I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

No screaming, but we did applaud for all the library friends who accomplished their reading goals for the summer! Those who turned in their reading logs were honored before their parents, grandparents and friends with reading certificates and coupons for free goodies. Everyone enjoyed ice cream sundaes...mmm, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, peanuts, gummi bears and M&Ms!

Over 900 books were read by those who participated. All the children who checked out books and read them, or had others read to them were the winners! Think of all the new adventures they heard or all the new vocabulary words that were introduced to them! Think of all the new ideas or new places they learned about through those books. Think about all the funny stories or amusing characters that they will remember! If you read to your child, think about the precious time you and your child spent with each other. Good picture books are rich with various artistic styles and art media that stimulate the creativity and imagination. And, if you are checking out your own books, think about the stellar example you are setting for those who see you immersed in your reading! Happy reading to one and to all!

Encourage your own children to write their own stories and get out the markers, watercolors, or crayons and encourage them to illustrate. Right brain, left brain...it's all being actively utilized!

Special thanks to Sonic for all the ice cream certificates; thanks to Judy Nelson at Lights-N-Motion for free admission certificates; thanks to Judge Darlene Witten for her donation for our Ice Cream Party; thanks to Dwight Mikkelson of Allstate for the bowling coupons. We appreciate your generosity in rewarding our young readers!

We leave our summer reading program, with some photos of a few of our favorite books along with our book companions...L.L. Bear, Cowboy Bear, and their buddies. ...see y'all on the trail to the library...

~JMH

We Welcome the Creature Teacher

How many opportunities do we have to see, in person, 8 unusual animals from all over the world? Our library friends attending today's program, The Creature Teacher, had that opportunity! Robin Wheeler brought in mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, insects and a bird; she spent several minutes sharing information about each one.

The pygmy hedgehog was every bit as cute as author Jan Brett's illustrations in Hedgies Surprise! Did you know that the chinchilla has 80,000 hairs per square inch and that 300-400 chinchillas are used for one coat? The parrot has the intelligence of a 5 year old, and has the ability to mimic environmental sounds such as the "ding" of a microwave and knocking on a door.
A Hissing Cockroach does not have the same warm and fuzzy feel as a chinchilla, but we learned that cockroaches can live anywhere (!)...even in Antarctica and are capable of eating anything! How interesting to know that the Rose Haired Tarantula will eat her own molted skin! The Giant Black African Millipede does not have 1000 legs, but rather 200-300. This creature likes to stay very still underground for prolonged periods, during which time mold grows on its body. To keep the millipede healthy, microscopic mites live on his body and devour the mold! The last two animals were the chameleon, whose sphere-like eyes act independent of each other and the bearded dragon whose coloring is a perfect camouflage for his desert habitat.

As a special conclusion, the entire audience was invited up to gently touch the little chinchilla!

Our curiosities were piqued by all the intriguing information! Thank you Creature Teacher!


Congratulations to these readers who completed their reading logs: Aleksis, Kelly, Morgan, Kaitlynn, Alicia, Alex, and Abigail. We are so proud of all of you!!

Reading logs need to be turned in by Friday, July 25.

Next Week: Tuesday, July 29 @ 11:15...
Celebrate Reading with an Ice Cream Party!! We will pass out Reading Certificates.

jmh

Learn While Laughing with Brett Roberts

Brett Roberts likes to describe his show as a party, a celebration of reading! His energy and enthusiasm certainly entertained the crowd of 200 as they marveled at his magic tricks, laughed at his silly antics, and happily went along with his comedic actions. Mr. Roberts used a cleverly designed book worm puppet to review the basic elements of a story: characters, setting, plot, and conclusion. Throughout the entertaining, he continually referred to different books and encouraged the children to read, imagine, pretend, invent, create! It was a fun way to learn!

More of our library friends have completed reading logs! Congratulations to Ashlynn, Maddox, Cayden, Kylie, Jase,
Amelia, Eli, Audrey, Frida, Hannah, Breanna, Hayden, and Kelly.

Please remember to turn in your reading logs by Friday, July 25! We love to see all those books being checked out and read!!

Tuesday, July 22 @ 11:15: The Ceature Teacher brings several interesting animals

Tuesday, July 29 @ 11:15: Our last summer program...ice cream party and reading certificates

jmh

Stories and Music with Cowboy Chuck

Cowboy Chuck strummed his guitar by his "campfire" as the children gathered around to hear his jokes, stories, and music. What a fun time everyone had, laughing over the antics of cows typing on old typewriters in the story, Click Clack, Moo, Moo, participating in creating a "pizza" over the campfire, or guessing which animal puppet would put in a surprise appearance! We learned a traditional cowboy song, Home on the Range, and sang some silly songs.

When it was time to bid farewell to Cowboy Chuck, he invited all his new friends to come up and strum the guitar and visit his puppets. Everyone had a great time!!

More of our library readers are completing their logs: Joseph, Elora, Hayden, Breanna, Jamie, Erika, Quincy, Hope, Amelia... Surely you will want to add your name to the list!

The last day to turn in logs will be Friday, July 25! Our Ice Cream and Certificate Party is July 29.


Next Week: Magician Brett Celebrates Stories!! Tuesday, July 15 @ 11:15

Texas Critters Visit the Library!

Thanks to the Heard Museum, our library friends were able to see and TOUCH visiting Texas critters. The three-toed box turtle generously kept his little head out (the better to see all the children), as the boys and girls gently touched his hard, plated shell. The salamander's ecologically sensitive skin alerts scientists to environmental changes. These amphibians are among those in the endangered category. But it was the albino corn snake that elicited the ooh's and aah's as he gracefully slithered around the handler's arm, sensing the environment with his tongue. Everyone lined up to touch the snake's dry, smooth scales. This was a first for many of our young friends...to feel a real, live snake!

Thank you Heard Musum for a valuable, interesting program!

Next Week: Tuesday, July 8

Cowboy Chuck and his guitar bring us fun and music!

Wednesday, July 2...

During our story time today we celebrated our country's birthday with the story of Betsy Ross and her contributions to our young country. We learned about our flag and the many changes it has gone through to be the flag we have today...50 stars and 13 stripes.

Everyone created a red, white and blue tri-corner hat, embellished with stars and feathers, to wear as we paraded to grand march music! All that marching whetted our appetites for cupcakes that we decorated with...what else!...red, white, and blue sprinkles and stars!

Yummy!

Happy Birthday to Madison who celebrates her birthday on July 4th!

jmh