I’m excited to share that our Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award Kits are back!
These kits are a wonderful way to discover new picture book titles for sharing with one child or a classroom full of kids. The ten titles were selected by a committee of Missouri librarians because they are marvelous read-alouds. This year, we have a charming selection of books, from brave birds to silly cows to talking bathtubs and more. Included in each bag are all ten nominees, accompanying activity sheets, ballots for children to vote and ‘I voted’ stickers.
If you would like to learn more about this award, check out the Missouri Library Association’s website.
Summer Reading 2023 is finally here! As we’ve been prepping for the most exciting time of the year here at the library, we’ve been brainstorming plenty of creative ways to connect with others in keeping with the theme “All Together Now.” If you’ve got your summer reading sheet for ages 5-12 or teens, you’ll notice that one of the suggested activities is to create a collaborative piece of art with a friend. Today, I’d like to share a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
These simple art projects are perfect for summer school classes, family get-togethers, sleepovers, birthday parties and summer camp. If you’re a fan of family game nights or movie nights, you might even consider giving family art night a try. As you introduce these projects to your young artists, encourage unity as everyone contributes their own sense of creativity. There’s beauty in letting go and giving in to the creative process. Wherever you meet with others this summer, break out the art supplies and look for opportunities to create something new!
Exquisite Corpse
What began as a Victorian parlor game called “consequences” took to new, absurd heights thanks to the Surrealist movement of the 1920s. To play Exquisite Corpse, you’ll need at least three players. Each person folds a piece of paper in thirds and draws the head of the drawing in the top third. Fold down the top third to hide it from the next player, then pass along your drawing. The next player draws the torso, folds it down and passes it along to the final player, who draws the legs. Channel your inner surrealist and play with the definition of “head,” “torso” and “legs!” My sister, husband and I capped off our recent dinner plans with a round of exquisite corpse. I guess two of us were inspired by the pile of crayons spread across the table!
Continue reading “Creating Collaborative Art”
Did you know that altruism, defined as the “behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense,” has been observed in bat populations, especially the iconic vampire bat? Vampire bats display what scientists call “reciprocity,” which is a fancy term for friendship. For example, vampire bats don’t just take care of other vampire bats by grooming one another and sharing food (which, sidebar, they do by regurgitating blood and spitting it on their fellow bat’s face to lick up — sweet and gross!): vampire bats actually make social bonds with other specific vampire bats, forming relationships beyond kin or direct familial connection. In other words, vampire bats make and take care of friends outside of their biological family, a behavior that, until it was first documented in the 1980s, scientists thought was more exclusive to humans and other primates. It seems to me that we humans have much to learn from our bat friends, especially in the spirit of this year’s Summer Reading theme, “All Together Now.” So, to celebrate friendship, community and care, let’s make like a bat with an adorable headband craft!
Continue reading “All Together Now . . . With Bats! 🦇”
The April rain, the April rain
Comes slanting down in fitful showers,
Then from the furrow shoots the grain,
And banks are fledged with nestling flowers.
— from “April Rain” by Mathilde Blind
Although we didn’t receive the deluge of rain we might have hoped for last month, here’s a charming craft to celebrate the saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” (Thanks to this blog for the craft idea!) Continue reading “Chenille Stem Flowers”
“The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky” by Kim Jihyun is one of my new favorite books! This wordless picture book is illustrated in grayscale with hints of blue. Even though it is wordless, it is no less impactful than a book with one thousand words. (There might even be a saying about that.) Jihyun tells the story of a boy leaving his home in the city for a summer vacation in the countryside with his parents and grandparents. The story follows the boy and his grandparents’ dog as they have adventures through the woods and by the lake. At the end of the book, Jihyun explains that she spent a few days in another country and was inspired by how the “soft sunlight warmed my skin, a gentle breeze rippled across the deep lake, countless stars sparkled high in the night sky.” Even though the book is all in black and white, you can feel the summer sun shining through the pages. This is a must-read (or a must-look-at, since there are no words to read) to get you in the mood for those summer vibes.
This year I’ve been surprised when the flowers are blooming, and never quite sure how long they will last. So I thought it would be fun to share a craft where you can play with the wind, and also have something bright and cheerful. Pinwheels! Once you’ve made one of these pinwheels, you’ll find yourself wanting to create more and more till you have a whole bouquet of them!
First, gather your supplies. There are two patterns per page, and it’s a good idea to print extra-these are so much fun it’s easy to make a bouquet of pinwheels.
- Pencils with an eraser
- Small beads
- Pins (Mine are small and silver, but almost any sewing pin will work.)
- Coloring supplies (I prefer colored pencils and crayons.)
- Scissors
- Printed templates (Regular copy paper works best.)
Continue reading “Pinwheel Flowers”
With the end of the school year upon us, you might be wondering how you’d like to spend your time this summer. Have you ever wanted to try your hand at drawing, painting, designing, sculpting, sewing or taking photographs? Maybe you’d like to glean some inspiration from some of the world’s greatest and most influential artists, finding out how they got their start and made their most famous works? Well, the library has some wonderful books to help you get started on your creative journey — full of fascinating facts, beautiful illustrations and amazing stories of extraordinary people whose art touched the world.
Starting with the 19th century, we’ve got books on two members of the hugely influential Impressionist movement — “Edgar Degas and “Mary Cassatt.” Degas was
a French artist best known for his paintings of ballet dancers and scenes from everyday Parisian life, and Mary Cassatt was an American painter who was befriended and championed by Degas and who found worldwide fame for her scenes of family and domestic life. Continue reading “Get Inspired by Visual Artists”
I tend to be drawn to a lot of fantasy books, and I freely admit it! But this time, I’ve kept myself to contemporary realism. No spells or superpowers or talking animals, just real people in real situations. Okay, the virtual reality graphic novel might be skirting the line, but I still get points for trying.
Picture Books
“Big” written and illustrated by Vashti Harrison
This could easily be one of the most important books we read this year. The book opens with an adorable baby girl, who has a big laugh, a big heart and big dreams. She learns and grows, and adults exclaim over what a big girl she is. Being a big girl is an exciting aspiration when you’re little, but eventually it’s no longer a good thing. Soon it’s, “Aren’t you too big for that?” and suddenly you’re not fitting into costumes or swings or with the other kids. As the little girl is bombarded with cruel words, both unthinking and intentional, she withdraws until she finds the courage to love and accept herself. The author’s note shares her own experience of being “in the crosshairs of adultification bias and anti-fat bias” and offers hope and love to all other children that may be going through the same thing. Known as an illustrator, Harrison’s artwork is absolutely perfect, and the story itself is one that everyone needs to hear. Continue reading “Brianna’s Books: May Favorites 2023”
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, flowers and bees began their ancient, symbiotic relationship. Tens of millions of years later, we are still enjoying the fruits of their labor — quite literally! Did you know that one in every three bites of food we eat is made possible by bees, and about 75% of the world’s flowering plants are pollinated by our buzzing friends and other animals like bats?
Why not support the native bees in your neighborhood? Building an upcycled bee sanctuary may attract cavity-nesting bees, which usually lay their eggs in holes made in dead wood by beetles or hollow or pithy stems. In this adaptation, we’re using cut cardboard tubes and paper straws!
Continue reading “DIY Bee Sanctuary”
Now is the time of year when plastic eggs become widely available in stores, and they also reemerge from under beds, the back of the closet or the top shelf of the garage. In some households, these eggs are filled with treats by adults, and hidden for children to find. Other households hide the eggs outside multiple times and decide who can find the most. This year I found a STEM challenge that can be done indoors, with less risk of losing the eggs.
This challenge is about guessing (or hypothesizing) whether the item you place in the plastic egg will make the egg sink.
For this game, you will need the following supplies:
- Plastic eggs
- Water
- Container to hold water (mixing bowl, sink, bucket)
- Assorted items that fit into an egg (see ideas below)
- Optional: paper and pencil
I suggest having your items for inside the eggs preselected and ready before you and your child begin experimenting. I organized my items in a muffin tin. If your eggs have holes, cover those with tape to make water-tight seal.
Continue reading “Sink the Egg Challenge”
