Welcome the Spring season with these book and media recommendations from the CSUN University collection!

In Special Collections and Archives (SC/A)

The CSUN Special Collections and Archives shed light on these floral-forward Peek in the Stacks entries:

Visit the SC/A Reading Room (2nd floor, please check SC/A for daily hours) or email asksca@csun.edu to learn more about the CSUN Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

In the Music and Media Collection (M&M)

The below music and film recommendations include physical media. The CSUN University Library offers viewing and listening stations, which library users can find on the second floor, east wing. (Pro tip: The M&M Collection is kept in in the same wing as the Teacher Curriculum Center (TCC)! Visit the TCC/M&M desk for help finding CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, and viewing/listening stations.

Music on CD (Compact Disc)

John Coltrane, The Stardust session

(Jazz ensemble session led by saxophonist Coltrane, recorded 1958, including “Spring is here”.)

Aaron Copland, Appalachian spring

(Orchestral, recorded with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall in 1999)

Nina Simone, Ne me quitte pas

(1988 release of vocalist Nina Simone’s hits from the 60’s, including her rendition of “Spring is here”.)

Paul Hindemith, When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d : a requiem for those we love

(Classical music, recorded in Symphony Hall, Atlanta, on March 31 and April 1, 1986)

Movies on DVD (Digital Video Disc)

Bambi (2005 remaster of 1942 animated motion picture)

An animated classic full of seasonal imagery and music, “wobble-legged Bambi the faun lives deep in the woodland with his mother. His early faunhood is filled with friends–Thumper, a jovial rabbit who says all the wrong things; Flower, a skunk with an inferiority complex; and Friend Owl, misanthrope of the treetops. As he grows, fun-and-games give way to the hardship of winter and the most terrifying, ever-looming threat to survival–man. When the hunters come, Bambi must learn to be as brave as his father The Great Prince, and lead the other deer to safety.”

The Secret Garden (2009 re-release 1993 film)

The gray and dreary give way to vibrant, growing life in a transformative tale. “A young orphan named Mary is sent to live at the dark and foreboding English estate of her widowed uncle. She discovers a secret garden which was abandoned after a tragic accident. With the help of her crippled cousin Colin, and Dickon the country boy, her spirit is gradually reawakened as they bring the garden back to life.”

Big Fish (2005)

Tim Burton’s tallest of tales, with a twist of magical realism. “William Bloom, is a young man who never really knew his now dying father, Edward – outside of the tall tales his dad told him about growing up. During Edward’s last days William and his wife Josephine hold a bedside vigil next to the old man as he recollects elaborate memories of his youth. Still doubting the legends and folklore, William makes a journey to meet a mysterious woman.”

Books in the Stacks

A passion for flowers by Carolyne Roehm

“In “A Passion for Flowers,” Carolyne Roehm teaches readers how to create arrangements that set off a flower’s natural beauty. She discusses the overall features of dozens of the most popular flowers and helps readers understand how these elements relate to each other. Though the book is filled with ideas for brightening holidays and special occasions, Roehm stresses that the magic of flowers should be enjoyed year-round. Organized by season to profile the blossoms as they come into their glory, bouquet “recipes” with step-by-step instructions are sprinkled throughout along with special care instructions for more sensitive blooms. Sections detailing containers, conditioning flowers and elements of floral design are included at the end of the book. “A Passion for Flowers” features 250 breathtaking photographs and is a treasure trove of knowledge and inspiration that will help readers stop and smell the roses every day.”

Braiding sweetgrass for young adults : Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(Also available online) “Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass is adapted for a young adult audience by children’s author Monique Gray Smith, bringing Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.”

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Iconic and sense-driven work from American poet, Walt Whitman. The CSUN collection has online, print, and special editions!

Online

Spring: The journal of the E.E. Cummings Society

The E. E. Cummings Society and its Journal, SPRING were established in New York City in 1980 by David V. Forrest, a psychiatrist, and Richard S. Kennedy and Norman Friedman, both English professors. Friedman and Forrest, along with Editorial Board members George J. Firmage and D. Jon Grossman, knew Cummings in the old days and enjoyed a personal / literary relationship with him.

An Oak Spring flora : flower illustration from the fifteenth century to the present time : a selection of the rare books, manuscripts, and works of art in the collection of Rachel Lambert Mellon by Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi (also available in the Stacks)

This is the latest volume in a major series that describes selections of the rare books, manuscripts, and other works of art held at Oak Spring Garden Library, a collection formed by Rachel Lambert Mellon. The 111 items chosen for this volume on floral illustration since the later Middle Ages include Books of Hours, still-life and vanitas paintings, botanical prints, and books of instruction of every kind, from planting a garden to making flowers using colored papers or wax. Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi groups the works into chapters on such topics as florilegia, women artists, tulipomania, Dutch and Flemish painting, and exotic flowers from distant lands, providing an introduction to each chapter that gives the contextual background necessary for a real understanding and appreciation of floral illustration past and present. The sheer beauty as well as extraordinary skills encountered, for example, in manuscript florilegia by Jacob Marrel and Maria Sibylla Merian, in hand-colored books by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues and G.B. Ferrari, and in flower studies painted by John Constable, Margaret Mee, and others, are testament to the high status accorded floral illustration over the centuries. This handsome, richly illustrated volume will attract all those with an interest in rare books and the history of art as well as horticulturalists, botanists, and garden historians.

Nature Painting in Watercolor: Learn to Paint Florals, Ferns, Trees, and More in Colorful, Contemporary Watercolor by Kristine Lombardi

“Find inspiration in the great outdoors and create simple, expressive watercolor paintings of the plants and animals that live there. In Nature Painting in Watercolor, beginning and aspiring artists can learn to paint their favorite ferns, leaves, trees, florals, as well as animals, in a contemporary style using the popular watercolor medium. Start by learning about the tools and materials needed to paint in watercolor; then dive into a thorough and fun painting techniques section, which covers washes, glazes, how to add detail in watercolor, and much more. If you’d like to spend more time outside (who doesn’t?), check out the section on finding inspiration outside for tips on viewing and gathering natural painting subjects, such as trees, grasses, flowers, and many other plants. And if you can’t get outside, we’ve got you covered as well, with suggestions for where to find images online and photos to use as references.”

Spring Fever: Books, music, and movies to embrace the season