 What’s happening this week
- Tuesday at 6:30 pm Recipe Swap – Join us for Recipe Swap and share your favorite recipes with fellow patrons who share your passion — cooking! Every month is a different theme! This month’s theme is “Anything Irish or anything green“.
- Tuesday at 6 pm Storytime – If you can’t make it to the morning storytime on Thursday, you can come to the evening Tuesday one instead.
- Thursday at 11:15 am Storytime – Listen to stories, sing songs, and do a craft. Storytimes are open to children of all ages.
The Library will be closed for Good Friday and Easter on Friday, April 14th and 15th.
March Book Madness
We are now down to our Final Four books in Liberal Memorial Library’s March Book Madness. On March 17th our patrons selected their favorites to become the Elite Eight out of sixteen books. The Sweet Sixteen books were chosen from a list of books that were checked out most during the last two years.
Last Friday the eight were reduced to four and this coming Friday we will tally all of the votes to see which two books will become the finalists for our 2017 Champion Book of the Year.
So be sure to vote either in person at the library, or online at http://lmlibrary.org/adults/march-book-madness-2017 for the adult book tournament and http://lmlibrary.org/kids/march-book-madness-2017 for the kid’s book version.
Purchase Suggestions
We now have a form on our website where patrons can leave suggestions about items they would like the library to purchase. So if you would like the library to carry more books about a certain subject, or if you want the library to get the latest book by your favorite author, you can leave us a suggestion at http://lmlibrary.org/how-do-i/item-purchase-suggestion-form.
Gardening Books
 Waterwise plants for sustainable gardens : 200 drought-tolerant choices
by Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden.
From the book description
People everywhere are facing the realities of restricted water availability. Yet sustainable gardens and landscapes that use less water don’t have to be boring. The key to keeping your garden beautiful and waterwise is intelligent plant choice.
This practical and inspiring guide includes all kinds of plants, from trees to succulents, from perennials to bulbs, selected for their wide adaptability and ornamental value.
 Grow great grub : organic food from small spaces
by Gayla Trail
From the book description
Your patio, balcony, rooftop, front stoop, boulevard, windowsill, planter box, or fire escape is a potential fresh food garden waiting to happen. In Grow Great Grub, Gayla Trail, the founder of the leading online gardening community (YouGrowGirl.com), shows you how to grow your own delicious, affordable, organic edibles virtually anywhere.
Whether you’re looking to eat on a budget or simply experience the pleasure of picking tonight’s meal from right outside your door, this is the must-have book for small-space gardeners–no backyard required.
 Rodale’s Vegetable Garden Problem Solver
by Fern Marshall Bradley
From the book description
With the latest research, breakthroughs, and troubleshooting advice, Rodales Vegetable Garden Problem Solver features hundreds of organic and natural solutions for tackling disease, pest, and weed problems.
No matter what challenge crops up in your vegetable garden, you’ll discover all the answers you need to find solutions fast and keep your crops on track.
 All new square foot gardening : the revolutionary way to grow more in less space
by Mel Bartholomew
From the book description
Square Foot Gardening works; over two million gardeners will agree. That’s how many folks have put Mel Bartholomew’s innovation grid-based method to the test over the years, and always with the same result: more produce in less space with less work.
In this exciting new edition of All New Square Foot Gardening, you’ll find all of Mel’s secrets revealed and all of his techniques explained. Your Square Foot Garden can be created practically anywhere. This beautiful new edition also contains all-new information on popular topics like gardening with kids and controlling pests.
Here’s what’s coming up at the library for the rest of March:
- Storytime: Tuesdays at 6 pm & Thursdays at 11:15 am. Join us for stories, songs, and a craft!
- Library & Lunch: Tuesday the 14th at noon. Bring your lunch and join us for a discussion of the book Black Coffee by Agatha Christie.
- Videogame Day: Tuesday the 14th at 2 pm. Play our Wii, X-Box, or Playstation 4! All ages welcome. Snacks provided.
- Bunco: Thursday the 16th at noon. Join our popular dice game! Registration is required, so check out our website at http://lmlibrary.libcal.com/event/3192708 or talk to Shannon. Adults only, snacks provided.
- Patrick’s Day Party: Friday the 17th at 1 pm. Kids of all ages are invited to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a craft! Plus, we will watch the movie Dwegons and Leprechauns. Popcorn and lemonade will be served during the movie.
- Beginner’s 3D Printing Workshop: Monday the 20th at 6:00 pm: Come to our beginner’s workshop to learn how to use the library’s 3D Printer! We will walk through the process of finding a print-ready file online that you can print as is or alter to fit your needs. Sign up at the front desk or online at http://lmlibrary.libcal.com/event/2900206
- Be A Clown Workshop: Saturday the 25th at 1 pm: Kids, learn how to be a clown from Poppa D. Clown! Learn how to juggle, do magic, do rope tricks, paint faces, tie balloon animals, perform skits, use puppets, play games, and tell stories.
- Recipe Swap: Tuesday the 28th at 6:30 pm: Bring an Irish dish or a green food along with the recipe and enjoy everyone else’s creations!
March Madness, also known as the NCAA basketball tournament, will be starting this week, so I thought I would tell you about some good children’s books about basketball!
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander: Winner of the 2015 Newberry Medal. Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he’s got mad beats, too, that tell his family’s story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood. Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story’s heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
Hoop Genius: How A Desperate Teacher And A Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball by John Coy: Taking over a rowdy gym class right before winter vacation is not something James Naismith wants to do at all. The last two teachers of this class quit in frustration. The students–a bunch of energetic young men–are bored with all the regular games and activities. Naismith needs something new, exciting, and fast to keep the class happy–or someone’s going to get hurt. Saving this class is going to take a genius. Discover the true story of how Naismith invented basketball in 1891 at a school in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Basket Ball by Esme Raji Cordell: Lulu prefers playing basketball to playing with dolls. So when the boys won’t let her join their school-yard team, she decides to host a Basket Ball—where ball gowns are traded in for sequined basketball jerseys and high-top heels! Girls travel from all over the world to attend the ball, shooting hoops, showing off their skills, and forming a league of their own.
Bestselling and award-winning author Codell has crafted an action-packed, slam-dunk picture book that will appeal to girlie girls and sporty girls alike.
The Children’s Healthy Fun Fair is this Saturday! From 10 am to 1 pm, come to the Agriculture Building at Seward County Fair Grounds for free fun for kids ages birth – 6th grade and their parents! We’re going to have a lot of fun stuff at this year’s Fair, including:
- Free toothbrushes for kids from Lifetime Smiles!
- Free stick-on tattoos!
- Fishing for letters with USD 308!
- Life-size Operation Game from Southwest Medical Center!
- Free books from USD 308!
- Free Liberal Memorial Library Sippy Cup!
- Take your photo & decorate a frame!
- Chalk activity to take home!
- Easter craft!
- Lots of fun games & activities!
- Free snack for kids!
- Free information for parents about car seats, antibiotics, local services, and more!
- Interesting exhibits!
- Meet the Bee from KSCB & Sparky the Fire Dog!
To go along with the Healthy Fun Fair, and also for National Nutrition Month in March, here are some good books for kids and their parents about healthy eating. All are available for checkout here at the library: 
Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert: This ABC book features bold illustrations and introduces children to such foods as endive and kiwi.
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Little Pea hates eating candy for dinner, but his parents will not let him have his spinach dessert until he cleans his plate. A hilarious read-aloud, and the perfect intervention for picky eaters.
 Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre: With a raucous rhyming text, Rah, Rah Radishes celebrates fresh vegetables, nature’s bright colors, and the joy of healthy eating. The book’s interactive spirit encourages kids to join in on the read-aloud fun, and little ones won’t be able to resist the book’s vibrant photographs–they’re a feast for the eyes!
How Did That Get in my Lunchbox? The Story of Food by Christine Butterworth: The best part of a young child’s day is often opening a lunchbox and diving in. But how did all that delicious food get there? Who made the bread for the sandwich? What about the cheese inside? Who plucked the fruit? And where did the chocolate in that cookie get its start?
From planting wheat to mixing flour into dough, climbing trees to machine-squeezing fruit, picking cocoa pods to stirring a vat of melted bliss, here is a clear, engaging look at the steps involved in producing some common foods. Healthy tips and a peek at basic food groups complete the menu.
The Cleaner Plate Club by Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin: If you’ve ever had to grapple with picky eaters who won’t touch anything but chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin have a solution. Their unique ideas will help you present fresh foods that appeal to kids, eliminate food waste, and help you quit worrying about what your children eat.
Better Food for Kids : Your Essential Guide to Nutrition for All Children from Age 2 to 10 (2nd ed.) by Joanne Saab and Daina Kalnins: With both professional advice and delicious recipes that are thoroughly tested and analyzed, this guide is a comprehensive resource for parents. Includes more than 200 recipes.
Visit the library’s Valentine’s Day book display and treat yourself to a new romance.
Best of My Love
by Susan Mallery
From the book description
To overcome her painful past, baker Shelby Gilmore goes on the hunt for a friend—a male friend—to convince her stubborn psyche that men can be trusted. But where in a town as small as Fool’s Gold will the petite blonde find a guy willing to not date her?
Dark, charming Aidan Mitchell puts the “adventure” in Mitchell Adventure Tours…and into the beds of his many willing female tourists. Until he realizes he’s inadvertently become that guy—the one-night Casanova—and worse, everyone in town knows it. Maybe Shelby’s boy/girl experiment will help him see women as more than just conquests so he can change his ways and win back his self-respect.
As Aidan and Shelby explore the secret lives of men and women, the heat between them fires up the Fool’s Gold rumor mill. If no one will believe they’re just friends, maybe they should give the gossips something to really talk about!
Blame It on Paris
by Jennifer Greene
From the book description
Being mugged at the Louvre is not what she had in mind for her long-awaited trip to Paris. Until Will Maguire comes to her aid, and she finds herself completely distracted by the handsome stranger in the Notre Dame sweatshirt.
Kelly can’t seem to resist the world’s most romantic city or Will, who is determined to show her all its treasures, from the top of the Eiffel Tower to strolls along the Seine.
But will their love last when they’re back in plain old South Bend, Indiana, or will they end up blaming their breathless fling on the city of love?
Just Kiss Me
by Rachel Gibson
From the book description
“Hello, Ms. Vivian . . . it’s been a long time.”
And with those words, Vivian Leigh Rochet nearly melted. It’s been years since she last saw Henry Whitley-Shuler. She was a teenager scrubbing houses for a living. He was the gorgeous son of rich parents, not fit for the likes of her.
Vivian had vowed to get out of Charleston, become a big Hollywood star, and stick it to the snooty girls who made her cry. She got what she wanted—and more—but why does her glamorous life seem so trivial?
Henry got out too . . . making it all the way to Wall Street, until a heart attack forced him to trade in his cufflinks for a good set of hand tools.
Making furniture soothes his soul, but escaping the Whitley-Shuler heritage is nearly impossible. And now he’s come face-to-face with the one who got away. He’s not looking for love. He’s not even looking for sex . . . so why is resisting her the hardest thing he’s ever done?
What’s happening at the library this week
 Tuesday at Noon Library and Lunch – Our monthly book club is meeting on Valentine’s Day this month. We will be discussing “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers, a heartbreaking romance set in the California Gold Rush of the 1800s.
- Tuesday at 6 pm Storytime – If you can’t make it to the morning storytime on Thursday, you can come to the evening Tuesday one instead.
- Wednesday at 5 pm Lego Day – Kids, come use your imagination to build something great!
- Thursday at 11:15 am Storytime – Listen to stories, sing songs, and do a craft. Storytimes are open to children of all ages.
The Library will be closed for Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 20th.
 January 17th though February 24th, cozy up with a good book and enter a drawing to win prizes at the library.
Participate: Join any time that the program is going on. There’s no registration– fill out a slip to win a prize for time spent reading, or items read. That’s it.
Prizes: There are plenty of opportunities to win prizes! Submit a drawing slip at the front desk. We will draw for prizes at noon each Friday of the program.
You can fill out a slip for every two hours spent reading or you can fill out a slip for every item read. You can count one way or the other, but not both.
Read anything you like. Items that count include: books, magazines, newspapers, online articles, text books, ebooks, audiobooks, and time spent reading to you kids.
Each drawing slip will be saved each week and put in to the Grand Prize bucket! This year’s Grand Prize is a Kindle Fire HD tablet!
Sponsors: We could not have done this program without all of our wonderful sponsors. Please give them a great big “Thank you!” next time you stop by their business:
- Applebee’s
- Baker Arts Center
- Braum’s
- Classy Rack
- Conestoga Energy Partners
- Coronado Museum
- Kansasland Tire
- PBS Computer
- Southgate Cinema 6
- and Walmart Supercenter
 What’s happening at the library this week
- Tuesday at 6 pm Storytime – If you can’t make it to the morning storytime on Thursday, you can come to the evening Tuesday one instead.
- Wednesday at 5 pm Lego Day – Kids, come use your imagination to build something great!
- Thursday at 11:15 am Storytime – Listen to stories, sing songs, and do a craft. Storytimes are open to children of all ages.
- Thursday at 1 pm Activity and Movie – Crafts or board games followed by the movie “The Rescuers” at 2 pm.
- Thursday at 5 pm Teen Create and Game – Come play our Wii, Xbox, PS4, or one of several fun board games. Our craft this week will be making embroidered headphone cords.
- Friday at 1 pm Activity and Movie – Crafts or board games followed by a movie.
New at the Library
 Sunrise (A Ransom Canyon Romance)
by Jodi Thomas
From the book description
Yancy Grey is slowly putting his life back together after serving time for petty theft. As he rebuilds an old house, he finally has a sense of stability, but he can’t stop thinking of himself as just an ex-con. Until one night, he finds a mysterious dark-haired beauty hiding in his loft. But who is she, and what secret is she protecting?
The art gallery Parker Lacey manages is her life—she has no time for friends, and certainly not lovers. But when her star artist begs Parker for help, she finds herself in a pickup truck, headed for the sleepy town of Crossroads. A truck driven by a strong, silent cowboy…
Gabe Snow has been a drifter since he left Crossroads at seventeen after a violent incident. When he accepts a job in his hometown, he’ll have to decide whether he can put the worst night of his life behind him and build a future in the community that raised him.
 Another Day, Another Dali (Serena Jones Mysteries)
by Sandra Orchard
From the book description
When a valuable Salvador Dali painting belonging to her grandmother’s friend is mysteriously replaced by a forgery, FBI Special Agent Serena Jones is called in to investigate. Serena hopes finding the thief will also mean finally measuring up to Nana’s expectations. But when the evidence points to members of the owner’s own household, it becomes increasingly clear that Serena won’t be winning any popularity contests.
The Dali isn’t the only painting that’s fallen prey to the forgery-replacing thief, raising the specter of a sophisticated theft ring–one with links to dirty cops, an aspiring young artist, and the unsolved murder of Serena’s grandfather.
With plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments, Another Day, Another Dali gives the plucky Serena Jones–and readers–a new high-stakes case to crack.
I would like to invite everyone to the library’s Open House on Tuesday at 6 pm. If you haven’t been to the library in a while, now is a great time to see how the library has changed and also learn about what events we have coming up. If you are a library regular, you can come and learn what the library has in store for the new year, including events and planned renovations!
 We will have the newly renovated Downstairs Activity Area open for you to see. For those who haven’t been downstairs recently, we pulled up the carpet and put down a light blue vinyl tile. It’s easier to clean, and a lot more practical since we do serve food and drinks downstairs. We also replaced the carpet on the stairs. We had previously moved the Adult Computers upstairs, and we also moved our genealogy materials upstairs. We also got new tables, new tablecloths, and new chairs! The space looks brighter and a lot more inviting for kids and adults alike.
The Downstairs area is a great, big space where we do lots of fun stuff! It’s where we show movies, do crafts, play board games, build with Legos, and play on the Playstation 4, X-Box, and Wii. We also have our special summertime guests such as Mad Science and Rattlesnake Andy downstairs, and this area is where the school system serves free lunches over the summer. Other special events including Gingerbread House Decorating also take place downstairs.
During our Open House, we will also have some displays about what the library is planning for 2017! We would like to update the Children’s Room, including putting down new carpet, getting new tables and chairs, and incorporating a “Storytime Forest” theme. This will give the children’s area a fresh, new look that will be inviting for children of all ages and their parents. We would also like to update the reading lounge area on our adult side, including bringing in new furniture. Then, those who enjoy relaxing and reading in the library will have a cozy, updated area to do so! Come to the Open House to see some of the ideas of what the renovations could look like!
 Plus, I will be doing a special storytime during our Open House! Listen to some fun stories, sing songs, and do a cool craft! We will be talking about dinosaurs, and reading one of my favorite books, Dinosaur vs. The Library! Make a dinosaur puppet during craft time to take home and play with. Kids and adults of all ages are welcome to come to the Open House and enjoy the storytime.
At the Open House, we will also have event calendars available, so that you can see what’s going on at the library in January! If you aren’t a library regular, you might be surprised at all of the events we offer for kids, teens, and adults! We will also be serving refreshments during the Open House, so come enjoy free food and drink as you explore all the library has to offer.
What’s happening at the library this week
- Monday – The Library will be closed on Monday for the holiday, but will reopen for normal hours on Tuesday at 9 am.
Every day during the winter break, we will have an activity for the kids at 1 pm followed by an animated movie at 2 pm.
- Tuesday at 1 pm Activity and Movie – Crafts or board games followed by the movie “Turbo” at 2 pm.
- Tuesday at 6 pm Storytime – If you can’t make it to the morning storytime on Thursday, you can come to the evening Tuesday one instead.
- Wednesday at 1 pm Activity and Movie – Crafts or board games followed by the movie “Shaun the Sheep” at 2 pm.
- Wednesday at 5 pm Lego Day – Kids, come use your imagination to build something great!
- Thursday at 11:15 am Storytime – Listen to stories, sing songs, and do a craft. Storytimes are open to children of all ages.
- Thursday at 1 pm Activity and Movie – Crafts or board games followed by the movie “Aristocats” at 2 pm.
- Thursday at 5 pm Teen Create and Game – Come play our Wii, Xbox, PS4, or one of several fun board games. Our craft this week will be making rainbow snowflakes.
- Friday at 1 pm Activity and Movie – Crafts or board games followed by the movie “Finding Dory” at 2 pm.
More Christmas themed books
Just in case you haven’t had enough of holidays, here are a couple more mood setting books from our Christmas book display.
Christmas days : 12 stories and 12 feasts for 12 days
by Jeanette Winterson.
From the book description
For years Jeanette Winterson has written a new story at Christmas-time and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold tales, along with twelve delicious recipes for the twelve days of Christmas.
 Twelve Days of Christmas
by Debbie Macomber
From the book description
Continuing a festive annual tradition, #1 New York Times bestselling Debbie Macomber returns with a new holiday novel full of romance and cheer—and the magical prospect of finding love in even the most guarded hearts.
Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a challenge. No matter how hard she tries to be nice, Cain rudely rebuffs her at every turn. But when Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper, that’s the last straw. She’s going to break through Cain’s Scrooge-like exterior the only way she knows how: by killing him with kindness.
To track her progress, Julia starts a blog called The Twelve Days of Christmas. Her first attempts to humanize Cain are far from successful. Julia brings him homemade Christmas treats, and the disagreeable grinch won’t even accept them. Meanwhile, Julie’s blog becomes an online sensation. Julia continues to find ways to express kindness and, little by little, chips away at Cain’s gruff façade to reveal the caring man underneath. Unbelievably, Julia feels herself falling for Cain—and she suspects that he may be falling for her as well. But as the popularity of her blog continues to grow, Julia must decide if telling Cain the truth about having chronicled their relationship to the rest of the world is worth risking their chance at love.
 The holidays are almost here, and we have a lot of fun stuff planned at the library to keep you busy!
- Don’t forget about our weekly storytimes, Tuesdays at 6 pm and Thursdays at 11:15 am. Children and their parents can join us for stories, songs, and a craft!
- Our Library and Lunch program is this Tuesday at noon. Bring your lunch and join us for a discussion of “The Christmas Note” by Donna VanLiere.
- Teens can tell the library what to do at our Teen Advisory Meeting, Tuesday at 6 pm! Plan and execute teen events and earn easy community service hours. Plus, we’ll do a fun craft.
- Lego Day is every Wednesday at 5 pm. Use your imagination and learn engineering concepts as you build something great!
- The library closes at 5 pm this Thursday, Dec. 15, so there will be no Teen Create & Game that evening.
- This Saturday brings our yearly Gingerbread Houses event! If you’ve already signed up, don’t forget to come decorate a Gingerbread House at 12:30 pm or 2:30 pm. Frosting and all sorts of toppings will be available. This is a really fun event, so don’t miss it!
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If you want to learn how to use a 3D printer, you should come to our Beginner’s 3D Printing Workshop, Monday the 19th at 6 pm. Learn how to use the library’s 3D printer. We will walk through the process of finding a print-ready file online that you can print as is or alter to fit your needs. Seating is limited, so sign up on our website or at the front desk.
- Santa Claus is coming to Storytimes next week! Tuesday Dec. 20 at 6 pm and Thursday Dec. 22 at 11:15 am, Santa will be our special Storytime guest. Come see Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas.
- Teens can join us for movie and craft time on Tuesday Dec. 20 at 6 pm! We’ll watch a fun movie while making an ugly sweater craft.
 Teens can also come to Teen Create and Game, every Thursday at 5 pm. Play our Wii, Xbox, Playstation 4, one of our many board games, or do a fun craft! On the 22nd, we’ll be watching anime. On the 29th, we’ll be making rainbow snowflakes.
- Every weekday over Winter Break (Dec. 22-23 & Dec. 27-30), kids of all ages can join us for a craft and board games at 1 pm, followed by a movie at 2 pm! Make fun holiday and winter crafts and/or play one of our board games, then watch a fun movie. You can find which movies will be shown on the December Calendar available at the library or through our email list. Popcorn and lemonade will be served during the movie. Keep your kids busy while they’re out of school with our fun activities and crafts!
The library will be closed Sat. Dec. 24 and Mon. Dec 26 for Christmas. I hope that you all have a lovely holiday season. We will also close at 1 pm on Sat., Dec. 31 for New Year’s Eve. Come to the library in December for holiday and winter fun!
What’s happening at the library this week
- Tuesday at 6 pm Storytime – If you can’t make it to the morning storytime on Thursday, you can come to the evening Tuesday one instead.
- Wednesday at 5 pm Lego Day – Kids, come use your imagination to build something great!
- Thursday at 11:15 am Storytime – Listen to stories, sing songs, and do a craft. Storytimes are open to children of all ages.
- Thursday at 5 pm Teen Create and Game – Come play our Wii, Xbox, Ps4, or one of several fun board games. Our craft this week will be making stars.
Our regular Recipe Swap will be pushed back to next Tuesday instead of this Tuesday.
Tuesday, December 8th Recipe Swap – Bring something you’ve made (along with the recipe) to share and enjoy everyone else’s creations! This month, bring 24 cookies for a cookie swap!
Christmas Themed Books
Now that Thanksgiving is over, a lot of us are turning our minds to thoughts of Christmas and getting ready for the holiday season. Here are a few holiday themed books to get us in the mood.
 Mistletoe cottage
by Debbie Mason
From the book description
Sophie DiRossi loved growing up in Harmony Harbor. But after fleeing in disgrace many years ago, it is the last place she wants to be. Left homeless by a fire, she’s forced to go back to the small coastal town that harbors a million secrets, including her own. Sophie sees this secret reflected every day in her daughter’s blue eyes-and she must keep it hidden from the only man she has ever loved.
Sophie’s return is a shock for everyone . . . especially Liam Gallagher. The firefighter had some serious feelings for Sophie-and seeing her again sparks a desire so fierce it takes his breath away. Now Liam will do whatever it takes to show Sophie that they deserve a second chance at love, even if everything they’ve concealed threatens to keep them apart. In this special town at this special time of the year, Sophie and Liam can only hope for a little holiday magic…
A shoe addict’s Christmas
by Beth Harbison.
From the book description
From the author of the beloved bestseller Shoe Addicts Anonymous comes a heartwarming twist on a classic tale filled with holiday cheer.
Noelle is not a fan of the holidays and to make matters worse, she is at a crossroads in her life when it seems that love and adventure are no longer possible. When she stays late at her job in a department store on a snowy Christmas Eve, she accidentally gets locked in after closing. She isn’t too concerned about the prospect of spending the night in the store…until a woman appears out of nowhere and tells Noelle that she’s her guardian angel.
Soon Noelle finds herself camped out in the shoe department facing several “ghosts” of Christmases past, present, and future…Will visiting the holidays of yesterday and tomorrow help Noelle see the true spirit of Christmas? And will the love she has longed for all her life be the best surprise gift of all?
 Oliver the cat who saved Christmas
by Sheila Norton.
From the book description
Heartfelt, moving, and inspiring, a Christmas book perfect for fans of A Street Cat Named Bob.
Oliver the cat is a timid little thing, who rarely ventures from his home in the Foresters’ Arms.
Then his life changes dramatically when a fire breaks out in the pub kitchen and he is left homeless and afraid. But, with the kindness of the humans around him, he soon learns to trust again. And, in his own special way, he helps to heal those around him.
However, it isn’t until he meets a little girl in desperate need of a friend that he realizes this village needs a Christmas miracle…
Touching and genuine, this is the tale of a little cat with a big heart. Fans of A Street Cat Named Bob and Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World will be delighted.
Don’t forget, this week you can get your fines forgiven at the library! Bring in a donation of non-perishable boxed or canned food or a toiletry item and get your fines forgiven. If you have any overdue items, bring those back in good condition with donation items and get those fines forgiven as well! All donation items should be new, unopened, and unused.
This week is Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week, and libraries across the state will celebrate the event with storytimes and activities. According to the State Library of Kansas, “Kansas Reads to Preschoolers highlights the importance of reading to children with a goal that every Kansas child from birth to age five is read to during the week.” This is an opportunity for libraries, preschools, daycare providers, parents, and guardians around Kansas to all share a book with the young children they care for and/or work with.
 This year, Kansas Reads to Preschoolers is all about colors! Here in Liberal, we will be focusing on two books: Siesta by Ginger Foglesong Guy and Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson. Siesta is a bilingual book that tells the same story in English and Spanish: two children get ready for a nap by finding objects of different colors. The American Library Association named Siesta a “Notable Children’s Book for Younger Readers.” According to the Kirkus review, “Warm and charming, this treat invites young readers to broaden their linguistic horizons.”
Bear Sees Colors is a playful book where Bear recognizes different colors everywhere. School Library Journal’s review states, “The opportunity for children to sharpen their rhyming and observation skills as well as learn their colors make this interactive journey a must. Don’t miss it!” Sharing Siesta and Bear Sees Colors along with other color-themed books, plus songs and a craft should help preschoolers learn color names.
 We’ll have special guests at our Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week storytimes! Tuesday at 6 pm, Liberal Mayor Joe Denoyer will be our guest storyteller. On Thursday at 11:15 am, an officer from the Liberal Police Department will be at the library to share stories. There will be a craft time to go along with the stories each storytime session. Plus, attendees at each storytime will have a chance to win a copy of the book Siesta. And of course, the library will have copies of the books available for checkout, if you decide you’d like to read them again.
This Saturday at 2 pm, join us at the library for a Colorful Celebration! Celebrate Kansas Reads to Preschoolers week with colorful stories, games, crafts, and a science experiement!
In addition, Tammy, our Teen Librarian, and I will be traveling to the local preschools to present storytimes to the children there. I look forward to connecting the kids with some great books and getting the chance to reach out to kids who might not often come to the library.
If you have or know a preschooler (or younger child), I hope you and they will join us for a colorful storytime or our Colorful Celebration this week! See you there!
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