Don't Forget!

The ZooTREK interest meeting is this weekend!

It's a Zoo in Here...

or, at least, it will be on Saturdays this fall with the return of our ZooTREK club for kids ages 9 to 12.  Join us on August 28th at 11 am for an informal meeting to find out more about the program that combines animals, learning, and team-building.  Kids must bring a parent to the meeting!

One Final Splash!

Karl and some animals friends from the Jax Zoo visited us last Wednesday to wrap up our school age summer programming.  There were so many people here!

Ditties on the Didge

Lindsey Allen Dank made a splash with us this Wednesday morning with his program "Didgeridoo Down Under."  He talked with us about Aboriginal Australian art and music, as well as about some of our favorite animals from the land down under.  The tunes, or ditties, he played on his didgeridoo--"didge" for short--were so cool!  We even got to pretend to be kangaroos during one of the songs!

A Local Celebrity!

One of our westside kids was recently featured in the July/August 2010 issue of Jack and Jill Magazine.  Be sure to stop in and read the whole article to learn all about Simone and her super cool ninth birthday party!

Reference Robots

Look what we found waiting for us on the reference desk one day last week!  One of our kids has some mad building skills!  If there are any other talented kids out there on the westside, feel free to stop by and show us some of your creations.  We'd love to see them!

So...Much...Reading......!

We have filled four fish, two turtles, and are working on the second of two starfish (the first one is pictured below)!  That means you've been doing soooooo much reading!  Way to go WRL kids!

Clownin' Around

Ronald McDonald stopped by on Wednesday morning to read us some stories and do some magic.  He was so funny!

Ribbit! Ribbit!

On Wednesday, school age children @ the WRL made a definite splash by participating in reader's theater and interactive stories about frogs.  We wrapped things up by creating our very own frog puppets.  With this new army of wide-mouthed and hungry frogs, the library definitely won't have a fly problem!

Movin' On...

to a turtle!  We have filled up four fish and are now working on Rainbow Fish's turtle friend.

Oh, How We Love Good Yarn!

Today, the tweens made yarn creatures.  We ended up with mermaids, a gladiator, octopusses, a jellyfish, and one rock monster!  A definite splash!

Flashy Fish

We've been getting a lot of questions about these fish hanging on our indoor front porch!  They are pretty cool looking and a good way to recycle scratched up CDs or DVDs to boot!  If you want to know how to make one of your own, visit:
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/fishcrafts/a/CDFishCraft.htm

As for our especially awesome paper, Miss Val picked that up at Michael's arts and crafts store.  It came from a Martha Stewart Create scrapbooking paper pad.

What's Happening at Our Satellite

Children at our satellite branch in Maxville can also participate in the summer reading program.  Here @ the WRL, we have fish who need scales, and at the Maxville Branch, we have a fish tank (or is it fishtank?) that needs fish!  We need your help again!  Be sure to bring your reading log in if you are in the Maxville area; those fish look lonely!

Rainbow Fish...and Friends!

 

It's only the second week of summer, and we have already rescued two scaleless fish and are working on our third!  Rainbow Fish and his friends are so very, very glad you guys like to read so much....and so are we!

It's a Tween Thing...

In case you don't know, we are having a special series of programs just for tweens this summer...so all you kids out there ages 10-14, be sure to stop by on Tuesdays @ 2:30 to check out what's happening.  Today, we made edible life preservers, aka decorated donuts. Dee-lish!  (And you thought the library was boring!)  Check out a few samples below. 

Summer Programming Starts Tomorrow

On Wednesday mornings for the next few weeks, we will be having lots of special guests visiting our school age crowd (ages 5-12) here at the WRL.  We have a variety of programs aimed specifically at this age group that we're sure you'll enjoy! 

First up is a puppet show presented by Curious Moon Puppets.  Since the programs are for school age children, entrance priority will be given to kids aged 5-12, but we may have room for more folks. Be sure to arrive early!

Stay tuned for more updates on our goings on in the coming weeks!

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Rainbow Fish Needs You!

Rainbow Fish and his friends can’t make a splash without their scales!  Sign up for our summer reading program to help our fish get back their colors.  For each half hour you read, you will earn one scale.  Hurry!  Rainbow Fish needs you!

Make a Splash! Read!

Summer is quickly approaching, and here @ the WRL, that means it's time for summer reading signup!  Children ages 5-12* can participate by keeping track of how much time they spend reading on a special form.  Once they read 15 hours, they will earn a free book plus be entered into drawings for other awesome giveaways, including a really spectacular grand prize (more on that later)!  For more info, feel free to stop by or give us a call at 693-1448.  If you're  ready to make a splash, click here to sign up!


*Children under the age of 5 can participate by keeping track of the time their parent or guardian spends reading to them. 

When the Library Lights Go Out....

Earlier this week, we had our first stuffed animal sleepover here @ the WRL. On Monday evening, children brought their stuffed animals, action figures, and other toys to a special session of bedtime stories and then tucked them in for the night. We weren't sure what kind of antics the toys would get into once their mommies and daddies left, but our hidden cameras caught some of the action.  Here are a few highlights.

The toys started out sleeping soundly, as you can see from this picture of our resident library hen, Miss Henrietta. 

It wasn't long before they got restless though.  Pinkie the bear woke up and looked out of the storytime room window.

Soon, all the toys were awake and Henrietta was taking them for a spin on a book truck.  [Yikes!  It looks like Kitty isn't too happy with Power Ranger.  We think he pulled her tail!]

Henrietta also showed her new friends how the library checks in books.  Some of the toys wanted to use the library phone to order a pizza, but they couldn't figure out how to dial out.

The toys really liked the issue of National Geographic Kids that David the Tiger found for them.  It had lots of funny animal pictures. 

Henrietta wanted to share one of her favorite books with the toys.  It's called Life as a Chicken.

The toys fought to stay awake while they watched the train.

Whew!  They finally decided it was time to get ready for bed.  Slither the Snake helped open the bathroom door while everyone waited patiently to take their turn.

To see more photos from the stuffed animal sleepover, visit our flickr page!