National Children's Book Week Events

Fast approaching is the week in November for celebrating Children's Books. All across the nation, libraries are planning activities to highlight children and their books, sometimes to just encourage parents to bring their children into libraries and get books into the little hands. We have several events lined up here in Boyertown to encourage children to satisfy their curiousity by visiting the library and finding some intersting books.

Check out the BCL Calendar on our website for an abbreivated schedule of events for November 10 through November 18.

To kick off the week, we will have a special program presented by the Native American group SPIRIT WING. Dressed in authentic regalia, this awesome duo will tell stories as they have been told by generations of Mid-Atlantic Natives with songs, chants, and instruments like drums, guitars and flutes, as well as encouraging the children to participate in several dances such as the Smoke Dance. The library has many books available to be checked out about Native Americans including some very interesting folktales and legends with beautiful paintings along with some very good non-fiction informatinal books and even music CDs of Native American music. The Spirit Wing event will be held on Saturday, November 10 at 11:00 AM in the Odd Fellows Hall (just 2 doors down the hill from the library) at 35 E. Philadelphia Ave. This is because we are inviting everyone, children and their families and friends to come and there isn't room to have proper circle dances in the library! No registration required. (This event is in place of the regular Saturday Story Corner.)

Next will be a BEDTIME STORYTIME at 6:30 PM on Monday evening, November 12. Children of any age are invited to come dressed in their 'jammies (ready for bed), bring their bedtime buddies if they wish, and listen to some lovely stories at the library. Board of Trustees member Linda Famous & Girl Scout Heather Filer will come dressed in their own 'jammies, robe and slippers to read the stories and serve the milk and cookies. Please register, space is limited.

Tuesday evening (Nov. 13) we will have a FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT. We'll be showing a movie based on a sci fi short story by Lewis Padgett, the newest family movie we have added to our collection. We believe there are still many families who haven't had a chance to see this movie about some unusual items thought to be toys and the children who discovered them in a box hidden away in their house. Our public performance license does not allow us to advertise the movies we show by exact name but we can put up posters in the library about it and you can call us to ask for its title. We also know you will enjoy it. The showing will begin at 5:45 PM and there is no admission charge. Popcorn, pretzels and lemonade will be available, but we would appreciate a contribution to help pay for the refreshments. Space is limited in the library's Cabot Room so please call and sign up if you plan to attend.

Thursday and Friday morning (Nov. 15 & 16) PRESCHOOL STORYTIMES will be held in the Cabot Room at 10:30 AM. No registration is required.

Friday evening (Nov. 16) after the library closes, the doors will open at 6:00 PM to teenagers who have registered for the PIRATES LOCK-IN. This event will include lots of fun activities and maybe a surprise or two all centering around scurvy pirates. The Captain and First Mate will be Michele Cronrath (volunteer) and Deb Focht (staff). Landlubbers are not allowed, all who come aboard must be signed on and will be expected to pay their way for the food ($1 per slice of pizza). Everyone walks the plank at 10:00 PM. Translation: the event runs from 6 - 10:00 PM, only teenagers who sign up for the event are allowed in the library.

The final event will be a combination program on Saturday, November 17 from 10:30 AM until 1:30 PM. Deputy Sheriff Tony Damore will be in the Cabot Room to register children in the I.D. ME program. This is a special program where each child will have their descriptions and a digital photograph taken and recorded in the Berks County secure databanks to enhance the capabilities of the Amber Alert program. While children are having their data recorded, other children who are waiting may listen to stories being read by Linda Famous out in the Biesecker Children's Wing. This dual program is in place of the regular Story Corner which normally takes place each Saturday.

We hope one of these events will be something your family will take advantage of and at the same time provide an opportunity for you to find a new children's book or see something new in an old favorite.

Halloween in the Library?

The casual visitor to the Boyertown Community Library today (Halloween) saw a few changes in the usual attire. We had a Blues Brother, 2 Pirates, a Spider Woman, a Halloween Alien, and a Pumpkin instead of our normal business attired staff. We had quite a few double-takes, several laughs and we awed many children, but I don't think we actually scared anyone. Which is (as Martha would say) a good thing.

While handing out treats to our visitors who came in dressed for Halloween (many children and several adults, as well) we had a discussion every once in a while about the pros and cons of dressing up and celebrating this "holiday". We had prepared a story time that would be satisfactory for either type of family. If there were children present whose parents preferred to not have Halloween as the theme we had stories, songs, rhymes and finger plays all about pumpkins instead of the usual Halloween stories (which were also available) such as Cliffird's First Halloween by Bridwell, Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever! by Freeman or Halloween Cats by Marzollo. The pumpkin stories we had to offer were Where is Baby's Pumpkin by Katz, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Kroll, and Pumpkins by Ray.

In the end, everyone had fun when they came to the library today. The staff and the regular visitors, as well as the new people coming in for the first time. I guess we didn't scare anyone away.

Summer's Ended but...

We have some great news about some of our summer activities here at BCL.

First of all, as reported earlier we had a whopping 993 kids aged 0-18 turn in at least one reading log with the equivalent of 5 books listed on it! That was more than at any other Berks County library this year!

Second, the grand prize winner was one of our regular visitors (Justin Alderfer) who turned in quite a few reading logs with the help of his mother (Dawn). Justin's log was drawn from among all the other logs that were turned in all over Berks County. The random drawing was held earlier this month. He and big brother Mark will be at the library this week to collect his brand new laptop computer. We're just as excited as the Alderfer family.

Third, we had a great first time turn-out for the adult summer reading program. I will include the actual numbers in a later update to this post. Each week an entry was randomly selected to win a couple food coupons and a half dozen home-baked chocolate chip cookies (baked by little ole me). Weekly winners included: Cheryl Bernstiel, Steve Shirey, Carol DeHaven, Rebecca Frey, Erica Fisher, Cindy Bortz, Betty Shenk, Dawn Alderfer, and Monica Hallman. The grand prize was $50 in gift certificates to Applebee's restaurant and was won in another random drawing of all the tickets entered throughout the summer by adults aged at least 18 years old by... Mary Fenyus.

Adult Summer Reads @ BCL...

If You Could See What I See by Sylvia Brown. Comment: "It gives you a bigger outlook on the meaning of life." - Karen C.
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. Comment: "I love the unique style of these books - an interesting story." - Dawn A.
True Betrayals by Nora Roberts. Comment: "Great." - Kristy B.
Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman. Comment: "This was a rather predictable book about trying to solve a series of mysteries." - Carol D.
You Can Write a Children's Book by Tracy E. Dils. Comment: "Workbook with good guidance to getting started writing for this genre." - Lisa H.
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Comment: "Awesome - it ended just like I had hoped!" - Karen K.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Comment: "Interesting read. Couldn't put it down." - Robert M.
Spare Change by Robert B. Parker. Comment: "Great story line - keeps you guessing - a fast read." - Betty S.
Walt Disney Cruise Line 2007 by Birnbaum. Comment: "Handbook jam-packed with every detail regarding your Disney Cruise. Including all options that you can take care of before you leave home." - Lisa H.

Welcome! Here's what's going on...

We have just completed another successful Summer Reading Program at the Boyertown Community Library. This year we had even more children reading more books than ever. 992 kids, age 0-18, read books (or had books read to them), and reported on them. 42 more than last year. We are proud of this high level of participation in this great program that helps foster an enjoyment of books and reading as well as helping to promote literacy.
This year we developed a Summer Reading Program for our adult visitors, too. For several years we had adults who were helping children with their book reading logs say to us... "I'd like to read for prizes, too!" We listened. You can check out a separate post here that includes a list of some of the books these adults read and their comments on them. Maybe you will find a title you'll be interested in "checking out!"