"White Christmas" - Holiday Display

If you have been busy lately with holiday activities, you may not have seen our latest display window by Antonia Russo. Patrons have been enjoying this peaceful, fantasy winter scene. Toni has dedicated this display, titled White Christmas, to Irving Berlin's classic Christmas song of the same name. The display will be up through mid-January.

No Storytime This Week

There will be no Tuesday morning storytime on December 28. We will be back to our regular schedule on January 5th.

Holiday Hours at the Library

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

'Tis the season for holiday stories! On Tuesday, December 22, we will be reading Christmas stories and making a candy cane craft. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Puzzle Kings and Queens

Way back in November, we set out a jigsaw puzzle on one of the back tables for National Puzzle Month. It was such a hit that we decided to continue leaving out a different puzzle after each one was completed. Here are Zach and Haley with another finished puzzle!

No Pajama Time Wednesday Dec. 23rd or 30th

We will be taking a break from Pajama Time December 23rd and 30th for the holidays. Pajama Time will resume Wednesday January 6th. Have a wonderful holiday!

The New Shelf is Overflowing!

A few weeks ago, the library received a very generous donation from the Coralville/North Corridor Rotary Club. The donation allowed us to buy over 170 new books!! We used the money to purchase new materials in the junior fiction and early chapter book sections. The primary focus was on updating series that we already owned and buying new series for each area. Here are some examples of the series we purchased or updated: Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls by Meg Cabot The Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka Funny Families by Jackie French Regarding the Fountain by Kate and Sarah Klise Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III by Cressida Cowell Andrew Lost by J.C. Greenburg Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen Suddenly Supernatural by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel The Baseball Card Adventures by Dan Gutman Stink by Megan McDonald And many more! We also bought one more copy of each of the Iowa Children's Choice Award nominees for the 2009-2010 school year. So we now have two copies of each title. Most of these book can be found on the junior fiction new shelves, but not everything would fit, so some things are in the beginning chapter book blue dot section or the junior fiction section.

Who's ready for a party? On Tuesday, December 15, storytime is all about birthdays! We will be reading one of my favorite books, A Birthday For Cow by Jan Thomas. We won't be doing a craft this week because we are doing something really special instead. I don't want to give away the surprise, but it is going to be really fun! The picture is a hint of what we are going to do. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

When Santa Came to the Library

Thursday night was the holiday party at the library and we all had so much fun! Even though the weather conditions were not ideal, families ventured out for the party and we had a much bigger crowd than we had expected. Santa was a big hit and so were the crafts. Everyone got to make their own scratch board star ornament and decorate a Christmas tree with stickers. We are so glad that we decided not to cancel the program, and we want to thank everyone who came. More pictures can be found at our Flickr page.

Pajama time with Kelly Wednesday, December 16th at 7pm.

Put your pajamas on, grab your favorite bear, and come to the children's section of the library to relax and share stories and rhymes. This weekly program is designed for children under 7 and their families. The program will last approximately 30 minutes. It is a great way to get ready for bed (toothbrush optional)!

Donations, Donations

We get a lot of phone calls at the library asking if we accept donations. Well the answer is a resound YES!! We love to get donations of books magazines, videos, DVDs, and puzzles. Whether it is just one item or a whole box full we are always happy to receive a donation. We go through every donation and decide whether it should be added to the collection or if it should go to the Friends of the Library for one of their book sales. In either case, the item will be used by one person, or many people. A lot of the donations are used to replace older, worn out copies of popular titles. For example, our copy of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons has seen better days. It has been taped and glued more times than we can count. So if anyone has a copy of that book they no longer need, we will gladly accept it! There are a few things that we cannot accept as donations. We will not take any Reader's Digest condensed books or textbooks. Also, anything that is moldy or dirty. Other than that we would love to have it! So the next time you are cleaning out your shelves, feel free to bring any unwanted books over to the library!

Last Chance to Bid

This week is the last chance to bid on the hand-crafted dollhouse at the library. Proceeds from the sale of the house will go to the library foundation. This is also your last chance to take home one of the Christmas trees in the library. Bidding is becoming intense for the twenty trees that were donated by families, business, and clubs in the community. Money from the auction will go to Habitat for Humanity. Both auctions end at noon on Saturday, December 12, so be here to make sure your bid is the winner!

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

On Tuesday, December 8, the storytime theme will be horses. So gallop on over to the library for some fun horse stories and a horse craft. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Holiday Party at the Library!

Come to the library and meet Santa! When: Thursday, December 10 at 6:30 Where: Solon Public Library Meeting Room and Main Room What: Refreshments, Crafts, and Santa himself! Bring your own camera to get a picture with Santa! Registration is required. Call or stop in at the library to sign up. You can also sign up by emailing jleveck at solon.lib.ia.us.

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

1, 2, 3, 4! On Tuesday, December 1, storytime will be all about counting. We will be reading Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh and making our own mouse pictures. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Pajama time with Kelly Wednesday, December 2nd at 7pm.

Put your pajamas on, grab your favorite bear, and come to the children's section of the library to relax and share stories and rhymes. This weekly program is designed for children under 7 and their families. The program will last approximately 30 minutes. It is a great way to get ready for bed (toothbrush optional)!

Holiday Hours

The library will be closed on Thursday, November 26 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The library will be open regular hours on Wednesday and Friday, but there will be no pajama time on Wednesday night. I hope everybody has a great holiday!

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Happy Thanksgiving! On Tuesday, November 24 we will be reading Thanksgiving stories and making turkeys. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Celebrate National Puzzle Month

November is National Puzzle Month and visiting the library is the perfect way to celebrate! We have a Sudoku handout that you can take with you and try. Or you could add a few pieces to the puzzle we have set out on the back table. If you don't have time to work on a puzzle here at the library, you can take home one of the dozens of jigsaw puzzles we have available for checkout. Here are the three lucky people who finished up one of the puzzles we set out.

Dollhouse Silent Auction

The Solon Public Library Foundation is auctioning off this beautiful handcrafted dollhouse made by Larry Pugh. It is 30 inches high, 24 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. It is on display near the circulation desk at the library. Bidding in the silent auction will continue through noon on December 12th. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Solon Library Foundation. This is a great opportunity to purchase a one-of-a-kind item and support the library.

Vote For Your Favorite Tree

The Habitat for Humanity 5th Annual Tree Decorating Contest is well under way. There are twenty trees entered this year!! All of the entries are on display at the library and you can vote for your favorite. Prizes will be given to the three trees with the most votes. There is also a silent auction to purchase each tree with the proceeds going towards Habitat for Humanity. The silent auction will end at noon on December 12th.

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Hop on over to the library on Tuesday, November 17, for stories about rabbits. We will read a really great new book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal called Duck! Rabbit! The craft will be making a rabbit with fuzzy whiskers. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Pajama time with Kelly Wednesday, November18th at 7pm.

Put your pajamas on, grab your favorite bear, and come to the children's section of the library to relax and share stories and rhymes. This weekly program is designed for children under 7 and their families. The program will last approximately 30 minutes. It is a great way to get ready for bed (toothbrush optional)!

Sparkling Art Projects

On Thursday, school let out early in Solon, so some of the 1st and 2nd graders came to the library and made sparkling art projects. Everybody could either color a picture or draw their own onto card stock. Then we painted over the pictures with a mixture of Epsom salt, water, and glitter. They finished off the project by decorating a frame for their picture. We all had a great time and everybody's pictures turned out very beautiful and extra glittery! Click on the picture below to see more pictures from the program.

Gingerbread House Fun

We had our annual Family Gingerbread House Decorating Program at the library and it was so much fun! Even though it was a little stuffy in the meeting room with all of the people, it was great to see just how creative everyone was. There were houses that had fences, trees, snowmen, chimneys, and gardens! Everyone had a great time decorating the houses (and munching on the decorations). If you want to see more pictures from the program, you can go to our Flickr page.

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Whooooo, whoooooo! On Tuesday, November 10, storytime is all about owls. We will be reading stories about our feathered friends and making our very own owl to take home. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Lots of New Easy Readers!

We just finished processing a big order of easy readers and put them out on the shelves. The easy readers (or green dot books) are simple books that are designed for children who are just learning to read on their own. The new books include a lot of favorite characters including Fancy Nancy, Star Wars, Spiderman, Batman, Eloise, Thomas the Train, and Mercer Mayer's Little Critter. Come on over to the library and check them out!

Gingerbread House Workshop

This is your last chance to sign up for a spot at our Gingerbread House Workshop on Tuesday, November 10th. There are only a couple of spots left, so if your family wants to attend you should drop in or call the library at 624-2678 to reserve your place. The program starts at 6:30 on Tuesday and will last from 45 minutes to an hour. Each family will get their own house to decorate along with frosting and materials to use. We've been working hard to get all of the houses ready, and I can't wait to see how they look when they are all decorated!

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

On Tuesday, November 3, storytime will be all about dogs! We'll be reading one of my favorites, Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion and making dog hand puppets. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Pajama time with Kelly Wednesday, November4th at 7pm.

Put your pajamas on, grab your favorite bear, and come to the children's section of the library to relax and share stories and rhymes. This weekly program is designed for children under 7 and their families. The program will last approximately 30 minutes. It is a great way to get ready for bed (toothbrush optional)!

Halloween Fun At The Library

Our costume party was last night at the library and it was so much fun! There were lots of families who braved the rain to come to the party. There were so many amazing and creative costumes! We all had fun bowling, playing pin the tail on the cat, and getting our faces painted. There were even four people who guessed the exact number of gummy worms in our mystery jar, so we had to draw names to pick the winner. If you want to see pictures from the party you can click on the picture below to take you to the library's Flickr page. There are lots of great portraits of the kids in their costumes. You can also always access the Flickr page by clicking on the badge in the sidebar to the right.

Halloween Party This Thursday

Don't Forget! This Thursday, October 29 from 6:30-7:30 we are having our costume party at the library! There will be trick-or-treating, crafts, games, and food. Come and go as you like make sure to stop and get your picture taken for the website!

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Happy Halloween! On Tuesday, October 27, storytime is all about Halloween! We will be reading spooky stories and making our very own ghosts. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

The Wimpy Kid is Back!

The fourth entry in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney was just released last week and we have it here at the library! It may be getting cold outside, but the newest book is set during Greg's summer vacation. All he wants to do is stay inside and play video games, but his parents have other plans. If you loved the first three, this one will have you laughing out loud at Greg's antics. You can find Dog Days in the juvenile fiction section under J FIC/KIN. Speaking of new books, a huge new order of children's books is out on the shelves including picture books, juvenile fiction, young adult fiction, and soon lots of easy readers!

Pajama time with Miss Jen Wednesday, October 21st at 7pm.

Put your pajamas on, grab your favorite bear, and come to the children's section of the library to relax and share stories and rhymes. This weekly program is designed for children under 7 and their families. The program will last approximately 30 minutes. It is a great way to get ready for bed (toothbrush optional)!

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

It's the time of year when the wind starts getting colder and all the leaves change colors. On Tuesday, October 20, storytime is all about fall. We'll be reading on of my favorites, Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson and making a leaf craft to take home. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

New Halloween Display

Come check out Toni's spooky new display, "The Halloween Tree." The window is filled with vintage decorations and lots of hidden surprises. There is also an "I Spy" rhyme to go with the window for all of you brave enough to try it!

Order Forms for the Friends Holiday Sale Are Available

The Friends of the Solon Library Annual Holiday Sale is less than two months away! Order forms are available now at the library for poinsettias and jar mixes. They are also available on the library website here along with more information. The order forms have to be turned in by November 21, so pick yours up early!

Costume Party at the Library

When: October 29th 6:30-7:30 p.m. Where: In the meeting room and throughout the library Who: Preschool and elementary students and their families What: Trick-or-Treating, games, crafts, and refreshments

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Get ready to give your best monster ROAR! On Tuesday, October 13, storytime will be taken over by monsters!! Come and hear stories about some of our favorite wild things and monsters. The craft will be creating your very own colorful monster. Preschool storytime meets at 10:30 a.m. and is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Choo Choo Choo! On Tuesday, October 6 storytime will be all about trains! We will be reading fun stories about pufferbillys and locomotives and you will get to decorate your very own train to take home. Preschool storytime is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

Celebrate Banned Books Week!

Banned Books week is September 26 - October 3! Stop in at the library to see our display of "dangerous" books and pick up a free bookmark. Click here to read about all of the books challenged or banned in the U.S. in the last year.

Early Out Library Special!

Who: 3rd and 4th Graders

What: Decoupage Treasure Boxes When: Thursday, October 8 11:15-1:30 Where: Solon Library How: Sign up at the library Parents must sign a permission form in order for their child to attend. Each child should bring a sack lunch to eat during the program. Library staff will go to the school and pick up the group to walk to the library at 11:00. Parents can pick up their children at 1:30

Tuesday Storytime With Jennifer

Rub a Dub Dub!! On Tuesday, September 29 storytime is all about bathtime! There will be stories and songs all about bathtubs, soap, and bubbles. We'll be making our very own bathtub with its own floating duck toy. Preschool storytime is geared for ages 2-5, but siblings are always welcome. Each session consists of 20-25 minutes of stories, songs, and action rhymes followed by a craft. No registration is required.

One Community, One Book

For more information, please visit the library website.

Pajama time with Miss Kelly Wednesday, September 30th at 7pm.

Put your pajamas on, grab your favorite bear, and come to the children's section of the library to relax and share stories and rhymes. This weekly program is designed for children under 7 and their families. The program will last approximately 30 minutes. It is a great way to get ready for bed (toothbrush optional)!