Sing, Sign & Story Time @ The Library

Join us for a series of 4 special story times where American Sign Language will be demonstrated as songs and stories are shared with children and their parents. Dates for this new story time are Fridays, January 11, 18, 25 & February 1 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. A craft will also be included in each story time. Parents are encouraged to sign up for the entire series, since each session will feature different themes with different stories and signs. The first session will be led by Cynthia Shultz, a certified Sign2Me Presenter. Ages 3-5 plus a parent/caregiver.

Don't forget to register!

The Mitten Tree is Ready for Your Donations!

Ephrata Public Library encourages giving with 8th annual Mitten Tree Project!

The Ephrata Public Library and other public libraries throughout Lancaster County are sponsoring their 8th annual Mitten Tree Campaign. Librarians from the county's public libraries, in the spirit of holiday giving, will be collecting new mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, earmuffs and umbrellas for children in Lancaster County through December 21st.

The Mitten Tree Project has been hugely successful during the past seven years. Each year collections from public libraries throughout Lancaster County have totaled over 2,000 items. Last year's 2,885 donations are record-breaking. Lancaster County's Children and Youth Social Service Agency will oversee the distribution to children throughout the county. Children and Youth Director of Quality Assurance, Amy M. Campbell, said of the project, "We love the Mitten Tree Project -- it gives us the ability to partner with libraries and at the same time support our kids."

Lancaster County's Children and Youth Social Service Agency serves approximately 4,000 children throughout Lancaster County. Individuals interested in participating should bring new, unwrapped mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, umbrellas and earmuffs to the library during normal hours of operations.

Pennsylvania School Librarians Young Reader's Choice Awards - Nominees

Check out these great books selected by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association for the Young Reader's Choice Awards! Feel free to comment on what you think of any of these books!

Kindergarten - Grade 3
Terrific by Jon Agee
Hi, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold
On the Go with Mr. And Mrs. Green by Keith Baker
Roasted Peanuts by Tim Egan
Best in Show for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos
Good Dog by Maya Gottfried
Moose Crossing by Stephanie Greene
Lilly's Big Day by Kevin Henkes
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
Martin Bridge: Ready for Take Off by Jessica Scott Kerrin
Precious and the Boo Hag by Patricia C. McKissack
Thesaurus Rex by Laya Steinberg
Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow
Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Williams
Squashed in the Middle by Elizabeth Winthrop

Grades 3-6
The Goat Lady by Jane Bregoli
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate D. DiCamillo
Phineas L. MacGuire Erupts! The First Experiment by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Mallory vs. Max by Laura Friedman
The World's Greatest Elephant by Ralph Helfer
Blackbeard's Last Fight by Eric A. Kimmel
Moon Runner by Carolyn Marsden
Aliens are Coming 1938 - True Account of the War of the Worlds by Meghan McCarthy
Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully
Ugly by Donna J. Napoli
The Right Dog for the Job by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer by J.T. Petty
Twenty-one Elephants and Still Standing by April Jones Prince
Curse of the Bologna Sandwich (Melvin Beederman, Superhero) by Greg Trine
Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford

New Database for Science Resources

The start of school is right around the corner, and the library system has added a new database that may be of interest! Check it out...

Science Resource Center is a one-stop source for your science research needs. Concepts such as earth, life, physical and space science, as well as history and technology, are featured. Search through major reference titles, magazines, academic journals, multimedia, websites and science experiment guides.

To access the database, just visit the patron authentication page at http://online.lancasterlibraries.org. Access is free - all you need is your library card!

Music Together!

Music Together Workshop
September 7
10:30-11:30

Join Cherie Lenahan, Director of Music Together Lancaster for songs, instrument play, rhythm chants and movement activities in a relaxed, playful, non-performance-oriented setting. This class will allow parents and caregivers to contribute to the enrichment of their child’s music environment, regardless of their own musical abilities. Ages birth-5. Limited to 12 families. For more information about Music Together, visit their website at www.musictogether.com.

New Family Place Dates Announced!

The library will be running two Family Place workshops this fall!!

What makes a Family Place Library?
Expanding the traditional role of children's services, Family Place builds on the knowledge that good health, early learning, parental involvement and supportive communities play a critical role in young children's growth and development.

Family Place Libraries redesign the library environment to be welcoming and appropriate for children beginning at birth; connect parents with the resources, programs and services offered at the library and other family service agencies; and reach out to non-traditional library users. This creates the network families need to nurture their children's development during the critical first years of life and helps ensure all children enter school ready and able to learn.


Parent/Child Workshops
Session 1 Tuesday, September 4, 11, 18, 25, & Oct. 2 - 6:30-7:30 p.m. Session 2 Wednesday, September 5, 12, 19, 26 & Oct. 3 - 9:30-10:30 a.m.
The library is offering two different time slots for our five-week series of
workshops for parents and caregivers of toddlers 12-36 months: one Tuesday evening, the other Wednesday morning. Parents can play, read, and interact with their toddlers in a family-friendly setting, equipped with age-appropriate toys, books, games, etc. A different community resource specialist will be available at each session to talk informally with
parents about their interests and concerns regarding their child’s development. Participants are asked to attend all five-workshop sessions.

Looking for Parenting Materials?

As our parenting collection grows, I thought it might be nice to know what we have, compiled into one document. So...here you are - The Ephrata Public Library Parenting Collection. The file is a Word document, and I will also be adding it to the website.

What Are You Doing This Summer??

We hope your summer involves the library - both reading and attending all our great programs! Remember, you can still sign up for summer reading at the tables directly inside the library doors. While you're there, make sure to sign up for June programs. July and August programs will be available for sign-up at the end of June. Until then....keep reading! (And don't forget - parents can do summer reading, too!)

Summer Reading Carnival - June 11th

To kick off summer reading, the library is again hosting our annual Summer Reading Carnival. The carnival runs from 3-6 p.m. and sign-ups are not necessary. At 7 p.m., Marion the Ventriloquist will be performing. Sign-ups for this program are requested. So, bring the kids to the carnival - there will be games, a special story time by the Princess from Dutch Wonderland, face painting, crafts, activities and more! We hope to see you there!

Summer Reading is Coming! Are you Ready?

This year's summer reading program is "Get a Clue @ Your Library." There are so many programs and reading opportunities for Ephrata area children, plus a special grand prize that is ONLY available at the Ephrata Public Library. Younger children who complete the program will be entered in a drawing for a Curious George plush. Elementary school children who complete the program will have their names put into a drawing for a large display of the house-elf from the Harry Potter series, Dobby.

Sign-ups for programs begin June 1st and can be done by calling the library at 738-9291 or stopping in during normal business hours. Some programs fill up very fast so make your selections and get your name on the list!

Tumblebooks For Kids!

TumbleBooks Available To Lancaster County Children!

TumbleBookLibrary is an online collection of TumbleBooks , animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.

The TumbleBook Library collection is accessed on-line from computers in the library with Internet connection, or from home through a direct link on the library website.

The TumbleBook Library is a collection of licensed titles from children's book publishers such as Scholastic, Chronicle Books, Candlewick Press, Charlesbridge Press, Harcourt, Little Brown, Walker and Company and others.

Story Books:
The TumbleBook Library has a selection of children's favorite story books. Old time favorites such as "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munch come to life in an educational and interactive way. Other titles include, "Diary of a Worm", "Miss Malarkey Doesn't Live in Room 10", "One Duck Stuck" and "Tops and Bottoms". Kids can also see their favorite fairy tales such as "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Old Mother Hubbard" come to life.

Language Learning:
The Language Learning Section comes with a growing selection of books in Spanish and French . Many are bilingual titles which allows the user to read the book in 2 languages.

Chapter Books/YA Novels:
Now older students can read the growing collection of children's classics like Black Beauty, Alice in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables. Our TumbleReadable format, with its innovative text size slider which allows the reader to adjust to the text size which I right for them, makes reading online fun and accessible.

Audio Books:
TumbleBookLibrary includes a collection of full length, unabridged, streaming audio books. Perfect for extended story time.

TumbleBookLibrary En Espanol and TumbleBookLibrary en Francais:
Our language drop down menu now allows you to view the entire website in Spanish or French. Instruction, news and descriptions of books are all in Spanish or French. Perfect for ESL, Bilingual, and, French and Spanish programs.