Happy St. Jerome’s Day!!
And how will YOU be celebrating the day of St. Jerome, patron saint of librarians everywhere? I shall be using my free day to STILL come into work early so as to defend the books I love on the 2009 100 Books for Reading and Sharing committee. Yourself?
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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Remember, a good offense is the best defense! Having a sword helps, too. (Or maybe I just like swords.)
Odd tidbit: Your husband Matt’s grandparents, Jack and Catherine Murphy, were married at St. Jerome’s Church in the Bronx on December 5, 1942. They went on to raise a whole houseful of readers. We then raised two readers of our own. I have the feeling that in the future you and Matt will find yourselves raising yet more readers.
Tag, you’re it!
Or, we could alternatively name our son “Jerome” someday . . . or maybe not.
Nice picture of Jerome, and with a lion, to boot. Patience? Fortitude?
Well put. But the lion is oddly small. Either it’s far in the distance or Mr. Jerome found himself The World’s Smallest Lion. Lambert, perhaps.
What is the lion doing in the picture?
St. Jerome is translating the Bible from its original languages into Latin, which was, at the time, the Vulgate–it was not yet a dead language.
The lion is the symbol of St. Mark, who, according to tradition, wrote the first of the Gospels. I believe this cute little lion appears in the painting as a kind of mascot.
A line in Ghost Busters now makes so much more sense to me. Thanks, Betsy!