News from the Children's Room
As we are fast approaching the winter season we have stocked the
Children's Room with well reviewed and entertaining books and
material. The new JJ picture books can be found on the window
ledges around the room. The J paperback series are now grouped by
series in the paperback aisle for easy retrieval. Our displays
are constantly changing as we try to display a variety of topics to
interest you. the next six week session of Story Time will begin
January 8, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The morning session
is for ages 1 1/2 to 3 year olds and the after noon session is for ages
3 to 5 years old. Sign up is required. Please call
978-887-1528 if you want to put your child's name on the list or come
by the library.
The Monday after school drop-in club continues to be quite popular with
the Proctor School students, however all children in that age group are welcome to
attend. If you are in grades 4 - 6 you are welcome to join us for a snack and homework time in the Topsfield Town Library meeting room. No sign-up is
required. Please remember to put your library card in your backpack for
computer use and also to check out books. Librarians are available to get you
started on any research project you may have.
The Children's Room now owns about 10 Playaways! What is a Playaway? It is
an audio book on an MP3 player including batteries and earphones if you need them. These self playing audio books are pre-loaded, lightweight and easy to use. You have the ability to bookmark your spot, adjust the sound and voice speed. Like any MP3 player or iPod, you can connect them to your car or home stereo. You will find the Library's collection of Playaways in the section with other audio books in the Children's Room.
Curl-up with a good book this winter....
New Books at the Libraryreturn to top
NOVELS - AGE 8 AND OLDER
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell. Emmy is a good girl who is left with a
nanny while her parents travel. There is a rat in her classroom
at school and she is startled to hear him talking to her during recess
one day. Read this to find out whether the rat is friend or foe.
The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, by Sid Fleischman. Freddie the ventriloquist is possessed by
a dybbuk. Find out what a dybbuk is and what tricks he has up his
sleeve. Prepare to be astonished!
Getting Air, by Dan Gutman. Three boys in route to California are
hijacked and then the plane goes down in the wilderness. Check
this one out to see how they survive without fast food and
skateboarding parks.
Fergus Crane, by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddlell. Fergus attends school on a school-ship in
the harbor. Travel with Fergus as he attempts to rescue his
school friends from a dastardly villain.
The Dragon's Eye, by Dugald A. Steer. Daniel and Beatrice spend the summer with
Dr. Earnest Drake and his dragonology school. Enter the evil
dragonologist, Ignatius Crook. He is determined to steal the
Dragon's Eye jewel. Can Daniel and Beatrice stop him?
NON FICTION AGES 8 AND OLDER
Strong Man, by Megan McCarty. This biography of Charles Atlas is loaded with lots of facts about him. Find out what it was like to be a weakling and how he overcame that.Ham the Astrochimp, by Richard Hilliard. Ham was recruited for the United States Space program. The chimpanzee goes to school so he can learn what to do when he goes into outer space in 1961.
Living Color, by Steve Jenkins. Learn which animals wear your favorite color! Learn why the animals are these colors!
JJ PICTURE BOOKS
Digby Takes Charge, by Caroline
Church. Digby is a sheepdog hired to herd the sheep.
The sheep pay no attention to his unorthodox methods of herding them
until he says the magic words.The prince won't go to bed, by Dayle Ann Dodds. The King and Queen are at a ball and the Prince is at home. The entire staff of the palace is engaged in trying to get the little Prince to bed. It is his sister who does the deed.
Millie waits for the mail, by Alexander Steffensmeier. Millie is a cow who loves to sneak up on the mailman every day. The mailman finally brings her a package and
they become best friends with Millie helping him.
Ivan the Terrier, by Peter Catalano. The author attempts to write some fairy tales but is constantly interrupted by Ivan who wants to be in the story. He gets his own story at the end.
Duck at the Door, by Jackie Urbanovic. One quiet winter night there was a knock on the door. It is a duck named Max who didn't fly south because he thought he'd love winter. He becomes to comfortable in the house and the other animals complain. Spring comes and with it comes more unexpected guests.
OTHER RESOURCE
The Children's Room has a binder devoted to all of the Caldecott and Newberry Award winners and honor books.
We have a current list of the Massachusetts Children's Book Awards
for 2007 and a blue binder with local area schools Summer
Reading Lists.
The Baby-sitter's Book is located in the Parent Shelf Corner if you
need a qualified baby sitter.
LOOKING FOR YA FICTION AND NON-FICTION ---
GO TO OUR TEEN PAGE!
MVLC Recommended Websitesreturn to top
The Merrimac Valley Library Consortium has some great lists of websites for kids, parents and teachers. Here are their recommendations:
| Art & Music | Cool Sites | Language Arts | Math & Science | Online Reference |
| Parents | Social Studies | Sports & Games | Teachers | TV & Movies |
Resources for Parentsreturn to top
Look for new material in the Parent Shelf area as we expand to DVD's
on topics such as: Safety, Fire Prevention, Fitness for Kids and
more.
Our Parent Shelf Collection includes books for adults and books to share with your child on some of the following topics:
*Adoption *Friendship *Divorce *Death
We also cover bullying, hitting, biting and puberty.
New topics being added over the summer include: Manners,
friendship, praise, safety, anger, cooperative playing and more.