As we near the end of 2016, there are plenty “Best Books of the Year” lists out there, which are great! But if you’ve exhausted your new literature, and are looking to add some variety (specifically, in the area of Children’s Literature), check out School Library Journal’s selection of the most significant children’s literature of the 20th century! It could be a great opportunity to find a gift, or just revisit some old favorites.
We love our Imagination Library books! Especially since they are board books and therefore chew-safe 🙂
If you are a book-lover and have small children at home under the age of five, you should definitely know about this program! Imagination Library was founded by country singer Dolly Parton to promote literacy and an early love of books in children by mailing them a book each month, no matter the income level of the household.
The United Way of Central Minnesota has been taking part in this program, and if you live in the area, here is where you can sign up! (Tip: it does take several weeks until you receive your first book, so don’t procrastinate!) Each child from birth to their fifth birthday will receive a book in the mail each month. The program has become so popular that it has continued into Canada and the U.K.
You can get more information about the program from their website, or keep up with the book selections and other news on their blog. Also, check out CMLE’s previous post about the program when Imagination Library was donating their 1 millionth book!
You probably already know that at CMLE, we offer a service called “Notable Dates for your Noggin” which feature special holidays and birthdays of authors, as well as publications of well-known books. In an effort to help you get more from this service, we’ve decided to select one “Notable Date” each month to feature. We will include a few fun programming and activity ideas too, all for you to use!
October 25th is World Pasta Day. Spoiler alert: this post may cause cravings and/or hunger.
The obvious way to celebrate World Pasta Day is with recipes. At your library, you could display some pasta cookbooks, or even just books or materials that feature Italy.
Otherwise, get into the spirit of World Pasta Day through books. And who better to read about pasta with than Strega Nona? The book is read out loud in the video below, or order a copy here.
Share your pasta receipes, or favorite pasta related books with us!
Looking for more fun holidays or days to celebrate? Check out our Notable Dates Page!
You probably already know that at CMLE, we offer a service called “Notable Dates for your Noggin” which feature special holidays and birthdays of authors, as well as publications of well-known books. In an effort to help you get more from this service, we’ve decided to select one “Notable Date” each month to feature. We will include a few fun programming and activity ideas too, all for you to use!
September 25th is Shel Silverstein’s birthday. Silverstein is well known for his children’s literature, poetry, and music. You can listen to him read his poem Backward Bill here, and even subscribe to the Shel Silverstein YouTube channel for more content.
If you are looking for some biographical information on Silverstein, check out this article from LibraryPoint.org which talks about his life and also gives some fast facts about the writer, including that he won a Grammy award in 1969 for A Boy Named Sue performed by Johnny Cash.
Fans new and old of the Little House on the Prairie series will be excited to learn there is another opportunity to delve into the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
William Anderson, a Wilder scholar, has collected over 400 letters from private collections and museums and published The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The letters were written by Wilder when she was between the ages of 27 and 89. She wrote them to friends, family, and also fans. In this article, you can read an excerpt from a letter to her daughter Rose where she offers a beautifully detailed description of Plum Creek.
In the letters, Wilder also touches on the importance of libraries. Upon having a library in Detroit named after her, she wrote to the community to emphasize the value of books, and how not everyone is lucky enough to have convenient access to a library!
Want more? You can find out more about Wilder’s life in her annotated autobiography, Pioneer Girl, published in 2014.
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