Join us for all the fun and action on:

Saturday, May 4^th

2:00 to 4:00 pm

David J’s Place

At the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.

See you there!

What does it mean to be GREEN?  It could mean the color of your skin, like Kermit the Frog.  It could mean that you don’t feel very well.  It could also mean that you are new at something, like riding a horse.  But my favorite green is when it means that you care about the earth and do things to help it.

Being GREEN means reusing or recycling things instead of throwing them out.  Maybe you have a table or a chair or some clothes that you are tired of and don’t want anymore.  Someone else might like to have them; they would be new and different to them.  Sometimes we collect plastic bottles, paper, glass jars and cans to recycle.  This means these materials can be made into new bottles, papers, jars and cans and filled up with new stuff.  At the Green Fair you can test how well you know what can be recycled and what can’t in our Recycling Games.  You can also make fantastic crafts with all kinds of things that usually get thrown out.

Being GREEN means planting trees, flowers and vegetables.  Plants are good for the air because they give off oxygen and that’s what we need to breathe.  Plants clean the air, in a way; they take in the bad air and give off good air.  You can get a lilac bush to plant at the Green Fair and visit the Master Gardeners booth to get some good ideas.

Most of us buy our clothes and food at the store.  You probably know that eggs come from chickens and milk comes from cows, but did you know some yarns come from animals too?  At the Green Fair you can see a live alpaca and a demonstration of how its fur can be made into cloth.

We hope you’ll be there on Saturday and bring your family!

When you D.E.A.R. you honor award-winning author Beverly Cleary – whose books appear in over 20 countries in 14 languages – and her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, Beezus, Ramona Quimby, Ribsy, Socks and Ralph S. Mouse.

D.E.A.R. is not limited to children – we want ALL AGES to D.E.A.R.! For more information, call 580-4565.

It’s not so hard to find time to read. Here are some librarian-tested ways to read more.

Read travel books for an imagined trip.

• Use an app to get books on your smart phone or tablet.
• Pick up some magazines for a short and quick read.
• Listen to a book while you are driving, walking or working out.
• Keep a stack or shelf of books in the bathroom for those longer stays.
• Pick books that interest you. Need help? Follow us on Facebook or GoodReads.
• Take turns as a family reading aloud. Set a designated family story time.
• Get inspiration at your public library, 10th and Washburn, or on our books blog.

Rust Red Hills, Georgia O’Keefe
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/georgia-o-keeffe/rust-red-hills

A New Day, A New Artist,  A New Art Medium

This week in Art Club at Lowman Hill the third graders were introduced to the finer art of watercolor.  This art medium takes a lighter approach and finer motor skills which the students have been working up to all year.

O’Keefe and Texas by Sharyn Udall

The Master Artist we looked at was Georgia O’Keefe.  Specifically, we looked at her Southwest landscapes in watercolor.We talked about the visual differences in the mountain peaks of that part of the United States contrasted with our own flat-topped Flint Hills in Kansas created long ago by the inland sea.

Taos Mountain, New Mexico by O’Keefe
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/collections/overview/americas/northamerica/uscanada/painting/earlymodern/P99362.html

Group discussion included how to create a unified composition using a color scheme, patterning and visual space.  We  talked about how different colors make us feel and how this relates to warm and cool colors.  One student pointed out that summer is red…red hot!

First Step – drawing with pencil

Patterning and visual space was related to photographs of the Flint Hills as well as landscapes by O’Keefe.  They examined the use of overlapping lines to develop a foreground, middleground and background giving the illusion of receding space.  Repeated colors and shapes provide a sense of movement and unity.

Second step – Draw over lines with black crayon for resist

Begin painting (perspective learned earlier this year)

Working with Art Club throughout this year has been amazing.  The students are so eager and willing to learn and experience the world through art. They have developed confidence, problem-solving skills and creativity. They now love to talk about their artworks in front of the group.  I am grateful to be part of this outreach program and excited to make a difference in the lives of young people.

Wet-on-wet technique

Great use of color. Definitely a Modernist influence like O’Keefe but more Rothko!

]]> http://tscpl.org/art/new-day-new-art/feed/ 1 http://tscpl.org/books-movies-music/a-dystopian-novel-for-younger-readers/ http://tscpl.org/books-movies-music/a-dystopian-novel-for-younger-readers/#comments Sat, 09 Mar 2013 01:19:55 +0000 Jean Marshall http://tscpl.org/?p=45810 My ten-year-old daughter has been asking me to let her read The Hunger Games. The answer is, “Not yet,” mostly due to the novel’s child-on-child violence. But there’s another factor: Even if she read the book and the violence didn’t bother her, she still wouldn’t understand why kids are killing kids because she hasn’t yet learned enough about history or government. The concept of an oppressive dystopian society is for now, beyond her experience. (Please don’t tell her I wrote that) So this got me thinking about books for younger kids that are set in dystopian societies that could help her appreciate this subgenre of science fiction before she reads The Hunger Games.

One such book is Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Usually read by 6^th or 7^th graders, this book is dystopian-lite, and Lowry does a great job explaining the dystopian elements. Another is The City of Ember, about a dysfunctional underground city by Jeanne DuPrau. Both books have multiple sequels.

A recently published junior dystopian novel is The Wikkeling by Steven Arnston. The main character Henrietta is a young girl who struggles with school and friends.  She and two other children who become her friends realize they are being stalked by a strange creature called the Wikkeling. While Henrietta and her friends try to solve the mystery of the Wikkeling, they discover a strange room in her house that acts as a sort of time portal, a book-reading cat, and a huge hidden library where print books are kept.

A library full of print books may not sound like much of a discovery, but in Henrietta’s dystopian/consumer society, print books do not exist. Everything is computerized, including education, and all the fun has been stripped out of life by an overabundance of safety rules and regulations, a child’s dystopian nightmare. But the dystopian elements in The Wikkeling are not nearly as heavy handed as those in The Hunger Games where a power thirsty government punishes its citizens. In Henrietta’s world the only oppression comes from over regulation, rampant consumerism and an ineffective educational system, which are mostly things kids easily relate to.

So I’m taking home The Wikkeling to see if my daughter will read it. If she likes it, we’ll see about her reading The City of Ember and The Giver later on in sixth grade, due to its more mature content. And I suppose after that she may be ready for the gruesome dystopian violence of The Hunger Games. Orwell’s 1984 will have to wait at least until high school.

If you’d like to sprinkle some shenanigans into your no-school Friday, join us for Leprechauns and Fairy Folk, a craft program with an Irish theme in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. With a wee bit o’ magic and a little bit o’ luck, you’ll have some enchanting projects to take home.

     Who: Kids K-5th grade and their adults

     When: Friday, March  8th

     Where: The Story Zone

And, just for fun, here’s a commercial your folks might have watched when they were wee lads and lasses. It’s magically delicious!

Hey,

I decided to suggest a book for our Guys Read club, the Mustache Killers. It’s called Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky. I thought, “What better way to tell the guys how awesome it is than a book review?”

So, here it is.

In this fantastic book, eleven year old Juniper Berry is a child of two famous movie stars, and yet she is completely alone.

Her parents have almost completely neglected her, even forgetting to feed her. They used to be loving and caring, but lately they haven’t been themselves. Young Juniper is ready to find out why.

On a stormy night, she follows her parents outside to discover unbelievable things. Behind a scraggly tree is a threshold: an underworld owned by an amazing creature by the name of Skeksyl, who will give you anything you desire in exchange for one balloon.

Or, that’s what it seems. But looks can be deceiving, and this creature isn’t as wonderful as it seems at first. It’s about as far as you can get from heavenly.

The “greatness” this creature gives isn’t very great at all, as it slowly devours a very important thing inside of you. Juniper is forced to put her life on the line to save those lured into this death trap.

Wanna be a part of the fun and mayhem? Call 785-580-4565 and ask for Jason. And remember: No parents, no girls allowed…JUST GUYS!

In the meantime, have a blast reading these great books handpicked by members of the Mustache Killers.

Zach: Bunnicula: A Rabbit-tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe
In the book that started the popular Bunnicula series, we follow Pete’s pets, Harold the dog and Chester the cat, as they try to solve the mystery of the bunny that’s draining all the vegetables in the Monroe household.

Austin: Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow by James Howe
Oh, the horror! When the author of FlashCrawlers, M.T. Graves, visits the Monroe house with his pet, Edgar Allan Crow. Things get scary for Harold and Chester when Bunnicula disappears.

Kaiden: The Fifth Garfield Treasury by Jim Davis
Garfield the famous feline, Odie the dimwitted dog, and Jim the harebrained human are back in this big collection of the most comical of Sunday comics.

Elliot: Frindle by Andrew Clements
To impress his tricky teacher, Mrs. Granger, Nick invents a new word and gets the whole class to use it. Eventually the whole world adopts the word, and it makes it into the dictionary. Did Mrs. Granger have a role in word’s success?

Noah: The Fire Within by Chris D’Lacey
The first in the Last Dragon Chronicles, David stay in a boardinghouse full of clay dragons. Liz, the boardinghouse owner, makes a dragon for David, and it and the story of Liz’s family inspires his writing.

Sloan: Julius Caesar (graphic novel adaptation) by Richard Appignanesi
This action-packed graphic novel retells Shakespeare’s tale if political intrigue and deadly betrayal.

Zachary: The Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis
The I Survived series chronicles fascinating stories from history. This edition tells of the shark attacks off the New Jersey shore through the eyes of a young boy who discovers first-hand the truth of the tale.

Still have questions? Read on.

What is it?
Well, it’s not a place for tutoring. But if you have a school assignment and need help, give us a try! You can bring your stuff to the Homework Center, and one of our helpers will coach you through the work for any subject, any level. They also can help you find information for projects.

Really? Any subject, any level?
Yep. They can help you with basic subtraction all the way to trigonometry; simple sentences on up to thesis statements.

When is it open?
The Homework Center is open at these times:

• Monday-Thursday, 4-8 p.m.
• Sunday, 2-6 p.m.

Do I need to sign up for a time?
Nope. Just drop by with your homework in hand.

Can I use a computer to look up stuff or write my report?
Yep, the homework center has six computers you can use. And you don’t need a library card in good standing; but you have to be working on homework. Sorry, no Minecraft!

Who are the homework helpers?
Our helpers are trained as teachers and know how to assist students through assignments.

Can I get tutoring?
Sorry, but the library doesn’t offer tutoring. You have to have an assignment or project. But the helpers will coach you through practice worksheets if you’ve gotten those from your teacher.

I usually do my homework at home, but on this assignment I’m totally stuck.
Then come on down. Our helpers are great at getting kids unstuck!

I can’t do homework at home because my little brother is always bugging me!
Then come on down! Even if you don’t need help, you can use the Homework Center as your regular, helpful place to get your homework done every day.

Do you have any ways to look up stuff?
Yep. We have ways to look up stuff on the computer or in books that are always here for you to use. If you have to write a biography or have a history project, we can help!

OMG! I brought my homework but forgot my pencil and paper!
Don’t freak out! We have markers, pencils, pens, glue, and notebook paper for you to use. But wait, there’s more! We also have stencils, calculators, protractors, rulers, and compasses. There are even practice tools like Wrap-ups available. You even can print stuff from the computer (like that research project) for free, too.

I have, like, a ton more questions. Can I just call someone?
Sure. Dial 785-580-4565, and we’ll answer all your questions.

Romare Bearden

Pink cupcakes and heart-shaped cookies and Valentine’s candies and Valentines……and then After-School Art Club!  Too good to be true?  No, seriously. Last Thursday just happened to be Valentine’s Day as well as Art Club.  Mr. Kerr’s third-graders had a fabulous after-party celebrating African American History Month.

We talked about the collage artworks of Romare Bearden.  Then each participant created their own radial-design, valentine art piece by cutting, tearing magazine strips, copies of sheet music and tissue paper, gluing and adding details with crayon.

3rd Grader’s Collage Inspired by Romare Bearden

Students were so involved and creative.  What a difference  these art experiences have made in these youngsters lives ….in less than a year.

If you teach a person art, they will art for life!  With these students, I see the evidence of increased confidence, creativity, problem-solving and being able to talk about decisions/choices in front of the group.

“You put down one color, it calls for another. You have to look at it like a melody.” Romare BeardenTo set the tone,  we also listened to jazz, Romare Bearden revealed by Branford Marsalis Quartet, from TSCPL CD collection.

Other books about Romare bearden in the stacks: