PARTY WITH CURIOUS GEORGE!

On Saturday, April 25, 2009, I hosted a program for 29 participants, who were accompanied by parents and caregivers. As each child arrived, he or she was given a nametag that said: "Hello my name is .........(name filled in at this point) and I love to read!" They were also encouraged to sign up for door prizes that were given away later in the program.

Next, I shared the book that started the series, Curious George by H.A. Rey. This first book was published in the early 1940s!

Once the story was finished, participants were invited to travel to seven craft tables to make Curious George-themed crafts. The craft stations were as follows:




CURIOUS GEORGE COLORING PAGE
Participants were asked to do their best coloring jobs on a cute picture of Curious George. These pictures were handed in to me during the program so that they could be used as part of a display in the Children's Room that would highlight the program for the public.

CURIOUS GEORGE MASK
Participants were given a page with a Curious George face that they were to color and then cut out. Eyeholes were also cut out and the face pattern was then glued to a craft stick so that the children could hold the masks in front of their faces!

CURIOUS GEORGE PARTY HAT
This craft required 2 sheets of the identical hat pattern. Participants colored them and cut them out, and then taped the two pieces together. This formed a larger piece that was then brought together in a cone shape and taped to form the finished hat. The pattern had cute pictures of Curious George on it!

CURIOUS GEORGE PINWHEEL
This pattern was printed off in color. The Curious George site on PBSKids has both a color and a black-and-white version. Go to: www.pbskids.org.curiousgeorge/parentsteachers Click on Activities and More, then Curiosity Center Activities. The pinwheel squares were cut out according to directions, and then pushpins were inserted into premarked holes. The pinwheel was then attached to a pencil with the pushpin being stuck into the eraser. Note: the directions show placing the pushpin into the top of the pencil eraser, but some participants did theirs with the pushpin sticking into the side of the eraser, and these worked just fine!

CURIOUS GEORGE CLOCK
Participants colored and cut out a clock that featured Curious George. The arms were then added with a paper fastener in the middle. There was also an accompanying page that participants took so that they could set their clocks at different times.

CUROUS GEORGE FLIP BOOK
This activity was also copied on a color copier. This flip book consisted of 7 small pages. All pages were on one sheet; participants cut out each small rectangle and then put them in numerical order. Once they were in order, the books were stapled. If done correctly, George turns a somersault as the pages flip!

CURIOUS GEORGE BOOKMARK
Paticipants colored a bookmark that featured George. Once they were done, they were cut and given to me. I then laminated them and passed them back out.

Participants also enjoyed snacks as part of the afternoon. Available were banana nut muffins, pretzels, banana chips, and juice pouches. Surprisingly, lots of kids tried the banana chips!

Door prizes were also given away. These consisted of paperback copies of 6 Curious George titles that were purchased at the local Wal-Mart. Also, the Curious George book that I opened the program with was given away.

Each participant received a small baggie that contained a Curious George bookmark and sticker as a momento of the day! I believe that the bookmarks were bought through ALA and the majority of the stickers were purchased through Smilemakers.

Costume Specialists also has a Curious George costume that they rent out. Also, check the Houghton Mifflin website for activity kits available!

AN AFTERNOON WITH WINNIE THE POOH!

On March 28th, 2009, I hosted "An Afternoon with Winnie the Pooh" program at the Bucyrus Public Library. From an initial sign-up of over 50 children, 36 attended with parents. Ages ranged from preschool and under up through age 10.

As each participant arrived, they were given bear-shaped nametags cut with an Ellison die. They were also encouraged to sign up for the door prizes, which were begin given away at the end of the program. The afternoon began with me sharing the news that in October 2009, Dutton Books for Young Readers will publish Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the first authorized sequel to A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
(1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). The author of this sequel will be David Benedictus. The book will, like those that came before it, consist of 10 stories. I then shared a Golden Book entitled Bounce Around, Tigger!

The participants were then released to six craft tables, where they could make Pooh-themed crafts. The crafts were:


LET'S WRITE A HUM!
Pooh loves to write poems, or "hums", as he calls them. Participants were given a bear shape on which to write a poem. It could be about Winnie the Pooh or any subject they wished. These hums were handed in to me for a display in the Children's Room.

LET'S MAKE A POOH PARTY HAT (WITH EARS)!

This made the cutest hat. Strips of long brown construction paper were first used to make a band that went around the child's head. These were stapled together. Next, another thin strip was staped across what would be the top of the head. Ends were trimmed. Ear shapes where provided and cut out and stapled to this crosspiece.
Ta da! Instant Pooh ears!

POOH BOOKMARK
A bookmark from the site http://www.zianet.com/demisque/PoohPrintables.htm was used. Copies were made on our color printer. The bookmark that I used was called "The Thoughtful Spot". Participants simply trimmed down the bookmark to the outside of the red outlined area. A laminator was used (children were encouraged to put their names on the backs of the bookmarks) to cover them. Once laminated, a hole was punched in the top of the bookmark, and ribbon was inserted through and tied.

POOH COLORING PAGE
This craft was simply a drawing of Winnie the Pooh that participants could color.

WINNIE THE POOH TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFT
Participants first colored and cut out all pieces that made up Winnie the Pooh and his pot of honey. An example was available for them to look at in order to do the assembly.

LET'S MAKE A 3-D HANGING POOH!
Two identical patterns of Pooh were first colored and them cut out. According to directions, slits were cut in both and they were fit together. A hole was punched in the top and the craft could be hung.

Refreshments were served to all of those present. These consisted of cookies with yellow icing (yellow for Pooh, of course), pretzels, and a mixture of cinnamon Teddy Grahams and Honey Bee shapes. Juice pouches were also available.

At the conclusion of the program, drawings were held for a number of Winnie the Pooh books.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

On February 28, 2009, I hosted a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" at the Bucyrus Public Library. There were 36 participants in attendance, a good mix of both boys and girls!

As the participants arrived, each was given a nametag. I used an Ellison die shaped like a house for this program. Everyone gathered in a group as a biography of Jeff Kinney was shared. Participants were thrilled to know that more books in the series are planned and to find out that Fox 2000 has picked up an option to make a live-action movie that will include the first three books.

Once the biography was concluded, trivia questions were read. The group proved to be absolute scholars on the series, as they answered question after question!

Once this was done, participants could choose the following craft stations:


WORM ON A STICK CRAFT
In the series, Rowley, who is Greg's best friend, is falsely accused of chasing kindergarteners with a worm on a stick, which proves to really be Greg with his coat over his head. Participants colored and cut out a worm shape and then glued it to a large craft stick.


DESIGN YOUR DREAM HOUSE
This activity was taken from activity guide available online for the third book in the series, The Last Straw. On the left hand side of the page is a small drawing of Greg Heffley's dream house, complete with indoor pool, bowling alley, and go-kart track! On the right hand side, participants got to design their own dream homes.

IT'S THE CHEESE TOUCH!
In the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Darnell Washington falls and brushes the moldy cheese that's been lying on the basketball court with his finger, thus creating "The Cheese Touch". Participants got to create their own pieces of moldy cheese by coloring and cutting out a cheese pattern and then adding arms, legs, and a face to it.

RULES FOR YOUR FAMILY"
This activity was also taken from The Last Straw activity guide. On the left-hand size of the page are listed 4 rules for the Heffley family. Participants were challenged to come up with four rules of their own for their families. We compiled these on a board. Some of our favorites were:

Tacos every day for dinner!

Video games are always allowed!

Don't make me eat green beans!

Steak for dinner every night!

Let me sleep in every day!

Dessert with every meal!

Don't kill youself or burn the house down when Mom and Dad aren't there! (my personal favorite!)

Don't wake me up on weekends until 9:00 a.m.

Participants were also treated to snacks, which consisted of juice pouches, cookies, pretzels, and, since the Cheese Touch plays such an important part in the books, cheese-flavored popcorn.

Two copies of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book were also purchased and given away as door prizes.

I have also developed a read-alike list and did an in-house display of the books listed. This display was up in our Children's Room for the month preceding the program. Fliers advertising the program were sent to all area elementary and middle schools.

As I mentioned above, there is an activity guide available on-line that goes along with the latest book, The Last Straw. Some of the activities included in it could be used to enhance your program.

FANCY NANCY

On January 24, 2009, 20 participants met in the Bucyrus Public Library's brand new Community Room for an afternoon of Fancy Nancy fun! The majority of the little girls came dressed in their "Fancy Nancy finest", complete with gloves and tiaras in some cases!

As participants arrived, they were given a nametag that said, "Bonjour, my name is...." This came from the Fancy Nancy site.

Children's Librarian Barbara Scott welcomed all with a "bonjour" (that's Nancy's fancy way of saying hello), and shared a brief biography of both Jane O'Conner (the author of the Fancy Nancy books) and Robin Preiss Glasser, the book's illustrator. She also shared the book Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy.

Participants were then released to five different tables located around the room where they could do Fancy Nancy crafts. These stations were:

Create Your Own Bauble!
At this table, participants could pick bracelet styles from a preprinted construction paper with 3 styles on it. This was obtained from the Fancy Nancy site. Stickers were purchased at the local Wal-Mart. As well, odds and ends of star stickers, self-adhesive decorations from Christmas ornament decorations and crayons were provided. Participants could decorate their bauble/bracelet however they wished.

The Perfect Pet Drawing Activity
This activity was also taken from the Fancy Nancy site. Pre-printed sheets invited participants to draw a picture of their perfect pet and also tell all about it....name, what it liked to eat, etc.

Fancy Nancy Coloring Page
This was another great activity from the Fancy Nancy site. Participants used crayons or markers to color a picture of Nancy herself!

Let's Make Fancy Crowns!
This was one of the most popular stations! We had left-over crowns from the Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds summer program as well as left-over ones from our Narnia program. These are the gold foil ones that we purchased through J and A Handy-Crafts. They come in packs of 24 crowns, complete with glue, feathers, foil star stickers and jewels, all for $20.88. The kids had a ball with these!

Let's Make a Fancy Necklace!
This was, by far and away, the most popular station! Wal-Mart has large bags of all sorts of beads for $2-3.00 I purchased 3 of these and also purchased plastic lanyard for stringing. The kids made necklaces, bracelets, even rings in some cases! They were all tres chic! (At this station, I think the moms and grandmas had as much fun as the kids!)

Snacks were served as part of the afternoon. We had cookies, pretzels, fruit snacks and punch. You could easily do finger sandiches or fancy cookies!

Door prizes were also drawn for. The library purchased two Fancy Nancy paperbacks (also from the local Wal-Mart) and our local radio station gave us 8 sets of Fancy Nancy card games that they had gotten.

Although Fancy Nancy's favorite color is purple, I could not find purple tablewear at our Wal-Mart. I opted for pink. I used a pink feather boa (which I wore earlier in the program) to wrap around the punch bowl, and had some fancy little hats and a pair of red high-heel shoes on the snack table as decoration.

Any party catalog that supplies princess items would work for a program like this. And in looking for door prizes or things for goodie bags, check the "princess" section of catalogs or stores. They will be a treasure trove of items!

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE

As part of our National Library Week celebration, on April 17, 2008, the Bucyrus Public Library hosted a drop-in program featuring the book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. On page 60 of the March 2008 Book Links magazine, in their "Need to Know" section, it was noted that, to celebrate the paperback release of the book, Edward is touring libraries and schools from coast to coast. I visted the www.edwardtulane.com website and noted that we could get a large Edward Tulane doll for display, as well as receive a teacher's kit with a reader's theatre script, puzzles, etc.

The doll was booked through Costume Specialists of Columbus, Ohio, and we were lucky enough to have him during National Library Week. Our program was done as a drop-in one, due to our on-going construction.

We received the doll well in advance, along with a wonderful teacher's guide and a DVD featuring an interview with both Kate DiCamillo and the book's illustrator. This interview is also available for download at www.edwardtulane.com Since I wanted it to play for the duration of the program (the whole interview is less than 3 minutes, I popped it into Windows Media Player and copied it over and over until I had a sufficient running time that I didn't have to keep running to the laptop every so often to restart it.

A journal comes packed along with the rabbit. This journal travels with Edward and is a record of his travels to different cities, schools, and libraries for events. Participants were encouraged to sign the journal and make any comments about the book that they wished. The completed journal will be given to the book's author once it is filled.

Participants were able to do 4 crafts as part of the program:

LET'S MAKE VICTORIAN PAPER DOLLS!
Since the book is set close to this era or at around the turn of the century, I thought it would be a great idea to make paper dolls. I supplied two paper dolls that I had found on-line and them copied and enlarged on our color copier. One was a girl in Victorian dress, and the other was a boy. These were copied off onto card stock. Each doll had one outfit that was also included on the card stock that could be cut out and placed on the doll. I also included a short history of paper dolls that participants could cut out (using scrapbooking scissors for a fancy cut) and then paste onto the front of a small manila envelope (given to them so that they could put the dolls and clothes in one place). Picture of the completed dolls is above!

EDWARD TULANE DOOR HANGER
For the door hanger, I used the Ellison door hanger die and cut the hangers out of poster board. I found a decent picture of Edward (sitting on a shelf in his finery) by doing a Google search. This was enlarged and copied on our color copier. I also typed out the slogan "Reading is a Miraculous Journey" in a nice Victorian-looking font and this was on the same page with the picture. Participants cut out both the slogan and picture and pasted them onto the poster board door hanger. You can see the completed doorhanger in the picture above!

LET'S MAKE A CRAZY QUILT!
Crazy quilts were popular in Victorian times as well as around the turn of the century. I can remember my maternal grandmother having a couple that were used all of the time and they were just fascinating to look at! In looking on the internet, I found a site that had 4 different patterns. In looking at the patterns, it occurred to me that I could lay the pattern pieces (once cut out) over pieces of wallpaper, cut them out, and then reassemble them with a black construction paper backing. Participants had the choice of the 4 patterns. Whichever one they liked (and I had them on display) could be taken to the copier, copied off, and then cut apart to use as templates to lay on the wallpaper pieces. I went to one of our local wallpaper and paint stores and asked them for any discontinued books that they might have. They are always happy to get rid of these! Once I had cut my wall paper pieces out and assembled them into the original pattern, I took a black marker and made "X" marks all across where the pieces butted up against each other (don't know if these really show up in the picture above). These represented the stitches holding the "fabric" pieces together. I think it turned out quite well!

HEART BUNNY CRAFT
This cute bunny craft was made up entirely of heart shapes (except for his teeth)! Participants colored and cut out the bunnies and then assembled them according to example.

Snacks were served for this program as well. Since it was a drop-in program, I had somewhat portable snacks, such as cookies, fruit snacks and juice pouches.

A table was also provided with some handouts from the teacher packet, as well as a large bookmark that I developed entitled "If You Liked Edward Tulane, Try..." with a list of similar-themed books. This was copied off on card stock for durability.

HORTON HEARS A WHO!

On the 22nd of March in the town of Bucyrus, a program celebrating the release of the new movie "Horton Hears a Who" was held at the Bucyrus Public Library. Due to our ongoing construction, this program was done as a drop-in, where participants could come and go as they pleased. This could also be done as a regular program, as all of the components are there. We just simply don't have a meeting area large enough, since half of our community room is being used for storage and our annex books quickly for meetings for the community.

I prepared a Powerpoint presentation detailing the story of the book as well as some biographical information on Dr. Seuss. This powerpoint could be used to open a regular program, as well as sharing the book.

Participants could move to 5 different craft stations to make Horton/elephant-themed crafts. All of the crafts we did are pictured above, so you can get an idea of how they looked. These crafts were:

EVERYONE'S AN ELEPHANT!--At this station, participants could make ears and look just like Horton! I took the ear pattern that I had found online and enlarged them. These ears were colored, cut out, and then affixed to two strips of construction paper that were fitted to the child's head.

HEART ELEPHANT PAPER CRAFT--This cute elephant craft was made up entirely of hearts. Pieces were first colored, then cut out, and then assembled according to instructions. There was also an example for participants to follow.

ELEPHANT TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFT--The base of this craft is a toilet paper roll! The pattern for the elephant's body was copied onto construction paper. They were first colored and then cut out. Then, they were affixed to a toilet paper roll. We had to agree that the completed craft certainly looked a lot like Horton himself!

HORTON THE ELEPHANT COLORING PAGE--This station simply had a coloring page taken from online that featured Horton and the small clover on which the Who live. Participants colored the page. You could choose to display the page at your library and have extras for your patrons to take with them.

I DID SOMETHING GOOD TODAY CERTIFICATE--These certificates were taken from online (www.seussville.com/horton)and printed on our color printer. Participants could take the certificates and when mom or dad caught them being good (not arguing with a brother or sister, helping around the house, etc.) they could award them.

The Seussville site mentioned above was also used to print out word searches, mazes, etc. for participants to take with them.

While participants worked on the crafts, songs from the CD "Songs of Dr. Seuss and More" played on a portable player.

Snacks were also served as part of the program. These included pretzels, fruit snacks, brownies, and juice boxes. Using mostly prepackaged snacks and drinks for these drop-in programs has been a great help. I usually make a large bowl of punch and someone has to man the table. Having the prepackaged drinks saves a lot of mess!

Participants for this program ranged in age from preschoolers to older elementary.

IT'S NO MYSTERY...IT'S NATE THE GREAT!

Due again to our on-going construction, this book character program was also done a drop-in program. This could also be done as a sign-up participation program. All of the components are here!

A note: Costume Specialists of Columbus, Ohio have a Nate the Great costume available. It came be viewed at www.costumespecialists.com under the Book Characters category and then under the Random House listings. It also features a small pop-up window where you view the costume and specifics about the size the wearer has to be!

I did develop a Powerpoint presentation for Nate the Great. If anyone would like it, I'd gladly send it along! It consists of a short author biography, brief information on the books, and a short quiz on the series.

There were 6 activity stations for participants to travel to. They were:

IT'S A CANDY BAR MYSTERY!
Ten candy bars were cut into cross-sections and placed on plates marked Exhibits 1 through 10. It was up to participants to guess what candy bar that the cross-section came from. It is helpful to cut any candy bar that might be circular into a small square, if possible, thereby further disguising it! Here is a list of the candy bars that I used: Hershey's (regular), Almond Joy, Twix, Snickers, York Peppermint Patty, 3 Musketeers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Milky Way, Butterfinger, and Kit Kat. I had to use the Hershey's bar in place of a Zero bar. No one seems to carry them anymore (at least our local Wal-Mart didn't). The signs on each of the plates were done in a font from either Publisher or Word that resembled cut-out newsprint letters. Once participants had guess what they thought all ten bars were and had them written down, I checked them. Just for playing, they received their choice of a small kaleidoscope spyglass or nose and eyeglasses disguise kit. Attention librarians who used the "Get a Clue" theme: here's a great opportunity to use/get rid of extra prizes left over! See photo above for the lay-out!

SCRAMBLE A MYSTERY!
From a Nate the Great handout, 31 words that could be part of a book title were enlarged and then cut apart and laminated for durability. The 31 paper pieces were put in a container. Participants were invited to pull out 6 pieces (no fair peeking!) and try to make a title out of the words that they ended up with. Here is one that I did: Missing Mysterious Haunted Creepy Creature Cats. An easel pad and marker were provided to jot down the often hilarious combinations! See photo above!

NATE THE GREAT DOOR HANGER
See photo above for how this turned it! The base of this craft is an Ellison door hanger die cut. Participants could choose to color the entire doorhanger (or not). A small picture of Nate was found and enlarged and copied. This picture was then colored and pasted onto the door hanger. Also, the words "Search for Books" was taken from the Scramble-a-Mystery page and added as a slogan!

GREAT DETECTIVE BOOKMARK
White construction paper was provided, along with a paper cutter, for participants to use to make whatever size bookmark them wished. Stamps and stamp pads were also provided so that participants could decorate the bookmark. I used a detective stamp that was left over from Ohio's summer reading program many years ago ("Who Made the Splash?" I believe was the theme). The stamp is of a Sherlock Holmes-looking character with a magnifying glass. The second stamp that I used was left over from the Summ 2007 "Get a Clue" theme. It was the fingerprint with the word "Read" across the top. Participants used these two stamps to make whatever design that they wished on the bookmark. The bookmarks were laminated and hole-punched so that a piece of ribbon could be threaded through. See the example in the picture above!

NATE THE GREAT STICK PUPPETS
Figures of Nate, Rosamund, and Oliver were copied onto construction paper and then ready for participants to color, cut out, and then glue onto jumbo craft sticks. See the examples above!

SLUDGE TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFT
Sludge is Nate's dog and crime-fighting companion, so it's only natural that we feature him in a craft. Patterns for the dog's body and head and legs were colored and then cut out. The large retangular piece wrapped around the toilet paper roll and other pieces were added following the example.

Snacks of cookies, pretzels, fruit snacks, and Capri-Sun juice drinks were served to participants. Handouts were also available with puzzles, word searches, and recipes for invisible ink!