Swing into the library this August

The summer reading programs have wrapped for the year.  It was an astounding success. The adults turned in Bingo sheets at the end of July and three had blackouts! Kudos to their achievement this summer!

A small recap of the activities that we had this summer: for the adults, we had a writing workshop where published authors discussed their experience, Sherlock Holmes trivia, an e-reader workshop led by our library tech Doreen, and sustainable agriculture led by a Seward County Community College instructor among our regularly scheduled Library and Lunch, Book Chats and Recipe Swaps.  On the teen’s front, we had a cooking session, Zumba, CSI: Liberal, games, movies, and parties.  All those who participated had a great time! Hope you join us next summer and don’t forget to stop by the library in the months to come to attend programs.

On Friday, kiddos came to pick up their certificates and enjoy an ice cream party with all kinds of delicious toppings.  They’re preparing for school.  Casandra, our children’s librarian and Royce, our new library director were out at the New Teacher Fair this past week welcoming new teachers to the area and getting them into the library to sign up for new library cards. In a few weeks, it’s National Library Card Month. It’s the most important card in your wallet!

Remember to stop by for storytimes in the month of August. They are open to children of all ages.  They’re on Mondays and Thursday at 11:15 a.m. and Tuesday evening at 11:15 a.m.  Lapsit for infants under 24 months is on Tuesdays at 11:15 a.m.

Library and Lunch will be held on Tuesday, August 12 at 12 p.m. to discuss “President Me: The America That’s in My Head” by Adam Carolla.  The last few months has seen quite serious novels.  All the members agreed that a comedic book was needed.  Grab your lunch and join in on the conversation. If you haven’t read the book that’s fine, you can still join!

Don’t forget book chat meets every third Thursday of the month.  The group discusses what books they are currently reading and what new books have hit the shelves at the library. This month’s will be on Thursday, August 21 at 6:30 p.m.

On Monday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m., Recipe Swap will take place.  This month’s recipes are baked goods.  Breads, cookies, or baked goods.

For the latest library programming take a peek at the library website or grab a newsletter from the circulation desk.  Stay tuned and connected through our social media pages.  If you have any questions or suggestions about books or programs don’t hesitate to ask.  We hope to see you at the library this summer!

Hot Kid’s Series for Hotter Summer Days

While the summer reading program is over for kids and teens, the adults are still reading for a Bingo! If your teens and children haven’t turned in their summer reading logs, make sure to bring it by the library soon to get a t-shirt.

Just because summer reading is over, doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to do at the library! The month of July is going to be really busy in the children’s department (and every other department) of the library and parents are encouraged to pick up a schedule in the library, look online at lmlibrary.org or give us a call at 626-0180. For July, we have board game days, movies, games on the lawn, Roblox days, rainbow looming and, of course, story times. All activities are free of charge for children in the community.

While reading to earn a t-shirt is over, we still have a lot of great books at the library. Here are some of the series that are hot, hot, hot this summer:

The Kylie Jean books star Kylie Jean a lovable girl who has a lot of personality. Kids who like Junie B. Jones or Judy Moody will like these books because of their sparkle and pinkness and parents who hate Junie B. or Judy Moody will like the kinder, gentler Kylie Jean. Kylie Jean always gets into a bit of mischief, gets out of the scrape and then learns a lesson. Kylie Jean is the Spelling Queen, Cupcake Queen, Singing Queen and more.

For slightly older readers (both boys and girls) we have the Geronimo and Thea Stilton books. These books with a mouse hero and heroine are great beginning chapter books because they have a lot of pictures, use easy words and are in color. The series goes on and on, so it will keep kids reading for trip after trip to the library.

For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid who have finished Hard Luck and are looking for something to read before the ninth book, The Long Haul gets released in November, we have a lot of great series that are similar. The Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger. This series of five books (plus the activity book) is so much fun, and you don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to get it. The book is based on journal entries to find out whether or not the origami yoda is wise enough to give good advice.

A second Wimpy Kid read-alike is the Loser List by H.N. Kowitt. When a middle school kid finds himself on the loser list on the inside of the girl’s bathroom wall, he gets caught removing his name and ends up getting detention and changing the way everyone at school looks at him. There are four books in the series so far.

Finally, we have a lot of the popular series books in Spanish. We have Dork Diaries, Wimpy Kid, Goosebumps, Judy Moody, Stink, Junie B. Jones, Harry Potter and more. These are great for parents to read to their kids or for kids who are learning Spanish to read during the summer so they don’t lose what they’ve learned in the school year.

We are always ready to give book recommendations to kids and their parents at the library. Check out some of our new books today or pick up an old classic.