KDL has once again teamed up with Auntie Anne’s to offer kids a tasty reading incentive. It’s easy! Children (age 2-12) can pick up an Auntie Anne’s bookmark at their local KDL branch and when they have read six books and filled out the titles on the bookmark, they can then bring the bookmark to Auntie Anne’s for a free pretzel! Bookmark quantities are limited. Auntie Anne’s has locations in both Woodland Mall and RiverTown Crossings Mall. Please limit one bookmark per child.

If you are still using the 3.5 floppy disc, now is the time to stock up!  Sony has announced that they will no longer be selling this format and they have already stopped production after nearly 30 years.  The floppy will join the VHS and cassette tapes in our “back in my day” stories.

If you still use this format, please leave a comment below.  Or if you have a good way to recycle the ones we still have, let us know that also!

The Spring Anime Festival  will take place at the Englehardt Branch at 5:30 PM on Wednesday, May 5. This is a great opportunity for teen anime fans to meet and enjoy a common bond, learn more about various forms of anime, and expand their knowledge of anime and Japanese culture. We will have anime expert Mark Ritzema join us to answer your questions and show you some great films. Whether you’re new to anime or a complete fanatic, this is the place to be! This free event is open to all young people ages 10 and up.

KDL, in partnership with the DeVos Performance Hall, is giving away tickets to Storytime Live! Drop by any KDL branch location now through May 14 and register to win. Each of our 18 branches will be giving away a family four-pack of tickets to the Storytime Live! performance on June 2 at 7:00 PM.

Storytime Live! is the first-ever live family theatrical tour featuring characters from four of the current top-rated preschool shows on television today: Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, The Wonder Pets! and Ni Hao, Kai-lan.  Preschoolers and their parents can see their favorite Nick Jr. characters come to life in one action-packed on-stage adventure hosted by Nick Jr.’s Moose A. Moose and Zee.  Storytime Live! is coming to Grand Rapids with shows at DeVos Performance Hall at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, June 1, and 10:30 AM and 7:00 PM on Wednesday, June 2.

Tickets are on sale at the Van Andel Arena box office or through Ticketmaster.

On Wednesday, April 21st at 11:00 a.m., approximately 225 community members and library and local officials celebrated the long-awaited groundbreaking of the over 17,000-square-foot Caledonia Township Library.  The new library is planned to achieve silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), with an expected opening in January of 2011. 

The new library will feature a local history room, large early literacy area and children’s library, a teen area, quiet study rooms, a community meeting room, drive-up book return, and more!  Watch it being built at 6260 92nd Street.  For more information, visit http://www.newcaledonialibrary.com/

Having recently been a part of the successful community reading program entitled Grandville Reads, KDL’s Grandville Branch would like to thank the Grandville community for all of their tremendous support. Through this initiative, the library, along with Grandville schools, local business, and residents were encouraged to read and discuss the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, or the children’s book Listen to the Wind.

The event featured a variety of programs and activities, such as a visit at GVSU from Greg Mortenson, and school visits from Susan Roth, illustrator of Listen to the Wind.  The schools used the books in their classes and made related art projects, while the library had discussion groups and a photo contest.  The community also rallied together to raise over $8000 for Pennies for Peace, a fundraiser for the Central Asia Institute, an organization dedicated to building schools for women in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Below is a brief slide show featuring photos of event-related activities.

 If you participated in Grandville Reads, we’d love to hear what you think!

KDL, in partnership with the Lowell Community Education Department, presents an Early Childhood Essentials Day of Learning. Parents and childcare providers are invited to attend and choose two of the four available breakout sessions:

• The five myths of child development
• Autistic spectrum disorder
• Read-aloud tips and tricks
• Baby sign language

Sessions fulfill state-required professional development hours for childcare providers.

This half-day workshop will take place from 9:00 AM – 12:45 PM on Saturday, May 1 at the Lowell Area Schools Administration Building (300 High Street).

Registration is required, and participation is limited. Please call 784-2007 for more information or to register.

It somtimes seems like just about everyone has an Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, or even one of the new iPad* devices. If you are one of them, you can now download free library audiobooks directly to it! Our OverDrive downloadable audiobook service recently announced the release of an iPhone audiobook app. After downloading the free app from iTunes or the Apple App Store, users will be able to download MP3 audiobooks directly to their devices from the eAudiobook website.

OverDrive has previously released a similar product for Windows Mobile, Android, and BlackBerry phones.

• Download OverDrive Media Console for iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad

• Download OverDrive Media Console for BlackBerry, Android or Windows Mobile

• Browse OverDrive’s collection of MP3 audiobooks (for a mobile-friendly version, click here)

(* Special note about the new Apple iPad: Unfortunately, the iPad is not compatible with OverDrive’s library eBooks at this time.)

One wonderful thing about the Internet is that there are a lot of craft and activities available.  Since Earth Day is this week, I thought I would suggest some sites that have activity or craft suggestions.  Just remember that this can be done for most crafts and holidays by using your favorite search engine (like Google) and typing the type of craft/activity you are looking to do.

The first site I found that looked really interesting is kaboose.com, which has a special section devoted to Earth Day 2010.  There are crafts, games, puzzles, projects and coloring pages, basically something for everyone!

Another site is from about.com, which lists a bunch of different recycled craft ideas.  About.com is a diverse site that has a lot of other crafts as well.  Meaning, if you are looking for crafts, about.com is not a bad place to start!

I am a fan of the Disney FamilyFun Magazine and use that site for crafts as well as recipes.  One nice thing  is that the current issue highlights are available online. As it happens, there are a few really creative craft ideas for Earth Day.  I love that frog!  But don’t forget to look at their other recycled craft projects for some great ideas!

Celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) with KDL. Children of all ages are invited to come enjoy traditional Mexican crafts, music, and other activities.

Celebrations will take place at 1:30 PM on Sunday, April 25 at the Cascade Branch, and at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, May 4 at the Krause Memorial Branch.

Children’s Day/Book Day, founded by author Pat Mora in 1996, is a daily commitment to link all children to books, languages, and cultures.