Rave Performer Review

More rave reviews about performers! Shelley at Ellsworth reported,

"On November 2nd, we hosted Robert and Lynn Halbrook’s “Wizard’s School”, a perfect complement to the November release of the new Harry Potter film. The backdrop for Wizard's School was just like a scene out of Hogwarts.

"Fantastic magicians, they kept the kids (and adults) completely entranced, and had a wonderful rapport with the audience. Robert promoted reading by telling the kids he learned his skills from the books he checked out from the library. We highly recommend them and will be having him return for our Summer Library Program."

Anyone else have great performer stories to share?

Holiday Gifts Displays

Do you get questions from parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other adults about good books to give as gifts? How can you harness this curiosity to spreading the word about some of your favorites?

Some libraries create lists and displays to distribute at the library (or the senior center or other locations). Here are some good resources for finding books to put on your lists:

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Gift Book Guide

Bank Street Outstanding Books for 2010

Reading Rockets Buying Guide

What are your favorite books to recommend for book-buying? Favorite ways to get the information out?

American Girl Fun in Ellsworth

Shelly and Julie from Ellsworth have a very popular American Girl Book Club in Ellsworth, it brings in 40-plus girls grades K-5 every month:

We’re celebrating our 5th year of hosting our wildly popular American Girl Book Club. This year we are having adventures focusing on the “Girls of the Year” stories. In October we read “Lanie”, the book featuring the 2010 American Girl of the year. Since Lanie loves nature and promotes recycling, conservation, and good stewardship of our resources, we decided to include in our program a series of nature stations. The girls went on a nature walk, listened to and identified bird songs, and learned about Monarch butterflies and their life cycle. Each girl brought a photo of nature and we titled them to display in the library this month. Our community room was “fluttering” with excitement. With several different activities for the girls to participate in, we kept them involved and excited throughout the entire morning.