Book Review: Otis and Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever!-Laura Numeroff

 

Otis and Sydney are two adorable bears who love to play tug of war, dress in silly costumes and play music together. This year, Otis plans to give his friend a surprise party. So he decorates the house, bakes a cake, and mails out invitations. But-oh no, he gets the date wrong! Will it still be the best birthday ever?

This is another sweet, warm and fuzzy book from the author of If You Give A.... and Jellybeans series ( and would love to see the little bears again.) I especially love  Dan Andreasan's muted pen and ink illustrations which give the book an old-fashioned, 1940s feel (inlcluding their big smiling faces on the cover and the way they embrace while hopping on the trampoline!!)


Otis and Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever! by Laura Numeroff
Age Range: 5 and up
Lexile: 450
***** (5 stars)

Book Review-Tea Time with Sophia Grace and Rosie-Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland

 

Yay! Sophia Grace and Rosie are planning the fanciest, pinkest, princessy tea party ever! There will be lots of glitter and yummy treates, in the fanciest, most sparkly castle ever. And the cousins plan to invite the person they love the most in the world, with tutus and magic galore. Yipee!

I giggled when I opened this book from the little British girls featured on the Ellen show ( I'm including a few videos for those who are curious as to who they are). Shelagh McNicholas's pencil and water color illustations are cute and sweet ( and sometimes glitterly!!!!). The ending is a bit predictable but oh so adorable, as well as tea tips in the cover of the book and the girls's dedication notes to family and their fans.



Tea Time with Sophia Grace and Rosie by Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland
Age Range: 5 and up
Lexile: 590
Rating: **** ( 4 stars)

Here is a video featuring Sophia Grace and Rosie. Enjoy the cuteness!!

Just a Reminder...

Just a reminder...

Next week is the last week of Summer Reading program 2013-DIg into Reading! We hope everyone had a good time and that everyone keeps reading and coming to the library. Saturday, July 27th is the last day to turn books in for prizes. Please return all children's books to the book drop to the  Circulation desk after July 27th.

Here is what we have going on between today and next week. Please register via the Library Calender at the www.lcplin.org or call 769-3541 ext 360.

Down Under at the National Lakeshore- Today at 2:30 pm ( K-5)



We Dig Dinos! ( Storytime for 4 and 5 yr olds)- Tuesday, July 23 at 10 am or Wednesday, July 24 at 6:30 pm



Family Movie Day (We're Back: A Dinosaur Story) All ages, please no dark or red-colored drinks- Wednesday July 24 at noon

Silly Safari ( All ages)- Thursday, July 25 at 10 pm (

We will also be having a book exchange on Monday, July 22 from 10-3 pm. No registration is required for this program, open to all ages. They are welcome to bring up to five gently-used books to exchange for five new gently-used books.

Also next week ,  baseball players from the Gary Railcats will be visiting and reading in the Children's Department on Tuesday, July 23 at 11 am. 

See You Soon!!

Storytime for 2 and 3 yr old-Dino Stomp!!

For our last 2 and 3 of the summer, we dug up some dinosaurs. We heard two stories features the reptiles of long ago ( Tadpole Rex by Kurt Cyrus and Dig Those Dinosaurs by Lori Houran) and learned about colors ( The Color Box by Dayle Dodds). We also made a dinosaur with a movable tail.

Here are some of the songs we did today

Ten Little Dinosaurs

Adapted by Sarah Northshield

(Sung to the tune of “Michael Finnegan”)

(Caregiver counts on toddler’s fingers and tickles toddler at the end, with a big roar)

One little, two little, three little dinosaurs

 Four little, five little, six little dinosaurs

 Seven little, eight little, nine little dinosaurs 

Ten little dinosaurs ROARing! (Roar with child)

Here is the video for the Laurie Berkner song " We are the Dinosaurs"

This week's Family Movie is Wreck it Ralph. It starts noon on Wednesday, July 17.Patrons can bring a lunch or snack. No red or dark colored drinks!  It is open to all ages. (Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.)

See You Soon!! 

Book Review-Cozy Classics and BabyLit Board Books

Ever wanted to read Pride and Prejudice or Moby Dick to your babies? Well, now you can with two wonderful new board books series, Cozy Classics and BabyLit.





Cozy Classics- Written by brothers Jack and Holman Wang, the CC series presents a classic story in 12 kid-friendly words with needle-felt characters. For example, the words featured in Moby Dick include " captain", " leg" ( as in peg-leg,), and "sink". A small description of the plot is provided on the back and Cozy Classics website provides quotes and a simple version of the story(this is helpful for those who may not know the story) . The concept is a cute idea to introduce the classics( and big words) to wee ones( or a delight for English majors). We currently have four in the series ( and saw we are ordering Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre. I also saw  on the CC website that Emma  is coming. Can't wait to see how that turns out.). I love all four (but being an Austen fan, really like Prejudice, especially how Mr. Darcy's proposal is portrayed with the words "yes" and "no".  )

Here is a video that shows how the characters are made-

BabyLit- Like CC, it takes classic stories but uses retro-like artwork and concepts to present the story to wee ones. For Dracula, author Jennifer Adams and illustrator Alison Oliver have turned into a counting tale with two friends, five heroes, and 9 coffins. For Wuthering Heights,  the story is presented with weather concepts. Again, this is a really cute way to get to little ones into the classics. I actually like these a little more than CC because of the concept idea and use of the labels on characters and places.  My favorite out of the five that we have is Sense and Sensibility which is presented as a tale of opposties ( featuring a "happy" Willoughby and "sad" Colonel Brandon), though I might use Dracula this year for my fall programs.
They also have a website, where you can also buy prints and other items featuring the artwork .

Here is a trailer for Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre.

Cozy Classics-by Jack and Holman Wang
Age Range:0-3
Rating: **** ( 4 stars)

BabyLit by Jennifer Adams
Age Range: 0-3
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars)

Happy Fourth of July!!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!See you all on Friday and keep reading!!


glitter-graphics.com

Storytime for 2 and 3 yr olds-Big Truck Fun!!

For today's 2 and 3 yr old story time, we had some fun with some big construction trucks. We heard three books ( Construction Kitties by Judy Goodwin-Sturges, Kipper's Book of Opposites by Mick Inkpen, and On the Day the Tall Ships Sailed by Betty Paraskevas) and decorated some license plates with 4th of July stickers.

Here are some of the songs we did today-

Johnny Had One Hammer (song with motions) you have to be sitting down to do this song
While singing this verse make an up and down motion with one hand in a fist as if pounding a nail:

Johnny had one hammer, one hammer, one hammer, Johnny had one hammer then he had 2.
(Make same motion using both fists while singing this verse:)
Johnny had 2 hammers, 2 hammers, 2 hammers, Johnny had 2 hammers then he had 3.
(Continue with 3 hammers using both fists and one leg.)

Then 4 hammers using both fists and both legs.

For 5 hammers use both fists, both legs and head and sing:
Johnny had 5 hammers, 5 hammers, 5 hammers, Johnny had 5 hammers, then he went to sleep. (make a sleep motion as if laying your head on a pillow)

This is the Way ( Construction Worker Version)
This is the way we pound a nail
Pound a nail, Pound a Nail
This is the way we pound a nail
So Early in the morning

(Add whatever actions you want, like saw some wood, haul some bricks, etc.)

This is the Wiggles' version of Coming Around the Mountain ( We did the version from Laurie Berkner's Whaddaya Think of That? CD) Enjoy!

We have one more Storytime for 2 and 3 yr old on Monday, July 15 at 10 am and 11:30 am.

Due to the 4th of July holiday, we will be closing at 5pm on Wednesday, July 3. We will be closed all day on Thursday, July 4.We have normal business hours on Friday, July 5. We will still be doing a movie at noon, The Goonies. Patrons can bring a lunch or snack. No red or dark colored drinks!  It is open to all ages. (Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.) No movie next Wednesday, instead we will have Ronald McDonald at 2 pm. ( Please visit Library Events for information and to register)

Happy 4th of July!! See you soon.

Dig into Reading-July Programming

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.The last day to turn in books for  the Summer Reading Program is July 27.

Due to the 4th of July holiday, we will be closing at 5 pm on Wednesday, July 3. We will resume normal business hours on Friday, July 5 (9am-6 pm).

Mother Goose on the Loose - Tuesdays, July 2 and 16 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
July 1-Big Truck Fun!
July 15- Dino Stomp!
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
July 9 or 10-Buried Treasure!
July 23 or 24-We Dig Dino!
Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

School-Age-Thursdays at 4pm.
July 11-Walk like an Egyptian
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!
July 3-Goonies
July 17-Wreck it Ralph
July 24-We're Back: A Dinosaur Tale
Audience: All Ages.  Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.

Other Programs:
Lego Club-Monday, July 15 at 4pm-Audience: Grades 2-6
Gaming Night-Wednesday, July 17 at 6pm-Audience: Teens 12-17
Board Game Fun- Wednesday, July 3 at 4pm-Audience: Grades 2-6
Ronald McDonald-Wednesday, July 10 at 2pm-Audience: All Ages
Down Under at the National Lakeshore-Thursday, July 18 at 2:30 pm-Audience: K-5
Book Exchange-Monday, July 22 at 10 am-Audience: All Ages
Silly Safari-Thursday, July 25 at 10 am-Audience: All Ages
Hope see everyone soon. Happy Summer!!

Storytime for 2 and 3 yr olds-Funny Bunnies

For today's 2 and 3 yr old story time, some funny bunnies came to the garden. We heard two stories ( You're Finally Here by Melanie Watt and When the World is Ready for Bed by Gillian Shields) and made a Funny Bunny paper bag puppet. We also did a few bunny activities, like the Bunny Pokey ( which is the Hokey Pokey, but with bunny actions).

Here are some of the songs we did today-

I’m a Little Tiny Bunny

Adapted by Sarah Northshield

(Sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”)

I’m a little tiny bunny (Form a fist and raise fore and middle fingers for bunny ears)

Digging underground (Imitate motion of dig­ging)

I’m a little tiny bunny

And I hardly make a sound (Pause and Shh!)

I’m so soft and cute and little (Pet “bunny” with other hand)

Digging like a mole (Imitate motion of digging)

Watch me scamper, scoot, and skittle and

Pop out of my hole! (Imitate motion of bunny jumping, or lift infant into the air)

Bunny Pokey added 3-18-01 Original Author Unknown

Sung to: "Hokey Pokey"

You put your bunny ears in
(Place hands on head to make ears)
You put your bunny ears out.
You put your bunny ears in.
And you shake them all about.
You do the Bunny Pokey
And hop yourself around,
That's what it's all about!

Additional verses: "You put your bunny nose in, You put your bunny tail in, You put your bunny paws in"

 

Our next Stortytimes for 2 and 3 yr olds will be:( Please register at Library Events  .)
Monday, July 1 at 10 and 11:30 am-Big Truck Fun!!
Monday, July 15 at 10 and 11:30 am-Dino Stomp!

This Wednesday at noon, we will be showing  Gnomeo and Juliet. Patrons can bring a lunch or snack. No red or dark colored drinks! It is open to all ages (children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older) Please register at Library Events  .

See You Soon!

Book Review-Crankee Doodle-Tom Angleberger

 

Once about a time, there was a man named Yankee Doodle, who went to town on a pony to stick a feather in his hat and call it "macaroni". But what if after 200 yrs, Yankee became Crankee, and did not want to go to town because it was full of crowds that run around ringing bells and eating pies, and did not want to shop because everything is junk or call his feather "macaroni" but instead call it "lasagna" because it is a much fancier word (and noodle)? What if he doesn't want to ride Pony because... he smells?

This is a very funny and laugh out loud take on "Yankee Doodle" , with very vibrant and bright illustrations ( plus big cartoon bubbles!!!). We also get a very funny historical note explaining the meaning behind the song. A perfect read for the 4th of July ( or any time of the year!)

Crankee Doodle by Tom Angleberger
Age Range: 4-9
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars)