My cat Pumpkin and I are going to read today:
A Unicorn Named Sparkle by Amy Young
Keep an eye out next week for some new things that we have planned to entertain you during this hard time. The staff have been busy coming up with (and stealing from other librarians) fun ideas to keep you busy!
Love you all! Miss Cathy

Now that its about time to go to bed, Miss Jill has a story for you. We'll try and make sure that we have some bedtime stories for you sometimes and we have a lot more things planned for you too, so keep an eye out!
Tonight she's reading:
Bark George
by Jules  Feiffer

I hadn't read this one before, but I had read some other ones by Bob Shea (which I also have in my bag, so they may be read at a later date) Hope you enjoy it!
The Happiest Book Ever
by Bob Shea

Well it's only about two hours late if you are blog followers. (Good grief) but I haven't forgotten about you.
Enjoy the story:
Catalina Magdelina Hoopensteiner Walendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name by Tedd Arnold

Good morning everyone!
We had a blast making this. It was a little sad at the same time, because I won't be able to see my friends for a while now, but we'll be back soon, better than ever. :)

If you really enjoyed the stories (and I hope you did) here are the titles and authors:The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice
By Kristen Balouch

My New Friend is So Fun
by Mo Willems

We've All Got Belly Buttons
by David Martin

We are pretty lucky here at Chili. Supervisor Dunning wants us to stay safe and healthy during this time so he sent us all home. I'm very happy to be stuck at home with my 10 year old daughter and 14 year old son ...

I also know that I need to do things or I will go stir crazy. So ...

Every day I will post a video of me reading a book that I checked out at the library. Also, if I find any cool things that you can use to teach/entertain your own kids, I will do that too. I know that we need to distance ourselves from each other during this time, but I also know that little ones need something regular and consistent in their lives as well. So I will try and post at 10 am every day, which is the same time that we would have done storytime on Mondays and Thursdays. I will try and do it everyday though. I will also have Miss Jill, Miss Valerie and Miss Wendy post stories as well.

It's scary. I know. I'm scared too. But we need to make the best of it. I'm trying to think of it as an adventure. An adventure where I am trapped in my house. :)

Here are a couple of things that I have found to get your kids brains working:
Scholastic is offering free online courses.

This is an Google Doc that has a list of educational companies that are offering free services.

Of course we also have Overdrive/Libby that you can use to read books on your Kindle, tablet, Chromebook or whatever else you have.

Questions, thoughts, ideas? Just post a comment! I'd love to hear because I know I'm going to miss you all.

BTW, my husband just got home with EGGS! WOO-HOO!

I don't like reading Dr Seuss, especially out loud to kids. There. I said it. Seems unkind of me to say it on his birthday and all, but I did it.

However, it doesn't seem too unkind of me ... in this PBS article When asked about writing for children, Seuss has said: “I don’t write for children. I write for people.”

In my opinion (this is mine, no one else's) it becomes quite obvious that they are not written for children specifically, but for people in general. They are so long that it almost becomes a chore to read them out loud. And sometimes they just feel so cumbersome and unruly.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a very different kind of reader. I love extremely silly (which, yes, some of Dr Seuss' are), but also quick and to the point. I want to keep kids entranced and since their attention span is (not always, but often) not very long, I want to keep them while I can.

That is why my favorite kids author is Mo Willems. His books want to have the kids interact with adults. They are written for people too, but in a different kind of way.

We Are In a Book!
Mo Willems
Summary
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald and Piggie are best friends.
In We Are in a Book Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of being read. But what will happen when the book ends?
Using vocabulary perfect for beginning readers (and vetted by an early-learning specialist), Mo Willems has crafted a mind-bending story that is even more interactive than previous Elephant & Piggie adventures. Fans of the Geisel Award-winning duo won't be able to put this book down--literally.

Just learned from Mo Willems' blog: Q: If Elephant's name is Gerald, why doesn't Piggie have a name?
A: Piggie does have a name.  Her name is "Piggie".  She was named that because when she was born she looked just like a little Piggie.  Also, Madonna, Beyonce, and Cher were taken.

"Elephant Gerald" is named after my favorite singer (say it fast).

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Mo Willems
Summary
When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon But you've never met one like this before. As he pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, children will love being able to answer back and decide his fate.
In his hilarious picture book debut, popular cartoonist Mo Willems perfectly captures a preschooler's temper tantrum.

I also like the bear books by Karma Wilson a lot. Her books, similar to Dr Seuss' books have a certain rhythm and rhyme, which is nice to read aloud. However, like Mo Willem's books, there is also a lot of interaction to them, so that the kids can become part of the book, which I think is super important.

Bear Snores On
Karma Wilson
Summary
On a cold winter night many animals gather to party in the cave of a sleeping bear, who then awakes and protests that he has missed the food and the fun.

So now its your turn to interact! Who are your favorite authors? Is Dr Seuss one of them? Let us know!

My daughter LOVES rubber duckies. She was furious with me when I got rid of a bunch of them because I was trying to clean the house and everything I thought we didn't need. Apparently we needed those little guys.
Do you have a favorite rubber ducky? Is it something special or is it very traditional? If you are like Ernie and Big Bird from Sesame Street, you like the traditional style rubber ducky. Ernie loved his so much that he created a song for his! "Rubber Ducky you're the one, you make bath-time twice as fun."

Want to read some rubber duck books to your rubber duck or listen to some music during bathtime? Check these out!

Another few exciting things going on this week are:
Minecraft - tonight from 6-7pm
Science Club - Thursday from 6-7pm

... and so is the stress! Luckily my kids are a little older so I can get them to wrap all the presents, but it's getting harder and harder to find presents for them. ACK. If you celebrate, how do you deal with the stresses of the holiday? In fact, how do you deal with stress in general?

I HIGHLY suggest it, as does my sister and my 10 year old and 14 year old. My daughter says that it is her favorite Raina Telgemeier book (Drama is her second favorite, BTW).
Need to alleviate your post-holiday stresses? Come in and join us on Friday morning for our FAMILY MOVIE MORNING! I keep wanting to call the movie Abdominal, but that would be a completely different movie and this one is not about your abdomen. :) 

I will be the first to admit it, I try to be crafty, really I do. Unfortunately, I am just crafty enough, but not. Still, I like sometimes trying to do crafty things for Christmas presents. That's where we come in! Guess what we have? BOOKS on that!
Click on the title to get to the library catalog.

Crafting not your cup of tea? Why not check out our book sale, buy a hold card (which is on sale right now) or buy a coffee card! Easy peasy, plus you get to support the library in our programs! Awesome, right?