Every Child Ready to Read-Print Awareness

Print awareness is noticing that  the printed word is all around us. This skill focuses on how print is used,how to handle a book and  knowing how to follow the words on a page. We know that every book has a cover, a title page, and a spine, and that we read from left to right, from front to back. Becoming familiar with the printed word helps children become comfortable with books and that print is useful.

To help develop print awareness, here are some tips:

• Show children that print is all around them. Point it out in signs, on menus, and in books and newspapers. 
• Point to some words as you say them, especially words that are repeated.
• Turn the book upside down and see if child notices and corrects you; if not, do it yourself.

Some recommended books on Print Awareness (see
http://www.lcplin.org/children/ecrr-Pr-Aware.htm for titles):

• Hurry! Hurry!-Eve Bunting
• Wiggle-Doreen Cronin
• Book!-Kristine George

Review-13 Words-Lemony Snicket

 

Once upon a time there was a bird. This bird was very despondent (which is another word  for sad) that she went under the table and found a box. In this box was a cake ... and there are 10 more words featured in this nifty ( which is a big, fancy word for smart) story with colorful illustrations. There also a big musical number at the end.*

* Singing ( particularly singing operatic) is optional. But, having used this book a couple of times for programs and school visits, it sure is fun.*



13 Words-Lemony Snicket
Age Range: 4 and up
Lexile: 625
***** ( 5 stars)

Review - Elliot and the Goblin War by Jennifer Nielson

Goblins, Brownies and an eight-year-old hero named Elliot Penster makes this lighthearted fantasy a fun read. One Halloween night, Elliot saves what he thought was a little girl from two bullies who wants her candy. It turns out that the little girl is a Brownie, a mystical creature from the Underworld. The two bullies were not kids dressed in costumes but were actually Goblins. Elliot is chosen to be the king of the Brownies. His first duty as king is to end the war that the Goblins have waged against the Brownies and humans.

This is a great book for both girls and boys. It's filled with action and humor. Moderate to fast pace.

Note: Brownies are the Goblins favorite food.

Elliot and the Goblin War (Underworld Chronicles) - Jennifer Nielson
Pages: 208
Age Range: 8 to 11
Lexile: 740
*****(5 stars)

One World, Many Stories- June Programming

Summer is just around the corner, and so is the library's summer reading program. Starting June 6th, and continuing until July 30th, 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 7 and 21 at 10 am or 2pm.
Audience: Infants 6-23 Months and caregiver.

Story Time for 2 and 3 yr Olds- Mondays at 10am or 2pm.
June 6- Up, Up and Away
June 20- We're Going on Safari
Audience:2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr Olds- Tuesdays at 10 am or 2pm.
June 14- G'Day  Mate!
June 28-Roar!
Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

School-Age-Thursdays at 4pm.
June 16- Stories from Faraway Places
June 30- Happy Birthday, America!
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 8- Around the World in 80 Days (  2004 remake)
June 15- Toy Story 3
June 22- Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore
June 29-Scooby-Doo: Curse of the Lake Monster
Audience: All Ages.  Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.

Hope see everyone soon. Happy Summer!!

National Egg Month

Welcome to May, the month for mothers, Kentucky Derby,  and the start of summer ( the summer movie season, that is.) It's also National Egg Month. Why? Well, because sales for eggs is high during the Easter season but tend to slow down once it's over. Hence, May's the perfect time for the American Egg Board industry to remind people of  many benefits and functions of the egg. For one thing, it's the most important element in baking.  Besides adding nutrients, flavor, and color, eggs are essential for binding, thickening, coating, etc, depending on the recipe. Without eggs, cakes, cookies, brownies, and other baked goods would be runny messes. ( Trust me, I know from experience. My mom once forget to include eggs in a brownie recipe and it was not a pretty site.)

For more information about the egg, including facts and recipes, visit http://www.incredibleegg.org/ .

Here are some recommended books for this celebration ( for additional titles, type the subject " eggs" and then " juvenile fiction" for stories or "juvenile literature" for non-fiction in the library catalog):

• Egg Story- Anca Hariton
• Chickens aren't the Only Ones- Ruth Heller
• Two Eggs, Please- Sarah Weeks
• The Odd Egg- Emily Gravett

By the way, May 14th is National Chicken Dance Day.

Every Child Ready to Read-Print Motivation

Print Motivation is perhaps the easiest and ( sometimes challenging) skill of Every Child Ready to Read. It is simply about a child's interest and enjoyment of books. Children who enjoy books at an early age will want to read more.  Children who see Mom or Dad enjoying a book will want to read more. Families who make frequent, enjoyable trips to the library will motivate the child to read more.


Some tips for print motivation:

• Read often and make it enjoyable.
• Read when you and your child are in a good mood, so the experience is a positive one.  Stop reading if they tire or lose interest.
• Let your child see you enjoying a book

We do have list of recommended books for print motivation at our website,  here are a few of my favorite books:

• There are Cats in this Book -Viviane Schwarz
• BowWow Bugs a Bug-  Mark Newgarden
• I Love You Through and Through- Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak
• Where Does Thursday Go?-Janeen Brian

 

Review-Tony Baloney-Pam Munoz Ryan

Poor Tony Baloney! The middle child ( and only boy) of a macaroni penguin family, he has a big bossy sister and twin sisters that get into everything. One day, he's tires of pretending to be the  Big Sister's cat and becomes very exasperated ( yes this big word is this book) by the baby sisters that he acts out. Can a time-out eventually lead to an apology and him being  the " Boss of the World"? Can Parmesan cheese and fish tacos make everything better?

The illustrations are bright and vibrant, and I think this would a great book for practicing the Every Child Ready to Read skill of vocab  because it introduces words one might not normally find in preschool picture books, like "exasperated" and " Parmesan cheese".  It also has a very cute ending.

Tony Baloney-Pam Munoz Ryan
Age Range: 3 and up
Lexile: 880
***** ( 5 stars)

Upcoming programs in May

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 register.

Story Time for 2 and 3 yr Olds- Monday, May 2  at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, May 3  at 10 am-Audience: Infants 6-23 Months and caregiver.


Story Time for 4 and 5 yr Olds- Tuesday May 10 at 10 am and 2 pm- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

Gaming Night- Wednesday May 11 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.

Arabian Night- Tueday May 17 at 4 pm- Audience: K to 5th grade


Summer Volunteers Sign up- Tuesday May 24 at 3:30 to 5 pm and Thursday May 26 at 6-7:30 pm- Audience: 11 years old ( must have completed 4th grade) and up. Please sign up for either one of our two sessions if interested to help with our summer reading program.

Coming this Summer- One World, Many Stories ( June- July 2011)!!!!

See you soon!!!

April brings... Bats!!!

Welcome to the second week of April, where it's showers bring May flowers. It also brings baseballs, bunnies ( as in Easter), and ... bats. Yes, this Sunday, April 17th is Bat Appreciation Day, when nature's nocturnal ( meaning they stay up all night and sleep all day) creatures wake from their winter slumber ( also known as hibernation).

Here are a few interesting facts I found at Kidzone: Bats (see more at 
http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/bats/facts.htm ):

• Bats use their wings for more than just flying.  They can wrap their wings around insects or fruit to hold it while eating.
• Bats feed at night and spend the day sleeping caves or trees. The place where they sleep is called a roost, and they sleep in large groups.
  
• Bats have one baby, or "pup" at a time. 

Some books on bats:

Juvenile Literature ( Non-fiction)- Most are listed under the call number 599.4.

Juvenile Fiction- We have  about 40 story books featuring bats, including:

• Bat Love the Night-Nicola Davis
• Stellaluna- Janell Cannon

To those wondering if there is a Bat Appreciation Month, it's appropriately in October. Still, come check out our display at the entrance of the Children's Dept, along with a free bookmark.

Every Child Ready to Read-Narrative Skills

Narrative Skills is the ability to describe events and tell stories. Being able to talk about what happens in a story helps a child understand what they read. Every book has a story, even wordless picture books "tell" a story by pictures.  From stories, we learn that an action or event has a start, a middle, and an ending. We learn that actions can also repeat ( this can found it a lot of stories or songs that have sequences, such as " There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Spider").

Some tips for practicing Narrative Skills at home:

• Ask your child about their day, encourage then to add detail to their story.
• Read wordless picture books and have your child tell the story.
• Act out the story with dolls or puppets

Some books that are good for Narrative Skills ( see more at  http://www.lcplin.org/children/ecrr-narrative.htm):

 Good Night, Gorilla- Peggy Rathmann
  There was An Old Lady who Swallowed a Bat- Lucille Colandro
   First the Egg- Laura Seeger
   The Snowman- Raymond Briggs