Teen Summer Reading Event 2010

Melody Ferreira and Jessie Teets decorate bath salt jars while enjoying their spa water




Anna Mayer pretties up her salt jar



Courtney Vandenburg perfects her cucumber-melon infused bath salts



The finished products: A variety of cucumber-melon, coconut, and mixed-berry scented bath salts

We've had another successful Summer Reading Program this year thanks to
the library's patrons and sponsors!

Just check out the pictures below from
the last week of the Children's Program:


Everyone who attended the Finale Pirates Party
received pirate hats and temporary tattoos!


Volunteer Sheri Mohler gave out prizes for the Pirate Treasure Hunt in the Children's Area of the library.


One of our winners of Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate!


We also made pirate jewelry at the Finale!


Photos from Make Your Own Surfboard event:


You can see some of the surfboards decorated by
the 3rd-5th graders on display in
the Children's Area of the library!

Making a Splash at KPL:

The Washington County Public Library Association brought Mad Science of Iowa to the Kalona Library for our Make a Splash 2010 Summer Reading Program. We had a great time participating in our mad scientist's experiments- just take a look below!


Here's one of our volunteers 'making a splash'!





The volunteer "dinosaurs"



You can guess what happened next...

As a part of the Kalona Library's Teen Summer Reading Program, Youth Services Librarian Marissa prepared candy sushi for the teen Anime Night.

Here are some pictures of how it turned out:




The candy sushi in the above picture is made with:
fruit roll ups, red licorice, gummy worms, and rice crispies.
 




Here are a few pictures of the teens picking up
"sushi" with their chopsticks:






Thank you to Bright Futures Chiropractic in Kalona
for making this event possible!

Here are some pictures from the June 7, 2010 Summer Reading Program Kickoff!



Trying to win prizes at the duck pond




Volunteers Drena Scheppler and Christina Grier did
sea creature face painting at the Kickoff




We went through an entire bag of balloons
during the water balloon toss!



Volunteer Donna West organized the parachute games
at the Kickoff

Thank you to all who attended, volunteered and to
Waterfront HyVee for donating drinks and cookies!

Book Sale

Saturday, March 20, 2010

9:00-10:00am for Friends Members ONLY

(Friends Memberships may be
purchased at the door 9-10am)

10:00am-2:00pm for the General Public

________________________________________________________

WANTED:

Books, Videos, CD's & DVD's
for the Kalona Public Library
Book Sale
(We do not accept encyclopedias or textbooks)

Please drop off donation items at the library before Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

Questions? Contact the library at 319-656-3501.

FOOD FOR FINES 

In honor of Teen Read Week

October 19^th to 24^th,

the Kalona Public Library will be accepting canned goods &

non-perishables for

the Kalona Food Pantry and

in turn, will forgive overdue fines!

1 CAN = $.50 off

overdue fines

-OR-

Donate at least 2 items & receive a $1 Library Book Buck for future use w/ fines!

(Limit one Book Buck per patron)

*Sponsored by the Teen Advisory Board at KPL*

During the week of September 21st to the 26th, the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) at the Kalona Library will be selling T-shirts from previous summer reading programs for $1. All proceeds will go to Youth Programs at the Kalona Library.

T-shirt sizes range from Child S to Adult XL.

Please contact Youth Services Librarian Marissa at kplyouth@kctc.net or at 319-656-3501 with questions.

Here is a review of a book that can been found in the Juvenile Non-fiction area of the Kalona Public Library:

THE DALAI LAMA by Demi

A Book Review by Jeanette Miller

Demi, the author of this book, has written and illustrated many children’s books.  She lives with her husband in the state of Washington.

The Dalai Lama is a book of 30 pages that was written for children and teens.  I am neither but I appreciated the way that Demi provided information about the country of Tibet which is located at “the top of the world” in the Himalayas.  She introduces her readers to Tibetan Buddhist thought and culture in a way that is not difficult to understand.  She also introduces us to a gentle people who have suffered religious and political persecution at the hands of the Chinese government. 

The Dalai Lama, the peaceful spiritual and political leader of Tibet, had to escape in 1959 so that he wouldn’t be killed.  At that time hundreds of Buddhist monasteries were destroyed and thousands of monks and nuns were arrested or killed in an attempt to destroy a religion and a culture.  The Dalai Lama fled to northern India where he began to lead a government in exile.  He has continued to lead in this way for over 50 years.

In the spring of this year, at the age of 73, he visited the United States where in Boston he met with the news media as a media center was named after him.  He also met, for the first time, with Chinese academic scholars in an exchange that convinced them that “…he is nothing like the figures depicted in Beijing’s propaganda.”  (The Boston Globe, May 4, 2009)

Author Demi concludes her story of the Dalai Lama by describing his life in India as a productive one where he’s set up centers to preserve holy scriptures, Tibetan art, culture and medicine.  He also organized free public schools where the Tibetan language could be preserved.  All of these endeavors serve as a model for a restored Tibet.

His Holiness The Dalai Lama wrote the introduction for Demi’s book.  He writes, “Since 1959 Tibet has been occupied by China and many of the things we once loved have been lost.   …I have lived in exile in India with about 100,000 Tibetans who have also left our homeland.  Here we have been given help to build new homes, schools and monasteries and to preserve our traditional customs and values.  Our lives are quite comfortable compared to many of the six million Tibetans whose lives in Tibet are miserable.  The dream I am working to fulfill is that one day soon there will be freedom, peace, and happiness as there once used to be in Tibet.”

Here's a great New York Times article about Ray Bradbury and his love of libraries:

www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/us/20ventura.html

"Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson is the book our Last Tuesday Book Group will be discussing January 27. Check out the video of Greg and his daughter from the Today Show on January 22.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28775441/

ALL WASHINGTON COUNTY TEEN READ

2009

INKHEART

By: Cornelia Funke

Attention those in Grades 6 to 12:

Pick up a copy of Inkheart at the Kalona Public Library and join us for book discussions on January 16th at 3:45pm at KPL 

and at Pizza Ranch in Washington on February 6th at 6pm for FREE PIZZA and a book discussion!

The first person to pick up a copy of Inkheart will receive a FREE paperback copy to keep!

(If you can only make it to the February 6th book discussion, no problem! Just let us know.)

Please contact Marissa Tartaglia at 319-656-3501 or at kplyouth@kctc.net for more information or if you will be needing a ride to Pizza Ranch.

Here is a link to a MSNBC video clip reporting on the surge in library use across the country:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28165432#28165432
 

Here is an article from the Library Journal about the "Living Library".

If you would be interested in participating in something like this at the Kalona Public Library, as either a "Living Book" or as a visitor with a "Living Book," please comment on the blog or contact Anne at 319-656-3501 or at kaloplib@kctc.net.

“Living Library” Debuts in United States

By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/15/2008

The “Living Library” movement, allowing library visitors to book half-hour meetings with individuals with special interests, beliefs, or experiences, has arrived in the United States from Europe, with the organizers proclaiming success for an inaugural effort October 18 at the Santa Monica Public Library (SMPL), CA.

Response to the event was “overwhelming,” organizers said, noting that all “the Living Books” were quickly reserved and that the event drew international news coverage. Among those offering themselves were a Buddhist, a teenager, a celebrity publicist, a person of Oaxacan background, a nudist, and a raw foodist.

One visitor, a Southern California librarian, wrote on her blog about meeting with a homeless advocate, who advised her that giving food coupons to homeless people is better than money, and why Santa Monica has such a large homeless population. The advocate ultimately imparted a moving story about how she had become homeless herself, and after she got back on her feet, she dedicated herself to advocacy work. “What started off as just a curiosity—so what happens at the Living Library, anyway?—ended up being a profound experience,” wrote the librarian. SMPL said it will host another such event in April 2009.

On October 25, the Bainbridge Island Library of the Kitsap Regional Library, WA, held the second U.S. “Living Library,” featuring, among others, an antiviolence activist, a former gang member, a person who is quadriplegic, a Muslim U.S. Marine veteran, and an atheist. The event was presented in conjunction with the library's One Community, One Book project, with participants reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Danish antiviolence campaigner Ronni Abergel (pictured, in Santa Monica with all the “books”) founded Living Library in 2000 and has brought it to at least a dozen countries. “We live in a time where we need dialogue,” he told the Christian Science Monitor in June. “With dialogue comes understanding and with that comes tolerance and that's the mission of the Living Library.”

      Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair.  In the book, Somewhere in Heaven: The Remarkable Love Story of Dana and Christopher Reeve by Christopher Andersen, life's fairness is called into question.

     Christopher Reeve played Superman in several movies and was seen by his fans as virile, strong, and in true Superman style, invincible.  That image changed in a split second when Reeve was thrown from a horse during a jumping competition.  The position of his body on impact with the ground caused Reeve to become a quadriplegic.  No longer could he dodge bullets, fly off buildings or intervene to save the earth.  In fact, he could no longer even breathe on his own but was ventilator dependent for the rest of his life.

     Andersen's book chronicles the change in Reeve's life from a Hollywood star to a wheelchair bound man dependent on others for eveything in his life.  A crucial factor in Reeve's fight for survival was his wife, Dana.  Throughout their marriage, Dana stood by her husband and was an encourager, nurse and public relations spokeswoman for Reeve.

     Knowing her husband as intimately as she did, Dana knew that Christopher wanted to be more than a man in a wheelchair.  She encouraged him to become an advocate for stem cell research and the couple began to raise funds through the Christopher Reeve Foundation.  The Reeves called on their Hollywood friends to help raise funds through charity events.  One significant friend who stood with the Reeves throughout their ordeal was Robin Williams.

     Although this story does not have a happy ending it is a truly inspirational story.  Christopher died of complications from an infection and several years later Dana died of cancer.  Their lives were full of impact on those they met - from fellow celebrities to patients in a rehab hospital but most of all on their children.

     If you are looking for a well-written book that shows how a man can change from Superman to a super man, I would recommend Somewhere in Heaven.

     That is what I have read.  What are you reading?