Warm Up With a Book

Our winter reading program theme this year is "Warm Up With a Book", so I decided to make a toasty little fireplace for some of my bookish friends (Harry Potter, Huck Finn, Amelia Bedelia, Peter Rabbit, Corduroy, Curious George, and Strega Nona) to promote the program!  So cozy!

Library Halloween Party!

In a Dark, Dark Room accompanied by a BOOkmark craft 

This Saturday, I am hosting our library's Halloween party for kiddos, family, and friends.  Halloween is only my FAVORITE so I am pretty excited about it.  We will have a Spooky Storytime, Creepy Craft, and trick or treating all day (I am mostly excited about this part-- there is nothing cuter than little munchkins in costume)!

Books we will read:

Brown Bat, Brown Bat Flannel

• In a Dark, Dark Wood by David A. Carter (pop-up book)
• Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Van Rynbach
• If You're a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca and Ed Emberley

Two Little Ghosties Flannel

Flannel Fun:

Brown Bat, Brown Bat, What Do You See?

(I see a yellow moon, a white ghost. a red leaf, an orange pumpkin, a green apple, and a black cat looking at me!)

Two Little Ghosties (based on Two Little Dickybirds)

Two little ghosties, looking at you!
One named "Peeka", the other named "Boo!"
Fly away Peeka, fly away Boo!
Come back Peeka, come back Boo!

For our craft, we are going to make BOOkmarks. (See what I did there?!)

Preparation for this craft was too easy.  I cut some card stock into strips, cut lengths of various ribbons, and bought a Value Pack of Halloween foam stickers from Michael's (on sale, of course!).  We tend to get a wide range of ages at our storytimes so I needed something that would be simple enough for tiny hands (cutting and pasting usually doesn't work, but stickers are great), that wasn't too "baby-ish" for the older kids.  I think this will fit the bill.

Happy Haunting, little ghosties!

A Book a Day...

I must credit this pin with the idea for this display.  When I came across it, I just had to recreate it for an October/ Halloween display!

Halloween is my very favorite holiday of the year, mostly because of Halloween decor.  Okay, and candy.  And amazing/creative/hilarious costumes. And tiny babies dressed as pumpkins, dinosaurs, and ladybugs.  Animals in clothing, too.  Anyways.  I already put up the Halloween decorations at my house obscenely early, and now that it's October, library decorations are finally appropriate!

To make this display I created characters out of some of my favorite monster books-  Grover from The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone, and Big Green Monster from Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley were made by cutting and pasting construction paper.

Wild Thing of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and the perhaps lesser-known (but childhood favorite of mine) Nightmare from There's a Nightmare in my Closet by Mercer Mayer were hand drawn using the library's finest sharpies and fat crayons.

I plan on displaying monster books for the month of October.  All of our Halloween books are already almost all checked out so we are going to have to get creative!

Have a spooky October, and don't forget!  A book a day keeps the monsters away!

Have You Seen This Wizard?

A very intimidating "Azkaban Face"

Banned Books Week 2015 is September 27th through October 3rd.  There's nothing in the world that is more fun than celebrating your intellectual freedom!  Besides maybe going to Harry Potter World, but I wouldn't know because I've never been (*aggressive sigh*).

For Banned Books Week, one of the events our committee put together is a Harry Potter movie marathon and party complete with games, crafts, and a photo booth.  Sadly, I am scheduled to work at my own branch and cannot attend the party but that doesn't mean I didn't get in on the FUN OF PREPARATION.






I made this photo booth (inspiration here) with a little banned books twist (the sign I'm holding, which has Sirius Black's prisoner identification number says "wanted for reading banned books").  I made the display out of poster board, a good old cardboard box, and a copious amount of shipping tape.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is (collectively) the-most-banned-book of the 21st century, according to the American Library Association.  Witchcraft and wizardry, oh my!  Kids are always so surprised when I tell them that Harry Potter is a frequently challenged book.  They are extremely puzzled as to why someone wouldn't want them to read it.  Me too, little muggles, me too.

Early Literacy Skill Set 6: Phonological Awareness

Researchers say that there are six skills that are important for children to learn before they are ready to read: Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Vocabulary, Letter Knowledge, and Phonological Awareness (Source: Every Child Ready to Read via Saroj Ghoting).  These are known as early literacy skills, sometimes referred to as emergent literacy skills.

Phonological awareness indicates an understanding of the smaller sounds (syllables) in words, which leads to being able to sound out words when children begin to read.


Many different reading activities can aid in developing phonological awareness. Here are a few to get you started:

• Read a book with animal sounds, like Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. Animal sounds like baa, moo, and woof help children understand the smaller sounds in words since they are one syllable and are easy to repeat.

• Sing a song like "Twinkle, Twinkle. Little Star" with your little one, or read a book that can be sung, such as The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani. Singing helps slow down language so that little ones can hear the smaller sounds in words. When each syllable has a different note, you are breaking down words into parts, which helps with sounding out words.

• Read a book that encourages your child to make sounds or noises along with the story, like Down by the Station by Jessica Stockholm. Getting children engaged with participating during reading enhances early literacy skills.

• Practice reading rhyming books, as little ones learn best by repetition. The repeated sounds will help them understand the sounds in words. Even better is a book that rhymes and has word play such as alliteration, such as Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino.

• If you choose a book with great rhythm like Chuck's Band by Peggy Anderson, chant it rather than just reading it. Pat a drum (or just your lap) along to the beat. 

Magical Books for Muggles and Wizards: Harry Potter Readalikes

Are you one of the many readers who finished the Harry Potter series and you don’t know what to read next? Good news: life goes on after you finish J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! There are many other great books out there that offer immersion into an enchanting world of magic, mystery, fantasy, and adventure. Nothing can replace the love that you have for Harry Potter, but at least you’ll have something to read while you’re waiting for your Hogwarts letter to arrive.

Magyk by Angie Sage is the first of the seven-book Septimus Heap series. Wizards, boggarts, princesses, and more lurk through the pages of this magykal book, which starts with Septimus Heap being pronounced dead at birth. If that were the truth, however, we wouldn’t have much of a story, would we? Read this book and you’ll soon find out that nothing is quite as it seems in the wizarding world of Septimus Heap.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is void of wizards, but takes readers on a magical and mythical journey to another magical school called Camp Half-Blood: a school for children of humans and mythical Greek gods. At the age of 12, Percy Jackson discovers that he is in fact a demi-god (half god and son of Poseidon), and shortly after attending Camp Half-Blood for the first time, must embark on a journey to the underworld to retrieve the god Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann follows the story of a boy named Alex, who is pronounced an “Unwanted” on his thirteenth birthday. In the land of Quill, you are either “Wanted” and are preened to become a member of the Quillitary (like Alex’s twin brother Aaron), a “Necessary” who tends to the farms of Quill, or you are an “Unwanted” and are sentenced to death. Instead of facing death, however, Alex finds that he and all of the other Unwanteds have been saved and sent to the magical land of Artimé. In Artimé, all of the other Unwanteds are being trained to use their creative talents to prepare for war.

In Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, a trip to visit their grandparent’s estate turns out to be no ordinary visit when thirteen-year-old Kendra and her eleven-year-old brother Seth enter Fablehaven, a protected area for magical creatures that is overseen by their grandfather, the Fablehaven caretaker. When Kendra and Seth break an important rule, the consequences are dire and it’s up to them to save their grandparents amidst a world of fairies, demons, witches, and imps.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud is the first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Like Harry Potter, Nathaniel has a rough start in life. He doesn’t live in a cupboard under the stairs, but he is sold to the government by his parents at the age of five. In this parallel modern-day London, however, Parliament is run by a group of powerful magicians and Nathaniel is the apprentice to a cruel master. Seeking revenge against his master for being mistreated and humiliated, Nathaniel delves into learning deep and powerful magic, and unleashes a dangerous and deadly force.

Early Literacy Skill Set 5: Letter Knowledge

Researchers say that there are six skills that are important for children to learn before they are ready to read: Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Vocabulary, Letter Knowledge, and Phonological Awareness (Source: Every Child Ready to Read via Saroj Ghoting).  These are known as early literacy skills, sometimes referred to as emergent literacy skills.

Having letter knowledge as an early literacy skill refers to being able to differentiate between different letters and their sounds, knowing the names of letters, and understanding that the same letter can look different (i.e. upper and lower case).  Children must have letter knowledge in order to "sound out" words by understanding that a word is broken down into letters that each have their own smaller sound.

To develop letter knowledge, an obvious first choice in literature selection would be an alphabet book such as the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and Joan Archambault or the fun and adorable LMNO Peas by Keith Baker.

To start at the beginning, however, children must know their shapes before they can understand all of the letters of the alphabet. A Q is a circle with a rectangle in it, and W is two open-topped triangles, for example.  Try reading Shape Capers by Cathryn Falwell or Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly Bingham.

Instead of just practicing the alphabet song, try singing songs with repeated refrains that include letters.  Sing and read along Rosemary Well's board book version of BINGO or Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Jane Cabrera (E-I-E-I-O!).

Another activity that you can do with children to promote letter knowledge is to have them practice writing their names.  Even if they don't understand the alphabet yet, they will start to "write" by drawing random shapes, such as circles, lines and squiggles, and this is the first step to having them understand that letters are made
up of shapes.

Check back next month for the final tip of this Early Literacy Series: Phonological Awareness! Thanks for reading!

Early Literacy Skill Set 4: Vocabulary

Researchers say that there are six skills that are important for children to learn before they are ready to read: Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Vocabulary, Letter Knowledge, and Phonological Awareness (Source: Every Child Ready to Read via Saroj Ghoting).  These are known as early literacy skills, sometimes referred to as emergent literacy skills.


What does vocabulary refer to in terms of early literacy?  Vocabulary skills encompass knowing the names of things, concepts, feelings, and ideas.  The larger a vocabulary a child has, the easier it  will be for him/her to learn to read.

Many board books created especially for infants have simple bold text describing the vocabulary for simple things that babies see every day- like bottle, mommy, toys, and teddy bear. Try reading a a lift the flap book like What Does Baby Love? by Karen Katz to help your little one identify familiar things around him/her.  As they get older, they will be ready to learn different words for feelings, concepts and ideas.  Try Grumpy Gloria by Anna Dewdney to see just how many different words there are to describe when you're feeling grumpy!

Nursery rhymes expose children to words that are not used in every day conversation.  When you Mother Goose for Babies.
read words that are unfamiliar to your child, you may have the urge to simplify text into words your child can understand.  Instead of doing this, read the written word and explain what it means. For example, if you are reading the old Mother Goose rhyme, "There was an old woman called Nothing-at-all, Who lived in a dwelling exceedingly small..." you should just pause and say that "dwelling" means home.  Find this rhyme and others in Arnold Lobel's

Another great place to start with learning vocabulary words is the human body.  Try reading Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes: A First Book All About You by Judy Hindley.  It's also great to practice these words during bath time!  Then move on to basic concept books such as Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri to learn colors.

The more words your child hears, the larger his/her vocabulary willThe Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (bonus for picking a book that has words not used in every day conversation!), go through the book a second time, but this time, don't read the words. Instead, talk about how the pictures tell the story.  Chances are you'll use new words and synonyms for the words you just read so that your child will learn even more new words.  A child's vocabulary is aligned with how many words they hear per day, so keep talking together!
be.  After you read aloud a picture book like

Every Hero Has a Story

Summer Reading has begun!  Without a lot of spare time to come up with a display, I decided to use my friend Microsoft Publisher to whip up a "comic strip" display that summarizes our programming this summer, since the theme is "Every Hero Has a Story" and who doesn't like comics??!

Each panel of the comic was printed out on 11x17 paper and backed with construction paper.  

Say It Again!

Early Literacy Skills are competencies that children need to develop before they begin reading and writing.*

Choosing books to read with your child that have a repetitive phrase can aid in the development of many of the early literacy skills that children need in order to be ready to read: **

Print Motivation
Print Awareness
Narrative Skills
Vocabulary
Letter Knowledge
Phonological Awareness

Hearing a repeated phrase over and over again will help children recognize sound patterns and develop phonological awareness (understanding the smaller sounds in words).

Reading books with repeated phrases also helps children develop narrative skills (the skills needed to tell stories and describe events). In telling a story, pause and let your child complete the repeated phrase. Your child will gain confidence in participating and helping to tell the story.

Print awareness (noticing the fact that printed letters and words have meaning) can be developed by running your finger along the repeated phrase in a story.

As the old adage goes, practice makes perfect! Hearing these repeated phrases is wonderful practice for learning early literacy skills. Read these books with repeated phrases and remember it’s never too soon to be ready to read!

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Shake your fists, and stamp your feet along with the peddler as he sells his caps and meets some silly and naughty monkeys along the way!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archaumbault

This classic and lively alphabet rhyme will have you chanting its memorable verses long after finishing the cheerful story. Lois Ehlert’s vibrant illustrations are not to be missed.

The Chick and the Duckling by Vladimir Suteev

This sweet mimicking tale of the newly hatched chick and duckling will delight little ones who are also exploring and discovering the world around them.

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee

Who wants to go for a ride with Mr. Horse? Children will love being bounced on your lap as you repeat “Clip-clop, clippety clop!” in this rhythmic tale of a horseback ride with barnyard friends.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Delight in the surprise of lifting the flaps to reveal who from the menagerie the zoo sends as a possible pet in response to a young child’s letter.

Have You Seen my Cat? By Eric Carle

Let’s help the little boy find his missing cat and meet helpful friends and other members of the cat family along the way! Children will love participating by repeating, “That is not my cat!”

I Went Walking by Sue Williams

In this repetitive question and answer book about the friends we meet when we go for a walk, children can participate by identifying each colorful animal.

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

The repetitive and simplistic nature of this picture book will keep children engaged and curious as they guess what each simple shape is illustrating.

The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood

Read this gentle, cozy, cumulative rhyming story at bed time to ensure sweet dreams!

Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean

Classic songs with repeated refrains are always a hit and children will enjoy seeing their cool friend Pete the Cat give an old song a new spin!

*(Source: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, www.zerotothree.org).
** (Source: Every Child Ready to Read via Saroj Ghoting)

Dear Diary

Novels that are narrated in a diary or journal format provide a raw, intimate, and honest perspective. Readers are provided confidential details of the narrators’ deepest fears, desires, and secrets. Young adult novels in diary format are particularly of interest because the process of coming of age is so personal. This unfiltered perspective is something that the reader's inner voyeur cannot resist.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Being a teenager is tough— especially when you are Arnold Spirit, better known as “Junior.” Growing up in poverty on a Native American reservation, Junior decides to create a better future for himself by attending a school outside the “rez” -- even if doing so means his friends and family feel betrayed, and he does not fit in at his new all-white school. Junior’s sense of humor will keep you smiling in spite of his honest look at the difficulties of racism, family drama, and new beginnings.

Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

A year in the life of British teenager Georgia Nicholson will have readers laughing so hard, they may want to avoid reading this book in public. Georgia must navigate the throes of adolescence betwixt a loony little sister named Libby, a violent Scottish wildcat named Angus, and absurd parents whom she resentfully refers to as Mutti and Vati. Thank goodness she has her beloved Ace Gang of girlfriends to have hilarious adventures with as she falls in love
with Robbie (aka the Sex God), the lead singer of a local band.

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Alice has been shocking readers about the slippery slope of drug addiction since this diary's publication in 1971. What begins as a coming-of-age story about social acceptance and growing up turns into a terrifying account of the struggles of drug abuse that leads to homelessness, prostitution, an insane asylum, and eventually a fate worse than those aforementioned. Alice’s cautionary tale of addiction is not one you will soon forget.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

“Monster”: It’s the name given to Steve Harmon, a 16-year-old African-American boy, while on trial as an accomplice to murder. Steve tells his story of being in prison and on trial during in between journal entries and his own version of a screenplay— the cinematic story of his life. Watch the courtroom drama unfold to reveal the truth: Is Steve innocent? Was he framed by his so-called friends? Or was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

Meet Jessica Darling in the first of a series of five novels. Her story begins at age 16 when her best friend moves away, and Jessica must enter her sophomore year of high school alone. Readers will relate to Jessica in one way or another — for her self-proclaimed type-A personality, her humor and wit, her insecurities; and if all else fails, her unflinching honesty as new relationships develop and blossom.

Engineering with the Magic School Bus and Marshmallows

Another great STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) programming idea borrowed from PBS Kids' Zoom Activities: build bridges out of toothpicks and marshmallows!  I gave children the building directive after we watched Magic School Bus Under Construction: Bridge Building.  

This program was simple, required very little preparation, and inspired great amounts of creativity and design concepts from elementary aged participants.  

To prepare, wrap two stacks of books (they must be the exact same books so that the stacks are an even height) in newspaper so you don't get sticky marshmallow residue on your library books.  This will serve as the base for your bridge.  

Watch the "Bridge Building" episode of The Magic School Bus Under Construction DVD (about 20 minutes long) and see Mrs. Frizzle's class create a bridge out of Q-tips and gum drops.

After the children see the Magic School Bus gang building a bridge, they will be eager to try doing so themselves.  Take a look at what our little aspiring engineers and architects created!  As an added challenge, once you get a bridge across your two stacks of books, add a paper clip attached to a cup and throw pennies in the cup to see how strong your bridge is.