Maker Day

Coming up for all ages on Wednesday, June 25 at 3:00 PM-5:00 PM is our Maker Day! Our other Maker Day Events have been met with such great enthusiasm that we are offering a condensed version to start off our Wednesday afternoon programs. We will have "centers" set up in our Meeting Room where you can try something that will interest all levels of interest. Just what are we doing? You'll have to stop in to find out.

See you then!

Summer Reading Kick-Off with Norman Ng!

Don't miss our Kick-Off to Summer Reading at 6PM on Wednesday, June 18 with illusionist and magician, Norman Ng. The show is an exciting fusion of mind blowing magic, hilarious comedy, and tons of audience participation.

We hope to see you there!

New Books!

To help tempt your children into reading over the summer, the Library continues to have new books.

For those who love to read books in a series, we have the fourth book in Dan Gutman's Genius Files. From Texas with Love has the McDonald twins  dodging nefarious villains while visiting weird by true landmarks in the American Southwest.

Kelly Armstrong's, The Blackwell Pages. In this sequel to Loki's Wolves, Matt Thorsen and his friends are back in another adventure. Here, they must journey to the underworld to save a human descendant of the gods to help defeat Ragnarok, the apocalypse.

Origami Yoda is back!!! In Princess Label Maker to the Rescue! by Tom Angleberger, the Origami Rebel Alliance finds powerful allies in unexpected places as they attempt to fight the FunTime test preparation program. Will Principal Rabbski pledge her allegiance?

Fantasy lovers will be captivated by the rich plot and detailed worldbuilding in Tone Almhjell's debut novel, The TwistRose Key. Sylver is a frozen realm that is home to every dead pet that ever loved a

child. When eleven-year-old Lin Rosenquist received a mysterious key arrives that unlocks the gate to the world of Sylver, she is reunited with Rufus, the pet she buried under the rosebush. Will Lin and Rufus be able to locate the missing Winter Prince in order to save Sylver from destruction?

See you at the Library!

Fizz! Boom! Read! Summer reading at SPL

On Monday, we started signing children up for summer reading even though the program doesn't actually begin until June 18. On the 18, at 6:00pm will be our Kick-Off with Illusionist Norman Ng. No registration required. In an effort to have the reading program exciting and easy enough to finish, yet challenging for those who love to step things up, our program has several parts. Let me explain how it all works.

ALL CHILDREN WHO TURN IN THEIR READING LOGS WILL GET A FREE BOOK!

Our summer reading program encourages children to read for pleasure. We do not require they read a certain number of books, pages, or record time. All they must do in order to receive a FREE BOOK is to turn in their Reading Logs by Saturday, August 9.

THE BASICS: Write down the titles of books children read themselves or have read to them. Children who read aloud books to younger children can record those, too. If a child is reading a long book, one that takes them several days or weeks to get through, they can write down the page numbers or chapters on the lines inside the Reading Log. Turn in the Reading Log by Saturday, August 9 to be invited to the Summer Reading Grand Finale to be held on Wednesday, August 13. Can't come to the party? Stop in any time after the 13 to pick up your Reading Logs, certificate, and select a FREE BOOK. That's it!


TO STEP IT UP: To help children investigate other types of books, both fiction & nonfiction, we created a Game Board which is inside the Reading Log. Complete 24 squares, and it doesn't matter the order you choose them, and we will make you a refrigerator magnet with your picture taken in front of the Wall of Fame.

ANOTHER OPTION: Answer the ten Library Trivia Questions correctly AND complete the 24 squares on the Game Board and we will place your child's name on a bookplate that will be placed in a brand new library book.

Just remember that Reading Logs MUST be returned to get a certificate and a FREE BOOK.

Marilyn Taylor and I have spent the past month visiting all classes Grades K-7. Kids are really enthusiastic about summer reading. They want to be sure to STOP the SUMMER SLIDE.

Summer Reading Program

Students are counting the days until school is out. As of today, they tell me there are twelve and a half days left. Before you get to busy with summer activities, be sure to stop in to the Library and the Youth Services room and sign your children up for the 2014 Summer Reading Program. Sign ups begin the week of June 9, but the program officially begins the minute school is out on June 17!
This year our theme is 

 

The Kick-Off for Pre-School thru Grade 5 begins on Wednesday, June 18 at 6:00 PM with 

The Norman Magic Experience feature Norman Ng.

There is no show like it touring today!

This event is free. No preregistration is required.

For more information, please call the Youth Services Department at 883-4723, option 3!

Rules by Cynthia Lord

I wrote previously about the book club Barbara Merritt, Scarborough School District head librarian for Grades K-8, and I co-host. Barbara is a real dynamo when it comes to promoting books at the schools and is terrific at finding questions that get the students talking. Go hear to read about the books we read for Grades 3 and 4. 

This past Wednesday, May 7, had us finishing up the Newbery honor book, Rules, written by Maine author Cynthia Lord with fifth graders. The idea for the book came from the author's own experience raising a son with Autism. The story centers around twelve-year-old Catherine who is frustrated with having an autistic younger brother. Catherine longs for a normal existence, but finds her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic. There was much to discuss. What was super special was having Cynthia Lord came in person! to talk with the students. She was fantastic. Cynthia brought along to share some of her plastic ducks -- you'd have to read the book to understand their significance, and her Newbery honor plaque (we all were allowed to make a wish by placing our hand over the Newbery medal). Lord also shared some writing tips we all found useful. Thank you, Cynthia Lord. We all hope you keep writing!

This Wednesday, May 14 another group of fifth graders who read, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg will get to Skype with author Rodman Philbrick. His book is set during the Civil War and is about twelve-year-old Homer's extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle in rural Maine to rescues his brother who has been sold into service in the Civil War. Another Newbery honor book from 2010, we are looking forward to hearing Mr. Philbrick, who also wrote the very popular young adult novel, Freak the Mighty.  

Stay tuned for upcoming information about the summer reading program, Fizz! Boom! Read! Sign up will begin the week school is out!

Reading and Electonic Devices

I'm speaking out about electronic devices. Though I see their advantages for adults, all too often smart phones to iPads become just another electronic babysitter. Instead of engaging children while shopping, you see young children, even infants, sitting in the shopping carts staring down at a screen watching some character move through a series of obstacles. Conversations with children are so very important to their development of language! By putting your child in front of any electronic device, according to research, can have a huge impact on how they process information and their overall behavior.

In this article from the Huffington Post (10 Reason Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children under 12), The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Society of Pediatrics state infants aged 0-2 years should not have any exposure to technology(no DVD's or TV), 3-5 years be restricted to one hour per day, and 6-18 years restricted to 2 hours per day (AAP 2001/13, CPS 2010). Though we do know that children and youth use 4-5 times the recommended amount of technology, with serious and often life threatening consequences (Kaiser Foundation 2010, Active Healthy Kids Canada 2012)
 
Another article asks the question, "Could ebooks actually get in the way of reading?" According to research, digital devices can be distracting, leading to diminished comprehension, fluency and engagement. Students reading comprehension is much better when using print. I know for myself, if I reading an ebook I tend to stop every few pages to check my email, FaceBook, even the weather! It is extremely difficult to stay on task, no matter how much I love the book.


We all know digital devices are here to stay. How we use them, and any new technology, is the key. Helping our children be the best they can be is important and the Library offers a tremendous collection of print materials to support your child's reading habit.

I often wonder if children would have been as absorbed in the Harry Potter if the popular series would have had to compete with today's technology.

Stop in. We love recommending books.