Books & Bagels will be discussing the popular book (and now movie) The Lightning Thief on Saturday, March 13 from 2-3 pm. Books & Bagels is for children in grades 4-6. We'll talk about the book, enjoy bagels and cream cheese, then have fun making origami creatures from Greek mythology. FREE!

Did you know that the Friends of the East Lansing Public Library have used books for sale every day? It's the best deal in town! Stop in the library and check out the Friendshop, where you'll find tons of used books at great prices. There's something for everyone - adult fiction, mysteries, history, gardening, music CDs, magazines, children's books, and much more. You'll pay a fraction of the price of brand new, and when you're done, you can donate them back to the library! And remember, all proceeds benefit the library.

Check out the Friends' web site for more information.

Back by popular demand!  Hurry! Space is limited.

Join us for a special reading time with a trained therapy dog. Each session will last 10 minutes. Bring your own book or choose one at the library.

Ages 5 and up. 

Here are some great web sites to help you find good books for your children.

Kidsreads.com
Part of The Book Report Network, a group of websites that share book reviews, compelling features, in-depth author profiles and interviews, excerpts of the hottest new releases, literary games and contests, and more with readers every week.

About.com: Children's Books
Lots of ads, but still good. You can sign up for Elizabeth Kennedy's (a journalist and educator) email newsletter.

Reading is Fundamental

I have a new favorite heroine in children’s literature. Her name is Calpurnia Virginia Tate, or Callie Vee to her family and friends.  You can meet her in the new book The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.

It is 1899 in Fentress, Texas, and 11 year old Callie Vee is wishing things wouldn’t ever change. She lives with her 6 brothers, mother, father and her mysterious granddaddy, and is happy running through the fields and floating in the river near her home.  She is interested in birds and insects and the natural world, and is surprised to find that her grandfather is a naturalist.  When the town librarian won’t loan her the new book by Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species,  granddaddy gives Callie his copy, and there begins a great friendship between the two.   Chapters also introduce us to Callie’s home life with great descriptions of firefly contests, the coming of the telephone, piano lessons, and a brother who makes a pet of the Thanksgiving turkey.   Gradually Callie realizes that things do change in this year before a brand new century. Her beloved older brother Harry begins courting, a new-fangled invention called the automobile comes to the local fair, and Callie herself begins to be groomed to be a “young lady”.  But she hates knitting and cooking and tatting.  Does she really have to give up her dream of being a scientist?