Valentine Crafts by Greta Speechley

Try using paper hearts on doilies and decorate with stickers and crayons.  You can also add some bling by using shiny stickers or glueing on some gems.   One of my favorite online resources is Family Fun.   You can check out Disney’s Family Fun magazine from our collection.  We have the current year and the previous two years on our shelves.  

Skip to my Lou is wonderful online resource for printable crafts that include some cute flower lollipops.

However you choose to celebrate this year please know that the Children’s Department at Naperville Public Library wishes you a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Grab your little one and put them on your knee for a rolicking good time!

Acka Backa

 Acka Backa soda cracker,  acka backa boo,

 (rock, swing or bounce child)

 Acka Backa soda cracker, I love you!  (hug child)

 Acka Backa soda cracker, acka backa boo. (rock, swing or bounce)

 Acka Backa soda cracker,  Up goes you!  (Lift child in the air)

Mother Goose Rhymes might seem out of place in our modern world, but the fun language, exciting rhythms and repetition make them perfect for Baby’s first language experiences.  You can find lots of books at the library (like the ones below) to learn new rhymes or help you remember old favorites to share with your little ones.  

Beatrix Potter’s Nursery Rhyme Book, J398.8 POT 

My Very First Mother Goose, J398.8 MOT

Baby Goose, J398.8 MOT

Or a new take on an old favorite:  Four and Twenty Dinosaurs, J398.8 MOS

For more information about this book visit our catalog. 

Here at the library, we’re always excited to find out which books won the prestigious Caldecott and Newbery medals. We may sometimes disagree with the award committees’ selections, but lively debate about books is always welcome at the library. In addition to the Caldecott and Newbery, there are quite a few other awards given for children and teen materials. For a complete list, visit this page on the American Library Association website: 2012 ALA Youth Media Awards. These awards are administered by divisions of the American Library Association, and announced at the ALA midwinter conference held in January. 

A Ball for Daisy – a beautiful wordless picture book by Chris Raschka won the Caldecott medal for the most distinguished American picture book. There were three honor books named too: Blackout illustrated and written by John Rocco, Grandpa Green illustrated and written by Lane Smith, and Me…Jane illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell. Interestingly, all of the Caldecott selections this year were written AND illustrated by one artist – this definitely isn’t always the case.

Find it in our catalog:  A Ball For Daisy

Find it in our catalog: Blackout

Find it in our catalog: Grandpa Green

Find it in our catalog: Me…Jane

The Newbery medal was given to Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos – which is shelved in the young adult section of the Naperville Public Library. Two honor books were also named: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (which also won a National Book Award) and Breaking Stalin’s Nose written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin.

Interested in finding a past winner? We have many award lists posted on our website:  Children’s Book Awards

95th Street February title

Nichols February title

        If you love talking about books and are in 3rd-5th grade, come to the Bookologist Reading Club! No registration is required—just show up and be ready to have a fun time! Not only do the Bookologists discuss awesome books that YOU vote on to read, you also participate in fun activities that are unique to each club. “What activities?” you ask. Well…..come and find out! In the past, our two clubs have made origami figures, hunted for clues in a scavenger hunt, played games, and written codes in a fantastical language!
       For the current Winter/Spring session, the Bookologist Reading Club is offered at our Nichols and 95th St. locations so you can choose which location works best for you. At Nichols, the club will meet from 4:30-5:15 on the fourth Wednesday of each month on Feb. 25th, Mar. 28th, and Apr. 25th. At 95th St., the club will meet from 6:30-7:15 on the third Wednesday of every month on Feb. 15th, Mar. 21st, and Apr. 25th.
      Ready to start reading the book for our February meeting? At Nichols, the book discussed will be Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. At 95th Street, the book discussed will be Running Out of Time by Margaret Haddix. These books were chosen at our November meetings.
           Enjoy these fantastic books, and we’ll see you at the meeting!

I recently attended a workshop presented by author Michael Sullivan that was very informative about getting boys and other reluctant readers to read. One highlight of the workshop that I want to share with all those parents of boys out there is that you should keep reading aloud to boys even after they learn to read on their own. And if your voice gets tired - check out an audiobook and listen together!

Here are some genres that are favorites with many boys, along with some recommended authors:

Non-fiction – subjects like space, sports, animals and weather

Science fiction and fantasy – Jonathan Stroud, Rick Riordan

Sports – Mike Lupica, John Feinstein

Action and adventure – Will Hobbs, Gordan Korman

Gothic/Horror – Tony Abbott, Darren Shan

Humor – Dav Pilkey, Carl Hiassen

Visual fiction and graphic novels – Jeff Smith

If you’re interested in reading more about boys and books, check out one of Michael Sullivan’s books:

Michael Sullivan – Connecting Boys With Books

Happy new year! Are you looking for something fun to do? How about bringing one of your stuffed animal friends to the 95th Street Library or the Nichols Library for a Stuffed Animal Sleepover! Lots of fun things are planned for your furry friends. Check the Naperville Public Library website for pictures from Naper Boulevard Library’s program in December.

If you want to come to the 95th Street Library, drop off your animal friend on Tuesday, January 3rd between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. and pick them up at the Stuffed Animal Sleepover Storytime on Wednesday, January 4th at 10:30 a.m.

At the Nichols Library you can bring your stuffed animal friend on Friday, January 6th between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. and return on Saturday morning, January 7 at 10:00 a.m. for a storytime to enjoy with your family and animal friend.

Here are some good books for sleepovers:

Good Night, Sleep Tight by Claire Freedman

How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight? by Varsha Bajaj

Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen

1. Be a good role model. Turn off the TV. Pick up a book., a newspaper, or a magazine.
2. Share what you read!  If you think something is funny, your child will think so too!
3. Find out where your child’s passion lies. Find books on that subject.
4. Encourage your son, daughter, grandchild, niece,  or nephew, to make friends with the Childrens Librarian. He or she would love to talk books with your child.
5. Give books as gifts, and treasure them as such.
6. Display books, magazines, newspapers, all over your house. These objects make a lovely and inviting mess.
7. Explore ebooks together — you can pack a lot of books along on a Kindle or Nook when you travel. 
8. Listen to a Book on CD together when you are in the car.
9. READ OUT LOUD — a shared story is a great pleasure,  a break from the real world,  and a wonderful pathway to bedtime.

TIME TOGETHER is precious.

Here are some of our favorite photos from 2011!

Do you recognize anyone?

Thanks for coming to the library this year, and

we hope to see you even more in

2012.

What?  Someone called you from Naperville Public Library at 1:00 a.m.?”

Don’t forget our feathered friends this winter. Make them a bird feeder, out of natural materials, that blends with the environment.  The pine cone bird feeder is decorative and easy to make for the whole family.

Supplies:                                                                                                                                                                                      

• pine cone                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
• smooth peanut butter                                                                                      
• birdseed
• string or yarn
• scissors
• paper plate
• butter knife

How to make:

• cut a length of string or yarn to hang the feeder
• tie on the pine cone near the top
• use the knife to coat the pine cone with peanut butter inside and around the edges
• roll the pine cone in the birdseed on the paper plate
• hang the bird feeder on a tree
• watch the birds eat their seed

Enjoy your many winter visitors, and try to identify the different birds. 

 It’s fun to use these books: National Audubon Society North American Birdfeeder Handbook

                                                 National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds

Get into the holiday spirit with these new picture books:

We have multiple illustrated editions of The Night before Christmas, the traditional poem by Clement Clarke Moore, including our newest acquisition, illustrated by Jan Brett in her trademark style.

For fans of Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona, Strega Nona’s Gift presents holiday season celebrations in a Calabrian village.  Big Anthony can’t resist Strega Nona’s cooking, even when it is for the animals!

For a holiday picture book that involves bad behavior followed by a well-learned lesson, read A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel, featuring the further escapades of Bad Kitty.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, which adapts to picture book format her classic chapter book of the same title, features the irrepressible Herdmans who take over the pageant but then “surprise everyone when they capture the true meaning of Christmas.”

The Perfect Christmas by Eileen Spinelli contrasts two families at Christmas, one perfect and one decidedly not, but they come together to celebrate when it begins to snow.

The Golem’s Latkes by Eric A. Kimmel is a Hanukkah tale involving a golem, a man of clay, made by the rabbi, which keeps working at what he is told to do until instructed to stop.  The new housemaid sets the golem to work preparing latkes for Hanukkah with disastrous results.

Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles by Tami Lehman-Wilzig is a contemporary Hanukkah story about how the parents and brother of a boy with autism include him in their celebration of the holiday.

And more …   Come into the library this month to browse our collection of holiday books!