Poetry in the Summertime: Days Like This

A poetry pick:

Days Like This: a collection of small poems by Simon James (Candlewick Press, c. 2000)

Days Like This contains a collection of 19 short poems by such authors as Eve Merriam, Ogden Nash, and Charlotte Zolotow. This is a celebration of childhood imagination and experience - from long summer days, exploring as adventurers, sleeping outdoors, to life in the city, and more. There's even a poem about the joy of bouncing! You'll find Days Like This in the picture book section of the library. Enjoy with a child you care about!

Picks of the Week: Love Your World

Love Your World: how to take care of the plants, the animals, and the planet by Dawn Sirett; illustrations by Rachael Parfitt; special photography by Howard Shooter and Dave King (DK Pub., c. 2009)

From recycling to conserving water to composting, this is a nice, bright, and simple introduction to caring for our planet's resources for preschoolers through early elementary-aged children.

And here's one for the adults:

Green Baby by Susannah Marriott (Dorling Kindersley, c. 2008)

Practical solutions for greener parenting, so you can give the very best to your baby. Helps you make planet-friendly lifestyle decisions.

Contents: Caring for your new baby: starting green living from day one -- Feeding your baby: the healthiest foods for you, your baby, and the planet -- The green, clean baby: gentler approaches to washing and cleaning -- Green nursery: a safer space to sleep and grow -- Play green: natural ways to learn and have fun -- Out and about: introducing your baby to a greener world.

(Summary information courtesy of Syndetics)

Room Makeover: for Babies & Kids

The kids' summer reading theme this year for children ages 5 through 12 years-old is Be Creative @ Your Library . The Youth Services Librarians are encouraging families to find ways to explore their creativity and imagination through books, music, and more that can be found at our library. If your creative spark leads you to create imaginative indoor spaces for your children, the library's collection contains books full of inspiration. Here are just a few:

The Smart Approach to Kids' Rooms by Megan Connelly (Creative Homeowner, c. 2008)

Begins with the premise: think like a designer. How to design, furnish, and organize space for children Includes practical tips for all-size budgets. Over 275 color photos and 40 illustrations.

Cool Spaces for Kids: Creative Indoor and Outdoor Spaces for Children of All Ages by Sam Scarborough (Hamlyn/Octopus Books, c. 2009)

Providing your children with a safe, stimulating living space is an essential job for any parent. Taking you through the process, from conception to construction, Cool Spaces for Kids gives you all the ideas and know-how you need to create appealing areas in your home for your kids, whatever their age. From imaginative playrooms and bedrooms to customizing a corner of your living room or garden, creating special spaces for your little ones will help them to enjoy playing, working, relaxing and learning. With over 50 stunning ideas comprising step-by-step projects, stylish alternatives, quick fixes and more, you can give your kids cool spaces they'll enjoy for years to come.

Children's Spaces from Zero to Ten by Judith Wilson, photography by Debi Treloar (Ryland Peters & Small, 2001)

To many of us, the idea of having children is synonymous with bidding farewell to being in control of our lives and our homes. In Children's Spaces, interiors writer and stylist Judith Wilson, herself a mother of two, demonstrates how homes can be adapted for children without surrendering order and good taste, while also ensuring that children have wonderful spaces to explore and enjoy in a stimulating and safe environment. With ideas ranging from full-scale decorative schemes to clever finishing touches, the combination of Judith's wise and witty text and Debi Treloar's vibrant photography captures the potential for a harmonious and stylish mix of children and home.

Babyspace: Idea Book by Suzonne Stirling (Taunton Press, c. 2006)

Loaded with hundreds of photographs and ideas for baby and toddler spaces, this book offers design solutions for many different tastes. Stirling devotes portions of the book to choosing color, themes, furniture, and storage pieces for baby and toddler rooms. There are also ideas for shared spaces, playrooms, bathrooms, activity areas, and family rooms. The book also offers practical advice on transitioning from a nursery to a room for an older child. A list of resources is included. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Design Ideas for Baby Rooms by Creative Homeowner Press, (Creative Homeowner, c. 2009)

Contents: Make room for baby -- Color and pattern -- Furniture and storage -- Walls, windows, and floors -- Keeping baby cozy -- Toddlers' rooms -- Keeping them safe -- Health and special needs.

(Note: Summaries courtesy of Syndetics, unless otherwise noted.)

New Life-Size Zoo Book for Animal Lovers

For animal lovers and children who adore non-fiction books, this new book from Teruyuki Komiya will certainly find some adoring young fans! Check out Life-Size Zoo: from tiny rodents to gigantic elephants, an actual-size animal encyclopedia by Teruyuki Komiya (Japanese edition) and adapted into the English language by Kristin Earhart (Seven Footer Kids, c2009).

Have you ever wondered how big a giraffe's head really is when held up close to yours? How about a tiger's pink tongue? Did you know that zebras have long hairs under their eyes? Fold out pages reveal the actual size of parts of different zoo animals. This is ideal for group-sharing and the photographs are stunning. You'll find this book in our Juvenile Oversize Non-Fiction collection: J OVERSIZE 590 KOMIYA.

Annual Teddy Bear Picnic: This Thursday, June 25th 10 a.m.

One of the best things about living in Corvallis is our family-friendly community. And one of the best things about living in Corvallis in the summertime with kids is the library's Annual Teddy Bear Picnic! Join us at Central Park on Thursday, June 25th at 10 a.m. to celebrate this annual children's event with hundreds of other families and childcare centers!

Children's performers, Galliump!, will be sharing songs with everyone in the park. A visit from our special guest Max the Bunny from the Rosemary Wells books will also be a treat for attendees. Snacks, stickers, songs, and a chance to enjoy the park with other young children make this a very fun event each year! Bring a blanket, a picnic lunch if you want, your camera and a teddy bear! For more information, click here.

Image of Max the Bunny from Costume Specialists: http://www.cospec.com/index.html

Happy Father's Day!

Some of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's youth services librarians' favorite stories about that special someone called Dad:

What Dads Can't Do by Douglas Wood, illustrated by Doug Cushman

Describes how dads show love by explaining all the things that they cannot do, such as sleeping late, keeping their ties clean, and reading books by themselves.




My Daddy is a Giant by Carl Norac

A little boy's father seems so large to him that he needs a ladder to cuddle him and birds nest in his father's hair.








Me and My Dad! by Alison Ritchie, illustrated by Alison Edgson

Rhyming text describes a day of fun and adventure that a bear shares with his father.







A Father's Song by Janet Lawler, illustrated by Lucy Corvino

In lyrical and charming verse, a father expresses his deep love for his child. With its warm text and lively illustrations that capture a fun day at the park, it's an ideal picture book for Father's Day sharing.

Pick of the Week: How Do You Say Good Night?

How Do You Say Good Night? by Raina Moore (HarperCollins, 2008)

How do you say good night? What is your child's bedtime routine? A cuddle and a story? A snack and a snuggle? Brushing teeth, a bath, then rocking together? In How Do You Say Good Night? by Raina Moore, different animal characters share they way they get ready for bedtime together in this predictable, rhyming picture book. The illustrations are delightful and just right for a cozy bedtime read with your toddler or preschooler.

Pick of the Week: I'm a Big Sister!

I'm a Big Sister! by Ronne Randall, illustrated by Kristina Stephenson (Parragon Publishing, 2005)

As youth services librarians, we are regularly asked to recommend a good book for children who will soon become a big brother or sister. Occasionally, a patron will ask for a book on this subject that has a very positive tone and Ronne Randall's book is one of these. In I'm a Big Sister! Ellie is excited about the arrival of the new baby and her new role as a big sister. Of course, she does begin to wonder what it was like to be a baby - and wishes she could be little again. However, she also really enjoys being able to help with all of the duties of taking care of a baby - feeding Baby, changing Baby's diaper, pushing the stroller...and finding out what neat things are reserved for big kids and big sisters!

Last week the Today Show ran a segment on the important role libraries play during the recession, using data and resources provided by the American Library Association and public libraries in our nation:

Libraries Lend a Hand in Tough Times
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/31237988#31237988

Notable figures from the Today Show were: 73% of public libraries report they provide the only free access to the Internet in their communities. This rises to 83 percent for rural libraries: http://tinyurl.com/mupmzd and www.ala.org/plinternetfunding . Also, 68 percent of Americans have a library card: http://tinyurl.com/9ewpcc. [Source: Today Show/MSNBC, ALA]

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library is offering a free series of employment sessions, covering job search skills, resume writing, and job interviews. The series runs from June 11th to June 24th in Corvallis, Alsea, and Monroe. For detailed information, read our blog post.

a grand adventure for a little mouse

Pip in the Grand Hotel by Johannes Hucke, illustrated by Daniel Müller (NorthSouth, 2009, first published in Switzderland as Mäusejagd in Schlosshotel)

Translated into English, this new book from Swiss author Johannes Hucke is a delightful, exhuberant tale of a lively mouse chase. When Mary brings her new pet to show to her friends, the little mouse, Pip, is off and running into the Grand Hotel. The children chase after Pip, into the hotel, and on through the main lobby, hotel kitchen, food pantry, food elevator, royal suite, long hallway, up to the hotel attic... It is there they meet the cat and hopefully not the end of Pip! This is a fun book to share with children that love to pour over the drawings in books. Fans of look-and-find books like Where's Waldo?, I Spy, and Adèle and Simon will enjoy the adventure of Pip in the Grand Hotel.

BookFlix - watch your favorite stories online!

Scholastic BookFlix is a new online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning. This online resource is geared for children ages preschool-grade 3.

Watch the story and read the book! You can read-along with the storybook videos or just listen, watch, and learn. Find your favorite picture books under categories like Animals and Nature; Earth and Sky; People and Places, ABC's and 1,2,3's, Family and Community, Music and Rhyme, Adventure, Celebrations, and Imagination. Listen to Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin and then take a trip a dairy farm by reading Let's Visit a Dairy Farm by Alyse Sweeney to learn real life facts about farms! All of this on your computer at home, on the go, or in the library. If you're a teacher, there are even lesson plans related to each book pairing included. Information about the authors and links to related, age-appropriate websites are included as well.

You can access BookFlix from outside the library by clicking here. Click on the BookFlix link our the Online Resources for Kids page. You will need your library card # to login. Enjoy!

Community Helpers: Police Officers on Patrol

Police Officers on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton, with illustrations by R.W. Alley (Viking, 2009)

Here's a new picture book that is well-suited for a beginning look at what police officers do for preschool-aged children. Rhyming text and humorous cartoon illustrations work together to answer those common questions young children may have about the police and safety:

What do police officers do all day?

What should you do if you are lost or need help?

Who helps keep our town safe?

After each officer responds to a new situation, the police exclaim, "When people need help, we rock and roll!"

Pick of the Week: One Watermelon Seed

"One Watermelon Seed" by Celia Barker Lottridge, illustrations by Karen Patkau (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008 - originally published in 1986)

On the Toronto Public Library's 10 best books of 2008 list for Children up to 5 years of age.

In this picture book from Canada, Max and Josephine are busy tending their garden. Children can count along up to ten with them as they plant their seeds. Then when it is time to harvest the crops from the garden, children can keep counting in tens. Readers will also be busy searching for the small creatures in the garden on each page. Take a look inside the garden fruits and vegetables following the story. Do you have a garden at home or help with a community garden? This is a nice book to share with preschoolers and early elementary-aged children to discuss gardening and for encouraging beginning math skills. The cover also makes me hungry for watermelon!

Pick of the Week: Hidden Hippo

Many children love a good game of hide-and-seek. This also is true of books with this same theme. In Hidden Hippo, a child on safari in the African grasslands is searching for a hippo. Along the way, the child encounters elephants, lions, leopards, chimpanzees, giraffes, flamingos, and zebras, but there's no sign of a hippo! But a closer look will reveal a hidden hippo on every page. Can you find the hippo?

Hidden Hippo by Joan Gannij and Clare Beaton (Barefoot Books, 2008)

Curious? Read! Curious George Reading Program for Young Children

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library invites all children ages birth to four-years-old to participate in the Curious? Read! Curious George Reading Program. The reading program incorporates reading and sharing books together with fun-filled activities you can do with your child to support early literacy development. The single most important activity for raising a successful reader is reading aloud with your child.

To get started, visit the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and ask for your Curious George packet, sponsored by The American Library Association and Houghton Mifflin Company. Sign-up begins June 1st, 2009.

• Your family will receive a Curious George gameboard to record each day you read with your child.
• Receive a sticker for each day you and your child read together!
• When your child completes the gameboard, stop by the library for a certificate and book prize!

Want to learn more about the program and what the library has to offer your young child this summer? Follow this link to our website.

Children ages 5 years-old and older are invited to participate in the Be Creative @ Your Library Summer Reading Program. Follow this link to read more about the summer reading program for school-aged kids!

Pick up all of your summer reading materials at the library during your next visit!

True Books for Young Children

A small sampling of staff picks for sharing realistic and/or non-fiction books with your young child:

The Seashore (a First Discovery Book) by Gallimard Jeunesse and Elisabeth Cohat, illustrated by Pierre de Hugo (Scholastic, 1995)
Turn the page and be amazed at the creatures hiding where land and water meet--crabs, sea anemones, starfish, and more. Colorful transparent pages open to reveal the unexpected--a young flounder hiding in the sand. Striking vivid illustrations and a simple factual text explore nature in this sturdy book with wipe-clean pages.
Tools by Taro Miura (Chronicle Books, 2006)
In this deceptively simple book, children will discover more than 60 different tools, both familiar and new.

Two Blue Jays by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Megan Halsey (Walker, 2003)
Miss Dana's class observes two blue jays as they make their nest, have babies, and teach them to fly. Includes information on the physical characteristics and behavior of blue jays.

Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley, photographs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic Press, 1999)
This frog found in the rain forest of Central America spends the night searching for food while also being careful not to become dinner for some other animal.

Puppies, Puppies, Everywhere! by Cat Urbigkit (Boyds Mills Press, 2006)
Simple rhyming text describes different puppies, from large to small, and their actions, from fighting to biting.

Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley, photographs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic Press, 2005)
Experience close-up the many moods (and colors) of chameleons. One brave chameleon ventures from the safety of his tree in search of a new home. On his journey, he meets other rain forest animals, not all of them friendly! Alas, the new tree he chooses is already home to another chameleon. She dons her aggressive coloring until she's sure that the visitor is friend, not foe. Then they welcome each other with brilliant, happy colors.Incredible photographs and simple text perfect for young children is rounded out with informative backmatter on one of the planet's most captivating creatures.

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins (Houghton Mifflin, 2004)
In this visually stunning book, seeing is believing as Jenkins illustrates animals both large and small at their actual size.

{Summaries c. Syndetics}