Summertime often means travel, which typically includes long car rides or flights. It can be hard for everyone to agree on the same music and even harder for most parents to listen to that one soundtrack over and over and over. You know the one I mean! It’s time to let it go and embrace audiobooks. Here are some favorites that the whole family can enjoy.
“Some Kind of Courage” by Dan Gemeinhart
This title is getting some early Newbery buzz, and rightfully so, as Andrew Eiden does an excellent job of bringing this historical fiction set in the 1890s to life. This is a classic tale of a boy and his horse with lots of twists and turns along the way. “Some Kind of Courage” is a great listen for anyone seeking action and adventure, but be warned it is not for the faint of heart. (I may or may not have cried during the last 45 minutes of the book.) However, it is well worth the tears to reach the end of this powerful story where a boy loses just about everything along his journey but his courage — and gains a lot more.
Continue reading “Audiobooks We Love: Summer Reads”
When you think “libraries,” you never really associate them with breaking the rules. But on Friday the 24th, after the Columbia DBRL branch was closed, library patrons were
throwing airplanes from the highest reaches of the library and star-gazing all night long (well, actually,
only until about 10 p.m.). Party with 
the Stars Plus Paper Airplanes was the name of this event, and a great time was had by children and adults alike.
After the library locked its doors at 6 p.m., patrons began shuffling through the back doors to get started folding their paper airplanes and helicopters. Children and parents watched in amazement as their paper creations soared, hovered and weaved their way down the three stories of the library.
Continue reading “Breaking the Rules at the Library!”
Kristy Toplikar, Public Services Librarian
Summer is the perfect time to challenge your body with physical activities like sports and games. It’s also a great time to challenge your mind with some awesome summer reads. This year, we get to celebrate the combination of these two seemingly opposite things with the Summer Reading theme “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!” Let’s kick off the summer with suggested reads that will help us become rabid readers and knock out the summer brain drain. Registration for all ages begins on June 1. Now, on your mark, get set, READ!
For Ages 0-5
From rowing boats to piecing puzzles, the peas in “1-2-3 Peas” by Keith Baker (Beach Lane Books, 2012) are bursting with activity. Not only do these peas inspire some great summer activities, they also help kids count all the way to 100. Continue reading “Literary Links: Summer Reading 2016”
Oh, summer car trips. They’re those wonderful times when the whole family piles into a vehicle, heading off on a grand adventure! While the travel destination is usually exciting, the long hours in the car can become dull and monotonous. Want to spice up your family car trip? Here are some great games and ideas to make your next car trip journey just as fun as the destination. Continue reading “Family Games for Road Trips”
Now that summer has arrived, many children will find themselves with more free time on their hands. If you are worried about hearing “I’m bored!” we have a solution: create your own Boredom Busting Jar! When your kids say they are bored or have nothing to do, send them to the jar, and soon they will have an activity to keep them occupied. It is a genius idea in its simplicity. Children will have a stockpile of activities, freeing caregivers from being put on the spot to think of the perfect afternoon project.
Start with a jar with an opening large enough for a hand to reach in and pull out a piece of paper. If you don’t have a jar, you can use a box, coffee can or other container. Create a list of activities children can do on their own, together or with the family. Cut the individual activities out, and place them into the container. You can label or decorate it as desired. When someone utters the phrase “I’m bored!” send them to the jar for an activity.
Continue reading “Banishing Boredom”
Did you know that we’ve compiled book lists specifically about our Summer Reading theme, “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read”? These home run reads are all about movement, sports and games. We have print copies of the book lists at our library branches, but you can also access them online! Continue reading “Summer Reading 2016 Book Lists”
This year’s Summer Reading theme “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read” could not have been planned for a better year. The 2016 Rio Olympic Games are gearing up and will start 
in August! There are more than 40 games during the Summer Olympics. Many of the games – such as rugby, water polo, and Taekwondo – originated in other countries. In the spirit of this year’s Summer Reading theme and the Olympics, here are some world games to teach and play with your child.
With an unknown origin, Mancala can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Mancala is a two-player strategy game where the goal is to capture the most pieces in your own storage area. A homemade Mancala board is very easy to make with simple household items! Click here to learn how to make your own board and the rules of the game. Continue reading “On Your Mark, Get Set, Games!”
With the changing of the seasons we have a new group of award nominees in the children’s sections of our libraries, all with shiny new orange stickers and ready for Summer Reading! This might leave you wondering about the 2015-16 award nominees with the purple stickers. Where did they go? Which books won? Have no fear! We have several copies of each title; they just been moved to their permanent homes in the regular stacks. If you are interested in which 2015-16 nominees won, read on!
Missouri Building Block: “Naked!” written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
This a hilarious story is about a youngster who discovers the only thing more fun than running around wearing nothing is running around wearing nothing but a cape.
Show Me Readers Award: “Trouper” by Meg Kearney, illustrated by E.B. Lewis.
A three-legged dog remembers his time as a stray before he was adopted. Continue reading “2016 Book Champions!”
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Callaway County Youth Poetry Contest, sponsored by the Callaway County Public Library and the Auxvasse Creative Arts Program! The theme for this year’s contest was “Words That Whisper, Stanzas That Sing” — youths were encouraged to write poems about sound. Congratulations to our winners!
Ages 5-8
1st: Brooke Giboney
2nd: Lillian Billey
3rd: Taylor Jones Continue reading “2016 Callaway County Youth Poetry Contest Winners”
Summer Reading starts today! Make sure to bring your kids in and get them signed up. Kids who sign up for Summer Reading receive reading records, and the reading records ask that kids try some suggested activities.This year, one of the suggested activities is to “read” a wordless book. These books are typically filled with beautiful, expressive illustrations, and they can help advance a child’s creativity and storytelling capabilities. Here’s a list of some of my favorite wordless books for kids.
Flora and the Peacocks by Molly Idle Continue reading “Kick Off Summer Reading With Wordless Books”
