Library Column for July 12, 2017

@ Your Library

July is speeding by so get out and enjoy the warmth and the sunshine. But don’t forget to read. Seize the summer, make sure you and the children in your life are reading or being read to each and every day. Enjoy being outside, delight in playing and exploring together then settle down at night by gathering quietly and reading. Reading every day this summer will help your kids be ready to learn when they head to school.

There are so many cool things to read about and learn. Come discover a new hobby, a new favorite author, learn more about your favorite animal or period in history. Just read.

Share a classic with your child this summer. Do you remember reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen? Have your kids heard it or read it yet? How about Corduroy by Brian Freeman? Maybe you remember reading Pickle Chiffon Pie by Roger Bradfield, a great one to share with your kids. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren is another classic that is fun to read aloud and can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. What are your favorites from childhood? Share them with us and we’ll see if we have them so you can share them with your kids or grandkids.

I learned this week that a local family listens to audiobooks each evening as dinner is being prepared. What a cool way to share a book together. We have audiobooks available on compact disc or you can find a wide variety available through Overdrive or their new app Libby downloaded directly onto a phone or tablet.

Interest school age kids in science by checking out the series “Scientists in the Field.” A writer and photographer are sent to work with a scientist doing research, primarily on animals living out in the wild. They then write a book about that scientist and the work they are doing to learn and sometimes preserve that animal. Cool photos with awesome stories about working scientists.

Summer reading activities continue at the library with Stories and more on Thursday mornings at 10:30am, Tech Club for kids in third grade and below on Tuesdays at 1:30pm and at 2:30 pm for youth in fourth grade and above.

Two new sculptures created by local artist Eric Kulig and funded through the Arrowhead Library System with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Legacy Fund will be celebrated on Monday, July 17th at 5:00 pm. Join us for cookies and punch and a chance to meet the artist.

Take a look at the new exhibit in the library lobby with paintings by Kat Ruelle and Kathy Fluke. I am enjoying looking at flower paintings as I sit at the main library desk. They also have wonderful paintings of animals and other nature settings. We love having our library lobby filled with art. If you are interested in a two month display at the library please stop in and talk to us about a time for your artwork to be on display.