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.

Letter E Play Day!

Start off Letter E Play Day at the Enormous Elephants Smartstart Preschool Storytime at 10:30 am. Plan to stay to play with the letter 'E' in the Early Learning Center. There will be many new & fun activities for you to enjoy.

Letter E Play Day activities will be available from 9 am to 8pm today in the Early Learning Center.

Letter J Play Day!

Start off Letter J Play Day at the Jungle Animals Smartstart Preschool Storytime at 10:30 am. Plan to stay to play with the letter 'J' in the Early Learning Center. There will be many new & fun activities for you to enjoy.

Letter J Play Day activities will be available from 9 am to 8pm today in the Early Learning Center.

Early Learning Center Mailbox

Thank you for sharing your lovely drawing with us, Heidi!

Bring your preschooler to draw in the Early Learning Center Monday through Thursday 9am to 8pm, Friday & Saturday 9am to 6pm or Sunday 12pm to 5pm.

I'm Thankful

Stop by Children's Services before Wednesday, December 3rd to add a leaf to our "I'm Thankful" display. If you visit today at 10:30 am you can attend our I'm Thankful! Smart Start Preschool Storytime.

Swing! by Rufus Butler Seder

Another Scanimation picture book by Rufus Butler Seder! Check out Swing! to see kids batting, kicking, riding and running. You really do have to see Scanimation in action to believe it!

Letter M Play Day!

Today is Letter M Play Day! Visit the Early Learning Center between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. to play with the letter M. Participating in letter play days will help your preschooler gain letter knowledge, one of the six early literacy skills.

Please join us at 10:30 a.m. for a Smart Start Preschool storytime about Manners. Thank you!

Even if you can't make it to the Early Learning Center or to storytime today, you can enjoy letter M activities with your preschooler at home. Spend the day noticing things that start with the letter M, talk about the sound that M makes, make a letter M out of clay or cut an M out of paper and decorate it with macaroni. You can even bake cookies shaped like mice or monkeys and share them with your favorite blogger!

A Favorite Food Book

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban is a classic picture book about delicious bread and jam. Frances doesn't like to eat eggs, she doesn't like to eat breaded veal, she only likes to eat bread and jam. What happens when her parents decide to give her bread and jam at every meal? Read this picture book with a child to find out!

This story is available in early reader format as well, find it here.

Don't Miss the Justin Roberts Concert!

If you don't have plans this afternoon, plan to attend the Justin Roberts concert at 1 p.m. If you DO have plans, change them! This concert is super fun with wonderful opportunities for adult and child play. Check out this short video to see for yourself.



See you at 1 p.m. today!

Justin Roberts LIVE!

Don't forget to attend the Justin Roberts concert today at 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m!

Justin Roberts and his 4-piece band will present a rousing performance of songs from his many sound recordings. Seating is limited; tickets will be available in Children's Services beginning at 9 a.m.

Happy Halloween!

Take a trip down the "spooky" Halloween streets with Denise Fleming's Pumpkin Eye. A perfectly written and vibrantly illustrated preschool glimpse of the holiday.

Or read a Halloween book online at LookyBook. They have a nice selection of holiday books including one of my new favorites: Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves. I just love Frank's positive attitude!

Happy Halloween!

Letter B Play Day!

Celebrate letter B play day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today in the Early Learning Center. You will find activities and games focusing on the letter 'B'. If you can't make it in today, make it a letter b play day at home with your preschooler. Work together to find all of the things in the room that start with the letter 'B', practice writing 'B' together, see if you can make the letter 'B' with your body or draw a picture of something that starts with the letter 'B'.

You can also celebrate the letter 'B' at the Smart Start Preschool Storytime "Bats are Beautiful" at 10:30 a.m. today.

Justin Roberts in Concert

Justin Roberts in Concert!
Friday, November 7th at 10:30 a.m. & 1:00 pm.

Theater, Main Library

Preschoolers and families: Popular children's musician, Justin Roberts and his 4-piece band will present a rousing performance of songs from his many sound recordings. Seating is limited; tickets will be available in Children's Services beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, November 7th. Classes should call Children's Services at 421-1220 to register for the 1:00 p.m. performance.

To learn more about Justin and hear some of his music online, click here. To find a CD to check out, click here.

Smart Start Preschool Storytime: Feelings

This Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. we'll be featuring stories about Happy & Sad and Other Feelings at the Smart Start Preschool storytime.

We'll laugh, we'll cry, and we'll get really mad; it will be loads of fun! Please join us!

In a Dark, Dark Wood

In a Dark, Dark Wood by David A. Carter is the perfect "scary" story for preschoolers. This wonderfully creepy and amazingly simple book pulls the reader in until the scary surprise at the end literally jumps off of the page!

After just a few readings, you and your preschooler will have the story memorized and can tell the story together. This is a great way for your preschooler to practice his/her narrative skills, an important part of early literacy.

For more scary books for kids of all ages, check out our Scary Stories Booklist. Or if you like books that jump out at you, check out our list of Pop-Up Books.

Early Learning Center Mailbox

Look at the wonderful drawing that we found in the Early Learning Center mailbox. We are lucky to receive so much mail. We hope that you enjoy seeing some of it on the blog!

Early Learning Center Mailbox

Emma, this drawing reminds me of springtime. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Early Learning Center Mailbox

Please stop by the Early Learning Center with your preschooler today and drop us a line!

Inkless Tales

Inkless Tales is a GREAT website for kids and grown-ups. Find stories (to read and listen to), poems, games, book reviews, crafts, projects, music and more!

I like this site because it encourages kids to not only read and learn, but to create. Check it out.

Fancy Nancy Tea Party

Over 110 kids and grown ups attended the Fancy Nancy Party on Saturday, September 13th. They read Fancy Nancy stories, drank pink lemonade with their pinkies up and made many fancy accessories. Check out more photos of the tea party here.