Day of the Dead!

Explore Day of the Dead, the joyous Mexican holiday, at the following locations:

• Tecumseh Library, Wednesday, October 29th 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. (all ages)
• New Haven Library, Thursday, October 30th from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. (teens)
  
• Pontiac Library, Saturday, November 1st 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. (all ages)
  

Art Out of the Box: Printmaking

Art Out of the Box: Printmaking took place on Friday, October 10th. We had the wonderful opportunity to meet local artist Kay Gregg and hear her speak about screen printing. We then talked about several other printing methods, discussed art works and practiced a few techniques. The kids each made a styrofoam print and a sponge print. Check out more photos of their amazing work here.

Reading Tower Time!

Isaac finally, finally, finally turned 7 this month! He has been anxiously waiting to go up in the reading tower since it arrived last April. Congratulations Isaac!
His sister Sierra still has three more years to wait, but she enjoys reading in the red bubbles downstairs.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard Essay Contest

Calling all Harry Potter fans! The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a companion title to the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, will be released in the U.S. on December 4, 2008. To celebrate the event, Scholastic, the publisher of the Harry Potter books, is sponsoring an ESSAY CONTEST, open to kids ages 8-17. Entrants must submit an essay, 200 words or less, about how they've helped others. Five winners will be chosen to receive a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, for a special event at the National Library of Scotland!

The contest ends soon -- all entries must be received by October 30, 2008! Read more about the contest and the new book on the Harry Potter Website at Scholastic.com.

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!