What to Read now that Burbank READS "Rocket Boys" is over.

Now that Burbank READS “Rocket Boys” is over, I bet that you are worried about what to read next? Don't worry, you'll find plenty of ideas on the library's iBistro catalog.

Under Burbank READS we have the following special book lists related to "Rocket Boys" for your reading pleasure.

Men and Women of Space Exploration – features a selection of biographies about the men and women [and much more] of space exploration.

More Books by Homer Hickam Jr. – Loved “Rocket Boys”, well here are the other fiction and nonfiction books that the library owns by Homer Hickam Jr.

Fiction of the 50's – a selection of some of the best known, most popular and enduring classic fiction books written in the 1950's.

All About the 1950’s – Want to know more about the 1950s? This is the list for you, history, food, décor, music, photographs, cars and more can be found on this list. All with a 1950s twist!

Many more recommended book lists for children, teens and adults can be found under the Have you Read? link on your iBistro catalog.

Happy Reading!

Rocket Boys Grand Finale - Recap

Good afternoon,

Well, we brought Burbank READS 2008 to a conclusion on Saturday with the finale, a ‘50s concert featuring Ronny & the Classics at the Northwest Branch Library in the morning and a showing of In the Shadow of the Moon at Buena Vista Branch Library in the afternoon. Although the weather was a bit chilly and grey, those who attended our round of events [Hi Jan] were very appreciative of all our efforts...and you should have seen the selected members of the crowd doing the "Hand Jive" with the band...oh for a photo of that!

We thank everyone who participated in Burbank READS "Rocket Boys" through reading the book and attending the programs. We hope you had fun and we look forward to seeing you at the library and at the next edition of Burbank READS....hhmm, what book should we read next?

Please drop us a line and let us know....

The Mars Rovers

OK, so this isn't officially tied into our Rocket Boys programming, however the library's exploration of outer space continues with our May

Family Night @ the Library(A Series of FREE Cultural Events sponsored in whole or in part by the Friends of the Burbank Public Library)

which will be featuring a program entitled:

The Mars Rover: Robot Explorers on Our Neighbor Planet

Come hear Dr. Kim Gostelow, a software engineer at JPL whose programs flew on the Mars rovers. With pictures and video to accompany, he will talk about what it takes to build and send these travelers to Mars, how they work, and what they show us about our neighbor planet.

Thursday, May 8 7:00 PM ------ Thursday, May 22 7:00 PM
Burbank Central Library --- ---- Buena Vista Branch Library
110 N. Glenoaks Blvd. ---------- 300 N. Buena Vista St.
818-238-5610 ------------------- 818-238-5630

JPL Open House....May 3rd and 4th.

Now that Burbank has read Homer Hickam Jr.'s Rocket Boys, how about paying a visit to the real life rocket boys of Pasadena, namely the 2008 JPL Open House which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th, 2008, 9am-5pm both days.

Click here to visit the JPL site and get all the information you need.

Talk about perfect timing!

Rocket Boys related reading...The Mercury 13

One of the pleasures in putting together a recommended reading list, is finding a book that makes you go "I didn't know that!", well this year, in support of Rocket Boys, and the book list Space Exploration (the men, the women and more) yielded such a book that qualifies in The Mercury 13 : The untold story of 13 American women and the dream of space flight.

Martha Ackmann's book covers the story of 13 women pilots who went through much of the same basic training that the original male astronauts underwent. Overcoming bias and lacking flying opportunities due to their gender, the Mercury 13 while proving their mettle, never were allowed a chance to continue on and become astronauts. This is a highly readable, interesting look at the beginnings of our space program and an unflattering reminder that gender bias was a much larger factor in everyday life not so long ago. Brisk, brief and compellingly written, The Mercury 13, sheds enlightenment on an aspect of our history that should be remembered and also serves as a reminder that a wonderful book on history can be readable, informative and not break your coffee table!

Everyone has heard of the Mercury 7, now is the time to read and learn about the Mercury 13, trust me, these ladies too had "The Right Stuff"!

A double shot of YA Rocket Boys event recaps.

The High School Book Club met on 4/10 at Buena Vista to discuss Rocket Boys by Homer J. Hickam as part of our Burbank Reads celebration. The teens enjoyed eating Moonpies and posing for this picture. Many of them also enjoyed watching October Sky (the film) on their own. We also read Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz and The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Our next meeting (last one for the school year) is on 5/15 at Buena Vista 6:30 pm. We will be reading Sabriel by Garth Nix and Alanna by Tamora Pierce.

And.....

TALES OF THE PARANORMAL with James Underdown from Center for Inquiry West, Hollywood – We had 95 attend our Burbank Reads YA show at Buena Vista on 4/16. Everyone had a lot of fun debating with Mr Underdown about aliens, crop circles, and UFOs. We had quite a lot of adults attend and the kids asked really interesting questions. A good time was had by all!

Thanks to Melissa and Katherine for the recaps and the photos!

Rocket Boys - The Musical!

The story of Rocket Boys continues!
Believe it or not – the book is now being turned into a Broadway Musical.

Rocket Boys, a musical based on the NY Times #1 bestseller by NASA engineer Homer Hickam (also immortalized in the hit film, October Sky), has received a huge and overwhelmingly positive reaction from the musical theatre community since its initial stages.
Read all about it - here is a link to the website:

http://www.rocketboysthemusical.com/index.html