Labor Day

      The Kasson Public Library will be closed on Monday, September 3 for the Labor Day weekend.

September New Books

Hiss and Hers By M.C. Beaton  Pub Date 9/18

Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of everyone's favorite sleuth, M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin is as feisty as ever—armed with her famous wit and biting sense of humor. This time, though, there's some biting of a whole other sort going on. Agatha has fallen head over heels in love—again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man—including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon: A poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike.
Rising to the occasion, Agatha rallies her little detective agency to find the killer, only to learn that George had quite a complicated love life. But murderously complicated? Well, if she can't have George, at least Agatha can have the satisfaction of confronting the other women and solving the crime.

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown  Pub Date 9/1

Bellamy Lyston was only 12 years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy's fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene along with her memory of what really happened during the day's most devastating moments.

Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a sensational, bestselling novel based on Susan's murder. Because the book was inspired by the tragic event that still pains her family, she published it under a pseudonym to protect them from unwanted publicity. But when an opportunistic reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on fact, Bellamy's identity is exposed along with the family scandal.

Moreover, Bellamy becomes the target of an unnamed assailant who either wants the truth about Susan's murder to remain unknown or, even more threatening, is determined to get vengeance for a man wrongfully accused and punished.

In order to identify her stalker, Bellamy must confront the ghosts of her past, including Dent Carter, Susan's wayward and reckless boyfriend -- and an original suspect in the murder case. Dent, with this and other stains on his past, is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy's sealed memory to do it. But her safeguarded recollections -once unlocked-pose dangers that neither could foresee and puts both their lives in peril.

As Bellamy delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Susan's slaying, she discovers disturbing elements of the crime which call into question the people she holds most dear. Haunted by partial memories, conflicted over her feelings for Dent, but determined to learn the truth, she won't stop until she reveals Susan's killer.
That is, unless Susan's killer strikes her first...

In order to identify her stalker, Bellamy must confront the ghosts of her past, including Dent Carter, Susan's wayward and reckless boyfriend -- and an original suspect in the murder case. Dent, with this and other stains on his past, is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy's sealed memory to do it. But her safeguarded recollections -once unlocked-pose dangers that neither could foresee and puts both their lives in peril.
As Bellamy delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Susan's slaying, she discovers disturbing elements of the crime which call into question the people she holds most dear. Haunted by partial memories, conflicted
 over her feelings for Dent, but determined to learn the truth, she won't stop until she reveals Susan's killer.

That is, unless Susan's killer strikes her first...

A Wanted Man by Lee Child  Pub Date 9/11
Four people in a car, hoping to make Chicago by morning. One man driving, eyes on the road. Another man next to him, telling stories that don’t add up. A woman in the back, silent and worried. And next to her, a huge man with a broken nose, hitching a ride east to Virginia.
 An hour behind them, a man lies stabbed to death in an old pumping station. He was seen going in with two others, but he never came out. He has been executed, the knife work professional, the killers vanished. Within minutes, the police are notified.  Within hours, the FBI descends, laying claim to the victim without ever saying who he was or why he was there.
 All Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia. All he did was stick out his thumb. But he soon discovers he has hitched more than a ride. He has tied himself to a massive conspiracy that makes him a threat—to both sides at once.

Mirage by Clive Cussler Pub Date 9/18

Husband-and-wife team Sam and Remi Fargo are intrigued when an archaeologist friend requests their help excavating a top secret historical site.  What they find will set them on a hunt for a prize greater than they could ever imagine.  The clues point to the hidden tomb of Attila the Hun, the High King who was reportedly buried with a vast fortune of gold and jewels and plunder . . . a bounty that has never been found.  As they follow the trail through Hungary, Italy, France, Russia, and Kazakhstan—a trail that they discover leads them not to one tomb, but five—the Fargos will find themselves pitted against a thieving group of amateur treasure hunters, a cunning Russian businessman, and a ruthless Hungarian who claims direct descent from Attila himself . . . and will stop at nothing to claim the tombs’ riches as his own.

The Tombs by Clive Cussler  Pub Date 9/4

Husband-and-wife team Sam and Remi Fargo are intrigued when an archaeologist friend requests their help excavating a top secret historical site.  What they find will set them on a hunt for a prize greater than they could ever imagine.  The clues point to the hidden tomb of Attila the Hun, the High King who was reportedly buried with a vast fortune of gold and jewels and plunder . . . a bounty that has never been found.  As they follow the trail through Hungary, Italy, France, Russia, and Kazakhstan—a trail that they discover leads them not to one tomb, but five—the Fargos will find themselves pitted against a thieving group of amateur treasure hunters, a cunning Russian businessman, and a ruthless Hungarian who claims direct descent from Attila himself . . . and will stop at nothing to claim the tombs’ riches as his own.

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Winter of the World by Ken Follett  Pub Date 9/18
Winter of the World picks up right where the first book left off, as its five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, Welsh—enter a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.

Carla von Ulrich, born of German and English parents, finds her life engulfed by the Nazi tide until she commits a deed of great courage and heartbreak. . . . American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other in the bloody jungles of the Pacific. . . . English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Fascism. . . . Daisy Peshkov, a driven American social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set, until the war transforms her life, not just once but twice, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war—but the war to come.

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as their experiences illuminate the cataclysms that marked the century. From the drawing rooms of the rich to the blood and smoke of battle, their lives intertwine, propelling the reader into dramas of ever-increasing complexity.

Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King  Pub Date 9/4
Laurie R. King’s New York Times bestselling novels of suspense featuring Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, comprise one of today’s most acclaimed mystery series. Now, in their newest and most thrilling adventure, the couple is separated by a shocking circumstance in a perilous part of the world, each racing against time to prevent an explosive catastrophe that could clothe them both in shrouds.

In a strange room in Morocco, Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands, and soldiers pounding on the door. Out in the hivelike streets, she discovers herself strangely adept in the skills of the underworld, escaping through alleys and rooftops, picking pockets and locks. She is clothed like a man, and armed only with her wits and a scrap of paper containing a mysterious Arabic phrase. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north.

Meanwhile, Holmes is pulled by two old friends and a distant relation into the growing war between France, Spain, and the Rif Revolt led by Emir Abd el-Krim—who may be a Robin Hood or a power mad tribesman. The shadows of war are drawing over the ancient city of Fez, and Holmes badly wants the wisdom and courage of his wife, whom he’s learned, to his horror, has gone missing. As Holmes searches for her, and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it’s too late for them, for Africa, and for the peace of Europe.

The Bridesmaid by Beverly Lewis  Pub Date 9/11
Eben and I hurried again to the beach. There, we talked and waded into the ocean up to our knees--in our Plain clothes, of all things. And later, after the sun and wind dried us off some, we rented a bicycle built for two and rode up and down the boardwalk, the warm air on our faces.
That evening and the next, we met at sunset, laughing together and talking about whatever popped into our heads until, wonder of wonders, Eben reached for my hand! My heart beat so wildly, I wondered if he sensed it.
But all too soon, we had to part ways, our private time together at an end. Yet our meeting on the beach--as romantic and special as it was--birthed a renewed hope in me. After all, it was nearly a blight on any Amish girl to still be single at my age. Ach, but Eben Troyer had surely changed all of that. Surely he had...

Delusion in Death by J.D. Robb  Pub Date 9/11
It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks . . .until something went terribly wrong. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics gives its report, the mass delusions make more sense: It appears the
bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive anyone to temporary insanity—if not kill them outright.

But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Because it’s airborne. . . .

Zoo by James Patterson  Pub Date 9/3
World
All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.
Destruction
With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.

Severe Clear by Stuart Woods  Pub Date 9/18
Stone Barrington is called to Bel-Air to oversee an exclusive event that will gather the top echelons of the beau monde: Hollywood starlets, socialites, politicos, billionaires from overseas. It’s a task in which Stone has a personal stake, and one that is made all the more pleasurable—though somewhat more complicated—with the arrivals of two beautiful women with whom he’s intimately acquainted.

But the grand occasion has also attracted a dangerous criminal group with sinister plans. The hunt to find them leads Stone into a complex web of deceit and misdirection, in a world where the intrigues of government intelligence collide with the clandestine machinations of the upper crust. As he draws nearer to his quarry, he realizes that the stakes are higher than anybody could ever imagine . . . and that the enemies he’s seeking might just be hiding in plain sight.

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2012 End of Summer Ice Cream Party

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!!!

The Kasson Public Library's  End of Summer Ice Cream Party had over 146 children attend to make their very own ice cream.  The children are always excited about the prospect of making ice cream but the reality of all of the shaking needed, cold salty hands is totally worth it when they sample their ice cream. 

The children learn the longer you shake the cream, sugar and vanilla the firmer it becomes.  But some can hardly wait to eat the ice cream so they use straws to drink it like a shake.  Others want to wait and get the ice cream just right so they can eat it with a spoon. 




A neighborhood couple walk down by the library on Tuesday morning to see the children make ice cream  They said they thoroughly enjoyed watching the excited children. 

Jack Pearson Singer/Storyteller Event

The Kasson Public Library sponsored Jack Pearson singer/storyteller with a  Minnesota Library Legacy grant so all ages could enjoy his timeless music. 

Pearson entertained 82 people at the KM Elementary gym on Thursday at 1 pm.  Pearson brought a music/story experience of imagination, spirit, and history on guitar, fiddle, 5-string banjo, and including his one-and-only amplified toy box lid. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed his performance as they clapped and sang along with the entertainer. 

Music Storytime week of August 20

                                                               

The weeks theme is music I Love My Red Shoes song is at the top of the list for all ages.  The children can sing along to their favorite songs during this week's storytime.

Measuring & Numbers Storytime week of August 13th

This week's theme is measuring and numbers and Children's Librarian Ingvild Herfindahl chose books that the help the children count.
The especially like the book about the monkeys stealing a cat and refusing to give it back its owner.

Guest Storyteller on Tuesday was KM Kindergarten teacher Rita Buehler.  Her former students were thrilled to have her read the other children were happy to see their new teacher when school start in a few weeks.


For these pictures and more from any or all of the library events can be found at:http://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/

Dakota Wars of 1862 150th Anniversary

The Friends of the Library monthly Hot Reads series presented Micheal Eckers, local author and historian.  Eckers came dressed as General Sibley and related events that led up to the 1862 Dakota Conflict along the Minnesota River.





37 people attended this event at the library as Eckers compared and contrasted both sides of this conflict.  The audience learned that because so many men left to fight in the Civil War the women, old men and children were very vulnerable during the summer of 1862.  The Dakota Indians realized this was their only chance to get back their land that was stolen the previous year.  Atrocities were committed by both the Indians and the white men. Not all of the Dakota Nation was at war with the settlers, a large group of "friendlies" protected the settlers from the being killed during the conflict.  The end of the Dakota War resulted in the largest mass execution of Indians (38) Indians being hanged in Mankato.



Eckers shared some of the weapons used in the conflict.

Powder horn used by the Indians to load their guns no lead just gravel to shoot at the settlers.