3 Weeks minus one day....

...until the beginning of summer reading!! Woo-hoo!

But, you don't have to wait that long for fabulously fun activities to begin! There is a lot going on here next week that you won't want to miss. Here's the three "P" run down:

Patriotic: The Library is closed Monday, 5/30 for Memorial Day

Paint: The Great Create's Paint fest is this Wednesday, 6/1 and/or Monday, 6/6 from 3:45-4:45 for 3rd-6th graders to help Ms. Jenny transform the children's department for summer reading!! Just drop in after school and we will have a paint brush waiting for you!

Puppies: Join us for a doggone fun story time in honor of PUPPIES and the opening of a new Bark Park in East Longeadow this Thursday, 6/2 at 10:30. All ages are welcome, no registration is required.

And, now for this week's summer read recommendation from Maxime Pitchon, from "On the Same Page" book club.

If you like magic books than you'd likeThe Septimus Heap Series, by Angie Sage
Happy Reading!, Maxime

Six weeks and one day...

....until the start of this year's summer reading club: "One World Many Stories!" The summer reading club is an exciting program filled with raffle tickets, performances, reading, and FUN! (more info coming soon!!) And, since we are just so excited about the beginning of summer we thought we'd start a little countdown here on the blog. So, every Tuesday we will share a "Great Summer Read Countdown" which will feature a book recommendation from one of our very own "On the Same Page" book club members, which is a group of 3rd-5th graders who get together monthly to discuss books.

This week's reviewer is Maria Dimitroglou

"If you like books with mystery and extremely unfortunate children, than you'd like....
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Make sure to read all 13 books!

and,

If you like funny books with lots of action...and Endangered Albino Alligators, than you'd like....
Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti

Happy Reading!, Maria

Thanks, Maria for your recommendations!! Check back next Tuesday to read about other great books to check out! And, remember only 6 weeks and 1 day to the beginning of summer reading!!

Reading is Growing at the Library!

There is so much reading going on...it's unbelievable! We have over 925 readers signed up for the program, we've made over 600 veggies, and who knows how many books have been read! Goodness! If you still haven't signed up. There is still time! And, all hours from June 14th on count! First sign up online then, come into the library to get your reading log.

What can you do this week at the library? I am glad you asked, you can:

See Magic!
Magic Show with Scott Jameson, Wed. 7/14 at 2pm For children ages 5 and up. Register as space is limited

Mini Raffle!
Mini Raffle, Thur. 7/15 at 10:30 am. All present will be entered for a small prize! No registration is required.

Be Safe!
Child ID Safety Program, Thur. 7/15 from 11am-2pm. Stop in and receive digital fingerprints and photos to help keep your kids safe. No registration is required.

See Costumes come to life!
Glue & Go Costuming with Holly Cleeland, Fri 7/16 at 1:30. Great for children 2mo-16 years. Registration is required.

Tickets today:
- Make a corn on the cob for 2 tickets
- Play the Recycle game for 2 tickets

Enter to Win:
-What can you do to reduce Garbage? Enter to Win 10 raffle tickets!
- How many disposable food containers are in the jar? You could win 10 raffle tickets AND a reusable lunch tote!
- Conservation Tree: Find a fact about BUGS! You could win 10 raffle tickets!
-Produce of the week: Can you guess what it is? Last week's produce was....LEEKS!

And, come in and see how are gardens are growing, what interesting things we have in our shadow box, and play grocery store!!

Green Fun Continues!

What an amazing week we have had at the library!! We have grown tomatoes, watched magic shows, learned about gardens and so, so much more! Check out our slide show to see all the fun!!

A HUGE thank you to our wonderful volunteers who work so hard through out the week and our special guest magician Michael Wald!

Remember there is still time to sign up! We can't wait to show you what we have planned for next week! You want a sneak peek? OK, I will tell you next week will be filled with lettuce, cartooning, and composting! Sounds like fun??? It's going to be!!

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July! We will be closed on Monday, June 5th.

Fun is Really Growing at the Library!

It's true fun is growing, and growing, and growing here at the library! Want to grow with us? Here's how to:

Step One: Sign up for "Go Green at your Library". First, sign up online. Then, at your next visit to the library head to the "Go Green Central" to pick up your reading log.

Step Two: Read! For every hour you spend reading you get one raffle ticket for our great prizes- or you can put your tickets in the "Read To Help" jar where we are raising tickets to help animals at the Dakin Animal Shelter.

Step Three: Now, you are ready to participate in all of our fun activities!! Here's what's happening this week:

- Wednesday, 6/30 at 2pm Magic with Michael Wald ages 5-and up, Call to register as there is very little space left.

-We are closing early at 5pm today 6/29 and tomorrow 6/30 for the carnival. And, we are closed next Monday 7/5 for the holiday.

Also when you stop in the library you can:
- Make a tomato!
- Play the Food Hunt
-Hang a fact about gardening on the conservation tree
-Figure out what our produce of the week is
- Take a guess at the guessing jar
-Figure out what is made from recycled materials
-Grab directions for creating your own story
- Look who won last week on our "Winners bulletin board"
(Speaking of winners, did you guess right on the produce of the week? If you guessed
CELERY ROOT you are right!)

Want a chance to win more raffle tickets right now at home? Do an online review of a book. At the end of the week, we will randomly choose a reviewer to win 10 RAFFLE TICKETS!

Can you believe all this fun a-growing?

What a Green Week!

This was the first week of all of our fabulous in-house activities....and boy....have we had FUN! We have guessed produce, come up with ways to help our environment, had PIZZA, sang and danced with Music Together, and met lots of new reading friends.

A special thanks to Master Park, Master Choi, and Assistant Dan from Master Han's Olympic Taekwondo for their wonderful Taekwondo demonstration that really helped us KICK off the summer reading program. Also, special thanks to Sondra Lewis of Greater Springfield Music Together for putting together a fabulous music and movement class.

Would you like to see what this week looked like? Take a look at our slide show! Remember, there is still time to sign up, and you can come in any time to redeem your reading hours. (note: the Go Green Log Central and all activities close 1/2 hour prior to closing)

And, just wait until you see what we have planned for next week...

Back to reading!

GO GREEN this week!

We already have over 500 readers signed up for the summer reading program!! Can you believe that? If you haven't signed up yet, you can do it right now online. Then, come into the library to receive your log and information. That's a lot of reading going on! In celebration of all the kids getting out of school, this week is the start to all the fabulous in-house library activities! Here's what's happening this week:

- TODAY, Monday 6/21 at 2pm Mini Raffle!Come into the library at 2pm and all present will be entered into a mini raffle for fabulous secret smaller prizes. No registration is required

- Wednesday, 6/23 at 11am Kick off Party! Come on in for a special Tae Kwon Do Demonstration and PIZZA!! No registration is required

-Thursday, 6/24 at 10:30am Music Together. Please note this program is FULL

Also this week stop by to:

Play:
The Seed to Crop game (get two raffle tickets right away!)
Little Seedling Game (enter to win 10 raffle tickets!)

Think:
Take a guess at the guessing jar (enter to win 10 raffle tickets and a DIY reusable bag!)
Can you figure out what the produce of the week is? (enter to win 10 raffle tickets!)
Write a fact about RECYCLING and place it on the Conservation Tree. (enter to win 10 raffle tickets!)
Review a book online! (enter to win 10 raffle tickets!)

Create:
Make a carrot for our crop fields! (get two raffle tickets right away!)
Visit the "Watering Can" to pick up your Green Thumb Challenge. An activity to do at home. (When project is done return to the library for 10 raffle tickets!)

Explore:
The NEW market play space!!!
The shadow box of shells
The Graziano Green Gardens (we're growing pizza, salsa, and salad!)

Now, that's a busy fun week!!

It's Almost Time!

Summer reading is getting closer....and closer....and closer! Here are a few important dates to remember:

- Volunteer Orientation is June 9th and 10th at 4pm. We are asking volunteers to make it to one of those days. (this is for those already signed up for the volunteer program- if you'd still like to help out and haven't signed up, come in to the library as there are a few openings still available)

- Summer reading begins JUNE 14TH!! You can sign up that day or any day after during the program. First, sign up on the computer (at home or at the library), then come in for your reading log!

It's going to be a GREAT summer!

Mark your calendars!

Go Green at the East Longmeadow Library Summer Reading Program is coming up! Earn raffle tickets to win prizes by reading! For every hour that you read (or are read to), you earn one raffle ticket. The more you read, the better chance you have of winning a prize!

Sign up starts Monday, June 14th! You may sign up online at home (go to www.readsinma.org/eastlongmeadow), and then at your convenience come to the library to pick up your log sheet. Easy!

And then Wednesday, June 23, at 11:00am, come to the library for our big Kick-off Party with an interactive Taekwondo demostration, and mini-lesson on "How to Handle Bullies" plus pizza! Woo hoo!


PS - See all of the cool raffle prizes by clicking here.

Looking Forward to Another Great Week....

Wow! What a week! Check out the slide show of week two to see all the fun we had! Also, take a look at the Alien creations from the "Take Home Mission"!

So are you ready for next week?

Step One: Make sure you are signed up for the great programs listed on the side bar. (Note: you can only sign up for a program one week ahead of time- and you have to be signed up for "Starship Adventure")

Step Two: Come into the library to see what is new this week! We have a new Guessing jar, new Planet of the Week (Mars!!), Puzzle table, new Spaci-i-gami craft, and a new "Take Home Challenge" (create your own space story!).

Step Three: Read, Read, Read!!

And, remember it's not too late to sign up for "Starship Adventure" and join the fun! (all hours read from June 22nd on count!)

The Tuesday Review: "Moon Plane" by Peter McCarthy, a must-read picture book!

Moon Plane by: Peter McCarthy

"Above the clouds an airplane files into the sky"

Moon plane is an elegantly illustrated picture book that follows the imaginative flight of an airplane. Watch as the plane soars gracefully over cars, trains, and ocean on it's journey to the moon. The small boy pilot/astronaut has just enough time to explore the moon before his safe travel home to his mother's arms.

This is a beautiful, dreamy little book that is just perfect for bedtime reading.

Speaking of the moon...."Starship Adventure" our summer reading club is about to start, June 22nd!! During summer reading, we will be showcasing some very special reviews.....you will have to stay tuned for more information!

It's coming . . .

Starship Adventure, the 2009 E.L. Library Summer Reading Program!

Important dates:

Monday, 6/22

-Registration starts online either at home or in the library.
Wednesday, 6/24

-Kick-off Party @ 11 am with Tae Kwan Do demo, a presentation about bullying, and PIZZA!

Thursday, 6/25
-Music Together program @ 10:30 am, for infants - age 6, sign up starting 6/22, limited to 30 participants.

-Mini Raffle Drawing in the library @ 2 pm

We are registering online this year, which can be done either at home or in the library. If you register at home, you will still need to come to the library to get your reading log sheet and raffle code.

Also new this year--write reviews of the books you read in your online log for a chance to get extra raffle tickets! Stay tuned for more information about the program as the date gets closer, including instructions for registering online! In the meantime, check out the Starship Adventure website!

AND check out this year's raffle prizes here!

winner + pets + music + storybook making + doughnuts + more!

Congratulations, Hannah Wald! Hannah is the winner of our Spring Great Read-It and Rate-It Raffle, our online book review program! Hannah wrote and submitted reviews of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; these reviews allowed Hannah to be entered in our raffle drawing for a cool UNO ATTACK Game Package!

And it's May and time for our Pet Photo Show!
All month bring in your favorite photo of your pet and tell us why your pet is a star! We will display all photos during the month of May. One entry per person; photos can be picked up during the month of June.

Here's a run-down of other events happening in May:

-Saturday, May 2, 2 pm: Kids Playing Music for Kids! Children ages 5-14 are invited to join Sharon Wayne and her guitar students for an afternoon concert.

-Friday, May 8, 3:30-4:30 pm: Make Your Own Storybook Workshop! Budding authors in Grades K - 4 are invited to drop in to create their own story book!

-Saturday, May 9, 10:30 am: Dad's & Donuts! Just in time for Mother's Day! Drop-in for some donuts and to make a special treat for Mom.

-Monday, May 25, Memorial Day, Library Closed.

-All month - Piece It Together Scavenger Hunt! Earn a prize puzzle by following the clues and finding the coupons.

And coming up. . .The Summer Reading Club, Starship Adventure! June 22 - July 31st! The reading club is for ALL kids from birth to 12; participants may be read to or may read on their own. Children entering Grade 5 are invited to be part of our volunteer corps; these volunteers are critical to helping our summer reading program run smoothly by committing to one 2-hour block per week. And new this year--an online Teen Summer Reading Club for older kids!

Stay tuned for more Summer Reading Club news!