Fairies and Other Dancing Forest Creatures

The Fort Wayne Ballet will be returning to the ACPL on Monday, March 2nd at 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm to present a mini-performance of selections from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Look for fairies and other forest creatures during this magical performance!

Performances will be held in the Main Library Theater.

New Booklist : Fear of Storms

Did you hear the storm last night? I sure did, I believe that it was centered directly over MY house!

Just in time for the thundery season, we have a new booklist about the fear of storms. The books on this list contain information and stories to help comfort children who are frightened by storms.

This list is part of our Parents' Primer booklist - a helpful list about books on sensitive and important topics.

Interactive Books -- New Software in Children's Services

Looking for a fun new way to motivate your kids to read? Check out some Graphic Library Interactive Books from Children's Services! These new software titles are geared toward upper elementary-age children -- grades 3 and up -- and are compatible with both MacIntosh and Windows operating systems. Set in a graphic novel format, kids can listen to and read along with these books at their own pace on the computer, moving forward and backward through the stories as they wish. At the end of each story are links to age-appropriate websites and lists of other resources kids may be interested in exploring.

Current available titles are based on themes of science and history. To see a complete list, click here!

I Love Pizza

Today's Smart Start Storytime at 10:30 is all about Pizza Pie. Three to six year olds (and their favorite grown-ups) are invited to share some fun stories all about that yummy food.

And to get you ready.... check out this website. You can learn some history of pizza and nutrition information about pizza. You can even make your own pizza online. Have fun! We'll see you at storytime!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Today is Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday!
Check out our Mardi Gras display in Children's Services to find out more about the origins and traditions of this holiday, and to see the work that goes into creating the annual event held in New Orleans!

Some of our favorite Mardi Gras books include:
The Greentail Mouse by Leo Lionni
On Mardi Gras Day by Fatima Shaik
Jenny Giraffe's Mardi Gras by Cecilia Dartez

Meet Abe Lincoln's Friend!

As a celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday, storyteller Doyne Carson will present a special storytelling program called “Meet Abe Lincoln’s Friend.”

In this program, students will meet Abigail Gollaher, one of Abraham Lincoln’s childhood friends, who tells them the story of the childhood adventures of young Abe Lincoln.

Seats for the 6:30p.m. performance on Wednesday, February 25th are still available.

Curriculum connections include United States Indiana history, history, and social studies. This program is designed for students fourth grade and up.

Please register by calling 421-1220

Click here to see our Abraham Lincoln booklist!

Great Book!

Have you read The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau? It took me a long time to pick up this title and I am sorry that I waited so long! This fascinating story takes place in Ember, an underground city where the people don't know that they are underground and where blue skies are a thing only of the imagination. The author brilliantly provides just enough information about the mystery of Ember to make this book almost impossible to put down. I am taking home the second book in the series, The People of Sparks, today!

Early Learning Center Mailbox

Wonderful scribbles!

Give your toddler a chance to scribble away on paper in the Early Learning Center. These early scribbles are an important step on the way to learning to write.

Visit the Early Learning Center:
Monday through Thursday: 9am to 8pm
Friday & Saturday: 9am to 6pm
Sunday: 12pm to 5pm

ACPL Bookmark Contest

Don't forget to enter the ACPL Bookmark Contest. The theme this year is Worlds Connect @ your library. Entries are due Friday, February 27, 2009. Visit any branch of the ACPL to pick up an entry form or click here.

Seven Years Old!

Hannah just turned 7-years-old and was able to make her first trip up the stairs of the Children's Services Reading Tower. Children ages 7 through 12 are invited to climb the stairs and find a comfy reading bubble to curl up into for some quiet reading time. Those of us who are younger than 7 or older than 12 must watch and wait from the ground floor. Congratulations, Hannah, and Happy Birthday!

Dental Health Month

Celebrate Dental Health Month by attending the Children's Dental Health Fair at the Main Library on Saturday, February 21st from 1 to 3pm. The fair will be presented in the Globe Room by Isaac Knapp Dental Hygienists' Association and will feature games, prizes, dental health and nutritional information and brushing and flossing instruction.

You can also celebrate by checking out a book about dentists or dental health. Check out The Dentist From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler.

And the Winners Are...

Congratulations to the 2008-2009 Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) winners!

Early Reader: I Love My New Toy! by Mo Willems
Fantasy & Science Fiction/Middle Grade: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Fiction Picture Book: How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham
Fiction Middle Grade: The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Non-Fiction Picture Book: Nic Bishop Frogs by Nic Bishop
Non-Fiction Middle Grade & YA: The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby & John Busby
Poetry: Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye
Graphic Novel/Elementary & Middle School: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale
Fiction Young Adult: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Fantasy & Science Fiction/Young Adult: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Graphic Novel/Young Adult: Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki

Presidents Day!

How many United States Presidents can you name?
Four-year-old Matthew knows them all in order!



To learn some interesting facts about our country's presidents, visit the PBS Kids website, or stop by the library to check out a book!

Reading Rainbow Young Writers & Illustrators Contestng

It is time for the Reading Rainbow Young Writers & Illustrators Contest! This contest is for students in K to 3rd grades. To enter, simply write and illustrate a story, pick up an entry form at the library (or print one out from your computer), and return your entry to the Main Library by March 13, 2009. For the complete rules, visit the PBS website.

Valentine's Day!

Celebrate Valentine's Day with a fun story about the holiday! Or find out more about Valentine's Day with a non-fiction book. Here are a few non-fiction books to try:

• Celebrate Valentine's Day by Carolyn Otto
• Happy Valentine's Day by Abbie Mercer
• Valentine's Day by Trudi Trueit

Happy Valentine's Day!

How to Get a Book from Storage

Did you know that there are over one hundred thousand different children's titles in our storage collection? Now there's an easy way for you to retrieve the title you want from this non-public area!


If you are at the Main Library and look up a title on the online catalog, you can find out where the book is located. If the ONLY copy available is in our storage collection, a button will pop up on the left of the screen saying "Get from Storage." Click this button, jot down your name, and within 20 minutes your book will be waiting for you at the Children's Services desk.

Pretty slick, huh?

Letter i Play Day!

Today is Letter I Play Day! Start out the day at Smart Start Preschool Storytime @ 10:30 to read about ice cream and then have some fun playing with the letter i in the Early Learning Center. The ELC will be open until 8 p.m.

Letter Play Days are a fun way to work on the early literacy skill letter knowledge with your preschooler. Letter knowledge is knowing the names of letters and the sounds that they make.

If you can't make it to letter play day today, take a few minutes to talk about the letter i with your child (while eating ice cream). You can also make an i out of clay, practice writing the letter i together or look for the letter i in a book together. Have fun!

New from Mo Willems!

If you love Mo Willems you MUST read Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed!

Wilbur, a naked mole rat, loves to wear clothes, this makes the other naked mole rats very upset. They are so offended by the idea of a naked mole rat wearing clothes that they take the issue to "Grand-pah, the oldest, greatest, and most naked naked mole rat ever." What will Grand-pah do?

Illustrated simply, yet brilliantly so that every subtle naked mole rat emotion is clear, this charming story will reassure any preschooler that being different is kind of wonderful.

Art Out of the Box: Mail Art

Look at all of this Mail Art that we have received from kids across the U.S.! Over 75 pieces of art have arrived on my desk so far, and I think there is even more on the way. So, homeschoolers in grades 1 to 6, please join us on Friday, March 13th from 2 to 4 p.m. for the Art Out of the Box: Mail Art program. In this program you will learn about mail art, view a traveling mail art gallery, discuss art, and create mail art to send back to all 75+ kids that sent us art. It is going to be a busy and extremely fun afternoon!

Parents: This program is based on Indiana Academic Standards, to find out more click here.

Economy Sites for Kids

Are you looking for a way to explain all of the current economic news to your children? Check out Economy for Kids - A Scholastic News Special Report for articles, activities and games. It even includes a few lesson plans for teachers, check out How the Economy Works for Grades 3 to 5.

If you would like access to more lesson plans than you could ever use, check out the Council for Economic Education website.

These links were in the January 2009 issue of School Library Journal, check out the entire column by Gail Junion-Metz here.

Presenting the Past: Natural heritage in the classroom

On Friday, February 27, 2009 the Indiana Council for History Education will be holding the conference Presenting the Past: Natural Heritage in the Classroom here at the Main branch of the Allen County Public Library. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to spend a day immersed in the natural and human history of Indiana. For more information about this, click here.

Time 2 Chime Makes the Front Page!

Did you see Wednesday's Journal Gazette newspaper? If so, then surely you noticed the large photograph of Time 2 Chime on the front page!

photo by Cathie Rowand The Journal Gazette

Time 2 Chime is a group of homeschooled students that meets twice a month at the Main Library to learn to read music and practice ringing handchimes. On Tuesday, a photographer from the Journal Gazette stopped by the beginning group's rehearsal to take photos and put together a video. You can view the video on the Journal Gazette's website.

This year, over thirty students have been involved in Time 2 Chime. While we aren't enrolling new students at this time, everyone is invited to attend the group's performance in May (watch here for more details to come).

Remnant Trust at IPFW

Don't miss the Remnant Trust at IPFW, now through April 2009! The Remnant Trust is a collection of manuscripts and early editions of works. Included are Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, the Magna Charta, the Emancipation Proclamation, Frederick Douglass' Life of Frederick Douglass, and Plato's Plato, His Apology of Socrates to name only a few of the 50 items available to see, to read and, quite unbelievably, to touch.

The exhibit is in the Helmke Library on the IPFW campus. It is open to the public:
Tuesday 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Wednesday 1pm to 3pm
Friday 9am to 1pm
Saturday 9am to 12pm

To arrange a class visit or to borrow a document for classroom use, contact the Helmke Library Services Desk at 481-6512. There are many interesting programs for adults too.

Cat Tales

Join us for Smart Start Preschool Storytime today at 10:30 a.m. to listen to a few Cat Tales. If you can't make it today, you can always pick up some cat books the next time you visit. Check out Drat That Fat Cat! by Pat Thomson, Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes, A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann or If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff.

If you like to sing about cats, check out "Three Little Kittens" on Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies by Pamela Beall, "I Bought Me a Cat" on 100 Sing-Along-Songs for Kids, V. 2 or Classic Animal Songs.

Early Learning Center Mailbox

Thank you for the lovely drawing! It is a great reminder that Spring is just around the corner.

Be sure to stop by the Early Learning Center today to explore, play and create with your preschooler.

The Early Learning Center hours are:

Monday through Thursday 9am to 8pm
Friday & Saturday 9am to 6pm
Sunday 12pm to 5pm

See you at the ACPL!

Fun ways to work on spelling & reading skills

Do you enjoy fun, online games?

Check out Anagram Sleuth for a spelling game. You'll need to rearrange the letters to spell new words that will solve the puzzle of a rock star's disappearance.

Or go to The Big Escape 3 for a treasure hunt style reading game. Both games are great fun and work on spelling and reading skills.

Have fun!

Just in Time for the Super Bowl XLIII

Nothing makes a Super Bowl party better than some funny football jokes and riddles! Check out Matt Christopher's book, Football Jokes and Riddles, for "50+ facts and funnies to keep you laughing!" Here are some examples...

What four letters can stop a quarterback sneak?

(O, ICU!)

Why was Cinderella thrown off the fooball team?

(Because she ran away from the ball!)

Quarterback: I passed your house this morning.
Wide Receiver: Wow! You did? What an arm!