HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

READY FOR SCHOOL

Together, we can ensure that 15 MINUTES of daily reading aloud goes from a recommendation to a parenting must.  

Why?  

Because,

• when more children are read aloud to daily, more children will be kindergarten ready;
• when more children are kindergarten ready, more children will succeed in school; and
• when more children succeed in school, we all succeed.

 "Foster school success" 

SWIMMING TO SOLACE

When Kasienka and her mother move to England from Poland in search of her father who abandoned them, she loses more than just her home. She begins to lose her identity. At school, they call her Cassie, and she begins to break apart into pieces. There is the Cassie who, even though she is 12 going on 13, they put into sixth grade. There is the Cassie who is being bullied and tries her hardest not to fight back. And then there is Kasienka. The Kasienka who helps her mother look for her father despite the cold and terrible conditions. The Kasienka who's only relief from life is swimming laps like an olympian.  And the Kasienka who is in love.

Follow Kasienka's journey as she immigrates to a new country and navigates her changing world in The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan. This novel told in verse is suitable for Grades six and up.

KEEP READING ALOUD TO YOUR CHILD

Develop Language: 

• ONLY 48% of young children in this country are read to each day.  
•  The number of words that a child knows on entering kindergarten is a key predictor of his or her future success.  
• Research shows that reading aloud is the single most important thing you can do to help a child prepare for reading and learning.  

http://www.readaloud.org/importance.html

TEENS, INTERESTED IN MAKING MINI COMICS?

 
Come by Saturday, at 11:30 at the Central Library  Auditorium for a mini workshop as part of The Big Draw L.A. 

WHEN THE WALLS TALK?

When forced to move, what better than to find a house that has a history, a mysterious past, one might even say a "haunted" house. This is exactly how the Walker children feel when their parents buy a creepy Victorian home in San Francisco, which used to belong to a famous scary author. Turns out this author's daughter, Dahlia, who's pretty creepy herself, lives right next door and leads the Walkers on some very strange adventures - almost as if they are reliving some of her father's stories! HOUSE OF SECRETS by Christopher Columbus and Ned Vizzini is a long book, but well worth the read for anyone interested in adventure, mystery, and the ever popular family dynamics that crop up in lots of books nowadays. For grades 6 and up.

JULY 2013

Books About Bullying- BULLY BY LAURA VACCARO SEEGER

 Bully the Bull's feelings are hurt when he is asked to GO AWAY!  Not realizing he might have pent up feelings from being yelled at, he begins to mistreat others by yelling at them, name calling, and glaring. When one of the animals stands up to Bully, Bully is shocked and dismayed.  What will Bully the Bull do next?  A simple, yet powerful message about  bullying and how  hurtful it can be to others. 

Best for Pre-K and up, and for adults and children to read and discuss together.

Books About Bullying- THE LITTLE BULLY BY BETH BRACKEN

   

Billy is a cool kid with many reasons to smile.  He has friends.  He is kind to people and animals.  He even has a great smile (even with a tooth sticking out!).  When a classmate continuously teases and berates him, Billy tries to stand up to the bully but the plan backfires.  Billy begins to internalize the comments and questions himself and his abilities.  Things get so bad that Billy refuses to go to school. Ultimately, Billy decides to put his feelings aside and tell the bully about the consequences of his actions.  Will Billy's statement make an impact on the bully? 
THE LITTLE BULLY by BETH BRACKEN would be great to share at home or in a classroom.

For children in Pre-K and up, and for adults and children to read and discuss together.

Books About Bullying- BEN RIDES ON by MATT DAVIES

Ben Lukin gets the bike of his dreams and truly enjoys riding it to school. Unfortunately, a third grade bully at the school uses physical force to take Ben's shiny two-wheeler, leaving Ben in shock.  Ben doesn't report the bullying, nor do the other student witnesses.  While Ben is in class he tries to think of ways to seek revenge.  On the way home, he finds his bike hanging from a tree, and discovers that the bully is in a sticky and life- threatening situation.  Will Ben's wish for ill-will toward the bully come true or will Ben use good judgement and help a person in need?

BEN RIDES ON by Pulitzer Prize- winning cartoonist Matt Davies will sure to delight readers, not only with his line pencil drawings, but with his lead character's courage, integrity, and level headedness.  Davies' book is a lesson for the bullied and for the bully.  

For 2nd grade and up, and for adults and children to read and discuss together.

BULLYING- IT'S NOT OKAY!!

BULLYING- IT'S NOT OKAY!! 
Enjoy a presentation and a story read by an officer from the Area Command Unit of the Glendale Police Department, and other surprises.
For families with children in grades 3-8.

When: Wednesday, October 23 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Casa Verdugo Library
1151 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA  91202
Telephone: 818-548-2047
                                                    

EVERYBODY DRAW!

Artists of all ages are welcome this Saturday, October 19,  10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Central Branch.   
Celebrate creativity with us! Join us for one of our The Big Draw LA events! 

This family-friendly community drawing project will feature the unique people and places in Glendale. Educator and Nickelodeon artist Kristin Donner will show examples of how different towns and their inhabitants are portrayed in fine art and cartoon art and talk about some simple principles of design. 

Kids and adults will collaborate on a large panel collage of our city skyline and will be able to 'plant' trees they draw as well as draw their families and friends doing the things they do around town. 

The finished collage will be displayed in the Library to show how it takes many people working together using their unique talents to make up our city!

WHISPERER HOPES

From Mr. B at the Grandview Branch: 

It takes a mighty fine storyteller to turn a wooly worm race into a page turning adventure, but that’s exactly what Betty Hicks does in The Worm Whisperer.  Fifth grade class clown Ellis has a serious side.  Dad needs back surgery, as well as $1,000 for the insurance deductible.  Mom is working three jobs to pay the bills.  Ellis takes care of dad, the chores, and their blueberry crop.  The prize at the Annual Wooly Worm Festival Worm Race contest is $1,000.  Ellis knows a horse whisperer, who tells him her secret:  speak to the animal from your heart.  Speaking from the heart is tough work for Ellis, but worth the try to help pay dad’s insurance; so Ellis becomes a worm whisperer.  

Ellis’ worm, Tink, responds every time he speaks to her from his heart. She responds so well, he takes her to church to expose her to crowds.  She “dances” in the pew, and marches up someone’s leg.  When he takes her to school, his class clown status results in a fight, a chase, and the near death of Tink.  Well into her training, and two days before the race, Tink disappears – possibly inside the cat.  When class clown Ellis tells his friends from his heart what the race meant to him, they rally behind him and he is able to enter a new worm, Belle.  

The race, a series of three elimination rounds, is described in breathless detail.  Belle is a champ, but poops out (literally) in the third round.  Belle and Ellis lose the third race, and the $1,000, but win at some of life’s greatest lessons.  Semi spoiler: dad gets his operation after all.  Surprising fact: there really is an Annual Wooly Worm Festival every October, in Banner Elk, North Carolina.  This quick read is an excellent read-aloud.

RL: grades 4-5

WHY NOT READ ALOUD?

Read Aloud 15 MINUTES. Every child. Every parent. Every day.


From birth to age 3 are critical years in the development of a child's language skills. 

http://www.readaloud.org/15minutes.html 

MIX MASTER

A review by Mr. B. from the Grandview branch: 

On the first day of 3^rd Grade, new boy in town Sidney has his hands full dealing with a school bully and a Third Grade Mix-Up caused by a blonde girl in his class named Sydney. Both Sidney and Sydney are upset when their mothers meet and become best friends, forcing the third graders to spend more time together. That’s when they learn they both like the same breakfast cereal and they both like the same computer game. They become not best friends, because boys and girls don’t do that, but good friends. Sidney’s best friend is a boy named Gomez and Sydney’s best friend is a girl named Harley. As Sidney and Sydney alternate chapters, we learn the good the bad and the confusing about third grade and friendships. 

The four friendships are put to a grand test when the book ends at Halloween as costumes are destroyed; the importance of candy is debated; diabetes is explained; and compromise is the key to a creative solution. Michele Jakubowski has written a funny, easy to read friendship story that is sure to become a successful series.

Reading Level 3-4

CHALK ON THE WALK NOW!

Come help us decorate the library's walkways with chalk this morning.  Put your infinite imagination to work on our big wide open space.  
EVERYBODY DRAW!  

A collaboration with The Big Draw L.A., the sidewalk chalk drawing is a family event.  Join us Saturday, October 12 from 11-1p.m. in front  of the Central Library Branch on Louise and Harvard.  

Free parking validation for 3 hours across the street in the parking structure.  

A SIDEWALK DRAW DRAW DRAW

As part of the The Big Draw L.A., the Central Library and Children's Room will be hosting Chalk on the Walk, a sidewalk chalk drawing experience.  Come and spend some time drawing all over our walkway.  It's open to kids of all ages. Refreshments will be served.   






Saturday, October 12, 11-1p.m.

Central Library Branch (in front of the library)
222 E. Harvard St. 
Glendale, CA 91205 

We validate for 3 hrs. in the Marketplace parking structure across the street.  

MOXIE TAKES AFTER HER GRANDFATHER AND HAS SOME MOXIE

The last thing Moxie wanted to do this summer was to be stalked and stressed out by the creepy Redhead.  You see her grandfather, who has Alzheimer, use to hide things for criminals.  He has good days, where he remembers who she is, and bad days, when he thinks she is her mother, Anne.  

So when the creepy Redhead wants the stuff her grandfather had hidden for Sully Cupcakes all those years ago, she has to figure out where he hid them or else her entire family is in danger.  Along with her best friend, Ollie, Moxie races against time and her Grumps' spotty memory in order to find the missing Gardner art pieces, hidden all over Boston when he worked as a carpenter.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne is a fast paced mystery adventure perfect for readers and mystery lovers in grades 6-8.   

GROW BRAINS GROW

Come in and check out some books to read aloud to your child this month.  If you don't have a lot of time, why not request them online and we will hold them for you so you can just zip in and zip out.  Our Central branch is open everyday of the week.
HAPPY READING! 

BULLIES & APACHE HELICOPTERS

The ninety-one letters Derek keeps in his dad's Knight Rider lunchbox are the only way he can communicate with his dad. Since Derek was five, his dad has spent most of his time flying Apache Helicopters for the Army.  Last year, Derek and his mom thought his dad was home for good, but the Army called him back and now he is in Afghanistan.  His dad's letters help him through all the problems life throws at him.   Like being bullied by the kid he thought was his best friend. Or showing up at the school bus stop in the pouring rain on a Saturday.  Or forgetting his mom's birthday.  Or just plain missing his dad.  

Join Derek in this funny and touching account of how military service affects children and families in David Fleming's novel, The Saturday Boy.  This book is appropriate for children in Grades 5 and above.

SEPTEMBER, A GIRL, AND SATURDAY, AN "ALMOST HUMAN" BOY

I like adventure. I like traveling to new and exciting places I've never been before. I do not, however, want to solve all the problems when I get somewhere. Maybe one or two small problems, like giving some first aid cream to a kid with diaper rash, or food for a homeless person. This is how September felt when she ended up in Fairyland, hoping for a nice, calm, relaxing adventure. Instead she is faced with evil creatures and a bunch of Fairyland problems that she is asked to help with. She meets a dragon who loves books more than she does (reading them, not eating them), and a boy named Saturday who is blue. Like blue as in color, not as in he's sad. Together they defeat evil and triumph over Fairyland. 

If you like Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia, you will definitely love THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne Valente. For grades 5 and up.

JULY 2013

CARDBOARD CHALLENGE!

This Saturday, October 5, 2013, the Children's Room will participate in the Global Cardboard Challenge 2013, inspired by a boy from LA, Caine, of Caine's Arcade.  We have cardboard, tape, glue and lots of other materials to inspire you.  Bring your imagination and join us at the Central Library from 2-4 p.m. and see what you can create from cardboard boxes.

For some inspiration and smiles, check out these creations from Cardboard Dad in Russia.

Glendale Public Library 
Central Branch 
222 East Harvard St. 
Glendale, CA 91205

Parking is free for 3 hours with validation in the parking structure across the street on Harvard.  

GLOBAL CARDBOARD FUN

IMAGINE
BUILD
HAVE FUN 

Saturday, October 5, 2013 the Children's Room will participate in the Global Cardboard Challenge. Kids of all ages and their family are invited to come and join the worldwide fun. 


Glendale Public Library 
Central Branch 
222 East Harvard St. 
Glendale, CA 91205

Parking is free for 3 hours with validation in the parking structure across the street.  

THE WORM HOSPITAL THAT WASN'T

What he thought was going to be a boring summer turns intriguing when Ben sees a dark shadow flying overhead.  It looks like a bird, but with a really long tail.   What was that thing he saw in the night sky?  Did that girl mouth the word dragon?  By the morning's bright light, an injured bat like creature is dropped onto his bed by his grandpa's cat and the only vet in town is a worm vet in the abandoned old button factory. 

The veterinarian seems to treat all types of animals not just worms, but not your typical dog or cat either.  Strange creatures seem to lurk in this down and out Oregon town with mostly senior citizens who look forward to pudding day. 

The Sasquatch Escape :  the Imaginary Veterinary:  Book 1 by Suzanne Selfors is the beginning of a new series for those reluctant readers who love animals and fantasy. For readers in 4th - 6th grades.