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Birthdays and Dots

September is a big month for birthdays in the world of children's books.

The 8th of September is the birthday of author and reading advocate Jon Scieszka. Scieszka is well known for his twisted fairy tales; his history series The Time Warp Trio; and the Trucktown series. He has collaborated with illustrator Lane Smith on many of his works.

Scieszka writes books because he loves to make kids laugh and many of his ideas are based on things that happened to him growing up with his brothers. He's passionate about getting boys into reading and started the web based literacy program, Guys Read. He's a big favorite in our house-our young readers highly recommend his books!

September 13th is the birthday of children's book legend Roald Dahl. There's probably not much more I can add to the many words that have been written about this much loved author, who has been described as one of the greatest storytellers for children. In our house he's especially popular for reading aloud with Mom or Dad - a great way to share his books with children who aren't quite ready to read them on their own.

Finally, on September 15th, it was Tomie DePaola's birthday. De Paola has written over 200 books for children, many of which feature the wise and lovable Grandma, Strega Nona.

De Paola is widely regarded for his distinctive visual style and his great understanding of childhood. The young readers in our house love his story, Tony's Bread and there are so many other wonderful titles to choose from.

You'll find copies of stories from all our September birthday authors at Handley Library. Come and see us and we'll help you explore the wonderful work of these three great creators of literature for children. 

PS - the 15th of September is also International Dot Day - a day inspired by the wonderful book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. It's a tale for the artist in all of us and a great title to share with young readers.

Reading in the garden

There's nothing like reading outdoors, by yourself or with others, in an inspiring and beautiful setting. Handley Regional Library is thrilled to share our new outdoor reading space with you.

The Mike Foreman Rotary Reading Garden will be a location for quiet reading for people of all ages, and will be used as an outdoor location for children's programs and other events.

"Innocence" is the name of the statue you will find in the reading garden.

One of the many special things about our garden is the large chess and checkerboard with one-foot squares! We even have big chess and checker pieces which you can check out and use when the library is open - fun :)

"Let's go play in the Handley Library Reading Garden. Their pieces are much bigger than ours!"

This Wednesday, September 11, we invite you - especially children - to come and help install the plants that are really going to bring this garden to life. Experts from Lowes will be helping volunteers with the planting. Grab some gardening gloves and come and join us at 4pm on Wednesday.

The Mike Foreman Rotary Reading Garden will officially open on Wednesday September 25 at 5:30pm. we'd love for you to join us - the celebrations will include giant games of chess and checkers!!

We have so many great books about gardens and gardening at the library. Come and see us and we'll help you find just what you need for reading in our garden. Here's a few recommendations to get you started...

Looking forward to seeing you in our garden on Wednesday September 11 at 4pm. 

Learning to Read

School is well and truly back in session, and for many of the children in our community this marks the start of the journey to becoming an independent reader. In classrooms and homes all over the country, young children are developing the reading skills which will enable them to get lost in the magical world of books.

This is a very exciting time in a child's development, and as parents and caregivers we have an important part to play in supporting and encouraging our early readers. One of the easiest things that we can do to help is read aloud to children. Sharing and listening to books by reading aloud is one of the best ways to ensure a child's success in reading.

Reading aloud:

• is a great excuse to spend time with children
• allows you both to enjoy the sound and rhythm of language and explore the way words join together to create stories
• opens doors to knowledge and fantasy
• encourages a child's imagination to run wild
• continues the age old art of storytelling
• helps to grow a child's vocabulary and their ability to communicate
• sets them on the path to becoming a life-long reader
• IS FUN!

Another easy way to help support an early reader is to visit the library. Here at Handley Regional we love working with children and their caregivers at this very special time, and we have a huge range of resources available.

On our Parent Teacher shelves in the Children's Room you can find many useful titles dealing with learning to read.

And for the very important new readers themselves our shelves are full of wonderful choices - we have something for everyone! In addition to our fantastic range of picture books, the Easy Reader shelves are a great source of reading material for beginning readers.

Come and visit us at your local library and we'll help to make sure that those first steps into independent reading are full of excitement and enjoyment. And don't forget that once a child turns five they are eligible for their very own library card - a must for every reader, big and small!

I'll leave you with the words of Frederick Douglass - "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."