We've got dozens of new children's books -- both fiction and non-fiction -- on a special new cart in the Children's Room. Come on in and check out some of these great books, which include how-to books like Pet Crafts, a book titled What's So Funny? that looks at the science of humor, and beautifully illustrated biographies of President John Kennedy and aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Among our new children's fiction books are: The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine; Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by adult best-selling author James Patterson; and several buzzed-about possibilities for the 2012 Newbery Medal, including Bluefish by Pat Schmatz, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, and The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami. Come on in and check out some of these great new kids' books!
At Circle Time today, we learned some new rhymes related to Halloween-type creatures: witches, black cats, owls and pumpkins. Here are some of the rhymes we learned:
Big Black Cat
Creeping, creeping
Big black cat, big black cat.
Sneaking 'round the corners, sneaking 'round the corners,
Pit pat pat. Pit pat pat.
(Use your hands as paws to creep, sneak and go pit pat pat).
Hoot Owl
Hoot owl, hoot owl, up in your tree.
Hoot owl, hoot owl, what do you see?
I see a black cat meowing at me.
Hoot owl, hoot owl, up in your tree.
Hoot owl, hoot owl, what do you see?
I see a little mouse squeaking at me.
(Cup your hands for the hooting sound, raise you hands to show up in your tree, and circle your eyes for what do you see. And of course, make the meowing -- or squeaking -- sound as it comes up in the rhyme!)
Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins, sitting on a gate,
The first one said, Oh my it's getting late.
The second one said, There are witches in the air!
The third one said, But we don't care!
The fourth one said, Let's run and run and run!
The fifth one said, Isn't Halloween fun?
Then WHOOSH went the wind!
And OUT went the lights!
And those Halloween pumpkins rolled out of sight.
(Hold your hand up, showing five fingers, at the beginning, and point to each finger as you say the number. Make a big whoosh for the wind, and bring down your hands from the air to show the lights going off. Finally, roll your hands around to show the pumpkins rolling out of sight).
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
(Sung to the tune of Reuben, Reuben)
Pumpkin, pumpkin
I've been thinking
You're the finest one I've seen!
Soon you'll be a Jack-O-Lantern
All lit up for Halloween.
Big Scary Eyes
See my big and scary eyes.
Watch out for a big surprise --
BOO!
(Cup hands around eyes at the beginning, then clap hands as you say Boo!)
Just a reminder that our French Circle Time with Madame Marie now takes place ONCE a month. Our next French Circle Time will be on Saturday, November 19 at 10:30 a.m. Registration is optional, but if you register, we can keep you updated with information about the program and any date changes, etc. To register, go to Program Registration - Takoma Park Maryland Library, or call us at 301-891-7259.
The Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library's twice-yearly book sale is this Saturday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Library lawn. (Note: the sale will be moved indoors if the weather is bad). At the book sale, we will have thousands of books for sale, including many brand-new review copies of children's books. They're a real bargain; for example, you pay $1 for a brand-new picture book that normally costs $16.99. But come early for the best selection, as the best books sell quickly! The Friends' book sale is a great place to get some wonderful books AND contribute towards the many special Friends-funded programs at the Takoma Park Maryland Library, including our weekly Spanish Circle Time, our monthly French Circle Time, holiday craft programs, our Halloween-themed "Scary Stories" program on Wednesday, Oct. 26 and many more.
Bienvenue! Welcome to our French Circle Time, which will take place this Saturday, October 15, at 10:30 a.m. Come join Madame Marie in singing French rhymes and songs. No registration necessary for this program, the only one offered by a public library in our area.
And don't forget to check out our new online language learning resource for kids called Little Pim. Kids can learn French, Spanish and a bunch of other languages with the help of a cheerful panda named Little Pim. All you need is one of our library cards! Just go to the main page of our website, go to the Online Library box at the top of the page and click on the second arrow (learning and research tools), then choose Learn a Language. Use your library card to access the site. Grown-ups, check out Mango, our language learning resource for adults.
Come on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. and read some books that could be top possibilities for the 2012 Caldecott Medal, given to the best-illustrated children's book of the year. We'll read the books together on the big screen, via our ELMO document camera, and then discuss what we like -- or don't like -- about them, using the Caldecott criteria. We'll meet again in November and December to check our 2012 Caldecott possibilities, concluding with a vote for our favorites. Then, in January, we'll meet once more to discuss the book that actually won the 2012 Caldecott Medal, which will be awarded in early January by a committee of the American Library Association. The Caldecott Club is a great way for families to read and discuss some wonderful books together! Registration encouraged; to register, go to: Program Registration - Takoma Park Maryland Library or cal us at 301-891-7259.
Come on Tuesday October 11 at 4 p.m. for our monthly Comics Jam. Read comics together on the big screen with our comics guru Dave Burbank. Our program concludes with Dave taking drawing requests from the audience. No registration required.
Our Comics Jam, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, Tuesday October 4, at 4 p.m., has been postponed until next Tuesday, October 11 at 4 p.m. Please join us next Tuesday for a fun, hour-long program reading comics on the big screen. No registration is required for this program.