Winter 2011 Programs

For a schedule of story times and other weekly programs, check this out.

Photo courtesy of Garnet Hill Catalog, 2007.

Tredyffrin Thanks Tree

For the last few days, visitors to the children's department have been thinking about the things we're all thankful for, and writing our answers on leaves to hang on our thanks tree. Take a look at how it turned out!



A great big thanks to Miss Carla, who built our tree, and thanks to everyone who came out and helped us make it. Have a good holiday, everyone!

Black Friday Movie Marathon!

For those of you who plan to brave the malls and department stores this Friday, I salute you. I do not, however, join you. I'll be here at the library, showing holiday movies all day long.

For those of you who plan to avoid the malls and department stores this Friday, why not join us here for our Black Friday Movie Marathon? Here's the schedule:

9:45am: A Muppet Christmas Carol. Academy Award-winner Michael Caine stars as the stingy miser Ebenezer Scrooge who’s about to get his Christmas goose cooked in fun fashion by the inimitable Muppets in this fun-filled, musical event! Based on Charles Dickens' tale, this holiday favorite stars Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and other Muppet favorites as they put their unique twist on this holiday classic.(Rated G)

11:30am: Elf. Buddy was a baby who stowed away in Santa's toy bag and ended up at the North Pole. The elves raise him as one of their own, but when he begins to notice his differences to the other elves he goes to New York City to find his birth father in this sweet holiday comedy. (Rated PG)

1:15pm: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Venturing where no film has gone before, Tim Burton’s quirky and charming musical combines the extraordinary artistry of stop-motion animation with state–of–the–art technology to create a magical realm where fantastic characters come to life. Jack Skellington, the Halloween Pumpkin King, kidnaps Santa and takes it upon himself to deliver ghoulish Christmas presents to all the little boys and girls.(Rated PG)

2:45pm: A Christmas Carol. Jim Carrey plays four separate roles in this updated version of the Charles Dickens’ classic. The old miser Scrooge must face the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Come. The spirits must help bring kindness to his otherwise cold heart and remind him of the man he used to be. (Rated PG)

Plot synopses courtesy of Movie Licensing USA

Road Trip Thursday - Day 9

All good things must come to an end, and yesterday we found ourselves enjoying (read: ravenously devouring) citrus fruit and shouting out Sunshine State facts and answers to trivia questions about Walt Disney World.

That's how we (briefly) visited Florida - which is where we'll start our journey when we meet again in January.

That's right! Road Trip Thursday will be back after the new year, so if you're in 1st-5th grade and have a hankering to experience the history and culture of America from the comfort of your own library, be sure to sign up at the children's desk of Tredyffrin Public Library starting Monday, December 12/27.

Until then, enjoy your holidays and drive safely.

Photo by FreeWine, via Creative Commons

Giving Thanks

Well, here we are, the week before Thanksgiving. How did that come so quickly? It seems like just yesterday we were stamping our summer reading charts and eyeballing the whale slippers in the prize window. Now we're standing on the very edge of the holiday season - a time for family, food, and fun.

And a time, of course, to make nature-themed Thanksgiving crafts.

Leaf wreaths! Pinecone turkeys! A giving thanks tree! All here Friday afternoon at Tredyffrin Public Library between noon and 3pm for children 6 and up. No registration necessary. Call 610-688-7092, ext. 210 for more information.

See you there!

Photo courtesy of TheNickster via Creative Commons

Road Trip Thursday - Day 8

Well, Mother Nature let me keep my promise to my fellow travelers - that if we had nice weather, we'd go outside and play football, in honor of both last week's Tennessee Titans and this week's Crimson Tide. We had nice weather, so we did play some highly improvisational touch football.

(Many thanks to everyone who explained my referee calls to me as we went along...)

However, before we did that, we did actually learn a little something about Alabama. We learned that their state nut is the pecan, their state flower is the camellia, and their state fruit is the peach.

Next, we learned about Helen Keller, who was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880, and who was the first deafblind person to graduate with a bachelor's degree from college.

But then, football.

Catch us next week as we wrap up our trip in sunny Florida!

Photo courtesy of GioPhotos via Creative Commons

Road Trip Thursday - Day 7

I could not, in good conscience, drive our car into Tennessee without touching on its glorious recording industry. So, as we munched on our cornbread, we listened to Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, and - of course - Elvis Presley.

Then, we read all about the Great Smoky Mountains and the different wild animals that live there - particularly black bears, wrapping up by singing the perennial camp favorite, "I Met a Bear."

Now, a word on football.

My traveling companions had expressed a desire to visit the Tennessee Titans. My original plan was to head outdoors and toss the old pigskin around. And then it poured down rain.

Plan B? To catch some of the team's 2010 highlights on YouTube. 20 minutes of technical difficulties later, I scrapped that, too.

Plan C? Paper footballs, of course!

Ah, well. We're headed to 'Bama next week. We'll get some good football in then.

(Weather permitting.)

Photo taken by me, courtesy of me. Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee.

Fantabulous New Picture Books!

Last week I attended a picture book night at the wonderful Children's Book World in Haverford. If you have never been, be sure to check it out sometime. For such an intimate space, they have a great collection, they offer lots of author visits and signings, and the staff really knows their stuff. Info about the store appears below.

All of the books listed are either already in our collection, are on order, or are being processed at Tredyffrin Public Library. If you're interested, check the "New Books" display in the picture book section, or place a hold on the library catalog. My particular favorites are starred.

Andreae. ABC Animal Jamboree* (nonfiction)
Birdsall. Flora's Very Windy Day
Blackwood. Amy Loves to Give
Brown. Hallowilloween (poetry)
Brown. Children Make Terrible Pets*
Clements. The Handiest Things in the World (nonfiction)
Dipucchio. Alfred Zector, Book Collector
Ehlert. Lots of Spots (nonfiction)
Fleming. Clever Jack Takes the Cake* (fairy tale)
Frazee. The Boss Baby*
Frazier. Lots of Dots*
Frisch. A Night on the Range
Fucile. Let's Do Nothing*
Gonyea. A Book About Color* (nonfiction)
Gonyea. A Book About Design* (nonfiction)
Gonyea. Another Book About Design* (nonfiction and graphics)
Gorbachev. What's the Big Idea, Molly?*
Gore. The Wonderful Book*
Gow. Ten Big Toes and a Prince's Nose*
Hills. How Rocket Learned to Read*
Howe. Brontorina
Juster. The Odious Ogre
Lee. Shadow
Lichtenheld. Bridget's Beret*
Littlewood. Immi's Gift*
Maccarone. Miss Lina's Ballerinas*
MacLachlan. Once I Ate a Pie (poetry)
MacLachlan. I Didn't Do It (poetry)
McHale. The Monster Princess
McClatchey. Dear Tyrannousaurus Rex
Melling. Hugless Douglas
National Geographic Kids. Great Migrations* (nonfiction)
Perl. Dotty*
San Souci. Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow* (folk tale)
Schertle. Little Blue Truck (board book)
Stein. Interrupting Chicken*
Van Dusen. The Circus Ship
Weisner. Art & Max
Willems. City Dog, Country Frog*
Yolen. Lost Boy: The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan* (biography)

Children's Book World
17 Haverford Station Rd
Haverford PA 19041
610.642.6274
hours: Monday-Saturday 9:30-5:30
web: www.childrensbookworld.net
email: childrensbookworld@verizon.net