Nursery Rhyme Mini Books

Hearing and saying nursery rhymes help children develop early reading skills. Children who listen to nursery rhymes often have an easier time recognizing and sounding out the different sounds that make up a word. Plus, many nursery rhymes are just plain fun! Here's a family activity that will help promote this skill:

Print out all 24 nursery rhyme coloring pages, fold them into mini books, and have your child color them. Read them at home with your child or carry them with you in your bag to share with your child on the go! Early Literacy - To Go!

Pick of the Week: Gideon by Olivier Dunrea

Gideon by Olivier Dunrea (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2012)

Meet Gideon, a small gosling with a lot of energy. He'd like to play ALL day! But Mama Goose tells him it's nap time. Will he come or is he too busy? Young children will relate to this adorable little guy who is having so much fun and has so many plans that are getting in the way of nap time!

My Flea Has Dogs: New Caspar Babypants Video

A little video for you to enjoy today!

Lambing Season

It's lambing season at the Oregon State University Sheep Center! This is always a wonderful family and group event.

Wee Little Lamb by Lauren Thompson, illustrated John Butler (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009)

According to the OSU site:

The lambing barn will be open for self guided tours from February 20th to March 14th. The barn will be CLOSED Thursdays and Fridays for university classes. Daily hours are 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Admission is free;  however, visitors are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for donation to the Linn-Benton Food Share. To avoid over crowding of the barn and parking area, groups larger than 12 are asked to schedule their visits. Read more here...

Children's Musician Charlie Hope in Concert 2/23

Charlie Hope Music

Children's musician Charlie Hope will be performing a free, family concert on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10 am at the Corvallis Library Main Meeting Room. 

Join us for a great time! For more information, contact Youth Services at 541-766-6794.

Charlie Hope music has received numerous awards, including Winner of the Independent Music Awards, a 2010 Juno Award Nominee, Boston Children's Music Favorite Kid's Album of 2009, Parent's Choice Silver Award 2009, Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award 2009, Parent's Choice Recommended Award 2010, among others. Charlie Hope's cds include I'm Me!, Songs, Stories, and Friends: Let's Go Play!, and World of Dreams: Soothing Songs and Lullabies. We've featured several of Charlie Hope's songs at storytime, including "Mr. Sun," "Frog Song," "Train Song," and "Roll Over." Head over to her website, to get a feel for her music for young children. Hope to see you at the concert!
 

Pick of the Week: Where Does Love Come From?

Where Does Love Come From? illustrated by Milena Kirkova (Accord Pub, 2011)

Have you ever wondered where love comes from? A series of silly questions ask where love comes from. Does love bloom in a garden? Or swim in the sea? Children will giggle as they look through this charming book and take note of the heart patterns around us. A fun book to share for Valentine's Day!

Celebrate Chinese New Year event on Saturday!

My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz (H. Holt, 2004)

Spanish/English/Chinese Trilingual Storytime:
Celebrate Chinese New Year!
Join us for trilingual English/Spanish/Chinese stories, songs, a special craft, and a dragon parade at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, February 11th. The event will be held in the Main Meeting Room of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Refreshments served. All ages welcome. Free! 

Venga y disfrute de la fiesta de su biblioteca! Un programa bilingüe cada més en la biblioteca. ¡Gratis! 

For more information, contact Youth Services, 541-766-6794.

Pick of the Week: We March by Shane Evans

We March by Shane W. Evans (Roaring Brook Press, 2012)

The events of the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr. famously gave his "I Have a Dream" speech are depicted in this new picture book by Shane Evans. This is a simple, but excellent introduction to this topic. You could easily pair this book with March On!: the Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris or Martin's Big Words: the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport to share this important historical event with children.

March On!: The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris, illustrated by London Ladd (Scholastic, 2008)

Scholastic also features a video of March On! along with other stories about African American history on this DVD.