Drive in Library?

Jackson let Jack drive with him to visit the library in his cool electric car.

Pumpkins

The storytime kids made pumpkins out of toilet paper rolls and orange tissue paper. Here they are with their creations...

A Flock of Sheep

Elizabeth had some little lambs, little lambs, little lambs!
Preschoolers Matthew, Carter, Spencer, Olivia and Bridger made sheep masks this week!

I am so far behind on this blog! I have so many good pictures to share with you, I'm just going to start RIGHT NOW and post some. Here are some scenes from this year's Freedom Public Library "Paws to Read" parade entry for Freedom Old Home Week. Judy and I dressed up as cats along with four children who carried signs (art work by Bill Stoops and made into signs by Heidi Glavin -- thank you guys!!). We did have one dog, thanks to Hilary who brought her dog Ginger. On my way back from registering for the parade, I stepped my foot directly into a fresh warm pile of dog poo. Fortunately I was barefooted and fortunately it didn't get all between my toes. Once I got the poo all off my foot, I came closer to the rest of my group (who were all in hysterics because of the poo) and I stepped right where Ginger had just peed! Ah dogs... Gotta love 'em.

Judy is the coolest! Look at her on her new red scooter!

We have a raffle winner!

Congratulations to Arlene Knight whose name was drawn to win an original watercolor by long-time Freedom resident Elizabeth Acton. The painting is of Stuart's Barn (we are not exactly sure where this barn is...somewhere up near Cragged Mountain Farm). Of course, Arlene was thrilled to have won the painting. The raffle earned (after framing costs) $253 for the Friends of the Library. Thanks to all who bought tickets and especially to Elizabeth Acton for donating her art.

UDATE: Emily Phillips, Elizabeth Acton's daughter, wrote me with information on Stuart's Barn. Thanks, Emily!

Stuart's Barn is John Stuart home near Rob and Karen Hatch's. If you are at Cragged Mt. Farm (Cold Brook Road) you follow that towards Eaton. After the Ben Road turns off, the Stuart homestead is the next house (and then you come to Four Corners. 43.860633,-71.033651 go to Yahoo Maps and paste these coordinates into the location and you will find the barn!

Andrea Wright wows Freedom with Books Alive!

Seven minutes til showtime and NO ONE had arrived yet... but eventually a great crowd of 54 adults and children showed up to enjoy Andrea Wright's 7th Old Home Week visit to Freedom. Judging from comments I heard and the extended applause at the program's end, this was her best show ever. The books she and the children performed were Mirette on the High Wire, Mortimer, Gerald McBoing Boing, and Elbert's Bad Word. They also sang a old sea shanty with the words only slightly changed: "Blow Your Nose in the Morning." Great fun for all! Thanks, Andrea!

UPDATE: I sent Andrea the pictures and she wrote back: Hi Elizabeth,
Just got back from a family wedding in the Finger Lakes, (Gorgeous!) to find your pictures on my computer. Thanks so much for sending them, I especially liked seeing your library blog and what fun things you do there in Freedom. There are some places that are just special and I think of Freedom that way: beautiful, friendly, smart, with an excellent sense of humor! Thank you so much for inviting me in to share it with you. It is people like you and your regular library-users who make my job so great. "

A family of readers

This was the scene in the children's room today...

Harry Potter mania

Jesse Wheeler was the first to pick up his reserved copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when the library opened today. Tiffany, who won hers as a door prize at the summer reading program kick-off at the school, was in soon thereafter. I wonder what these kids will be doing today?? The library owns three copies of the new book. Call to get on the wait list if you would like to borrow a copy.

Ferrets in the Library

We had a great turnout for our program on ferrets last week during Fun Friday. Stephanie Mudgett of Freedom Ferret Services brought two of her 9 ferrets to visit with the children. She answered questions about them and talked about their unique qualities. Finally, the children got to hold the ferrets. It was hard not to squeeze too hard!

Birthday Angel

Here's a real-life do-gooder, Rebecca Lees. Instead of getting presents for her 8th birthday, she asked her family and friends to donate money to the library! In she came with a $100 to give to the library. Thanks so much, Rebecca, and thanks to all your generous friends and family. We'll put that money to good use.

Banjos Bones & Ballads

Jeff Warner charmed a full house at his program "Banjos, Bones and Ballads" sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the NH Humanities Council at the end of May. Jeff brought many traditional instruments and sang old songs that evoked times and places long gone. Eli Gordon had a song of his own to sing, also well-received!

Fun Fridays

Oh my goodness! It has been way too long since I've posted on the blog and I have so many photos to share. Here are a few from last Friday's Fun Friday & Teen Night. We got out the new Dance Dance Revolution game and the adults played along with the kids. Same at teen night with Guitar Hero 2. The adults have as much fun as anyone.

Excited Dogs!

I was pretty impressed that Karin got her dogs to sit and pose for this picture. Sully and Kate were VERY excited to be in the library! And who wouldn't be? It's a pretty neat-o place!

Pokemon Club is Alive!

These kids have made Pokemon Club happen, it's really been completely organized and run by them. If sports don't keep them from coming, we usually have a good crowd here on Tuesdays and Fridays after school. This past Tuesdsay, we had one group playing the Pokemon board game and another group battling with the cards.

Finally! Kids in the library to play with!

Where have the kids been all vacation week? I guess they were out playing in the sunshine while it lasted. Today's rain brought a trio of girls, just in time to play our new game Hullabaloo by Cranium with me. It's a game that works for preschoolers but is fun for older kids and adults too. Great multi-generational game, though you do need to be fairly spry. Here is Amber doing a "funky dance" because she won the game!

Another Louie Admirer

You can see how Louie feels about Maggie by looking at the smile on his face.

King Louie

Louie did not find it particularly amusing to be forced to wear a dumb crown, even though he did look regal sitting on top of two red cushions at the front desk. He became so annoyed with Judy and me that he left the building and had to be sweet-talked into coming back.

The best kind of story time craft...

...is something good to eat! This week the children made chicks for Easter (though I bet they don't last that long). The "nest" is a cupcake, the chick is made out of two donut holes covered in yellow frosting. The beak is part of an orange gumdrop, the eyes are chocolate chips, and the grass is coconut dyed green. This recipe came from Family Fun magazine: http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50116

We will be taking a three-week break from storytime and will start up again the first Wednesday in May, May 2nd. All 2-5 year olds are welcome!

Who got married??

Last week's storytime was a bit of a fiasco... I had made shakers by getting large plastic easter eggs and filling them with rice. I told the kids that we hadn't had a chance to seal them shut, so not to open them. Heh heh... Famous last words...

I don't think any of the kids purposely opened the eggs, but enthusiastic squeezing and accidental dropping meant at least half of the eggs split open and rice was everywhere. It looked like we'd had a wedding in the children's room!

This week, Judy glued the eggs shut, so it wasn't QUITE as much fun, but they make a better sound filled with rice, so musically it was a better storytime experience!

A visit from the 2nd Grade

It's always a good day when the 2nd graders come to visit. Here they are leaving with the books they chose with their teacher Mrs. Pohl (in front) and the classroom aide Jody Perry (at rear). Click on the picture to see a larger version!

It's Nice and Quiet at the Library

Matt and Olivia are worn out from vacation week, as you can see.

Squeaky's Growing Up

Meghan has stayed pretty much the same, but would you have recognized Squeaky?? (see Nov 10th blog entry when he and his siblings were only 6 weeks old). What a handsome, strong and sturdy young thing he is. Thanks for the visit, Squeaky.

Enter to win! How many pictures of Meghan have been on the blog since I started it in October 2005? Check the blog archives, submit your answer to freedomlibrary@adelphia.net with "Number of Meghans" in the subject line by April 1, 2007. If there are a lot of correct entries, we will select one winner at random. The prize will be free books from the book sale... or maybe something else if I can think of something good. Good luck!

Puppy visit

Katie and Amanda brought their 6 month old Jack Russell Terriers to visit the library today. Now that we see how cute and sweet they are, we're not too upset about the library book they tried to eat! Pictured here are Katie with Daisy & Amanda with Lilly.

Laugh, Laugh, Laugh!

The 2007 Winter Film Series, "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh!" kicked off with Harold Lloyd in "Safety Last!" A long sequence at the end where Harold climbs the outside of the 12-story department store where he works was harrowing for those of us (me) afraid of heights. I can definitely see why audiences of the time gasped and screamed at the stunts... I could barely stifle a similar reaction! It's hard to believe that that movie is 84 years old. It is terrific! I guess snow and an important Patriots game are responsible for the low turnout. People, get your priorities straight!! Our next film is the Marx Brothers in "Duck Soup" on Sunday, January 28th at 4:00 pm. See the complete schedule at our website www.freedompubliclibrary.org or come by the library to pick up a flyer.

Jonah & Yellophant

Jonah was uncharacteristically subdued at the library today when he came with his mother, Mary, and his stuffed friend Yellophant. After dumping out all the colored blocks, he stayed close by his mother as she checked her email.

Caroline visits the library

It's nice at holiday time to have the grandchildren of Freedom residents visit the library. Today we were happy to see Ellen Many's granddaughter Caroline. Caroline loves both books & Louie as you can see! As always, click on any picture to see a larger version.

Ladybug Picture Book Award Winner Announced!

On November 14th I paid a visit to the Freedom Elementary School to read all ten of the Ladybug Picture Book Award nominees to the Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders. It was a marathon session and thank goodness for school librarian Missy Bishop who read several of them or my voice would have given out! The kids were really great listeners... they had to be, because after they heard all ten books, they each got to vote for their favorite. Each child was given a ladybug sticker to put on the outside of the book they liked the most. I also read to the preschoolers that week and at storytime at the library. The favorite book by far was I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont, garnering 32% of the vote in Freedom. It's my favorite, too, because you don't just read this book, you SING it!

Today, The Center for the Book announced the winner of the 2006 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

It was....
drum roll, please...

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! which earned 21% of the 17,027 votes cast in 130 libraries and schools across New Hampshire. The voting results are as follows:

3,553 I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont & David Catrow
3,252 The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
2,282 Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi & John Manders
1,531 Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
1,397 Mr. Tuggle's Troubles by LeeAnn Blankenship & Karen Dugan
1,349 The Dog Who Cried Wolf by Keiko Kasza
1,105 Terrific by Jon Agee
1,067 Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel & David Catrow
943 The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle, Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
548 The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle & Hanako Wakiyama

All of these wonderful books are available to borrow at the Freedom Public Library!

And now... a puppy!

At the risk of seeming like all we do is host pets here at the library I just HAVE to publish this cute picture of Samantha and her sweet Yellow Lab puppy, Bonnie who visited last week.