Newbery and Caldecott awards 2008

The Newbery and Caldecott awards were announced by the American Library Association. This year's Caldecott award for the Best Picture Book was a surprise - the award went to Brian Selznick's "Invention of Hugo Cabret" - a book that is not the size of a typical picture book and can be read and appreciated by older readers - especially readers who enjoy graphic novels. The Caldecott Honor went to four books - Ellen Levine's "Henry's Freedom Box," Laura Vaccaro Seeger's "First the Egg", Peter Sis's "The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain," and Mo Willem's "Knuffle Bunny Too".

The Newbery Award went to Laura Amy Schiltz's "Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village". The Newbery Honor was awarded to Christopher Paul Curtis's "Elijah of Buxton", Gary Schmidt's "Wednesday Wars" and Jacqueline Woodson's "Feathers".

February Vacation Programs

February vacation is from Feb 18th to Feb 22nd. The library will be closed on the 18th for President's Day. On the 19th (Tuesday) we have a special speaker from Wild Birds Unlimited who is going to tell us about Wild Bird Feeding. The activity also includes a craft. On the 20th (Wednesday), Mr. Raindrop returns to the library to talk about water conservation. He will explain the water cycle and kids get to make a terrarium. On the 22nd (Friday), we will have a President's Day craft ready for you that you can make any time between 10 AM and 4 PM.

We also have the usual programs in February - Baby and Me on Tuesdays at 10:30 AM (12th, 19th and 26th), Lunch Bunch on Wednesdays at 11:30 AM (13th, 20th and 27th), and Preschool Storytime on Thursdays at 10:30 AM (14th, 21st and 28th). Our very popular Read to a Dog program is on Feb 9th (Saturday at 9:30 AM) and Feb 23rd (Saturday at 9:30 AM). We have a special craft for Chinese New Year Day which is on Feb 7th. Drop in between 10 AM and 4 PM to make your craft.

Best interactive software

Great interactive software for kids announced

CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected its Fall 2007 list of Great Interactive Software for Kids (GISK), which recognizes high-quality computer programs and digital media for children 14 years of age and younger.

The selected products are:

1701 AD. Aspyr Media. http://www.aspyr.com. Ages 10 and up.

Anime Studio. E-Frontier. http://www.e-frontier.com. Ages 10 and up.

Big Brain Academy. Nintendo. http://www.nintendo.com. Ages 6 and up.

Collage Machine. ProtoZone Interactive. http://www.protozone.net. All ages.

Crazy Machines 1.5. Viva-Media. http://www.viva-media.com. Ages 6 and up.

KaleidoDraw. ProtoZone Interactive. http://www.protozone.net. All ages.

Kaleidopix. ProtoZone Interactive. http://www.protozone.net. All ages.

Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave. Her Interactive. http://www.herinteractive.com. Ages 10 and up.

Sid Meier's Railroads. Firaxis. http://www.firaxis.com. Ages 6 and up.

Snapshot Adventures: Secret of Bird Island. Large Animal Games. http://www.largeanimal.com. All ages.

http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/interactive07.htm

National Treasure Hunt

Wednesday, Dec 19, 6 P.M.
Teams of two or three kids in grades 3-12 (siblings would be perfect!) hunt for a treasure and a mystery prize! Come to the Children's room to sign up. You would go around the library collecting clues and cracking codes and having humongous fun! Don't miss this opportunity to parade your sleuthing skills!

Winter Programs

We have a Hanukkah celebration on Monday, December 3rd. There will be a story time at 10:30 and a craft that children could do any time during the day.

Join us for a Family Winter workshop on Monday, 17th December at 6:30 P.M. Registration is required for this program.

During the Vacation week, the Pumpernickel Puppets will perform "Frog Prince" on Wednesday, December 26th at 2:30 P.M.

On Thursday December 27th, author Lily Jones will be in the Children's Room to talk about her book and sign copies. This event is also at 2:30 P.M.

Friday, the 28th will be an all-day craft day.

Computer classes

We have planned a computer class for students in Grades 2-5 on October 9th from 2:30-3:30. This is the last day of your l-o-n-g weekend (the day after Columbus day). Homework and Research 101 will teach you tips to do quick research, using the databases on the library's website. Five projects due all in the same week? No problem - we'll teach you how to get them done without getting stressed. So, call the Children's room to sign up.

On November 1st, we have scheduled another class titled Beyond Google. This is also a day off from school and we will meet at 2:30. How do you know what to do when Google gives you 1 million results? We will teach you about other search engines that will make searching easier and you will also get tips to evaluate websites and assess their accuracy and currency.

Cool Programs in the Fall

In addition to the story times for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, we have some cool programs planned for elementary school students too. For those of you interested in the real goings-on at the library, we have a program on the first Saturday of September, October and November at 8:30 A.M. Yes, the staff members are at the library before the library officially opens and get everything ready. Now, you can participate in the behind-the-scenes action and see how the materials are sorted, how the books you request through Inter-library loan are processed, and learn where everything is in the Children's room. If you've always been curious about how a library works, this is the program for you. To be part of this elite Library Buds group, please call the Children's room and sign up.

October is Archaeology month and we have a meeting on Monday nights at 6 P.M. You will get to explore mummies from different cultures during different periods of history. You will also create your own mummy! Call the Children's room to sign up.