Protecting your child online: Facebook

On Thursday night at the library I will be giving tips to parents about protecting their child on Facebook.  Facebook, which I admit that I am addicted to, can be lots of fun but it is important to show our kids how to use it properly.  The privacy settings are not usually a concern for young tweens and teens but it should be.  If all your information is wide open, that means anyone can access it.   My number 1 recommendation regarding FB privacy settings – check them each month.  FB has a nasty habit of opening up people’s information without any warning.  Taking the precaution of checking privacy settings will help protect your child online.

CBC Book Club YA Death Match!

I was on Twitter this morning and saw that YA author Kelly Armstrong (she wrote the books: The Summoning, The Awakening and The Reckoning) posted a link to the CBC Book Club. The title alone was intriguing so I clicked on the link and came upon a fantastic idea - dueling YA characters from your favourite books. There is a mix of old YA heroes (like Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables, the Hardy Boys) as well as new heroes (The Cullens , Harry Potter and Katniss). You have until Sunday to vote for your favourite YA hero (they are divided into categories) and then we get ready for the duel. Have fun!


http://www.cbc.ca/books/bookclub/2010/11/get-ready-to-rumble-ya-style-introducing-the-cbc-book-club-ya-death-match.html

Pizza Storytime

Almost everyone loves pizza so why not do a storytime on pizza! You can get really creative with your craft as well.


Books:

Dragon pizzeria by Mary Morgan

"Hi, pizza man!" by Virginia Walter

How pizza came to our town by Dayal Kaur Khalsa

The Little Red Hen makes a pizza retold by Philemon Sturges

Pete's a pizza by William Steig

Songs:

Pizza Round - By Cherry Carl

(Sung to: Row Your Boat)

Roll, roll, roll the dough.

Toss it in the air!

Pepperoni, cheese and sauce,

There’s enough to share!



I Wish I Were a Pepperoni Pizza

I wish I were a (Type) pizza,

That is what I'd truly like to be

For if I were a (Type) pizza,

Everyone would be in love with me.

Craft:

Paper Pizza:    http://www.makingfriends.com/preschool/paper_pizza.htm


Pizza and Pasta:   http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Food/Pizza_and_Pasta/Pizza_and_Pasta.html


Another Pizza Craft:

Make cardboard pizzas - the sky's the limit on decoration. Cut out photos and make a collage or make your own "toppings" out of decorated paper. Make a pizza-puzzle where the slices are cut out and rearranged to form a picture. Make your own pizza boxes too after dissecting one to see how they are cut and folded.

Halloween Event on the ice

This year I had the great pleasure of working on the Halloween committee for the city. It was lots of fun planning for this spook-tacular event. Check out some of our photos from the event:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42479&l=653d690a70&id=123100031035453

New Children DVDs in the library

1. How to Train Your Dragon

2. Karate Kid

3. Marmaduke

4. Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme

5. Happy King Julien Day!

6. Furry vengeance

7. He’s your dog, Charlie Brown

8. Geronimo Stilton

9. Océans

10. Tinker Bell and the great fairy rescue

Book Review: Kenneth Oppel's "Half Brother"

Imagine Ben’s surprise when he finds out that his new baby brother is actually a chimpanzee. Ben’s parents are both scientists who have decided to try an experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can learn language. The language that Zan, the chimpanzee, will be learning is sign language. In order to conduct the experiment, it requires having Zan live like a human being. Ben is leery at first about having a new family member but soon warms to the idea. Problems begin when funding is lost and Zan must be sent somewhere else to live. Ben must find a way to keep his little brother safe.


My thoughts:

To be honest, when I was reading the book reviews and saw the book itself, I was not sold on the idea. I thought the book would not be interesting at all even though I loved all of Kenneth Oppels previous books. To my great surprise I loved the book. I loved the character development of Ben and Zan. Oppel has a way of creating relationships and we can definitely see the different relationships that are formed here. My heart went out to Zan throughout most of this book (the thought of experimenting on an animal for the sake of science) but it was heartwarming to read the way Ben and Zan interacted.

My rating: 4.5 stars


Update: I went home yesterday to find that the Gazette did a whole story on chimpanzee sanctuaries. Kenneth Oppel was featured in the article. Here is the link to the article: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Rejected+chimps+find+shelter+Chambly/3656247

New York Times Best Seller List: Chapter Books

THE RED PYRAMID by Rick Riordan


CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare

TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL by Rachel Renée Russell

LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater

DORK DIARIES by Rachel Renée Russell

School Lunches

Well, we are already into the second month of school and I am already tired of making lunches for the kids. There are so many limitations to what we can send in for lunch that I usually feel quite uninspired. Peanut butter is out (for good reason) but we also lack the option of hot lunches too. Sandwiches are boring after a while. So, in order to jazz up lunch, I searched the web and found a few cool sites. Do you have any suggestions for a great lunch that your kids absolutely love? Post your comments!


Websites of interest:

1. Lunch Box Tool - www.todaysparent.com (click on Food)

2. Healthy Lunches to go - www.dietitians.ca/HLTG

3. iLunchBox - www.iLunchBox.com

Book giveways and Contests

Since I have been on Twitter, a whole new world has opened up to me – the giveaways and contests that are abound. I follow authors and book publishers and there is so much information out there that it is almost overwhelming but also puts you on the cutting edge of information that most people do not have.


This mornings tweet that I read from Becca Fitzpatrick is for her upcoming book – Crescendo. This is the sequel to Hush Hush and falls into the paranormal romance genre. It was a good story with a twist using angels as the romance hero instead of the usual vampire. In order to create excitement for the book, the publishers have a book contest underway. If you have read Hush Hush and would like to own a copy of the sequel, then follow the link below.

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=31078

Cool Website of the day - Guinness Book of World Records

I always see the kids pouring over the Guinness World Record books in the library. Usually boys – which is fantastic! We just received the latest edition and I was going through it utterly amazed. I decided to have a look at their website and it is pretty cool. They have polls, what happened on this day calendar, as well as the latest records that are being attempted. Check it out – you will not be disappointed and you may find a record to break!


http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

Dinosaur Storytime Theme



Dinosaurs are cool!!!!



Dinosaurs are really cool to do as a storytime theme. You can set up your storytime area with dinosaurs as well as lots of books about dinosaurs. Here is what I am doing this afternoon:

Gathering activity:

Talk about the different dinosaurs. See what dinosaurs that the kids like.

Books:

1. The lost Dinosaur Bone by Mercer Mayer

2. Franklin’s Class Trip by Paulette Bourgeois

3. Tadpole Rex by: Kurt Cyrus

4. Dino-Hockey by: Lisa Wheeler

Activity:

Dinosaur Dinosaur

(Tune: “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear”)

Dinosaur, dinosaur, turn around.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch the ground.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, shut the door.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, jump and roar.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, tie your shoe.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, stomp in goo.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, turn off the light.

Dinosaur, dinosaur, say “Good night.”



Dino-Pokey

(Tune: “The Hokey Pokey”)

You put your claws in,

You take your claws out,

You put your claws in,

And you scratch ‘em all about.

You do the dino pokey,

And you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!



You put your feet in

You put your feet out

You put your feet in

And you stomp them all about.

You do the dino pokey,

And you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!



You put your teeth in

You put your teeth out

You put your teeth in

And chomp them all about.

You do the dino pokey,

And you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!



You put your tail in

You put your tail out

You put your tail in

And you wag it all about

You do the dino pokey,

And you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!

 

Craft:

check out this website for tons of cool crafts!!!

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Dinosaur-Crafts-for-Kids.html

Storytime : Colours

Ever get stuck on what theme to do for a storytime? This is a cool theme that can be age adjusted.
Gathering activity

Play "I Spy" with colours. Each child can have a turn searching for a colour in the room


Books

One yellow lion by Matthew Van Fleet

One Gray Mouse by Katherine Burton

Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch

Red Day Green Day by Edith Kunhardt

White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker

Activity

Play Red Light/Green Light
Craft

Make a traffic light with the 3 colours

Top 10 Hot teen reads at the library

The hottest teen reads in the library are:


1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

3. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

4. Hunted: A house of night novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

5. Burned: A house of night novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

7. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

8. The Reckoning by Kelly Armstrong

9. The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong

10. Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Desperately seeking teens at the library

We are looking for teens to join our teen advisory group (TAG) at the library. We would like to have teen input in regards to the collection as well as their help with different library programs. The teens are lacking a presence at the library and we would like to change this. In order to entice teens to TAG, we are counting their hours for their community service hours required for school. So, TEENS .... what are you waiting for???? Call Kathy at the library or come and see us!

Top 10 Children DVDs at the library

Sometimes we get DVDs that you are not aware that the library has because they are not on the shelf for months because of the long reservation list. Here is a peek at our top 10 DVDs that may be of interest to you....


1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

2. Starstruck

3. Alice in Wonderland

4. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

5. The Princess Protection Program

6. The Spy Next Door

7. Earth

8. Scooby-Doo! The mystery begins

9. Aliens in the Attic

10. Beverly Hills Chihuahua

New Program brochure for Fall

Planning the programs for the kids is one of the highlights of my job. I love coming up with new programs and building upon older programs. This semester, we have lots of activities for the kids including Hippity Hop for babies, family storytime and Wii. Our WOW programs are pretty exciting too - especially the Harry Potter one! Check out our website for the different programs. http://www.elcslpl.org/Newsite/wowevents.htm

New books this week in the kids library

We have a bunch of new books this week in the library. See below for the list. The books highlighted in Purple are my recommendations for a good read. Enjoy!!!


Picture Books

1. Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan

2. Little Miss Muffet Counts to Ten by Emma Chichester Clark

3. Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett

4. Furious George Goes Bananas by Michael Rex



Chapter Books

1. The Sisters Grimm, : the inside story by Michael Buckley

2. We the children by Andrew Clements

3. Fairies and the quest for Never Land by Gail Carson Levine



Teen Books

1. Restoring Harmony by Joëlle Anthony

2. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

3. The Poison Eaters and other stories by Holly Black

4. The White Cat by Holly Black

5. Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

6. Artemis Fowl. The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

7. Dark Flame by Alyson Noël

It feels like the kids just got out of school yesterday and now we are back to buying school supplies for a new year. Along with school supplies, you might want to look at these 2 websites to ease your child back into school mode slowly.


Cool Math
Coolmath was designed for the frustrated, the confused,the bored students of the world who hate math. Coolmath was designed for the students who just need to get through this stuff so they can reach their other academic goals. Coolmath was designed for the math geeks of the world who love math and want more, more, more!
http://www.coolmath.com/

Room 108

Room 108 is a primary education site for kids. There are lots of free online games but all with an educational focus. There are over 400 pages of kids educational games, interactive writing, animated stories, songs, kids puzzles, art, math, science, social studies, distance learning and much more. A great resource for primary kids games and teacher teaching resources!

http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/108.html

Have fun!

Mockingjay and Clockwork Angel

This is a very exciting month - two books from major authors are coming out. First of all, there is Suzanne Collins final book "Mockingjay" which is part of the Hunger Games trilogy. I cannot wait to read about Katniss, the demolition of District 12, where Peeta and Cinna are being held and of course the hopefully (fingers crossed) relationship between Gale and Katniss. I read on a Twitter post that Suzanne Collins leaked that Katniss may not survive which would be sad but probably a more realistic ending. A lot of fans have created YouTube videos for the upcoming book. Check them out by going to YouTube and typing in "Mockingjay book trailers". Some of them are really well done.


Secondly, there is Cassandra Clare's book "Clockwork Angel" which is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series. To read an except from Clockwork Angel, just follow this link: looking forward to Cassandra Clare's new novel - Clockwork Angel? Read an except from the publisher http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Clockwork-Angel/Cassandra-Clare/Infernal-Devices-The/9781416975861/excerpt

I am looking foward to my amazon delivery for these two books ;)

The thing about Twitter

To be honest, I am not a big Twitter fan. I understand its use but I could not see myself “tweeting” throughout the day … I mean really, who has the time. I decided to give it a try though for the library to see if it would be a useful tool. I can now say that I have been converted. I am not tweeting as much as some people but the information that I get from the people I follow is incredible.


For instance, did you know that Melissa Marr is going on tour with her fellow genre authors and will be hitting Toronto. Sadly there is no Montreal date.

There are also some great contests going on. This one is really cool if you like reading Cassandra Clare - http://bit.ly/d6Rccd

Needless to say, I am hooked

Check us out at : http://twitter.com/CSLkidslibrary

New Picture Books this week

Here is a list of the new picture books this week:


1. Small Florence, piggy pop star by Claire Alexander

2. Creak! said the bed by Phyllis Root

3. Brownie & Pearl step out by Cynthia Rylant

4. City dog, country frog by Mo Willems

Books and Movies

Lately we have seen a sharp increase of children’s books being turned into movies. Check out some of the movies that will be coming out shortly. Just remember to read the book first ;)


March 2010 - Alice in Wonderland

March 2010- Diary of a Wimpy Kid

March 2010- How To Train Your Dragon

June 2010 - Eclipse

July 2010- Ramona and Beezus

September 2010- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Best Selling Chapter Books this week

1 The Red Pyramid                        by:  Rick Riordan

2 Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer     by: John Grisham

3 The Hunger Games                     by: Suzanne Collins

4 Catching Fire                              by:  Suzanne Collins

5 The Carrie Diaries                      by:  Candace Bushnell.

Audiobook review: Born to Rock by Gordon Korman

I just finished listening to the audiobook Born to Rock by Gordon Korman. The story was read by Billy Hammond. In terms of length, there are 5 cds which took approximately 4 days in my car to hear.


Snapshot of the story:

Leo finds out that his biological father (or as he refers to the term - bio dad) is a legendary punk rocker who is getting back together with his band for a summer tour. Leo decides to contact his bio dad when he finds himself without a scholarship to Harvard after a misunderstanding with the vice principal and a math exam. Leo's plan is to ask for the tuition money but finds himself tagging along on the summer tour, working for his bio dad. Along the way, Leo finds that he is more than the republican boy that he thought he was.

My thoughts:

I am a huge fan of Gordon Korman. Everything that he has written, I have always enjoyed. I found that this story did not have the same feeling that the others did. Perhaps it was the way that the story was read but I found it lacking. I can't put my finger on the exact reason for not loving the story but I found that I could not connect with the character at all and the portrayal of the mother was slightly disturbing to me. I would highly recommend reading Korman's other books such as Son of a Mob, Schooled, or any of his adventure series.

Great audio books to listen to:

1. The Gregor Series by Suzanne Collins

2. The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

New Books this week ...

Check out the new books we got this week:




Picture books:

1. The princess says goodnight by Naomi Howland

2. Put me in a book! by Robert Munsch



Chapter Books:

1. We the children by Andrew Clements

2. Finally by Wendy Mass

3. The red pyramid by Rick Riordan



Young Adult books:

1. Restoring harmony by Joëlle Anthony

2. The river by Mary Jane Beaufrand

3. The Shadow Project by Herbie Brennan

4. For the win by Cory Doctorow

5. Theodore Boone : kid lawyer by John Grisham

Twilight Fever

The latest movie installment of the Twilight series - Eclipse comes out early tomorrow morning (12:01 a.m. to be precise). I have read the entire series and Eclipse was my favourite in the series. I wonder how it will measure up on the big screen. I was very disappointed with the first movie, slightly interested in the second one and will let you know tomorrow what I thought of the third. I am taking my Jacob fanatic daughter to the show at 12:01. Hopefully I won't fall asleep :)




Have you been captured by Twilight fever? Whose team are you on?

School's out for summer

Remember the last day of school and everyone would be chanting the rhyme - no more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks. Kids today are probably still chanting that rhyme or something similar to it. Kids are under a lot more stress compared to 30 years ago. They are expected to be somewhat reading and writing by the time they hit Grade 1. Teachers are also under a lot of stress trying to teach these skills. I want to wish both students and teachers a wonderful summer. Kids - turn off your electronics and play outside (it is going to be a pretty dry summer). Teachers - enjoy the carefree days of summer.

The first day of summer

What a wonderful way to start off summer - lots and lots of sunshine! I was so happy to hear on the radio that not only are we having a beautiful day but that it will last for 15 hours! So why not drop by the library, pick up a book and then head outside and read. Have a wonderful day :)

Reptizoo comes to the library

Reptizoo came to the library last Sunday to do a small mammal and reptile show. There were lots of cool animals and reptiles including rabbits, ferrets, hedgehogs and snakes.

Once I was lost

TD Summer Reading Club

Destination Jungle is the the theme this year of our summer reading club. Sometimes we need a little push to read in the summer especially if you are doing lots of other activities (swim team, soccer, baseball,relaxing ...). The great thing about joining the reading club is that there is no pressure to read a certain amount of books. We do have awards to the top readers in each age category but we also have LOTS of doorprizes at our closing ceremony as well. So why don't you come by the children's desk and pick up your kit today.

New DVDs this week

Lots of new dvds have it our shelves this week:
1.  The Spy Next Door

2.  Alice in Wonderland

3.  The Tooth Fairy

New YA books

It is always exciting to see the new books come upstairs. In the past week, we have received:


1. Freefall by Ariela Anhalt

2. Lies : a Gone novel by Michael Grant

3. Radiant shadows by Melissa Marr

Troy High by Shana Norris

A fun light-hearted book by Shana Norris. I first picked it up because I liked the cover. I read the inside jacket and thought that it would be cute because it brought elements of the story of Troy to the modern day Troy High. I was thoroughly amused by it! Definitely a book for the beach. Check out the book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbVdbryYNDo

Brand new! Parenting Wiki

The Department thought it would be great to get the Côte Saint-Luc parenting community together. This is very hard to do physically but in the virtual world - well, we can absolutely do this. Do you have parenting issues? Do you have great recommendations for parenting services out there? Share ideas on birthday parties, best places to go with kids and lots more. Check us out at: http://elcslparenting.wikia.com/

Marvelous Munsch

We had a great time yesterday at our Munsch storytelling event. There were lots of enthusiastic kids participating in both the stories and the crafts. We read Mud Puddle, Mmmmm Cookies, Angela’s Airplane and the Paperbag Princess. Check out our pictures below to see the wonderful “cookies” the kids made as well as the fabulous bags they created.

What to do with you kids in Montreal

Are you looking for something to do on the weekend but don't know where to go? If you live in the Montreal area, come to the library on May 13 at 7:00 p.m. to hear some suggestions on great places to go to with your kids.

Mockingjay book trailer - can you do better?

I really like looking for different things on the net. One thing that I find really interesting is the book trailers that come out. What really excites me is other people’s enthusiasm for an upcoming book that they make their own book trailers. Why wait for Scholastic when you can do your own. Mockingjay has created such a phenomena. You can find several different videos for various subjects on the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I have attached one from Hungergames.net. Do you think you can do better? Give it a try and post it on YouTube (don’t forget to let us know too).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXaCEBVWPD4&feature=player_embedded

Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr

We just received the newest book by Melissa Marr which is part of the Wicked Lovely series. If you have not have the chance to read Wicked Lovely, I encourage you to grab a copy. It takes place both in the real world and in the land of faerie. One special mortal is needed to become the summer queen. Once the summer king finds her, he has to convince her to join him. Along the way, we meet a fantastic cast of characters which brings us to Radiant Shadow. Radiant Shadows is not a sequel to Wicked Lovely but rather a companion novel. Melissa Marr wrote a similar companion novel – Ink Exchange- a few years ago which I dare say – much better than Wicked Lovely.

Come to the library to get these books. Be warned though – they are quite popular so they might be out. Don’t fret – you can always reserve them

Robert Munsch Library Display

It is incredible how quickly Robert Munsch books go out. We started the display last Saturday and we are almost out of his books. There are so many great Robert Munsch books out there. My all-time favourite? I love Alligator Baby but then I think about Paperbag Princess and Mud Puddle which are also in my top 5.
What are you favourite Munsch books?

New Young Adult Books

I love reading brand new books, don't you? Here are a couple of new young adult books the library has acquired:


1. The secret year by Jennifer Hubbard ( I have almost finished reading it. I like it a lot)

2. Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

3. A conspiracy of kings by Megan Whalen
4. Numbers by Rachel Ward ( I read this one but was so so on it. The concept of the book was interesting but I found that it fell apart half way through it).



Let me know what you think of these books or any book you have read recently.

We are now on Facebook!!!

Yesterday we started a fan page on Facebook. We will have upcoming events as well as other fun items such as book reviews. Click here to become a fan :)


http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Eleanor-London-Cote-Saint-Luc-Public-Library-Kids-Department/123100031035453

More than just an encyclopedia ....

I had to go to the Canadian Encyclopedia website yesterday to get information for someone. While I was on the site, I noticed that they have spruced it up and it offers a whole lot of different information. They offer a this day in history, a quote of the day as well as interesting quick facts. For instance, today's quick fact is: North America’s first commercial oil well was drilled in 1858 by James Williams’ Canada Oil Company in Lambton County, Ont.




Check out the site: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1

Blog has been moved to a new location ....

Due to issues at Blogger and the fact they would like to close our account because it is FTP, we are now located on a new site.  You can find us on Word Press.  Here is the quick link:  http://cslchildrensdepartment.wordpress.com/

New Chapter Books this Week!

1.  Mallory goes green    by Laurie Friedman

2.  The viper's nest         by Peter Lerangis

3.  Stink : solar system superhero      by Megan McDonald

Earth Day Celebration

We are celebrating Earth Day today at the libray.  Come to Sunday Stories at 3:30 where we will have an author read from book on composting, play games and do a recyclable craft.

Tumblebooks at the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library

We have a new online library called Tumblebooks.  It is a great library that has a huge amount of books that are read to the child in English, French or Spanish.  There are also a lot of added features including games.  Come and check it out on our website!

http://www.eleanorlondonlibrary.org/Newsite/readingcorner.html

Louis Pilon at the library

There is a book festival this week in Montreal.  The annual Bleu Metropolis Festival starts today with lots of exciting activities.  Three years ago, the organizers added a children's component to the festival.  We were fortunate enough to have Louis Pilon visit our library today to talk about his work.  Louis Pilon illustrated the book "Oliver has something to say".  He spoke to the Grade 1 kids from Merton Elementary.  The kids had a great time listening to the story and then learning how to draw Oliver.  Thanks to Bleu Met and Mr. Pilon!!

We now have Tumblebooks!!!!

What makes TumbleBookLibrary so special? Many of the picture books have features which help emergent or struggling readers! “Word helper” is an excellent example: it sounds out specific words to assist children with more difficult words. All of the books feature full audio narration and sentence-by-sentence high-lighting in “automatic mode”, or read at your own pace, in “manual mode”. Finally, TumbleBookLibrary has 90 books in other languages such as Spanish and French! To start using the site, you will need to enter a username and password. The username is kathyconroy and the password is trial

Click on the icon to start a new reading adventure:

http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp
Enjoy!!!!

New Picture Book this week:

Dino-baseball  by Lisa Wheeler

In DINO-BASEBALL, the plant-eating Green Sox face off with the Rib-Eye Reds and baseball won't be the same again! The game is a pitcher's duel as it's tied "zip to zip" - that is until the Green Sox's manager goes "snout to snout" with the dodo umpire - and gets booted from the game! But with their veggie-powered bats the Sox score three runs. Tied up in the bottom of the ninth - can Apatosaur save the day by saving the game? "Take Me Out to The Ballgame" takes on a new meaning as this story written in playful rhyme takes reader into the ballgame with the Green Sox. From fans plucking the ball out of sky to bats smacking and splitting - the reader is sure to enjoy every page of DINO-BASEBALL.

Check out this really cool book trailer!      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BpvWawfnYk

Geordie Productions: Once Upon a Home

Geordie Productions is coming to the library today!  They will be performing their play, "Once Upon a Home" at 2:00p.m.  There are still tickets left, but they are going fast.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Our book of the month is .....

This month, our featured book is Oliver has something to Say by Pamela Edwards.  This book was chosen because we have the pleasure of having the illustrator, Louis Pilon come to the library to talk about this book as part of the children's festival for Blue Metropolis.  It is a great book which I instantly loved because it reminded me of my youngest child who was always trying to say something but his siblings would talk for him.   We were worried for awhile because he never spoke but then we realized that when he was alone, he talked up a storm!  Mr. Pilon will be at the library on Wednesday, April 21 at 1:00 p.m.  Come and see him if you have a chance.

For more on the book, go to our on-line book of the month website: http://elcslplkidsbook.weebly.com/

New online catalogue features

The library has updated its online catalogue to bring more features to you.  We have acquired the services of Library Thing which is a public cataloguing website where you can create your own book collection with your own tags on the books.  This is then tied to the larger picture of what other people have tagged the book which offers you suggestions on similar books.  We have now implemented this onto our catalogue which gives you more book suggestions.  Also, you can review the books that you have read and read other people's comments on books you might want to read.  All in all, this is a great new tool for finding books to read and recommending books to other people.  I highly encourage you to check it out and also to go to librarything and create your own book collecton there.  Have fun!!!!

New Programs for the Spring Summer Session

Our new brochure will be coming out for the new spring/summer session.  A lot of the activities are on the website already.  http://www.eleanorlondonlibrary.org/youth.php

Upcoming events include:
Geordie Productions on April 11 will be coming to the library to put on a play for us.

Marvelous Munsch will be happening on May 16.  We will be reading lots of Munsch books and doing some activities related to the books.  It will be lots of fun.

Wii Night Tonight!

Have you been to our Wii night yet?   It is lots of fun.  Not because you get to play some really cool games but also because you get to meet new friends too!  We start the game up at 6:00 so come on by and check us out!

Spring is in the air!

The forcast for the coming weekend sounds amazing.  We will be surpassing and breaking records with the predicted 20 degree high.  Did I mention that there will be sun with that too?   What a great way to celebrate a long weekend!

To get into the spirit of spring, how about checking out these great picture books:

1. Mouse’s First Spring    Lauren Thompson


2. Signs of spring               Justine Korman Fontes
3. Hurray for spring!         Patricia Hubbell

4. Skunk's spring surprise   Leslea Newman
6. Mud Puddle                 Robert Munsch

7. The Very Hungry Catepillar      Eric Carle

8. Caterpillar Spring                    Susan Hood

Book Review: After by Amy Efaw

The book After by Amy Efaw seemed like it would absolutely fantastic.  The story is about a girl, Devon, who gives birth to a baby and ends up throwing the baby into a garbage container because she does not know what to do with the baby.  Someone finds the baby and she is arrested for a multitude of charges including attempted murder.  The story goes back and forth between present day and the past.  Devon is an honours student combined with an incredible soccer career ahead of her.  She is in complete denial about being pregnant and giving birth.

There was something about this book that did not strike a chord.  It did not seem so believable to me that this girl who is extremely smart and physically active could not acknowledge that she was pregnant.  The portrayal in the juvie detention center was also glossed over I found.  The only interesting parts of the book was the information that the author had at the end of the book dealing with this phenomenon of dumping babies in trash cans.  Apparently it is happening more than we realize. 

On the surface, I would say that reading the book opened my eyes to a societal problem but overall I would have to say that this would not be my first "go to" book.

New Picture Books

                                                              

We have received a whole batch of new picture books recently.  Here are some of them:

A small, brown dog with a wet, pink nose  by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

My heart is like a zoo  by Michael Hall

                         My garden by Kevin Henkes

Too purpley!  by Jean Reidy

Let's say hi to friends who fly! by Mo Willems

Here comes the garbage barge! by Jonah Winter

New Young Adult Books in the Department

There is a whole new selection of young adult books to choose from:

1.  The Shadow Project / by Herbie Brennan
2.  Sweet little lies : an L.A. Candy novel
3.  The dark Divine / by Bree Despain
4.  Incarceron / by Catherine Fisher
5.  Beautiful creatures / by Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl
6.  The secret year / by Jennifer Hubbard
7.  Captivate / by Carrie Jones
8.  Ashes / by Kathryn Lasky
9.  Tangled / by Carolyn Mackler
10. Numbers / by Rachel Ward

Amazing Kid Arts and Craft sites

Looking for great craft sites for kids?  There are quite a few out there.  Here are some of my favourites:

http://crafts.kaboose.com/

http://www.dltk-kids.com/

http://www.kinderart.com/

The library also has lots arts and craft books !

Geordie Productions

Tickets are now on sale for the Geordie Production:  Once Upon a Home which will take place on Sunday, April 11 at 2:00 p.m.

What does "home" mean to you? last year, Geordie posed this question to elementary school students from 4 different schools in and around Montreal, as part of a collaborative creation process called "From You to Us to You". With their stories, words, and drawings, the Geordie team created a fresh new play to bring back to you. Once Upon a Home is written from the real voices of children in Quebec, reflecting their diverse histories, families and imaginations - every word spoken onstage was written by a child.

Space is limited. It is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance at the main desk. $5.00 per person.

Today in History ....

In 2004, A small asteroid made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded, only about 26,500 miles away.

find out more about other interesting facts at:  http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Is everyone wearing green today???   Do you know why people wear green on St. Patrick's Day?  I did not know so I decided to find out.  Here is the entry from wikipedia:

Originally the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. However, over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. Then in the 1798 rebellion in hopes of making a political statement Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching attention with their unusual fashion gimmick. The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from the song of the same name.

Find out more about St. Patrick's Day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.Patrick%27s_Day

Alice in Wonderland

I went this past week to see the new version of Alice in Wonderland - directed by Tim Burton.  I was super-excited to see it because I love Tim Burton as well as most of the cast (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Anne Hathaway).  I came away from the movie thinking that it was good but not quite as , to quote my son, "magical".  My younger kids absolutely loved it and were blown away by many of the scenes.  I would still go and see it again and do recommend it to everyone, I just think I set the bar too high in regards to my expectations. 

What are your thoughts???

Cool Website for a Wednesday

What a beautiful day outside.  The sun is shining and it is suppose to go up to 7 today.  Happy days!!!  What to find out more about weather in general?  Here are so websites that you can look at:

Environment Canada:  http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

Weather Network:  http://www.theweathernetwork.com/

Sky Diary: Kids Storm:  http://skydiary.com/kids/

Web Weather for kids:  http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/

View a virtual twister:  http://www.jaydax.co.uk/showcase/tunnel/tornado/tornado.html

Fiestango

We were treated to a wonderful performance of Fiestango this past Sunday.  It was a musical play explaining the origins of the tango.  The performers enthralled the audience with their musical instruments: the bass, the violen and keyboards.  I was absolutely impressed with the concentration and attention that the kids had for the play.  It is not often that you see a room full of young kids listening attentivley and not squirming in their seats.  Here is a peek of what we saw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyuF44DeFR4

Closing Ceremonies for Winter Reading Club

Our Winter Reading Club ended yesterday.  We had a total of 29 participants which was pretty good.  In total, the kids read combined 1037 books.  Congratualtions to our winners:  Sean, Ceili, Liam, Jayden,Aiden, Julia, Milla, Frank and Rebecca!  We look forward to seeing everyone participate in the Summer Reading Club!

Fiestango at the Library

It is with great pleasure that we have Fiestango coming to the library on Sunday, March 7 at 2:00 p.m.  This was all possible thanks to a grant that we received from Jeunesse Musicale to help bring this group to the library.  Every Spring Break, Jeunesse Musicale puts out several different shows.  This year we chose Fiestango because of the magical quality that will inspire kids' imaginations.

So, what is Fiestango about?  Here is a blurb from the Jeunesse Musicale site:

Three mischievous cousins receive a large trunk in the mail. Inside, they find all manner of amazing objects, including… an old diary belonging to the young and mysterious Mercedes. Just for fun, they decide to act out the story of Mercedes, who spent her life travelling with this trunk in tow, filling it with souvenirs. Immersing themselves in the narrative, the three cousins rediscover and invent their own fantastic adventures that lead them to learn about the history of the tango, a style of music and dance they adore. But a question remains unanswered: Just how did this mysterious trunk make its way into their hands?

Tickets are 5$ and can be purchased at the main desk at the library.  Questions?  Call the children's desk at 514-485-6900 ext.4111

Check out their video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6-2FEnUB4M

Mockingjay

The new title for the last book in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins has been announced - Mockingjay.  I am super excited to read this book.  Sadly we have to wait until August for the book.  The Scholastic rep, Janet Murie, sent me a cool app that you can put onto your computer so that you can countdown the days until the book is released.  As you can see, I have put it on this blog :)

Here is  the link - http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/downloads/index.htm

If you have not read the book yet, I highly recommend it.  The first book, The Hunger Games is still on the bestseller list for kids as is the second book Catching Fire.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday.  He was born in 1903 and passed away in 1991.  We are so thankful for all the books that he wrote and illustrated.  My favourite all time book by him is Green Eggs and Ham.  I even have a tshirt!   We had a party at the library this past Sunday.  Check out some our photos:

Spring Break is here!!!

Are you bored yet????  We have lots of activities at the library.  Why don't you check out our website:
http://www.eleanorlondonlibrary.org/Newsite/springbreakactivites2010.htm

Hope you all enjoy your week off.  Don't forget to read something :)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

This Sunday at 3:30 p.m. we have a special storytime at the library.  We are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday, pulling out all the stops!!!  If you are interested in attending this special event, please call the Children's desk to register.

My favourite Seuss book?  Umm, really not sure because there are so many.  My top 5 (not in any special type of order):
1.  Mr. Brown Can Moo
2.  Green Eggs and Ham
3.  ABC
4.  Yertle the Turtle
5.  The Grinch who stole Christmas

Cool Website: Science Made Simple

It is that time of year when science fairs start springing up.  Check out this website that gives lots of ideas for science fair projects.  http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/

Nursery Rhyme of the Day

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on her Tuffet

Eating her Curds and Whey

Along came a Spider

Who sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away

Great YA Books for Boys

There is no hierarchial order to this:

1.   The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

2.  The Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

3.  Son of a Mob  by Gordon Korman

4.  Hatchet  by Gary Paulsen

5.  Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson

Books for Boys

Are you finding that your boy does not like to read?  You are not alone.  Boys do not naturally take to reading like girls.  However, once you find the right book for them, they are usually hooked.  Tomorrow night at 7 p.m. I will be talking about boys and books.  The majority of the presentation will center on book recommendations to kick start your boy into reading.  For more information, call the children's desk or email me at mailto:kconroy@cotesaintluc.org.

Movie in the Library

In keeping with our Olympic theme and our winter reading club theme, come out and watch the movie, "Miracle" today at the library.  We will start at 1:00p.m.  Hope to see you there!

The 2010 Olympics

The opening ceremonies are tomorrow night!   Let's cheer on our Canadian atheletes in their quest for the gold.  Follow the link to make Olympic arts and crafts to get you in the mood!  http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/olympic_crafts_for_kids.htm

Go Canada Go!!!!

Top 20 Circulating Books in 2009 in the Children's Department

It is exciting to see what people are reading.  It was no surprise that Twilight, along with its sequels, were in the Top 20.    What was surprising was the Book Thief coming in at number 2.  I highly recommend this book.  It is well written and thought provoking as well as emotionally draining.   It was great to see Judy Moody as well as The Lightning Thief. 

Twilight                           by Stephenie Meyer


The book thief                 by Markus Zusak

Eclipse                            by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking dawn                by Stephenie Meyer

New moon                     by Stephenie Meyer

Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone                by J K Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix             by J K Rowling

Diary of a wimpy kid : Rodrick rules                      by Jeff Kinney

Harry Potter and the deathly hallows                      by JK Rowling

What world is left?                                                by Monique Polak

Harry Potter and the goblet of fire                          by JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the half-blood prince                   by JK Rowling

Diary of a wimpy kid : Greg Heffley's journal          by Jeff Kinney

The Hunger Games                                               by Suzanne Collins

The Tales of Beedle the Bard                                by J K Rowling

Judy Moody                                                         by Megan McDonald

Brisingr, or, The seven promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular    by Christopher Paolini

Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban              by JK Rowling

The maze of bones                                                by Rick Riordan

Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets                by JK Rowling

Valentines Day

The day of friendship and love is coming up fast now.  We have a great display of books up right now to celebrate this special day.  Kids, if you like to do arts and crafts, here is a great craft for Valentines Day.
Make a heart wreath.  Click on the link below for the directions.  Have fun!!!

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mheartwreath.htm

Mask Making at the Library today

We have our mask making workshop today at 1:00 p.m.   Come and listen to our animator from Vues D'Afrique talk about the history of masks in Africa and then make your own!

Hate List - Jennifer Brown

I am on a roll of reading these days.  I  finished another debut novel yesterday.  Hate List is a gripping tale of a girl, Valerie,  who starts keeping a list of people she hates.  Her boyfriend who is spirraling down a very bad place decides to act on this hate list.  The result is him opening fire in a high school, targeting the people on the hate list.  Valerie must deal with the consequences of this list when she returns to school. 

It was a great story, quick paced and had its emotional times.  The ending of the story was a little odd but overall I would definitely give this book a thumbs up!

Our online Book of the month

Our book of the month is Tyrannosaurus Math by Michelle Markel.  It is a great book for young kids to understand basic math concepts.  Check out our website:  elcslplkidsbook.weebly.com

A cool website

Do you ever wish that you knew the order of the books in the series that you are reading?  Do you forget who wrote the series that you read awhile ago?  This is site for you then.  It allows you to search my series title, book title or author title.  We use it here at the library all the time!  It is called Juvenile Series and Sequels.
http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/series/juv/

Have you tried these Fantasy YA books????

The Silverwing Series    by Kenneth Oppel

Eragon                          by Christopher Paolini

The Princess Bride         by William

The Lightning Thief        by Rick Riordan

Coraline                        by Neil Gaiman

The Amulet of Samarkand  by Jonathon Stroud

Artemis Fowl                     by Eoin Colfer

African mask making workshop

We are having an African Mask making workshop on February 7th.  Vue d'Afrique will be coming in do talk about the history of African masks as well as help the kids make their own mask.  Space is limited so don't delay!  Tickets are $5.00

Nursery Rhyme of the Day

Hickory Dickory Dock
The Mouse Ran up the Clock
The Clock struck one
The Mouse ran down
Hickory Dickory Dock.

This is one of the nursery rhymes that we will be doing today in our baby program -Hippity Hop

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I just finished a young adult book called Hush Hush.  I have mixed feelings about the book as a whole.  I liked the premise of the story - fallen angels and immortals but found the explanations as well as the telling of that part of the story to be lacking.  I definitely liked the characters - they were well developed and were likeable (or unlikeable).  This is Becca Fitzpatricks first time publishing so I think we can forgive her for the holes in the story.  I look forward to her future writings!

Yayo at the library

Today we had an illustrator visit the library.  Diego Herrera who goes by the name Yayo spoke to the students from Merton Elementary.  It was a very interesting presentation.  The students were full of good questions and were presented with souvenirs at the end.  Thanks for the great presentation Yayo!

Family Literacy Day at the library

We are celebrating Family Literacy Day today at the library during our storytime hour.  Come join us - we will be reading stories, singing songs, playing Word Bingo and doing a craft.  Lots of fun to be had by all!

Sheltoons today!

Come try your hand at cartoon drawing!  Sheltoons will be here at 1:00 p.m.

Have you ever tried listening to a book?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks.  This is a relatively new phenomena for me as I was generally against the idea of audiobooks.  My commute to work is long enough that I needed something other than the radio.  I decided to listen to an audiobook and noticed that I was not as stressed when I was driving.  I can also get a lot of books read this way too :)

Right now I am listening to Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.  It is so hard to turn off the CD when I arrive at work.  I actually hope for traffic.

Other great audiobooks are:  The City of Bones, Gregor the Overlander, The Book Thief and Airborn.

Hippity Hop today

Our baby lapsit program is called Hippity Hop.  One of the songs we are singing today is Sing a Song of Sixpence.  Here are the lyrics:

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,


Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,

Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

The king was in his counting house counting out his money,

The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey

The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,

When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

Do you like Cartooning???

If you answered yes, then come to the library on Sunday.  We have a cartoon/trading card workshop going on.  Sheltoons is coming in to teach kids on how to do some basic cartooning on trading cards.  The program costs $5.00.  Call the library for more information :)

Witch and Wizard

James Patterson has a new book out - Witch and Wizard.  I am a big James Patterson fan but lately have been getting a little tired of his books.  When I read an except of this book in another one of his books, I did not think that I would like it.  I was even hesitate to read it when I got it at the library.  However, I am glad that I did take the time to read it.  I enjoyed it very much ... not as much as the Max series but it is a close second in his YA writing.  If you are into fantasy and lots of action, I highly recommend that you read this book.
Wisty and Wilt have been arrested for being a witch and a wizard.  They, however, are unaware of their powers as their parents kept it hidden from them.  They are tried and sent for execution when they fully discover their powers.  Wisty and Wilt meet up with others who are escaping the New Order and plan breakouts for others like them.  It is their prophecy to become the leaders of the world.  Will they?  They also have to find their parents who have disappeared.  This is obviously the first of many books to come.
Enjoy!

Sundays at the library

We have lots of things going on today:

11:00 - Hippity Hop - a baby storytime

1:00 - Movie - Cool Runnings

3:30 - Sunday Stories - a family storytime.  This week we are looking at whales  :)

New DVDs this week

We have some new DVDs this week in Childrens:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

G-Force

Backyardigans:  Robot Repairman

Enjoy!!

New Picture books

Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar!                by Bob Barner
It's a secret!                                                by John Burningham
When Stella was very, very small                by Marie-Louise Gay
Snowy sports : ready, set, play!                  by Per-Henrik Gürth
Monsters don't eat broccoli                         by Barbara Jean Hicks
The Rocket                                                by Mike Leonetti
Down the drain!                                         by Robert Munsch
Dewey : there's a cat in the library!             by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
What sisters do best : what brothers do best   by Laura Numeroff
Perfect snow                                              by Barbara Reid