Thursday, December 7, 2017

Guided Reading Sets

ATTENTION BEGINNING AND EMERGING READERS!

Guided Reading Sets are now available in the Children's Department for reading levels A-F.  Guided Reading Sets include a selection of fiction and non-fiction books, correlated to the reading level, with large, engaging pictures and fun topics.  Some sets target key sight words to make mastering the words easy and fun.


Check one out today and watch your child sprout into a reader!





Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Character Education Initiative: Citizenship


To support Academy Street Elementary's School Improvement Team Character Education Initiative, the Children's Department has a cart of books available for check-out on the theme of:

 Citizenship














Monday, October 16, 2017

New Title Alert

The newest DIARY OF A WIMPY KID book,
The Getaway
will be released on
November 7, 2017.
Place your holds now by going to the library's catalog.


Not sure how to place a hold?  Ask one of the Children's Librarians for help or call 631-363-6133.





Thursday, September 21, 2017

1KB4K Achievement

Congratulations to Riley D. for completing 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!



She is the seventh child to complete the program since its launch in October 2014!



See how everyone stacks up so far:

10 children have reached 
50 Books
7 children have reached 
100 Books
6 children have reached
150 Books 
3 children have reached 
200 Books
2 children have reached
250 Books
1 child has reached
300 Books
1 child has reached
350 Books
2 children have reached
550 Books
2 children have reached
600 Books
1 child has reached
650 Books
2 children have reached 
800 Books
1 child has reached
850 Books
and 7 children have completed 1,000 Books!


Keep up the good work!

Check out our 1KB4K Wall of Achievement to see pictures of all children who complete the program.





Friday, September 8, 2017

Early Literacy Tip

Early Literacy  
What children know about reading and writing before they learn to read and write.

It is important to develop early literacy skills in young children so that they are adequately prepared to learn how to read and write.  Strong reading skills form the basis for learning in all subjects and lead to better performance in school.


Early Literacy Tip

TALK

Children are constantly taking in the world around them, and that includes listening to, and learning language.  The more that you talk with your child, the more easily they will learn to read.  
Encourage your child to talk by asking them questions and talking to them about the things they enjoy and the things they are doing.  Use new and interesting words and before long they will be being to use them too.



Try:
Telling stories to your child and encouraging them to tell you stories.  You can talk about the people and places around you, something that happened during the day, or a story from a book.
When speaking with infants, be sure to look at them so that they can begin to match shapes to sounds.
Playing a listening game.  Listen to the sounds of the world around you with your child.  Have them tell you what they hear and try to imitate the sounds.
Speak more deliberately and enunciate so children can hear all of the sounds that make up a word.



These activities help to develop your child's language skills, and increases their vocabulary.  It also helps promote phonological awareness (the awareness of individual sounds that make up words), and narrative skills.  Discussing the printed words around you also helps children learn that print has meaning (print awareness) and helps them to learn their letters.







Source: Multnomah County Library



Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Staff Picks

STAFF PICKS


Ms. Sue's favorite new children's books for the month of August

T. Veg The Story of the Carrot-Crunching Dinosaur
Smriti Prasadam-Halls
Picture Book
Ages 4-8
A fun story about a dinosaur who doesn't eat meat (unlike his fellow dinosaurs) but prefers veggies instead.  Just like me!!
If Sharks Disappeared
Lily Williams
Non-Fiction
Ages 4-8
This book makes a great follow-up to any child who attended the "Sensational Sharks" program at the library in July.  The book tells how important sharks are in our world, even if they are a little frightening!






The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

Drew Daywalt
Picture Book
From the Kingdom of the Backyard, Rock searches for an adversary that might best him, meanwhile Paper and Scissors set off on their own quests for competitors.  Very funny!



Ms. Julie's Picks

Wolf Hollow
Lauren Wolk
Chapter Book
Ages 10 and up
Growing up in a rural Pennsylvania town, Annabelle, the oldest child in a family of five, discovers the kind of person she wants to be through repeated encounters with a bully and an evolving friendship with the town outcast.
Recommended for fans of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird or anyone who wants to see how a 12-year-old meets the challenges of personal and social injustice. Wolf Hollow is a beautifully crafted and well written book that will render you incapable of not finding out where the paths of the three main characters lead them.


OCDaniel
Wesley King
Chapter Book
Ages 8 and up
During the day, Daniel is in many ways a typical 8th grader. He plays football, does well in school, has a best friend, and a crush on one of his classmates. However at night, he finds himself carrying out elaborate, self-created routines he feels he must complete for fear of dying. Everything changes when Daniel is passed an anonymous note and he begins playing detective and finds acceptance in an unlikely place.
OCDaniel is an honest, funny, and at times heartbreaking look at mental illness from the eyes of a 13-year-old. The character’s struggles with OCD are largely based on those the author, Wesley King, experienced from ages 7-16.


Ms. Emma's Favorites

Making Bombs For Hitler 
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Chapter Book
Grades 3-7
A stark look at a part of the horrors committed during WWII by the Nazis.  The story follows a young Ukranian girl who was kidnapped from her home and forced into labor by the Nazis first as a seamstress and then as a bomb maker because of her "steady hands".  She makes friends and looses friends as she suffers.  While the facts behind the story are horrible, the book's descriptions are mild and suitable for tween readers.


Real Friends 
Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham
Graphic Novel
Grades 2-6
This graphic memoir is all about how hard it can be to find your real friends, but why it's ultimately worth the journey.  Shannon has a hard time when her best friend starts hanging out with the most popular girl in the class and a group where, one day you're in and the next you're out.  An honest, familiar portrayal of growing up, highlighted by the fantastic artwork of LeUyen Pham.




Check to see if any of these books are available by clicking on the title.  The link will take you directly to our catalog.  Or, call the Children's Department at 631-363-6133.







Saturday, August 26, 2017

T-Shirt Raffle and SRC Raffle Winners!

Congratulations to our T-Shirt Raffle Winners!

Kyle P. and Sophia R.
Both won Ozobots for wearing their Summer Reading Club t-shirts this summer!



Congratulations to all of our other raffle winners!
All of our raffle winners were pulled from Summer Reading Club participants.

Daniel H.
Joshua B.
Finn C.
Liliana J.
Jesse D.
Angela C.
AJ C.
Jackson G.
Calder P.
Dahlia S.
Oliver R.
Eliza T.
Lily S.
Billy G.
Juila H.
Lilly M.
Emma R.
Sloan R.
Sara R.
Camryn B.
Arnav P.
Colleen C.
Colin M.
Henry J.
Harrison F.
Hanna M.
Leah R.
Ben S.
McKinley H.
Hunter P.
Michelle R.
Ava S.
Anna G.
Matthew C.
Sophia R.
Sarah J.
Lia C.
Jameson H.


We hope you're excited for next year!




Monday, August 14, 2017

Discovery Fish Tank

For the month of August there will be a Discovery Fish Tank on display at the Children’s Reference desk. The tank was assembled by Bayport Blue Point Library patrons and the Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center at Cornell Cooperative Extension during a children’s program on August 4.

On view in the 10 gallon salt water tank are: ribbed mussel, a hard shell clam, Atlantic slipper shell snails, common periwinkle snails, mud snails, long and flat clawed hermit crabs, crayfish, killifish and sheepshead minnows.

Can you find any in the video below?
(for a better view, enlarge the video screen by clicking on the square in the bottom right corner)









1KB4K Achievement

Congratulations to Brendan P. for completing 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!


He is the sixth child to complete the program since its launch in October 2014!

See how everyone stacks up so far:

10 children have reached 
50 Books
7 children have reached 
100 Books
8 children have reached 
150 Books
1 children has reached 
200 Books
2 children have reached 
250 Books
2 children have reached 
300 Books
1 children has reached
400 Books
2 child have reached 
600 Books
1 child has reached
800 Books
2 child have reached
850 Books
and 6 children have completed 1,000 Books!

Keep up the good work!

Check out our 1KB4K Wall of Achievement to see pictures of all children who complete the program.




Friday, July 7, 2017

SRC Book Total

Help us beat last year's total of 4,351 books!



Reporting for our Children's Summer Reading Club started two days ago and so far those participating have read a whopping 475 books, more than 10% of the total amount of books read last summer! 

Keep up the good work!

Check out our tracker in the library to mark our progress against last year's total.

Check back in with our blog periodically to see our current progress!



School Supply Collection









Thursday, June 29, 2017

How can YOU "build a better world"?

Draw, create, write or build something to show us how YOU might "build a better world."  Use your imagination and be as creative as you want!
Image result for build a better world globe
Submissions are due Monday, July 31st and will be displayed in the library.  
Please include your name, grade and phone number.  
All participants will earn an extra Summer Reading Club raffle ticket!






Wednesday, June 21, 2017

New DVDs

New DVDs have their own shelf!


New DVDs are now located at the end of the Children's DVD aisle, right above the Launchpads.  If you're looking for a newly released movie, or newly purchased copies of older movies, check out the NEW DVD section!





Wednesday, June 7, 2017

The Caterpillars Have Arrived!


The Children's Room now has live caterpillars!  Come to the library all summer long to view the miracle of metamorphosis!  The caterpillars will grow and change, first becoming chrysalides and then beautiful butterflies.  They will then be released in our Children's Garden.  

Check back here, on our Children's Blog, for regular updates and pictures!

 








Thursday, May 25, 2017

Email

Don't miss out on a single post!


Enter your email in the box (on the top right) to receive updates whenever we add a new post to the Children's Room Blog!








Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Rube Goldberg Contraptions

RUBE GOLDBERG CONTRAPTIONS

Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist best known for his zany invention cartoons. He was born in San Francisco on the 4th of July, 1883 – and graduated from U. Cal Berkeley with a degree in engineering. His first job at the San Francisco Chronicle led to early success, but it wasn’t until he moved to NYC and began working for Hearst publications that he became a household name. Rube Goldberg is the only person ever to be listed in the Merriam Webster Dictionary as an adjective. It’s estimated that he did a staggering 50,000 cartoons in his lifetime.



Goldberg is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways, giving rise to the term, Rube Goldberg machines for any similar gadget or process.

Check out some of the Rube Goldberg contraptions that kids created during our class on May 9th!












**Please notify us immediately if there is a photograph and/or video of your child that you do not want posted online.  We will remove it.











Friday, May 5, 2017

Children's Book Week

Children's Book Week
May 1-7
Children's Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading.


The theme, "One World, Many Stories,” highlights the power of books to unite readers of all backgrounds.

Do you enjoy reading?  Comment below with your favorite book or books!



Here are some ways to enjoy books and reading at the library: 

1. Browse for a book.
2. If you don't have a library card, sign up for one!  All children are entitled to a library card, no matter their age!  Juvenile cards are for children from birth through 5th grade.
3. Meet the Children's librarians and ask them for a book recommendation.
4. Try reading an e-book or listening to an audiobook.
5. Come to one of our programs!
6. Sign up for one of our reading programs: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, Beginning Readers Challenge, Independent Readers Challenge.

7. Comment below with other ways you enjoy books and reading at the library!







Friday, April 28, 2017

Reading Challenge Achievement

Congratulations to Christina C. for completing the Independent Readers Challenge!





She is the first child to complete the challenge since its launch in September 2016!

The Independent Readers Challenge tasks children in grades 3-5 with reading 8 different books in 16 different genres for a total of 128 books.  It takes a lot of dedication, hard work and time to complete.

Great job Christina!

Read more about the challenges for school age kids here, or check out our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program for children not yet in kindergarten here.

Check out our Reading Challenge Wall of Achievement to see pictures of all children who complete the challenge.







Friday, April 21, 2017

Affordable Things To Do On LI This Summer & Library Museum Passes

Looking for fun activities to do this summer?
Check out this great list of affordable things to do on Long Island this summer, compiled by the Children's Librarians Association of Suffolk County.


****In order to see the entire list, click on the image below****



Do you know about any other great Long Island summer activities not listed here?  Share them with us by emailing emma@bpplibrary.org.  Thanks!


Also be sure to check out our full list of museum passes and reserve yours today!






Monday, April 17, 2017

Staff Picks

STAFF PICKS

Ms. Sue's favorite new picture books about acceptance and friendship:

Chee-Kee: A Panda in Bearland
Sujean Rim
Picture Book
Ages 3-8

Chee-Kee, a young panda, moves with his parents to a new land of opportunity.  Just when he's resigned to never fit in, Chee-Kee finds a way to use his own experience and ingenuity to save the day and show that he's one of a kind in all the best ways.



Blue Penguin
Petr Horáček
Picture Book
Ages 3-8

Rejected by his fellow penguins because of his unusual color, minimal diving, and jumping skills, Blue Penguin begins to sing in his loneliness and wonders if he will be able to convince the others that he is one of them.





Ms. Julie's Pick:

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
Jaqueline Kelly
Chapter Book
Grades 4-8

This gem of a book is the follow-up to the much loved Newbery Honor book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  This work of historical fiction follows the adventures of 13 year old Calpurnia, or Callie Vee, to her six brothers (yikes!) on their farm in dusty, turn of the 20th century, Fentress, Texas.  Callie Vee is expected to spend her time outside of school baking, knitting, and playing piano, none of which she excels at, or even remotely enjoys.  She rebels against these social conventions by making scientific discoveries with her grandfather, a naturalist and friend of, none other than, Charles Darwin!  She also conceals all manner of wild animals with her brother Travis from their parents and dares to dream about going to college someday.  A devastating natural disaster, that a discovery of Callie Vee's predicts, brings an emotionally wounded cousin to town along with another displaced person that may help her realize her destiny.

Calpurnia Tate is a funny, spunky, inquisitive and fearless heroine whose adventures I hope to read about for a long, long time.  Check out this book, or its prequel, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.



Ms. Emma's Favorites:

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World
Malala Yousafzai
Chapter Book, Biography
Grade 5+

This is the powerful story of the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai.  It gives you a view into the world of Taliban controlled Pakistan and the way people were forced to live under their rule, which also said that girls could not go to school.  Malala, who grew up with father who was a teacher, was a bright student and when she was told she could no longer attend school, she continued to find ways to educate herself, attend school, and began speaking out about why girls have the right to education.
The story is told her strong voice and it is a compelling story that will make for an easy, interesting, and thought-provoking read for any young reader.


Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
Ben Clanton
Graphic Novel
Grades 1-4

This introductory graphic novel is perfect for reluctant readers, children switching from picture books to chapter books, and is full of humor and adorable pictures! The first in a new series, this graphic novel is broken in to three short, silly stories about friendship and includes a song and some narwhal and jellyfish facts.  Kids who love Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie series will also love this hilarious duo.




Ms. Gail's Pick:

Pax
Sara Pennypacker
Chapter Book
Grades 4-8

Pax is an extraordinary book written by award winning author Sara Pennypacker.
Peter has already lost his mother and now his father is going off to war. He must go live with his grandfather and release his pet fox that he raised from birth. Having regrets, Peter gathers a few supplies and journeys into the woods determined to find his beloved pet. Pax has never been without his boy and now he has been left alone in the wilderness to survive. A touching and powerful story!





Check to see if any of these books are available by clicking on the title.  The link will take you directly to our catalog.  Or, call us at 631-363-6133.