Let's Go Visit the Transportation Neighborhood!

Beep-Beep! Vroom! Choo-Choo!

We hear these lovely sounds every day on the street, in the air, even on the water. What I am talking about? Transportation ( or in words  the little kids will understand, "Things That Go!") A favorite book to look up for little boys (and girls), most of our cars, planes, boats, and trains books can be found in our Transportation   Neighborhood.

Marked with a blue sticker on the spine, here are a few titles you will find in this area:

• Red Wagon by Renata Liwska
• I Fly by Anne Rockwell
• I'm Dirty by Kate and Jim McMullan
• Building by Elisa Cooper
• Sail Away by Donald Crews

This marks our last visit of the Neighborhoods. Hope you enjoyed the tour and will come check them out.



Come check out the Neighborhoods!

Let's Go Visit the Song and Rhyme Neighborhood!

One of type of book that is always asked about are the rhyming books. One person that we librarians recommend is Dr. Seuss but some people may not like Dr. Seuss ( or might consider his books a bit too long for wee ones.) One place that has a lot of books that rhyme ( or might be based off songs) is the Song and Rhyme Neighborhood.

Marked with a yellow sticker on the spine, here are a few titles featured in this Neighborhood:

• Where do the Diggers Sleep at Night? by Brianna C. Sayres
• Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
• A Wish For You by Matt Novak
• It's Raining, It's Pouring as told by Kin Eagle

 So the next time you are in the mood for a song or too, check out the Song and Rhyme Neighborhood.

Come check out the Neighborhoods!

Let's Go Visit the Popular Neighborhood!

Most of the time, kids will come to the library and ask " Do you have any Bob the Builder books? or " Do you have any books with Max and Ruby?" While some are very easy to locate ( all the Max and Ruby books are Rosemary Wells), other require a bit of a scavenger hunt ( Bob the Builder has about four or five different  authors). So that's where the Popular Neighborhood comes in.

Technically, we have two Popular shelves. One features the likes of Barbie/Disney Princesses, Dora, superheros/Stars Wars, Spongebob, Thomas the Tank Engine, Winne the Pooh, Sesame Street and fairies. The Neighborhood one features a mix of Bob the Builder, Backyardigans, princesses ( Disney and non-Disney), and some lesser known characters ( and have a purple sticker).

Here are some of the titles you find in this area-

• Johnny Tracker and the Big Surprise by Judy Katschke
• Ruby's Party by Rosemary Wells ( Note- We have cataloged as P RUBY)
• The Backyardigans and the Secret of Snow by Alison Inches
• Bob the Builder and Run-Away Roley by Alison Inches

For other characters, like My Little Pony or Care Bears, it's best to look it up in the catalog (or ask us) first to see if we have any on the shelf or at other branches.

So the next time you're looking for a popular cartoon character, check out the Popular Neighborhood!

 Come check out the Neighborhoods!

Let's Go Visit the Nature Neighborhood!

Don't you just love the snow? Or the sounds of the birds in the air? Or the flowers when they bloom in the spring? Would you like to read a story featuring nature's wonder and beauty? Check out the Nature   Neighborhood!

Labeled with a brown sticker on the spine, the Nature   Neighborhood features books on the seasons, weather, and animals of all shapes and sizes. Here are some of the titles featured in this collection:

• Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
• Babies on the Go  by Linda Ashman
• In a Nutshell by Joseph Anthony
• It's Winter by Linda Glaser
• Summer is Summer by Phillis and David Gershator

For nonfiction books, most are located in the 500's ( most of the animal books are 590s, although for farm animals, check the 630s'.)

To end our visit, here's a pretty winter video. Enjoy! And come check out a book from the Nature   Neighborhood.

Come check out the Neighborhoods!

Let's Go Visit the Concepts Neighborhood!

In preschool programs and daycare visits, one thing we try to always include in our story time is a concept idea, be it by way of a finger play, felt items, or a book. A concept is an idea or word (or ideas and words) a child will need to understand in order to perform in everyday life. So we may count by using Five Little Pumpkins, or sing the Alphabet song to learn letters, or do a book where we ask the kids to name a shape or a color.

We also hope that the parents will continue to teach their children the basics in counting, shapes, numbers, opposites, and ABC's at home. And the best way to do that is through a book. And the best place to start their search is... visiting the Concepts Neighborhood.

Labeled with a green sticker on the spine, the Concepts Neighborhoods features books of basics concepts, from counting to learning time.  Here are some of the titles you will find in this collection:

• Pigs will be Pigs by Amy Axelrod
• Monsters Love Color by Mike Austin
• Eye Spy Shapes by Debbie MacKinnon
• Chicka Chicka 123 by Bill Martin Jr. 
• Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

From experience, I've figured out that shapes, counting, and colors are the easiest to do ( especially at 10 am.) The alphabet is a bit tricky, so unless it is a story, it's easier to just focus on a few letters. I also like the DK My Very First Look at... books are also good to use because it gets the kids to interact (and you don't have to do all the items featured, unless some kid asks " Hey, you skip a page) and Marianne Berkes Over in the... series because it takes the familiar tune  of " Over in the Meadow" and places like  the forest or the ocean and features animals one would find in those places ( plus information in the back about each animal.)

So the next time you're look for a book with numbers, colors, or ABC's, visit the Concepts Neighborhood!

Come check out the Neighborhoods!

 

Let's Go Visit the Celebrations Neighborhood!

A few months ago, we introduced the Neighborhoods,a unique collection of books that are ready and easily labeled for patrons to check out ( and currently available at the Merrillville and Griffith Branch of the Lake County Public Library system.)  There are six Neighborhoods, each color-coded to what they are ( and listed as such in the catalog.)

Since we are in the mist of the holiday season, I felt that the first Neighborhood to visit  would be Celebrations. Labeled with a red sticker on the spine, they cover everything from major holidays ( like Christmas and Valentine's Day) and special events ( such as birthdays and the first day of school.) Obviously we have most of our Christmas books on display ( including a few  slowing creeping out of storage), but for those who would like to read Christmas all year round( or who want see more than what we have on  display ), the Celebrations Neighborhood is a good place to start.

Here are some of the titles you will find in  Celebrations:

• I've Seen Santa by David Bedford
• Deck the Halls by Norman Rockwell
• Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah by Michael Rosen
• Valentine's are For Saying I Love You by Margaret Sutherland
• Miss Mingo and the First Day of School by Jamie Harper

So the next time you're looking for Valentine's Day books or Easter books ( and  if we don't have them up for display), visit the Celebrations Neighborhood.

Come check out the Neighborhoods!

Have you heard about the Neighborhoods?

Everyday, patrons ask us " Where I can find stories about animals?" or " Where are your Bob the Builder books?" and we librarians have to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the book ( unless it is by the same author, then it's a little less of a search).

Well to lessen this search a bit, we now have the Neighborhoods. What are the Neighborhoods? They are a unique collection of books that are ready and easily labeled for patrons to check out.Currently, the Merrillville and Griffith Branch of the Lake County Public Library system are the only places where you can find the them.  There are six Neighborhoods, each color-coded according to what they are ( and listed as such on our catalog.) They are:

Celebrations-Holidays, Birthdays, and Special Events
Transportation-Cars, Trains, and things that go
Concepts-Numbers, ABC's, colors, and other learning concept
Songs and Rhymes-Song and Rhyme books
Nature-Animals, weather, and all things nature
Popular-Princesses, Bob the Builder, and many more ( little different from our first popular character shelf of Thomas the Train, fairies, Sesame Street, Pooh, Spongebob, Dora and Diego)

In postings to come, we take a closer look at  what each Neighborhood is, along with a list of recommended titles.
So the next time you want a book on ABC's or 123's, come to the Neighborhoods. Located in the Children's Department, between the Easy Readers and picture books.

Welcome to the Neighborhoods!