Sunday, March 30, 2014

Spring Book Sale May 16-17

The Friends of the Candor Free Library are busy getting ready for the spring Book Sale next month. The Book Sale runs Friday, May 16 - Saturday, May 17 with a bag sale from 2-4 pm on Saturday.

The Friends have TONS of books for the book sale what they need are people. Right now the Friends are inviting book-loving volunteers to help with the book sale. They'll be setting up for the sale on Thursday morning, May 15 and cleaning up Saturday after the sale ends. There's a sign-up sheet in the library for people who would like to volunteer during the book sale.

If you would like to become a Friend of the Library, here's the information. Their next meeting will be Thursday evening, April 24 at 7 pm in the community room (downstairs) in the library. It's a great way to contribute to the library and to the community.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Day-By-Day Early Literacy Calendar



We’ve got a new “button” over on the right side – a purple “Day-by-Day” button that zips you to a link full of literacy activities and stories. DaybyDayNY is a website for young children and their families – and it’s part of NY State Library’s “Ready to Read” initiative.

You’ve probably heard that libraries are essential to Family Literacy. Well, it’s true. Our library like others in the state, bridge the gap for those who may not have access to literacy resources. Part of our mission is to provide educational resources for the entire family: computer and internet access, books, music, and a collection of backpacks stuffed with materials for hands-on exploration.

Now there’s one more tool in the kit: the Day by Day literacy calendar that can help young children develop a love for books and learning that will last a lifetime. The calendar uses multimedia to enhance books, songs, and family health and bring these components to life. 

The calendar changes every day.  There’s a story (provided by One More Story)  - an e-book that includes original music and sound effects, produced by former Sesame Street Music Director, Robby Merkin. The cool thing: you don’t need an ebook reader – you can just click on it and read along on a computer. In addition, the website includes monthly activities, storytelling and nursery rhyme videos, rhymes for young children, and craft activities for children and their caregivers.

DaybyDayNY is funded through the Federal Library Services and Technology Act, with funds awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Books for Sugar Season and Spring

No matter the weather, we know spring is coming when we see the buckets hanging on the maples and smell the sweet mix of sugar and woodsmoke. Then it won't be long until the buds break, the maples turn red, and kites fill the air. If you're looking for seasonal reading, here are a few selections from our shelves.

Sugarbush Spring, by Marsha Chall. This picture book celebrates the month of the Maple Sugar Moon. It's time to collect sap from the family sugar bush and grandpa invites his youngest granddaughter to help. They collect sap the old way - in buckets - and boil it down in the sugarhouse. A perfect read-aloud before you head out for a walk along Kelsey Road (where they still tap the trees the old way) or wherever your nearest sugarhouse is.

 The Maple Sugar Book by Helen & Scott Nearing is aptly subtitled: With remarks on pioneering as a way of living in the twentieth century. Originally published half-a-century ago, it is filled with a history of sugaring from Native American to modern (1950s) time. This book is full of tips on how to tap a tree and boil down the sap. Great for back yard sugaring and the historically curious.

Another fun source is The Salt Book, edited by Pamela Wood. It's a Foxfire type book - a collection of downeast stories of how to make maple syrup, build stone walls, catch lobsters and more. All told in plainspoken language of the Maine coast.

Spring is a great season for tree-watching and Carole Gerber's book, Spring Blossoms provides a fun introduction. She celebrates trees in verse, with a story that follows two girls and their dog as they race from red maple to willow. We learn that crab apple blossoms are white and cherry blossoms pink, red maple flowers red but redbud blossoms not. She shows male flowers and female flowers, flowers with showy petals and flowers with petals so tiny you hardly notice them at all. Here are some book-extending activities for kids of all ages.  

My spring robin by Anne Rockwell shows a young girl who goes out on the first day of spring. She finds forsythia and crocuses, violets and daffodils, a toad, an earthworm and fiddlehead ferns emerging from the soil. But spring isn't spring unless she can find the first robin of the year.