Halloween Countdown...10 days to go...

Ten days until Halloween!

Don't just run to Party City or Meijer or Kmart!  It's not too late to make your own costume.

Actually, you can even wait until the day of and head to Value World or Goodwill to outfit easy fun favorites like little old ladies or bums or zombies.

But if you start today and are the least bit crafty there are plenty of ideas for costumes.  One great place for ideas is Pinterest.

Still looking for inspiration?  The library has kids' costume books to check out including Illegally Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids.

Happy hauntings!

Amazing Art, Volume 2

Sarah visited the library with her mom yesterday and shared this gorgeous pencil drawing of a house in her neighborhood.

We love the clean line and attention to detail!  Good work, Sarah!

If you have artwork you'd like to share, visit the Henry Ford Centennial library with your piece and we'll feature it here on the blog!

Amazing Artwork

Today the lovely Mahya stopped by the desk and showed us her amazing art skills.

We loved it so much we wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy!

Don’t Miss!

Join us this week at Henry Ford Centennial Library for two no-regristration events.  Drop in and have fun with the family!

Wednesday, June 29.  10:30am.  Storytime.  Ages 2-6. 

Weather permitting we’ll meet by the fountain for storytime.  Join us for stories and rhymes celebrating '”One World, Many Stories.  All Family members are welcome, but storytime is geared for children 2-6 years old.  In the event of rain, storytime will be held indoors.

Wednesday, June 29.  11:00am – 7:00pm.  Native American Stick Game Craft.  All Ages.

We’ll be creating a fun Native American game this week.  Younger children will need adult assistance.  One craft per child. 

April Pocket Poem Challenge

April is National Poetry Month and where is the perfect place to celebrate? The library, of course!


Poetry lovers between the ages five and twelve, join our Pocket Poem Challenge!

Stop by the Henry Ford Centennial Children's Help Desk during National Poetry Month, pick up a Pocket Poem to take home and learn by heart. On your next visit by April 30, recite your poem to the librarian at the Henry Ford Centennial Children's Help Desk and receive a reward.

Looking for other ways to celebrate? Take a look at these titles:

Reading Poetry
Soup for Breakfast: Poems and Pictures by Calef Brown(Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes (Children's Non-Fiction 811.52)

Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary by Julie Larios (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Heroes and She-Roes: Poems of Amazing and Everyday Heroes by J. Patrick Lewis (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

A Pizza the Size of the Sun: Poems by Jack Prelutsky (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Down to the Sea in Ships by Philemon Sturges (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)


Writing Poetry
Haiku: Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids by Patricia Donegan (Children's Non-Fiction
811.54)

Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem From the Inside Out by Ralph J. Fletcher (Children's Non-Fiction 808.1)

Poetry From A-Z: A Guide for Young Writers (Children's Non-Fiction 808.1)

Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem by Jack Prelutsky (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme by Jack Prelutsky (Children's Non-Fiction 811.54)

Write Your Own Poetry by Laura Purdie Salas (Children's Non-Fiction 808.1)

Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to LIving the Poet's Life by Allan Wolf (Children's Non-Fiction 808.1)

Citizen Writers Contest

For all you writers out there, AdLit.org and Reading Rockets have a new writing contest. Citizen Writer focuses on citizenship and the American experience. The contest wants children and teens to "think and learn more about America's people, places, and ideals as they work on the prompts." The contest combines writing, music, and art and you choose which writing prompt you like best. There are four different writing prompts and the contest is open to Kindergarten through grade 12.




Sound like something you're interested in? Then visit Adlit.org or Reading Rockets to learn the official contest rules and read the prompts. Submit your entries by April 30, 2011. Good Luck!

Cast Your Vote!

Hello, Dearborn Readers! Head over to the Children's Choice Book Awards page to cast your vote for your favorite books of the year!


The winners will be announced on May 2nd, just in time for Children's Book Week. Cast your vote by April 29th to make sure your favorite book, author, or illustrator wins!

This year's finalists:

Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year

• Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott (Walker)
• Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord, illustrated by Derek Anderson (Scholastic)
• How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills (Schwartz & Wade/Random House)
• Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby (Putnam/Penguin)
• Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Little, Brown)

Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year

• Babymouse #12: Burns Rubber by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)
• Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray: The Uproar at the Front Door by Nick Bruel (Roaring Brook/Macmillan)
• Encyclopedia Mythologica: Gods & Heroes by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda (Candlewick)
• Finally by Wendy Mass (Scholastic)
• Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf)

Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year

• Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce (HarperCollins)
• It's a Book by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook/Macmillan)
• The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)
• Smile by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix/Scholastic)
• Zebrafish by Peter H. Reynolds and FableVision (Atheneum/S&S)

Teen Choice Book of the Year

• Burned (House of Night, Book 7) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin's Griffin/Macmillan)
• Fang (A Maximum Ride Novel) by James Patterson (Little, Brown)
• Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
• Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5) by Richelle Mead (Razorbill/Penguin)
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Dutton/Penguin)

Author of the Year

• Cassandra Clare for Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book 1) (McElderry/S&S)
• Suzanne Collins for Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) (Scholastic Press)
• Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (Amulet/Abrams)
• Stephenie Meyer for The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Megan Tingley/Little, Brown)
• Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) (Disney-Hyperion)

Illustrator of the Year

• Robin Preiss Glasser for Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique (HarperCollins)
• Loren Long for Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters (Knopf)
• Nancy Tillman for Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan)
• David Wiesner for Art & Max (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Mo Willems for Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins)

Wondering if the library has some of the nominated books? Click on the links above to go straight to the Dearborn Public Library's online catalog!

Share some of your other favorite books in the comments below!

Be Creative @ Your Library!!

Summer Reading Program Starts Today!

We have a lot of fun things going on. Crafts, storytimes and more.

Read books and get stuff! And...Summer Reading Program isn't just for Readers. Kids being read to and kids under age 3 also can participate!

Teens, Moms and Dads can talk to the Adult Reference Desk and register for their very own program.

So avoid brain rot and be creative!

We've got Art!

Our Buggy Art Exhibition opened yesterday. Here at Henry Ford Centennial, we had 14 kids and 2 kids at heart dropped off a wide range buggy art. We have a very cool dragonfly made out of all sorts of things found at home, two very informative bug towers, a Rhinocerous Beetle Ready to chomp down on a Black Widow Spider and a a cute drawing of the Very Hungry Caterpillar.








Make sure you come and see all of the great art projects on display at ALL of the Dearborn Libraries.