Children's Book Cellar

11/09/2025

The Brook
Alfred Lord Tennyson

I come from haunts of coot and hern,
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.

By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorpes, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.

Till last by Philip's farm I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.

With many a curve my banks I fret
By many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
With willow-w**d and mallow.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

I wind about, and in and out,
With here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a l***y trout,
And here and there a grayling,

And here and there a foamy flake
Upon me, as I travel
With many a silvery waterbreak
Above the golden gravel,

And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers;
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers.

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.

I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;

And out again I curve and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

11/08/2025

Supporting Mainers Through Times of Food and Financial Stress 💚

When budgets get tight or access to food becomes uncertain, it’s important to know where to turn for reliable, research-based guidance. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers practical resources to help individuals, families, and organizations navigate challenges with confidence.

🍎 Find helpful tools and tips for:

Safe food donations and pantry guidelines
Freezing and preserving fruits and vegetables
Preparing nutritious, low-cost meals
Connecting with local food resources

Whether you’re planning a food drive, helping your community, or stretching your own grocery budget, these resources can make a difference.

Explore the full list of publications and community links here ➡️ https://extension.umaine.edu/food-health/2025/10/31/resources/

05/13/2025

UMaine Extension in the Spotlight! 🌿

Ankit Singh, professor and sustainable agriculture and ornamental horticulture educator, was recently featured on Martha Stewart sharing expert tips on how to keep w**ds out of raised garden beds! 👨‍🌾✨

💧 “Water only where your plants are, not the whole bed, as dry soil discourages w**d growth,” Singh advises — a simple but effective strategy for a tidier, healthier garden.

Read more expert advice and start your growing season strong! 🌱 https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2025/05/09/singh-featured-as-a-garden-expert-on-marthastewart-com/

05/13/2025

Breaking Research News from UMaine 🚨

UMaine has received $2.25 million in state funding to tackle the issue of PFAS contamination—a growing concern on Maine farms.

PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” can persist in the environment and impact soil, water, crops, animals, and people. With links to serious health issues, understanding and managing PFAS is critical to protecting Maine’s agricultural communities.

🌱 Thanks to support from the Maine DACF , five innovative research projects at UMaine will study:

🔬 How PFAS moves through plants, animals, and food
🧪 New ways to detect PFAS on-site
🌿 Soil remediation with biochar and advanced materials
🐄 Livestock management strategies
⚙️ Energy-efficient methods to break down PFAS in soil

Led by faculty across UMaine Extension, the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES), and the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, these projects aim to deliver real solutions for Maine farmers.

💬 “The state’s investment fortifies our commitment to protect and inform Mainers through research and its application.” — President Joan Ferrini-Mundy

📚 Learn more about UMaine’s PFAS research and the state’s efforts here:

05/13/2025

Mildred Fizer didn’t exactly shatter the glass ceiling 58 years ago. Rather, she simply etched her way through it, with grace and quiet confidence. “Somebody, some woman, […]

11/01/2024

Children’s Book Cellar has closed for the last time (Oct 31, 2024). On Nov 1, a new owner and a new name. But, the bookstore will go on, still offering a welcoming environment for readers of all ages. A great, new, local, independent bookstore right in downtown Waterville. Welcome, Maddie and Smitty’s Book Cellar!

10/30/2024

The sale shelf is refilled!! Come and get 'em.

10/27/2024

The clearance shelf should be replenished by Tuesday when the store opens!! Four shelves of a buck a book! Or 20 for $15. There are some great titles. Open Tues thru Saturday 10 to 4 this week.

10/25/2024

If you didn't get to see this last weekend (10/19-20), MAKE SURE YOU GO THIS WEEKEND!! Lots of fun, great laughs, and a good cause!

The theatrical production returns, following sold-out shows in mid-October.

10/25/2024

Inventory reduction sale!! A whole display of books for A BUCK or 20 for $15. Check it out!

10/18/2024

Her Voice
Oscar Wilde

THE wild bee reels from bough to bough
With his furry coat and his gauzy wing.
Now in a lily-cup, and now
Setting a jacinth bell a-swing,
In his wandering;
Sit closer love: it was here I trow
I made that vow,

Swore that two lives should be like one
As long as the sea-gull loved the sea,
As long as the sunflower sought the sun,--
It shall be, I said, for eternity
'Twixt you and me!
Dear friend, those times are over and done,
Love's web is spun.

Look upward where the poplar trees
Sway and sway in the summer air,
Here in the valley never a breeze
Scatters the thistledown, but there
Great winds blow fair
From the mighty murmuring mystical seas,
And the wave-lashed leas.

Look upward where the white gull screams,
What does it see that we do not see?
Is that a star? or the lamp that gleams
On some outward voyaging argosy,--
Ah! can it be
We have lived our lives in a land of dreams!
How sad it seems.

Sweet, there is nothing left to say
But this, that love is never lost,
Keen winter stabs the breasts of May
Whose crimson roses burst his frost,
Ships tempest-tossed
Will find a harbour in some bay,
And so we may.

And there is nothing left to do
But to kiss once again, and part,
Nay, there is nothing we should rue,
I have my beauty,--you your Art,
Nay, do not start,
One world was not enough for two
Like me and you.