LOOK WHAT WE DID ON SNAPSHOT DAY!

Look what we did on Snapshot Day (Feb. 17)! (Snapshot Day is a joint project of the CT Library Association, the CT State Library and the CT Library Consortium).

Nutmeg 2010 Book Award Winners!

And the winners are...

Intermediate (Grades 4-6) Winner:

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Teen (Grades 6-8)Winner:

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

School Vacation Week!

Happy Valentine's Day, and Happy School Vacation Week!

Kids bored already? Take a look at TumbleBooks (just click on the word)!

The TumbleBook Library is an online collection of animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.
(Requires the Flash plug-in to view and hear the animation.)

For older kids, take a look at TumbleReadables (just click on the word)!  TumbleReadables is an online collection of read-along titles for elementary, middle school, and high school students which features adjustable online test and complete audio narration. Sentences are highlighted as they are being read and the pages turn automatically. The collection features chapter books, early readers, YA.Teen novels, high interest/low level books for both middle school and high school students, plus classics of American and English literature.

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Celebrate Chinese New Year on February 14!

Kung Hei Fat Choy! February 14, 2010 will welcome in the next Chinese New Year - the Year of the Tiger!

Learn all about the holiday at Activity Village. This site also has some great craft ideas and printables.

Visit the library and check out some great books about the Chinese New Year and China! Some great titles are:

Celebrating Chinese New Year by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith ; photographs by Lawrence Migdale.

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats : A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes
   by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, and the Children's Museum of Boston ; illustrated by Meilo So.

My Chinatown : one year in poems  by Kam Mak.

This Next New Year by Janet S. Wong ; pictures by Yangsook Choi.

Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look ; illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf.

The Year of the Dog : A Novel  by Grace Lin.

The Year of the Rat : A Novel  by Grace Lin.

NEW Rick Riordan Series!

Hey, fans of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series! Rick Riordan's NEW series, called The Kane Chronicles, launches on May 4, 2010 with the first book, called The Red Pyramid. The official description of the series follows:

"Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs."

Nutmeg Book Award Nominees 2011

The 2011 Nutmeg Book Award Intermediate (Grades 4-6) Nominees for 2011 have been announced!

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today - predicting 6 more weeks of winter! Get a leg up on summer reading while the weather is lousy and start reading the new nominees! They can all be found in the Children's Room.

The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 4-8 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. The titles for this year are as follows:

Elephant Run by Roland Smith


Nick Freestone is trying to escape Nazi bombs in London when his mother sends him to stay with his father on a teak plantation in Burma. Unfortunately he arrives in Burma just as the Japanese invade the country and take his father prisoner. Can he and his new friend Mya risk their lives to help POWs escape on elephant back?

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff


Just before his eleventh birthday, Sam discovers his own picture in a mysterious newspaper article in his grandfather's attic. Although gifted with woodworking skills, Sam can't read, so he enlists the help of a new girl at school to solve the puzzle of who he really is and where he came from.

First Light by Rebecca Stead


Seven generations ago, a group of people hunted as witches escaped to a sanctuary beneath Greenland's ice cap. When Peter arrives in Greenland with his scientist parents, he discovers Thea and a passage to an underground city. Together the two teenagers must save the underground community and in doing so, discover their hidden connection.

Iron Thunder by Avi


Thirteen-year-old Tom Carroll finds work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on a secret project that may benefit the Northern armies during the Civil War. Pursued by spies from the South, he ends up in the middle of a sea battle. Will he find the courage to survive?

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

When Evan's sister Jessie skips third grade and ends up in his fourth grade class, he is worried she will embarrass him with her school smarts. To settle the question of who is smarter, he challenges Jessie to a lemonade war. Which sibling can run the most successful lemonade stand in a five day competition?

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

What would you do if you were camping on an island beach with your boy scout troop and a huge earthquake woke you? What if a tsunami followed the quake and you were trapped against a cliff? What if a bully, and your least favorite person, was the only hope of rescue?

No Talking by Andrew Clements

How will the teachers and principals react when a normally way-too-talkative class nicknamed the "unshushables" suddenly becomes SILENT? Is it because of a student rebellion? A strange disease? Or is it just the result of a contest between the boys and the girls?

Swindle by Gordon Korman


Griffin Bing is the "man with a plan." Afer a collector cheats him out of a valuable baseball card, he recruits his diverse group of friends in an adventure that includes vicious dogs, high-tech security, tall trees, and a frozen turkey.
 
 
 

The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff


Everything is a challenge for Georgie, a 42 inch dwarf, including school furniture, running track, and playing an instrument. To add to his worries, his mother is expecting a new baby, he has a fight with his best friend, and he gets paired with "Jeanie the Meanie" for a school project. Can anything else go wrong?

Valentine's Day Card Craft

Wed., February 10 @ 4 PM

Make handmade Valentine’s Day cards. For grades K and up. Registration is required. Call or register online.