Kids Rule @ The John's Island Library

October: Fall Into A Good Book!

2008-10-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

The John's Island Library Children's Department has received over 200 new books in the past couple of months!! What better time to check out something new than the present!! Here are some suggestions from the Children's Deparment...

Eats by Marthe Jocelyn and Tom Slaughter

This book has bold colors and sharp lines. It is a great book for babies and toddlers learning about animals and colors.

Airplanes by Patricia Hubbell

Great action words make this an exciting read for all ages! Simple one-line descriptions of all kinds of planes, from military aircraft to props, rotor planes and more, will prove a powerful, appealing title for any beginning reader who loves planes.

Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie H. Harris

What happens when you can't find you favorite book? When the book you love is missing?!

Also, try some of these fun action rhymes to get your child up and moving!

Five Balloons
(Suit actions to words)
Five balloons up in the sky
See them fly, way up high?
If one should pop
(clap)
And quickly drop,
How many would you spy?
(Count down from five to zero)

Stand Up High
Stand up high,
Spread your arms wide.
ly like the birdies fly.
Bend down low,
Touch your toes.
Waddle like the old duck goes

Here Comes a Mouse

Here comes a mouse, mousie, mousie, mouse.
(wiggle baby’s fingers)
On tiny light feet, and a soft pink nose,
tickle, tickle, tickle wherever he goes.
(tickle baby)
He’ll run up your arm and under your chin,
(run fingers up baby’s arm to chin)
Don’t open your mouth or the mouse will run in!
Mousie, mousie, mouse.
(tap baby’s chin, nose, or lips)

Visit the Children's Department at John's Island Regional Library for more great book suggestions!

More Pictures from Big Trucks

2008-09-22T13:30:00.001-07:00

Big Trucks at John's Island!

2008-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Our Big Trucks program was a Big Hit!! Thanks to all of the truck owners that participated!!

Everyone is Catching the Reading Bug!!

2008-06-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Summer reading is in full swing! Stop by the John's Island Regional Library for you summer reading log today. We also have great programs for children every Monday at 2:00 p.m. See below for the schedule. We look forward to entertaining you this summer!!
Jana

Monday, June 23 at 2 P.M. - Anansi the Spider Puppet Show
Monday, June 39 at 2 P.M. - Make Your Own Pet!
Monday, July 7 at 2 P.M. - Houdini II
Monday, July 14 at 2 P.M. - Make Your Own Bug Observatory
Saturday, July 19 at 2 P.M. - Family Fun Bingo
Monday, July 21 at 2 P.M. - Cypress Gardens Presents: Bugs of the Lowcountry
Monday, July 28 at 2 P.M. - Summer Reading Finale Ice Cream Party!

CowPoke Round-Up was a Huge Success!!!!

2008-01-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the pictures, the CowPoke Round-Up was a HUGE success!! I think everyone had a great time!

Happy 2008 Everyone!!

2008-01-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

Starting the New Year off without Ms. Dawn just didn't feel right. But, we know that she and the family are settling in and doing well in the frigid temperatures of Wisconsin! We wish them well and they will surely be missed!!

As the saying goes "with every loss there is a gain." So, let me introduce you to the newest John's Island Library Family member, Ms. Melanie Slan. Ms. Melanie will be working with both the Children's Department and in Reference. She is a busy lady and we are proud to have her on board!!!

One last note, the 2008 book awards were announced at the Midwinter American Library Association Meeting. I have listed the Caldecott and the Newbery awards to the right of this page. Just click on the title to find it in the CCPL system. To see a list of the other awards visit the ALA website: www.ala.org. These are the best of the best so get your eyes on them while they're hot!!

Happy Reading,
Ms. Jana

Tea Party!

2007-12-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

At our fabulous dress-up tea party

Lucy and grandma sipped tea together,

old friends came together,

new friends were made,

and games were played.

So long, fare well, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!

2007-11-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Dear kids, parents, teachers and friends;
I am happy and sad to report that I will soon be leaving John's Island and even South Carolina. I have accepted a position as the Youth Services Manager of the Rice Lake Public Library in Wisconsin. Goodbye beach; hello snow!
I will miss all of you so much as I have absolutely loved working here on the island! This is a wonderful community and I have really been proud to become a part of it. The children here are smart, curious, energetic, and fun. I hope that all of you will continue to see the John's Island Library as your community library so that the great staff here can watch your children grow and change each day.
Miss Jana will be the interim manager of the children's department for those of you interested in expressing your opinions and programming needs. Feel free to stop in to chat with her anytime about the library programs, school collaborations and more.
Please stop by too, to see me before I go on December 16 so that I can say goodbye to you personally. Again, a big thanks to the John's Island community at large for a fantastic three years as your children's librarian!
love,
Miss Dawn

We Went Ape!!!

2007-10-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our Let's Go Ape! Program, produced by Ms. Tiffany, was a HUGE success! We made monkey masks and sang monkey songs. We had a puppet show featuring Monkey and Alligator. And, Ms. Tiffany even read a silly monkey story! In the end we had a drawing and everyone got to take a monkey home! Fortunately for the parents, the monkeys were of the blow-up variety.

Spinecrackers Bookclub

2007-10-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Recently the Spinecrackers Book Club met to talk about the book Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey. In this book the main character, Princess Rosalind, is born with a dragon claw where her ring finger should be. Her mother, the Queen sees this talon as a major flaw that must be corrected. However, when Rosalind is taken away by a dragon, she finds that her talon is not a flaw but a thing of beauty.

The pictures above are the dragon talons made by some of the Spinecrackers members.

Home School Book Club

2007-10-20T13:50:00.001-07:00

DSC00728
Originally uploaded by jana1977

I think even the moms had a good time!!

Our New Home School Book Club!

2007-10-20T13:46:00.001-07:00

DSC00723
Originally uploaded by jana1977

This is a picture from our first meeting! I think everyone had a great time discussing the books we read. The Penderwicks seemed to be the most popular!! Check out the blog below to see what we are reading for the next meeting.

A New Book Club!!

2007-10-20T09:16:00.001-07:00

Our next meeting will be November 9 at 1:30. The books that were chosen for the next meeting are Deep and Dark and Dangerous: a ghost story by Mary Downing Hahn and The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street by Sharon Flake. Readers are welcome to read both books or just choose one. These books should be available for pickup at the Children's Desk at the John's Island branch by Thursday, October 25.

Deep and Dark and Dangerous
Ali is thrilled to join her aunt Dulcie and 5 year old cousin, Emma, on their trip to the family lake house. But, Emma starts having nightmares about bones coming out of the lake. And, then she meets Sissy, a not-so-nice new friend who somehow seems to be creepier than the bones nightmare! Only the mysterious lake house knows the dark secrets of the past and Ali is curious to find out what the secrets hold. But, at what cost?

If you're not in to ghost stories check out our other pick: The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street. Queen (yes, that is her given name) has a hard time making friends. Mainly because she believes she is truly a Queen and that people should bow down to her. When a new kid shows up at school, Queen is rude to him and cannot understand why others are nice. She has to learn the hard way that in order to make friends you have to be nice to people.

your children's department is safety certified!

2007-10-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

The children's staff recently hosted the training staff at MUSC as they taught us and our patrons techniques for Infant, Child, and Adult CPR as well as what to do in the event that someone is choking. Now we all hope that we never need to use any of this great knowledge!

School Daze

2007-09-27T15:36:00.001-07:00

We have been having a wonderful time helping all of you kick off your 2007-2008 school year so far! As a matter of fact, we have 30 or more children in the library working on their homework as we speak! Very exciting. Don't forget that even if the Internet computers are all full, the librarians can help you find what you need for any research paper. We have so many great books on so many subjects as well as plenty of research databases that will give you articles, book excerpts, maps and photographs. If you're not sure how it all works, just ask.

long time, no update

2007-08-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of our library fans! We have been very busy wrapping up another successful year of summer reading. We want to congratulate all of our fantastic readers here at the John's Island Library and especially our Grand Prize winner, 10 year-old Paige Snead! Have a great time with your new digital camera Paige!

Our latest fabulous program has been our Baby series. We finished up Tummy Tumblers in July and are working our cores in Baby-Cise this month. Join us in September for more baby playtime!

harry potter anyone?

2007-07-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Submit your original story featuring the characters from the famous series for a chance to win one of two free copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

spinecrackers say: "read this!"

2007-07-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Book Review by Javari Chas
Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

Percy is a normal kid, or so he thinks! He soon finds out that he is the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the sea. Percy first learns that something fishy is going on when his algebra teacher turns into a monster and attacks him on a school fieldtrip and he accidentally vaporizes her with a ball point point which is actually a sword in disguise.

Percy then learns that his best friend is a satyr, assigned to look out for him and to take him to a special camp for the offspring of Gods.

The author does a good job blending Greek myths into a modern setting. By the end of this book, I bet you will wish you were in Percy’s shoes.

read it!

2007-07-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
10-year-old Lucky has seen hard times in Hard Pan, California. Her mother died two years ago and she has never met her father. But, she has a best friend, Lincoln, who loves to tie knots, and who may actually be president of the U.S. one day; she has her dog, HMS Beagle; and, she has her guardian, Brigitte. A problem arises when Lucky finds a passport and Brigitte’s suitcase in the kitchen, she becomes convinced that Brigitte wants nothing more than to move back to France and leave Lucky all alone. So, she works out a plan to keep Brigitte in Hard Pan. But Lucky didn’t plan on a really bad dust storm, an annoying five-year-old tag-along, and a pesky ear-invading bug. Will this run-away adventure convince Brigitte to stay? Will Lucky even survive this run-away adventure?

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Comfort Snowberger knows death. Her family owns the only funeral home in the small town of Snapfinger, Mississippi. She has been to 247 funerals. She has written the handy Top Ten Tips for First-rate Funeral Behavior and is composing a book of Fantastic (and Fun) Funeral Food for Family and Friends. Comfort knows that death is a part of life. But this is not always easy for people to accept. And, Comfort is about to find out what it is like to loose family members that are very close to her.

summer reading part ii

2007-06-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Today brought us the musical storytelling of Mr. Ron Jones. A former librarian, Mr. Jones knew how to keep us all entertained!The kids in the audience were fantastic at participating in several of these great riddle stories. To learn more, check out this website: http://www.rijones.com/

Be sure to join us next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. for our FBI @ the Library program where we will learn to take fingerprints, create a disguise and make our own FBI agent badges!

summer reading!

2007-06-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Porkchop Productions performed their version of The Goats Gruff to a packed house. Van Goat Gruff invited Ms. Jean to become his muse.

The shepherd and Van Goat argue about leaving the pasture.

Finally, the three goats Gruff made their way into the wide world.

We also enjoyed Houdini II who entertained and amazed all of us with his magic and jokes. You'll note that Houdini II has on short sleeves (which just proves he is a real magician!)

Check out the crowd's reaction to his balloon trick!

Read-a-Palooza

2007-06-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

Mr. George waits for the lunch crowd at our free hot-dog stand!

Ms. Dawn and Ms. Donna cool off in the dunk tank!

Ms. Jana stays in the shade while our younger patrons enjoy the jump castle.

John's Island Staff say goodbye to our first Read-a-Palooza festival!

Read-a-Palooza was a huge success as a kick-off to our Summer Reading program! Children and parents alike had fun trying their hands at crafts in the auditorium, playing games like Lollipop Pull and Duck Float, and enjoying free hotdogs and drinks thanks to our generous sponsors. Kids also had a chance to jump their wiggles out in the jump castle (free for us from John's Island Party Rentals) and dunk their librarians! Sponsors included The New Jerusalem AME Church, Church of Our Savior, John's Island Party Rentals, Coca-Cola, Costco, Food Lion, Newton Farms, Piggly Wiggly, and T&T's Original Kettle Korn. Thanks so much to all of you for your help in making our first annual Read-a-Palooza festival so much fun!

summer reading is finally here!

2007-06-08T19:06:00.001-07:00

This was our fabulous puppet promo from our school visit to Mt. Zion elementary. We showed, The Mystery of the Haunted Library and The Three Reading Pigs. The children really loved the chase scenes (seen here.) We were lucky enough to visit all of the public schools on John's Island as well as Charleston Collegiate and were so excited to see the children's enthusiasm for Summer Reading.

so long, baby!

2007-05-29T14:46:00.001-07:00

We had our final "Oh, Baby!" program today and it was a rousing good time with dancing, music, and a little fitness all mixed together. Some of the older kids enjoyed running about to the music while the moms and babies danced, as in the clip on the right side of the page. Take a look at the video if you want to see some local moms doing heavy lifting! We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Kathleen Allison of Chautauqua Day School (www.growuprighthere.org) for providing the series free of charge. It's wonderful when community members help us offer great activities for families. If you missed this series and are interested in more programming for mom and baby, please let us know here. Have a great week everyone!

read-a-palooza @ the library!

2007-05-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hey kids-want to soak a librarian? The John's Island Library is kicking off Summer Reading and celebrating the last day of school in one awesome festival! Come to the library on Wednesday, June 6th right after school lets out for a jump castle, a dunk tank, free food, live music, as well as games, crafts, and activities for all ages! Eat a hot dog, build a rocket, and win a prize all in the same day. Don't forget to join Summer Reading while you're here!

storytimes in june

2007-05-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Max finds a great books after storytime!

Join us anytime--it's free and it's fun!
Wee Reads for children birth to 24 months and their caregivers
Every Monday @ 10:30 and 12:30
Time for Twos for children 24 to 36 months
Every Tuesday @ 10:30 and 12:30
Preschool Storytime for children 3 to 6 years of age
Every Wednesday @ 10:30
Family Storytimes for children birth to age 6
Every Saturday @ 11:00

letters from a librarian--babies and television

2007-05-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Play @ the library!

Dear parents,

New research is coming out each day to show that children under the age of 2 should not be watching television, videotapes, or DVDs. Let the library help you and your infant or toddler find more developmentally appropriate ways to spend your time. We offer 6 storytimes per week and several educational and entertaining programs monthly. Not to mention the thousands of books available for children of all ages. Overwhelmed by the selection? Just ask one of your friendly librarians and we will be happy to recommend age-appropriate books that will be a blast for you and your baby to read together. We also offer great titles on parenting techniques, craft activities, games to play, songs to sing and more. For more information check out this article: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6442050.html or ask a librarian for the latest research on child brain development and the effects of television.

junior volunteers rock the children's department!

2007-05-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

Jessica Martin, one of our Volunteer of the Month award winners is also an amazing artist. Check out the window painting she did for Summer Reading for us. Jessica also changes our Welcome to Storytime sign each week with a new drawing. Keep up the fantastic work Jessica!

oh baby! baby yoga was awesome!

2007-05-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and Michael are great at V pose.

Miss Kathleen and Mika demonstrate breathing.

Sydnee and Mommy are already pros!

Mia is excited to learn some new stretches.

Streeeeetch Christopher!

Mika and Miller show us their cobra poses.

oh baby! baby massage

2007-05-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

Miller cooperates fully with the demonstration.

So many babies...so much fun! Our baby massage program was a big hit with babies and their moms. Join us Tuesday, May 15 for baby yoga!

oh baby!

2007-05-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

This month we are adding some fun new programs for our youngest patrons. Join us each Tuesday as we attempt Baby Massage, Baby Yoga, Mommy and Me Pilates, and Dance and Music Therapy. Kathleen Allison from Chautauqua Day School will be our instructor and lead us in learning new ways to bond with baby. Ms. Dawn's baby Benjamin and Ms. Tiffany's baby, Christopher will be there as well showing off their youthful flexibility! Remember, if you have ideas for fun programs we are always open to suggestions!

shout it out!

2007-05-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

The John's Island Regional Library prides itself on being your community library. If you have ideas for programs, displays, book or movie requests, let us know here and we will do our best to reflect your choices.

letters from a librarian--great books

2007-04-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

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

2007-04-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

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

letters from a librarian--welcome to our blog

2007-03-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

You're never too young for storytime!

Dear kids, parents, and teachers,
I am super excited to have a blog now to share with you all of the great things the John's Island Regional Library has to offer. Check out some of our favorite books and visit us soon for one of our terrific programs. Next week we are having our National Nutrition Month Celebration--the smoothies alone will make a trip to the library well worth your time!
For those of you with babies or toddlers who nap during our regularly offered storytimes, we are now offering encore storytimes every Monday and Tuesday at 12:30.
And teachers, keep us in mind if you need great books to fit your current areas of study, or if you'd like a librarian to visit with a storytime or instructional program. We also offer pathfinders and book lists on almost any subject!
Please visit this site often as we add more news and information for you. Have a great week!
love,
your friendly librarian

2007-03-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Our St. Patrick's Day craft was a blast!! Thanks to all who attended and a special thanks to Ms. Ginny for supervising! This is a picture of the necklace that was made.

Don't forget that we will be showing Flushed Away this Friday with refreshments!

See you soon!

March Programs

2007-03-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

Join us on Friday, March 16 for our St. Patrick's Day Craft.

On Friday, March 23 we will be showing the movie Flushed Away.

Celebrate National Nutrition Month on Thursday, March 29. We will get active with a Martial Arts demonstration. Afterwards, we will serve smoothies and talk about healthful but tasty snacks!

Stay tuned for April Programs to be posted soon.

2007-03-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

Storytimes in March
Join us anytime--it's free and it's fun!
Wee Reads for children birth to 24 months and their caregivers
Every Monday @ 10:30 and 12:30
Time for Twos for children 24 to 36 months
Every Tuesday @ 10:30 and 12:30
Preschool Storytime for children 3 to 6 years of age
Every Wednesday @ 10:30
Family Storytimes for children birth to age 6
Every Saturday @ 11:00