Diary of a Wimpy Kid Party

Join us for a Diary of a Wimpy Kid party this Saturday the 30th at 2:30 for kids ages 5+! Kids will play a Cheese Touch game, answer trivia questions for Mom Bucks, do milk jug weight lifting, make their own comics, and make their own journals. There will be snacks, and Wimpy Kid books will be raffled off. If you are interested, please register by Jan. 28.

Award-Winning Books

The American Library Association has just announced the 2010 Newbery and Caldecott award winners. You can see the entire list here. The winner of the Newbery Medal is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I read it a few months ago and thought it was quite good.




The Caldecott Medal (for illustrations) went to Jerry Pinkney's book The Lion and the Mouse. The Geisel award (for beginning readers) went to Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes. The Seibert Medal (for nonfiction) went to Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone.


We own copies of all of these books at the library, but they're being scooped up fast, so you should reserve a copy if you want to read any of them in the near future!

Homework Help

Face it--some questions just can't be answered by Google. So that's when you need to visit your library! We have lots of great help available for any homework assignment. We have fairly large nonfiction sections for both kids and adults, and a good reference section that can be used while the library is open. We also have some online databases for people who are doing research, and one of them, Grolier Online, is especially for kids. Grolier Online ties together lots of different resources, like America the Beautiful (for those ever-present state reports), Encyclopedia Americana, Lands & Peoples, and more. Older kids and adults may want to look at the Gale Virtual Reference Library, which provides access to hundreds of books, encyclopedias, and journal/magazine articles.

If you have Internet access at home, logging on is easy. Just go to our homepage at www.monticellolibrary.org, click on Online Resources (in the upper right corner) and then click on Grolier Online (or Cengage Learning if you want the Gale Virtual Reference Library). Type in your Allerton library card number and you're in!

And, if you are stuck, or aren't sure where to start, ask a librarian! We are always glad to help people with research or homework questions. Don't be afraid of interrupting us--we'd much rather be helping you than stamping cards or typing on the computer.

Some things to remember:
1. Sometimes research takes time! If you wait until the last minute to do your assignment, we might not be able to get the stuff you need before your due date or deadline.
2. Always have your library card with you. If you don't like to carry it around with you, memorize your number. We can only do so much for you without a card!
3. In addition to your library card, it's a good idea to bring change for photocopies and printouts. They cost 15 cents a page.