Library News
It’s not too late to walk among the dinosaurs. Join us on the library patio for Dinosaurs at Dusk Thursday, August 11 at 6:30 p.m. We’ll be showcasing the wooden works of art created by our own, Jack Neuzil. You may have seen some of the dinosaurs hanging around the library, but we’ll be pulling out even more of his magnificent creatures for you to take pictures with, read to, and enjoy.
Explore uncharted territories with The Iowa Children’s Museum. Learn different ways of getting from here to there using maps at various activity stations. Join us on the library lawn as we navigate off the beaten path Monday, August 15 at 10 a.m.
The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program promotes early literacy and a love of reading from birth. Numerous studies estimate that as many as one in five children have difficulties learning to read. Reading has been associated as an early indicator of academic success. Public formal education does not typically start until ages 5-6. Before then, parents and caregivers are the first education providers during the 0-5 early critical years. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge is a simple (read a book, any book to your child, with the goal of reading 1,000 before kindergarten) and very manageable endeavor. Pick up reading logs to keep track of the books you’re reading together. Once your log is complete, visit us at the library for a picture. We’ll add your photo to the windows as we celebrate all the books you’ve read.
We’ve been busy all summer as we had adventures and read amazing books that took us beyond the beaten path. Our summer reading program wraps up Saturday, August 20. Be sure you’ve turned in your completed reading and secret code slips, claimed your raffle tickets in READsquared, and picked out your small prizes at the library by the end of the day. Grand prize winners will be drawn the following week.
Certified yoga instructor, Julie Ellen, leads us in Chair Yoga Mondays at 12:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Participants have rejoiced in their increased flexibility and strength, come see what it’s all about. This free, hour-long class is brought to you in partnership with Solon Senior Support.
What’s new?
The new shelves are always changing, here are a few new titles we’re excited about.
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin. Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence. Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them. As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.
The Record Keeper by Charles Martin (Book 3 in the Murphy Trilogy). “Because you’re worth rescue.” Murphy Shepherd’s last rescue mission very nearly cost him his life. He’d like nothing more than to stay close to his wife and daughters for a while. But Bones’s brother must be stopped, and there are so many who still need to know they are worth rescuing. As the cat-and-mouse game moves into the open, Murphy is tested at every turn—both physically and mentally. Then the unthinkable happens: his beloved mentor and friend is taken. Gone without a trace. Murphy lives by the mantra that love always shows up. But how can he rescue Bones when he has no leads?
Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen. London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service, her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go. Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Awed as she is by the magnificent landscape, Josie sees opportunity. Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop, seeing it as a chance for everyone to begin again. When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot stationed at a neighboring bomber base, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace she’s never felt before. Then Stan returns from the war. Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again. Her newfound courage will be put to the test if she is to emerge, like a survivor, triumphant.