letters from a librarian--great books

Looking for something good to read? For the younger crowd, check out some of our new picture books! Duck at the Door by Jackie Urbanovic is an adorable book about a duck that decided not to migrate south for the winter. After a rough start, he makes new friends and ends up having a wonderful time. Preschoolers will love the Duck and all of his newfound friends! Also, look for Kevin Henkes’ newest book A Good Day. Everyone has bad days, but the trick is to turn it into a good day!! Let these animals show your little ones how it’s done.

Pirates Don’t Change Diapers by Melinda Long and David Shannon is a great follow-up to their first pirate book How I Became A Pirate. These are hilarious books that will keep any Kindergartener to Third Grader entertained! Out of the Ballpark by Alex Rodriguez is here just in time for baseball season!! Alex Rodriguez, better known as AROD, plays for the New York Yankees Baseball Team. This is a story inspired by his childhood!

In The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart a small group of gifted children enter into the Benedict Society after taking a series of unusual tests. Mr. Benedict informs the children that they will be helping him defeat a group of villans who are trying to brainwash the population through TV and radio advertisements. Very quickly, the children start to wonder if Mr. Benedict is in fact the true villain.
The South Carolina Book Award Nominations have been announced. Every year public librarians, school librarians, parents and students through out the state choose their favorite books to be considered for the South Carolina Book Award. There are four categories for these nominations: Picture Books (preschool-grade 3), Children’s Books (grades 3-6), Junior Books (grades 6-8), and Young Adult Books (grades 9-12). Stop by the Children’s Desk to get a list of the Picture Book and Children’s Book nominees. Everyone in the Children’s Department has read these books, so feel free to ask for reading suggestions!!

letters from a librarian--turn off tv week

April is an exciting month here at the library. One reason is that it's time for our Junior Volunteer Appreciation Party! We are fortunate to have so many smart and dedicated kids to assist us in our daily tasks. Junior volunteers ages 9-15 help us with everything from cleaning the baby toys to writing book reviews. To thank them, we'll be hosting a pizza and ice cream party with games and prizes for those volunteers whose work has been exceptional or who have logged the most hours.

We're pleased to offer a slew of fun new programs and bring back some old favorites. As always we have storytimes for all ages happening almost every day. For you trivia fans this month, read up on Ramona Quimby and her friends to compete in the Beverly Cleary Trivia Contest as a part of that author's birthday celebration. We children's librarians plan to turn off our TVs during TV Turnoff Week April 23-29 and challenge you to do the same. To help you, we've planned family game nights for each evening of the week that we are open. In addition, we've always got fantastic book recommendations for kids of any age. Be sure to check out these and other great programs this month. Hoping to see you here!

love,

your friendly librarian