Kid Bits - Colors HAPPEN

Wed, 07/28/2010 - 12:20pm by ryanikoglu

The Nutbrown Hares find Colors Everywhere.
Alison’s Zinnia is an alphabet book of names and flowers, with full-page illustrations of each flower by Anita Lobel.
A little girl knows EXACTLY what she does NOT want to wear in Too Purpley!
Among the stories in Virginia Tashjian’s classic With a Deep Sea Smile we told “The Lady’s Room” in Preschool Storytime at Malletts Creek Branch this week.
Pinkalicious is what happens when you eat too many pink cupcakes.
When the mice begin to step in the paints they find new colors of Mouse Paint.

Kid Bits - PIGtales

Wed, 07/21/2010 - 11:49am by ryanikoglu

"P" is for Piggy In The Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz.

You'll find more piggies in these Tales:
This Little Piggy a book full of nursery rhymes.
Witch Gritch wants to make a Piggie Pie but can't find the main ingredient.
Some Pig!A Charlotte's Web Picture Book.
Toot And Puddle's ABC and more stories by Holly Hobbie.
Olivia And The Missing Toy and more stories by Ian Falconer.
And then Kate Dicamillo's adorable Mercy Watson series... the Watson family pig who KNOWS how to help!

Kid Bits - H is for home and Henkes

Wed, 07/14/2010 - 2:00am by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel had "H" and "h" in her letter box today in Preschool Storytime.
There were stories from "around the house".
We featured Kevin Henkes from the "H" section of picture books in the Library.

The Napping House is a dozy read about napping on a raining day.
ONCE AROUND THE BLOCK is a story by Kevin Henkes that is long out-of-print, and difficult to find. The story follows Beatrice on a walk around the block, "to make time go more quickly" while waiting for Daddy to get home.
Other story favorites by Henkes are as follows:
Chrysanthemum a story about self-esteem and names.
Julius, The Baby Of The World, a story about Lily's new baby brother.
Owen is ready for school but he does not want to give up his favorite blanket.
Henkes is pitch-perfect on identifying young children's feelings and providing solutions.
Choose even more Henkes stories from the web catalog.

PreK Bits - BIG and Little

Wed, 07/07/2010 - 2:26pm by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel is doing "BIG and little" this week in Storytime.
If The Dinosaurs Came Back is a Giant Book about dinosaurs in your back yard!
BIG Little is a board book of BIG and little things.
Old Black Fly is a black fly's alphabet book.
.... of course you can add to the theme with the following books:
When Giants Come To Play by Andrea Beaty.
I love Bugs by Emma Dodd.

Kid Bits - Rabbits and Rainbows start with "R"

Mon, 07/05/2010 - 1:36pm by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel did "Rabbits and Rainbows" in Preschool Storytime.
R was the letter in the letter box for week #2.
Who's In Rabbits House has a surprise guest inside the house. It is a Masai folktale illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon and retold by Verna Aardema.
You can follow the same story on the DVD Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears. This recording includes more African tales, including "Hot Hippo", a story of why hippopotamuses swimming in rivers open their mouths wide. It is a favorite story and the book is out-of-print.
Leopard's Drum is beautiful rainbow-colored drum that Leopard jealously owns and shares with no-one.

Calling all Little Pooch Lovers!

Wed, 06/30/2010 - 1:11pm by StoryLaura

Meet Colby the service dog and hear fun doggie tales and songs, at the Downtown Library for Catchy Canine Tales on Thursday, July 8 at 10 am. Colby and her wonderful partner Mary Roderique have served this community for almost six years and Colby is even the mascot at 826michigan!

PreK Bits - Berries and Bananas

Tue, 06/15/2010 - 1:56pm by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel did "Berries, and Bananas" in Storytime this week.
The books were:
Blueberries For Sal, a 1949 Caldecott Honors book by Robert McCloskey.
Beautiful Bananas, are being taken to Grandfather in this a "circle story".

Look for more fruity stories in these titles:
Jamberry, a rollicking beary rhyme by Bruce Degen.
Anansi And The Talking Melon, an African folktale retold by Eric Kimmel.
Mangoes And Bananas, an Indonesian folktale retold by Nathan Kumar Scott.

Construction Junction at the Downtown Library

Tue, 06/15/2010 - 11:41am by StoryLaura

There's plenty of construction action at the Downtown Library this summer. If you can make it into storytime, on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, we'll head to the fourth floor after stories for a peek at the big dig from way up high!

Kid Bits - Day-By-Day Literacy

Mon, 03/29/2010 - 9:11am by ryanikoglu

Librarian Denise Lyons of the South Carolina State Library has developed a printable day-by-day literacy calendar to help families with young children be prepared for first grade. For the price of love, caring, and a few minutes of time, anybody can fall into the literacy habit and benefit the rest of your life.

Quack! Quack! Quack!

Mon, 03/22/2010 - 11:13am by kidlit

It is duck week at the Pittsfield Branch. Ducks of all sizes and colors will be around for the Babies' Playgroup at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday and the preschool storytimes at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Do ducks wear socks? Can ducks ride bicycles? Ever been on a duck hunt? Come and quack with us.

Directions for making a duck out of a paper plate can be found here.