Join Jr. Friends!

Jr. Friends play a vital part in our summer reading program success...and we are looking for some more!  

If you have finished 5th grade you are old enough to help!!

Jr. Friends is a great opportunity to get volunteer hours for school or church.  There are no minimum number of hours you have to volunteer and the schedule is completely up to you!  Some Jr. Friends work several times a week, while others work 3-4 times throughout the summer.  It is up to you and your schedule the amount of time you spend volunteering.

Here are some of the things Jr. Friends do at the library:

• Help at our reading desk to register children for our summer reading program and hand out prizes children have earned.
• Help at our special events by setting up, cleaning up, and assisting children in activities.
• Wear the costume for our mascot, Buzz
• Enjoy an end-of-the-summer pool and pizza party
• Participate in Bellevue's Arrows to Aerospace Parade

If you are interested in becoming a Jr. Friend you need to turn in an application form (with parent signature) and attend a mandatory training meeting.  Upcoming training sessions are:

Thursday, May 23rd at 11 AM

Thursday, May 23 at 2 PM

Wednesday, May 29 at 10 AM

Thursday, May 30 at 7 PM

You only need to attend ONE session; training lasts about 45 minutes.

If you would like to volunteer, but cannot attend any of the training sessions please call Mrs. B at 402-293-3158.

Children's Book Week

I love that we get to celebrate children's books...one of my true passions!  I've written about my struggles with reading and my favorite books from 5th grade.  Today I'm going to share my favorite children's books that have been published since I became an adult (so they might date me).  I would be hard pressed to think of this many favorite adult books!

Two of these books are from author/illustrator Jez Alborough.

Where's My Teddy?  I read this book so often to my daughters that I memorized it...and I still have it memorized after 10 years!  The illustrations are so cute and I love that the bear is scared of the boy!

Hug is a nearly wordless picture book.  The expressions of Bobo are priceless!  Hugs are definitely important... especially between parent and child!

I love to read Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks to preschool children.  The first page is so clever--having it from the spider's point of view.  Makes me think twice about what kind of pet I may consider getting!

I can't wait for fall to come around so I can read aloud my favorite picture book:  The little old lady who was not afraid of anything by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd.  I love to have the kids do the actions and children love the "touch" of spooky.

As for "chapter books" I have a much harder time choosing just a few.  I guess if I had to they would be:

Frindle by Andrew Clements  I wish I had known Nick in 5th grade!  Such a clever and energetic boy!  His report about dictionaries was hilarious   I wouldn't say I'd have wanted Mrs. Granger for my English teacher, but she certainly played her role well!

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine--a retelling of Cinderella, but with so much depth and passion and a strong female character!

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling  Such an Epic Journey!  Could be replace Madame Pince as Hogwarts' Librarian?!

and my all time favorite, The Giver by Lois Lowry.  Ponder choice; and pain; and true happiness and love.

All of  these were published after my childhood...so I've only experienced them as an adult.  But I love the quality and uniqueness of each of them!  I re-read them (or listen to the audio of them) every year or two!

Celebrate Children's Book Week by re-reading a favorite or finding a new favorite!

Happy Birthday Henrietta!

Outreach Storytime for May to Welcome School and Kindercare

To celebrate everyone's birthday we did a special birthday storytime!  My raccoon puppet, Henrietta, was the "birthday girl" today!

Books

Don't Wake Up Mama! (Republished as Five Little Monkeys Bake a Cake) by Eileen Christelow

Birthday at the Panda Palace by Stephanie Calmenson; illustrated by Doug Cushman

Guinea Pig Party by Holly Surplice

Fingerplays and Songs

A Delicious Cake

Mix the batter, stir the batter (make stirring motion)

Shake some flour in (make shaking motion)

Mix the batter, stir the batter (make stirring motion)

Place it in a tin (make pouring motion)

Sprinkle little raisins on (sprinkle motion)

Pop it in to bake (make motion)

Open wide the oven door, (make motion)

And out comes a cake! (open palms)

MAKE A WISH

Big chocolate cake   (Make round circle with arms)

Ice cream in a dish   (Cup hands together)

Here are the candles   (Hold up fingers)

Now make a wish!   (Pretend to blow out “candles” by making a fist)

Henrietta’s Birthday Party    (words by Tammy Henry)

(sung to Old McDonald had a Farm)

Henrietta’s birthday party

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

And at her party she had some games

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

With a run-run here and a run-run there

Here a run, there a run

Everywhere a run-run

Henrietta’s birthday party

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

And at her party she had some balloons

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

With a pop-pop here and pop-pop  there

Here a pop, there a pop

Everywhere a pop-pop!

Henrietta’s birthday party

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

And at her party she had some presents

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

With a rip, rip here and a rip-rip there

Here a rip, there a rip

Everywhere a rip-rip

Henrietta’s birthday party

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

And at her party she had some candles

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

With a blow-blow here and a blow-blow there

Here a blow, there a blow

Everywhere a blow-blow

Henrietta’s birthday party

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

And at her party she had some cake

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

With a yum, yum here and a yum-yum there

Here a yum, there a yum

Everywhere a yum-yum

Henrietta’s birthday party

Hip, hip, hip, hooray!

Golden Sower

Nebraska's children's choice book award is called "The Golden Sower".  

Each year there are ten nominated books in each category that students read throughout the school year.  In April the children vote for their favorite book.  The book with the most votes is then award "The Golden Sower".  (Children must read or heard at least four of the nominated books in order to vote. They  read and vote for books that are in their grade level).

Primary--for children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade

Intermediate--for children in 4th-6th grades

Young Adult--for teen in 7th grade and above

It has been exciting to watch children all over Bellevue (and across the state) read the ten nominated books throughout the school year.  Even more exciting for me is  being part of the selection process!

Each fall and winter librarians, teacher and parents read lots of children books and compile a list of book we think the children of Nebraska will enjoy.  They need to have been published within the last three years.  We also try to find books that stimulate children's thinking, introduce different types of literature, and foster an appreciation for writing and illustrating.

All recommended books are then compiled into a long list that is sent out to adult volunteer readers across the state.  Throughout the spring and summer we read as many of these books as possible and vote for ten of them.  Some of the books on this list I will have already read, but there are many new ones that our library doesn't own (since we can't own everything) that I get the opportunity to read.

I have been reading for the Primary category for several years now.  Most of the books are picture books, with a few picture non-fiction books sprinkled in.  Some years I am also read for the Intermediate category as well, but this of course, takes much more time since chapter books take a while to read!

After I have read as many books as I can from the list (which can sometimes be   over 100 books!) I send in my vote with 10 that I believe the children of Nebraska will enjoy and that meet the criteria.  So sometimes it's not my 10 "favorite" books.

In late summer there is a meeting for volunteer readers to come together and discuss the books we have read and to make the final selection of the 10 books for the following school year.  (This can be an interesting meeting as some librarians can be very opinionated...can you believe that?)  However, I also gain insight into books that I may have passed over or that I didn't have the opportunity to read.  It is especially satisfying when a book I "fought for" gets on the list.  [You can thank me for getting "When I Grow Up" by Al Yankovic on the 2013-2014 school year primary list!]

Now back to the present...I am now in the midst of reading books that will be voted on at the end of July for the 2014-2015 school year.  I have come across some wonderful picture books, so it may be hard to narrow it down to just 10!

Children across Nebraska recently voted for their favorite Golden Sower and here are the results of the 2012-2013 School Year.

Primary Winner: 

Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery

Intermediate Winner:
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Each fall, during Nebraska Library Association's Annual Conference, the authors of winning Golden Sower books are invited to meet with librarians--sometimes in person and sometimes by Skype.

Mother Goose is on the Loose!

May's Do It Yourself table will feature four activities to celebrate Mother Goose! (Mother Goose Day is May 1st!)

• Make your own Humpty Dumpty

 

• Make up a Nursery Rhyme Mad Lib

Choose a word strip of the corresponding color

And place them on the nursery rhyme

Now enjoy your "new and improved" nursery rhymes!

• Help Mary's lamb find her way to school
• Re-do the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle, Diddle"
• Check out our display of Nursery Rhyme and nursery rhyme related books!

Research has shown that reading nursery rhymes to your children is beneficial in many ways.  You may want to visit these websites to learn more.

Nursery Rhymes and Phonemic Awareness

Why Children Need Nursery Rhymes

Screen Free Week

It started back in 1994 when TV-Free America hosted the first "TV Free Week".  Since that time it has evolved into including all kinds of screens--not just TVs.  In 2010 it became Screen Free Week sponsored by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC).

So what's the purpose of Screen Free Week?  I could repeat all the statistics concerning the connections between TV and childhood obesity, TV and video games linked to violent acts, and how grades in school correlate with the amount of time children spend engaged in screen time activities.  These are all valid reasons to reign in the screen.  However, in my opinion, it's not just to disconnect from screens that we interact with daily--TVs, computers, video games and hand-held devices--but it's to reconnect with people and the truly more important things in our lives. 

Over the past few months I have caught myself saying (on several occasions), "I don't have time to read all the books I want!"  Well, maybe it's because I spend too much time interacting with screens (I won't even mention the amount of time I spend on Pinterest!)  As I have prepared to go "screen-free" this coming week I have started to realize how much time I spend each day with screens when I could be reading, enjoying a walk outside, cooking a healthier meal for my family, organizing an overloaded closet, writing a letter to my grandma, calling a friend...the list could go on and on!  So many things I feel like I have lost connection with that I hope to reconnect to this week.

So I am taking the pledge from www.screenfree.org

I, Miss Tammy, pledge that during the week of April 29-May 5, 2013, I will:

1. Watch no TV or DVDs, play no video games, and only use the computer to check my email once per day or if it's required for a work assignment;
2. Encourage my friends and family to go screen-free;
3. Explore new screen-free activities;
4. Have fun!

Instead of spending time with screens, I will:

• Go for a walk
• Read a book (or two or three)
• Try a new recipe
• Play board games with my family
• And hopefully a lot more things!!

So take the challenge...go screen-free for a week!  I will post again on May 6 to let you know about my week.  I'd love to hear what you and your family did during screen-free week!

Rapunzel Puppet Show

Thursday, April 18, was our final puppet show of the school year, presented by Brian Henning of the Urban Prairie Puppet Company.  And the show of the day was..."Rapunzel".

Part of the show was done by marionettes and the other part by shadow puppets.  The kids loved watching the witch climb Rapunzel's hair--especially climbing down because the witch would fall on her bottom!

A special thank you to our generous sponsor of this show!