Book Review: Starring Jules ( as Herself) ( Starring Jules # 1)-Beth Ain

 

Meet Jules Bloom. She loves making up songs, creating lists and having lots of pizzazz. While showing her little brother how to make a fizzy ice cream shake ( which is milk with ice water and bubbles!!), a talent scout sees her and invites to audition for a commercial.  Jules is excited... until she learns the mouthwash is orange-flavored ( which she hates because of a past incident with an orange-flavored ice cream.) Not wanting to ruin her starring moment, Jules seeks help family and friends, including new girl Elinor and ex-best friend Charlotte.

This is very cute, quick read. Yes, she shares similar qualities to other girl series ( Junie B, Judy Moody, etc), but   unique and spunky in her own way. I especially love all the lists she makes  and how she talks to her parents ( she raises her hand and calls them " Mrs." or " Mr.".) The illustrations are cute and so is the ending (which is a bit of a surprise). I'm looking to the next book,  Starring Jules ( in Drama-rama).

Starring Jules ( as Herself) (Starring Jules # 1) by Beth Ain
Age Level: 7-10
Lexile: 760
***** ( 5 stars)

Book Review: The Watermelon Seed-Greg Pizzoli

 

Mr. Crocodile loves watermelon. He eats it everyday, from breakfast to dessert. But what happens when he eats a seed? Will his skin turn pink? Will he grows vines out of his ears or end up in a fruit salad?

A very cute colorful read for all ages. Really good for reading aloud to a group ( especially if you add sound effects and a dopey-sounding voice!)
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
Age Range: 3 and up
***** ( 5 stars)

For more information on the author and the book, see http://gregpizzoli.virb.com/watermelon

Dig into Reading-June Programming

Summer is just around the corner, and so is the library's summer reading program. Starting June 3th, and continuing until July 27th, children ages 2 to 14 can earn prizes by reading  library books. All they have to do is read one  book, magazine, or audio book and return to the Children's Department, where our teen volunteers will record each book read  on a special card, and eventually earn prizes by every 10 picture books or 500 chapter book pages read.

We will also be having programming during  the summer, too. Here are some programs that will happening next month in the Children's Dept at the Central Library. Please visit Library Events for information and to register.

Mother Goose on the Loose - Tuesdays, June 4 and 18 at 10 am or 11:30 am
Audience: Infants 6-23 Months and caregiver.

Story Time for 2 and 3 yr Olds- Mondays at 10am or 11:30 am
June 3- How Does Your Garden Grow?
June 17-Funny Bunnies
Audience:2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr Olds- Tuesdays at 10 am or Wednesday at  6:30 pm
June 11 or 12-Stories in the Burrow
June 25 or 26-Sprouting with Books
Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

School-Age-Thursdays at 4pm.
June 13-Ahoy Matey
June 20-Worms are Fun
Audience: K to 5th grade and families



Family Movie Day ( Wednesday at noon)
Patrons can bring a lunch or snack. No red or dark colored drinks!
June 12-Madagascar 3
June 19-Gnomeo and Juliet
June 26-Brave
Audience: All Ages.  Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.

Other Programs:
Summer Reading Kick-off- Thursday, June 6 at 2pm-Audience: Ages 2-12
Lego Club-Monday, June 17 at 4pm-Audience: Grades 2-6
Gaming Night-Wednesday, June 19 at 6pm-Audience: Teens 12-17
Board Game Fun- Wednesday, June 5 at 6:30 pm-Audience: Grades 2-6
Merrillville Fire Department-Thursday, June 27 at 11 am Audience: All Ages
Hope see everyone soon. Happy Summer!!

Bookworm List: Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is this Sunday. How will you be celebrating it? Sunday brunch? A gift of appreciation?  Or perhaps you can stop in this weekend and get some books that celebrate Mom. Here are a few recommendations:

-We Love You, Mama! by Arthur Yorinks
-When Mama Come Home Tonight by Eileen Spinelli
-Oh My Baby Little One by Kathi Appelt
-A Little Bit of Love by Cynthia Platt



glitter-graphics.com

Happy Mother's Day!! Keep Reading!!

Storytime for 2 and 3yr olds: Mama and Me at the Beach

With summer coming ( where did spring go? did it ever happen?), today's Storytime for 2 and 3 yr olds went to the beach to celebrate Mother's Day. We listen to two books ( The Big Big Sea by Martin Waddell amd Oh My Baby  by Kathi Appelt) and made a rainbow fish. We also counted some sea creatures and rang some bells.

Here are some of the songs we did in today's storytime:



Five Little Sea Creatures
 5 little sea creatures on the ocean floor, the lobster walked away and now there are 4.
4 little sea creatures living in the sea, the octopus crept away and now there are 3.
3 little sea creatures wondering what to do, goodbye said the starfish and now there are 2.
2 little sea creatures not having much fun, off swam the seahorse and now there is 1.
1 little hermit crab, sad and all alone, he went home and then there were none.

My Special Friend added 4-27-99 Original Author Unknown

Sung to: "Bingo"

I have a very special friend
And Mommy is her name-o.
M-O-M-M-Y, M-O-M-M-Y, M-O-M-M-Y,
And Mommy is her name-o

 Here is a video of the song " A Sailor went to Sea". Enjoy

The Storytime for 2 and 3 yr olds will be back this summer. During the summer, we will have two sessions, 10am and 11:30 am. The programs in June are-

Monday, June 3 at 10am or 11:30 am- How does Your Garden Grow?
Monday, June 17 at 10am or 11:30 am- Funny Bunnies!!

See You Soon!!!

 

Meet Bookston!!!

 The bear in Children's has been named. Meet...
Bookston!!!

Bookston all ready for the Library Gala!!

 Matthew Garcia won the Name the Bear Contest held in April during National Library Week. Bookston sits near the counters by the front desk in the Children's Department ( and has been know to dress up once and a while, as such as this picture here!!)

 Here are some photos of Bookston and Matt. Enjoy!!

Bookston and Matt play with the Busy Box

Bookston so happy to have a name. Thank you Matt.

Bookston and Matt enjoy a book.

Bookston would also like to recommend a few of his favorite books featuring bears:

-The Teddy Bears' Picnic- Jimmy Kennedy
-A Bear named Paddington-Michael Bond
-Little Bear's Visit- Else H. Minarik
-Old Bear- Kevin Henkes

Want to find these and more bear books? Bookston recommends using these keywords-
Bears-Juvenile Fiction
Bears-Juvenile Literature
Teddy Bears-Juvenile Fiction

Come see Bookston Bear and Cecily the Giraffe in the Children's Department!!