Upcoming Programs in February 2013

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.

 Note- All programs will now be held in the NEW Children's programing room, located in the NEW Children's Department on the lower level.


Story Time for 2 and 3 yr olds- Monday, February 4 and 18 at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, February 5 and 19 at 10 am-Audience: Infants Birth to
23 months and caregiver (s).

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr olds- Tuesday, February 12 and 26 at 10 am- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

Scrabble F-U-N!- Wednesday, February 13 at 6:30 pm-Audience: 2nd to 6th grade. ( Children may bring a parent or caregiver to be a team if they would like.)

Valentine's Day  Party-Thursday, February 7 at 4pm-Audience: K-5

 Lego Club- Monday,February 11 at 4pm- Audience: 2nd to 6th grade.

Happy Birthday, Abe Lincoln- Tuesday, February 12 at 4 pm- Audience: K-5

Gaming Night- Wednesday, February 20 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.


See You Soon!!

Book Review: Who Could That Be at this Hour? ( All The Wrong Questions 1)- Lemony Snicket ( aka Daniel Handler)

There was a town, there was a girl, and there was a theft.

And so begins Who Could That At This Hour?, the first of four books in Lemony Snicket ( real name Daniel Handler)'s new series All the Wrong Questions ( or ATWQ).  Meant to be a prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events ( ASOUE), the first book introduces to a twelve and a half year-old Snicket, who is recruited by a mysterious detective agency to serve as an apprentice to S. Theodora Markson. The two go a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea (  which ironically has no sea anymore, having been drained a long time ago)  and are hired by Mrs Murphy Sallis to find a black and creepy statue known as the Bombinating Beast. But young Lemony learns that is a mystery of many clues and no solutions.

I am bombinating ( which means buzzing) with happiness. I loved everything, even the beastie ( which we are making Bombinating Beast bookmarks in our upcoming creepy the funny book program next Thursday at 4 pm) and am so looking forward to the rest of the series. ( Book two comes out later this year, the other two to be announced.) It is a hilarous and mysterious read full of interesting characters, such as Moxie Mallahan, the budding journalist who wants to know the full story, and Pip and Squeak, two little kids who are subbing for their dad's taxi job ( one is stting on books to reach the steering wheel, the other is down below operating the brakes.) I love Dashiell Qwerty, the strange  but helpful sub-librarian ( the town cannot afford a full-time librarian). There's also the usual Snicketism of defining large words youngters may not understand and reference-dropping to literature and whatnot that encourages one to look up what it is.( Example: The last name of the sub-librarian is a reference to the top left row of the keyboard. Raise your hand if you are looking at your computer keyboard right now to see if I am correct.) I also love that the blue, grey,and white illustrations of  artist Seth, are appropriate and add to the retro-ness of the mystery.

I do have one small complaint about how it ends. I'm not really a fan of cliffhangers ( and it's kind of a eh end), and Snicket leaves a lot of questions unaswered. But I'm going to forgive him because this is the first book and obviously not everything is going to be answered in the first book. Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the books will be good, and perhaps not only answer the questions of Hour but also finally  answered questions left unanswered seven years ago from ASOUE. ( I'm betting the beastie, who everyone is also saying may/ maynot be the Great Unknown, ends up in ... the suguar bowl. But I could... be wrong.)

Who Could That Be at this Hour? ( All The Wrong Questions 1)- Lemony Snicket ( aka Daniel Handler)
Ages:9-11
Lexile: 850
**** 1/2 ( 4 and a half stars)



 

Storytime for 2 and 3-yr olds: Welcome Winter

Today was the first storytime for 2 and 3 yr old, where winter was welcomed with two stories ( Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer and Snowball Fight by Jimmy Fallon) and a few fingerplays. They also got to meet some of the Color Birds and decorated a snowman picture with "snow" ( really fluff, don't know what the exact name is).

Here are a few songs we did:




 Snowflake, Snowflake Falling Down

Sung to: " teddy bear teddy bear"



Snowflake, snowflake falling down,
 (flutter hands down)
Twirling, twirling to the ground.
 (twirl to the ground)
Softly, lightly on my nose,
 (touching nose)
Snowflake, snowflake icy cold!
 (fold arms and shiver)

The Love Bug added 8-7-97 Original Author Unknown

It begins with a grin (smile Broadly)
It turns to giggle (put both hands on mouth and giggle)
You start to laugh (throw head back and laugh out loud)
Your legs start to wiggle (put feet in the air and shake)
You look all around for someone to hug (move eyes back and forth)
What can you do (shrug shoulders)
You've caught the love bug (hug another child or yourself)
ACHOOO!

 

Our next Storytime for 2 and 3 yr olds are February 4 and 18 at 10 am ( in the NEW children's programming room all the way in the back of the NEW children's department. We're still downstairs, but in the former Audio-Visual section.  Please pardon our dust because we are still under construction and we only have the elevator as our mode of getting from here to there. )

Happy Winter and keep reading!! 

Happy New Year !

It's the last  day of 2012!! It's been fun, but we're really exciting about all the new stuff coming to the library in 2013. So, from all of us at Lake County Public Library (including your lovely blogger)....



glitter-graphics.com


Keep Reading!!

Bookworm List: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

It's snowing outside and it's snowing in Children's. Okay,it's  not literally snowing in the department but we have winter and snowman books on display for you to check out.

Here are some recommended titles-

•  The Snowman by Raymond Briggs- When his snowman comes to life, a little boy invites him home and in return is taken on a flight high above the countryside. 
• Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehler-  A child imagines what it would be like if a snowman, made of magical snow, could be a companion throughout the year.     
•  A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann- As four kittens who have never seen winter watch the seasons pass, three of them declare the reasons they will dislike snow when it arrives, while the fourth cannot wait to experience it for himself. 
• Snow by Manya Stojic- As snow approaches and begins to fall, Moose, Bear, Fox, and other forest creatures prepare for winter.      
• Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling- Depicts the ways various animals spend the cold months of winter, from bats sleeping in caverns to fish swimming deeper in lakes where the water is warmer.     

Want more? Here are some keywords to use on our catalog ( or ask a librarian):

• Winter
• Snowmen
• Snow
• Seasons

Correction- For those signing up for next month's events ( and I think I mention in the comments next to the posting about January programs), we have a new calender.Click on Library Events and check it out ( and come to the programs!!)

Keep warm and keep reading!!

From all of us at Lake County Public Library...

From all of us at Lake County Public Library.....


glitter-graphics.com

Upcoming Programs in January 2013

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.

 Note- All programs will now be held in the NEW Children's programing room, located in the NEW Children's Department on the lower level.


Story Time for 2 and 3 yr olds- Monday, January 14 at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, January 15 at 10 am-Audience: Infants Birth to
23 months and caregiver (s).

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr olds- Tuesday, January 8 and 22 at 10 am- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

Gaming Night- Wednesday, January 16 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.

Lego Club- Monday, January 14 at 4pm- Audience: 2nd to 6th grade.

Happy Birthday, Dr. King!!- Monday, January 21 at 4pm- Audience: K-5

January Jitters-Thursday, January 24 at 4pm-Audience: K-5 and families

Scrabble F-U-N!- Wednesday, January 30 at 6:30 pm-Audience: 2nd to 6th grade. ( Children may bring a parent or caregiver to be a team if they would like.)

Coming in January 2013-

• Read-a-thon ( More details to come)

 Happy New Year! See You in 2013! 

Book Review-Return to the Willows-Jacqueline Kelly

 

So 104 years ago, Scottish author Kenneth Grahame wrote The Wind in the Willows. Set on the riverbanks in an English countryside, it told a tale about a rat and a mole, a gruff but wise badger, and  a kind but spoiled toad obsessed with motor cars. It has been loved by young and old, and has had many adaptations ( including a ride that ran  from 1971-1998 at Walt Disney World, still available at Disneyland).

This year, author Jacqueline Kelly and illustrator Clint Young revisit the land of J. Thaddeus Toad and friends in Return to the Willows. Still  set in the turn of the century , the story starts with Rat and Mole enjoying an afternoon boat outing and talking about Toad's latest obsession, hot-air balloons. Later on in the story,Rat falls in love with a female rat named Matilda, Toad plays with some fireworks that leads to turning into an egghead (and a job at an university), all leading  daring rescue involving birthday cake and weasels and stoats ( short-haired weasels).


I loved this book. Kelly does a great job of  introducing Grahame's characters,plus  a few new ones, to a new generation. Along the way, she provides little footnotes that describe words not familiar to American readers and commentary to the story ( my favorite is on the first page, telling the reader if they have not read Wind in the Willows to put the book down and ask a librarian for the original tale or come along but do not complain if they are lost.) Young's illustrations are wondrous and rich as something you would see in an animated film. ( By the way, Young has a neat book coming soon called Toast, about a little pig. You can preview it on his blog ).

Return to Willows is worth a read, for young and old, for new and familiar fans of Toad and friends.

Return to the Willows by Jacqueline Kelly
Age Range: 9-12
Lexile: 890
***** ( 5 stars)

Storytime for 2 and 3-yr olds: Happy Holidays!!!

Today was our Happy Holidays program. We got into the holiday spirit with three stories ( It's Christmas by Tina Burke, Who Will Guide my Sleigh Tonight? by Jerry Pallotta, and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by John Rox), rang some bells, and made a Christmas Hippo ornament using our name tags.

Here are a few songs that we did-

5 Little Christmas Trees added 11-30-98 Original Author Unknown

5 little Christmas Trees
Standing all alone
Their heart were very sad
'Cause they hadn't found a home.
Then chop went the ax
And down fell the tree
And off they went with a happy family!
(continue from 4-1 Christmas Trees)
No little Christmas Trees
Standing all alone
Their hearts were very happy
'Cause they all found a home!!!

Gingerbread Man  added 10-29-01 Original Author Unknown

Stir a bowl of gingerbread       (stir as in bowl)
Smooth and spicy brown

Roll  it with a rolling pin
up and up and down               (Pretend to roll)

With a cookie cutter,             ( pretend to cut out)
make some little men.

Put them in the oven             ( place in oven)
till half past ten!

 To anyone wondering where I find some of these songs, I use a site called Preschool Education.  They provide a lot of useful items, like theme ideas, songs, and crafts for preschoolers.

Storytime for 2 and 3 yrs olds will start again next year on Monday, January 14th at 10 am. 

Happy Holidays, see you in 2013!! 

 

Book Review: The Christmas Parade- Sandra Boynton

 

Boom Biddy Boom Biddy Boom Boom Boom!!!


What's that noise filling the room? It's the Christmas Parade. There's 10 chicken with silver bassoons, tons of drumming hippos ( and a drumming cat), even a little bird with the Loudest tuba one ever has heard. There's even holly confetti and a rhino dressed as Santa Claus!!!  Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

I used this book a few weeks ago toward the end of  my 2 and 3 Thanksgiving program to kick off the holiday season. Very cute artwork (and cute ending, too).  A very easy holiday  read for  the little ones.

The Christmas Parade  by Sandra Boynton
Age Range: 2-4
***** ( 5 stars)