The Sundance Worked!

Despite warnings of a looming thunderstorm, the sun peaked out at 11:00 and our summer reading roundup party went off without a hitch! It was a great event to celebrate the accomplishments of all of our summer readers. We had a duck pond, a ball toss, sidewalk chalk art, kites, and refreshments. We had over 75 people attend! It was a great afternoon. I would like to give a special thanks to the Friends of the Takoma Park Library, the library staff, and last, but certainly not least, our awesome customers! Thanks for making today so special.

This Week at Takoma Park Library

Since it is the first week of school, the library is taking a little breather from programming during this week. We only have one regular program scheduled. However, we do have our Summer Reading Roundup Party this weekend. All of those summer readers who completed the program (read 6 books or more and turned in their reading lists to a librarian) are invited to attend our party. There is no rain date for this party, so if we have rainy weather the party is canceled. This celebration is just for those participants that registered at Takoma Park.

Wednesday, August 26

Program: Preschool Story Time

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Ages: 3-5

Description: Joins us in the children's room for stories, songs, rhymes and more!

Saturday, August 29

Program: Summer Reading Round Up - Summer Readers Party

Time: 11:30-1:00

Ages: Summer Readers of All Ages who completed the Summer reading Program

Description: Celebrate your summer reading achievements with games, cake, and fun. We will have a duck pond, sidewalk chalk art, a ball toss, cake, and of course, prizes! We hope to see you there!

This Week at Takoma Park!

Registration for summer reading is now closed, but that doesn't mean there is no reason to come into the library! Those who already enrolled can still read and earn prizes throughout August. For those who didn't enroll, feel free to come in and enjoy some of our weekly programming, check out some books, or surf the Internet.

This week, we have a few upcoming programs:

Wednesday August 5th
Program: Preschool Story Time - Elephant theme!
Time: 10:30
Ages: 3-5
Description: Join us in the Children's Room for stories, songs, rhymes, and more!

Program: Art in the Afternoon
Time: 3:30
Ages: 6+
Description: Join us for art techniques, art book exploration, art discussion, drawing, and sketching. This program now features a new piece from the "Picturing America" series each week. After each session staff and customers vote for their favorite artistic masterpiece.

Thursday August 7th
Program: Daniel Barash - Puppeteer
Time: 1:30
Ages: 4-8
Description: Learn the art of shadow puppetry & watch a puppet show.

Saturday August 8th
Program: Be Creative Saturday
Time: 2:00
Ages: 6-12
Description: Join me for an afternoon of amazing arts and crafts. This week we will be making bird masks. We'll look at birds in picture books and nature books to get inspired, and then we will create our own feathered-friend personas through the art of mask making. Let's get glued and feathered!

This Week at Takoma Park

This is an exciting week at Takoma Park Library. Just a reminder that it is the last week to sign up for summer reading at your library. We will close registration for the summer reading program on July 31st. Those enrolled can continue to read and earn prizes into August, but new registrants will not be allowed after July 31st.

We have some wonderful programs coming up this week, the headliner being the ever popular Mr. Derby! Continue reading for some amazing news on upcoming events.

Wednesday July 29

Program: Mr. Derby's Jam Session

Time: 10:30 am

Ages: 4-8
Description: Sing and dance to classic nursery tunes performed live with keyboard accompaniment.

Wednesday July 29

Program: Art in the Afternoon

Time: 3:30 pm

Ages: 6+

Description: Join us for sketching, drawing, art techniques, and art book exploration. Participants will have a chance to win a small prize bag if their artwork is the favorite of the afternoon.

Thursday July 30

Program: O. Dibinga - Poet

Time: 4:00

Ages: Teens

Description: Come enjoy an afternoon with a creative spoken word poet.

PJ Story Time Tonight: Other Great Events this Week

Just a reminder that PJ story time is tonight at 7 pm. Children ages 0-6 (with an adult) are encouraged to attend to enjoy stories, songs, coloring, and snacks. Feel free to bring your stuffed animal or lovey and enjoy the story time! We hope to see you tonight.

There are also some other great events taking place this week. Summer reading registration closes at the end of this month, so if you haven't enrolled and want to win prizes, please come in to one of our events and sign up for summer reading this week!

Tonight, July 21

Program: PJ Story Time

Age: 0-6

Time: 7:00

Description: Snuggle up with stories, songs & snacks. Feel free to wear your pjs & slippers and bring your stuffed animal or lovey.

Wednesday, July 22

Program: Kathy McMillan - Children's Story Teller

Age: all ages

Time: 10:30

Description: explore American Sign Language through music and stories.

Program: Art in the Afternoon

Age: 6+

Time: 3:30

Description: Join us for art techniques, art book exploration, drawing, and sketching. Each participant has a chance to win a small prize bag if their artwork is voted the 'favorite' of the afternoon session by staff, customers, and other participants.

Saturday, July 25

Program: Crafternoon

Age: 8 and up or below 8 with an adult

Time: 2:00

Description: Come in and make a simple story-inspired or seasonal craft. There will aslo be drawing paper for those who would rather sketch and color.

Summer Reading Continues!

The 4th of July is over, but there is still plenty of time to rock out at the Takoma Park Library. Children and teens are able to sign up for the summer reading program until the end of July. The summer reading programs "Be Creative @ Your Library" for children and "Express Yourself" for teens have some great performers and special events coming up in July and August. If you match the reading goal of six books you can earn some fun incentive prizes and also get your name entered in the raffle for the big award at the end of the summer.

Small prizes for children include inflatable guitars (which my lovely niece Amelie is showing off in the photo), sports balls, stuffed animals, light up pens, puppets, and many other things. Small prizes for teens include glitter lamps, light up pens, MP3 players, flash drives, and art sets. These cool trinkets and prizes could be yours and all you have to do is read! So whether you're into Very Hungry Caterpillars, Lions, Witches, and Wardrobes, or teenage vampires, you can earn some fun awards. Stop by the library today to sign up!

Also, for those interested, here are some upcoming events at the library this week:

Tuesday July 7th at 1:30: Janice the Griot - Storyteller for children

Wednesday July 8th at 10:30: Preschool Story Time for children 3-5

Friday July 10th: Young Adult program at 1:30

Saturay July 11th: Be Creative Saturday at 2:00 for children 8+ or younger with an adult

Summer Reading Special Performance Tomorrow

Tomorrow, as part of our Summer Reading Program, we will be hosting a special performance by Susan McNells. Her show, entitled "Oh Susannah!" encourages children to sing, clap, and tap along with her award-winning songs and guitar playing. Her show is an eclectic mix of the Waltz, Polka, Twist, and Charleston dances along with the musical sounds of Zydeco and bluegrass.

Program: Oh Susannah!
Date: Wednesday, June 10th
Time: 10:30 am
Ages: 4-9

Summer Reading Book Spotlight "The Art of Eric Carle"

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the magical and classic work of Eric Carle. Author and illustrator of many beloved children’s books, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, and The Grouchy Ladybug, to name a few, Carle’s work has been a story time staple, a bed time story favorite, and an altogether timeless presence in the field of children’s literature.

With a summer reading theme focused on the arts and personal creativity, I highly recommend the book The Art of Eric Carle. This book is a wonderful glimpse and exploration into Eric Carle’s life and work. With more than sixty full-color illustrations, artwork from his student days, and very personal anecdotes, essays, and stories, this book is a shining testament to the masterful art and endless creativity of Eric Carle.

This book is a great way to learn more about Carle. A nice idea is to borrow some of Eric Carle’s picture books and then before or after reading them, share some segments from this biographical piece with your children, your students, or whomever you like. This book is a great celebration of a classic author and it fits in perfectly with our “Be Creative” theme. I hope you will find it truly inspiring.

Coming Up in the Children's Room

We have some great events coming up in the Children's Room this week. Children's librarian Miss Rachel will host the ever popular PJ story time and dont' forget weekly preschool story time.

Next Monday, as part of the special events schedule for Summer Reading, we will host a special performance by Nicolo Whimsey.

Program: PJ Story Time
Date: May 12

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Ages:0-6 w/an adult
Description: Snuggle up with stories, songs, & snacks. Feel free to wear your pjs and slippers and bring your stuffed animal or lovey.

Program: Preschool Story Time
Date: May 13
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Ages: for 3-5 year olds
Description: Join us for stories, songs, rhymes and more!

Program: The Nicolo Whimsey Show

Date: May 18

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Ages: 4-9
Description: This show combines juggling, music, poetry, and storytelling. Nicolo emphasizes language skills and encourages children' to discover and voice their creativity.

(Image courtesy of About Faces Entertainment)

Be Creative @ Saturday Crafternoon

This past weekend our "Be Creative Saturday", which is one of many Summer Reading activities, was a huge success. Inspired by picture book art, children used a variety of media to make their own story book characters. Birds and Dogs were a popular theme.

Just a note that our Crafternoon and Be Creative events will take a brief hiatus for the rest of May. We will pick up again with 2 Crafternoons and 1 Be Creative Saturday in June. The dates for arts and crafts in June will be the 6th, the 13th, and the 20th. Stay tuned for future detail.

Summer Reading Book Spotlight "Art" by Patrick McDonnell

The summer reading theme this year is not only about the importance of literacy. It is also about showing children the power of imagination and creative expression. As librarians, we are trying to give them the power to engage in their imagination not only through thoughtful and inspiring words and artful illustrations, but also through active creation and participation. We are trying to give the youth of DC a forum to unleash their vision and the tools to harness and actualize their creative power. Through art, dance, music, and story we hope to enthrall and amaze everyone who participates in the summer reading program. I'm quite sure they will entrhall and amaze me as I see them reach their reading goals, create beautiful art, sing their hearts out, and have a great time.

As the summer reading progam has just begun, I realize now is the perfect time to assess the collection and find some books that truly embody the spirit of this year's summer reading theme. One such book I found is "Art" by Patrick Mcdonnell. This picture book is about a boy named Art who loves art. He loves to scribble and squiggle, zig and zag, doodle and dream. He creates worlds with his art. Readers can see power in the simple beauty of a child's art, really of any art. I so LOVE the enthusiasm of the boy in this book. "Art draws and draws till he flops in a heap." Now that is dedication! The end of the story shows Art being gently hugged by his mother as his art is displayed proudly on the fridge. For a budding artist, the small gesture of hanging Art's creations on the fridge is equal to all the greatest accolades from all the most respected art critics in all the universe. It is a gesture of love and of sincere apprecation. I'm sure Art will continue to scribble and squiggle, zig and zag, doodle and dream. Will you?

Summer Reading Starts Today!

Today is the official first day of summer reading. This year’s summer reading theme for children is Be Creative @ Your Library. For Teens, it is Express Yourself @ Your Library. We have a lot of great plans for this summer, including wonderful programs, crafts, and performers for children, teens, and the whole family!

How The Program Works

1. Children and Teens ages 0-17 register for the reading program at your local library. At Takoma Park, children 0-14 sign up with Either Ms. Lindsay or Ms. Rachel. Teens register with the YA librarian. Those participants 12-14 are able to sign up for both the children's and the teens program if they so desire.

2. Once you register you will receive a book log to keep track of the books you read. Set a reading goal for yourself and ask a librarian if you have questions how to keep track of your books.

3. For every 3 books you read, you can show your reading log to a librarian and receive special prizes and incentives. The first 3 books read earn a level I prize, the next 3 read earn a level II prize.

4. Throughout the summer DC Public Library will be offering various presentations, programs, contests, and performers. Pick up a list of events from the library or check back to the blog for performer and program updates.

5. Everyone who completes the program by finishing their reading goal/submitting a complete book log will be entered into a drawing for more prizes and rewards, including the huge prize pack awarded at the end of the summer. You can earn more entries into the prize pack drawing by reading beyond the initial 6 books.

Participants are reminded to only sign up at one library. While you can attend events at any public library, it is encouraged that you only sign up and return your book logs to one location.

Just a reminder that our Summer Reading Kick-Off event is on May 5th at 3:30 in the children’s room. Stop by to get creative and help us make our summer reading display board!

For more information on upcoming programs or if you have any questions, please contact the Takoma Park Neighborhood Library, visit http://www.dclibrary.org/, or check back to this blog.