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.