Blog Contest Ends Today

Today is the last day to check out our Book-A-Day reviews from January, leave a comment, and enter to win one of the books(of your choice). Tomorrow morning we'll put all the names in a hat and pull out a winner! Good luck.

Storytime Week 4: Sheep

March is upon us and, as the old saying goes, it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, for us March begins with stories about lambs and sheep.

This Week's Books:
Friska, by Rob Lewis
Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy Shaw
Little Baa, by Kim Lewis
Russell the Sheep, by Rob Scotton
Sneaky Sheep, by Chris Monroe
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox, ill. by Judy Horacek

This Week's Music:
Mary Had a Little Lamb, by the Wiggleworms
Sheep, by Zoe Lewis
Baa Baa Black Sheep, byRalph's World

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn
And where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under the haystack fast asleep.

Sheep are quiet and sheep are shy
I asked a sheep the reason
But he wouldn't say why.

This Week's Art/Craft: A wooly sheep with yarn and craft foam

Bari Koral Family Band!

The Bari Koral Family Rock Band will be here tomorrow! (click on the link to go to their website) It's going to be great. We are so excited to host this group. With two award-winning CDs and a whole slew of rave reviews from the New York Times (!) to LA Parent and everything in between, you can bet that we will be treated to a fantastic performance.

We will be in the Senior Center, so please bring a blanket or something to sit on since chairs are limited. (Yes, it would have been great to be in a real auditorium, but the elementary school was not available). So, let's make our humble surroundings very welcoming and friendly.

I'm packing up on my own backpack now to get ready for the show! (Check out "The Backpack Song" on youtube by clicking here.) See you tomorrow, Tuesday, February 22 at 1:00.

Storytime Week 3: Love

Monday was Valentine's Day so in honor of the day and the sentiment, our theme for this week's storytimes is LOVE

This Week's Books:
Mama, Do You Love Me, by Barbara Joose, ill. by Barbara Lavallee
Be Mine, Be Mine Sweet Valentine, by Sarah Weeks, ill. by Fumi Kosaka
Kiss Kiss! by Margaret Wild, ill. by Bridget Strevens-Marzo
Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney, ill. by Anita Jeram
More, More More Said the Baby, by Vera Williams

This Week's Music:
Seasons of Love, by the Broadway Kids
All I Really Need, by Raffi
I Love You More Than Cheese, by Adam Bryant
Skinnamarink, by Sharon, Lois, and Bram

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Fly up, up, up in the sky like this
Fly down, down, down for a great big kiss
Crawl up the flower like a ladybug
Crawl, down, down, down, for a great big hug

This Weeks Art/Craft: Dapper Valentines with Hats and Mustaches!

This and That

- The children's play area and the book drop are still closed as we await sheet rock. Because of the regulations regarding the fire-proofing of the book drop, we require a qualified professional and therefore have had to wait a bit. Like you, we are all anxious for our library to be back to normal. Thanks to everyone who has been so patient.

- Just a reminder to enter the blog contest. From now until the end of February, read through January's blog book reviews and leave your child's first name and last initial in the comment section of any blog post. At the end of the month we will randomly draw a name from all who entered to receive one of the books we reviewed (book of your choice or you may choose a year's subscription to Family Fun magazine). No one has entered thus far (why not?!) so chances are good!

- Remember to come out to My Gym on Tuesday, February 15th, from 1:30-2:30. All the profits will benefit our library! This event is sponsored by the MOMS Club. This is a GREAT opportunity for all those kids with cabin fever to run and jump and horse around. By the way, My Gym is about a mile from my house and I am usually around on Tuesday afternoons so I think I may pop in and say hi!

- Another fund-raising event is the RML night at Chili's in Glastonbury. Come by the library for a coupon, eat at Chili's Tuesday, March 1st from 4-7 p.m, and 10% of your bill will go directly to the library. My husband and I will likely be there having fajitas and maybe even a margarita!

- Be sure to mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 22nd when the award-winning, hip, popular, buzz-worthy Bari Koral Family Rock Band comes to Marlborough! They will be performing at the Senior Center at 1 p.m. FREE!!!! We have 2 of their albums at the library soon ready for your listening pleasure.

- I hope everyone is enjoying their pancake playdough from this week's storytime with me and that Ms. Eileen's kids have sent off their loving "hugs". We'll see you all next week.
Ms. Patty

2011 CHET Dream Big! Competition

They may only be reading stories now, but it won't be long before they're planning for college! Get a little help via prize money in a CHET 529 Plan by having your child enter the CHET Dream Big! 2011 Competition. We have forms at the Library or check out www.chetdreambig.com for the rules. Children in K-3 can submit an original drawing answering the question, "What do I want to do after I go to college?", while students in Grades 4-5 write an essay responding to the question, "How will I change the world after I go to college?". Ninety-six county winners will each receive a $250 CHET direct-sold 529 account, while 48 merit winners will receive one for $50 each. Entries must be postmarked by April 4.

A Gymtastic Fund-Raiser (Fun-Raiser!)

The MOMS Club of Marlborough is hosting an open gym event at My Gym in Glastonbury. (Click here for information on My Gym.) It's being held on Tuesday February 15th from 1:30-2:30. The admission fee is $5.00 and ALL PROFITS DIRECTLY BENEFIT THE LIBRARY! How awesome is that?! Come play in a new way.

Winter Storytime: Week 2, Pancakes

Oh, hot pancakes on a cold morning, buttery and dripping with syrup. Yum!

This Week's Books:
Pancakes, Pancakes, Eric Carle
If You Give a Pig a Pancake, by Laura Numeroff, ill. by Felicia Bond
Poppleton in the Fall, by Cynthia Ryland, ill. by Mark Teague
Like Butter on Pancakes, by Jonathan London, ill. by G. Brian Karas
Pancakes for Supper! by Anne Issacs, ill. by Mark Teague

This Week's Music:
The Disappointing Pancake, by Lisa Loeb
Cooking Breakfast for the Ones I Love, by Maria Muldaur
Pancake Song, by the Funky Mamas

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Mix a pancake, stir a pancake
Pop it in the pan
Fry a pancake, flip a pancake
Catch it if you can

Tippety-tippety tin
Give me a pancake and I'll come in
Tippety-tippety toe
Give me a pancake and then I'll go.

This Week's Craft/Art: Maple-scented playdough.

Winter + Hot Cocoa = Storytime! And a Contest!!!

Hi folks!
Hope everyone is enjoying the sun today! In my recent 4's and 5's storytimes, we read stories about winter fun - sledding, playing in the snow, and of course, hot cocoa afterwards! If you're looking for a fun book to share with your kids, might I suggest The Twelve Days of Winter: A School Counting Book by Deborah Lee Rose. Set to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas, it's just a silly book with illustrations that will have you looking all over the pages! See if you can find in every picture: a penguin (he shows up on Day 3), a stuffed gorilla, various horse sculptures, worms, birds, squirrels, and the boy who picks his nose! (See, I said it was fun!)
Also, we have a little February "reward of love" for our blog readers. Book love that is. Before now and the end of the month, read back through our "Book-A-Day in January" posts. Leave a comment on whichever book post you would like - something that sounds good or something that you've read as a family. At the end of the month, we will choose one random winner who will get a new copy of whichever book in our list that you would like! Leave a comment, maybe win a free book = easy!!!! (Just leave your first name and last initial)
Ms. Eileen