Reading ‘til Dawn Starts Today

Cold weather can make us sluggish. Keep your mind sharp by reading and earning prizes during the 2012 Adult Winter Reading Program, “Reading ‘til Dawn,” starting today and running through February 29^th. You can use the same User Name and Password that you created for previous reading programs. On the registration page, click "Sign Me Up" and then click "Signed Up Before," then enter your user name and password. After you register, pick out a free book from the special display on the second floor by the reference desk, and once you have read and logged three books, pick up a free tote bag. Best yet, each book you read and log online earns you an automatic entry into bi-weekly prize package drawings.

The prize packages are displayed in the window in the 6^th Street entrance to the Library. Items in the prize packages include delicious treats, hot chocolate to keep you warm, scented candles, and one even has a chew toy for your pup. Of course, the packages include books, too, such as the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, We Bought a Zoo, The Help, and a starter knitting kit and knitting books. Drawings will be held on January 16, January 30, February 13 and February 29. All books count: books for work, books for fun, fiction books, nonfiction books, audio books, ebooks- if you read it, log it!

Tips for Parents of Babies by Parents of "Big Readers"

Are you having a baby in 2012?
Did you have a baby in 2011?

What tips helped you most in those first 12 months of parenting?  What advice would you give to a parent preparing to add a child into their life?

My children are now old enough to start having children.  I have two baby showers to attend to next month! Since the best parents I know are the ones that walk into our children’s department I want to get your advice.  Please post your ideas or come to the library and help me out!

Some of you have responded in a recent survey about how to promote reading.  Here are some of my favorite tips for parents of babies.

"Make reading books part of a daily/nightly routine.  Start very early as babies!
Set a daily reading goal and an end of summer goal. Setting goals helped to read more."

"find a certain time of the day that is ""story time"" (eg, at bedtime)"

"We always read together in bed first thing in the morning and last thing at night.  Books are the first thing they see in the morning and the last thing they see before they go to sleep at night."

"Start early and make it a habit. We read three books every night before bed to each child. They have come to expect and look forward to that time. They also love going to library to pick out their own books and read them as soon as we get home!"

"Make reading a part of the bedtime routine without excuses.  Bring books wherever you go so the children (and babies too!) can entertain themselves while you are trying to shop, visit, etc."

"Wait until at least age 2 to let your kids watch television. As this becomes harder to achieve with multiple kids, still enforce age appropriate time limits. Also avoid video games and handheld electronics as long as possible."

"read to your young children every day for at least 15 minutes." 

"Instead of asking if they "want" to read, we set aside "book time" and they can choose to read a book, listen to a book on CD or flip through pictures in a book or magazine."

"Start young and model your own reading for them, don't stick to just books (magazines, tv guides, cereal boxes, road signs, newspapers, etc."

"Husband and I will sit on the couch and read in the evenings or weekends.  That is the best advice I could ever give.  Turn off the TV, radio, phone, and internet... then read for yourselves.  The child will pick up on it as easily as he/she will pick up on TV watching."

"Make reading a part of your routine with them everyday. Also let them see you take some time to read as well."

"be a role model, read yourself instead of playing computer games"



My advice for you in 2012-
Start your new year off right!  Set a goal to read with your child regardless of age for 15 minutes a day.  You can join our Winter Reading Program: One World Many Stories and receive a prize for completing 21 days of reading.  It is a fun way to join our Library community of readers and shows your children how much you value our Library and books!

If you have more tips for new parents please pass them along!  

Happy New Years!

Juvenile Fiction Book Review

PIE by Sarah Weeks

Alice's dearly loved Aunt Polly has just died. While Alice is broken-hearted over losing her best friend, the rest of her family and the little town they live in is going crazy wondering where Aunt Polly's world famous pie-crust recipe is.

Things get nuttier when everyone finds out that Polly left the recipe to her mean, old cat, Lardo, and Polly left Lardo to Alice. In the midst of her grief, Alice and her friend Charlie surprise everyone by resolving the mystery, bringing much needed healing to the family and the town that has gone so pie-crazy.

This story is sweet, not just because of the loving friendship between Alice and her Aunt Polly, but also because it is full of yummy pie recipes and delightful characters. I loved it (even though I didn't agree with the Nora part at the end)!

Teen Book Review

Another day goes by, and yet I have another book to review. I always think that authors are big celebrities; they live in awesome places but never anywhere close by. WRONG! The latest book in my project led me to read Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson. Christine lives in Indianapolis! Plus, her book is a teen book, which is very exciting because I love teen books so much I haven’t read an adult book in more than three years.

Claire de Lune is a book about a girl who has just turned sixteen and her mother tells her she is a werewolf. While there is a little romance in this book (I don’t care very much for romance books, so this was good news to me), but Christine actually focused more on the roles of werewolves. For example, only women are werewolves, male werewolves do not exist. Also, we learn about the alpha wolf and how werewolves avoid ripping and tearing all their clothes during transformation. Of course, we also learn that Claire’s crush’s father is a werewolf hunter and wants to cure werewolves of their “problem.” But being a werewolf is like being a superhero, no one is allowed to know your secret. Plus, add in the fact that werewolves have been attacking and killing people in Claire’s neighborhood so now both Claire and her mother are in danger. This title has lots of action and does not skimp on the details of the attacks.

If this is not on our shelves and you’ve already read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, you can always try Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, the Shiver series by Maggie Stiefvater, Red Rider’s Hood by Neal Shusterman. If you want more information on how to bring out your inner wolf, perhaps try How to be a Werewolf by Serena Valentino. Happy reading!

Teen Book Review

Remember I told you I had a big stack of books in my office? I sat studying them today and thought, “I think I’ll write another book review.” So here it goes. The Limit by Kristen Landon is set in the future, when spending limits are monitored. Author Margaret Peterson Haddix (author of Found and Among the Hidden) wrote this about The Limit, “A frighteningly familiar world with an unsettling twist.” And author James Dashner (Maze Runner trilogy) said, “Fast paced, full of great humor, adventure, and surprises.” Geez, if Haddix and Dashner think it’s cool, then it’s got to be worth my time.

So in the future, if your family goes over their limit, a division of the government will come to your home and, depending on the agreement you have with them, a member of your family will immediately be taken away to work off your family’s debt. This is what happened to 13 year-old Matt. Luckily for Matt, he is incredibly smart and tests into “Top Floor” work. But with a pool, a gym, challenging work, food ordered off the internet and delivered to your door, and a cleaning service that you never see, why would anyone want to leave? However, why are teen workers having seizures? And what about headaches? The government is doing something to these kids without their permission and Matt has to find out what it is before he succumbs to the same problem. I wanted more conflict and more action sooner than it came, but overall it was not a bad read. Younger readers will devour this conspiracy book and ask for more. Readers looking for more action and detail may want to try Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord.

Teen Book Review

I have a huge project on my plate this year and part of it involves reading LOTS of books. I currently have about a dozen books on my "to read" shelf in my office, and I was rather impressed with one and wanted to share it with you. If you have ever talked to me, you might know that I am not a fantasy reader. There is just something about made up, nonexistent worlds that I cannot wrap my mind around. And talking animals? It's just not for me. However, my recent project required me to read Nightshade City by Hilary Wagner. Wagner is an author out of the Chicago area, and her book is the result of a dare made by her husband. So there I sat, at home, in my office, reluctantly reading a book about mutant rats trying to overthrow a corrupt government. My only comfort was a note on the front of the cover, "Expect great adventures in Nightshade City.--Rick Riordan." The author of our beloved, action filled Percy Jackson series enjoyed it, so there had to be something great hidden within the pages.

I tried hard to keep up with the characters. Seriously, I actually had to write them on a piece of paper and write notes about the characters because I had trouble telling one rat from the other. I needed to jot these little tidbits down because my brain just does not process fantasy details very well. I gave it some time, trudged through, and was so glad I did because this book is amazing! There is lots of action, the characters have depth, there is an underground war, what is not to love?! By the end of the book I was surprised and sad that the second book of the series was not yet published... The White Assassin came out November 1st of this year. If you've read any of the Redwall books by Brian Jacques, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, or Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (that's the same person who wrote The Hunger Games!) you might enjoy this book. You'll have to stop by the Library or check out our catalog, because we own all these books. Also, check back for more teen titles to be reviewed as well as for more info on my exciting project.

Holiday Move

As we come to the close of this year, we've done something new. Our holiday book collection has moved! You'll now find our easy picture book and leveled reader holiday books at the start of our easy picture book section, next to the reference desk.

Click picture to see larger, clearer image

 We think this placement makes a little more sense, and as a result of this move, you will also soon find that our

• burgeoning beginning chapter book or "B" book section
• growing graphic novel collection
• and our new fiction books  

will have a different, roomier look as well.