By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette
Back to school displays are popping up in stores, and advertisements for school supplies are seemingly everywhere — the universal sign for the end of summer. So, before the summer runs out and kids have to actually use those new backpacks and notebooks, squeeze a little more summer into your lives with the help of the MJB Library.
Schedule a family fun day using the library Adventure Pass. Paid for by The Guthrie Center Friends of the Library, the Adventure Pass is available to patrons with a Guthrie Center address to use once each 365 days for each venue. With the pass, patrons can get two adult and two children’s admissions for free. The Blank Park Zoo, The Children’s Museum and The Des Moines Science Center are the three venues that are available. Schedule from the Mary J. Barnett Library website.
Join us on Wednesday, Aug. 7 for the Magic Show that will be at 3:30 p.m. at the library. The show is designed for children of all ages. Come and be amazed and entertained.
Bring the kids in to get their own library card and check out some fun books to read together. No matter how old they are, kids love to be read to (We all love that! Why do you think audiobooks are so popular?) Parents and grandparents, do you realize that reading aloud is the most important thing you can do to support literacy?
Reading aloud has so many benefits. Increasing vocabulary is one of the greatest advantages of reading aloud to children. Reading aloud allows kids to hear new words, and children are more likely to incorporate them into their speech after hearing the words used.
Reading aloud helps children understand grammar better by exposing them to complex sentence structures and proper grammar. Hearing standard grammar helps kids discern how to speak and write properly.
General knowledge is increased by reading aloud. Sharing a story together also helps children understand a sense of story; they learn how a literature is structured. The greatest benefit of reading aloud is that it makes reading more pleasurable. That time spent reading together is fun and special. Reading isn’t a chore. Some of my best memories are reading aloud time — first, with my mom, listening to favorite teachers in school, sharing amazing books after recess, and, later, snuggling and reading with my own kids.
For kids who love audio books, we have a large selection of Playaways. The Playaways are self-contained audiobooks that require no Wi-Fi. The battery operated audiobooks just require you to plug in headphones or plug them in with an auxiliary cord while riding in the car.
We also have Vox and Wonderbooks — read-along books that also have an audiobook attached to the hardcover book. These books are great for little people who can’t read yet for those times when your little one wants to hear a story but you’re not able to read to them. Read-alongs are also great from emerging and struggling readers. Listening to the book while following the text aids in comprehension and helps with fluency. The great thing is we have many levels of read along books, including picture books, beginning readers and chapter books.
If you have a child younger than 5 years old, be sure to sign him or her up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This program, started by Parton in 1995, is designed to promote a love of reading by sending books to children free of charge from birth until age 5. Due to a sponsorship by Partnerships 4 Families Early Childhood Iowa, children in Audubon, Carroll, Greene and Guthrie Counties are eligible. Go to the Imagination Library website or stop in the MJB Library for help to get signed up.
Preschool children are also encouraged to sign up for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Reading 1,000 books to your child before kindergarten will promote reading readiness. We welcome all preschool kids to sign up for this program at our library.
Author Scott Reister shows off his batting skills while posing with Burton Bendickson following his presentation about his new book, “Baseball Spy.”
He’s out! Jaxon Knobbe tags special guest Scott Reister during his question-and-answer time with young patrons who came to learn about Reister’s new book.
Sportscaster and author Scott Reister poses with his young fans following the presentation he did on Wednesday, July 31, at the MJB Library. Reister’s new children’s book, “Baseball Spy,” is an Amazon Bestseller and is available to check out from the MJB Library.