Library Publicity July News 
July 3 | Royalty visited the library By Jan Pease Royalty visited the library Thursday night, June 19th, as the reigning Watercade Queen, Anna Haugo, and Princesses Kirsten Rosenow and Bridget Judes came to Family Story Hour wearing their sashes and crowns. Having the Watercade Royalty visit story hour has become a delightful annual event. That night the entire story hour audience happened to be little girls who were all entranced by our visiting royalty. Anna, Kirsten and Bridget sang along as we had our circle time and Silly Dancing, and each read a book to the children. The royals all agreed that Story Hour has changed a lot since the days when they came to the basement of the old library.
During Family Story Hour, we ask the moms, dads, and children a simple question, just to get a little conversation going. Perhaps your family will have some opportunities to talk about family stories during the long Fourth of July weekend. You might talk about how your family celebrated the holiday, or what special foods you ate. Telling family stories is an important part of early literacy, as children learn that a story has a beginning, middle, and an end. I remember summers as a time to sit around and listen to people tell (and tell again) stories about other times and places. I suspect that with our lives that are so busy and full, we don’t often have time to just sit and listen to each other. On Friday June 27th, my little dog Harley visited Preschool Story Hour. He enjoyed it so much; I might let him stay for the whole hour next time he visits. He showed off his tricks, and we discussed safety around dogs and read books about dogs. I missed Dog Bite Prevention Week, which was May 18-24. Summer brings a higher incidence of bites, so this seemed like a good time to talk about safety around dogs. An informal poll of students who visited the library this week showed that many of them had sustained dog bite injuries, all from familiar dogs. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that there are 4.7 million Americans bitten by dogs each year, primarily children. As many as 800,000 people annually require medical treatment for dog bites. Harley helped me show the children how to pretend to be a tree or a rock, because dogs will sniff trees and rocks, but won’t chase or hurt them. Have a safe and happy July 4th holiday. I hope you’ll find time to share some family stories this weekend. See you at the library! |
July 10 | Top | Watercade and the Library By Jeanette Stottrup Watercade is always a highlight of the Litchfield Community’s summer events when we take some time to relax and enjoy the long days with local activities. Even though the routine of daily library business goes on we have some points of interest for anyone who comes through our doors. The Litchfield Library will again have a “Book Sale” on Saturday as part of the Watercade activities. Over the past month we have received a large number of donated fiction books that will be on this sale. There will also be a large number of VHS tapes and other media. If you are traveling or have a cabin, be sure to stop by and stock up for rainy days; if these items are left along the way there is little worry in leaving them behind. The sale will be held outside if the weather is good from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We have missed the activity in the park the last few years but our sales continue to be strong while parking has improved. We have had an antique desk near our check-out area for some time. People have speculated on its history and a few guesses have been posted above the desk. We will have a digital picture frame explaining the general history and the people who might have sat behind it. Pam and Steve Dille have been researching this desk and those who have served in the Minnesota legislature from Meeker County. We may not know actual history of the desk by this weekend or who actually sat there but we will let the public know if we find out. The state is celebrating its 150th birthday this year and to have an item of furniture involved with that history is a bit exciting as well as intriguing. Over the Watercade weekend we will also have a display informing our patrons about the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Pioneerland Library System in 1983. Three Meeker County residents, Pam Dille, Joan Reckdahl and Amy Wilde, are presently on the Pioneerland governing board. A list of all those who have served in that capacity from Meeker County is also displayed. After the Watercade events the fun continues into next week. Chef Roberto’s Magical Cooking Show will be presented in connection with the Summer Reading Program “What’s Cooking at Your Library” .Children of all ages are welcome Tuesday, July 15th, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. The program is free and fun for the whole family. Chef Roberto, with his assistant Lynn, will present a zany look at the world of cooking using a liberal measure of magic and illusion. Be sure you support Watercade by buying a button and wearing it and plan to visit us during the weekend festivities |
July 17 | Top | Picture Books for Children By Jan Pease The library is happy to announce two winners in the how many kisses in the cookie jar contest. Anno Johnson guessed the exact number, 243, and Tanner Kohls came in second with a guess of 242. Children’s cookbooks are waiting for them at the public library. I am simply amazed that any of the 275 guesses came so close. Now, for a more difficult challenge, the cookie jar is about three fourths full of milk chocolate M&Ms. As a hint, I will only say that there are a lot of M&Ms in that cookie jar! There are more advice books in the library than I would want to estimate, or count, but one contains suggestions you won’t find anywhere else. This book is the hilarious “Never take a Shark to the Dentist (and other things not to do),” by Judi Barrett with art by John Nickle. My favorite bit of advice is their warning, “Never take a giraffe to the movies.” Mr. Nickel’s picture shows 26 soft drink straws joined together so the giraffe can enjoy his favorite soft drink. A conveniently placed sky light allows him to watch the movie on a television screen on the roof of the movie theater. Judi Barret is well known for many zany books, including “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” and “Animals Should Definitely not Wear Clothing.” Laura Bush and Jenna Bush collaborated on a picture book, “Read All About It!” Denise Brunkus illustrated this story about a boy who discovers that reading can be an adventure. Tyrone says, as he enters the library, “I boldly went where I had never gone before,” homage that Star Trek fans will find amusing. What happens when an award winning author of fantasy fiction teams up with the artist of the Sandman graphic novels? You might get a scary picture book, which seems like an oxymoron. “The Wolves in the Walls,” written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean, features a brave heroine named Lucy and her interesting family. The illustrations turn this picture book into an extraordinary graphic novel for juvenile readers. Finally, important questions are asked in “It’s Not Fair!” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. Questions like “Why’d I get the smaller half? Why can’t I have a pet giraffe?” are asked, but never answered. The funny endpapers describe a legal action “In the Circuit Court of Fairness” between Sibling No. 1, Plaintiff and Sibling No. 2, Defendant. Sibling rivalry will never be the same. These picture books, and more, are waiting for you – see you at the library! |
July 23 | Top | disconnected By Jeanette Stottrup Our culture today has little time for those who haven’t “made it”, are not a star or a sports hero or who aren’t on the top ten charts. We admire those who have “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps”, “made their first million” before the age of thirty or otherwise distinguished themselves, with no help from anyone, from “the rest of the pack”. Books abound about the successful path that these people have taken. That leaves out the one in six between the ages of 18 to 24 that an article I read in the July 2008 Library Journal called the “disconnected.” These 3.8 million American adults are neither in school nor employed according to the National League of Cities. Some advocacy groups call them the “disconnected youth.” However, this same group sees itself as adult. They have adult problems, may be parents themselves and are adults before the law. The article I read suggests that, even though these are unique individuals, there are two common threads in their histories, both beginning between middle school and the first two years of high school. Truancy, resulting from wrong choices coupled with the growing freedom from parental supervision, is the biggest factor. After a series of skipped classes, the backlog of assignments is too overwhelming to overcome and students drop out of school. If students fail classes and if tutoring isn’t offered, the work load is no less understandable the second time around and again the student fails the class. This cycle of failure, whatever the cause, frustrates both student and school. Social promotion policies no longer suffice in the face of the rigors of the language arts, algebra, or the demands of the standardized tests of the mandated No Child Left Behind. The end result is that again the student leaves school. The school is relieved of one more responsibility in their effort to fulfill their mandate. The student is not advised about their right to remain in school and earning a GED is a viable option in their eyes. Aside from the academics this group as a whole has a high incident of teen pregnancy, homeless teens, illegal immigrants and runaways making them vulnerable to failure in the educational system. The majority of the “disconnected” are people of color. The statistics show a rising trend as 20,000 a year in foster care come of age and 200,000 more leave juvenile and correctional institutions. Without economic or political clout there are few public institutions serving this group in a positive way. Libraries, however, serve this population daily where Internet and email access and books and media are available. Single and teen parents bring their children to story hour. The reference desk staff offers support and information where there may be no family network. The library serves well as a place for social and personal networking connecting the “disconnected” to jobs, education and community. In the final analysis, anyone “making it” in today’s world has not done it alone. It is to a society’s detriment that one out of six young adults cannot count on support from family or the community at large to become productive members. The National League of Cities reports, from a study of this groups attributes, that the good news is the “disconnected” have a capacity for hard work, learn quickly and are idealistic, making them candidates for good in tomorrow’s world. |
| July 30 | Top | Children's Programs By Jan Pease This is it! The final week of story hour is here. I can’t believe how quickly summer has flown by. The final event for Litchfield Library Children’s Department is a special visit from Sarah Gainey of Saint John’s Arboretum, who will present “Maple Syruping” at 10:00 on Friday, August 1. This is a hands on activity geared towards children ages 3-12, but anyone interested in learning about making maple syrup is welcome. Sarah prepares a program each year that she presents at libraries in and around St. Cloud. Her programs always have a tie in to each year’s summer reading program. Learning about maple syrup fits very well with “Look What’s Cookin’ @ Your Library!” This summer, Sarah and the Arboretum are bringing maple syruping to libraries. The one hour program will include learning about the maple syrup process through storytelling and hands on activities. Each participant will get to sample syrup that was made at the Arboretum. Information about maple syrup production is available at the Saint John’s University website at www.csbju.edu/maple. We have a tiny maple tree in our yard, but according to the Arboretum website, the tree needs to be about 12 inches in diameter to tap. I won’t be making maple syrup any time soon, but real maple syrup is a treat. Litchfield library has several titles about maple syrup in the collection, including “Maple Syrup Season,” by Ann Purmell, “Buster’s Sugartime,” by Marc Brown, “The Missing Maple Syrup Sap Mystery,” by Gail Gibbons, and “Sugartime: the Hidden Pleasures of Making Maple Syrup with a Primer for the Novice Sugarer,” by Susan Hauser. Remember that there are no children’s programs scheduled for the month of August. Story hours begin again the second week of September, starting with Toddler Time at 10:15 on September 10th. Bedtime Story Time is again scheduled for Thursday nights at 7:00, beginning September 11th, and Preschool Story Hour is scheduled for Friday mornings at 10, beginning September 12th. After School Book club will meet the third Tuesdays at 3:30, beginning September 16th with “The Candy Shop War,” by Brandon Mull. Fun with 4-H @ the Library will meet the fourth Thursdays, at 3:30, beginning September 25. See you at the library! |
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