Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Twenty-five people enjoyed preschool storytime in October. We learned about fire prevention, going to the fair, spiders and pumpkins. We made a fire house, a barn, paper plate pumpkins and painted a spider web with a marble.

Thirteen people participated in the pumpkin decorating contest. We also visited with about 140 children during the Trick or Treat in the Park on Halloween.

I went to the Varner-Hogg Harvest Festival and read stories about cotton farming. More than 200 people were in attendance at that event.

We have a Family Reading Night scheduled for November 16. This event will also feature a Pajama Storytime. A Thanksgiving Craft Day is set for November 21.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Pearland

Preschool storytime saw more than 200 people in October. We started off the month by celebrating Johnny Appleseed’s birthday. We read stories and did an apple craft. The next week we recognized National Cookie Month by playing with Play-doh and plastic cookie cutters and had children make their own Play-doh cookies. On week three, the children listened to stories about autumn. Each child decorated his or her own leaf with fall colors. Week four was jack-o-lanterns and harvest time. The craft was pumpkin collage art. Orange, green, yellow and brown strips of paper were used by each child to make a collage. The last week of the month was Halloween. We read funny stories about Halloween and the children made their own Halloween masks.

The toddlers also enjoyed the month of October with about 40 people coming to Toddler Time. We chose to celebrate fall themes. Week one, we celebrated apples. Week two we read about leaves and the changes in the weather. On week three the children enjoyed stories about squirrels. Our final week of the month we read about pumpkins and Halloween. We always allow the toddlers to play with toys for a brief play time after stories. They really enjoy it.

The Tween Book Club was held on October 9. They read “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle.

Halloween Stories & Crafts was held in the evening with 30 people in attendance. We started the program with some Halloween stories. The first six children who arrived got real mini-pumpkins to take home. Our crafts were set up on five different tables. The crafts were:
  • make you own face mask
  • 3-D tissue pumpkin craft
  • pumpkin collage craft
  • toilet paper roll monster/spider craft
  • color your pumpkin paper lunch bag puppet
We listened to Halloween music, and Laura brought out a box of dress-up props that the children used for a brief play time. We handed out treat bags with pencils, rings and stencils as well as popcorn balls to all the participants before they left.

We are planning a Library Trivia Game on November 18. Our patrons are pretty smart so we'll have to come up with some really creative questions. Our movie night with clerk Charon is scheduled for November 9. There will be plenty of snacks and fun to go around! The next Tween Book Club will be on November 13. November programming will wrap up with our Fall Craft.

We are very pleased with our new A/V shelving. We have welcomed 3 new shelvers to our branch within the last month and a half. They are catching on pretty quickly, and we are so happy to have them.

Laura, children's specialist

Children's Update: Manvel

Preschool storytime is busting at the seams as more than 130 people attended in October. We learned about outer space, fire safety, dinosaurs and Halloween. For crafts we made a mobile with stars, the moon and planets. We also made a dinosaur scene with die-cuts. The fire safety storytime included a visit from the Manvel Fire Department. The children were able to sit in the truck and see the lights and hear the siren. For Halloween, we made jack-o-lanterns and had a costume contest.

Teen Read saw two people attending the first session. We had a good discussion on current books and movies. The second meeting of Teen Read had three people including a new member. He brought a new perspective to the group, and we discussed current books and old favorites like the Lemony Snicket books and “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen.

We only had two teen show up for our library mystery “The Body in the Bookdrop.” They had to follow the clues to see which staff member killed Mr. Banner O. da Books. The clues were hidden in books relevant to their subject, such as the fingerprint clue in a book on fingerprinting. The teens had a good time and solved the case.

We’re still having some difficulties getting people to attend our Pajama Night Storytime. We’re working on some new marketing ideas.

Four children came to the Kids’ Craft Time. We made a spooky Halloween picture. The children wrapped tissue paper squares around the end of a pencil, put a drop of glue on it, and stuck it to the tree limbs on the paper to make leaves. They got very creative. One boy tried to add as many spooky things as he could. One girl came up with the idea of crumpling tissue paper squares and gluing them at the base of the tree to make leaves that had fallen.

In November, we're making a turkey table decoration stuffed with rice that can be cooked later. The teens are having a board game afternoon, and our Pajama Night Storytime is going to be about teddy bears.

We lost one of our staff members this month. Jessica, our part-time clerk, left to get married and move with her husband to San Antonio. We wish her all the best. Our shelver, Jean, has moved into the part-time clerk position.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

In October we went a little wild with the letters W-I-L-D at preschool storytime. We read about wild things, itchy things, falling leaves and animals that start with D. We had our annual Trick or Treat ’rade on city hall and added “Dark, Dark Night” to our letter D program. For crafts children made their own “wild things” and decorated a die cut tree with punched out leaves. Each child is also creating his or her own alphabet book with a weekly handout, an activity page, and a page on which they glue the letter of the week along with a picture. For November, our themes are Quack Quack, Honk Honk, Pop Pop and Gobble Gobble.

Three teens showed up for the October Wii program. Twenty people showed up for a Henna Tattoo program which was generously presented by Farah Habib. Teens are invited to an upcoming Twilight Party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on November 18 to play trivia, win some prizes and enjoy some snacks. Teens are also invited to come play games of all kinds on National Gaming Day.

Registration for both book clubs has increased greatly. Though not everyone attended, 17 children registered for the Readers Circle and 15 for the Bookaneers.

Eight children in the Bookaneers Book Club for Grades 4-6 discussed the book “Found” by Margaret Peterson Haddix and enjoyed pizza from Domino’s. The group will be discussing “The Cricket in Times Square” by George Selden in November.

Thirteen children in the Readers Circle for Grades 1-3 discussed “One Potato, Two Potato” by Cynthia DeFelice and also enjoyed some pizza. In November, we will be discussing “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat” by Simms Taback.

Sara, the children’s coordinator, and I attended Open House at the Lake Jackson Intermediate School. We presented information on the library, our services and upcoming events to almost 50 people.

The 24th Annual Book Swap begins in November. Children can bring their gently-used books to the library and receive “book bucks” in exchange. Those “book bucks” can be redeemed December 5 for other books. Details are available at the library.

A bi-monthly Readers Club for Grades 6-8 will begin in January. Registration will be in December. Interested readers please contact the children’s librarian for more information.

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Freeport

The Freeport children are having the pleasure of different storytellers each week during preschool storytime. Dawn did one storytime six people. That was her last storytime as she has accepted a teaching position. The staff and the children will miss her.

Sherry presented a pumpkin theme. She had six people in attendance. She cut open a pumpkin for all to see and feel, and then each child decorated a mini-pumpkin to take home.

Yolanda had a storytime dealing with leaves. The children identified leaves and trees. She also brought real leaves for a craft. She had 11 people attending two storytimes.

Marge had a fun-type Halloween theme featuring songs, stories and guessing games. It ended with the puppet play “A Caring Sharing Halloween.” Yolanda helped present the show. Everyone seemed to have a good time. More than 20 people came to this program. We performed it in the children’s area because of early voting.

Marge went to Memorial Day Care as a judge for their fall wall decoration contest. It was a difficult job but fun!

Until a replacement is found for Dawn, we will be taking turns doing preschool storytimes. Another puppet play is scheduled for November. The children really enjoy the puppet plays.

There was a cauldron of goodies that were passed out to children who came to the library on Halloween.

Marge, branch manager

Children's Update: Clute

Preschool storytimes were full of activity in October. We had a fire truck come for fire safety week. We continued with our stories and activities with the letters D and E. We had a Real & Pretend storytime that included some light Halloween references. Our crafts continue to use the die-cuts. Children and adults enjoy them and they work well with even the youngest children.

Our teen program for this month was a beginners knitting class on Columbus Day when school was out. Attendance was small but enjoyed by all.

We also had a craft program for children on Columbus Day. They created spiders out of black yarn (pompoms), black pipe cleaners and google eyes.

More than 40 pre-kindergarteners came for a special storytime from Ogg Elementary. I also went to Griffith Elementary as a “Celebrity Reader” for more than 90 kindergarteners.

National Game and Puzzle week starts Nov. 22. We will put out crossword puzzles and board games for school-age children and teens on the days we are open.

I enjoyed seeing the artwork at the joint children’s meeting for the summer reading club posters. That always helps with the planning.

We are looking forward to having a new part-time clerk start in November.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

More than 80 people came to preschool storytime in October. The first week we read about farm animals and made a little barn to fill with farm critters. We learned about firemen and fire safety the following week. Ghosts were our next theme. We made ghost lacing cards for our craft. The final week we had a fun Halloween party with cake, cookies, orange punch and, of course, treat bags. One of the mothers took a group picture of all our little trick-or-treaters and had it published in The Facts.

I am taking some online classes that will help me better serve our patrons.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

Our new teen Wii program has found initial success and will continue as a regular monthly Saturday program.

Saturday Family Movie attendance has continued to be high even though school has started. Even some of our adult patrons are making it in for the movie. Kidz Kraft is also maintaining its attendance, despite being an evening program for youngsters.

ECC has resumed their monthly visits and their October visit was hugely enjoyed by Miss Emmy.

Emma Lou attended the joint children’s meeting in Angleton and found the event to be very informative and enjoyable. Halloween holiday books are on display this month and are getting good circulation.

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

Nearly 80 people attended preschool storytime in October. We learned about trees, fire safety, spiders and Halloween. We made balloon spiders, lollipop ghosts and popcorn hands.

Teen Gamers Guild has regular attendance.

Twenty-six people participated in the Fall Extravaganza. Mini Wolverine won the costume contest.

Cub Scouts will be coming to visit us in November for a tour.

We have movie night, crafts and a pajama storytime scheduled for November.

Carol, children's specialist

Monday, October 5, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

More than seventy people came to preschool storytimes in September. We heard stories about libraries, grandparents, fiesta, autumn and apples.

We held a special Grandparent-Grandchild movie day in September to celebrate Grandparent’s Day.

We’ll have a teen movie on October 24 and a Halloween pumpkin contest on October 28.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Sweeny

We had a special visitor the first week of preschool storytime as Lotta Buttons the clown visited and read to the children. Then we had a special storytime for Grandparent’s Day. The last half of the month was about when I grow up and what children could be when they become adults. We told stories about being a teacher, firefighter, and wrapped it up with all kinds of choices.

Toddler Time themes were up, down and opposites.

Teen Book Club had four in attendance, and we discussed “The Hound of Rowan” by Henry H. Neff. Everyone liked the book and was ready for the sequel. We are reading “Wicked Lovely” by Melissa Marr this month.

Bedtime Stories was about houses.

We had a special craft of making grandparent’s day cards for Sweeny House.

Kid’s Club had a spy day. We had a laser maze to crawl through, a disguise contest, targeting bad guys and a treasure hunt with clues.

In October, our preschool storytime themes are princes and princesses, knights and ladies, kings and castles, and a medieval dress up party the end of the month.

Kid’s club will be doing arachnids with a guest speaker and craft.

We received a bilingual Charlie rug for the children’s area, a new table and chairs in toddler size, and a new rack to hang our book cassette bags on. We also got a new computer desk for the children’s computer.

Leslie, branch manager

Children's Update: Pearland

Our preschool storytimes this month were about grandparents, safety, dinosaurs, friends and apples. For grandparents, the children created cards for their grandparents and were very creative. During the safety storytime, the children learned how to use the 911 system. Laura found a coloring page that had a drawing of a phone which emergency numbers could be written onto. We handed out lots of safety-related brochures, pencils and bookmarks. The children made their own dinosaurs out of toilet paper rolls for our dinosaur storytime. Our friends craft was to color a paper chain of friends. The children decorated their own paper apples for our apples storytime. More than 150 people attended preschool storytimes in September.

On September 16, we had our Teen Henna program. This was our second time to have this program this year. The teens and parents enjoyed the different types of designs that they could create. One of the young ladies was having so much fun that she wanted to get the information on where we had purchased our supplies. She has decided to have a henna party for her upcoming birthday.

Regina is now heading the Tween Book Club which meets on the second Friday of the month. In September we read “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry. We didn’t have quite as many attendees as we hoped, but we understand there may be timing issues with school. Our selection for October is “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’Engle. We are hoping that the participation will increase.

On September 24, a group of 14 children visited us from Primrose Daycare. They enjoyed storytime with us.

We are looking forward to the upcoming Toddler Time starting in October. This will be on every Monday at 10:30 a.m. and will end the last Monday in November.

Laura, children's specialist

Children's Update: Manvel

One hundred thirty-five people came to our preschool storytimes this month. We discussed libraries and told stories, sang songs, and read a poem about the library. The children got to make their own bookmark. To help celebrate Grandparents’ Day, we listened to stories about grandparents. The children made cards to send to their grandparents. For our apples storytime, we talked about the different kinds of apples and all the things you can make with them. For the craft we made a worm coming out of an apple puppet. The next week we sang songs, read stories and celebrated fall. We glued fall colored leaves in a pile on a piece of construction paper. Finally, we exercised. We had a lot of fun reading about exercise. We had a color sheet of a hippo running for the craft.

Five teens attended the Teen Read meetings this month, and we even got a new member. We had a good discussion on some new books, as well as some old favorites. At our next meeting, we talked about books that are being turned into movies and which ones we were looking forward to seeing.

We also had five teens at our PlayDoh Sculptionary event. We had a lively game where the kids formed teams and sculpted the clues out of PlayDoh. We followed the rules of Pictionary. It was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, no one came to our pajama night storytime. We hope we have an audience next month.

Three children were at our craft time. We made stained glass bookmarks out of construction paper and tissue paper. The children had a lot of fun.

Tiger Scouts from Troop 488, Den 1 and Den 9 visited the library for a lesson on the Dewey Decimal System. I gave them a tour around the children’s area and showed them examples of how the Dewey Decimal System works. They had a good time, and many of them got library cards before they left.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

“Be A Contrary Kid” and doing things in unexpected ways is the new theme for preschool storytime. We began exploring the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, in no particular order, while emphasizing the six early literacy skills that form the basis of reading and writing. We explored the letters B-A-C-K-F, and each child received die cut letters and handouts to make their own alphabet book. In October we are going a little wild with the letters W-I-L-D.

The monthly teen gaming program, You + Me = Wii, returns on October 3. Also, watch for something special for National Gaming Day on November 14.

Fifteen children signed up for the Readers Circle Book Club for grades 1-3 in September and read “My Big Dog” by Janet Stevens. Dominos Pizza is providing pizzas for the book clubs again this year. For October 20 we are reading and discussing “One Potato, Two Potato” by Cynthia DeFelice.

The Bookaneers Book Club for grades 4-5, which meets on the second Tuesday of the month, read “Savvy” by Ingrid Law. On October 13, we are discussing “Found,” the first in a series by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Mehndi/Henna Tattoos will be available on October 30 for ages 12 and over. Signed permission slips from a parent or guardian are required for minors to participate. Farah Habib and some friends will be designing and applying the tattoos.

The Lake Jackson Library will participate in the Lake Jackson Intermediate School Open House on October 7. Please stop by and say “hi” to us.

On October 27 during storytime, we will have our annual Trick or Treat ’rade on City Hall. Wear your Halloween costumes.

The 24th Annual Book Swap starts November 1 when children can start bringing their gently-used books to the library and receiving “book bucks” in exchange. The “bucks” can be redeemed December 5 for newer books.

The annual Dragons Readers Club will meet December 30.

A bi-monthly Readers Club for grades 6-8 will begin in January. Interested readers should contact the children’s librarian for more information.

The two display spinners that were dropped off on our loading dock during the July 4 holidays have been painted and now hold our children’s DVDs. Thanks to whoever left them there!

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Danbury

Due to staff illness, Nick has become a frequent reader at preschool storytime. The children enjoy him.

The Wii program is growing, especially on Thursday nights. We had a young man bring his girlfriend recently. She whipped him at tennis.

We will be offering our holiday craft day at two different times. Hopefully, this will be easier for our patrons.

We still read to a daycare one day a month.

The Danbury Library celebrates its ninth birthday in October. A library anniversary party will be held on Oct. 31. We will have costumes, treats and more.

Kandy, branch manager

Children's Update: Clute

We have had 12 to 14 children attending Wednesday morning preschool storytime. They are enjoying the alphabet theme. We are continuing to provide die-cut crafts at every storytime. The younger children love the gluing and shape identification. The older children color and add backgrounds and details.

A teen knitting program is scheduled for October 12 when school is out.

Pre-kindergarten children from Ogg Elementary walked to the library on September 16. The teachers provided me with their curriculum ahead of time, and I used their themes for their storytime. We did colors and shapes in September and we will do families in October.

Elementary children will get to do crafts on October 12.

We have requested a fire truck for storytime on October 7 in recognition of Fire Prevention Week.

We were able to purchase a large group of die cuts in September. I chose items that would complete our alphabet crafts but also have use for holidays and other thematic units. My favorite is a new bookworm. We will put the children’s first names on them for wall displays for storytime. We were also able to purchase new wooden puzzles for the children’s area and lots of new “people puppets” for storytime and other programming.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

We have begun a new series for preschool storytime, “All About …” The first week was apples, and we made an apple counting book. Next came bears with a bear lacing card. We celebrated Mexican Independence Day on September 16 by reading “Magda’s Tortillas” by Becky Chavarria-Chairez. Our clerk, Magda, helped the children make their own tortillas which was great fun. The adults enjoyed it as much as the children. PBS provided the DVD for our “Dinosaur Train” storytime. We watched one of the series’ episodes which is broadcast regularly on PBS. The children really enjoyed the show. The last theme was “All About Cats” presented by Carmen, our clerk, as Ms. Jo was on vacation in Colorado.

We have been having a lot of interaction with a new crop of teens now that the new school year has begun. We hope to have some great programming for them soon.

Headstart has moved it’s classrooms to Sweeny, so I no longer have the opportunity to read to them. I’ll miss the students.

We are looking forward to storytimes, bedtime stories, and movies about fall, harvest and Halloween. We are also planning a pumpkin decorating contest for October.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

Preschool storytime is using the Everyday Day in Every Way curriculum this year. In September, storytime themes were self-esteem and the five senses. In October, the weekly themes will be friends, feelings, fall and Halloween.

Our first Teen Wii event brought twenty-two people to the library. They did not want to leave. We are trying the next one on a Saturday morning to see which time is better. In December, we will try it on week night.

Sixteen people attended the Family Movie Day.

Angleton Christian School (ACS) has scheduled to bring classes to the library. A group of seventh and eighth grade students from ACS came September 22. Miss Emmy demonstrated how to use the library catalog and Internet. She then helped them get started on science fair projects.

The Early Childhood Center will start bringing classes the second Tuesday of each month beginning in October.

Miss Emmy is reading ghost stories to the Retired Teachers Association on October 2.

The next Kids Kraft will be October 6. We are making balloon eyeballs and spiders.

Family Movie Day will be October 24.

Teen Wii will be on October 31.

Angleton ISD has begun bringing students for vocational training from the high school. They are shelving books under the direction of an aide who comes with them. They stay about 30 minutes each time.

The new AWE computer came in this week. Mark and Layna set it up. Children flock to it after school and after storytime.

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

More than eighty people attended preschool storytimes this month. We talked about dinosaurs, manners, hats, autumn and exercise. We had quite a workout during our exercise storytime and made construction-paper hats during the hats storytime.

Teen Gamers Guild has regular attendance now that everyone is back from vacations.

Alvin Elementary special needs class came in for a tour.

We will have a movie night on October 8 and a Fall Extravaganza on October 29.

We are rearranging furniture in all areas of the Alvin Library.

And, now, an anecdote:

I had a conversation with a young patron while her mother was getting a library card one day. The two of us talked about the books she chose, and she said, “Oh and by the way, you have really cool books!”

When she went to check out the books, she told the clerk, “You don’t have to go to school to learn. You can just come to the library!”

It’s moments like these that remind you how important the library is to people.

Carol, children's specialist

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Nearly 50 people enjoyed preschool storytimes this month. We discussed the beach, vacations, camping and back to school stories. We made suitcases and pencil critters and even enjoyed some S’mores.

Our circulation has increases 10% in June and July. Thank you to all our readers!

We will have Grandparent/Grandchild movie on September 12.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Sweeny

We are changing the time for our preschool storytimes and toddler time. Toddler time will now begin at 10:30 a.m. Preschool storytime will begin at 11 a.m. We averaged more than 20 children at storytimes in August with balls and bubbles being some of the highlights. We’ll have a special guest in September when Lotta Buttons the clown will visit both programs.

Our Teen Time with Guitar Hero was lots of fun. The teens enjoyed it. We borrowed Guitar Hero from the Lake Jackson branch. Thanks for sharing! We discussed “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles and will discuss “The Hound of Rowan” by Henry H. Neff at our September meeting.

Toddler time has been steadily growing, but bedtime stories is down a bit in attendance. We hope that will change since school has started once more.

August saw the return of Kid’s Club with a back to school splash. The children had loads of fun at several water activities. No one wanted to go home. Kid’s Club will be I Spy Day this month.

For the first time in at least five summers, we ran out of reading medals. Congratulations to all our gold-medal readers!

Leslie, branch manager

Children's Update: Manvel

Preschool storytimes covered horses, sports, friends and parts of the body. We made horse heads with yarn manes and a “My Body Book.” More than 60 people attended.

We had a new member join our Teen Read discussion. To promote our teen events, I visited the high school and junior high to talk with the librarians. They were very enthusiastic about working with me.

Our first pajama storytime had a very small group, but we’re hoping this will increase with more advertising.

Beginning this month, we will have a monthly Kids’ Craft Hour and a teen activity.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

During preschool storytimes in August, children listened to stories about rodeos and armadillos and learned how to read and design cattle brands. Beginning this month, we’ll start a new year-long theme – Be a Contrary Kid – and discuss the letters of the alphabet in no particular order.

The Domino’s Pizza Toss and Show was a great success for the second year with more than 100 people attending. There was pizza dough and cornmeal everywhere as everyone tried their hand at pizza making. After the program, pizza was provided for everyone. Thanks Domino’s!

The last scheduled program of the summer was the annual Flip-Flop Fling and Watermelon Bash. Everyone won coupons from Papa John’s Pizza, McDonald’s, El Chico, Skating America and Fuddruckers. We spent the day reading, watching films, playing games and doing crafts. Chips and dip where provided by El Chico, and H.E.B provided the watermelon. Thank you to all those who donated items!

Clowns! Clowns! Clowns! was a free special program presented by the Coastal Confetti Clown Alley of Brazoria County. The Center for the Arts and Sciences donated the use of the music theater, and tickets were printed and distributed to children at the Clute and Lake Jackson branches. Almost 100 people attended the program. Thank you to the Center for donating the performance space!

Local artist Barbara Feiner taught an altered books workshop. An altered book is a mixed-media art form that incorporates collage, painting, stamping and other decoration to create a work of art from an existing book. She displayed several of her own pieces and showed attendees how to achieve different kinds of effects in their own work. Ms. Feiner generously provided attendees with fabric scraps, paints, metal objects and stamps, along with support and inspiration as they created their own pieces of art from donated board books. Fifteen adults and teens took part in the day-long event. The library plans to have another altered book program in the coming months. Thank you, Ms. Feiner, for a wonderful program!

The Readers Circle and the Bookaneers will begin meeting again in September.

Our clerk, Jessica, completed the bulletin board display in the children’s area. She has been working on this project since May trying to find book characters for each letter of the alphabet. Nice job!



Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Freeport

Our preschool storytimes included stories about dragons, animals, chickens and a special dinosaur program featuring the upcoming PBS show “Dinosaur Train.” Nearly 160 people attended our storytimes in August.

Memorial Childcare comes to visit us every Tuesday for a special early-morning storytime. We are so happy to have them around!

We had great attendance at summer reading club programs this year. We hope even more people join us next summer!

Dawn, children's specialist

Children's Update: Danbury

Our Friends group paid for a back-to-school party with pizza and Wii in August. It quadrupled our normal attendance. Thank you to the Friends!

We’re looking forward to working with the daycare across the street from the library, which is now under new ownership. There is also a new daycare opening in town that we are eager to work with as well.

We continue to have a popular preschool storytimes. The Wii program is slowly growing with attendance increasing since school is back in session.

Kandy, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

We finished up the summer with preschool storytimes about Texas and tall tales, beaches, and new school years. We made Texas flag fans that proved popular with the parents, a starfish craft, and decorated foam-lettered pictures.

Our final teen program was a You, Me and Wii event. Attendance was low, but the teens enjoyed playing Guitar Hero. We also served chips and drinks.

Dawn Grimes cooked “chuckwagon grub” for one of our programs. The children were treated to rattlesnake stew, trail mix, sarsaparilla and cow patties.

Our End-of-Summer Party was a blast. Domino’s Pizza came and showed us how to make pizza crust. They threw dough at the children and let them play. Of course, they also brought pizza to eat. We served root beer floats. Popcorn was provided by the Brazoria Heritage Foundation.

The Barrow Elementary fifth graders visited the library with about 90 people. I read them a book which they loved. I also answered questions about the library. We even discussed audio books as a great way for students to earn their Accelerated Reader points. Jerry, the branch manager, took them on a tour of the library. His wife showed the students the mural of historic Brazoria in our meeting room. Two of our clerks, Magda and Melissa, gave the students a tutorial on computer use and databases. We all agreed it was a wonderful morning, and we hope that other classes will come to visit us soon.

We are looking forward to a new season of storytimes, bedtime stories and movies. We are also looking into new and different activities for all ages.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

Miss Emmy’s preschool storytimes will begin a new theme for the year – Every Day, Every Way. We look forward to all the children who will visit us for stories and fun.

Rosaelena, our reference librarian, will begin a new teen Wii program on September 26.

Since summer reading club has ended, we’ll be returning to a more normal programming schedule. Our Family Movie event is September 19, and Kids Kraft will be on September 15.

Angleton Christian School has begun weekly visits since school has resumed. They will be visiting our library a total of four times a week – two groups on Wednesdays and two groups on Fridays.

We had excellent attendance this summer for all of our programs, as well as a high number of medal winners. Our beautiful quilt, donated by the Plantation Quilting Guild, was won by a girl who read 60 books this summer. Congratulations to her, and thank you to the guild for the donation!

We hosted a party to thank our summer volunteers who helped us so much with their time and energy. The party included refreshments, certificates and thank-you letters. Thank you to all our volunteers!

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

Our preschool storytimes covered princesses, back to school, airplanes and special Super Why storytime. Almost 150 attended our storytimes.

For the second year, we hosted an end of summer reading carnival. Nearly 300 people came to the event. We had face painting, crafts, a moonwalk and balloon art. A clown entertained the children with magic and fun. Snow cones and popcorn were served. Several parents and grandparents said they couldn’t wait for next year’s carnival.

We had 128 gold medal readers this summer. Those children read 60 books or 24 hours throughout the summer. Congratulations to all of them!

Heritage Christian Daycare, Good Seed Day Care, Next Generation and The Village Early Learning Center visited us throughout the summer. They came to events and storytimes. Thank you all for coming to the library!

Carol, children's specialist

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

More than 100 people came to our preschool storytimes in July. We made bluebonnet finger prints, earth and moon mobiles, and handprint suns. We even ate ice cream!

Summer reading club continued with special programs, including Ruby Lewis, a Texas beach party, an Ima Hogg birthday celebration, and a campfire and star gazing. Movies were also shown throughout the month.

In August, we will be making pencil critters. We’ll have a teen movie and craft day.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Sweeny

About 14 children came to preschool storytime every week in July. They crafted and sang, in addition to listening to stories. We had a big camp-out at the end of the month and ate hot dogs around our pretend camp fire.

Seven teens came to the Teen Book Club. We’re reading “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles. They also enjoyed playing Dance Dance Revolution and eating pizza.

Toddler time, which we have every week before preschool storytime, continues to be popular. We have about six children visit every week.

We had six people at our bedtime stories this month, too.

Kids Campus continues their weekly visits until school begins. The children enjoy listening to the being read aloud to them one chapter at a time. About 18 children come for each visit.

We are getting back to our school year schedule in August. Kid’s Club will return on August 19 with a Back To School Splash with water fun.

We set a branch goal to have 200 children and teens sign up for summer reading club. We were thrilled to pass that! We’ll have to set a higher goal next year.

Our juvenile circulation statistics are great. We’ve seen more nonfiction and biographies checking out which we attribute to our increase in displays.

Leslie, branch manager

Children's Update: Pearland

We have had large crowds this summer for our preschool storytimes. More than 400 people attended our July storytimes. We made ABC dough figures, paper treasure chests, paper camp fires and cardboard pinwheels.

Teen Henna was a lot of fun. Two of the teens had such a great time that they even got their older siblings and mother to go with to the Teen Henna event in Alvin.

We have had more than 150 people come to our summer reading programs. We made crafts for July 4 and created fans. One of the children at the fan craft was only interested in mixing the paints; she was not interested in painting.

Ruby Lewis presented a program with the Sea Center Texas Trunk. The children were able to touch live water creatures and make fish prints. Everyone also got a unique shell.

Our teen volunteers are getting tired. They help with summer reading club, assist with programs, shelve picture books and juvenile fiction and help out where needed. Thank you to all the volunteers!

Laura, children's specialist

Children's Update: Manvel

Because of our move to a new location, preschool storytime attendance has suffered. We certainly hope that changes. Those who did find us enjoyed stories about rodeos and horses.

Teen Read has dropped off, too. But we discussed the latest Harry Potter movie and the Twilight series at our last meeting.

Seven teens attended our duct tape craft program. We made ID and cell phone holders. One of the teens was even motivated to enter the prom dress scholarship contest.

Another teen program we hosted was Fast Food True/False. We set the room up like a game show, and the participants had to answer questions about various fast foods and restaurants. We had lots of fun.

More than 90 people crowded in the library to see Captain Jack Sparrow. Everyone loved the program. The petting zoo drew almost as many people as Captain Jack. Baby cows, horses and goats were brought, and the children loved being able to touch them. We had a large crowd at Julian Franklin’s Wild West Show, too. Fun was had by all.

Our new location is 20514B Hwy 6 in Manvel. We're now right on the side of the highway and can't be missed!

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

During preschool storytime in July, we learned about women in the Wild West, turtles and snakes, coyotes, and cowboys and rodeos. We made paper bonnets, foam bowl turtles, abstract art coyotes, and bull masks.

Only a few people showed up for the paper jewelry craft program for teens. Those that attended however got to experiment with lots of different materials and techniques. We made beads out of magazine ads, newspaper comic strips, wrapping paper and wall paper.

Andrew, a volunteer, had his duct tape creations – including a dragon! – on display at the library this summer. He also taught two duct tape craft classes where people learned to make wallets, bookmarks and flowers out of duct tape. More than 30 people attended the classes. Thank you, Andrew!

Dawn Grimes’ line dance program was lots of fun. Children and adults learned several dance routines they performed with only a few missteps. Thank you to the Friends for sponsoring this program.

The Texas Three Step variety show drew small but lively audiences. Lots of giggling could be heard.

Ruby Lewis and her turtles, snakes and other critters was very popular. Most of the children enjoyed handling the animals. Some preferred to watch the show through the safety of the glass windows in the hall.

Someone dropped off two display spinners on our loading dock during the July 4 holiday. We’re going to fix them up to hold DVDs in the children’s area. Thank you, anonymous donor!

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Danbury

Preschool storytime continues, but attendance is down slightly. The extreme heat has prevented people from walking to the library for storytime. We hope that changes when, and if, the weather ever cools off.

The Nick at Night Wii program is building. One of our older patrons even boxed with her grandchildren in the Wii Olympics. Our clerk Nick hosts the Wii gaming, and I have yet to win a game against him. I think he cheats. But a nine-year-old beat him recently, so all is well.

We’ll be having a back-to-school party with pizza and Wii on August 27. The Friends of the Danbury Library will sponsor the event. Thank you, Friends, for all your help!

Kandy, branch manager

Children's Update: Clute

The children have thoroughly enjoyed our Texas-themed preschool storytimes. August storytimes will feature new books and old favorites. September will begin a look at “Books Through the Alphabet.”

We will be showing movies in August. Bring blankets, pillows and a drink. We’ll provide the popcorn.

Summer reading club has been a big success with lots of great programs, crafts and storytimes. Our big bulletin board is covered in Texas-related die cuts. We are so proud of the children and teens who joined the club and earned a gold medal. Congratulations!

Thank you to the staff and volunteers for working so hard this summer. We’ve circulated lots more books this summer than last summer, and everyone has pitched in to help where needed.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Angleton

Preschool storytime continues to be well-attended.

Teen movies shown on Fridays during summer reading club were a great success.

Once school is back in session, we will resume our monthly pajama storytime and children’s craft programs.

Many of the local daycares came to our programs throughout the summer. They also joined the summer reading club, too.

Our volunteers and staff have been busy initialing lots of logs and presenting medals to lots of readers.

We have had such fun this summer with all of our programs – Lyndale the Literary Lion, Texas reptiles, Julian Franklin, Ronald McDonald and Tom’s Fun Band. Many of our presenters entertained standing-room-only crowds.

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Monday, July 6, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Our preschool storytimes have covered rodeos, pirates and butterflies. More than 50 people have participated, and we decorated guitars and made butterflies.

The Cell Phone Challenge was a success. The winner received a trophy. Our first teen book club was held June 10, but unfortunately, no one attended.

Summer reading club has been a hit. We’ve had more than 200 people attend our programs. Snake-eyed Willie from Incredible Events proved the most popular.

Upcoming programs include Ruby Lewis and her reptiles, an Ima Hogg birthday party, square dancing, a beach party and movies.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Pearland

More than 500 people have attended our preschool storytimes. We’ve been reading stories related to Texas. Our crafts have included animal stick puppets, bookmarks and dough figures.

Our duct tape crafts for teens were lots of fun. We made rings, bracelets, wallets, placemats and sandals.

Two different daycares visited us for storytime. They also brought the older children to a safety program we held.

More than 300 people have attended our programs throughout the summer. The most popular program was Living in Space.

Our teen volunteers are very helpful. They help with reading club, shelve picture books and fiction, straighten the children’s department and assist with programs. We could not do without them. Thank you all for your help!

Our branch manager retired at the end of June. We will miss her and wish her well in her retirement!

Laura, children's specialist

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

Preschool storytime in June featured cowboys.

The Crafts for Little Hands featured cowboy hats, vests and bonnets.

The Artist Trading Card Craft was a lot of fun. Cindy, the reference librarian in charge of the program, raided the supplies, bringing out glitter, sequins, bells, ribbons, buttons, beads, paints and lots of other crafty products.

We will have Duct Tape Crafts on July 6.

Snake-eyed Willie from Incredible Events was a success as always. The Western Heritage program from the American Cowboy Museum brought in more adults and older children. Children who came to the Wild West Reading Show with Julian Franklin all went home wearing sheriff’s badges.

Ruby Lewis will be here with all her reptiles on July 8.

We’ll be making paper jewelry with teens on July 16.

Several new adult volunteers have joined us at the library. We also have a some teens from AmeriCorps. Thanks to all our volunteers!

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Danbury

Our clerk Nick will be presenting his first program on July 9 when we begin a Wii gaming event. Children are already showing up every day, just in case we start the program early.

Attendance for preschool storytime is wonderful.

Summer reading club is great. Record numbers have signed up. The Hot Dog Party was a lot of fun and very relaxing. Children and parents had a great time.

Kandy, branch manager

Children's Update: Clute

Attendance at preschool storytime has been steady throughout the summer. The children have enjoyed our Texas-themed stories. We’re also adding to a mural each week, and that has been steadily growing as the weeks pass.

The Monopoly Tournament had 25 people attend. Several of the participants have played in all three tournaments. Our winner, who has won the previous two years, made it a three-peat this year when he won again. Another player proved that persistence pays off and finally made it to the top six playoff in the third year of playing in the tournament. Eventually, the player came in third.

Crafts for seven to 12 year olds have been quite successful. They’ve made a variety of products, including magnets and scratch-off pictures. Upcoming crafts will be pouches and coin holders.

Several daycares attend our professional programs on Thursdays.

Our summer reading club has already surpassed last year’s in the number of children who have joined. Lots of people are coming with their grandparents and friends, as well as parents.

The junior volunteers are a big help. They staff the reading club sign-up desk, shelve picture books and help with programs. They receive a t-shirt as a volunteer, and they’re also given small items every week they work. We’re so grateful to our volunteers. Thank you all for your help!

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Angleton

We’re exploring Texas history during preschool storytimes this summer.

Teen movies are being shown every Friday through July 17. Free popcorn and drinks are provided.

Several daycares have joined us for our programs throughout the summer.

Summer reading club is very successful. Children are playing in the children’s area, and parents are reading to their children, too. Everyone seems reluctant to leave the library.

The professional programs we’ve had have been the highlight of the summer with hundreds of children enjoying the performers.

The children’s coordinator is providing us with special storytimes on Wednesday afternoons throughout July and August. The programs will incorporate math and science concepts for young children.

Crafts on Mondays and Wednesdays are very successful, too. Parents and volunteers are quite helpful. We couldn’t do the craft programs without their help. Thank you!

Our volunteers also help keep the juvenile section in some semblance of order. They are a tremendous help during the busy summer. Thank you to all our incredible volunteers!

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

Preschool storytimes in June brought more than 200 people to the library. We read stories about shapes, cows and fathers. We even had experiments at one storytime.

Four different daycares have been visiting our storytimes and other programs. We’re thrilled they’ve been coming to the library!

Our summer reading club is a success. More than 100 people showed up to see Ronald McDonald. We’ve also had great crowds at our Wild West Show, a reptile show and the Texas Three Step variety show. Duct tape and papier mâché crafts were also a hit.

Carol, children's specialist

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Look out for summer reading club! We have lots of events planned for June. Snake-eyed Willie and Cat Claw Rose will be stopping by the library. We’ve got a variety show, Texas Three Step: The Good, the Bad and the Funny, happening. We’ve got special treats for teens with the creation of a Teen Book Club and the Cell Phone Challenge.

I spoke at West Columbia Elementary during their awards ceremonies. I told each grade about all the fun events we have planned for this summer.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Sweeny

We’re gearing up for summer reading club! We’ve been decorating the library and talking to people about our events for all ages. We’re going to be offering a Toddler Time before our weekly preschool storytimes. We’re even starting a Teen Book Club this summer. Simple Simon’s has agreed to sponsor the club by providing the pizza. Thank you to Simple Simon’s!

Lots of students from Sweeny Elementary have toured the library. We read a story to them and told them all about the programs planned for the summer. We can’t wait to see them come back to sign up for the summer reading club.

Leslie, branch manager

Children's Update: Pearland

Here comes summer reading! We’re putting the finishing touches on our decorations, and we’ll kick everything off with a visit from Snake-eyed Willie.

One of our shelvers was accepted to film school. Congratulations!

Regina, children's assistant

Children's Update: Manvel

Summer reading club is coming! We’re prepared and ready for all the children in Manvel to come to the terrific events we have planned.

I was asked to participate in Children’s Book Week at E.C. Mason Elementary. They had guest readers coming throughout the day, and I was lucky enough to get to read to two classes of second graders. I even got to put a star up on the Wall of Fame.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

Look out for summer reading club! We have programs scheduled every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Our reference librarian, Cindy, is looking forward the Artist Trading Card Craft for Teens that she has planned.

I have visited with groups of students from three elementary schools in anticipation of summer reading. We are ready for them to participate this summer.

The City of Lake Jackson bought the library two plump leather chairs. We’ve placed them near the front doors where they look great. They have already gotten lots of use. Thank you to the City for this purchase!

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Danbury

We’re gearing up for summer reading club! As part of our summer celebrations, we’ll be having reptiles in the library, hot dogs and crafts throughout June.

In addition to all the summer reading fun, the library will have three new laptop computers with wireless Internet access for public usage. The computers and wireless access are provided by the Danbury Rotary Club. Thank you, Danbury Rotary!

Kandy, branch manager

Children's Update: Clute

Here comes summer reading! We have lots of fun events planned this summer. The Official Hasbro MONOPOLY Tournament for Teens is June 20.

With the help of the librarian from Polk Elementary, I recorded my summer reading club presentation. It was then shown at two other elementary schools.

The City of Clute purchased the staff’s summer reading club T-shirts which we will be wearing all summer long. Thanks to the City!

During the summer, day cares who wish to attend preschool storytime are encouraged to call the library first. We can arrange a special early storytime just for your group.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

The hermit crabs are coming back to the library! We can’t wait for everyone to come say “hi” to our favorite summer creatures. Along with the hermit crabs, we’ll also have all kinds of Texas decorations and a June bride display.

Summer reading club arrives June 8! We have events scheduled every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday through August 15, so you have plenty of opportunities to enjoy yourself at the library.

We’re kicking summer off with our variety show, Texas Three Step: The Good, the Bad and the Funny. We’ll also have live animals, rope making, and fun science and math. Learn to line dance or eat grub from a cattle drive.

I visited Career Day at Wild Peach Elementary. I spoke to kindergarteners, first graders and second graders about how I became a children’s specialist. I read a book to each class and told them about summer reading club, too.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

Summer reading club is coming! Kids Kraft will be held each Monday. Performers will be here every Tuesday, and a school-aged theme craft will happen every Wednesday. We’ll show family movies on Thursdays. We have teen movies scheduled every Friday. Some of our special performers in June include Ruby Lewis, Julian Franklin and Ronald McDonald.

Schools have been visiting the library in anticipation of summer reading club. Hundreds of children have toured the library and learned about all of our exciting summer events.

Our talented staff made our hand-crafted decorations, and they look fabulous!

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Monday, April 6, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Twenty-nine people came to preschool storytimes in March. We had themes about Dr. Seuss, St. Patrick's Day, spring, and lions and lambs.

Our movie during Spring Break proved popular. More than 20 people showed up to watch a free film.

We will be having a Spring Craft Night on April 6.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Sweeny

We focused on flying high during March preschool storytimes. We made kites and other crafts, but the highlight was blowing bubbles behind the library. The children had a great time, and the staff enjoyed trying out the bubbles before the program began. April will feature wiggly tales, and some turtles will be coming for a visit.

Kids' Club was a great success! We built kites and then went across the street to see the big kites fly. Everyone had a wonderful time. Next month, we're having slithery specimens.

We are preparing for National Library Week and will have lots of goodies to give away. We'll also have a display.

The Sweeny Christian School brought their first through fifth graders for a tour.

I spoke at Career Day at Sweeny Junior High. I used the opportunity to show the students some of the new books we have. I also asked what kinds of programs they would like to see at the library, and we hope to implement some of those ideas.

We are having a special Native American Crafts event on April 29. We also have a display to celebrate the PBS documentary series "We Shall Remain." The display has gotten a lot of attention.

Summer reading club is planned, and we're working on programs for August.

Leslie, branch manager

Children's Update: Pearland

Our preschool storytimes focused on party and spring themes. We had more than 100 people come to the storytimes. We made door hangers or bookmarks, baby chick paper hats, and flowers.

Patrons often ask where I get my craft ideas. I find them in library books, magazines, my son's old school crafts, crafts from my own childhood and the Internet.

We have teen programs planned for this summer including Teen Henna and Dance Dance Revolution.

We have a Kite Making and Flying Event scheduled for April 8. Richard Hawkins will be back. Thank you to Mr. Hawkins for all his work on this program!

We are having a big 2009-2010 Texas Bluebonnet Book Festival on April 15. Pearland ISD students, teachers and librarians, as well as a children's acting troupe and guest readers are coming. We'll have book talks, readings, reader's theatre, a mock vote and refreshments. The event was planned by Sylvia, our reference librarian, and funded by a Target Community Grant.

We are finalizing plans for the summer reading club.

We are so excited to be open again! Our patrons have been so thankful. We get so many nice comments. We have hired three new shelvers and are training them.

Laura, children's specialist

Children's Update: Manvel

Nearly 100 people came to our preschool storytimes in March. We discussed pets, quiet, reptiles and spring. We made daisies out of packing peanuts and 3-D cats and dogs. Most of the children made 3-D cats.

During Spring Break, we invited Ruby Lewis to come for a special storytime. She brought a baby alligator, several snakes and two box turtles. All the children could hold and pet the animals if they wanted. Thank you to Ms. Lewis for working on this program!

We had a guest speaker, Maggie Mesh, visit with the teens who attended our Teen Read program. Thank you Maggie for coming and talking with us!

Our mini soap box derby will be held on April 14. This event is in celebration of the Big Read featuring "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

Preschool storytime in March featured musical stories. As a special treat, Philip Walker of the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra came and accompanied the reading of the story, "Tubby the Tuba." Thank you to Mr. Walker for his wonderful music!

You + Me = Wii will continue to be held once a month beginning in April. Fewer teens showed up in March, but those that come can keep on playing Wii Sports, Guitar Hero and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Our Fancy Nancy Fashion Show was a huge success! Forty-two children and 42 adults attended. Twenty-five girls participated in the fashion show. Dillard's provided staff and make-up to help make the girls look even fancier. Melissa Armintor from Armintor Images took pictures of the participants. Robyn Cochran from Merrill Lynch served as emcee. Kroger's donated a cake that was enjoyed by all. Prizes were provided by Hastings, Target and the Friends of the Lake Jackson Library. Thank you to all those who helped make this event a roaring success!

After a vote from the public, Katharine was named the fanciest.


The Readers Circle read books about leprechauns in March. We'll read "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams Bianco in April.

The Bookaneers read "Punished" by David Lubar. This was a fun book about language featuring puns, oxymorons, anagrams and palindromes. Everyone came with more examples. We'll read "The Lost Years of Merlin" by T.A. Barron at our next meeting.

Susan and Linda helped with the Brazosport ISD Walk & Talk at the Freeport Municpal Park. A cold front blew in the night before the event, so it was windy and freezing! But lots of people still showed up, and we had lots of fun making sun visors with the children.

Forty-eight students from the Brazosport Christian School came to the library for help with their research projects. Everyone found what they needed to complete their assignments.

Plans for the Big Read program featuring "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. We're having contests to design a bookmark, a book jacket and a movie poster. Bird crafts for children will be done on April 29.

We're still ironing out some details for summer reading club.

The city bought us some book display stands for the children's area. Thank you to the city for these items!


Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Freeport

More than 150 people came to preschool storytime in March. We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday, colors, Tubby the Tuba and the old lady who swallowed a fly.

During Spring Break, we showed a movie. Sixty-six people came and enjoyed a free film.

Memorial Childcare continues their weekly visits. We are so happy to have them around!

We're decorating eggs on April 9.

Dawn, children's specialist

Children's Update: Clute

Celebrate the month of April at preschool storytime! We'll be featuring stories about April Fool's Day, Easter, libraries, Earth Day and El día de los niños/El día de los libros.

We'll be having Earth Day kid's crafts on April 16.

TV Turnoff Week begins April 20, so turn off your televisions and get into a good book. Come to the library, and we'll be happy to give you some great reading ideas.

The Big Read is coming in May. The book we're reading is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. We'll be having a movie screening, a memory box craft, and a discussion of race and culture. All ages are welcome to attend these events.

Summer reading club is planned, and flyers are available at the library.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

March has been a great month for preschool storytime. We've read stories about cowboys and rodeos, St. Patrick's Day, spring, and Easter bunnies. For crafts, we made leprechauns and rainbows. We learned the song "Little Bunny Foo Foo" from our clerk, Melissa. We've even had a special guest - Tania Tolbert, membership manager of the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council - who read a story and talked about the Girl Scouts. Thank you to Tania for visiting our storytime! We are planning an Easter Egg Hunt in April.

At Bedtime Stories in March, we read stories about trying NOT to go to sleep. When everyone was wide awake, we enjoyed milk and cookies.

I visited Head Start this month and read to the students. They enjoyed stories about leprechauns, spring and bunnies.

Summer reading club is planned. We're working on decorations, practicing for the variety show and preparing for all the fun and chaos.

Throughout April we will have book displays of Native American interest to celebrate "We Shall Remain," the documentary series airing on PBS.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

We're still working our way through the alphabet during our preschool storytimes.

Pajama storytime participants got a surprise in March. Ruby Lewis brought a live hognosed snake and read books about snakes. The snake, on loan from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, really entertained the children. Thank you to Ms. Lewis for working on this program!

Emma Lou conducted a special program with a local Boy Scout troop visiting the library. She showed how to conduct research using the microfilm machine. The troop enjoyed their visit, and we hope to have them back again.

Our Saturday family movie event was an enormous success. We had double the usual attendance, and everyone left full of popcorn. We're looking forward to increased attendance over the course of the summer.

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

Preschool storytimes in March proved popular with more than 180 people attending. Our themes included Dr. Seuss, St. Patrick's Day, the alphabet and names.

We hosted our first Family Movie Night, and 30 people came to see the show. They enjoyed the movie, but I did not enjoy sweeping up the popcorn! I guess I'd better get used to it. We're having another Family Movie Night in April.

We had two visits from daycares during March. They brought about 50 people with them to the library.

Summer reading club is planned. I am helping Pearland with one event, and they are coming to help me with another.

The Catholic Daughters from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church donated a Dr. Seuss book to the library. Thank you to the Catholic Daughters for this gift!

Carol, children's specialist

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

February preschool storytimes featured stories about teeth, Mardi Gras, weather and, again, Valentine’s Day. Nearly 60 people attended this month. The children enjoyed making a happy teeth puppet, Valentine holder, masks, and cloud and sun puppets.

Andrea Hypolite, a representative from Community Outreach & Assistance Program, spoke briefly at one our storytimes. Thank you, Andrea, for sharing your information!

During Spring Break, we’ll be showing a movie on March 16. Come down to the library to watch a free movie!

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Manvel

Our February preschool storytimes saw more than 100 people visit to hear stories about love, moose, noses and opposites. We made heart flowers, moose antler headbands and noses. Children could create their own nose out of mini paper plates, and we saw all kinds of noses from alligators to dogs to clowns.

We had six teens discuss recently read books during Teen Read.

Heritage Christian Academy came to the branch for a tour. They made birthday cards for Abraham Lincoln in honor of his 200th birthday, and we mailed them to Illinois.

Kids R Kids came for a monthly visit and storytime.

Kathryn was invited to Manvel Junior High to read as part of the Read Across America celebration.

Ruby Lewis will present a special storytime about reptiles on March 18.

The employees from the Pearland branch have returned to their library. We miss them; it was great working with them while they were here.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

Preschool storytimes in February featured numerous stories about hugs and kisses. Parents and children made a “hug card” for Valentine’s Day using the children’s hands as templates. We finished the month with stories declaring no more hugs and no more kisses.

Storytimes in March will feature musical stories. On March 24, there will be a special preview of the upcoming concert “Tubby the Tuba” by Philip Walker and members of the Brazosport Symphony League.

The You + Me = Wii gaming program continues to attract teens to the library. The program continues in March.

Love Your Library was the theme for February. Events included a “Tell Us Why You Love Our Library” contest for adults and children with the winners receiving boxes of candy.

The heavy rains put a damper on the planned “group hug” around the library on Valentine’s Day, but 45 people visited the craft tables set up in the library. Thanks to H.E.B. and Walmart for providing refreshments, and thanks to the Friends for providing craft kits and materials.

As part of their annual membership drive, the Friends of the Library held a Sweetheart Raffle. The winner received an overnight stay and breakfast from Cherotel, dinner for two from Johnny Carino’s, flowers from Carriage Flowers & Gifts, and movie tickets for two from Brazos Stadium 14. Thanks to all the local businesses that support the Friends!

The Readers Circle for Grades 1-3 read and discussed Sam and the Tigers by Julius Lester. We made a dangling tiger craft. In March, readers have a choice of several books with leprechauns as the main character.

The Bookaneers read and discussed the historical novel Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. We also discussed some of the real-life characters they had learned about in history class. In March, we’ll read Punished by David Lubar.

A Fancy Nancy Fashion Show is planned for March 14. Registration and entry forms are available at the library.

Applications for Summer Student Aides will be accepted March 9 through March 27.

The third Media Swap is scheduled for March 18 during Spring Break. Items to be swapped must be brought to the library between March 9 and March 13.

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Freeport

Our preschool storytimes in February featured books about Valentine’s Day, mothers and love. We made special Valentine’s cards for the important people in our lives. We also presented a silly felt board story that had the children howling with laughter.

Memorial Childcare comes to visit us every Tuesday for a special storytime. We are so happy to have them around.

On March 3, we’ll celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Anyone can celebrate with us. All you have to do is walk through the front door to receive a homemade cupcake.

Dawn, children's specialist

Children's Update: Danbury

Thirty-two children attended preschool storytime in February. Ruby Lewis prepared a special storytime all about hermit crabs.

Our Valentine’s Craft Night saw thirty-four people attend. They enjoyed making their craft.

Tom, adult program coordinator

Children's Update: Clute

At preschool storytime in March, we will be focusing on Dr. Seuss, St. Patrick’s Day, spring and the ocean.

We have lots of programs planned for Spring Break. We will be having a Board Game Day on March 19. Teens can take this opportunity to prepare for the Monopoly Tournament we’ll host this summer. We’re also having crafts, a St. Patrick’s Day party and a movie.

Our third AWE Early Literacy computer has arrived and looks great on our new computer table. Children of all ages are enjoying the games available on the machine.

I was invited to read to the children in the Awana Club at Clute First Baptist Church. We all enjoyed hearing about The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

We can’t believe how fast the year is passing! We finished our Let’s Go storytimes with books about airplanes. We talked about machines that fly and our own flying experiences. Many of our storytime attendees are frequent flyers.

Other storytimes featured celebrations for Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras. We made cards and masks, respectively. We finished up the month with stories about birds and made 3-D birds for our craft.

Bedtime Stories featured monsters under the bed. Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the milk and cookies, too.

I went to Head Start two Fridays in February and read to the students. I have noticed their listening skills and their ability to sit through more stories has improved greatly since they began school in September.

March 7 is Heritage Days in Brazoria, and the branch library will have a float in the parade. Melissa and I are organizing this, and we’ll have children on the float.

We love being open on Fridays! Our displays look great, and we hope you come out to see them.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

Miss Emmy’s preschool storytimes continue to be successful. People drive from all over the county to attend. During February, she featured Peter and the Wolf and Dr. Seuss.

Kids Kraft featured a Valentine’s Day craft that everyone enjoyed. Pajama Storytime kept children entertained.

Brazosport College invited Miss Emmy to come to their daycare and read to about 60 children. She will also be going to Frontier Elementary for a special storytime.

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

One hundred people attended preschool storytime in February. We featured stories about bubble gum, dogs, reading and, of course, Valentine’s Day.

Our Valentine’s Day Craft didn’t see as many people as other craft events. Only seven came to create their own work. Thank you to Laura for filling in and hosting this event while I was at jury duty.

The Next Generation Learning Center came to storytime this month. We were glad to have them at the library and hope they return again soon.

We will be having our premiere Family Movie Night on March 24. Come down and enjoy a free movie at the library!

Carol, children's specialist

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Forty-seven people attended storytime in January. We featured stories about winter, friends, Chinese New Year and the Super Bowl. We made dragon masks and football pennants. Everyone had fun.

Our Paper Football Tournament was held the day before the Super Bowl. We had eight people participate. We served nachos and drinks and cheered on the winning team.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Manvel

We have continued our alphabet-themed storytimes. Each week our attendance grew with more than 100 people coming throughout the month. We read stories about hippopotami, ice cream, characters named Jack and kites. We made hippo hats and finger puppets and decorated kites. Everyone had lots of fun.

Teen Read continues. Since school has begun, our attendance has dropped some, but we still have a wonderful time.

We began a new monthly storytime with a local daycare this month. Kids R Kids #13 from Pearland will be bringing nine children to a special monthly storytime.

We have decorated our library for February. We have displays for Valentine’s Day, Black History Month and Presidents’ Day. We also have a display of quilt squares promoting the 2009 Quilt Festival being held in Lake Jackson. Our clerk Judy did an especially good job on the decorations.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

Storytime in January featured snow. Parents and children made snowflakes out of coffee filters which we then displayed in our front windows. As with real snowflakes, no two were alike.

Cindy, our reference librarian, hosted our first teen You + Me = Wii gaming event. Eight teens attended and had lots of fun playing Wii Sports, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Guitar Hero. Future events will likely include Dance Dance Revolution. You + Me = Wii events will be held every first and third Saturday.

I did an adult program at Columbia Lakes for The Daughters of 1812 & Colonial Dames. I told them about the history of storytelling and even included some stories. They all enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the lunch I was invited to share. Thank you, ladies, for inviting me!

The Readers Circle for Grades 1-3 discussed “Many Moons” by James Thurber and charted the changes in the moon for one month. Our next book will be “Sam and the Tigers” by Julius Lester.

Bookaneers for Grades 4-6 read a variety of books on heroes, both fictional and historical. They discussed what makes a hero and whether they had ever done anything heroic. For February, we’re reading “Johnny Tremain” by Esther Forbes.

Lots of events are planned for February including crafts and a “Group Hug” of the library building.

We are planning a Fancy Nancy Fashion Show and our media swap for March. In conjunction with the Brazosport Symphony League’s presentation of “Fun with Tubby the Tuba,” we are planning a Tubby the Tuba storytime in March. This will feature musical accompaniment.

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Freeport

Our storytimes in January featured raccoons, libraries, cats and butterflies. We had 46 people enjoy our stories and crafts. Some of the crafts we made were raccoon masks and our very own books. We even had a puppet show about Cassie, the ugly fuzzy caterpillar.

Our Game Night was quite popular. Twenty people showed up to play Wii Sports and enjoy some great fun!

Lakewood Childcare brought 50 people to the library for a special storytime. They enjoyed a puppet play and stories. We hope to have them back to our library soon.

Memorial Childcare comes to the library every Tuesday for a special storytime. We love having them around.

We’re getting ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 10. We’ll be having crafts for all ages. We’re making love bug crafts, I love you pins and bee mine magnets.

Dawn, children's specialist

Children's Update: Clute

We began our Five Senses storytime series in January. We will continue the senses through February. We are really looking forward to tying in Valentine’s Day candy with the sense of taste. Mmmm – come help us enjoy this delightful combination!

We have a Valentine Craft Night planned for February 12.

During Spring Break, we’re planning some wonderful teen programs.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Angleton

Kidz Kraft for January featured the new year as its theme. Attendees made and decorated 2009 frame glasses.

Pajama storytime continues its successful run. Children listened to stories about different cultures while enjoying milk and animal crackers.

Our Saturday family movie was another success. Twenty-three people enjoyed pocorn and drinks while watching the movie. Our next movie will be shown on February 21.

Emma Lou visited St. Mark’s Lutheran School for career week and spoke about working in a library. Her visit was well-received by the children.

Our staff received lots of praise for the President / Black History Month bulletin board that we have on display in the children’s area.

Emma Lou, children's specialist