Summer Reading is almost here and kids will be making tons of excellent art projects at the library.
Why not display their work with these awesome cork frames? Directions can be found by following the link to Shannon Makes Stuff. Have fun!
Bulletin Boards: May You Read With Us?
Take a look at our displays! This month we’re really getting ready for summer reading program, “Have Book, Will Travel.” Look at some of the places our books can take you!
Miss Erin wants you to explore the world!
Miss Tanya thinks you should fish around our magazine collection!
Are you hungry for a good book?
Miss Caitlin hopes you’ll dive right in to one of these fish books!
Be A Volunteer
Would you like to volunteer at the library? Do you need to complete community service hours or do you just like helping out?
We’re getting ready for Summer Reading and we need all the help we can get.
Any volunteer must be entering at least grade 7 in the fall. There is no guarantee you will be called for summer reading volunteer work. But if you were, the mandatory orientation session for teen summer reading volunteers take place Thursday, May 16th (5:00-6:00), Tuesday, May 21st (5:30-6:30), and Wednesday, May 22nd (5:00-6:00). Interested summer reading volunteers MUST attend one of these sessions.
You can get started by filling out the teen volunteer application. Clicking the link will open the application in a pdf. You can turn it in to the Youth Services Reference Desk as soon as possible.
Thanks!
Hop to Reading These Books
Miss Tanya, who is new to the library, has a list of 10 books about frogs that she’d like to share with you! Click on the book covers to be redirected to our catalog so that you can place a hold or find these books in our library.
Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout by Megan McDonald
Stink is fearful of putting his head under the water during his swim class. Holding his breath and swimming down deep is too frightening to fathom! After an interaction with a mutant frog, his feelings about the water, mud, and even raisins seem to change. This book has many creative illustrations and a funny story line that will keep the reader giggling.
Froggy Plays in the Band by Jonathan London
Froggy wants to win the prize at the Apple Blossom Parade! With the help
of his friends, he prepares his new marching band. They do not have much time
to practice, so will he be able to win first prize?
Frog and Fly : Six Slurpy Stories by Jeff Mack
Two unlikely friends try to trick one another in this comic-style story. They both get along, but frog thinks that fly would be an appetizing treat! This picture book contains six stories about their silly interactions.
One Frog Sang by Shirley Parenteau
One Frog Sang teaches counting up to ten and then back to one. A group of ten frog friends croak, chirp, and sing to create a song.
Frog and Friends by Eve Bunting
Frog notices something unexpected floating in his pond. He is unsure of what the object could be and turns to his friends for answers. A disturbance to his regular peaceful day makes him realize that he enjoys the simple pleasures of life.
Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
Everyone in the family know how to swim, except for Froggy! However, Froggy is a little too afraid to try. After a few amusing songs and the aid of his family, will he finally learn how to use his frog legs in the water?
Frances Frog’s Forever Friend by Barbara deRubertis
Frances Frog has a best friend that is a fox. This story uses alliteration to practice the letter F. Each book in this series focuses on one letter in the alphabet.
Frogs by Alyse Sweeney
This is a great non-fiction book with vivid illustrations of frogs and amphibians. It is a simple read with some facts and amazing photos that can be used as a reference.
City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
Friendship can teach many unexpected things. The two friends in this story take turns living life in a country setting and also in the city. The city dog plays in the country when he is visiting and the country frog does the same when staying the city. It is a delightful portrayal of true friendship and differences that can bring one another even closer.
Stick by Steve Breen
Stick does not listen to anyone and does his own thing at all times. One day, he makes the mistake of getting his tongue stuck to a large dragonfly! He is flown out of the swamp and straight to the city. Now Stick has to figure out his way back and try to stay out of trouble along the way.
Scholastic Reading Timer
Scholastic is offering a free reading timer app for both Apple and Android users.
According to the Scholastic website, the app includes:
- An interactive reading stopwatch for timing reading minutes
- Personal profile which features the total minutes a child has read for the day, week, and throughout the year
- Articles and daily tips for parents, which offer ideas to support growing readers
- Book lists for ages 3-12, featuring recommended titles for every kind of reader
- Plus, during the summer months, kids can use the Scholastic Reading Timer to apply their minutes read to the Scholastic Summer Challenge program. They can read, log minutes, earn rewards and help set a new world record for summer reading. The Summer Challenge begins on May 6th, 2013! To learn more visit www.scholastic.com/summer.
There are two different areas you can visit once you’ve downloaded the app. THe children’s log in has a timer and a log.
Keeping track of how long they’ve read each day encourages kids to read. Beating their own time and meeting their goals is fun!
Weekly logs and total times are tallied.
In the parent’s sections, you can see how many minutes your child has read, read articles and tips about literacy, and check out book lists for different age groups.
As Summer Reading approaches, take the time to encourage your child to read everyday. It’s a great way to get ready for the next school year while having fun!
Cinco de Mayo and CultureGrams
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought we could talk about a cultural database that the libary subscribes to and that you can get to through our Homework Help page.
CultureGrams has many different options on its homepage. You can go to the World, States, Provinces, or Kids Edition of the website. We will, of course, focus on the kid’s version.
Once you’ve clicked on the Kids Edition, it brings you to a map of the world. You can click on any continent and then any country. We’re going to check out the page for Mexico.
There is a ton you can do from here to research this culture. The main page gives you facts, a map, a flag, and even the country’s national anthem. On the boxes to the left, you can follow the links to see what life is like in the country you have chosen — both today and in the past. The column on the right supplies you with lots of tools you can use to figure our even more about the place you’re looking up.
CultureGrams is a great resource for school projects and just finding things out. Since yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, I hope you’ll use your library card to visit the CultureGrams website and learn a little about Mexico and the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla.
May the 4th Be With You
The force is strong with The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.
To check and see if we have a copy you can read, try looking in our catalog!
