There are a couple of drop-in storytimes coming up at WPL that require no registration at all.  These are great for those of you who don’t know if you can make every storytime, or if you’re just looking for new things to try out.

Drop in during our 3 -5 year old storytimes on Wednesdays at either 10:15, 11:00 or 1:00 through November 4th.  This storytime is a half hour of fun filled with stories, rhymes and your favorite songs by Jason.

Starting October 1st we will have a 2-3 year old drop-in storytime every Thursday until November 5th.  This shorter, twenty minute program, is good for children with little storytime experience.  Come and enjoy stories, songs and rhymes with Jason!

PJ storytime is now twice a month and neither require registration.  Stop in on any of these Mondays at 7:00:  October 5th, October 19th, November 2nd, November 16th, and December 7th.  A half hour of fun in your pajamas, what more could you want?!

We hope to see you here!

There are some new additions to WPL’s YouTube Storytimes that you really should check out!

Watch Miss A’s YouTube debut as she tells the story of the Five Little Mice

As well as Little Bunny Foo Foo, and Two Little Blackbirds

Sing with Jason on I Like to Cry

And make sure you check out his  Head and Shoulders video.

These videos are a great way to bring our storytimes to your home, but as always we would love to see you at the library storytimes too!

Want to learn a little more about your library and how to find materials easier?  Then make sure you sign up for our September program, Library Skills for Kids: Finding Nonfiction.  This five week program will feature fun activities to teach you all about the Dewey Decimal System as well as the parts of a book.

The classes start on Thursday September 17th from 4 to 5:00, and  will take place every Thursday until October 15th.  Ages 7-11 are welcome to come, registration begins on Thursday September 3rd.

See you there!

I have just begun to fully comprehend how much little boys LOVE, LOVE, LOVE books about trucks.  This summer I have been watching my 3 year old cousin one day a week, and we have been devouring truck books.  Since this is a common subject question at the library, I thought I would share with you some of the books that he has really enjoyed!

Anything in the Trucktown series by Jon Scieszka is a hit.  The books have great cartoony art and not a whole lot of text.

I Stink and I’m Dirty by Kate McMullan – silly books which involve a backhoe loader and a garbage truck going through their daily activities.

Hansel and Diesel, The Three Little Rigs and The Ugly Truckling by David Gordon – really neat fairy tales with truck characters.

Trucks Roll by George Ella Lyon – simple rhyming text telling the sometimes silly things that trucks haul.

Matthew’s Truck by Katherine Ayres – a little boy has adventures with his toy truck (I think my cousin liked this one so much because it was super relatable).

Trucks Whizz! Zoom! Rumble! by Patricia Hubbell – in rhyming text it describes all kinds of trucks and the different loads they carry.

Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund -  a group of colorful little monsters make a mess with some aptly named construction equipment and actually clean it up when their done!

Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo – describes work that large trucks do around town and on construction sites.

Dinotrux by Chris Gall – Dinosaurs and trucks, need I say more??

See what you think of these, and as always feel free to ask for help at the Gazebo the next time you’re in the library!

Back to school time is fast approaching and at WPL we want to help you be prepared!  At the end of this month we will be having a special program for children entering Kindergarten.  My First Day of Kindergarten is a 45 minute program with stories and activities that gives kids an idea of what school is all about.  There are two dates to choose from, August 25th at 10:30 or August 26th at 6:30, and registration for these opens today.

Kindergarten here we come!

On Friday July 24th our very own guitar-playing-children’s-librarian, Jason, will be headlining an all ages storytime at Yesterday’s Muse Bookstore!  The storytime will be from 10:30 till 11:00 and there is no registration required.  The bookstore is located at 32 West Main Street in Webster’s village, and we all know this will be a fun time you won’t want to miss.

The following Monday, July 27th,  we have a program at the library for children ages 8-12.  This one is a book discussion about the 2009 Newbery Medal winner, The Graveyard Book.  The program is from 2:00-3:00 and it will help answer the question, what makes this book special?  Make sure you read the book beforehand, you can click here to check our catalog for copies.

Are the parents out there having trouble finding books their kids actually want to read this summer??  If so, you are not alone.  I am sure many parents feel it can be difficult to get their kids reading over the summer months.  For many children “summer vacation” does not mean “take time to do the assigned reading and homework”, but wouldn’t it be nice if summer reading was enjoyable?  Here is an article that might help make it so.  There are tips for making reading fun, as well as book suggestions for this summer.

Another article I came across that addresses summer reading is from area libraries in Riverhead NY.  In this article librarians from five different libraries give their summer reading suggestions for kids of all ages.  Be sure to check our catalog for these great reads.

Hopefully these will help generate some good ideas and you can begin to have fun with your summer reading!!

Here are some of the extraordinary programs coming up in the beginning of July at WPL:

Thursday July 2nd: Just for 2’s Drop-In Storytime (Every Thursday till July 23rd) – Stories, songs and rhymes with Jason, need we say more??

Tuesday July 7th:  Storytime in the Park (Every Tuesday till July 28th) – Enjoy the warm weather while you listen to great stories and fun songs from your favorite librarians!

Wednesday July 8th: Summer Star Wars Fest – Get autographs from your favorite Star Wars characters and take home fun activity sheets.

Tuesday July 14th:   Library Club – A great program for kids grades 3 through 6 that want to be involved with decisions in the Children’s Room.

Thursday July 16th and Friday July 17th:  Fundamentals of Art for Children – Learn the basics of art with a talented young artist, Emily Vollo, who is regularly featured on our bulletin boards!

Take a look at our online calendar to find out more information about these programs as well as future ones!

And don’t forget to pick up a Summer Bingo Card the next time you’re in the library.  One card a week can be turned in to put yourself in drawings for great prizes.

It can be very difficult to find websites that 1. Parents feel comfortable letting their children use and 2. Kids can actually have fun with.  Luckily there are people out there that find and evaluate web sites to fit both of these criteria.  American Library Association has a committee inside their Association for Library Service to Children division that does this every year.  The Great Web Sites for Kids committee selected 19 web sites this year that they believe are “outstanding in both content and conception”, and are good for children up to age 14.  Their blog is here and it lists all the web sites they chose along with a little synopsis about each one.  Check it out and you will be sure to find some good games, crafts, and projects for those rainy days this summer.

Can you believe summer is almost here?  Are you ready for it??  Here at the Webster Library we are and you can be too!  Come join us for our Summer Fun Kick-Off Party on June 22nd at 6:00 for an evening of movies, crafts, popcorn and more.  We are pleased to announce that guest appearances will be made by the Cat in the Hat, Clifford the Big Red Dog and the Mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  You can also begin signing up for our summer programs this day, so make sure to take advantage of early registration.  This will no doubt be an exciting event that you won’t want to miss!

Also note:  the Mouse will be sticking around Webster for an extra day for those of you who would like to attend our If You Give a Mouse a Storytime on Tuesday the 23rd at either 10:30 or 1:30 (registration required).