Happy Birthday Maurice Sendak!

Seen Google's homepage today? The doodle is a Wild Rumpus in honor of what would have been Maurice Sendak's 85th birthday! We miss you Mr. Sendak.

Also, check out this link from the Horn Book, featuring their favorite Sendak articles and reviews.

Little House on the Prairie and 21st Century Medicine

Hey fans of the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, if the mention of "scarlet fever" makes you think of Mary Ingalls losing her sight, check out this article!

What really made Mary Ingalls go blind?

Cast a Vote for Reading!

So the second presidential debate is over and the campaigns have kicked into high gear.  Now is the time to teach kids about our electoral process!  Check out SLJ's Best Websites for Teaching the Presidential Election and then come on over to the youth services department where we have a great display of election books!

Cool Links!

Slate's interview with R.J. Palacio, author of one of the most notable children's books of the year, Wonder.

Full Episodes of Mister Roger's Neighborhood are available online at PBS Kids. Watch the crayon segment in the "how things are made section" or take a virtual field trip!

The National Book Foundation announced the finalists for the 2012 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature.

Over at the Huffington Post there's a slide show of foods from children's books. Lot's of great party ideas here. 

Happy Clicking!

Calling Caldecott Discusses Green

Green by Lauren Vaccaro Seeger is one of the staff favorites. Come check it out if you haven’t. Don’t you just want to touch the paint? But is it a Caldecott contender? See what the experts at Calling Caldecott think.

Whoo Hooo!

Caldecott discussion has started up again over at Calling Caldecott. Can't wait to talk about Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic by Mônica Carnesi, and Penny and her Song by Kevin Henkes. Yay!

Tour with Brian Selznick

New York’s American Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit.  But not everyone can make it to NYC. Well now you can take a field-trip from the comfort of your own home. Check out this virtual field trip by Scholastic, led by the best-selling author Brian Selznick! Selznick, along with a curator and a scientist, guides students through three exhibits that were featured in his 2011 novel Wonderstruck!

Happy Birthday Lucy Cousins!

Today is Maisy author Lucy Cousins's birthday. Visit Maisy's Fun Clun at www.maisyfunclub.com for downloadable coloring sheets, games. and more!

Two Websites to Check Out!

The Whitney Museum Of American Art just launched For Kids, a new section of its site devoted to children ages 8 to 12. This interactive site provide biographies and overviews of each featured artist's work; current featured artists include Alexander Calder, Edward Hopper, Glenn Ligon, Claes Oldenberg and Cindy Sherman. Visit For Kids here.

Who doesn't love free? Cannon's Creative Park is filled with free print materials, including flashcards and kid's projects.  Try printing out these educational cards to help children to learn about the different houses that animals live in here. Picture matching word cards are grouped under 'fruits & vegetables' and are available in 6 languages - Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, and Chinese. You can study the language of your choice here. And then try these flashcards of everyday items here.

El Dia de los Muertos

Today is El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), a Mexican celebration to remember  those who have departed. On this day in Mexico, the streets near the cemeteries are filled with decorations of papel picado, flowers, candy calaveras (skeletons and skulls), and parades.

It is believed that the spirit of the dead visit their families on October 31 and leave on November 2. In order to celebrate, the families make altars and place ofrendas (offerings) of food such as pan de muertos baked in shapes of skulls and figures, candles, incense, yellow marigolds known as cempazuchitl (also spelled zempasuchil) and most importantly a photo of the departed soul is placed on the altar.

Check out a recipe for calaveras (sugar skulls) here.

Make a Day of the Dead skeleton puppet here.

The Smithsonian has a fabulous and kid-friendly site for more information on El Dia de los Muertos. Check it out here.

Looking for books on this holiday?  You might want to try these:

Clatter Bash: A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard Clemenson Keep (P KEE)

Maria Molina and the Days of the Dead by Kathleen Krull (P KRU)

Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead by George Ancona (J 393.9 ANC)

Pottermore: The Big Reveal...

Happy Birthday Roald Dahl!

In celebration of the birthday month of the world's greatest storyteller, Penguin Young Readers is sponsoring the first-ever Roald Dahl Reading Dahlathon!

What is it?

• A Reading Challenge that kicks off in September for Roald Dahl Month!

How can kids participate?

• Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, ages 7–13.
• Kids track their reading progress in the Official Reading Journal from September–December 2010.
• When they’ve read three Roald Dahl books, they have a parent, teacher, librarian, or guardian sign their entry coupon in the Official Reading Journal and mail in the signed coupon to receive Dahlicious prizes!

What are the prizes?

• An official Reading Dahlathon Certificate
• A free Roald Dahl book adapted into a play
• An official Reading Dahlathon Medal (while supplies last)

Here's how you can get involved:

Click here for the official Dahlathon website, where you can get more information about the program and download materials such as the Roald Dahl Reading Dahlathon Official Reading Journal, which includes the official entry form; a Roald Dahl Month Celebration Calendar with a new idea for each day of the month; and Reproducible Activity Sheets.

Wimpy Kid News!

Book 5 in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series comes out November 9th but you don't have to wait until then to find out what color the cover will be.  Just click here to sneek a peek at the cover, play the "cheese touch" game and turn yourself in to a wimpy kid cartoon!  As a bonus, if you click on "video and audio" you can listen to the new hit single by Rowley's idol, Joshie!

And don't forget to join us for our very own Wimpy Kid Party, August 17th at 2:30 p.m. in the conference center!

Reading Resources

If you are a parent of a beginning reader, you may have questions about how to help your child with this newly aquired skill.  Well, here are some great websites that you can use a resources.

Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.

Reading is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most. The webiste has a parents page with useful tips for parents.

The National Institute for Literacy
The National Institute for Literacy, a federal agency, provides leadership on literacy issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children, youth, and adults.

Educational Resources Information Center
Click on Family Info Center to find Parent Brochures from the U.S. Department of Education, Parents and Children Together Online Magazine, and the Parent Talk Magazine.  Plus find links to frequently requested information including their free Question and Answer Service, Homework Helpers, Parental Involvement in Reading and Writing Pages, National Parent Information Network, and other Parent Friendly Sites.

Win a Chance to see Curious George (and other cool prizes)!

Hey, did you know that you could win great prizes just by reading? Well thanks to the NJ State Library, you can! As part of  their ongoing commitment to encourage families to read and learn at their library, the NJ State Library is launching several new contests. Contests running right now include: free tickets to see Curious George at the IZOD Center, a free poster of NJ Devil Zach Parisi and free tickets to see the 2009 Woman's Professional Soccer Team, NJ SkyBlue!

Click here to enter. All you need to do to enter is put in the latest book you've read!

We Need Your Voice!

Library users, we need your help. Gov. Christie's budget calls for an unprecedented 74% decrease in funding for statewide library services. This cut includes the elimination of all statewide library programs and services. 

There is also an attack on libraries from members of your legislature. Proposed legislation A2555 will ELIMINATE minimum funding for libraries and will result in fewer books, fewer hours and fewer services and will cause some libraries to close. Local library funding targeted in A2555 typically represents less than 3% of local property taxes.  We need your voice.  Please tell your legislators to OPPOSE A2555, and support funding for municipal libraries as a dedicated tax. County Libraries and Open Space are currently funded with dedicated taxes.

Save My NJ Library is an online resource with up to the minute information about library funding and what you can do to help SAVE YOUR LIBRARY! With just one click of your mouse you can contact legislators and become a library champion!

Too young to vote? We still would love for you to contact your legislators but there is plenty more that you can do to help.

• Come into the library and participate in our postcard campaign.
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  Write a letter about what our library means to you and send it to the newspaper.
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  Talk to your friends. You can help spread the word by asking your friends to become library champions too! Try challenging yourself to talk to five people a day about the library and ask them to spread the word.
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  Use our resources, attend our programs, and bring your friends. The more you use the library, the more community leaders will see how important our services are. 

Tech Savy Books!

One of the newest trends in children's book publishing is the "multiplatform" book. Multiplatform books are books with accompanying computer applications such as videos, online games, and chat forums. There's a great article from Booklist Online about multiplatform books. The article talks about how these books and their accompanying media are a great way to motivate reluctant readers, drawing them into a book's world with the online features. A child can join a community of fellow readers by sharing drawings or playing online games. Early on, multiplatform books tended to be aimed at teen readers but it is more and more common to see such series for younger children. Interested in using these books at home with your child? Here are some recent books series that have online features:

Fairy Godmother Academy: Birdie’s Book By Jan Bozarth. Grades 3-6.

Website: http://www.fairygodmotheracademy.com/

Flat Stanley series By Jeff Brown. Grades K-3.

Website: http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/

Fancy Nancy Poet Extraordinaire (The Fancy Nancy series) By Jane O'Connor. Grades Preschool-1.

Website: http://www.fancynancybooks.com/

Amelia Bedelia series By Peggy and Herman Parish Grades Preschool - 1.

Website: http://www.ameliabedeliabooks.com/

Smash! Crash! (The Trucktown Series) By John Scieszka. Grades Preschool-1.

Website: http://www.trucktown.com/

Cat the Cat, Who Is That? By Mo Willems. Grades Preschool -K

Website: http://www.gomo.net/

The Babysitter's Club Reissued

Scholastic plans to reissue a repackaged and slightly revised version of the first two books in The Baby-Sitters Club series. Now a whole new generation can enjoy this series! While you are waiting for the books you might want to take this quiz to find out which member of the baby-sitters club you are most like. I ended up as Mary-Anne. Who are you?

Making the List

Looking for book recommendation? Need some great gift ideas? Now is the time that everyone is coming out with their best books of 2009 lists. Here are a few to get you started:

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Gift Guide 2009

Reading Rocket Holiday Buying Guide 2008

And don't forget to check out our monthly Book Buzz and our K-5 book lists on this blog for book suggestions!

Website Wednesday: Movies Based on Children's Books

Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox is being made into a stop motion animated film. Check out the preview here.

Another movie preview to check out is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. You can learn more about the movie and view that trailer here. At the library, we'll be celebrating the movie's release with a Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs party on September 12th. Registration is required so call us or register using the online calendar.

And for the older kids, don't miss the preview for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. But beware, this is Tim Burton's version so it's kind of creepy! You can see it here.

Enjoy the previews and while you're waiting for the movie, stop by the library and pick up the book!