Friday, February 26, 2010

Miss Julie's Cat


Miss Julie s Cat
Originally uploaded by HMMPL YOUTH
"Apparently, empty boxes are fun for cats and kids, try it out and see!"

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Time to Play in the Trash!


Towering Trash
Originally uploaded by HMMPL YOUTH
By Julie

It’s not Earth Day, but the Library has figured out a fun way to reuse our trash!

Our Maintenance Man was very thoughtful and started saving the boxes that our trash bags come in so that they could be recycled. But then, he brought them to the children’s area and threw them on the floor! What a mess—you are not supposed to make a mess at the library!

The Librarians were very worried about the trash on our favorite ABC Rug, but as it turns out, those boxes are the perfect size for building towers, creating castles, making pathways…the possibilities are endless! It has been wonderful to see the children work together to build SUPER TALL towers and fantastic buildings. The kids have been building innovative box creations all day!

Thank you, Mr. Schaller, for throwing those boxes on the floor!

Parents, have you ever given your child a plain cardboard box? It is amazing how an empty box—a piece of trash—can create hours of entertainment! If you want some creative ideas on what to do with an empty box, check out our non-fiction section, where we have some books that have great ideas on how to make “trash” into treasures, and don’t worry, it’s not just about boxes! Check out The Cardboard Box Book, 745.54 Walsh, and see what you and your family can do with an empty box! You might also want to try Creating by Recycling, located at 745.5 Llimos, to branch out to other trash creations. In the words of the famous Oscar the Grouch, “Close your eyes and dream of all the wonderful Trash that's yet to come.”

Be sure to stop by the library before our box blocks get recycled!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Breaking News: Maxi is Innocent!


Maxi the missing Gerbil
Originally uploaded by HMMPL YOUTH
By Julie

A Crime Caper program was held February 22nd at the Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library. Our mission: to catch the Library Thief at large!

A group of 15 detectives joined the Librarians to examine evidence, analyze suspects, and interrogate witnesses. They worked tirelessly throughout the evening and were able to solve the mystery. They even managed to capture Maxi the missing Gerbil, who had escaped from her cage.

A special thanks to those detectives for joining us to solve the mystery, I suspect we will have more mysteries in the future!

Friday, February 19, 2010

The Cure for Cabin Fever

By Julie

ski
Originally uploaded by HMMPL YOUTH

Have you ever seen it snow from inside the library? The big rounded windows make it look as if you are inside a snow globe! It is so interesting to look outside at the tracks in your yard and guess which animal they belong to; I think I have seen fox, raccoon, cat, squirrel, and bird tracks in my yard this winter.

It is wonderful to play in the snow or build a snowman, and I don’t even mind shoveling that much! Nonetheless, it has been really cold this winter, it isn’t fun to scrape windows or drive in the snow, and I have shoveled enough snow this year—I was just starting to suffer from the Wintertime Blues; hopelessly, waiting for springtime to come with warmer weather and beautiful flowers. However, after this weekend, I am really hoping winter does last six more weeks, and I hope the snow and the cold stay, too!


Saturday morning I went with Mr. and Mrs. Gangstad to Eagle Creek Park to go cross country skiing for my first time ever! It was a little difficult to get started, my hands were pulling when they should have been pushing, and my feet were striding when they should have been gliding, but the Gangstads are patient and eventually we made our own tracks around Eagle Creek!

The day was absolutely perfect, the sun was out, and the frost shimmered on the reservoir and on the tree branches. Despite all of the energy I was using up, it was a very relaxing and peaceful morning. We saw deer, met some friendly people and dogs, and really enjoyed being outside in all the beauty of winter. I can’t wait to get bundled up again to make some fresh tracks in this new snow! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Come to the library and see how we can help you with cabin fever!

Check out some cook books, we have everything from American Girl to slimy gooey disgusting cook books!

We have a new international cook book series called Let’s Get Cooking. Churritos from Mexico look delicious and would be really yummy with vanilla ice cream! Hot chocolate might be more fitting for the weather, did you know chocolate originally came from Mexico? I learned that from Fun with Mexican Cooking by Karen Ward.


Curl up on one of our window benches and read a good book. Can’t find one? Ask a Librarian. I just started reading 39 Clues, and I am pretty sure that will be a good one!

Come and play computer games or try out our Exploration Station.

Challenge yourself to do the I-spy game. It is going to get really tricky next month because we are moving books around like crazy!

Check out some craft books from our ENORMOUS Craft book section. We have a new book, Fabulous Fashion Crafts that might really inspire you to accessorize! Perhaps you prefer paper airplanes; we have those books, too.

What kinds of things does your family do to beat cabin fever?

Friday, February 5, 2010

Curious George Paints the Library

There sure was mischief at the library on Wednesday!

Lots of curious kids gathered to celebrate the much loved Curious George with books, songs, and lots of plain old monkey-ing around. It sure is a jungle out there—we ran into some snakes, lions, cheetahs, frogs, and many other fascinating creatures. We also decorated some beautiful posters for our Winter Reading Poster Competition.

We can’t wait for the Artist Reception, where we will go BANANAS with banana splits!

Miss Julie

Monday, February 1, 2010

Puppet Show Fun




Ms Dawn and Shep
Originally uploaded by HMMPL YOUTH










By Kelli Brooks

Ms. Dawn and I had loads of fun with the children and our many puppet friends. Appearances were made by “Shep,” the English Sheepdog, “Willie,” the Wolf, and of course we can’t forget The Tortoise and The Hare, who performed their story live and on stage as the kids cheered on.

Be watching for more Puppet Show performances in the future!