Jan Thomas

I was delighted to discover that Jan Thomas's book Rhyming Dust Bunnies won the 2011 Monarch Award. I just love all of her titles and use them often in storytimes. Dust Bunnies works really well, in addition to What Will the Fat Cat Sit On? and The Doghouse. She has a great gift for telling simple, funny stories both kids and adults will enjoy. They are even short enough to be used with younger preschoolers who aren't used to the storytime format yet. Her bold colors and lines really make her illustrations pop, and the way the characters are drawn is easily imitated by children. She reminds me of Mo Willems in that respect. Anyway, if anyone is looking for a good read for younger, wiggly children who are part of a mixed group, you should definitely take a look at her books.

Dragon Week & More

Next week is Dragon Week here at the library! Monday morning at 10 a.m. we will have a Dragon Egg Race program. Kids will race to collect dragon's eggs, and then solve the clues on the eggs to find where the dragon's treasure (chocolate!!) is hidden. Then, Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 we will have a dragon craft and play Dragon Tag. Please register for these programs if you're interested.

After the Fourth of July weekend (the library will be closed on Monday, July 4) we will be back with library programs on July 5th's Storm the Castle program. Kids will make castles and catapults from cardboard and then practice flinging beans into the castles with their catapults. Again, please register if you are interested.

And then on Monday, July 11 we will have the Macon County Conservation District here for an Animals of the Night program, where children will see and learn about live nocturnal animals. Registration encouraged.

Be sure to stop by to get some books and sign up for these great programs!

More Great Audiobooks

A great way to earn your summer reading prizes is to listen to audiobooks! It's a really fun way to pass time in the car (I know this from experience, since I listen to an audiobook as I drive to and from work every day). Right now I'm listening to the Bloody Jack series. The narrator, Katherine Kellgren, has won two Odyssey Award Honor titles for her work in audiobooks--and boy, does she deserve it! I have been really enjoying hearing the books. Katherine is right up there with Jim Dale, narrator of the Harry Potter books, when it comes to talent with multiple character voices, tones, and accents. Listening is a pure delight.

I also really enjoyed listening to Sara Pennypacker's Clementine and Roald Dahl's Matilda. Clementine was narrated by Jessica Almassy, who did a wonderful job, and Ron Keith's warm, dry voice was a perfect match for Roald Dahl's storytelling style.

Summer Reading Is Here!

Come to the library to get in on the action: next week we're going to have the police and fire departments do presentations. They will bring vehicles and equipment for the kids to learn about and explore. We'll also do the Knights obstacle course program where kids will collect dragon treasure and make shields with coats of arms.

The week after that, we're having a Shrek party with a Feed the Ogre bean bag toss and fairy godmother potions. We'll also have a jousting program where kids make horses from paper & dowel rods and use foam "lances" to hit targets.

Make sure to sign up for these programs if you're interested!

Also, there's lots of reading going on so far--we've given away several bags of prizes already! If you're not marking off your books or minutes, make sure to stop by the library to sign up for the program so you don't miss out.

And we also have lots of great stuff to read, of course!