Kid Stuff

Seven rhymed tales, dug from hard to find places!
Look for millions of Seuss fans with bright shiny faces! (from Kirkus Reviews)

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories features seven Seuss tales originally published in Redbook in 1950 and 1951.
1. The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga
2. Gustav the Goldfish
3. Tadd and Todd
4. Steak for Supper
5. The Bippolo Seed
6. The Strange Shirt Spot
7. The Great Henry McBride

These seven stories were hunted down by Seuss scholar/collector Charles D. Cohen, who also penned the informative introduction. The end result is a must-read for all fans of the good doctor.

We had SEVEN new kids in our Reader's Studio meeting this past Monday, September 19! YOO-HOO! For those of you not in the know, Reader's Studio is a genre-based book club for 2nd-5th graders. We started this school year with the theme Pets on Parade, and we had quite an array of pets represented in the books we chose.

Aleisa = nonfiction book about Corgis (the same kind of dog she has as a pet)

Alonda = Cooking with the Cat by Bonnie Worth (featuring the Cat in the Hat)

As students head back to school, the Hoover Public Library wants to make sure that all children and teens have the most important school supply of all -- a library card. Owning a library card provides students with the resources they need to compete academically. Public libraries provide students free access to databases of news articles, encyclopedias and test preparation materials, as well as homework help and resources. In addition, public libraries are the number one access point for free Internet, an important resource for families without access at home.

A library card is serious business, but it's also an opportunity for fun! Library card holders of all ages can get their hands on tons of fantastic books, movies, video games . . . the list goes on and on.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

We were only expecting around 400, but we had even more than that waiting in line for us to open the doors at 7 p.m.! A whopping 610 fans came to our grand goodbye to the wizarding world of Harry Potter! Everyone received a special edition of The Quibbler from Luna Lovegood to guide them through the evening. The giant Marauder's Map and the Fat Lady Painting were also close at hand to help wizards and Muggles alike find their way. And Sir Cadogan was handing out bags to help carry all their forthcoming magical loot

The Hoover Public Library hosted its second Reader's Passport: The 39 Clues last night. So we can finally reveal what the fuss was all about!

Our summer book club focused on the popular series The 39 Clues. There are eleven books in the current series, and a spin-off series kicks off this fall. The titles have been penned by various popular authors, including Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Jude Watson, and Margaret Peterson Haddix.

We had 70 world travelers come to our Tween Scene event! Luckily, Miss Katie Jane and Miss Polly had two volunteer "tourist guides" to help. Thanks, Lori and Emily!

The Hoover Public Library just wanted to give props to Bike Link of Hoover! Their motto is "Serious fun!", and they live up to it. Bike Link has been a big-time supporter of our summer reading program for years, and 2011 is no exception.

Aren't familiar with how a cycling store supports our young readers? Let us fill you in!

Thought I would have this posted over the weekend, but the library was so busy! I didn't have a spare moment! But, you don't have to wait any longer to find out how our Alice in Wonderland party went on Friday, March 18, 2011. All 156 attendees agreed: it was wacky and wonderful! The morning opened with a skit featuring some of Wonderland's most popular characters:

Alice - Courtney
Queen of Hearts - Mary Ann
Mad Hatter - Justin
White Rabbit - Laura
Cheshire Cat - Katie Jane

Just finished cleaning up after our awesome Lego Block Party. It was a night of firsts: first Tween Scene event, first Lego program, and several first-time library visitors. We had 34 people stop by for 45 minutes of creativity. Check out what you can do with a few blocks and a ton of imagination!

Our new Tween Scene is geared for 8-12 year olds. Here's a sneak peek of the tween events coming up this summer:
Around the World in 80 Minutes
Reader's Passport: The 39 Clues
American Girl: Welcome to My World

It had been almost two whole months since the Reader's Studio gang got together. We had a lot of catching up to do. And, hooray, we had a new friend named Frank at our February 7 meeting! We all read books about famous people. Some of us brought a biography, and some brought a historical fiction novel. All of us brought interesting facts about our famous person. Even Miss Polly and Miss Katie Jane learned a lot! Did you know that Walt Disney was an ambulance driver in France during World War I? Or that Benjamin Franklin seriously electrocuted himself over three times? That's just a taste of what you will learn if you tackle some of these highly recommended books.

Our Kidz Kitchen program on Saturday, January 22 was a HUGE success! 265 people! WHOA! The kids made their very own chef's hats then whipped up three tasty snacks: frecklejuice, pizza, and dirt cups. There were so many people, we only managed to take a few pictures, but I think they capture the spirit of it all quite nicely. Kudos to Laura, Polly, Olivia, and Becky for all their hard work on this fun program.

The American Library Association announced their youth media award winners in San Diego on Monday, January 10, 2011. Due to inclement weather, the Hoover Public Library is a day late getting this information to our patrons. But we are open for business today, so without further delay . . .

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool