7th Annual Family Story Time Costume Parade

Join us this Friday, October 28 at 10:15 or 11:15 in the Puett Room for our annual costume parade in Family Story Time. We will have our regular story time and then trick-or-treat for non-edible treats throughout the library. For this day only, I do not limit how many people come to story time.

6th Annual Family Story Time Costume Parade

Join us this Friday, October 30 at 10:15 or 11:15 in the Puett Room for our 6th Annual Family Story Time Costume Parade. We will get together for a regular story time, and then go trick-or-treating around the library after. Don't worry, grown-ups, no candy will be handed out! This is the one story time of the year that I do not limit the number of participants. It would take a pretty mean librarian to turn away a kid in a costume!

5th Annual Costume Parade

5th Annual Costume Parade

Coby's Picks #10

And some of Coby's latest favorites are:

Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth! by Diane DeGroat
Meno series, by Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi
Flat Stanley Early Reader series, by Jeff Brown
Dojo Daycare, by Chris Tougas
Everyone Poops, by Taro Gomi

Coby's Picks #8

Here are Coby's latest favorites:

• Anything by Leslie Patricelli
• Froodle, by Antoinette Portis
• Night Light, by Nicholas Blechman
• Count 123, from My First Touch and Trace series
• Cat Comes Too, by H. J. Hutchins

Coby's Picks # 7

And now Coby is 3. So here are some of his favorites right now:

Maisy series, by Lucy Cousins
Wow! Ocean!, by Robert Neubecker
My Bus, by Byron Barton
Classical Rome, by John Clare

A 3-year-old, you ask, likes a book on Classical Rome? Yes, apparently he does! This is a very text-heavy book, but it has a lot of big photographs of people reenacting scenes from Classical Rome, and for whatever reason, Coby finds these cheesy pictures appealing. We don't read the words. We just look at the pictures and talk about them. So just because your little one may not be the intended audience for a certain book does not mean he may not enjoy it. "Read" what he wants to read. If she randomly chooses a book off the shelf the way Coby did with Classical Rome, let her take it home!

 

Coby's Picks #6

And here are some of Coby's current favorites. He is now almost 3. Again, if there are any repeats, it is because they are tried and true titles and he is still enjoying them.

Bink & Gollie series, by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee (Juvenile Fiction)
Take Me Out to the Ball Game, by Jack Norworth (Picture Book with CD)
Ambulances, by Carol K. Lindeen (Juvenile Non-Fiction)
Tu y Yo, by Maggie Maino (Spanish Picture Book)
I See Kitty, by Yasmine Surovec (Picture Book)
No No Yes Yes, by Leslie Patricelli (Board Book)

Evan's Picks #4

And now for the latest installment of Evan's Picks. Here are his current favorites:

Knock, Knock!, by Saxton Freymann and 13 other children's authors
5-Minute Marvel Stories
Some Smug Slug, by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Ghost in the House, by Ammi-Joan Paquette
Magic Tree House series, by Mary Pope Osborne
Magic Tree House non-fiction companions, by Mary Pope Osborne
Andrew Lost series, by J. C. Greenburg

Coby's Picks #4

After a long break, I will try to be more consistent about posting Coby's latest picks. So here is what he is reading now:

Can You Say Peace?, by Karen Katz
I Love You Nose, I Love You Toes, by Linda Davick
A Kitten Tale, by Eric Rohmann
Soy Bajito = I'm Short, by Ana Galan
Maisy Goes to Preschool, by Lucy Cousins
Nighty Night, Little Green Monster, by Ed Emberley

Evan's Picks #3

It's been awhile since I've posted a list of Evan's current favorites. His shelf is overflowing at home right now, so I'll see if I can do his favorites justice.

• My Princess Boy: A Mom's Story About a Young Boy Who Loves to Dress Up, by Cheryl Kilodavis
• A Little Book of Sloth, by Lucy Cooke
• 1 2 3 To the Zoo, by Eric Carle
• Jan Has a Doll, by Janice Earl
• For Just One Day, by Laura Leuck
• Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, by Eric Litwin and James Dean

Coby's Picks #3

And here is the next installment of Coby's Picks:

• May There Always Be Sunshine, by Jim Gill
• Miss Spider's ABC, by David Kirk
• I Must Have Bobo, by Eileen Rosenthal
• What Color?, by Anthea Sieveking
• Garbage Trucks at Work, by D. R. Addison

Evan's Picks #2

And now for the next installment of Evan's Picks in no order whatsoever:

• Wonder Woman: The Story of the Amazon Princess (graphic novel), by Ralph Cosentino
• One Cool Friend (picture book), by Tony Buzzeo
• Welcome to Cuckooville (picture book), by Susan Chandler
• Pinkalicious (picture book and early reader series), by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann
• Mittens (early reader series), by Lola M. Schaefer
• The Ruby Rose Show (early reader), by Sindy McKay
• Marvel Super Hero Squad. Flips Out!: A Mix and Match Book (picture book), by Mathew Swanson
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (chapter book), by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Alison Jay

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!

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.

Evan's Picks #1

As promised, I will now share Evan's latest favorites. He's got a diverse range of interests as you can see from this snapshot of what we've been reading over the last couple of weeks:

Head to Toe: My Body and How It Works, by Sophie Dauvois
Bad Kitty chapter book series, by Nick Bruel
Mercy Watson chapter book series, by Kate DiCamillo
Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey
Ella Bella Ballerina picture book series, by James Mayhew
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, by Lauren Child
We Both Read early reader series
The Bloomsbury Nursery Treasury, by Patricia Borlenghi

Coby's Picks #1

I thought I would start a new series of posts based on what my two kids are "reading." I'm going to start with my 14-month-old, Coby. I'll also share some of my 4-year-old Evan's Picks pretty soon. So here are Coby's favorites at this moment in time:

• Overboard, by Sarah Weeks
• Peekaboo Bedtime, by Rachel Isadora
• My Animals, by Xavier Deneux
• Tubby, by Leslie Patricelli
• Baby Faces, by Margaret Miller
• Hello Lulu, by Caroline Uff
• Peek-A-Baby, by Karen Katz
• Clap Hands, by Helen Oxenbury

Fun with Underpants!!!

Ok, we all wear underpants (I hope!) and it's just a part of everyday life.  But let's face it, underpants are a whole heck of a lot of fun!  I sure loved my underoos when I was a kid (The Wonder Woman ones were my favorite).  Here's some books to add to your child's clothing entertainment:

Picture Books for the little ones

Aliens Love Underpants by Clare Freeman
There is no underwear in outer space, so aliens visit planet Earth and play in the clothes drying on the line.  And by the same author, there's also  Dinosaurs Love Underpants which reveals that the Mighty Underpants War was the true reason why dinosaurs became extinct.

My Big Boy Undies by Karen Katz
With fun printed fabric on the cover, this is a book for little boys who are ready to make the switch from diapers to big-girl undies!  There's also My Big Girl Undies by Karen Katz for little girls who are ready to make the switch from diapers to big-girl undies!  Both of these titles are kept with the potty training books in the Parens collection

The Day We Danced In Underpants by Sarah Wilson.
When Papa's pants that are worn thin from dancing on his visit to France split as he sits down to picnic with the king, the embarrassing moment provides both cooling and comic relief for the guests, prompting them to take off their hot clothes and dance.   

The Underpants Zoo by Brian Sendelbach
Come visit a new zoo where each of the animals sports underwear suited to his or her own personal style.



And for the little bit older crowd, here's some Juvenile Fiction:

The Brotherhood of the Traveling Underpants by Greg Trine
This is a title from the Melvin Beederman Series.  When the three members of the Bad Guy Brotherhood buy a time machine to keep the younger Melvin from gaining his superhero powers, Melvin and his sidekick Candace, disguised as pirates, travel back in time to stop them.



Horrid Henry's Underpants  by Francesca Simon
Contains four stories that follow the adventures of Horrid Henry, one in which Henry realizes, much to his chagrin, that he has accidently worn the bright pink "big girl" panties his goofy great-aunt Greta sent him for his birthday.

Snarf Attack, Underfoodle, and the Secret of Life: The Riot Brothers Tell All
by Mary Amato
Here's some very active brothers who like using their underwear as toys and play games with them.




Uh-Oh Cleo, Underpants On My Head by Jessica Parker
When Cleo and her family go on a hike, an unexpected snow storm arrives and everyone uses extra pairs of packed underpants as hats to keep their heads warm.

The Perfect Pair: Beaumont and Catrow

I just stumbled upon a new book, Where's My T-R-U-C-K?, written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow. For me, they truly are the perfect combination of children's book author and illustrator. When I saw the two of them had paired up again, I just had to pick up the book, and I was not disappointed. The boy has lost his favorite red truck, and no other replacement will do. He looks up and down, inside and out, in drawers, under his bed, behind the shower curtain (behind which he finds quite a surprise, but not the one he's hoping for), in a tree, but the little red truck is just nowhere to be found. Every child will be able to relate to losing their favorite toy and after listening to this book, they will have at least one word in their repertoire that they can actually spell!

Winter Break Story Times

We're trying something new this year. Usually we take our winter break with the schools, but we thought we would offer story times over that break and take our break Thanksgiving week instead.

So for all you teachers out there who are usually working when we offer story time, bring your kids in!

And for all you parents with kids in preschool during the times we offer story time, bring 'em on in. We'll be here with bells on!

Costume parade at the library

Come join us at the Family Story Time this Friday at 10:30 and 11:30 and participate in the Second Annual Costume Parade around the library. We'll even do a little trick-or-treating! Nobody will be turned away. And yes, I'll be dressing up. Here's me as a cat last year. Come see how I'll be dressing up this year!

Meet the Collection Mondays: Picture Books & Board Books

Welcome to Meet the Collection Monday.  We're sorry we missed last Monday October 3rd.  We've been so usy her at the library.  Today we will highlight the Picture Book and Board Book collections with blurbs from Molly and Terri.

About the Picture Books from Molly:
This collection lives on the six shelving units that greet you right when you walk into our Children's Room. This large and lovely collection holds over 15,000 books in which the illustrations and text work together to tell a story. It is one of the library's most popular collections, with 98% of titles having been checked out at least once in the past year.


While most picture books are written to be shared with children from birth through six years of age, there are also picture books appropriate for and appealing to children in upper elementary school. If you've already graduated to "chapter books" (Juvenile Fiction) but would like to enjoy an illustrated story every now and then, ask us for some recommendations. Some of the most sophisticated picture books are actually wordless, the story being told completely via the artwork. Picture books can be different heights and widths, but are generally 32 pages in length. At the end of the shelving for the regular Picture Book collection, there is an aisle reserved for Holiday Picture Books. These titles are grouped together by holiday, then by author’s last name. Even though we add new books every year, we can never seem to have enough. For example, as I write this, there is only one Halloween book on the shelf. So stop by and spend some time exploring our colorful, fantastic Picture Book collection, and be sure to check out some holiday books nice and early!

About the Board Books from Terri:
The juvenile board book collection consists of materials to meet the educational and recreational needs of children from birth to three years.  The board book format plays an important function for children who are learning what books are and how to handle them as the develop motor skills and print knowledge.  The sturdy pages are able to stand up to chewing and fingers that are just leaning how to turn pages.

The collection is comprised of multiple copies of individual titles in board book format.  Some books include special features of interest to this age group, such as lift-the-flap, varied textures and shapes, mirrored surfaces and the like.  The board book collection is housed in bins placed on the floor so that they are easily accessible to babies and toddlers.  Because these books are not placed in any particular order and are frequently withdrawn, this is a non-holdable collection. 

The strongest influencing factor in the board book collection is the age group that it is intended for and primarily used by: children from birth through two years and their caregivers.  Children in this age group are most interested in simple stories, repetitive and rhyming text, artwork that is clear, bold and realistic, and books that feature animals, human faces, other babies, and objects and activities familiar to them such as bath time, food and bedtime.