@ Your Library
Crafters’ Café will meet on Tuesday, August 20th from 11 am – 1 pm. Bring whatever project you are currently working on and enjoy a cup of tea, fun conversation and time to just work on whatever you want. The group currently meets in the meeting room, so quilters are able to spread out on a table of their own if they want. All ages are welcome, but anyone under 8 needs an adult with them.
If you have continued reading this month, bring in your reading logs to pick out free books. We will keep our free books available until school starts. Challenge your kids to do some reading before heading back to school, their teachers will thank you.
As we pass the mid-point in August and school activities loom on the horizon, work now with your kids to establish a good routine of work, play and sleep. Routines take time to become habit and everyone’s year will be much better if you have a good routine. Be sure to include reading time, whether aloud or silently for the entire family.
There are some absolutely marvelous titles to read aloud together as a family. Classics like The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis are wonderful family read alouds. We also have several newer titles that can encourage discussion and exposure to other cultures through story. Louise Erdrich’s The Birchbark House and its sequels would make a wonderful winter read. The Brave by James Bird is for slightly older kids, but a lovely story of hope and perseverance.
Mary Casanova’s series “Dogwatch” would be great reads with lots of laughing. Follow that up with John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog series for mysteries told from the point of view of a dog who doesn’t always quite understand humans. And there are plenty of other animal stories that make great read alouds. Stop by the library if you’d like some recommendations for reading aloud together as a family.
And don’t forget that we have audio books available for kids and adults. Kids also have access to books that read to them. Wonderbooks, whether picture books, easy readers or chapter books have a small audio player attached to the book enabling kids to read along as the book reads to them with either headphones or the small speaker on the book. Check out our growing selection for the titles available at any given time. Playaways are also available for both kids and adults, attach headphones to the audio player which is about the size of a deck of cards and listen to riveting stories. Or course you can also access digital ebooks and audiobooks through Libby and Hoopla for use on your phone or tablet. Staff can provide limited assistance in helping you set up your accounts with these apps, but they are fairly straightforward and quick to set up, allowing you to listen or read anytime you have your phone or tablet with you.