April is National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month.  This year it is celebrating its 20th anniversary!  National Poetry Month has evolved into the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry's vital place in our culture.  I will be the first to admit that I got really bored with poetry when I was in school...all that breaking down of lines and figuring out meaning...it just didn't capture my interest.  But as an adult, I have learned to enjoy children's poetry books as they are colorful and so much more easier to read and understand!

Here's a list of children's poetry books that I have been published within the past couple of years that I have enjoyed.  I hope you and your child will be charmed by their beauty too!

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night 
by Joyce Sidman
A collection of poems that celebrates the wonder, mystery, and danger of the night and describes the many things that hide in the dark.  This beautifully illustrated book won a 2011 Newbery Honor.







Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
Here's a fun illustrated collection of poems and collages about dinosaurs.  And of course its perfect for dinosaur fans.  They'll really devour this one!

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko
A selection of short American poems dealing with the four seasons and the different weather events and animal patterns that can occur within each.  Also, I'm a big fan of Melissa Sweet's artwork too.

Flutter and Hum: Animal Poems = Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales 
by Julie Paschkis
All sorts of animals flutter and hum, dance and stretch, and slither and leap their way through this joyful collection of poems in English and Spanish. Julie Paschkis's words and art sing in both languages, bringing out the beauty and playfulness of the animal world.





Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse 
by Marilyn Singer
Here's a collection of short poems called "reversos" which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.  So you can read it forwards and backwards and still read the same poem!  This is such a fun and creative way to read poetry!

Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue 
by Jon Agee
Have you ever gotten tripped up trying to say a silly succession of similar syllables? Try out these hilarious tongue twisters for yourself for lots of silly fun!






Santa Clauses: Short Poems from the North Pole 
by Bob Raczka
25 haiku give readers a fresh, humorous perspective on Santa's December preparations. And rich illustrations pull readers into every wintry scene.  Read now, or save to read later during the winter holidays.

Stardines Swim High Across the Sky And Other Poems 
by Jack Prelutsky
Here's a collection of 16 humorous poems about imaginary strange creatures such as the stardine, slobster, and magpipe.  Plus, the illustrations really make those make-believe critters seem awfully real too!

Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold 
by Joyce Sidman
When winter comes, how will the animals brave the long and cold season of the north?  Read poems of the Tundra Swan, the Big Brown Moose, and the Beaver, among other animals.  There's also poems about snowflakes and ice.  Each poem is accompanied by facts and background matter related to the subject at hand.  I just love the linoleum block art illustrations in this book.

World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of by Patrick J. Lewis
Here's a collection of wild and wacky holidays that should be worth celebrating such as: Dragon Appreciation Day, Frog Jumping Day, Ohio Sheep Day, Worm Day, and National Sloth Day.  Don't let these days go by without a small celebration of your own!  Plus, this book is perfect for transitional readers to read on their very own thanks to the large font size and easier vocabulary.

Knitting Stories

In honor of our upcoming annual Mitten Tree and winter, it would be appropriate to share books about knitting, yarn, and keeping warm.  Here's a list of some fun and sweet stories to share with a little one you love this season:

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
With a supply of yarn that never runs out, Annabelle knits for everyone and everything in town until an evil archduke decides he wants the yarn for himself.  Also, check out the audio/kit version of the book too!

Knit Together by Angela Dominguez
A sweet story of a mother and daughter drawing and knitting together, ending with a collaborative creation.  Artsy moms and their kids will appreciate this ode to arts-and-crafts.

Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story by Deborah Hopkinson
When his father leaves to fight in World War I, Mikey joins the Central Park Knitting Bee to help knit clothing for soldiers overseas.

Knitty Kitty by David Elliott
Knitty Kitty is knitting a scarf, a hat, and some mittens for her kittens, but when night falls and the snow comes down, the kittens request a blanket to keep them warm Knitty Kitty has a better idea.

Made by Raffi by Craig Pomranz
As a shy boy, Raffi is a loner and teased at school until one day he discovers knitting and decides to make a scarf for his father and a cape for the prince in the school play.








The Mitten String by Jennifer Rosner
Ruthie Tober's family is known for the beautiful, warm mittens they knit so when she and her mother meet a deaf woman and her baby and give them shelter, Ruthie decides to design very special mittens for them.

Snowy Sunday by Phyllis Root
One very snowy Sunday, snowflakes as big as balls of wool are falling on Bonnie Bumble's farm. The cow, the duck, the hens, and even Spot the dog are all shivery and cold. Bonnie doesn't like seeing all of her farm animals freezing.  So she gets busy with needles and wool and knits and knits--hats and scarves, beak-warmers and tail-warmers.

My Favorite Picture Books

In celebration of November Picture Book Month, some of the Youth Services staff will write posts regarding their favorite picture books.  They may share one, two, or even more!  It all depends upon what tickles their fancy, as we all have many faves. I have many picture favorites.  Here's some that reign at the top of my list:

My favorite picture book growing up was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. As a child, I had a paperback copy and it was well loved.  I just adored the short pages with the little holes bitten through each page, and as the caterpillar ate more, the quantity of food increased and more holes in the pages were made.  By the time he got to the big green leaf, he felt so much better...and so did I!  I just couldn't get enough of that book!  Now I own a hard back and it gets well used too!

As an adult, one of my favorite picture books to read at story time is Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.  I love how duck goes around to each animal on the farm and asks them if they want to ride a bike.  All the animals think he's foolish and such a show-off.  Its not until all the animals realize they can ride bikes too.  The art work in this animal fantasy makes the barn yard menagerie so realistic.

Another favorite I have as an adult is Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown.  This is another book I love reading out loud to preschoolers.  I just LOVE how reality is turned around by an animal wanting a child as a pet.  And how the mama bear tells her bear child that they want a pet, they must take care of it all the time.  A hard lesson is learned, but its just so humorous!

Thinker Tinker Lab - Water!

The world of water fun is just a few days away. Join us in the courtyard off the Puett Room for all kinds of water play time.

Thinker Tinker Lab - Structures

Let's build bridges and other sturdy structures out of spaghetti and gumdrops. Will your bridge collapse or stay strong.
Monday, August 3 from 2-4pm. All ages!

Walk 'N' Words Story Time

The City of Tigard's strategic plan is all about being active and living interconnected lives.
What better way to get action and feel interconnected than by coming to a walking story time. We'll start in Puett Room and head down the nature path behind the library. We'll go on a bear hunt, hop like frogs and much more, all while wearing animal masks and shaking music shakers made by participants before the story time.

Pete the Cat Party

Sometimes Pete likes his white shoes, sometimes Pete likes his blue shoes, but Pete the Cat always likes his library shoes! Join us Tuesday, July 28 in the Burgess Community Room from 2-4 for all things Pete the Cat! All ages.

Thinker Tinker Lab - Kitchen Science

Let's get messy with stuff around the kitchen!
Join us Monday for this all ages program in the Puett Room. 
This messy fun begins at 2pm and lasts until 4pm.

Thinker Tinker Lab - Yarn

Thinker Tinker Lab This Monday is all about yarn. What can you do with yarn? 
Weave it, string things on it, cut it, finger-knit, and more!
Join us Monday for this all ages program, July 20 from 2-4pm in the Puett Room.

Thinker Tinker Lab - Tubes and Tape

It's our second Thinker Tinker Lab!
This time it's tubes and tape. What can you create? We'll have a variety of materials for you to think about and tinker with: paper tubes, tape and paper and tape to make paper tubes!
Join us for this all ages event, Monday, July 13 from 2-4pm in the Puett Room.

Thinker Tinker Lab - Bee A Superhero!

It's the first Thinker Tinker Lab! Honeybees, the superhero pollinators!

Monday July 6th from 2-4pm in the Puett Room, all ages.
We'll be learning about Honeybees and how you can "bee" a superhero to the bees.
Games, and activities, including the opportunity to plant a seed that will grow into a flower the bees will love.

Thinker Tinker Lab

Thinking by Tinkering!

Starting Monday July 6, and continuing through August 10, from 2-4pm we'll have an all ages drop in program offering process play activities in the Puett Room. Process play activities are ones where there is not set outcome. The idea is to give your kids a chance to use their own ideas with a variety of materials. Kids learn best when they have a chance to work with he familiar materials in new ways. Each week the materials will change, but the idea of tinkering with the materials will stay the same.

Join us!

Elephant and Piggie's New Book

Gerald and Piggie star in their latest book, I Will Take a Nap! by Mo Willems.  Here we find Gerald desperately wanting to take a nap.  He's tired AND cranky.  Just as he tries to lay down and take a nap, Piggie comes along asking Gerald what he's doing.  Gerald explains how tired and cranky he is and that a nap will make him feel so much better.  Piggie thinks it sounds like a good idea.  So Piggie snuggles up to take nap with Gerald.  But Gerald can't nap because Piggie SNORES!  Then the excruciating circumstances start for poor Gerald.  I can't tell you any more because that will give the story away, so you'll need to get your hand on a copy and read it yourself...it's just that good of a book!  I foresee this book growing in popularity and notoriety in the children's literary world.  I see that there's already over 30 holds on the book in the online catalog, so place your holds on the book now before the list gets even longer!  And please, take time for a peaceful nap too!  You deserve it!

Markets and Mazes

With the Tigard Area Farmer's Market and the Bull Mountain Farmer's Market both open for the season, now is the perfect time celebrate local markets and to teach your little ones about how food gets there. 

In Market Maze by Roxie Munro, follow the maze of trucks as they take a road trip starting from the coast and head inland stopping off at different places such as apple orchards, dairy farms, chicken coops, vegetable farms, and the bakery as they pick up goods and deliver them to the farmer's market.  Each stop along the way gives simple to understand information about the location where food is produced, giving an illustrated aerial-like view of the farm site. Then read a list of items for your child to locate in each of the 2-page spreads.  Kids will be delighted and have tons of fun finding objects such as tree houses, deer, roosters, picnic tables, and other items as they make their way to the market. 

All of the illustrations throughout the book show mazes of trucks on roadways and offer I Spy-like exercises that provide perfect opportunities for learning that food is produced on different types of farms.  This book makes a great way to celebrate our local farmers!