Note to 4th- (now 5th-) Graders

I finally uploaded your collective noun drawings!

Public Library Fun This Week

I hope some of you were able to hang out at your local branch library last week and take advantage of the AIR CONDITIONING while having fun. Don't forget that it's not too late to sign up for the Summer Reading Program at the public library and DIG INTO READING. Here are some events you can attend during the week of July 22:

Auburn Branch
Dig up some fun! Ancient Egypt! Drop by program - every day from 10-5
Rick Morin Rhythm Imaginarium! - Tuesday 3:00

Central Branch
Storyteller Carolyn Martino - Monday 6:30 (pick up tix 1/2 hour in advance)
Ice Age: Continental Drift movie - Tuesday 6:30 (pick up tix 1/2 hour in advance)
To Sum It All Up Math Workshop - Wednesday 6:30 (registration required)
Beethoven's Fifth movie - Friday 10:00 (pick up tickets 1/2 hour in advance)

Knightsville Branch
Duct Tape Designs Drop by program - Tuesday 12-4

Oak Lawn Branch
Create-a-Craft - Friday 11-4
Animal World Experience: Can You Dig It? - Friday 2:30

William Hall Branch
Music: Rolie Polie Guacamole - Tuesday 6:30
Make a Pet Rock! - Wednesday 2-4
Library Kung Fu - Wednesday 6-7:30
Animal World Experiences: Dino Discovery - Thursday 3:00

source: CPL eventkeeper.com

Book Recommendation: Timmy Failure #1 - Mistakes Were Made

Oh, kids. Get ready for a new series that you will love. If you like Wimpy Kid and Big Nate, you need to check this one out of the public library NOW. I give you ...

Timmy Failure #1: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis

source: publishersweekly.com

“My name is Failure. Timmy Failure. I am the founder, President and CEO of the best detective agency in town, probably in the world. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made is a historical record of my life as a detective. It has been rigorously fact-checked. All the drawings in here are by me. I tried to get my business partner to do the illustrations, but they were not good.”

Read the first four chapters online

Do all kinds of activities on the Timmy Failure web site.

If you read the book, please add a comment below ... I've already submitted my order for the year, but if enough of you clamor for Timmy Failure, I am willing to go buy it myself for the collection.

Book Recommendation: A Tangle of Knots

As (most of) you know, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate won the 2013 Newbery Award. I sit on the Rhode Island Mock Newbery committee, and am using summer vacation as a chance to start reading the books that lots of other librarians are recommending as possible 2014 winners. When I read a good one, I'll let you all know to look for it at the public library (because I won't be able to buy new books for school until next June!).

So, here is my first recommendation:

source: lisagraff.com

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff. NOTE: She wrote Double Dog Dare, which is on the current RICBA list.

Here is the jacket copy:

"In a remarkable world where many people are blessed with a special Talent, 11-year-old Cady is an orphan with a phenomenal ability for cake baking ... and now idea of the journey that Fate set in place for her the moment she was born. But when Cady moves into an upstairs room in the town's Lost Luggage Emporium, she meets a curious cast of characters whose lives are tangled with her own in ways she never could have imagined. There's the ragtag group of siblings struggling to grow beyond their Talents, the woman without any words, and the devious thief on a single-minded mission. And the one thing that ties them all together just might lie inside a single powder-blue suitcase. In a story that falls into place like a magnificent puzzle, these encounters hold the key to unraveling the mystery of Cady's past."

I'm not big on "fate," but I love an intricate plot. See if YOU can figure out all of the connections before the ending!

Public Library Summer Reading Program

Hey, everyone! Hope you are having a GREAT summer vacation so far. It can be even more fun if you sign up for the Summer Reading Program at the public library and DIG INTO READING. Per the library web site, it's this easy:

Read for at least 20 minutes, three days a week. Listening to audiobooks or attending a library program counts as reading, too. Check into your library to claim your weekly prize. We’ll raffle off some larger prizes too – one lucky reader will win an iPad Mini at the end of the summer!

And there are a ton of events you can attend. Here are just a few happening the week of July 15:

Auburn Branch
Dig up some fun! Dinosaurs! Drop by program - every day from 10-5
Animal World Experience - Tuesday 3:00

Central Branch
Sarah Gardner interactive music program - Monday 6:30 (pick up tix 1/2 hour in advance)
Talespinners - Wednesday 3:30 (registration required)
Alice in Wonderland movie - Friday 10:00 (pick up tickets 1/2 hour in advance)
Here's the Story Writing Workshop - Saturday 9:30 and 10:30 (registration required)

Knightsville Branch
Bingo Maker Art Drop by program - Tuesday 12-4

Oak Lawn Branch
Create-a-Craft - Friday 11-4
Malik the Magic Guy - Friday 2:30

William Hall Branch
Toe Jam Puppet Band - Tuesday 6:30
Storyteller Carolyn Martino - Thursday 3:00