Book Buddies Returns

The Book Buddies Book Club returns this September! The first meeting of the new school year will be held on Monday, September 26th at 3:30pm in the John Clarke Children's Program Room. Registration is required - register anytime by calling the library (401-847-8720 ext. 204), stopping by the children's desk or by emailing me at cantonio@newportlibraryri.org.

I'm gearing up for another terrific year of reading and activities. Amazing books, bigger and better activities, more author interviews....it's going to be awesome! If you love to read and talk about books or if you want to meet new friends, join the book club today.

Our first book of the year will be.............

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

Copies of the book are available at the children's desk. Stop by and pick one up today! Kids are encouraged to read the book before we meet on the 26th so that we can have a great discussion. Kids are also encouraged to post comments to the blog during the month. If you have thoughts about the book as you're reading it, want to ask a question, or want to tell us about another book you are reading, post a comment to the blog!

Summer Wrap-Up

It's hard to believe it's over, but we wrapped-up the summer with a fantastic summer reading finale party Thursday afternoon. 17 Tweens and 11 Teens came ready to relax, eat, talk, rock out with Wii's Rock Band and generally celebrate! We had a blast with the new Wii system, formed teams for a very competitive European Jeopardy tournament and enjoyed pizza, chips, salsa, Doritos, cookies and ice cream! Prizes were distributed and 7 Tweens left with some amazing grand prizes distributed in a random raffle drawing. We had a blast and I'm so pleased that so many Tweens came out to celebrate the summer.

Thanks to all the wonderful Tweens who participated in our Friday afternoon activities with such enthusiasm and excitement. And thanks to Ms. Barbara for sharing the activities, the work and of course, all of the fun, with me this year - we make a great team and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Tween Finale Party

The Tween Summer Reading finale party will be held this Thursday, August 18th at 4:00pm in the lower level program room. Tweens (ages 9 – 12) who attended at least one Friday afternoon Tween activity this summer are eligible to attend. The party will be held in conjunction with the Teen finale party and will include games, pizza and other delicious snacks, and prizes! Hope to see you there!

Summer Reading

Summer reading is quickly drawing to a close - the summer reading outdoor fair is less than a week away! On Wednesday, August 17th all summer readers are invited to come celebrate another fantastic summer at our outdoor fair held in Aquidneck Park adjacent to the library. The fair begins at 10:30am sharp with a storytelling performance by Loren Spears. The fair also features the final puppet workshop of the season, food, crafts and fun! Everyone who has completed their summer reading will receive their certificate, toy prize, free book and ice cream coupon. We'll also hold the drawings for grand prize winners! It's a terrific event you don't want to miss!

In order to fully take advantage of all we have to offer, finish logging your summer reading today! Readers must log 6 books by August 17th in order to complete the program. Log your books in person at the library, call us on the phone with titles (which we will write down for you! - 401-847-8720 ext. 204) or, if you've set up an online account, log your books online! (http://host.evanced.info/newport/sr/homepage.asp)

Hope to see you at the fair!

Last Tween Activity!

The final Friday afternoon Tween activity will take place this Friday, August 12th at 3:00pm in the John Clarke Children's Program Room. Tweens are invited to join Ms. Barbara in making and painting clay bowls with African colors and symbols. These bowls are perfect for storing your small treasures in and also make a wonderful reminder of the awesome summer we've had together! While you work, you'll also enjoy bananas and dried fruit.

No registration is required but Tweens must be registered for the children's summer reading program to attend.

Don't forget that by attending just 1 Friday afternoon activity, you become eligible to attend our summer reading finale party for Tweens and Teens next Thursday, August 18th @ 4:00pm. It's going to be a fantastic party with food, activities and prizes!