Cool Kids is Coming ( So is Ollie!)

September is right around the corner, and so is National Library Sign-Up Month! In the Children's Dept, we call it Cool Kids have A Library Card ( because having a library card is cool!!). This month, children who show us their library card  get a sticker and enter a drawing for a free book. They will  also get a free prize, too.  To those who dont' have a library card, don't worry. It's free and easy to do, just have Mom or Dad show their driver's license or something with your current address at the Circulation Desk, and you get check out 2 items for 2 weeks, and after 2 weeks, 50 ( yes, this is true. But I don't  know anyone who has actually checked out 50 items).

We'll  also be having a program, " Cool Kids: Meet Ollie" on Thursday, September 5 at 4 pm. Ollie the Post Tribune dog  and his owner, Victoria, will spend time with the kids talking about owning a pet. It is open to grades K to 5th grade and families. (Please sign up via our  Library Events online calender.

Keep Reading!

Book Review: Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Bird-Sy Montgomery

 

On a small island off the southern coast of New Zealand, there lives the bird called the kakapo ( pronounced KAR-ka-poe). Known as the "night parrot",  they are flightless, heavy birds that smell of honey and making booming or growling sounds. Once numbered in millions, there are only ninety left in existence. Join author Sy Montogomery and photographer Nic Bishop to Codfish Island to meet these rare and unusual parrots and the team of volunteers working to save them.

Being a fan of wild life programs like Wild America, I immediately loved this book ( and actually want to see a kakapo!!) Montegomery and Bishop do such a great job of presenting this trip, it feels like I'm actually there, seeing  these amazing birds. Filled with vivid pictures and amazing facts and stories, one will learn that life on Codfish Island is filled with happy and sad moments, triumphs and tragedies. Part of the great Scientists in the Field series, this is an amazing read you won't forget.

 Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Bird by Sy Montgomery
Age Range: 10-14
Lexile: 940
***** (5 stars)

To learn more about the Kakapo Recovery Team and their continuing efforts, visit their website (where you also hear sounds and see videos of the kakapo.)

Book Review:Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy-Jan Thomas

 

Okay boys and girls (and cows). The Brave Cowboy going to sing a lullaby. Time to rest your heads, time to go to bed. Time to sleep so tight, time to.... eekkkk, is that a spider?

This is another really cute book from Jan Thomas. It is very colorful and bright, filled with very big print.It is also very laugh out loud funny ( especially toward the end.) I've used some of her books for programs and the kids like them ( so I can't wait to see how they react to this one).

Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas
Age Range: 3 and up
***** (5 stars)


By the way, if you visit the the author's website, you can download a copy of a song.

Upcoming programs in September

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.

Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, Sept. 3 and 17  at 10 am-Audience: Infants 6-23 months and caregiver (s).


Board Game Fun-Wednesday, September 4 at 6:30 pm-Audience: 2 to 5th grade

Cool Kids  Meet Ollie- Thursday, Sept 5 at 4 pm- Audience: K to 5th grade and families

Lego Club- Monday, Sept. 16 at 4pm-Audience: 2nd to 6th grade

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr olds- Tuesday Sept 10 and 24  at 10 am and 2 pm- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

Gaming Night- Wednesday Sept 18 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.

Story Time for 2 and 3 yr olds- Monday, Sept  16  at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.



See You Soon!!

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!!


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