil Bickley Library. The cats not only bring kids into the library, but, Pat said, “we have a lot of older people who are in senior citizen homes or living with their kids, and they can’t have pets. They come to the library to see animals and pet the cats. They come to get their cat fix.”

Kitty

Penny finds a special cat spot at Swansea Public Library.

These make good after-school snacks.

Alan Mills was a folk singer and songwriter whose name you may not know. But you may have sung his most famous composition, “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” He wrote the music to that song in 1952. Rose Bonne wrote the lyrics (LEAR-iks), or words. Singers Thomas Hellman and Emilie Clepper recently put out a new picture book/CD combination named after his famous song. The book and CD include the title song as well as other songs by Alan Mills. Alan was born in 1913 as Albert Miller. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He began acting in local theaters when he was 16. As a young man, Alan worked as a newspaper reporter. His hobby was singing folk songs, and he left his newspaper job to concentrate on folk music. He hosted radio shows, including “Folk Songs for Young Folk.” Alan recorded more than 20 albums and wrote several books on folk music. He acted in several radio plays and wrote a play himself. He died in 1977. TM

photo courtesy Cecil Bickley Library

Stone lions guard the New York Public Library. For thousands of years, people have seen cats as guardians of books and wisdom.

For thousands of years, cats have been the guardians of books. In ancient times, books were rare and expensive. Mice and rats ate the paper and tore up the books to make their nests. Cats protected the precious books from the rodents. Today, hundreds of libraries throughout the world have their own cats. Cats don’t just keep mice away from books; they make libraries into even friendlier places. And libraries offer many abandoned or shelter cats a loving home. In celebration of Library Lovers’ Month, The Mini Page visits a sampling of cats that love libraries and the libraries that love them.

Cathy: What color is a contented cat? Carl: Purr-ple! Cornelius: What’s a good name for a cat’s house? Charles: A scratch pad! Cindy: Where do cats go to vacation? Cory: The meowtains! from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick

Library Cats

Basset Brown’s

Try ’n’ Find

C O M M U N I T Y

B L R K D E W E Y

K O O A S E T S N

P I O V T P V N A

I U T K E O S A I

R D R T S R L I R

D A E R Y D A D A

E R R A L K M R R

N E M E A O I A B

O T C I P O N U I

D L T A C B A G L

N E E K T E D O G

A H P K I T T E N

B S L I B R A R Y

A V A L U A B L E

Words that remind us of library cats are hidden in the block above. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: ABANDONED, ANIMALS, BOOKDROP, BOOKS, CAT, COMMUNITY, DEWEY, DOG, GUARDIANS, IDEA, KITTEN, KITTY, LAP, LIBRARIAN, LIBRARY, LOVE, MICE, PET, PURR, RARE, RAT, SET, SHELTER, VALUABLE. from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick

Ready Resources The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics. On the Web: • bit.ly/1wNJakH • bit.ly/1KaQtxe At the library: • “Homer the Library Cat” by Reeve Lindbergh • “Mr. Muggs the Library Cat” by Dave Gunson • “Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!” by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter

To order, send $9.95 plus $3.50 postage and handling for each copy. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS 66206 or call toll-free 1-800-591-2097. Please send ______ copies of The Mini Page Guide to the Constitution (Item #0-7407-6511-6) at $13.45 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) www.smartwarehousing.com Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________________________ State: _________ Zip: ________________

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