National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month! National Nutrition Month is a campaign sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It's designed to focus attention on the importance of developing good eating and physical activity habits. The Washington Post has 8 ideas to help you and your family celebrate! Here are some of those tips:

1. Keep healthful foods in the kitchen so they're available and easy to grab. Even bring some with you on the go!

2. Make an effort to fit in fruit and vegetables. Keep some in the car for when you get hungry or start your lunch off with some raw veggies before you eat your main dish. You can also sneak them into your meals, such as diced onions, raw squash, and zucchini in spicy barbecue chicken nachos, or spinach into pasta with tomato sauce.

3. Eat more at breakfast. Americans tend to eat a light breakfast or skip it, grab lunch on the run and eat the bulk of our calories from dinner on through the evening. Your body will stay energized longer with your largest meal earlier in the day, and then metabolize better with less food in the evening.

4. Fit physical activity in so you earn your calories: walk, run, go to a gym, play team sports, use fitness apps or videos and burn calories by taking stairs and parking farther from your destinations.

For The Washington Post's complete list, click here.

Or, for more ideas on nutrition and health, check out some of the books below:

Kids:

Body Talk: The Straight Facts on Fitness, Nutrition & Feeling Great About Yourself! by Ann Douglas and Julie Douglas

Yummy!: Good Food Makes Me Strong by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly

Food by Celeste A. Peters

Eat Right!: How You Can Make Good Food Choices by Matt Doeden

The Food Pyramid by Christine Taylor-Butler

The Monster Health Book: A Guide to Eating Healthy, Being Active, & Feeling Great for Monsters & Kids! by Edward Miller

Teens:

Body Fuel: A Guide to Good Nutrition by Donna Shryer

Ask CosmoGirl! About Nutrition and Fitness from the editors of Cosmogirl

The Scoop on What To Eat: What You Should Know About Diet and Nutrition by Kathlyn Gay

Food Choices: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Robin F. Brancato

Food for Feeling Healthy by Carol Ballard

Food for Sports by Neil Morris

Love Your Pet Day!

Happy Love Your Pet Day! Today is a chance to show your cat, dog, tortoise, ferret, gerbil, bird, or goldfish how you really feel about them. It's a day for treats, pampering, maybe a belly rub, and all the the attention that the little guy or gal can handle!

I love my pet! This is my sweet but very playful, 3-year-old cat, Benjamin:

Do you like to read stories about pets? Today's the day! Here are a few suggestions:

Kids and middle grade readers:

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Everything For a Dog by  Ann M. Martin

The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens

The Chocolate Cat by Sue Stainton

Ginger and Petunia by Patricia Polacco

Wings by William Loizeaux

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Shadow by Michael Morpurgo

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

Julia Gillian (And the Art of Knowing) by Alison McGhee

The Leanin' Dog  by K.A. Nuzum

The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya by Jane Kelley

Teens:

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby

Dogsong by Gary Paulsen

Straydog by Kathe Koja

Stray: A Novel by Stacey Goldblatt

The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt

Winter Stories

Burrr-- did you know that Saturday is the first day of winter? Even though we've had snow a few times already, it's still technically autumn. To get you in the mood for the changing season, is a selection of favorite winter stories made by me and a few other librarians I work with:

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

Duck Skates by Lynne Berry

Mice on Ice by Rebecca Emberly and Ed Emberly

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin

Stop by your library soon to pick up one of these chilly stories-- or ask one of the librarians for their winter book recommendations!

Melvil Dewey's Birthday!

It's Melvil Dewey's birthday! He was born December 10th, 1851 in New York. That means, if he was still alive, he'd be 162 years old today! In 1874, Melvil Dewey earned his bachelor's degree and in 1877, he earned his master's. But he's famous for something you, as a library goer, use all the time-- the Dewey Decimal System! The Dewey Decimal System is a library classification system that uses a three-digit number for main classes (such as "Earth Science," or "Dogs") followed by decimals as expansions for more detail (such as "Volcanoes" or "Golden Retrievers"). We, as librarians, assign a Dewey Decimal number to every book so that it can be located in the library and then returned to its proper place. This system is used in 200,000 libraries in at least 135 countries around the world!

Melvil Dewey is also known for other, less popular, library-related innovations: (1) the idea of the state library controlling the school and public libraries within that state, (2) the creation of hanging vertical files, and (3) The Library Journal, which we librarians still use in our profession today. As far as his personality, it's said that Melvil Dewey was "difficult" to deal with, establishing a pattern of making enemies, although he had a handful of friends throughout is life and also got married twice. Melvil Dewey died on December 26th, 1931 in Lake Placid, Florida.

Here is The Dewey Decimal Rap, which features a modern Melvil character himself, who explains the Dewey Decimal System for you!


For more, try checking out a book on Melville Dewey. Here are two you can reserve right now:

Melvil Dewey: Library Genius by Jill Sherman

Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey by Wayne A. Wiegand

Remembering Bernard Waber on his Birthday

Today would have been the birthday of Bernard Waber, a classic and local (to me) children's book author/illustrator. He would have been 92 today if he had not died this past May. He's probably most known for Lyle the Crocodile but is also very well known for Ira Sleeps Over. All of his books were favorites of mine as a child. Here is a list of his work.

Bernard Waber introduced Lyle to readers in 1962 in The House on East 88th Street. This book was about Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Primm and their son, Joshua. One day, they find a young crocodile in the bathroom of their new house.

"They take the animal in and, for the next four decades, Lyle would take readers on adventures filled with life lessons on acceptance, inclusion and the importance of enjoying the journey. The covers of the books sometimes suggested they were best suited for ages 4 to 8, but Mr. Waber’s understated wit appealed to plenty of parents" (New York Times).

 Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile also inspired two different musical adaptations: an animated musical that was shown on HBO and a theatrical musical staged by Theatreworks USA.

To me, Bernard Waber's legacy will live forever in the form of the HBO animated musical, most particularly, in the scene shown below. This isn't my video (and is the only one I could find online) but I watched this so many times as a kid that I'll have a spot in my heart for it forever. Enjoy:



"I tried to smile, but darn you Lyle, I would never leave you."

Bernard Waber was born 92 years ago today in Philadelphia. He briefly studied accounting at the University of Pennsylvania before enlisting in the Army during World War II. After the war, he enrolled in the Philadelphia College of Art, and in the 50's, he moved to New York. He worked as a designer and illustrator for several magazines, including Life, where he worked for 20 years. Casually, he created his Lyle character, but when he pitched it early on, the concept was rejected by publishers. In 1961 he published his first book, “Lorenzo,” about the adventures of a young fish. This was when Lyle was finally given a chance! The House on East 88th Street was published on August 13, 1975.

"'I don’t know where the idea came from,' Mr. Waber told The Times in 1995. 'But I always loved drawing animals. I especially like to draw crocodiles. I like the way they walk, and I like their eyes and their teeth and everything about them'" (New York Times).

Why not celebrate Lyle at home? This page has everything you need to have a Lyle party for children ages 3 and up.

Or check out one of his many, wonderful books.

Roald Dahl Day!

It's officially Roald Dahl Day! This day takes place every year on September 13th, Roald Dahl's birthday. This year (today), Roald Dahl Day coincides with Friday 13th, making it the perfect excuse for even more mischief and mayhem than usual. So this year, the day celebrates all the tricky characters that fill Roald Dahl's books, including George and his medicine, the Witches, and Matilda's parent-scaring tricks.

Want to join the fun? Click here for all kinds of fun printable activities, like posters, games, and activity books!

And, remember to check out one of Roald Dahl's wonderful stories at the library!

Back-to-School Reads

It's time. The school year is about to begin! If you've got the fir day jitters, we've got books for you! Here are some back-to-school books that might help ease your mind on your first day:

Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten by Toni Buzzeo

Butterflies in my Stomach and Other School Hazards by Serge Bloch

Billy and the Big New School by Laurence Anholt

Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery by David A. Adler

Amanda Pig, Schoolgirl by Jean Van Leeuwen

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Herman Parish

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Don't Eat the Teacher! by Nick Ward

Or come by the library and ask the librarian for another great, first-day-of-school book. We've got tons! Good luck this school year, everybody!

Happy Birthday, J.K. Rowling

Today J.K. Rowling turns 48-years-old! And Harry Potter turns 33-years-old!

Joanne Rowling (J.K. Rowling) was born in July 1965 in England. In college, she earned her degree in both French and Classics, and then worked as a researcher at Amnesty International. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a delayed train trip (Manchester to London King’s Cross), and during the next five years, she outlined the plots for each book and also began writing the first novel.

Joanne then moved to Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. In 1992 she got married and in 1993 she gave birth to a daughter (Jessica). When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone was eventually completed. The book was published under the name J.K. Rowling. The “K”, for Kathleen, was added at the request of her her publisher, who thought that a woman’s name would not appeal to the target audience of young boys.

Today, J.K. Rowling lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children. Her latest book is her first novel for adults! It's called The Casual Vacancy and was published in English in September 2012.

Check out J.K Rowling's website here!

Chris Van Allsburg's Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Chris Van Allsburg! Today Chris Van Allsburg turns 64-years-old!

For those of you who don't know, Chris Van Allsburg is the author and illustrator of many famous children's books: Jumanji, Zathura,  The Polar Express, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, Two Bad Ants, and The Sweetest Fig.

He also has a pretty sweet website with a story writing contest: http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com

Check out one of his books today and celebrate his marvelous work!

National Doughnut Day

Hooray! It's National Doughnut Day!

It started almost 100 years ago with a group of female volunteers ("lassies") who worked with the Salvation Army, giving out doughnuts to World War I veterans. Over time it morphed into a global celebration and, nationally, doughnut shops are spending today giving away free, delicious doughnuts!

Click here to see what doughnut stores are giving out free doughnuts in your area!

According to this article Lamar's Donuts, a chain based in Kansas City, Missouri has provided us with the following fun, doughnut facts:

* More than 10 billion donuts are made every year in JUST the United States.

* The hole in the donut’s center appeared in the first half of the 19th Century and allows the donut to cook more evenly.

* The Guinness World record for doughnut eating is held by John Haight, who consumed 29 donuts in just over 6 minutes. Woah!

Click here to read all of the doughnut facts!

Everyone's E-Birthday!

Happy eBirthday to you! YES, YOU!

Mo Willems is the creator of today's holiday (everyone's eBirthday) and talks about it on his blog today. It all started many years ago:

In error, somebody once posted on some website that Mo Willems was "an Italian who was born on May 24." This is not the case (He was actually born in February), but for some reason, it stuck. Since then, Mo Willems has been recieving birthday wishes in his fan mail every May 24th for years! So he decided to declare it his eBirthday! But not only his eBirthday-- Everyone's eBirthday! So today, we can all consider ourselves Italians (or eTalian) who were born May 24! And we can have a birthday ice cream!

So have a great eBirthday, everybody!

Children's Book Week

Happy Children's Book Week!

Children's Book Week has been celebrated nationally since 1919, but has really been going for even longer! In 1913 Franklin K. Matthiews, a librarian for the Boy Scouts of America, toured the country, promoting higher standards in children's books. He then enlisted the help of a few other key people, Frederic G. Melcher (the visionary editor of Publishers Weekly) and Anne Carroll Moore (the Superintendent of Children's Works at the New York Public Library). With this trio at work, Children's Book Week was in full force by 1944.

Today, we celebrate with all kinds of fun events across the country. Find out what's going on near you by clicking here.

For more on Children's Book Week, visit Children's Book Week Online. You can even learn to draw a Chinese dragon like Grace Lin. And be sure to see who won the Children's Choice Book Awards by watching the video from yesterday's gala!

Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day! This holiday, observed April 22nd every year since 1969, increases public awareness of environmental issues such as recycling, pollution, energy, and global warming.

People all over the world will pitch in today to help make our planet cleaner and greener. There are lots of easy things you can do to help care for our planet today and every day. Here are a few ideas:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Or, better yet, if there's enough sunlight coming in, leave the lights off when you enter a room.

2. Reuse the back-sides of paper.

3. Turn off the water when you're not using it, specifically when brushing your teeth.

4. Don't leave the refrigerator open for too long. Decide what you want to eat before opening the door because it takes more energy to cool the refrigerator down after the warmer air has come in.

5. Unplug unused electrical devices throughout your house. Anything plugged into an electrical socket, but not turned on will still use some energy.

6. Pack a greener lunch: Use a cloth bag instead of paper bags, and pack your food in reusable plastic or metal containers, instead of plastic wrap or foil. You can also pack your drink in a reusable bottle or thermos, and even try using a cloth napkin instead of paper ones.

7. Reuse things to make crafts! Check out a book on Earth-friendly crafting!

And why not read a few short stories about our Earth for inspiration? Here are some titles to get you started:

Ballyhoo Bay  by Judy Sierra

Just A Dream by Chris Van Allsburg

Annie Glover is Not a Tree Lover by Darleen Bailey Beard

Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown

Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter From Home by Schim Schimmel

The Great Trash Bash by Loreen Leedy

Dinosaur Woods: Can Seven Clever Critters Save Their Forest Home? by George McClements

Miss Fox's Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli

Trash Trouble by Larry Dane Brimner

National Library Week!

Yay! It's National Library Week! Come to the library sometime soon and celebrate with us librarians!

The week draws attention to the important role of libraries and library workers. With your (free) library card, you can get access to hundreds of books, dvds, video games, CDs, downloads, and activities at your library--all at no cost! The library is a community place that welcomes everybody!

This year's National Library Week theme is "Communities matter @ your library" and this year's honorary chair is Caroline Kennedy.

Some important dates to recognize this week:

• Tuesday, April 16 – National Library Workers Day. NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Tell everyone what makes a library employee special to you by submitting your favorite worker’s name and why they are wonderful to the NLWD site.

• Wednesday, April 17 – National Bookmobile Day. This day celebrates our nation’s bookmobiles and the library professionals who provide this essential service to their communities. Show your support for bookmobiles by thanking staff or writing a letter to your library.

• Thursday, April 18 – Support Teen Literature Day. This celebration raises awareness among the general public that young adult literature is a vibrant, growing genre with much to offer today's teens. Support Teen Literature Day also highlights some award-winning teen authors and books. (Did you know there are six book awards just for teen books? Why not learn about the Alex, Edwards, Morris, Nonfiction, Odyssey, and Printz awards?)

For up-to-the-minute information on National Library Week, follow the #nlw13 tag on Twitter or come into the library!

National Pet Month!

Happy National Pet Month! This is a month recognized in the United Kingdom to help promote responsible pet ownership and highlight the important work of pet care professionals. Even though we don't live in the UK, we can celebrate too! Pets give us so much love and companionship, it's important to recognize those who help facilitate their health and happiness!

To celebrate, I'm sharing a picture of my pet. That cute, gray guy above is Benjamin, my cat! He was adopted from a shelter in Farmingdale, NY called A Wing and a Prayer Animal Rescue on August 31st, 2011 and he's now two-years-old! We love him very much!

Interested in learning about pet care? Here are a few books to get you started:

Dogs: How to Choose and Care for a Dog by Laura S. Jeffrey

Cats: How to Choose and Care for a Cat by Laura S. Jeffrey

My Dog!: A Kids' Guide to Keeping a Happy and Healthy Pet by Michael J. Rosen

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of cats, Cat Breeds & Cat Care: A Comprehensive, Practical Care and Training Manual and a Definitive Encyclopedia of World Breeds by Alan Edwards

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Small Pets and Petcare: Essential Family Reference Guide to Keeping the Most Popular Pet Species and Breeds, with 800 Photographs by David Alderton

The Complete Book of Pets & Petcare: The Essential Family Reference Guide to Pet Breeds and Petcare by David Alderton

Baby Pets by Margaret Miller

Remember, celebrate your pets this month as well as the people who help keep pets happy and healthy all year long!

National Poetry Month

It's National Poetry Month! According to Poets.org, National Poetry Month was established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets to widen the attention to poetry, poets, and to poetic heritage. It's a month when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets get together to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture.

Want to celebrate at home? Poets.org has a list of 30 ways you can do that.

Or why not reserve a poetry book this month? Here are a few ideas:

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors by Joyce Sidman, illustrations by Beckie Prange

Poetry Speaks Who I Am edited by Elise Paschen

Something Permanent photographs by Walker Evans, poetry by Cynthia Rylant

The Pain Tree: And Other Teenage Angst-Ridden Poetry collected and illustrated by Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd

Hour of Freedom: American History in Poetry compiled by Milton Meltzer, illustrations by Marc Nadel

It's a Woman's World: A Century of Women's Voices in Poetry edited by Neil Philip

My Name is Jason, Mine Too: Our Story, Our Way by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

April Fool's Day

It's April Fool's Day! Have you ever played an April Fool's Day joke on someone? Or had one played on you? When I was a kid, I made a snake out of silly putty and used it to try to scare my mom as she was coming out of the bathroom. And once, in first grade, my best friend talked to me, in detail, about how she was moving in a month... and I believed her!

Sometimes called All Fools' Day, the origins of this day are uncertain. Some people say it's a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stemmed from the adoption of a new calendar in some ancient cultures (before the Gregorian Calendar).

DiscoveryNews has an article on its history here.

April Fool's Day is observed throughout the Western world.  In the USA, practices include playing pranks and trying to get people to believe ridiculous and untrue things. In France and Italy the day is called "April Fish" (or "Poisson d'Avril" in French and "Pesce d'Aprile" in Italian.) For "April Fish" French and Italian children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying "April Fish!" when the prank is discovered.

Want to learn more? Reserve one of these books:

April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman

April Fool's Day by Melissa Schiller

Look Out, It's April Fools' Day by Frank Modell

April Fools! by Else Holmelund Minarik

National Nutrition Month

Did you know it's National Nutrition Month? If you're anything like me, you've basically been sick since Thanksgiving, so why not use this transitional month to focus on getting healthy...and eating healthy?

National Nutrition Month is a campaign noted every March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and exercise habits. Here are some good books on nutrition, if you'd like to make better choices:

Kids:

Green Beans, Potatoes, and Even Tomatoes: What is in the Vegetables Group? by Brian P. Cleary

Eat Right!: How You Can Make Good Food Choices by Matt Doeden

Food & You: Eating Right, Being Strong, and Feeling Great by Lynda Madison

The Edible Pyramid: Good Eating Every Day by Loreen Leedy
Healthy Eating by Emily K. Green

The Monster Health Book: A Guide to Eating Healthy, Being Active, & Feeling Great for Monsters & Kids! by Edward Miller

Teens:

The Scoop On What to Eat: What You Should Know About Diet and Nutrition by Kathlyn Gay

Food Choices: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Robin F. Brancato

Digestion And Nutrition by Robert Sullivan

Body Fuel: A Guide to Good Nutrition by Donna Shryer

Do You Know What's In Your Food? by Neil Morris

Food For Feeling Healthy by Carol Ballard

Let's all eat healthy food and feel great for spring!

National Craft Month

March is national craft month! What's your favorite craft? Now is the time to embrace whatever you like making, or maybe try a new creative hobby altogether. Come into the library to check out one of our many craft books, or put one on hold below:

Eco-Crafts by Sally Henry and Trevor Cook  

 

Pet Crafts: Everything You Need to Become Your Pet's Craft Star! by Megan Friday

Creative Kitchen Crafts by Kathy Ross, illustrated by Nicole in den Bosch

Cool Crafts with Flowers, Leaves, and Twigs: Green Projects for Resourceful Kids by Jen Jones

Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Inspired Projects for Year-Round Celebrations from the editors of Martha Stewart Living

The Girl's World Book of Friendship Crafts: Cool Stuff to Make With Your Best Friends by Joanne O'Sullivan

Recycled Crafts Box: Sock Puppets, Cardboard Castles, Bottle Bugs & 37 More Earth-Friendly Projects & Activities You Can Create by Laura C. Martin

Happy crafting, everyone!

Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day... a day for pink, hearts, candy, and most importantly, to celebrate those who mean the most to you. Who's the most special person in your life?

To celebrate, here are some of my all time favorite picture books about Valentine's Day, friendship, and love:

Smitten by David Gordon

Froggy's First Kiss  by Jonathan London

Henry in Love by Peter McCarty

Valentine Friends by Ann Schweninger

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy

I Love You as Big as the World by David Van Buren