New Books That You're Gonna Want to Read

A few new books that we just got in...

Johnny Jakes Investigates: The Hamburgers of Doom

The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits

Crenshaw

Maxi the Little Taxi

Cricket Song

What We're Reading...

Two days ago I picked up Pax by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Jon Klassen (of I Want Muy Hat Back fame) and I haven't been able to put it down (at least, when I have some free time to read, that is!)  This book is a beautiful story about a little fox and his boy.  They get separated and we get the joy of reading about how they work to find each other again. The book is perfect for grades 4-7 (and animal-loving adults!) who are suckers for grand adventure stories.

The book is SO good in fact, that Katherine Applegate said this:

Spring Celebration

We celebrated S P R I N G here at the library on a rather wintery day here over the past weekend. And we had a ball!

We played in the dirt and planted carrots and radishes

We made bean mosaics

We made pinwheels to spin on a windy day

We even had some special guests!  Baby chicks from Keelboat Farms

Get Moving!

This year in preschool storytime, we've been doing a lot of movement. We use beanbags to practice balance and coordination, scarves to develop fine and gross motor skills, and have dance parties to keep fit!

I've just discovered something new to help kids move during storytime - and its available for you at home. It's called GoNoodle, and it's a free service that encourages kids of all ages to get up and move. Some of them are dance videos (Check out Wobby Man by Koo Koo Kanga Roo) while others are designed to get kids calmed down or thinking (Hug it Out by Maximo). There's a wide range of ages and activity levels.

Feeling extra motivated? Try out one of the Game On activities - the Airtime game has you pick your location and help a bubble move from place to place on the screen.

If you're feeling silly, check out Kitty High Five by Awesome Sauce (you can thank me later).

Best of all, did I mention that it's all FREE? They have accounts just for kids - parents sign up and create accounts for each child. Kids choose a character to level up as they go through videos, all the while having a great time getting their groove on.

Here's a link to get you started: https://app.gonoodle.com/s/sreinhardt-1

We'll be using it in storytimes in the future, but some of the videos are released at home first, so try them out and be ahead of the game!

Upcoming Science-y Stuff at Our Library

We have a SLEW of great science-y stuff coming up at the library this spring!  Here's what's cooking:

• Seed Science
• Keelboat Farms is coming to the library to share the fascinating science of seeds!  There will be bean dissection, a plant/seed matching game, a chance to design your own seed packet and a cool view of how a see grows underground!  Friday, March 11th from 1-3. Great for ages 3-12!
• Family Maker Days
• Once a month we create some time for families to come together and tinker!  Messing around with circuits, tape, glue, building materials - all kinds of stuff is a really fun way to spend your Saturday afternoon!  It's drop in, so come any time after noon on Saturday, March 12th!  All ages are welcome!
• Farm Science
• Meet the newest chicks of Keelboat Farms!  We'll have real live (and incredibly cute!) chicks from the farm at the library.  We'll be learning about the cool science of eggs. How did those chicks get in there and what happens while they're inside?  You'll get a chance to see inside an egg where a baby chick is growing and all kinds of other activities and fun!  Friday, March 18th from 10-11.  Ages 3-12.
• Spring Celebration
• On March 19th, it will nearly be spring!  And are we sure READY!  The chicks of Keelboat Farms will be around to help us celebrate and learn about the science of eggs too!  Food, fun, games and all things spring from 1-3! Wear your garden hat!  All ages!  

A Few Great Books I've Read Recently

Now I'm always reading a nice handful or 2 of books simultaneously.  And a few of them are always children's/teen titles.  I've read a few really amazing ones recently and here they are (we own all of these, but they're most likely checked out of our particular library because they're THAT good, but we can always order you a copy from another Allegheny County Library!):

The War That Saved my Life

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley was just....lovely.  It was moving and informative and enlightening and charming.  While it didn't win the Newbery, it was a Newbery Honor Book.  And deservedly so.  To be honest, I listened to this book on CD and I looked forward every morning and every evening to my commute to and from work to find out what was happening with Ada and Jamie.  Two sort-of orphans in the midst of WWII who are shipped out of London and into the country as the city was under threat of bombs.  It's a discovering-the-self kind of book that I loved when I was young and still love!

The Story of Diva and Flea

The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems and Tony Diterlizzi (is there a better duo out there?)  I was VERY excited to read this little book because of its powerhouse authors.  And it did not disappoint.  It's reminiscent of The Lady and the Tramp.  Two unlikely friends who set upon a number of adventures together.  It's a great easy reader if you're little one is just setting out to read on his/her own.

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

HiLo: The Boy Who Crashed To Earth by Judd Winick.  Let me first say that while I'm a huge HUGE fan of Judd Winick (do any of you remember him from The Real World: San Francisco?  The one with Puck?  And he's still married to Pam!  Swoon!) but I hadn't realized this was his book until I was nearly 1/2 way through (way to pay attention!)  I love comic books for the younger set and this book, they say and rightfully so, is Calvin and Hobbes meets Big Nate!  It's great fun!

The Wolf Wilder

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell was a very unexpected book.  It came highly recommended to me by a book-loving friend and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's 1917, and Feo and the wolves who love her embark on a rescue mission in the Russian wilderness.  It's a strange little plot but a gripping adventure that had me turning the pages and finishing the book in one night!

Comics and Literacy

Want a genre of books that combines pictures and text to create a KAPOW of literacy for your kids? Try comics.

Many of us read comics when we were younger, especially the Sunday funnies. These small bits of humor were the best part of getting a newspaper, if you asked 10-year-old me. But comics have started to grow up. Comic books (aka graphic novels) are a great one-two punch of textual literacy and visual literacy. A good comic book will create an engaging story and support early readers as they learn new words and reading skills.

Here's a few reasons to try out comics with your kids:

Encourage a Love of Reading.

“Comic book readers do at least as much reading as non-comic book readers, and the most recent research shows that they read more overall, read more books, and have more positive attitudes toward reading.” -Stephen Krashen, The Power of Reading

Add Vocabulary. 

While the number of words in a comic may be smaller, comic books tend to have more challenging vocabulary levels. Readers can use the pictures to give context clues to words they might not know. One study even noted that graphic novels written for teen and adults had a higher vocabulary level than the average college student.

Create Confidence. 

Comics are often recommended for struggling readers because the combination of images with text leads to easier comprehension which creates confidence in reading skills. Some of the most prolific thinkers, academics, and journalists who struggled with reading as children found comic books to be their gateway to successful reading. 

Develop a Sense of Sequence. 

As with prose books, reading comics develops the ability to keep track of and understand a sequence of events.

Improve Visual Literacy. 

Our world is filled with images that have specific meaning tied to them, and reading comics makes a child more familiar and comfortable with understanding these visual clues.

Develop an Appreciation of Art. 

Have a discussion with your child about the art and its importance in the telling of the story: Why did the artist choose those colors? That style? That shape and size for the panel? The art isn’t there to simplify the work, but rather to clarify.

Comic books aren't meant to replace reading, and most people - both children and adults - who enjoy reading comic books also find themselves enjoying a wide variety of other genres. We have a variety of graphic novels and comic books for all ages - some even have Accelerated Reader tests.

Check out one of these great comic books from the library today!