One Year in Coal Harbor

Did you or someone you know read Everything on a Waffle?  Well, it's been 10 years since the book was published and won a Newbery Honor Award.  Now Primrose is back as Polly Horvath follows a year in her life after the return of her parents who were thought to have been lost at sea in One Year in Coal Harbor.  Primrose befriends a foster child, plays matchmaker with her uncle, and tries to save trees from being cut down from a logging company that comes to town.  This is one delightful year spent in a small fishing town in British Columbia...plus the added bonus of lots of recipes that Primrose is trying out for her cookbook too!

LEGO Construction Zone: October 28

Our next LEGO Construction Zone will be held on Sunday October 28th, from 1:30-3 p.m. in the Puett Room. Ages 5 and up are welcome to drop in to work on their own creations with other LEGO fans. We'll supply the building blocks; you bring your creativity! It's gonna be a ton of fun!!!

Costume Parade 2012

Thanks to everybody for coming out to our 3rd Annual Family Story Time Costume Parade! It was great fun! Tiger baby I'm holding is mine.

 Little Shaun White with the red wig in the front center is also mine.

 Rick Samuelson, Washington County's youth librarian, and his son, Fritz, (Dad with tiger baby) made an appearance!

Two little bumblebees who also happen to be library babies (their parents work here!). And they didn't even call each other to plan what they were wearing! Great minds think alike!

All Hallows Read

Neil Gaiman, he of the shaggy hair, dark clothing, prolific authorial genius, and spectacular wife, has invented a new literary holiday. Why? Because he's Neil Gaiman, he does what he wants!

Celebrating All Hallows Read is simple: just give someone a scary book on October 31st. That's all. You can even recommend a library book. Check out the video below of Gaiman explaining the whole thing in a zombie-ridden graveyard that looks remarkably like the cemetery where I used to eat lunch in high school. And here are some recommendations of spooky reads:

For Kids
Bunnicula by Deborah Howe
Pets are not always what they seem to be...

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
The title says it all, but the pictures are worth a thousand thrills.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Coraline is bored with her parents, but when she meets her Other Mother she is lost in a creepy parallel world from which she may never return.

For Teens
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Mackie is one of the children left behind to replace a stolen baby. But he is the only one who has ever survived into his teenaged years. And he's not quite human.

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells
John Wayne Cleaver has fought his whole life to keep his darkness under control. When brutally slain bodies begin turning up in the neighborhood, he feels he is uniquely suited to investigate the crime, only to find out that the killer is unlike anything he has encountered before.

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Helen has been haunting people for over 100 years, and for the first time even she has found someone who can see her. But will this teenage boy help her solve the mystery of her death?

Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Rory witnesses a murder by a Jack-the-Ripper copycat killer and becomes involved in a very unusual investigation.

Rot & Ruin  by Jonathon Maberry
In a post-apocalyptic world, there are zombies and there are people. Mostly zombies.

3rd Annual Costume Parade

Join me for the 3rd Annual Costume Parade during Family Story Time, Friday, October 26 at 10:15 or 11:15 in the Puett Room. We will do a regular story time and then go trick-or-treating around the library and show off our costumes. For just this date, participants will not be limited. I can't turn away a kid in a costume! Look how cute they are! Can you blame me? Just as an aside, in the picture on the top, the little dolphin in the front is my big guy, and the little cow I'm holding is my little guy.

Dia de los Muertos

We're looking forward to our Day of the Dead celebration on Saturday, October 27 from 1:30-3:30 p.m.! Bring the whole family to see an altar set up by the Spanish National Honors Society of Tigard High, munch on traditional pan de muertos, decorate a sugar skull, get your face painted, learn the skeleton dance, hear some stories and much, much more!

Learn More About Homeschooling in Oregon

Do you want to know more about homeschooling?  Join us for a FREE presentation by the Oregon Home Education Network, featuring a panel of experienced homeschoolers.  Panelists will provide an overview of homeschooling in Oregon and answer questions.  Participants will receive a handout with a list of homeschooling resources.  Join us in the Puett Room on Tuesday October 23rd from 7 to 8:30 p.m.  This event is open to adults only.

Scream Free Parenting

I have found myself losing my temper with my 4-year-old recently, and I do NOT want to get into the pattern of yelling at him. A friend recommended Scream Free Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids By Keeping Your Cool, by Hal Edward Runkel. And now I recommend it to you.

A more appropriate title would probably be "Emotionally Reactive-Free Parenting" but that doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well as "Scream Free." Basically, Runkel uses the word "scream" to represent any kind of uncalm reaction toward your child, be it screaming, avoiding, overcompensating, giving in, etc.

 

He posits that by focusing on yourself, you can become a better parent. Focusing on yourself means looking at how you can change your behavior to remain calm in a situation with your child that would normally cause you to scream. It also means creating space for yourself, separate from your child. It also means taking care of your own mental and physical health.

 

Within this framework, he gives tips for how to set and enforce consequences but use empathy at the same time. He uses a few personal examples and lots of examples from families he has worked with in his counseling practice.

 

Very helpful and very practical.

It's International Ivy & Bean Day!

Last Saturday was the first National Star Wars Reads Day.  Now today, Saturday the 13th is the first INTERNATIONAL Ivy and Bean Day!  Stop by the childrens' room in the library today to check out an Ivy and Bean book, pick up some activity sheets and a book related goodie while supplies last!

Poppin' Popcorn

Did you know that October is Poppin' Popcorn Month? What better way to celebrate than to make crafts out of popped and unpopped popcorn and stuff our faces with everybody's favorite snack from an old-fashioned popcorn machine? Join us Sunday, October 14 from 1:30 to 3:00 in the Puett Room.

BJ's Coming!!!

Everyone's favorite clown is coming to the library!  All ages are welcome to attend our next SUPER TUESDAY event with BJ the Clown and his Traveling Comedy Show on Tuesday, October 9th at 7 p.m. in the Burgess Community Room.  He'll dazzel us with an exciting evening of comedy, magic, juggling, music, storytelling and puppetry.  It's sure to be a fun night for the whole family!

National Star Wars Reads Day

First graders on up are invited on Saturday October 6th to help make history as we celebrte the future during the first ever National Star Wars Reads Day!  Make galactic crafts, taste cosmic treats and answer trivia questions about those characters from a galaxy far, far away. Be sure to come dressed as your favorite Star Wars character.  Join us in the Puett Room from 2-4 p.m.  And may the Force be with you!

Governor Kitzhaber Proclaims October Information Literacy Month in Oregon

On June 26th, 2012, Governor Kitzhaber proclaimed October to be Information Literacy month in Oregon.
The National Forum on Information Literacy is leading an effort to encourage all states and U.S. territories to submit requests to their governors’ offices to proclaim October as Information Literacy Month. With a signed proclamation in hand, Oregon is ahead of many other states in the Information Literacy proclamation initiative.  Read the Governor's proclomaton here.  For ideas and tips on increasing information literacy in your family, visit the library!  We also have tons of resources you can take home to develop early literacy in your child to help prepare them to get ready to read too!

Banned Books Week, September 30 to October 6

Hundreds of books have been either removed or challenged in schools and libraries in the United States every year. According to the American Library Association (ALA), there were at least 326 in 2011. ALA estimates that 70 to 80 percent are never reported.


Celebrate the FREEDOM to read in this country by reading a banned book during Banned Books Week, September 30th through October 6th.  Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.  Come to the library and check out a frequently challanged/banned book today.  We've got a display of children's books that have been freqently challenged.  Or take a look at this list of frequently challenged books from the 21st Century.