Check it Out: Bookie Woogie

Today I'm sharing with you a delightful book blog, Bookie Woogie. A dad and his three kids read books (picture books and chapter books), review them together, and create some really cool fan art. Great for book recommendations as well as inspiration for your own book discussions, art creations, or family book blog!

The family puts a new review up every Monday. Here's a link to their review of Jeremy Draws a Monster, by Peter McCarty. (Come by and check it out at the RFPL!)

FYI: Online Resources on Bullying

Teachers and parents: the following is a short list of online resources on bullying. If you find these websites or other resources to be helpful, please let us know in your comments!

Stop Bullying Now! The Stop Bullying Now! Campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources. One portion of the website is aimed at kids, with cartoon webisodes, games, and plenty of kid-friendly information about bullying. The other portion is aimed at adults, with information on bullying awareness, prevention, and intervention.

Stop Cyberbullying An interactive resource for anyone seeking information about cyberbullying. Information is tailored to users' age or capacity in which they work with youth.

Not In Our School Not in Our School (NIOS) is a peer-to-peer learning program that uses film and storytelling to encourage safety and inclusion. Visit their website for access to video content of students having open discussions about bullying, bigotry, and harassment in schools. Here's an example of a video in which middle school students and adult facilitators discuss bullying:



For more websites on bullying, visit ALA's hot issues page (you'll need to scroll down a little for a list of websites on bullies).

This Weekend: All Ages Family Gaming Day!

Gamers of all ages: join us this Saturday, February 20th, for an afternoon of video and board games!

Drop in any time between 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
We hope to see you there!

photo courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn

2010 Winter Olympics

The opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held Friday, February 12th! NBC's coverage begins Friday evening at 6:30 p.m.

Want to know more? Here are some links to more information on the web (click on underlined text to visit corresponding website):

Official website of the 2010 Vancouver Games

Everything Olympics in one location!

Team USA

Find out more about the US athletes going to Vancouver.

Meet the 2010 Olympics Mascots

2010 mascots Sumi, Quatchi, and Miga featured in activities and games.

NBC Olympics

The official Olympics broadcaster, NBC Olympics includes news coverage, commentaries, event schedules, television schedules, sport-by-sport analysis, reader polls, and photo galleries.

The Olympics on Facebook

Follow the Olympics by becoming a fan on Facebook!

Donuts for Dads: Good times at the RFPL

Thanks for all who've come out to our Saturday morning Donuts for Dads! A great time has been had by all - kids, Dads, and moms and grandparents, too. Hopefully we'll see you again in the coming weeks, and some new faces as well. Check out the pictures below!

(For those who don't know, at Donuts for Dads, we welcome you to bring the kids to the library on Saturday mornings (through March 13) from 9:30 am to Noon for some quality family time. Look at books, play some games, or work on a craft together - and of course, enjoy the Blue Max coffee, juice, donuts, and treats.)

Books vs. Sniffles: Part II

As many of us are all-too-well-aware, cold and flu season continues. Though sick children should not come to the library, remember that we will bring a bit of the library to any little one who home sick. Just ask for a Sneezle Pack!

A Sneezle Pack is a library bag of personally selected books, audiobooks, movies, coloring and activity sheets, customized for your child’s age and interests.

Give us a call at 708-366-5205 x 312 and tell us your child’s age and what types of materials you’d like. We’ll assemble the Sneezle Pack and leave it for you to checkout at the Circulation Desk. Get well soon!

picture from the cover art for A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon.

February is African American History Month

We hope you will come to the library and check out our collection of books celebrating the lives of extraordinary African Americans.

Take this month, too, to celebrate the African American writers and illustrators who bring their talents to the world of children's literature! For more information/inspiration, have a look at the 28 Days Later project (brought to you by The Brown Bookshelf), which celebrates a different author or illustrator for each day of the month.

Langston Hughes signing autographs for young fans