Free book!

It was with great excitement last week that I took the two youngest readers in my house down to the library to choose a free book from the overflowing book trunk.

All those daily reading sessions, plus visits to pajama story time and reading to the Paws reading dogs, soon added up and my two readers had earned their precious certificates.

Congratulations - you have earned one free book!

Choosing which book to take home from the trunk was way more difficult than completing those six hours of reading time! But finally, after much discussion and poring over the range of great titles on offer, we emerged with our precious gifts in hand.

One of the books that came home with us.

I hope many of you have also had the chance to select a free book from the book trunks. It's not too late to claim your prize - our summer reading program runs right through until August 31st - still a few more weeks to log those precious reading minutes!

Happy reading everyone :)

A few more titles from the Elementary reading list.

It's all about mines, caves and tunnels today as we explore three more titles from our Elementary reading list.

Chris Mould's The Smuggler's Mine is book 5 in the Something Wickedly Weird series.

Stanley Buggles holds the key to a smuggler's map but does he dare to uncover its ancient secrets? This fast-paced story will keep you guessing right till the end.

In Penny Warner's Mystery of the Haunted Caves, join thirteen year old Becca and her scout friends as they attempt to win a gold medal for their troop at the Gold Rush Jamboree.

When a mysterious clue reveals treasure buried in the camp caves, Becca and her friends are determined to get their hands on it. This book has won several mystery writing awards...fun, exciting and full of adventure.

Roderick Gordon's New York Times bestseller,  Tunnels,  is the first installment in the Tunnels series.

When 14 year old Will Borrows' father mysteriously vanishes, Will must uncover the truth about his disappearance. His search leads him to a secret underground society, The Colony, which has existed for  one hundred years. But before Will can find his father he is taken prisoner. Multiple chases, captures, separations and escapes keep the pace moving in this page turning thriller.

We're taking a break here at YouthScope next week - time for a beach vacation - which of course means lots of time for reading :)

We look forward to seeing you back here soon for more from our summer reading programme and our readers.

Take care and keep reading! We're off to start packing and the first things going into our suitcase are...you guessed it...books!

Some more great titles from our Primary reading list.

Good morning summer readers. I hope you took advantage of National Ice Cream Day yesterday and relaxed with a cone in one hand and a book in the other!

Poor Gerald needs some help figuring out what to do with his ice cream!

Let's take a look at three more titles from our Dig Into Reading Primary list.
Heather Miller's Subway Ride is a fantastical journey that introduces young readers to subway travel.

Join a group of children as they pay their fare, pass through the gates and zip around ten subway stations from around the globe. You can find extra information on each of the stations at the end of this colorful travel tale.

Our next book is a wonderful read aloud. Denise Fleming's Underground takes us deep into the backyard world below our feet.

Explore detailed cross section pictures of a wide rage of creatures who burrow, dig and tunnel their way underneath the earth's surface.

Now for some interesting characters who live on top of the ground. In Lawn to Lawn by Dan Yaccarino, we meet four lawn ornaments who are left behind when their owners move house.

Join a lawn jockey, deer, pink flamingo and garden gnome on their hilarious journey to find the little girl that they love.

Speaking of garden gnomes, have you been keeping up with all the adventures of our own library gnomes on the roam? Make sure you like Handley Regional Library on Facebook to keep up with all their adventures this summer.

Happy reading everyone...now for more ice cream!

More titles Beneath the Surface.

Good morning summer readers. Let's head back beneath the surface and take a look at three more titles from our Middle and High school reading list.

The Land of the Silver Apples is the second book in Nancy Farmer's Sea of Trolls series.

When Jack's little sister Lucy is kidnapped, he must journey to Elfland and face creatures and dangers he's never dreamed of in order to save his family. Click here to read more about this best-selling fantasy trilogy.

David MacAulay's Underground gives us a fascinating description of the labyrinth that lies beneath the feet of so many city dwellers.

Explore the network of walls, columns, cables, pipes and tunnels needed to meet the basic needs of a city's inhabitants. A real treat for those interested in architecture and engineering. Click here to find out more about this award winning author, including a video showing how he creates his incredible books.

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart opens with a grisly discovery. Farmers cutting turf in an Irish peat bog uncover the perfectly preserved head of a young woman with long red hair.

Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire must work with American pathologist Nora Gavin to solve the puzzle...who is she and how long has she been buried? If you enjoy this book there are three more featuring Cormac and Nora to choose from. Read more about them here.

Don't forget to log all your reading minutes -  it's not too late to sign up for our summer reading programme. You can sign up by clicking here or by visiting your local library.

Until tomorrow - keep on reading!

More from our Elementary reading list.

Good morning summer readers! Hope you all had a great weekend - wasn't it a hot one! Curling up in the shade with a good book is a great way to beat the heat during the summer months. Here are a few more titles to keep those precious reading minutes ticking over.

In Lauren Oliver's The Spindlers, twelve year old Liza must descend into a dark and ominous underground to save her brother's soul. Evil, spider like creatures, known as the spindlers came in the night and stole it.

Join Liza as she battles tree snakes and shape-shifting scawgs in her quest to reach the spindler's lair and save her brother's soul. Click here  to read more about this creepy tale.

Clare Vaderpool's New York Times Best Seller,  Navigating Early, tells the adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets and a great black bear.

This is a beautifully written story which explores the themes of friendship, loss and self-discovery. Click here to read where the author got her ideas for this story.

Eleven year old Thomas Hammond has always lived next to Leepike Ridge, but never imagined he might end up lost beneath it!

What Tom finds underneath Leepike Ridge will change his life forever. Now, if he can only find his way home again...

That's it for today summer readers. Join us here tomorrow for three more title from the Middle and High  School reading list.

Back to our Primary reading list.

Hello summer readers! We hope you enjoyed reading all about the Literature in the Garden programme, and we hope you enjoyed a great fourth of July holiday.

Click here to find out everything you need to know about upcoming activities at your library. Don't miss out on the wonderful things we have planned :)

Let's take a look at a few more titles on our Primary reading list.

Last week on June 25th, it was the 84th birthday of much loved children's author and illustrator, Eric Carle. His story, The Tiny Seed is a perfect addition to a book list all about digging into reading!

The story is a colorful look at the life cycle of a plant, as strong autumn winds blow seeds away and they must survive lots of challenges to make it to spring. A wonderful nature lesson with a great message about not giving up.

Another wonderful title about gardening is Lynne Cherry's How Groundhog's Garden Grew.

Join groundhog as he learns to plant and tend his own food garden through every season. A beautifully illustrated and well-researched picture book full of information on gardening, plants and insects. Great for the whole family.

Strega Nona has been busy in her garden in Tomi de Paola's Strega Nona's Harvest.

Follow beloved Grandmother Strega Nona and her assistants Bambolona and Big Anthony, through the planting season to harvest time. When Big Anthony doesn't follow Strega Nona's careful gardening instructions, he ends up with a harvest bounty that is much more than he bargained for!

That's all for today summer readers. Join us back here next week for more summer reading tips :)

Happy reading and have a great weekend!

Literature in the Garden.

Good morning summer readers!

Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the great activities happening at our libraries over the summer.

Last Wednesday a group of 7 to 11 year olds gathered at Bowman Library for Literature in the Garden. The children worked with Master Gardeners who did a wonderful job of engaging everyone.

The focus of the session was Pond Life so the Gardeners took the children on an exploration of the pond outside the library. Everyone kept their eyes peeled for turtles, dragonflies, frogs, fish, birds, berries, flowers and animal homes.

Small gourds were painted to represent a realistic or fantastical pond animal and we read Emma's Turtle and Around The Pond - Who's Been Here?

Join us on Wednesday July 16th for our next Literature in the Garden session. The session starts at 2pm at Bowman Library and the theme is container gardening. We'd love to see you there :)

Until tomorrow...happy gardening and happy reading!