Wednesday, March 28, 2012

App Spotlight


Last month the RFPL Children’s Room unveiled our new Early Literacy iPads. There are lots of great apps and features to explore on the Early Literacy iPads. Stop in for a visit and check out some of our new apps!

Seuss Band
If you are a fan of Guitar Hero or Rock Band, Seuss Band is an app you won't want to miss. Make your own instrument, play along with Seuss songs or make up a brand new tune.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App!
This app was created by Mo Willems, author of the Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. With this app, you can create your own Pigeon story and learn to draw the Pigeon.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Take a Picture Walk

I recently attended an Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) Webinar. Developed by the Association of Library Service to Children and Public Library Association, the goal of ECRR is to support parents and caregivers as they help their children (birth to age 5) build early literacy skills--getting them ready to read! There are five early literacy practices that parents and caregivers can engage in with their children: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. Over the next several weeks, I'll be blogging about easy, fun ways you can enhance these practices in your child's daily life.


As we know, talking with children--including infants--is a key source of language development. A great way to extend the conversations you have with your child is by taking a picture walk! Choose a book with illustrations that you like, but instead of reading the book, simply talk about the pictures. Ask your child about what he or she sees on the cover, talk about the characters, and have your child predict what might happen next. You could even use a wordless picture book which is designed for just this sort of imaginative storytelling. Try Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage, The Umbrella by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert, or recent Caldecott Medal winner A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka. Another idea--especially for children who are not yet talking--is to narrate your daily activities with them. For example: "I'm making your lunch right now. This is your applesauce. Mmm! It tastes sweet. You like applesauce, don't you?" Narrating activities is a great way to introduce your child to new vocabulary words.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

4th and 5th Grade Book Club

Join us for our Monthly 4th and 5th grade book club. Each month we spend a Sunday afternoon discussing a new book and enjoying snacks. We currently have a great group of readers but are looking for more kids to join in the fun!

We meet next on Sunday, March 18th from 2-3pm.
We will be reading Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone

Description:

Ruthie thinks nothing exciting will ever happen to her until her sixth-grade class visits the Art Institute of Chicago, where she and her best friend Jack discover a magic key that shrinks them to the size of gerbils and allows them to explore the Thorne Rooms--the collection of sixty-eight miniature rooms from various time periods and places--and discover their secrets.

Next month we will meet April 22nd from 2-3pm.
We will be reading Missing on Superstition Mountain

Description:

It’s summer and the three Barker brothers—Simon, Henry, and Jack—just moved from Illinois to Arizona. Their parents have warned them repeatedly not to explore Superstition Mountain, which is near their home. But when their cat Josie goes missing, they see no other choice. There’s something unusually creepy about the mountain and after the boys find three human skulls, they grow determined to uncover the mystery. Have people really gone missing over the years, and could there be someone or some thing lurking in the woods? Together with their new neighbor Delilah, the Barker boys are dead-set on cracking the case even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way.
The 4th and 5th Grade Book Club will continue on in the Summer. Stay tuned for the June, July and August picks!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Author Spotlight: Christopher Paul Curtis

River Forest Public Library's Laona Fleischer and son, Adam, had the pleasure of meeting acclaimed children's author Christopher Paul Curtis earlier this winter. Curtis paid a visit to Oak Park 4th and 5th graders to talk about writing books including, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, Bud, Not Buddy, and his new book The Mighty Miss Malone.

The Mighty Miss Malone expands on the character Deza Malone, who first appeared in Bud, Not Buddy. Deza is the best student in her school and has a close-knit family, but when Deza's father must leave to find work in Flint, Michigan the trials of the Great Depression make life extremely challenging for the Malone family. Deza proves how mighty she is! Check it out at RFPL.