Spanish Circle Time is canceled for Thursday July 5 and Thursday July 12.
Senora Geiza, who leads our popular Spanish Circle Time program each Thursday at 10:30 a.m., is taking a well-deserved break.
Our next Spanish Circle Time will take place on Thursday July 19 at 10:30 a.m.
Calling all young artists! Our monthly Scribblers Cabal program will take place tomorrow, Saturday June 30, from 2-4 p.m.
Bring your pads, pencils, sketches and ideas, and get ready to draw with library assistant and artist extraordinaire, Dave Burbank.
Our monthly Comics Jam program, scheduled for Tuesday July 3 at 4 p.m., has been canceled. Please join us for the next Comics Jam, scheduled for Tuesday, August 7 at 4 p.m.
Josh Schneider says getting hit by a door helped clear his mind.
Schneider is the winner of the 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for his book, Tales for Very Picky Eaters. Yesterday, at the American Library Association conference in Anaheim, Calf., Schneider accepted his award with a brief speech to a roomful of children's librarians.
Schneider said he had trouble writing his speech until he got hit in the face with a door.
"What being whapped in the face with a door made me realize ... is that I don't have to say much about this book -- it's not very long -- but that I do have something to say about learning to read.... Reading opens doors.
"When a child scraps her way through her first beginning reader, she is walking through a door that leads, not just to what Frog and Toad are up to this time, but to a new person.
"This person will someday be able to pass through the back of a magical wardrobe before moving on to fall in love with vampires and then spend vacations on the beach with James Patterson. This person will also be able to understand chemistry textbooks and the newspaper and the instructions for her new clock radio... All this, free with every Frog and Toad story at no extra charge. In these tough economic times, that's a really good deal."
Schneider concluded by thanking the door that gave him the idea for his speech.
"Because, after rubbing my nose and clearing my head, I looked down, saw that the sign said Pull, not Push, and walked through yet another door opened for me by reading."
Here's more on Schneider's book and the Geisel Honor winners: Welcome to the (Theodor Seuss) Geisel Award home page! | Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Thousands of librarians, including me, are gathered in Anaheim, California for the American Library Association's annual conference.
There are all kinds of librarians here -- school librarians, academic librarians, etc. -- but it certainly seems as if we children's & teen librarians have the most fun at this conference.
For example, one of the biggest events of the ALA's annual conferences is always the Newbery/Caldecott dinner, which took place last night. The Newbery honors the best-written children's book of the year, while the Caldecott spotlights the best-illustrated children's book of the year.
Jack Gantos, winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for his novel, Dead End in Norvelt, brought down the house with his speech outlining the steps -- and missteps -- that led to his career as a children's book author. He noted that he was delighted to learn recently that he is NOT the first convicted felon to win the Newbery Medal; the first was Will James, who won the Newbery in 1927 for Smoky the Cowhorse and served 15 months in a Nevada state prison for cattle rustling. Gantos served time in prison as a young man for drug smuggling, an experience he details in Hole In My Life.
Chris Raschka, who won his second Caldecott Medal for A Ball for Daisy, offered a more complex,introspective speech about the influences behind his artwork. Raschka, as the Caldecott winner, produced the whimsical paper program for the evening's guests: a round, blue, accordian-pleated envelope that, when opened, prompted a flat red cardboard disc to pop up into the shape of a ball -- Daisy's ball.
Sunday morning began early for children librarians with the Coretta Scott King breakfast, honoring the African-American authors and illustrators chosen for this year's awards.
Ashley Bryan, who won the 2012 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, got the hundreds-strong crowd to recite with him Langston Hughes' poem, My People. Shane Evans, who won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Underground played the guitar and coaxed librarians to sing a toe-tapping refrain with him. Kadir Nelson, winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Heart & Soul, described how he was inspired to write the book when he realized during a Washington, D.C. trip that there are no African-Americans in the historical paintings in the Capitol Rotunda.
There are more awards ceremonies today, and more chances to be inspired by, and laugh with, some of the best children's book authors and illustrators working today.
Circle Time is canceled for Tuesday, June 26 because I'll be out of town at the American Library Association's annual meeting.
Circle Time will resume on Tuesday, July 3.
Spanish Circle Time, which we offer on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m., will take place as usual on Thursday, June 28, led by the wonderful Señora Geiza.
Looking for some great books for your little reader? Check out the latest list from the Best Books for Babies group, founded a decade ago by the late Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers.
Each year, a committee of experts selects the ten best books for babies and toddlers from the hundreds of titles published each year. Children's Corner: A committee's top 10 books for youngest readers to grow on - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The group also has an archive of winning titles from previous years as well as tips for reading to babies and toddlers. Welcome to Best Books for Babies
Tonight's the big night! Our Summer Quest 2012 launches at 7 p.m. in the Children's Room. Come pick your Summer Quest character, and pick up your game board and story.
Can't make it tonight? Don't worry -- you can sign up for Summer Quest anytime during the summer. And you can even sign up online SummerQuest 2012 although you'll still want to stop in the Library to pick out a character, pick up a game board and story, and check out your first Summer Quest books.
Our last French Circle Time of the season will take place Saturday June 9 at 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome to this program led by Madame Marie, who will lead participants in some songs and rhymes -- petits chansons et comptines .
We still have several spaces available in our Twosies program, which will take place the first three Wednesdays of June (June 6, 13 & 20) from 11-11:30 a.m.
In our Twosies program, we sing songs and rhymes, learn fingerplays, and read some simple stories. We finish each program with a craft.
Registration is required for this program, and children must be between the ages of 24 months and 36 months. Siblings are discouraged but if you do need to bring a sibling, please check with me first by emailing me at karenm@takomagov.org
You can register online Program Registration - Takoma Park Maryland Library or call us at 301-891-7259.
Join us on Monday June 4 at 7 p.m. for our monthly Bedtime Stories program, which is perfect for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents. No registration is necessary. Feel free to bring your little ones in pjs -- they're also welcome to tote a favorite stuff animal or lovey.
THE LIBRARY IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK
