Holidays taking shape at FM Public Library

Posted

BY SARAH CLENDINENG
Fort Madison Public Library Director

FORT MADISON - We have a variety of holiday activities planned at the library during the month of December. Our Take and Make craft, put out for pick-up on December 3, will be Christmas present gift tags decorated with buttons. This is also the first Thursday of the month so don’t forget to take this opportunity to bring back that overdue book that slipped under the car seat without having to pay the fine.

Next, Martina Mathison will talk about American Christmas traditions in her program “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. This program will be live, online at 3:30 p.m. on December 8. After that, the recorded program will be available to watch, at your convenience, through the end of December. Watch the library’s Facebook page for the link to the recording or register at the library’s Facebook event page to have the link e-mailed to you.

Don’t miss our annual Christmas Ornament workshop on Christmas Eve morning from 9:30-12:30. At this time, we are planning on holding this event in person with masks and social distancing. However, we are also prepared to provide take and make kits if in-person programming is not available at the end of December. Plan to pick up a kit or spend some time at the library making ornaments, getting ready to put the finishing touches on your Christmas tree.

Finally, during winter break, we are again planning to offer our fine read down program. Open to all ages, though targeted to kids, for every 15 minutes you read in the library, you can earn 1 Book Buck that can be used to pay down library fines or redeemed for prizes from the treasure chest. Check in with our children’s librarians, Amy or Chloe, to have your minutes counted.
Bridge to Reading Picture Book Award
The purpose of the Bridge to Reading Picture Book Award is to promote early literacy and reading to children through the introduction of quality picture books nominated by a committee of librarians, teachers, preschool and early literacy leaders. The award book will be chosen based on quality and characteristics of a good "read aloud". The award will engage children in the voting process and develop a lifelong love of books and reading.

The 2020 winner of this award was “There's a Dragon in Your Book” by Tom Fletcher. This book was one of the ones we used during story hour this past summer as it encourages participation between the reader and listener. After all, if there is a dragon in your book, you need to find a way to get it out, don't you?

There are 10 nominees for the 2021 award and they are (in alphabetical order by author):
Salsa Lullaby by Jen Arena
Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
The Yawns are Coming! by Christopher Eliopoulos
Swim Swim Sink by Jenn Harney
We Will Rock Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard
Saturday by Oge More
Bear Come Along by Richard Morris
Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed
Library Books are Not For Eating! by Todd Tarplay

Anyone who reads five or more of these books can vote on their favorite between February 1 and April 30, 2021. We will have the books on this list displayed at the library and encourage you to stop in and read them, though they will not be available to check out and take home until after April 30.

For more information about this program, including previous winning books, visit http://www.bridgetoreading.com.

Face masks are required for patrons over 2 years of age attending library programs.

Minecraft –4:00-5:30 on Mondays in December.
Hang Teen – Tuesday, December 1, 15, 22 and 29, 3:30-5:00, for ages 12-18.
Pre-School/Toddler Story Hour –Wednesday morning at 10:30 for toddlers and pre-school age children.
Wacky Wednesday – Marvelous Marshmallow STEAM program with Lee County Extension at noon on December 2. Craft day December 16, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Thursday Crafternoon –Thursday, 3:30-5:00, for ages 12 and older, including adults. This program involves a month long activity so we recommend joining at the beginning of the month in order to have time to finish the project.

All Booked Up! - The library's book discussion group meets on the first Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m. On Thursday, December 3, we will be discussing "The Journey to Christmas” by Bess Streeter Aldrich. Copies of the book are available at the library for check out. Join us for a lively discussion. On January 7, we will be discussing “The Girl Who Reads on the Metro” by Christine Feret-Fleury.

books, christmas, crafts, events, Fort Madison Public Library, holidays. plans, Pen City Current

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