Wordless Books! Wordless Books! Wordless Books!

Did you know...wordless picture books are a GREAT way to help your child with pre-reading and reading skills.  When you share a wordless book with your child, try taking turns telling the story.  This helps children learn how stories work AND helps teach new words!  Pictured on the left are some of my favorite wordless books -- click on them to find their availability in the library's catalog.

Do you have favorite wordless books?  Click here for a list of more titles!

Getting Ready for School

The sun is setting a little earlier every day; cicadas and crickets are chirping louder at night; paper, pencils and backpacks are appearing in stores.  The signs are all there - it's back to school time!  Be sure to add a visit to the library to your to-do list as you prepare for this important time of year. 

Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters

Can a tsunami happen here? Or an earthquake?...these are questions many adults are hearing after the tragic happenings in Japan this past weekend.

Sharing stories of hope and goodwill in the midst of chaos, such as Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa, or A Mama for Owen by Marion Dane Bauer, may be a help to some children.

Reading Rockets has just published a list of web-based resources, including kid-friendly news reports of the events in Japan, ways to help children cope with disasters, and basic information about earthquakes and tsunamis.

Several of Children's Services Booklists provide resources for children and adults on coping with with disasters:

• Fears Booklists
  
• Talking with Kids about Violence Booklist
  
• Therapy and Healing Booklist
• Peace Booklist

Do you have other resources that you've found? How have you used them with your children?

Celebrate African- American History

We are well into February, which means we are well into African-American History Month! Whatever your age, take advantage of the information and resources that are available to learn more about the important contributions the African-American community has made in our country. A good place to start is our African-American History Booklist , where you will find great biographies and non-fiction books, as well as stories, folktales, music and poetry.


You may also want to investigate some of the following websites:

Time for Kids: Black History Month
Library of Congress: African American History
Kaboose.com: Black History Month Crafts and Activities

The Many Different Ways to Tell Rapunzel

Folk tales are one of my favorite things to read. I love the diversity of stories across cultures and I enjoy finding new stories with familiar twists and familiar stories with new twists. On the Children's Services booklist page we have several lists of folk tale variants.

While Paul O. Zelinsky's retelling of Rapunzel might be my favorite, there are many more on the variant list that are worth looking at. Read Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel by Patricia Storace to appreciate a new setting, or try The Canary Prince by Eric Jon Nones for a Turinese version of the princess locked in the tower tale.

The Gingerbread Man is not just a cookie. He can be a tortilla, a matzo ball, or cornbread. If you are in the mood for a classic, straight retelling, try Paul Galdone's The Gingerbread Boy.

We also have booklists or variants for Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Rumpelstiltskin, and Three Little Pigs. Speaking of folktale variants, if you have a sense of humor, please do yourself a favor and read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka. I won't go into how wonderful it is here, because I already went into how wonderful it is here.

I'm Scared!

Children have many fears -- of the dark, of storms, of monsters, and other things. The library has a variety of books written to help children deal with their fears -- and you can find many of them on our Fears Booklists.

Titles may be placed on hold, or call or visit us and we'll be happy to help you find the materials you need.

Johnny Appleseed Festival!

You still have time to get to the Johnny Appleseed Festival if you are in the Fort Wayne area -- festival hours are from 10:00am to 5:00pm today.

Whether you made it to the festival or not, come to the library and learn more about this legendary figure! Start out with some of the books on our Johnny Appleseed booklist.

It's Back-to-School Time!

Help your children adust to going back to school with some books from the library! Check out our Going to School Booklist for titles for a variety of ages.

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th, a perfect day to read Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions by Janet S. Wong.

Or maybe it is a good day to read a scary story.

Most probably it is a great day to read anything you want.

Back to School Worries

Parents, are you a little anxious about back to school time? Are you worried about what your child will experience while out of your care all day? Do you have a child starting school for the first time? Check out Clayton Early Learning Center's blog for a great post about back to school parenting.

Looking for books about going back to school? Check out our booklist.

Early Childhood Teachers - Take Note!

Summer is the perfect time to start planning your lessons and activities for the upcoming school year. As you plan, be sure to check out our newly-updated list of Early Childhood Curriculum Resources.

Parents of young children will also find this list useful. It's chock-full of developmentally appropriate crafts, stories, and songs for the young children in YOUR life!

School Reading Lists

Does your school have a list of titles for summer reading? Send it to us, and we'll post it on our School Reading Lists page! This page also has links to local schools' Accelerated Reader, Lexile, and Reading Counts lists and the Indiana Department of Education Reading Lists.

National Holocaust Remembrance Day

The United States Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation's annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims. This year the Holocaust Remembrance Day is today, Sunday, April 11. This year's theme is Stories of Freedom: What You Do Matters.

For more information, visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, or check out a book to read more about the subject.

Spring Equinox

Today is the first day of Spring! Celebrate this new season with a good book. Here are a few of my favorites:

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
Birds by Kevin Henkes
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming

You can find many, many more books about Spring on this booklist.

Today is also the day to take photos for the ACPL A Day in Allen County Photo Survey, so get your cameras clicking!

Newbery Medal Winners - Ranked!

A group of interested and opinionated individuals just met to place Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me on the Newbery Medal Winners - Ranked! list. With our bellies full of good food, we discussed various titles and their merits (or lack thereof). Although many of us find the placing of some titles outrageous (The Witch of Blackbird Pond does NOT belong at #45), we easily settled on #10 for When You Reach Me. The newest addition to the Newbery canon stood out for each of us as a title that belongs near the top, in fact on the first page of the ranking list. Though really, so does Island of the Blue Dolphins - oops sorry did I actually type that?? If you have an opinion about the newest addition to the list, or any other title for that matter, share it here.

Keep your eyes peeled for the updated list. It will be here soon. To see the titles being discussed for Newbery 2011, check out our Mock Newbery blog.

Before You Were Here, Mi Amor

Expecting a new member of the family? Check out the new book Before You Were Here, Mi Amor by Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Santiago Cohen to read to the expectant siblings. This beautiful story of a family expecting a third child is full of wishes for the new baby. The warm illustrations express the family's love and the text is a hug you can hear with Spanish words expertly woven throughout.

For more titles check out our New Babies booklist or check out our Spanish Words in English Language Children's Books booklist.

Moving Can Be A Tough Time for Families

Here at the Library, we have books to help kids understand the changes that go along with moving to a new neighborhood, a new city, or a new country.

In The Lost and Found House
by Michael Cadnum,
a boy explains the feelings he and his parents have when they leave their old house and move to a new town.

For more books on moving, see our Fear of Moving Booklist.

Teeth!

Check out our dental visit booklist for great stories and informational books to share with your child before a trip to the dentist. And don't forget to brush your teeth after every meal!

America Recycles Day

Children's Services celebrated America Recycles Day on November 14th at Science Central. Our booth featured a recycled book game and examples of fun stuff to make from old books and magazines, including this tree made from an old worn out book. Look for some more ideas for recycled arts and crafts on our booklist.

Getting a Pet?

Getting your family's first pet can be a very exciting event, but it's also a big responsibility. Help your child prepare by checking out some books from the Library, like the ones in the My First Pet Library, published by the American Humane Association.

For more books about other kinds of "Firsts", like your child's first airplane ride, first sleepover, or first loose tooth, see our "Firsts" Booklist .