By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette
We are gearing up for our last week of our summer reading program. Remember that all summer reading logs must be turned into the library by closing time on Thursday, June 27 in order to be included in the prize drawing. On Friday, June 28 at 11 a.m., we will have our Summer Reading Program Reading Prize Party.
All School Reunion
Because of the All-School Reunion, the library will have extended hours on Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6. We will be open both days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to allow people to have extra time to look at class displays and class composite photos. Additionally, the library will be playing Al Bell videos.
On Saturday July 6, Donald Todd, Jr. will be speaking at 11 a.m. in the Taylor Meeting Room about his father, Dr. Donald Todd, Sr., and Dr. Todd’s medical practice with Dr. Herbert Neff.
Friends of the Library
Friends of the Library will be meeting Tuesday, July 2 at 6:15 p.m. Everyone who would like to support the library is invited to join.
Library Closed
A reminder that the MJB Library will be closed on Thursday, July 4 to celebrate Independence Day.
Story Hour
The Preschool StoryHour will resume on Friday, July 5 at 10 a.m. It will continue through the summer each Friday beginning at 10 a.m. The theme of story hour on July 5 is Independence Day. On July 12, bugs will be the focus while summer is the topic of July 19 story hour. Food Fun is the theme of the July 26 Story Hour.
Book Club
Between the Covers Book Club will meet on Tuesday, July 9 at 3 p.m. The group will be discussing “Mornings on Horseback” by David McCullough. This highly acclaimed biography of Theodore Roosevelt looks at his early life, overcoming near-fatal asthma and a unique childhood to grow into the man who became our 26th President. If you’d like to join the book club, stop in the library and check out a copy of this fascinating book.
Cookbook Club
Cookbook Club will meet on Thursday, July 18 at 6:15 p.m. This month, recipes will be selected from the 2024 Taste of Home magazines. If you wish to participate in the cookbook club, please stop in the library and choose a recipe to prepare for the meeting. The night of the meeting, bring your dish, your appetite, and be ready to discuss the month’s recipes.
Card Making Club
Card Making Club will meet on Thursday, July 18 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The $5 fee covers the cost of all the materials you will need to create one-of-a-kind handmade greeting cards.
New Books
Frieda McFadden fans, the wait is over. The third book in the Housemaid series, “The Housemaid is Watching,” is in and available for check-out. You may reserve it using our online card catalog.
We have some timely, new nonfiction at MJB Library. “The Anxious Generation” by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt addresses adolescent mental health issues. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide have increased at an alarming rate in the past decade. Haidt lays out the facts of teen mental illness that is impacting many countries at the same time. Then he investigates how childhood has moved from being play-based prior to 2010 to being almost entirely “phone based.” Haidt discusses how the social and neurological development of children has been impacted by social media, screens, and virtual reality. The book concludes with steps that parents can take to reverse these issues.
“The Situation Room” by George Stephanopoulos, former senior advisor to President Clinton and host of “The Week” and “Good Morning America,” records never-before-told accounts of 12 history-changing events decided in the White House Situation Room. The epicenter of crisis management, the Situation Room was created under President Kennedy. This book shares detailed transcripts of events including the shootings of President Kennedy and President Reagan, shocking moments when Henry Kissinger raised the military alert level to DEFCON III while President Nixon was drunk in the White House residence, events after 9/11 and the first ever account of events from Jan. 6 from the staff inside the Situation Room.
The sensory tree is one of the new pieces purchased for the children’s area with the ALA LTC Round 2 Grant. Seventy people attended the Friday summer reading program at the MJB Library. It was a great day to learn about science. During the Absolute Science Foam Show, the presenter created a Rice Krispie Fountain to demonstrate what happens to electrically charged cereal. Our presenter from Absolute Foam Science and his assistant demonstrate how refraction works using glass test tubes immersed in vegetable oil. Participants in the STEM workshop presented by Guthrie County ISU Extension last Wednesday show off their projects from the No Monkeys, No Chocolate workshop. Summer reading participants are spending some time reading in the new reading area. The furnishings were purchased with funds from the ALA LTC Round 2 Grant. Hadley Knobbe shows that mixing science with electricity can be a hair-raising experience. The presenter and five volunteer scientists in training demonstrate the results of this exothermic reaction, which resulted in a colorful foam display. Cookbook Club members brought dishes from the “State Fair Cookbook,” which is available at MJB Library for checkout.
