Labor Day Weekend!

This weekend, many people in the United States are celebrating Labor Day, a day to honor American workers.  Did you know...


...that Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September?


BUT...the very first Labor Day was not celebrated on a Monday.  To find out what day it was, and to learn more about this holiday, read this article from America's Story from America's Library (also known as the Library of Congress).


All locations of the Allen County Public Library will be closed on Monday, September 5, in honor of Labor Day.  We will resume normal hours on Tuesday, September 6.  See you at the library!

Football? Volleyball? Running? Baseball? What's YOUR Sport?

Whether you are a player or a fan, we've got books for you!  Visit us at the library and read up on your favorite sports, teams and players.

Floor-etry!

There's something big and bright in the Children's Services Department! It's poetry on the floor!

Grown-ups, this is a fantastic way for little ones to interact with words!

Come on down to the Main Library, walk around the circle and enjoy some "floor-etry"!
A librarian would be delighted to direct you to our wonderful poetry collection for kids!

Another Successful Children's Chess Tournament

The Children’s Services department sponsored an all-day chess tournament for kids on Saturday, August 20, 2011. The tournament was open to children in Kindergarten through grade 5. Each child played five rounds of chess beginning early Saturday morning. The tournament lasted until mid-afternoon.

Here are the winners in each division:

Winners in the Beginner Division – Grade 1 and under

• 1st Place Isaiah Stiver 

Winners in the Beginner Division – Grade 2

• 1st Place Dontrell Johnson
• 2nd Place Gabriel Brown
• 3rd Place Jackson Palmer
• 4th Place Jacob Correll
• 5th Place Morgan DiClementi-Ross
• 6th Place Nicholas Weldy
• 7th Place Delaney Wilson

Winners in the Beginner Division – Grade 3

• 1st Place Ben Correll
• 2nd Place Kyler Kellogg
• 3rd Place Kristin Wilder
• 4th Place Jocelyn Willis
• 5th Place Lauren Butler

Winners in the Beginner Division – Grade 4

• 1st Place Isaac Brown
• 2nd Place Joseph Derrick

Winners in the Beginner Division – Grade 5

• 1st Place Mary Neuman
• 2nd Place Caleb Hogan
• 3rd Place Ben Wilder
• 4th Place Matt Lovinger
• 5th Place Eric Miller

Winners in the Intermediate Division

• 1st Place Aakash Saklani
• 2nd Place Graham Stiver
• 3rd Place Vinnie Lovvorn
• 4th Place Jesse Hamlin

Winners in the Advanced Division

• 1st Place Kevin Wang
• 2nd Place Teddy Tsai
• 3rd Place Tyler Li
• 4th Place Ben Fortney
• 5th Place Jacob Manley

Based on comments & nominations from the players themselves, the parents, and other adults who were watching the tournament, we also awarded Good Sportsmanship trophies in each grade level. The Good Sportsmanship winners were:

• Grade 1 Isaiah Stiver
• Grade 2 Morgan DiClementi-Ross
• Grade 3 Lauryn Butler
• Grade 4 Vinnie Lovvorn
• Grade 5 Matt Lovinger

More pictures of the 2011 ACPL Children’s Chess Tournament are available online here. It was a GREAT day for playing Chess!

 

We Are the Ship -- Kadir Nelson Exhibit at Fort Wayne Museum of Art

I'm so excited to share this news!  Original paintings from Kadir Nelson's award-winning children's book We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball will be on exhibit at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art from August 20, 2011 through October 16, 2011. 

If you've never seen original artwork created for picture books, this is your chance.   I promise you won't regret it!
Mr. Nelson has illustrated and/or written many highly-acclaimed children's books.  Click here to see a list of Kadir Nelson titles in the library's catalog.

Sign up for Storytellers on the Move

Did you know that several times a year, children's librarians visit local daycares and preschools

to deliver boxes of great age-appropriate books and provide storytimes?  Well, they do!  

Call Children's Services at the Main Library -- 421-1220 -- and sign up for

Storytellers on the Move.  

Our next deliveries are being scheduled from September 19 - 30.  Call today!

Science Explorers: A Program for Homeschoolers

Homeschool students in kindergarten through 5th grade are invited to take part in Science Explorers at the Main Library in Children's Services. At our first meeting, we'll have fun exploring the science of bubbles!

Tuesday, August 23, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.: Blowing, Bouncing, Bursting Bubbles

Upcoming Science Explorer programs include:
Tuesday, September 13, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.: Flying Things
Tuesday, October 25, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.: Dramatic Static


We hope you'll join us as we have fun exploring the wonders of science. Think - Do - Learn!

Checking out books is so much fun!

Four year old Rocco is very proud of himself for choosing and checking out books.

Here he is with his checkout list. It's almost as tall as he is!

Enjoy your books, Rocco!  We'll see you the next time you visit the library!

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. 

Radical Raptors!

Visit Children's Services at the Main Library on Tuesday afternoon, August 9, to meet some awesome birds of prey -- up close and personal.  Soarin' Hawk, a local bird rescue, will be with us to teach us about these amazing animals.

Radical Raptors
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Click here to find some great books about raptors in the library's catalog.  We'll help you find them the next time you visit the library, or put some on hold to pick up at your nearest library branch.

Tie-Dye on the Plaza!

Come downtown to the Main Library on Saturday, August 6 for Tie-Dye on the Plaza.

Bring your own white t-shirt or pillowcase; we'll be outside on the grass in front of the Library Plaza Stage with everything you need to create your own tie-dyed masterpiece.

Tie-Dye on the Plaza
Saturday, August 6
1:00-2:30 p.m.

Have YOU signed up for the Chess Tournament?

This year's Chess Tournament for kids will be held on Saturday, August 20th. It's an all-day, "just for fun" tournament for kids in preschool through 5th grade. If you like playing chess, we'd love to have you join us!

Here are some pictures from last year's Tournament:



Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

You can sign up for the tournament using this online form. And if you want to learn more about the game, check out this booklist!

Here comes...Olivia!!

Yes, Olivia has been gracing Allen County Public Library locations with her wonderful presence. She will be  in Children's Services, at the Main Library, on Thursday, July 28 at 10:30 a.m. and again on Saturday, July 30 at 2:00 p.m.  Be sure to bring your cameras for pictures!

To see other locations, dates and times where you can meet this world-famous pig in person, click here.

Those Stuffed Animals Kept Us Up Late...

...but we all had so much fun!  Thanks to everyone who came -- we thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and play with you and your stuffed friends.  Below are some photos we took of our adventures in the library.

It's Time for Another Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the Library!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Turn around!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Touch the ground!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Turn out the light.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Say "Goodnight".

Kids are invited to bring their stuffed animals to the Main Library in downtown Fort Wayne on Friday evening, July 22.  Wear your pajamas!  We'll have a bedtime storytime, and then we'll tuck your stuffed friends into bed for the night.  Stuffed friends may be picked up anytime on Saturday during library hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., along with a memory book of their overnight adventures.

Crafts Around the World

What's a didgeridoo?  Ever heard of Kente cloth?  What about matryoshka dolls?  Visit Children's Services on Thursday, July 21 to learn about AND make these crafts -- and more.  We'll have all the supplies you need, just come and craft away!  We'll have programs from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Crafts Around the World is part of One World, Many Stories -- this year's Summer Reading Program for children.  There's still time to participate!  Pick up a time sheet at any library location, or print out your own.

Letter Play Day with Letters Q and U

Visit the downtown library this Wednesday with your preschooler!  We'll have storytime in the morning -- 9:30am for daycares and other groups; 10:30am for families -- and we'll have extra-special activities set up in the Early Learning Center, all about Letter Q and Letter U.

Learning about letters is an important pre-reading activity.  Click on the links for more Letter Q and Letter U fun!

James Coffey LIVE in Concert!

James Coffey -- Live in Concert
We're Travelin' the World!

July 14, 2011

10:30 a.m.

2:00 p.m.

7:00p.m.

Bring your family, a blanket, and sunscreen, and enjoy this great concert
outside on the Library Plaza
at the Main Library.

The James Coffey Concert is part of this year's

 Summer Reading Program: One World, Many Stories
and
is affiliated with the Three Rivers Festival.

 

Listened to a good book lately?

Check out Young Fredle by Newbery-Award-Winning-Author Cynthia Voigt. It's a sweet story about a house mouse who finds himself outside. Listen to his adventures as he tries to find his way home to safety -- and discovers that he's braver than he thought he was.

The library has a large selection of Books on CD and Playaways for your listening enjoyment. You may like to practice your reading by following along in the book.

Have you read to your child today?

Adults -- be sure to pick up a Reading Partners Bookmark and complete at least 6 of the reading activities with your children.  Then, fill out the bookmark and bring it back to the library by July 29, 2011 to be entered into the Reading Partners drawing!  Three $100.00 gift cards will be given away in a drawing, but really, everyone who participates will be a winner, because they will have spent time reading with their children!

Read, read, read with your kids!  Share your childhood favorites with them.   Ask them about their favorite books.  Make up stories with them.  And when they start to learn to read on their own, keep on reading to them!   Need ideas for great books to read aloud?  Ask us!