B-I-N-G-O! Summer Reading Patch

Special reminder to everyone who registered for our Reading is Sooo Delicious! Summer Reading Club. Sunday August 5 is your last day to claim your yummy prizes and certificate! In addition, when you do visit the second floor booth, be sure to ask for a TASTY Reading Patch BINGO sheet to keep you and your family busy for the rest of the month of August. Your prize for completing ten of the various activities on this sheet by August 31st is an embroidered "Reading Is So Delicious" patch ready to sew or iron on to your jacket or backpack in time for school. And it's as "easy as pie" to finish. Can you eat and draw a food that is red or green, or cook a favorite recipe together? Color in 3 squares. 

If you donate a food item to the red Self-Help Pantry bucket, or play our guessing jar game by August 5th, color in 2 more squares, and you're halfway there. Do you like to share reading books out loud or online (BookFlix or Tumblebook @www.dppl.org),  listen to CDs, audiobooks, or movies as a family? Fill in 3 more. Of course, you can also read several of the food-filled books from our Summer Reading display shelf and B-I-N-G-O! you're done! But don't stop collecting patches after this one. 

Our regular Reading Patch Club resumes September through next May. Grade school readers can choose books from recommended lists for 16 different categories (fantasy, mystery, science fiction, scary stories to name a few) to receive more unique patches. Pre-schoolers to grade 2's can be read to or read along with parents to receive their own special patches too. Please stop at the Youth Services desk in September to register for this ongoing program.

Fairs Are So Delicious, Too

So far this summer over 2,000 children have learned that Reading Is So Delicious by participating in our summer reading club. Remember that Sunday, August 5 is the last day to receive prizes, so read, read, read. 

If you have finished recording your 16 hours, make sure you try our TASTY Reading Patch Bingo. To play, pick up a BINGO card in the Youth Services Department and complete two rows of activities to earn your patch. You can turn in your card through the last day of August.

A fun way to expand on the patch activities is to visit a local county or state fair. You will be able to actually ask a farmer questions, see what your favorite farm animal likes to eat, and see lots of colorful new foods . You might even want to sip on some fresh-squeezed lemonade.

These are fairs that you might want to visit.

DuPage County Fair is in Wheaton through Sunday, July 29.

Lake County Fair is in Grayslake through Sunday, July 29.

Wisconsin State Fair is in Milwaukee, August 2 - 12.

Illinois State Fair is in Springfiled, August 9 - 19.

New Parenting Books

Be A Great Step-Parent

A practical guide for coping with the ups and downs of being a step-family.

J Parent Collection 306.8747 HAY

Keeping Kids Fit

A simple blueprint for success that help kids keep good habits.

J Parent Collection 613.7042 SAU

How to Find Mental Health Care for your Child

Child psychologist Ellen B. Braaten offers clear and expert guidance to demystify the complexities of child mental health care.

J Parent Collection 618.9297 ALL

Healthy Eating for your Baby & Toddler

Give your baby and toddler the best possible start in life with more than 100 delicious recipes.

J Parent Collection 641.5622 ELL

The Happy Child

Covering the period from birth to approximately seven years of age, this book offers practical, down-to-earth advice on raising happy, enthusiastic and confident children.

J Parent Collection 649.1 BLA

Talking to Your Kids About Sex

Dr. Berman offers an elegantly laid-outguide for when and what to teach your kids about sex.

J Parent Collection 649.65 BER

Geek Dad

Awesomely geeky projects and activities for dads and kids to share.

J Parent Collection 790.13 DEN

Look Mom, I made Art!

This past week in our Food Craft program, children participated in fruit and veggie stamping.  It was tons of fun, and easy to do.  If you, like so many people in this country, are constantly throwing away fruits and vegetables that have gone bad before you have a chance to eat them, try re-using them!  If they are too old to eat, but still holding their shape, you can grab your kids, a couple of colors of paint, and some paper, and you have the makings of a fun afternoon!

At the library, we used apples, pears, bunches of celery, lemons, limes, and grapefruit to create all kinds of designs.  One boy made a fireworks display on his paper.  Have fun!

Dairy Day Trip

All summer we have been telling you that Reading is So Delicious. Hopefully you have participated in some of our tasty food-themed programs and are completing your Reading Patch Bingo card.

Summer is the perfect time to explore local sources of our delicious food, ice cream being one of my favorites. An "edutaining" place to spend the day is Fair Oaks Farms in northwest Indiana. The dairy is home to thousands of cows that are milked three times each day. During the milking process, 72 cows at a time ride a milking carousel. Who would have thought cows would enjoy riding a merry-go-round!

While you are at the dairy you can see how cheese and ice cream are made, enjoy the outdoor play center, and check out the indoor exhibits. You can even watch a baby calf being born in the birthing barn.

Of course the library has some great books to help you get ready for your trip.

Grass to Milk by Julie Murray explains how milk gets from the farm to your table.

If you prefer to stay close to home, check out Ben & Jerry: Ice Cream Manufacturers by Joanne Mattern. After you finish reading, you will have a good excuse to continue your research by trying Chocolate Therapy (one of Ben & Jerry's new flavors).

Ew.... Bugs!

As the preschool liaison for our library, it is my job to visit all of the preschools in the city and engage them in a fun learning experience.  These past few months have been filled with bugs; books shared, rhymes acted out, and songs sung.  You can create your own bug-infested learning experience this summer by sharing the suggested books below, and heading to the Brookfield Zoo to experience Extreme Bugs, a new exhibit.

Get your child excited about bugs by sharing the following books with him/her:

Bug Safari by Bob Barner

Big Bug Surprise by Julia Gran

Buglette the Messy Sleeper by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields

Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman

After you have excited them with your tales of bug life, check out one of our Museum Adventure Passes to Brookfield Zoo.  The pass is good for two free general admissions.  While you are there, check out their Extreme Bugs exhibit and enhance your child's learning experience.

When you get home, you can find a ton of books in our non-fiction collection on your child's new favorite bug.  Will it be a Stink Bug, a Lady Bug, or a Praying Mantis?  Visit the zoo, read some books and find out!  Get more information on the zoo's Extreme Bugs exhibit here.

A "Taste" of Generosity

In the spirit of this year's summer reading club theme, "Reading is So Delicious!", and the library-wide theme, Taste, the library is collecting canned goods and other non-perishable foods which will be donated to the Self Help Closet and Pantry of Des Plaines.  Help fill up the library's donation bucket, located near the summer reading club sign-in table on the 2nd floor and give those in need a taste of Des Plaines' generosity.  As a thanks from the library for your generous donation, stop by the Youth Services desk when making your donation and receive a special prize for every two items donated!