Read for Life!

Way back in January the Library of Congress announced the appointment of Katherine Paterson as the second National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. During her reign, she would like to spread the message: 'Read for Life'! To support her in her mission, I suggest that you go and read some books to kids right now instead of reading this blog. If you are a kid, find a book & a comfortable chair and read, read for life.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Today is the birthday of post-Impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

Van Gogh is known for his bold and powerful use of color.
Visit and explore the Metropolitan Museum Website for Kids; it is filled with kid friendly information on this amazing artist.

Poetry for Kids

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." ~ Robert Frost (1874-1963) poet

Children love to listen to the cadence in poetry read aloud.
Poetry exposes children to vocabulary they might not hear otherwise.
Poetry can be funny, melancholic, political, historical or hysterical!
Let one of our librarians show you our extensive poetry section
and share some 'rhyme time' with your child.

Kids' Writing Contest

Do you like to write?

Are you in Kindergarten through Grade 3?

Have we got a contest for you!

The PBSKidsGo! Writing Contest is now accepting story entries. Read the complete rules here and print out an entry form here.

Entries will be accepted at the Main Library until 6:00 pm, Friday, April 9th. We look forward to reading your stories!

Fort Wayne Museum of Art!

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art is scheduled to reopen today. Plan a visit to see the newly renovated museum. The doors open at 11am and admission is free for the entire week. The new museum includes a hands-on gallery for children. This is sure to quickly become a regular destination for Fort Wayne families. If you would like to learn more there was a nice article about the renovation in the March 2010 Fort Wayne Monthly.

Fredrick McKissack, Jr. Answers Your Questions

This week we had three questions for Writer in Residence Fredrick McKissack, Jr.

Dear Mr. McKissack: Do you like baseball? Sincerely, Tom

Yes! I am now and I will always be a St. Louis Cardinals fan. We--my family--also love going to Tin Caps games and the new ballpark is aces. I wasn't a very good player, but I had fun.

Dear Mr. McKissack: How old were you when you "knew" you were a writer? Sincerely, Lettie

I "knew" I wanted to be a writer in college, although I had inklings as early as grade school. Having a parent as an editor and writer had something to do with it, but I just liked the idea of creating characters, scenes, and dialogue. My son is doing this with toys now, although he says he wants to be a rock-and-roll-artist-astronaut-fireman.

Dear Mr. McKissack: What were your favorite books as a child? Sincerely, Lettie

As a kid, my favorite books were Yertle the Turtle, The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, and anything with the Peanuts characters. My mom and dad used to read us Aesop's fables and they'd tell us stories from Greek mythology. When I was a little older, my aunt, a social studies teacher, gave me a set of social studies and geography books. I loved those books. I read encyclopedias, too. Also, The Pushcart War remains a strong influence with me today. It's an amazing, fun, and compassionate story.

Do you have a question to ask Mr. McKissack? Email me and I will be sure that he gets it. Answers will be posted on the blog.

Music at the Library

"I worked hard. Anyone who works as hard as I did can achieve the same results." ~ Johann Sebastian Bach