LibraryAware Spring 2023 Early Literacy Newsletter

CRAFT NIGHT FOR ALL AGES
Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 5:30 - 7:00 am
CORVALLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN MEETING ROOM
Make poetry-themed buttons, stickers, and magnet for National Poetry Month with the Library, C3, and The Arts Center. All supplies will be provided. Coloring supplies will also be available.

BUILD WITH THE BEAVS LEGO PROGRAM
Wednesdays, April 5, May 3, June 7, 2023, 3:30 - 4:30 am
CORVALLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN MEETING ROOM

Build with fellow Lego fans and Oregon State student-athletes! Put your skills to the test with new building challenges each month. LEGO bricks provided. Drop in.

FAMILY MUSIC FUN

Saturdays, April 8, May 13, June 10, 2023

CORVALLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN MEETING ROOM

Come sing, clap, move your body to music with Marisa in this interactive music program designed for families with children between the ages of 2 and 10.

Dia (Diversity in Action) Celebration

Saturday, April 29, 2023 10:30-11:30 am

CORVALLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN MEETING ROOM

LA RATONCITA PRESUMIDA / THE VAIN LITTLE MOUSE PUPPET SHOW

"A bilingual (Spanish/English) story from Venezuela, our tiny heroine thinks herself much too fine to accept the proposal of a common mouse. Instead, she sets her sights on 'worthier' matches, such as

the sun, the wind, and the mountain. Yet, her search for the perfect suitor brings her right back to the romantic little mouse who first proposed. Venezuelan Americans, Melissa and Carlos Bertran, bring

the character's voices to life in both English and Spanish. Features Venezuelan music and a truly bilingual experience!" (https://www.pegasuspuppets.com/shows)

New E-Resource for Kids

Explore the library's new kids' digital resource for books in Spanish. "MakeMake offers a carefully curated selection of books in Spanish from the best Latin American publishing houses to promote critical and quality reading in children and youths." (makemake.com.co)

Log in from home with your library card number and pin

Storytimes at CBCPL

WEEKLY STORYTIMES!

INFANT STORYTIME (birth-1 year) Tuesdays, 10:30 am

TODDLER STORYTIME (1-3 years) Wednesdays, 10:30 am

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME (3-5 years) Thursdays, 10:30 am

Storytime is offered weekly as a drop-in program: first come, first served at the Corvallis Public Library's Main Meeting Room. Space is limited due to the room capacity and to provide a positive, safe environment for all. Children must be accompanied by a grown-up. (No need to register.)

SATURDAY STORIES!

March 25, 2023, 10:30 am
April 22, 2023, 10:30 am

May 27, 2023, 10:30 am

Join us for a 20 minute, all-ages family storytime at the Corvallis Public Library's Main Meeting Room! Short stories, songs, and rhymes will be shared. Children must be accompanied by a grown-up. (No need to register.)

LOS CUENTOS

March 18, 2023, 10:30 am

April 15, 2023, 10:30 am

May 20, 2023, 10:30 am

A bilingual storytime in English and Spanish for children of all ages. Offered as a drop-in program: first come, first served at the Corvallis Public Library's Main Meeting Room. Children must be accompanied by a grown-up. (No need to register.)

First Readers Book Club
Registration begins on the first Saturday of the month at noon. Check the website for details.

The First Readers Book Club is for kids who are reading early reader books and features a book club kit every other month. Each kit includes a paperback copy of an early reader book, discussion questions, and a craft. Available while supplies last. Books and supplies are provided by the Friends of the Library.

May 2023 First Readers Book Club Title:

Harry's Squirrel Trouble by Laura Driscoll

The beloved character Harry the Dirty Dog returns in this brand-new Level One I Can Read! A fun story to share with all dog fans, as well as families and classrooms. Harry, the mischievous little white dog with black spots, isn’t happy when the children blame him for a squirrel’s bad behavior. When he tries to explain what happened, he only makes it worse. Can Harry find a way out of trouble? Created in the style of Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham.

Craft Kits To Go!

Kits to Take Home and Explore

April Early Literacy Craft Kit: On the Farm with multilingual rhymes
Available beginning April 22nd, 2023 at noon. Pick up at any branch or request one online for home delivery. Visit CBCPL online or contact your branch library for details!

This kit contains materials to create a barn, a pocket folder feltboard and felt animals, along with the lyrics to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" in multiple languages. Geared for ages 5 and under. While supplies last.

Diverse Abilities

We are all unique in our own way!

The boy who learned upside down
by Christy Scattarella

Alex is embarrassed when he is placed in a special education class due to his learning disability, but with the help of his new teacher he begins to change his mind about school and himself

My three best friends and me, Zulay
by Cari Best

Sharing days with her best friends in their second-grade class, Zulay, a blind student, surprises her teacher by asking if she can run a race on Field Day and achieves her goal with the help of a special aide and the support of loved ones.

We're amazing 1, 2, 3!
by Leslie Kimmelman

Elmo has many things in common with his long-time friend, Julia, who has autism, and when Abby sees them playing together in the park, he explains to her how to become friends with Julia, too

Explore more books on this topic with this booklist or ask a librarian at your library branch for suggestions.

Community Gardens

Spring offers so many opportunities to learn about gardens as we spend more time outdoors. Have fun interacting with your child through these 5 language building practices – Talk, sing, read, write, play!

Talk:

Visit a community garden, or take a walk around your neighborhood, and talk about the plants that you see.
Talk about the colors, shapes, patterns, and textures that you see, feel and smell, even perhaps taste.
Discuss where vegetables and fruits come from.
Create a little garden or planter box that your child can be responsible for. Observe any growth.

Sing:

Here is My Garden Rhyme

Here’s is my garden, I’ll rake it with care. (open palm, pretend to “rake” with other hand)

Here are some seeds I’ll plant in there. (“plant” seeds in palm)

The sun will shine, and the rain will fall. (make circle over head, flutter fingers up and down for rain)

My garden will grow big and tall! (raise hands toward sky)

Five Little Flowers (tune: “Itsy-Bitsy Spider)

Five little flowers standing in the sun, (hold up 5 fingers)

See their heads nodding, bowing one by one, (fold fingers down 1 at a time)

Down, down, down, came the gentle rain, (flutter fingers down like rain)

And the five little flowers lift up their heads again, (hold up 5 fingers again)

1,2,3,4,5. pe your text here.

Read:

Read picture books and simple non-fiction books about gardening and plants. Share with your child some of the following book recommendations about community gardens. Go on an adventure to visit a garden store or a community garden after reading about them.

Miguel's community garden
by JaNay Brown-Wood

To complete his party at his community garden for all of his friends, Miguel needs help searching for sunflowers, and young readers will enjoy discovering the wonders of fresh produce as they join him.

Community soup
by Alma Fullerton

In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse, the children work together to harvest the vegetables they have grown and make them into a soup for everyone to share, but some goats are trying to eat all the vegetables

Green Green : A Community Gardening Story
by Marie Lamba

A charming rhyming picture book about a city's green space growing and changing, and how an abandoned lot squeezed between two buildings becomes a community garden.

Thank you, garden
by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon

The Caldecott Honor-winning author of All the World presents a lyrical celebration of the plants and people who thrive in busy community gardens where flowers and friendships grow.

The Children's Garden : growing food in the city
by Carole Lexa Schaefer

A diverse group of kids works in the community Children's Garden, developing awareness through hands-on activities that stimulate the senses and impart valuable lessons about sustainable food systems. By the award-winning author of The Squiggle.

One little lot : the 1-2-3s of an urban garden
by Diane C. Mullen

Diverse neighbors in a bustling urban community unite to clean up an abandoned lot, where they pull weeds, build planter boxes and plant seeds to create a bountiful vegetable garden that helps strangers become friends.

Layla's happiness
by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie

Seven-year-old Layla divulges many things that make her happy, especially her family and their community garden

The garden we share
by Zoë Tucker

In this moving story about gardening, seasons and treasured memories, a young girl and an elderly woman become friends as they plant seeds in a community garden until the last leaves fall and everything is different.

Grow
by Cynthia Platt

"A young girl's seed of an idea to clean up an abandoned inner city lot grows into something big when neighbors to work together to create a garden full of color and life"

City green
by DyAnne DiSalvo

Marcy, tired of a littered vacant lot on her block, decides to start planting things there and eventually it becomes a community garden

The Children's Garden : growing food in the city
by Carole Lexa Schaefer

A diverse group of kids works in the community Children's Garden, developing awareness through hands-on activities that stimulate the senses and impart valuable lessons about sustainable food systems. By the award-winning author of The Squiggle.

In our garden
by Pat Zietlow Miller

Missing her home and the garden where her family used to grow food, Millie notices that her new schools flat roof would be perfect for a garden and soon has the whole school and community coming together to help.

Biscuit and friends visit the community garden
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Armed with seeds and a shovel, Biscuit and the little girl visit the community garden where they plant flowers with new friends.

In a garden
by Tim McCanna

Read-aloud verses and engaging artwork combine in a tribute to the ecosystems of home gardens that reveals how ladybugs, worms and other insects have a symbiotic relationship with growing plants.

The bear's garden
by Marcie Colleen

Assisted by her trusty stuffed bear to imagine a beautiful place where life and love can grow, a little girl uses her creativity to turn a vacant lot into a thriving community garden.

Write:

Paint some rocks that you may have found while on a walk to decorate your garden. Practice writing alphabet letters on the rocks to create a word garden.
If you planted seeds in your garden, have your child help create seed markers so that you know which kind of plants were planted where. You can use popsicle sticks and help your child draw or write each plant's name.
Create a story book about your visit to a community garden. What kind of plants did you see? What kind of plants would you plant if you were to create a community garden?

Play:

Look for seeds, and sort them by size, color, or shape. Compare and contrast. Count them – which do you have more or less of?
Make a collage of seeds or flowers on contact paper to create a sun catcher. Cut out a shape from a piece of contact paper. Peel off the backing so that the sticky part is facing up. Place flowers, seeds, and leaves on the sticky part (flat or soft objects work better). Peel off the backing of another piece of contact paper and stick it on top of the decorated one, so that the contents are sealed. Trim the edges, tape or tie a piece of string to your suncatcher and hang it up by a window to enjoy.

Additional Resources for Parents

Community gardens in the Corvallis area are managed by the Corvallis Environmental Center in partnership with Corvallis Parks and Recreation. To find out more, please visit:

City of Corvallis

Starker Arts Park Garden for Education

Dunawi Creek Community Garden

Scholastic BookFlix

Video storybooks that are paired with nonfiction ebooks designed for preschool through 3rd grade. Collection includes book sin English and Spanish. Free for CBCPL patrons!

Access BookFlix today!

Looking for more to do? See all programs on our online calendar.