Sorry, its been a while! We've been trying to figure out what we're going to be doing in the new year. Everything is up in the air still, since we don't know what's going on health wise and since we are going to be going to the new library this spring at some point (date not yet determined).

One of the things that we are excited about is "Stories on Demand".  We will be doing 15 minute live storytimes with just you and your kids. We'll have times that certain staff are available and then you just fill out the form and let us know when you'd like to do it.

Also, in light of the fact that we are moving to a new building, we will be creating "make and take" craft kits that you can pick up during the week beginning in January (with the possibility of a "New Years Eve" one the last few weeks of December as well).  This will help us dwindle down all our craft supplies so that we don't have to move quite so much to the new building. It'll be you're way of helping us move!

So here are just a few things we'll be doing, but we have a bit of fun planned for you, so keep an eye out for everything.

On a side note, I have a new friend! Sparky the Caticorn. They're a friend of Spark the Unicorn, yet they can fit in my pocket! With that in mind, Sparky will travel around the library (and throughout the universe) with me via their Instagram page.

Tonight at 6pm we plan on a fabulous program on Dyslexia. Just register here for the Zoom information: https://calendar.libraryweb.org/event/7129596

Can't make it to the panel discussion? Check out some of our books about helping those with Dyslexia that we have at the library!

As a parent of an 11 and 15 year old, I have found that my job as Mom has changed quite a bit. That made me think, there are a lot of parents out there who have had to change. That's why when I found these kits I realized that I would be foolish not to purchase these, because we need to adapt and think in different ways. I'm hoping that this is one way that we can do this.

Here are the kits that I purchased:
All About Dinosaurs Kit
Electronics, Coding & Bots Kit
Engineering Gears and Mazes Kit
Everyday Science Kit
Examine Science and Nature Kit
Explore the Outdoors Kit
I Love Animals Kit
Yoga for Mindfulness Kit

Each kit has different items that make the learning experience more interesting. While we don't have all of them ready to check out, we have a few and we are getting more of them ready. We want to make sure that we can make change easier for parents and I think this is one of those ways.

Depending on the popularity we will make sure to get more (unless we run out of space!)

A big thank you to you parents who are having to change and adapt your jobs as parents. You are all awesome!

Cathy

So today Miss Valerie asked me to create one of our book bundles with my favorite books ... apparently I'm hungry! HAH! All the books I picked had to do with food!

Dinosaur Kisses - He eats all the animals he tries to kiss.
Very Hungry Caterpillar - He eats everything.
Strega Nona - Big Anthony makes use of Strega Nona's pasta pot and makes some for everyone in the town, but then it backfires!
Red Hen - Anyone going to help the Red Hen make cake? Don't think so!
Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know she was extinct - Thank goodness she didn't know, she makes the best cookies!
Bear Wants More - He is hungry for berries, but there's never enough.
Drat That Fat Cat - He's so hungry he eats something that goes a little haywire in his belly.
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly - I love this specific one because the illustrations are so awesome and there are cut outs in the illustrations so you can visibly watch her belly get bigger.
Kitten's First Moon - He wants that Moon that looks like a bowl of milk and darn it, he's going to get it!

Let me know if you get hungry after reading these books too! They're DELICIOUS!

Come on over and visit your Youth Services staff and pick up your brag tag and beads! Yippee!
Our tent schedule is:
Monday: 10-2
Tuesday: 2-6
Wednesday: 2-6
Thursday: 10-2
Friday: 10-2

Now is a good time to be happy ... we need some happy time. :) I love jokes that little kids tell, so share them!
My recent favorite: What did the one nut say to the other nut when they ran after them? I CASHEW!
Check out some of these joke books!

Disney princess joke book
by Carbone, Courtney
Knock, knock. Who's there? A brand-new joke book featuring the Disney princesses With over 100 jokes and humorous illustrations of Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Tiana, Rapunzel, Jasmine, and Merida, this 64-page paperback joke book is truly pun-of-a-kind.

Goofy jokes & giggles
by Keller, Charles
Did you hear about the thief who stole a truck full of elastic? He was put away for a long stretch. Jokes, riddles, and wacky illustrations will keep kids howling. Want more? Man: Have you got something to cure fleas on a dog? Pet shop owner: I don’t know. What’s wrong with the fleas? You won’t stop laughing!

You must be joking : lots of cool jokes
by Brewer, Paul
Children love to be funny and to swap cool jokes. All of the classic joke formats -- jump jokes, knock-knocks, riddles, visual puns, and many more -- are included and grouped by themes that reflect childrens's interests and lives including technology, monsters, aliens, families, school, and silly book, movie, and song titles. Each chapter ends with a "half-joke," so that readers can test their growing skills by making up a punch line. Full-page drawings by Paul Brewer accompany each section, and spot art throughout the book punctuates the jokes with visual humor. The 17 ½ tips at the end of the book help the reader to develop confidence and a personal style of telling jokes. Also included are guidelines for writing funny jokes. Some of the author's favorite lines submitted by readers will be posted on youmustbejoking.net. This collection of over 200 jokes and silly art will appeal to the class clown and stand-up performer in every child.

Fierce ... loving ... happy ... hugs. Today is apparently "Hug Holiday" ... not to be confused with "National Hug Day" which is January 21.

Hugging is a simple way to express many different types of affection, from friendly, to intimate, to familial. It’s an action largely limited to primates — while we can find instances of other animals in positions that resemble hugging, there aren’t any other species that do it so frequently, and for so many reasons — and so, in many ways, hugging sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. It’s not just a differentiator, though: studies show that hugging releases oxytocin, known as the “cuddle hormone,” which can help to strengthen social bonds. So, on June 29, we celebrate Hug Holiday. Get your hug on today! (from National Today)

I miss hugs. I'm a very physical, emotional person. I'm lucky that my daughter and my husband give hugs, otherwise I'd be totally lost. (My son gives "love taps", but that's what you do at 15, right)

Need some hugs? WebMD has some suggestions of what is safe to do.

BTW, keep an eye on our summer reading info everyone. Our start up is next Monday!

Our mascot has been waiting for the perfect time to really stand out and we decided what better time than summer when the theme is "Imagine Your Story"?
Spark will make his way around the library inside and outside and all around Chili. Just keep your eyes open for finding out when and where you might catch him! :)

I'm not sure where it will be or when it will be up next, but the Rochester Museum and Science Center has a traveling exhibit called "Take it Down! Organizing Against Racism."

About the Exhibit: 
What is racism and how can it hide in plain sight? Explore the story of one local carousel panel and join in the meaningful dialogue it encourages on individual, institutional and structural racism.

In 2016, a panel featuring racial "pickaninny" artwork was removed from the Dentzel Carousel at Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, NY, after being on display for over 100 years. This issue generated controversy in our community and activists have created an exhibit around the piece to show how pickaninny art perpetuates racism by denying the humanity of black children.
Presented in partnership with the City of Rochester, this exhibit is an important opportunity to learn from the past and work together to promote social justice for all. Join in the conversation by viewing the panel at one of its future community locations or participate in one of the partner programs. 

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, Khan-Cullors, Patrisse,bandele, asha;
A memoir by the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement explains the movement's position of love, humanity, and justice, challenging perspectives that have negatively labeled the movement's activists while calling for essential political changes.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, Kendi, Ibram X.;
A comprehensive history of anti-black racism focuses on the lives of five major players in American history, including Cotton Mather and Thomas Jefferson, and highlights the debates that took place between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and antiracists.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Rothstein, Richard
This "powerful and disturbing history" exposes how American governments deliberately imposed racial segregation on metropolitan areas nationwide.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Alexander, Michelle
Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as "brave and bold," this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a "call to action."