THIS YEAR'S SUMMER READING PROGRAM

Read! For what it's worth,
You just might save Planet Earth! -- Monique

SPLASH INTO THE LIBRARY! We have many new books on board just waiting for you to dive into.  When you complete your eight hour summer reading log you will earn a grand prize. AND while your are earning your grand prize check out our awesome free summer programs happening at our branches.  While you're earning your grand prize, don't forget to visit us for our weekly branch raffles.  

GET CREATIVE ALL SUMMER LONG!  Roll up your sleeves and make some really cool crafts with recycled materials, come see magicians, musicians, dancers, and puppet shows, watch a few films, find out WHAT YOU CAN DO to help  our oceans, rivers and streams. Click on the What's Happening This Week button to find out more.

OH! and before we forget... If you read 16 hours you can enter into the SUPER RAFFLE.  And we have some awesome prizes this year.  See below for more information.

Who can sign-up?
Kids ages birth to 13 sign up at their local branch or bookmobile and record the amount of time they spend reading or being read to by someone else.

Why:
It’s fun! It's free! And we're in your neighborhood. Come check out the thousands of new books we have waiting for you. While you're here, surf our audio books. They're perfect for those long summer car rides, and shhhhhhh! you might find some movies while you are browsing our shelves.  Oh! yes! our prizes are very cool. So get off that couch! Come visit us all summer long. Make sure to stop by and say hi to your librarian -- they can find that book  just right for you.

Where:
Your local library (sign up at ONE location)
When:
Saturday, June 5th and ends on July 31, 2010
How:
Read 15 minutes or more each week and visit your local library to enter the Weekly Branch Raffle (one ticket per kid per week).

Weekly raffle prizes at each branch include:  Signed SF Giants baseball ;  passes to: Asian Art Museum; California Academy of Sciences, SF Zoo.

Read 8 hours to complete the program and win your choice of  a Grand Prize.
Grand Prize Choices include:
--A book
--A drawing tablet designed by Ashley Wolff --comes with a multi-colored pencil.
--Tickets to Aquarium of the Bay; Bay Area Discovery Museum; De Young Museum; Japanese Tea Garden; Presidio Bowl; S.F. Giants game; Zeum

Kids who read 16 hours can enter into a raffle for the SUPER RAFFLE.
--Family membership to a local museum or the zoo
--Sail on the Bay on a Catamaran for a family of 4
--Whale Watching for a family of 4
--Fishing Trip for a family of 4

 Kids who continue to read after they’ve earned the 8 hour Grand Prize can keep entering the Weekly Branch Raffle.

And finally, here's a huge thanks to author Ashley Wolff for designing our beautiful summer reading poster!

ONLINE SIGN-UP: FOR BERNAL AND MAIN BRANCHES ONLY

 If your Home Library is either Bernal Heights or Main Branch you can be part of our trial of the online Summer Reading Club! If you got your library card at another one of our branches you will not be able to complete the online registration. Please ask your librarian if you have any questions.

Click here if you got your library card at the MAIN BRANCH.
Click here if you got your library card at BERNAL BRANCH.

THE BLUE ZONE

Be a Part of the Solution, Not the Pollution.

Water! Every living thing needs it. So here’s this summer’s challenge for you,  Water Your Imagination and find ways you can help protect our water systems. We can Turn the Tide on Trash !

Let’s start with the world's oceans:                                

• Generates most of the oxygen we breathe
• Helps feed us
• Regulates our climate
• Cleans the water we drink
• Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
• Provides limitless inspiration!

Now let’s give back!

Change perspective - encourage friends and family to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.
Learn - discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.
Change our ways - we are all connected to the ocean! By taking care of your backyard, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small changes to your everyday habits will greatly benefit our blue planet.
Celebrate - whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

Grab some friends and join SURFRIDER FOUNDATION for Summer Clean-ups at Ocean Beach:

Surfrider Foundations has bi-monthly clean-ups. This summer’s dates are

June 6, June 20, July 11, July 18, Aug 1 and August 15.

For more information:
http://www.sfsurfrider.org/programs/cleanups.htm

 

MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO!

Sunday

Start the week off fresh by filling a pitcher with tap water and storing it in your fridge. You'll have a cool, refreshing beverage at your fingertips and you'll save water by not waiting for the tap to run cold each time you and your family members are thirsty.

Monday

Close the Hose! Water outside only when necessary. If you know Mother Nature plans to water the garden, you won't have to. It is also a good idea to water early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid evaporation during the warmest part of the day.

Tuesday

Don't let the faucet run. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. You'll save about 100 gallons of water per month once this habit becomes second nature. Does anyone else in your family leave the faucet on when they brush their teeth, shave, etc.?

Wednesday

There is no such thing as a little drip. A leaky faucet with a drip of just 1/16 of an inch in diameter (about this big -o-) can waste 10 gallons of water every day! Stop that drip by replacing worn washers and valve seals with help from your parents.

Thursday

Take a shorter shower today. Set a timer for five minutes and get out when it rings. It is also a good idea to install a low-flow shower head. Water savings can really add up when you control the flow--you could save about 450 gallons each month!

Friday

Check all the plumbing in your home. Proper maintenance is one of the most effective water savers. Faucet washers are inexpensive and take only a few minutes and a wrench to replace. Check all water taps, hoses and hose connections for leaks.

Saturday

Be aware of how you use water today by keeping a journal. Write down each time you turn on the tap, how long it was on, and what you used that water for. Keeping track of the water you used will make you more aware and teach you to make every drop count.

Source: Adapted from "Be Water Wise: 7 Ways in 7 Days" by the American Water Works Association

COOL WEBSITES TO CHECK OUT:

NAME THAT CRITTER!


MORE GOOD INFO!

http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MC_ID/13/MSC_ID/410/MTO_ID/685/C_ID/3598/Keyword/KIDS

CRAFT OF THE WEEK

Recycled Craft #3 Paper Butterflies
Make lots of these and decorate your room!

1. Each butterfly will need a large square and a smaller square of paper. Try using old magazines, newspapers and left over colored papers. You can mix types of paper for fun effects.
2. Make designs on the paper or choose used printed paper that looks intersting to you.
3. Starting at the tip, fold a large and a small sheet accordion-style.
4. Pinch the two together in the middle and hold in place with either a twisty tie or pipecleaner.
5. Gently pull apart the folds to reveal your butterfly! You might also want to trim the edges to shape the wings a bit.

















Recycled Craft #1
Here's a simple way to make paper beads from recycled paper, follow the pictures below!

SUMMER READING LIST

Here's our list of Summer Reading suggestions. Have you read any of these books? Post your comments at the end of this list and we'll respond. (You can click on any title below for more info. about that book) Thanks!  Go to end of list.

Young Listeners
Arnold, Ted....No More Water in the Tub
Aronsky Jim....Otters under Water
Base, Graeme....The Water Hole
Berkes, Marianne....Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef
Blackstone, Stella....Secret Seahorse
Carle, Eric....10 Little Rubber Ducks
Cooper, Elisha....Beach
Cotton, Cynthia....Rain Play
Gayzagian, Doris K.....One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book
Glaser, Omri...Round the Garden
Hamilton, K.R....This Is the Ocean
Hesse, Karen...Come On Rain!
Hest, Amy....In the Rain with Baby Duck
Jackson, Shelley...The Old Woman and the Wave
Locker, Thomas...Water Dance
McDonnell, Flora...Splash!
Mitton, Tony....Down By the Cool of the Pool
Muth, John....Stone Soup
Omerod, Jan....Water Witcher
Rose, Deborah Lee...Ocean Babies
Rosen, Michael J.....All Eyes on the Pond
Schaefer, Lola...This Is the Rain
Yashima, Taro...Umbrella
Whippo, Walt Little....Little White Duck

Fiction
Babbitt, Natalie....Tuck Everlasting
Bracegirdle, P. J.....Fiendish Deeds
Bruel, Nick....Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
Creech, Sharon....The Wanderer
Dadee, Debby....Monsters Don’t Scuba Dive
Dewey, Ariane....Splash!
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee....The Conch Bearer: A Novel
Farmer, Nancy...Sea of Trolls
Hesse, Karen....The Music of Dolphins
Hiassen, Carl....Flush
Hoffman, Alice....Aquamarine; Indigo
Kessler, Liz....Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist
King-Smith, Dick....The Water Horse
Lawrence, Caroline....The Dolphins of Laurentum
McClatchy, Lisa....Eloise’s Pirate Adventure
Meyer, Kai...Pirate Curse
Rylant, Cynthia....Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea
Stewart, Paul....Beyond the Deepwoods
Warmer, Gertrude Chandler....The Ghost of the Chattering Bones
Weeks, Sarah...Drip, Drop
Willems, Mo....Are You Ready to Play Outside?

Non- Fiction
Aardema, Verna....Princess Gorilla and a New Kind of Water
Arnold, Caroline....Super Swimmers: Whales, Dolphins and Other Mammals of the Sea
Aardema, Verna....Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
Arnosky, Jim.....Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore
Bass, Scott....Surf! Your Guide to Longboarding, Shortboarding, Tubing, Aerials, Hanging Ten, and More
Branley, Franklin...Down Comes the Rain
Coleman, Kathy...Under the Ice
Dayrell, Elphinstone...Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
Dorros, Arthur....Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
Esbensen, Barbara Juster....Baby Whales Drink Milk
Gerson, Mary-Joan....How Night Came from the Sea: A Story from Brazil
Goldin, Augusta....Ducks Don’t Get Wet
Greger. C. Shana....Cry of the Benu Bird: An Egyptian Creation Story
Hooper, Meredith....The Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet
Jaffe, Nina....The Golden Flower
Kearns, Geri....Snail Girl Brings Water: A Navajo Story
Kinghorn, Jenna....Seashore Life
Leardi, Jeanette....Southern Sea Otters
Magloff, Lisa....Penguin
Mannis, Celeste....Snapshots: The Wonders of Monterey Bay
Mara, Wil...Beavers
Mason, Paul....How to Improve at Swimming
McKenzie, Michelle....Jellyfish Inside Out
Neye Emily.... Water
Parker, Steve....It’s a Frog’s Life!
Rauzon, Mark....Water, Water Everywhere
Relf, Patricia....The Magic School Bus Wet all Over: A Book about the Water Cycle
Ryan, Pam Munoz...Nacho and Lolita
San Souci, Robert D.....Sukey and the Mermaid
Shehata, Kat....San Francisco’s Famous Sea Lions
Sidman, Joyce....Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems
Stockdale, Susan....Fabulous Fishes
Strauss, Rochelle....One Well: The Story of Water on Earth
Thomas, Sarah L.....Amazing Whales!
Wick, Walter....A Drop of Water
Woodward, John....Water
Zimmermann, Karl....Ocean Liners: Crossing and Cruising the Seven Seas
Please comment!

COOL WEBSITES

Sites for Younger Kids
Sites for Older Kids
W.O.W. (Website Of Week)
Do you have a great website we should know about!? Let us know by posting at the end of this list.Thanks! Click to post comments.

Younger Kids
BETWEEN THE LIONShttp://pbskids.org/lions/
This early literacy site, for children ages 4-7, is a tie-in for the award-winning television program. Appealing characters, terrific songs and
GOODNIGHT STORIEShttp://www.goodnightstories.com/
This is the place to come if you want to curl up with a good cyber book or just play a game.
LITTLE EXPLORERS
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/Dictionary.html
Click on a letter of the alphabet and connect to, not one, but many, many pictures of works with that letter and hot links to Web sites about that word.
NICKELODEON JRhttp://www.nickjr.com
From the people who bring you the Nickelodeon Channel, this site is created for younger children and has a variety of games, activities and fun.
PAULY'S PLAYHOUSE
http://www.paulysplayhouse.com
Games, sounds, and a gallery of cartoons mostly for very young Web- surfers with a high-speed Web connection. The site also includes links to shopping and travel sites for parents.
PLAYHOUSE DISNEY
http://disney.go.com/playhouse/today/index.html
Games, songs and activities feature characters from the Disney network.
SESAME STREET CENTRALhttp://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/
The kids’ activities page with your friends from Sesame Street. Play games with Prairie Dawn, Elmo, and the Cookie Monster.
THE CRAYOLA HOME PAGE
http://www.crayola.com/index.cfm
Everything you always wanted to know about crayons.
THE WORLD OF VICTOR
http://www.theworldofvictor.net/
Have fun with Victor, a toddler on the move. There are lots of games and sounds to play with, including puzzles, music, coloring, and mixed-up animals. Available in English, Japanese, Spanish, and French.
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE PAGEhttp://www.hitentertainment.com/thomasandfriends/official_thomas_the_tank_engine_website.htm Calling all Thomas the Tank Engine fans! Stories, games, and fun.
TINY PLANETShttp://www.tinyplanets.com
Bing and Bong, aliens from the Tiny Planets, offer games related to technology, nature, light and color.
ZIGGITY ZOOMhttp://www.ziggityzoom.com
This site offers a variety that will appeal to preschool and younger elementary age children. Online and printable activities are available. In development is an area of “virtual worlds” where children can interact with their favorite characters like pirates and princesses.

Older Kids
CHINOOK
http://web.cs.ualberta.ca/~chinook/
Computer generated Checkers. “A long-term objective of solving the game of checkers, i.e. determining the game-theoretic value of checkers.” This is a very tough game.
CRAZY BONE
http://www.crazybone.com
Have fun with dozens of on-line games, jokes, magic tricks, recipes, tongue twisters and coloring sheets.
DISCOVERY SCHOOL'S PUZZLEMAKER
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com
Puzzlemaker is a fun and easy puzzle generation tool for all ages that allows users to create and print customized word search, crossword and math puzzles using your own word lists.
ENIGMA
http://www.stephen.com/enigma/enigma.html
This is a sliding puzzle site based on a toy of years ago. It offers interesting challenges and is totally addictive.
JOAN IRVINE: THE POP-UP LADY
http://www.makersgallery.com/joanirvine/
Joan Irvine is a Canadian author of children’s craft books. Three of the books have instructions on how to make pop-up cards, a set of pop-up instructions, and a contest. Includes links to other pop-up sites.
OFFICIAL DISNEY WEB SITE
http://www.disney.go.com/home/today/index.html
Movies, animation—everything Disney!
OFFICIAL STAR WARS WEB SITE
http://www.starwars.com/
For Star Wars fans everywhere!
PENTALPHA
http://www.darkfish.com/pentalpha/Pentalpha.html
Solve this challenging puzzle on a very cool board and then let your friends try solving it. More of a puzzle than a game, the rules are a bit arcane. Requires Java/32-bit browsers.
PUZZLE CHOICE.COM
http://www.puzzlechoice.com/pc/Puzzle_Choicex.html
Choose from crosswords, word searches, word play games, logic and number puzzles and more.
SQUIGLY'S PLAYHOUSE
http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com
Look here for games, crafts, jokes, brainteasers and more.
End of List

WHAT ARE YOU READING!?

Here's where you can share with other kids what you're reading this summer. We'll post what we're reading too (see below.) If you try any of ours, write back and let us know what you thought. Thanks!--Children's Librarian Staff
Go to Comments

Gideon the Cutpurse : Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy 
by Linda Buckley-Archer
Looking for the next best series!? Well, look no further as this is a hot ticket. Peter and Kate, 12, have literally stumbled from the 21st century back to 1763. Their time travel must be connected to the antigravity machine Kate's father has been working on, but since it has been stolen by a vicious criminal called The Tar Man, they really have no choice but to trust Gideon, the stranger whose offer of help seems genuine enough, even if he is known as a cutpurse.  --Valerie


Lets do Nothing!  by Tony Fucile
This picture book is hilarious. Frankie and Sal have run out of things to do: "We've played every sport ever invented" and "baked enough cookies to feed a small country--" Then Sal hits upon a solution: "Let's do nothing!" How hard could that be? Maybe not a problem for Sal, the older kid, but Frankie's wild imagination causes the whole plan to run wild. --Valerie

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
On a perfectly ordinary day, Peter Augustus Duchene goes to market. Instead of buying the fish and bread that his guardian, Vilna Lutz, has asked him to buy he uses the coin to pay a fortune-teller to get information about his sister, whom he believes to be dead. He is told that she is alive, and that an elephant will lead him to her. That very night at a performance in the town's opera house, a magician conjures up an elephant (by mistake) that crashes through the roof. And once again, you find yourself in a wonderful story by Kate DiCamillo. --Laura

Creature by Andre Zuckerman Breathtaking is the word for this alphabet book.  The sharp focused photographs have amazing detail. On each spread, a letter of the alphabet is presented in large, bold font in its capital and lowercase form along with a teasing photograph which adds to the fun of an animal guessing game.  Please comment!--Laura