Blogs

Each year April is set aside as National Poetry Month; it is a time to celebrate poets and their craft. National Poetry Month was started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. You can find out more about National Poetry Month and the Academy of American Poets at Poets.org.

Spring has sprung and so has our Parent Teacher Collection. We have added a Language Arts Section (in the hanging blue-handled bags) to the room. You will now find 4 kits dealing with writing. One of the kits is from the Institute for Excellence in Writing and contains four DVDs, along with teacher notes and student handouts. The other 3 kits are called Writing Strands Levels 2, 3 and 4. These three books offer writing exercises, skill building and skill mastery. Keep an eye open for some of our new kits that will be coming out soon.

Are you looking for the Lexile number or Accelerated Reader points for a book? Do you need a book with a specific Lexile or AR rating? We have links to the Lexile and Accelerated Reader websites on the Kids page. The links are under the Recommended Sites list - Books and Reading: http://www.mrrl.org/content/books-and-reading. Please take a moment to browse all the other recommended sites on our website.

Looking for something new to read? Do you have a favorite subject or type of book? Do you not know what to read next? We can help. The staff in the Children's Department has created a bunch of booklists to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

You can find the booklists on our website on the Kids page under Booklists on the menu. We have general booklists for everybody and we have divided the booklists by younger readers, older readers, grade level and readalikes.

The Programming/Children's Services Focus Group will be held on Thursday, March 4th at 4 pm in the MRRL Art Gallery. We would like your thoughts on how we are doing and what you would like to see the Library offer in the Children's Department.

Do you need help with your homework? Do you have a paper to write? Do you have questions you haven't found the answers to? We can help!

Come explore some of our online databases that you can access from the library and the comfort of your own home. Let us show you the ins and outs of World Book Online, Gale Databases and more. These databases can help you with research, homework and lesson plans.

We have several exciting displays this month in the Children's Department. Our displays for February are on Black History Month, Valentine's Day, the Olympics and Critters Down Under - Australian Animals.

Come check out the books we have selected for these displays.

Children and Teen Services Focus Group
Tuesday, February 9
12-2 p.m.
MRRL Art Gallery

We would like your thoughts on how we are doing and what you would like to see the Library offer in the Children and Teen Departments.

Percy Jackson Party

February 2nd
6 - 8 p.m.
Ages 12-18

Join us at our very own Camp Half Blood! We will test your physical prowess with cardboard tube sword fighting and your mental abilities with Greek mythology and other Camp trivia. If you are able to pass these test you will be rewarded with nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods.

To remember your Camp Half Blood visit you will create your very own Camp Half Blood necklace and write your name in Greek.

The children of Missouri (and neighboring states) have spoken, selecting Bye-Bye Big Bad Bullybug by Ed Emberley as the winner of the 2009 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award. Over 15,000 preschoolers and kindergarteners participated this year. Bye-Bye Big Bad Bullybug was the overwhelming choice, receiving 3,277 votes.