Santa arrived at the Dearborn Branch with his guitar and familiar holiday music Tuesday, the 9th. The jolly man in the red suit got almost 40 peoples' toes tapping with familiar tunes and the chance to sing along. There was also an opportunity for kids to have their picture taken with Santa. With a twinkle in his eye, Santa said he knew who had been naughty or nice!
How many of you love to hate Harlequin romances? I mean, it's easy to make fun of them. The titles are very entertaining, the stories not always so entertaining. And, the pictures on the covers are always fun to check out as well. However, as the old cliché goes, you can't always judge a book by its cover.
Although we're in the midst of another busy holiday season, the end of the calendar year is fast approaching. And you all know what that means: tax time!
The North Oak Branch will offer tax help for seniors again next year. AARP Tax-Aide representatives will be at North Oak on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. to assist senior citizens with moderate incomes with their tax questions and also tax preparation. The first Thursday for this program will be February 3rd, and the program will run through April 14th.
Burr and Hamilton to Radio Show Host: "Hello America! We're Back!"
Pushcart Prize Nominee Gabe Durham recently sat down with founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr on his fictional radio show as they came clean about their bumpy past and their ruddy future. Thanks for the transcript Gabe!
Christmas is only two weeks away, just around the corner really. For the last few years, I haven't done much in the way of holiday decorating around my little home, but this year I decided the time had come to break out a favorite tradition.
Growing up, one of my favorite daily Christmas activities was turning on the Christmas lights. We had some outside around the living room window and then the ones inside on the Christmas tree, of course. My sisters and I would wait all afternoon until dark, and then whoever remembered first ran to switch on the lights.
Snow can be a magical, wonderful thing. Snow on the trees, sparkling in the sun creates a winter wonderland. Kids love snow! They anticipate it, dream about it, wish for it. Snow covering the ground has been associated with Christmas for so long that it just doesn't seem like Christmas without it. A lot of people would be happy to have snow just for Christmas, then have it quickly disappear until next year.
I love crayons. There is nothing like opening a new box of crayons. At the beginning of the school year, when we shopped for school supplies, I remember standing in front of all of the crayons and hoping my mom would let me get the big box with the sharpener on the back. One the best jobs in the library is Storytime because I get to play with the crayons. We have had the same crayons for about 5 years. This year for storytime, we have new crayons. When the kids saw them, they had the same reaction as I did, Wow, new crayons!
One World Many Stories: Beyond Summer Reading Program
This summer, we’ll be doing some "traveling" abroad -- without having to go through customs or security checks! Our summer reading program theme of "One World-Many Stories" (beginning May, 2011) encourages young readers and listeners (birth – 5th grade) to enjoy stories about other places and cultures. "You are Here" is the theme for teens (6th – 12th grade). Why wait ‘til summer though? You can start reading about other places and people now.
Here at the Lee's Summit Branch, every 3rd Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., I host an Anime movie night just for teens. We sit back, have some popcorn and lemonade, and watch some anime. We have been known to break away from watching the movie and just sit back at a table just to chat. Sometimes, it’s about anime, sometimes it’s about life, and sometimes it jumps from one subject to another. As I told my regulars, "I'm not gonna teach you anything or even make you sit and watch.
