Tuesday Review: "Houndsley and Catina," a beginning chapter book

Houndsley and Catina, is a three-chapter, beginning reader book by James Howe with illustrations by Marie-Louise Gay. The main characters are best friends, Catina, the cat, and Houndsley, the dog. Catina thinks she'd like to be a famous writer, so she writes a book about her life and has Houndsley read it over. Houndsley doesn't know how to tell her that she isn't a very good writer. Then Houndsley, who likes to cook for his friends, enters a cooking contest, but during the contest, everything goes wrong. In the final chapter, the two friends learn lessons about their talents and their friendship.

This is a fun book with great illustrations--perfect for beginning readers ages 5 to 8. Come in to the library and take a look!

February Fun!

We have a lot happening in February at the library! Here are some highlights!

Click here for the complete calendar.

Until 2/14, Count the Candy Hearts Guessing Jar - come in and submit your guess for how many candy hearts are in the jar. The closest guess wins all the candy!

Monday, 2/9, 4 pm, Boy's Book Discussion, The Indian in the Cupboard

Tuesday, 2/17 - Friday, 2/20, Make & Take activity.

Monday, 2/16, President's Day, Library Closed.

Tuesday, 2/17, Jump into Reading! Book Discussion for Grades 1 & 2. Come in ahead of time to pick up a book to read!

Wednesday, 2/18, 10:30 am, Mother Goose, ages 3 1/2 - 8, please sign up.

Thursday, 2/19, 2 pm, LEGO Jr. Engineers! Ages 5 - 12.

Friday, 2/20, 1 - 3 pm, Open Studio Art Activity, all ages, just drop in!

Wednesday, 2/25, Spring Story Time Registration for East Longmeadow Residents. 9:30 in person, 10 am by phone. Non-residents may register Thursday, 2/26.

Have a great Groundhog Day! Let's hope for a cloudy, no-shadows kind of a day!

The Tuesday Review: "The London Eye Mystery", a must-read chapter book!

(We are starting a new routine of book reviews on Leroy's blog. Each Tuesday, we will post a review of a book from our collection, alternating between picture books, easy readers, and chapter books. Feel free to comment or suggest a book that we should include.)

The London Eye Mystery
by Siobhan Dowd

Random House, c. February 2008

This new chapter book is a puzzling mystery set in London. A boy named Salim disappears from "The London Eye," a gigantic ferris wheel-type ride. His cousins, Ted and Kat, watch him get on the ride, keep track of which compartment he is in as it goes around, and then watch and wait for him to get off. No sign of him! This book keeps the reader guessing, and the story is made better by the interesting family members and their relationships. A must-read for kids in grades 4 through 8!

Come on in and check out this great book!

Pat it and roll it and mark it with a . . .

Would you like a great recipe for homemade clay? Anthony Torres shared this one with us to use for our Story Time snowman craft, and we've had many requests for it. So here it is, courtesy of Anthony!

Homemade Clay

3 cups flour

1-1/2 cup salt

3 cups water

2 T. oil

1 T. cream of tarter

food coloring if desired

Mix all ingredients in a large pan. Cook over medium heat until dough comes away from edges and it is difficult to move spoon through it. Cool on counter. When cool, knead 3 - 4 times. Store in clear plastic wrap and an air-tight container or zip lock bag.

A great big thank you to Anthony Torres and his family for sharing this recipe!