Books

This week, my daughters and I went through their books to decide which to keep when we move in a few weeks and which to sell in the garage sale. And I learned once again a hard lesson of parenting - children don't always share their parents' interests. I had expected the book culling to be an emotional, and largely useless exercise. It always is when I try to see if there are any books I can get rid of. I find that I can't get rid of any of them. I might want to read them again.

In a room filled with books, 19 third-graders starred up at the librarian holding the largest one. "The word 'read' has 45 different definitions," Candace Bratmon, librarian at Columbus Elementary School, told the students. She held open a 2,500-page Random House dictionary in front of the children. Students gasped, their mouths open and eyes wide as they began to stir, sitting cross-legged on the brightly colored library floor. "I think it's terrific that they get excited about the 45 different meanings for 'read,'" their teacher, Robin Lamoreaux, said.

Janine Marnien LA CRESCENTA -- The cafetorium at Mountain Avenue Elementary School was transformed this week into a book store for the school's annual book fair. Themed "Read for America's Future," the fair offered books on science, American history, poetry and reference books at store prices to students and parents. "We hope that the students will love to read," Cindy Rademacher, chairwoman of the event, said. "That's the whole idea. We want to encourage reading."

Students get to meet authors and illustrators and find out how they work.GLENDALE -- Amy Goldman Koss stood in front of about 40 students at Marshall Elementary School on Friday and explained how she copes with the highs and lows of writing a book. "When things are going well, when I'm writing a book, I feel younger, taller, stronger," said Amy Goldman Koss, who lives in Glenoaks Canyon. "When I get corrections from my editor, I eat a lot of chocolate." Along with Goldman Koss Los Angeles-area authors and illustrators Mary Ann Frazer, Tim Egan, Alexis O'Neil and Kerry Madden visited Marshall classrooms to talk about creating their books as part of the Assistance League of Glendale's Authors and Illustrators Day. When school was over, the authors stayed to sell discounted books.

Like the chocolate powder that mixes with wholesome milk, so did the Nestlé Quik bunny mix with Columbus Elementary School students Wednesday. Waving his hands to the shyer children while giving hugs to the ones more comfortable with their long-eared visitor, the bunny rallied the students as they lined up to get books ? and the treats the bunny just happened to have on hand. Class by class, students entered the school's auditorium and cafeteria and were met by an array of titles ?

Heather Dankowski sat on the carpet with her son Ian on her lap and listened to him read a book. "I like reading animal books," the 5-year-old said. Ian and other kindergarteners read out loud to their mothers while students in the upper grade levels read to themselves during silent reading hour at Dunsmore Elementary School on Friday. The silent reading time kicked-off the school's annual read-a-thon, which runs until the end of the school year. The theme this year is "Reading Works."

It will take teamwork, creativity and compromise for students Christina Farestveit and Joaquin Peres to create an illustrated children's' book together, they decided. The fifth-graders at Fremont Elementary School are participating in "Kids Are Authors," an annual competition designed to encourage students to use their reading, writing and artistic skills to design their own books. "They need to have a positive attitude be a team player and have good behavior," teacher Sherri Downer said.

The side lawn of the Central Library was transformed into a tidy barnyard on Saturday as a laid-back band of farm animals set up camp in Glendale. And where animals roam, children are sure to follow ? which is just what library staff intended, to attract children to the library during the summer as a part of the Summer Reading Program. Two pygmy goats, two alpacas, two chickens and a smattering of ducks and bunnies composed a handy rural backdrop for entertainers Sandy Walker and Barbara Leone, who introduced each animal with a lively jingle.

Claudia Peschiutta MONTROSE -- A little water isn't enough to dampen the spirits of this community. A break in a water pipe at the Montrose-Crescenta Library earlier this year damaged about 2,000 children's books but locals are working to replace the collection. Among those helping to raise the estimated $54,000 needed to do so are the members of the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, who donated $1,000 to the library for new books, according to a news release.

Claudia Peschiutta EDISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - The gift of knowledge came to the school Tuesday packed in five boxes. Third-graders at Edison were given $1,000 worth of books by the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club, which has chosen "Youth in the Arts" as its theme for the year. Lynn Johnson, chairwoman of the Sunrise Rotary Youth Services Committee, said the group is dedicated to education and has many projects planned for the year with various elementary school classes in the city.

A long-time Glendale Community College English professor will be among the hundreds of writers appearing at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend. Bart Edelman's sixth book of poetry, "The Geographer's Wife," was recently published by Ren Hen Press. Edelman will be at booth #920 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the festival on the USC campus. Edelman will also make appearances at the Glendale Public Library on April 29 and at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena May 5. Edelman is the founder of Eclipse, an annual literary journal that publishes the work of Glendale Community College students and professional writers side-by-side.

The bullet train boondoggle is looking more like a bullet bull's-eye. But one big question lingers: Where are the bucks? And even if the state can find the bucks, should it spend them on building a high-speed rail line, a cool choo-choo? Especially when higher education in California is such a train wreck? Education - kindergarten through college - should be our No. 1 priority, for both moral and economic reasons. Producing an educated, skilled workforce for the increasingly competitive global economy is even more important than creating temporary track-laying jobs.

I don't usually comment on online articles or websites. Partly, it's because of the company that would put me in. Not that I think every online commenter is crazy. On the contrary, I'm sure there are several who could pass a mental competency test. But I don't like the idea of having my knee-jerk reactions recorded for posterity. Who knows? There may be a day when I decide that I was wrong all along about Donald Trump's hair or the artistic merits of “Two and a Half Men.” So when I'm tempted to add my voice to a chorus of online comments, I usually just keep my virtual trap shut.

Two Glendale men were arrested Monday night after one of them ran from police during a traffic stop and led them to a church on Lowell Avenue, where he and another man barricaded themselves inside for more than two hours, officials said. Police urged Thomas Smith, 54, and Leslie Jenei, 60, several times over a loudspeaker to exit the Spirit of Foothill Los Angeles Christian Church on the 4400 block of Lowell Avenue, according to Glendale police reports. When they didn't respond, police entered the building to search for Smith, who they reportedly found hiding in the mass area of the two-story church.

It's been long rumored that print is dead - the Internet its murderer. But after a trip to the California International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Pasadena Convention Center last weekend, I'm happy to report the rumors aren't true. The future of the printed word isn't dead, it's undead - resigned to a vampiric, sun-free existence in a prenaturally lit crypt. Allow me to explain. The Antiquarian Book Fair, if you missed it, is among the largest gatherings of rare book vendors and collectors in the world.

Wearing a chef's hat and apron, children's book author Mary Ann Fraser stood at the front of a first-grade classroom at Lincoln Elementary School on Thursday and told the students that it was time to cook up a story. Within minutes, they had concocted a tale about a piano-playing mad scientist put on the run by a lava-spewing volcano. “You guys did such a fabulous job, I have a feeling that one day I am going to go to a library or a bookstore and pick up a book by one of you,” said Fraser, whose work includes “Pet Shop Follies” and “If Animals Kissed Goodnight.” It was one of a dozen presentations that took place at the La Crescenta school as part of Authors and Illustrators Day, sponsored by the Assistance League of Glendale.

Six people arrested in North Glendale last week for allegedly violating the city's regulations against door-to-door sales were held overnight in jail on $300 bail each. The group was arrested after residents reported them to police, and officers discovered that they didn't have city-issued permits to sell magazine subscriptions in Glendale, Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. “We take it seriously,” Lorenz said, adding that some solicitations are scams. Residents who called police on Thursday said the group - which included Terrey Conway, 19, Shelby Hartley, 19, Shyane Paulins,19, Derek Nelson, 20, Brandon Mears, 24, and Dustin Mansfield, 25 - was “very demanding” when asking for donations and offering magazine subscriptions in the neighborhood of Santa Carlotta Street and Glencove Avenue, according to Glendale police reports.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Bank theft -- A Central California bank employee has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $100,000 from the accounts of two customers. Brenda Hurtado, 26, pleaded guilty in August to committing theft by a bank employee. A former employee of U.S. Bank in Arroyo Grande, she admitted changing the contact information for two customers in their 80s, closing their accounts and issuing herself cashier's checks for the closing balances.

Now that TV talk-show host Regis Philbin has retired from his morning “Live with Regis and Kelly” on ABC, he's making the rounds of the bookstores to sign and sell his new book, “How I Got This Way.” On Saturday (Nov. 26), Barnes & Noble in the Americana was host to some 300 Regis fans who came to learn the real scoop on the TV star's life. A bonus was the appearance of Regis' wife and sometimes TV partner, Joy Philbin. Originally, Regis wanted to be the next Bing Crosby. In fact, Glendale resident Gladys Wymore mentioned his idol when Regis signed her book.