Gift Book Suggestions for our Bookfair!

The Stratford Library Children's Librarians have compiled some suggestions for good books to give children as gifts.  You can see the entire list here.

Whether it's the girl who fell in love with her chocolate cake (Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake )

or Letter E falling down on the job (E-Mergency),

or the heartwarming story of Pit-Bull Rescue (Saving Audie)

this list provides great ideas for children of all ages. 

Big Nate

This series, Big Nate, seems to be the next 'big thing,' so some extra copies have just entered the building (Look for them soon, on a shelf near you!). Some of them are comic books, and some of them are hybrids, which means a chapter book with doodles or comics interspersed.

It's based on a comic strip that has been around for a while, and it follows a middle schooler as he does his everyday-kid type stuff, including, surprise, surprise, doodling!  I have a big feeling that fans of Wimpy Kid won't mind at all reading this series.

Enjoy!

Still time to shop the bookfair!

If you missed the Bookfair at Barnes & Noble last night, you still have time to support your Library.  Shop Barnes & Noble of Milford until Wednesday, November 24 or shop online at bn.com/bookfairs and use our ID # 10298842 at checkout.  Buy yourself or your loved ones a treat, and support the Stratford Library at the same time.  Everybody wins!

Need suggestions? Here's our annual gift giving list for those special children on your list.

 

News of the week!

A few odds and ends for this week.
1. Storytime schedule for this week can be found on our calendar page.  This week's storytime theme for Tues/Wed is Harvest Home.

2. Saturday is quite a busy day with 3 programs: At 10:30 there is Sensory Storytime for children with sensory needs.  At 1:00 p.m. there is Russian cartoons including Beauty and the Beast in Russian. At 2:30 there will be an Embroidery Class for children ages 7 to 12 ($5 material fee due by Thursday).  Register by calling 203.385.4165.

3. The Science Fiction Assignment has begun. We have lists in the Library for ideas, but if you're online, try Here or Here for some possibilities.

School Visits

Have you seen a librarian at your school?  Stratford Library Children's Librarians will be visiting Stratford schools during April, May, and June. See when we'll be visiting you! The Library also has copies of the books we discussed for children to check out.

- St. Mark's - May 7
- Lordship - May 10
- Second Hill Lane - May 12
- Chapel - May 17
- Johnson House - May 18
- Franklin - May 21
- St. James - June 1
- Nichols - June 3
- Wilcoxson - June 7
- Eli Whitney - June 16

New books

Well, my picture is a little blurry because I took it with my phone (yay, technology!), but as you can see, the new book shelf has lots of good choices on it. Looking at it, I spy ...
- My Garden by Kevin Henkes, a wonderful picture book that's perfect for the season.
- Alvin Ho, a great chapter book that some of the librarians have fallen in love with.
How Many Baby Pandas, a nature counting book, perfect for Earth Day or every day.

Stop by the Library and check out the shelf for yourself!

Down the Rabbit Hole

If you're excited about the new Alice film, you're not alone.  Check out this listeners' guide to Alice in Wonderland on audio, a great way to introduce Alice to young audiences.  I listened to it first on records, and I vividly remember starting the needle and hearing the skips.

For our digital audience, here is a great site to jump into Alice in Wonderland - it even includes (on the right) a FREE audio download of the book from March 3-16, 2010.   http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/event/0310_landingpage.html

This Year's Best Books

Booklovers around the country are excited over yesterday's announcement of the 2010 Children's Book Award winners.

The Caldecott Award, for excellence in children's illustration went to Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse, a nearly wordless book that will ellicit oohs and aahs when you turn its full color pages.

The Newbery Medal, for excellence in children's literature, went to Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me, a mysterious story involving a girl, a game show, and cryptic messages.

Other awards included the Geisel, for easy reader books, the Sibert, for information books, and the Printz, for teen literature.  See the complete press release at http://www.ala.org/