Grab Bag Thursday: Free Spring Bookmarks!

 Happy Easter!  Here are some free bookmarks to print!  Just click on the image to download.  Enjoy!

Grab Bag Thursday: Introducing Audiobooks!

I'm very excited to announce that the Smithville Elementary Library is now offering audiobooks!  When you check out an audibook, you will receive an audio player device called a Playaway, like the one pictured here.

You'll also receive a print copy of the book to read along as you listen.

To see a complete list of the audiobooks we offer, click below.

You can find out which audiobooks are currently checked in by visiting the library catalog website and clicking on the "Audiobooks" list.

Happy reading (er...I mean, listening)!

Grab Bag Thursday: Celebrate Women's History

Here are some fun images to help celebrate Women's History Month!

Grab Bag Thursday: Seuss Edition

This week's Grab Bag is a very special selection of SEuSstivities that Smithville Elementary students will have a chance to make tomorrow when we celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday in the library!

Click on any of the activities below to download complete instructions with pictures!  Enjoy!

And click on the Patterns button below to download all of the patterns for all activities:

I can't, of course, take credit for these ideas!  Pinterest helped inspired all of these!  Check out the original ideas here:

Lorax Moustache Straws

Thing 1 and Thing 2 Puppet Printable

Thing 1 and Thing 2 People

Cat in the Hat Whiskers

Truffula Trees

And you can find MANY more Dr. Seuss ideas on my Dr. Seuss Pinterest Board.

Grab Bag: Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here are some fun printable bookmarks to help you show your love for books!  Click on each picture below to download and print.  Happy reading!

From: Positively Splendid

From:  Living Locurto

From:  Good Life Eats

Turkey Time: Gobble Up A Good Book!

Thanksgiving is coming up, and for my family, that means eating turkey, watching football, and spending time curled up on the couch with a good book!  If you're looking for something to feed your mind this time of year, here are some great Thanksgiving themed books:

When calamity stalks every step of the preparations for the Tappletons' Thanksgiving dinner, they realize that there is more to Thanksgiving than turkey and trimmings.

 Jack and Annie travel in their magic treehouse to the year 1621, where they celebrate the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians in the New Plymouth Colony.

 Trouble ensues when Papa gets Miguel a turkey to fatten up for Thanksgiving and Miguel develops an attachment to it.

 Relates how Sarah Hale, a magazine editor and author, persuaded President Lincoln to transform Thanksgiving Day into a national holiday.

School children on a field trip to Mack Nugget's farm save the lives of eight turkeys in this poem based on "The Night Before Christmas."







And that's only the first course!  To find lots more Thanksgiving, fall, or family-themed books, search our library catalog:

Still hungry?  How about a little dessert?  Here are some fun Thanksgiving bookmarks as a special treat:

Grab Bag Thursday: Halloween Bookmarks

Halloween is less than two weeks away!  Get into the Halloween spirit with these free Halloween bookmarks!

Grab Bag Thursday: Free Bookmarks!

Many of you have stopped by the library to pick up one of our free bookmarks.  Today's Grab Bag is a freebie of those bookmarks that you can print for yourself!

You can either print the document below and get one of each, or you can click on your favorite one, which will take you to a single page with five of the same bookmarks.



Enjoy, and keep reading!

Grab Bag Thursday

If you're a fan of Captain Underpants, then you're probably also a fan of the Flip-o-rama sections of his books.

Here's a great video of author (and illustrator) Dav Pilkey explaining how to draw a Flip-o-rama so that you can draw one yourself!  Enjoy!

Grab Bag Thursday: My Life...In Books

A couple of weeks ago,I read Andrea Cheng's excellent book, The Year of the Book, which, among other things, is about a girl who loves to read.  When Anna is asked by her teacher to create a timeline of her life, she includes her favorite books and when she read them.

That got me thinking.  What would my own timeline of books look like?  Which books have made a big enough impact in my life that I can remember when and were I read them?  Well, here's the answer to those questions!

This is an interactive timeline of my life...in books!  Here are the books that have made a big difference in my life, placed on the timeline on the year in which I read them.  I've also included a little explanation of each and why it was such an important book for me!  I'm still working on adding books, but this is definitely a start! Click on each book to learn more about why it's special to me.

My Reading Life on Dipity.

Grab Bag Thursday: I PICK a "just right" book!

Happy Thursday, everyone!  This six weeks in the library, we've been learning about how to choose a "just right" book by singing the IPICK rap!  Check out these second graders from Cumberland Elementary singing IPICK, and see if it gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day!


Remember to IPICK your books before you check them out!

Grab Bag Thursday

It's Grab Bag Thursday, so here's something to make you laugh!

In the library this six weeks, we've been talking about what it feels like to read a "just right" book, and several people have told me that a "just right" book is so good that you can't put it down!

Here's what reading a "just right" book feels like to me!