Blogger Jonathan Dolce

March Activities, News, STEM and More!

words hello march in cursive surrounded by a circle of colorful flowers and foliage

March Activities, News, STEM and More means tons of ideas for March programming and crafting. Plus, enjoy a plethora of bookish news. For STEM/STEAM programming, we have you covered and of course, it’s all the FREE resources you have come to love and count on. Read on, enjoy and let us know what works for you and what crashed and burned! It’s all good! But first: And secondly, I’ve made the editorial decision to pull the Just for YA! portion of this newsletter. If you still want to receive it, just send me an email at jdolce@mylakelibrary.org, or comment below. Thanks! Let’s Celebrate! The first annual Black Children’s Book Week will take place this year, February 27- March 5 Celebrate Black Children’s Book Week February 27th – March 5th! 24 Black Heroes Our Kids Should Know By Name March is… Plan your event with resources on Our Planet: Earth Celebrate National Library Week April 3…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Winterizing Your Library Programming

Color photo of a little free library covered in snow

Summer READing prep you say? So, preppers are prepping like crazy for summer reading. But, let’s face it: it’s still winter! Spring ain’t gonna spring anytime soon and the groundhog’s only just thinking about making some French press. While you’re doing your headless chicken routine hiring and lining up summertime performers, have a gander here for some great ideas for sort of now-ish! Don’t let the icy conditions slip you up! Okay, no more puns…for now! ; )) Feb Planning! 1 Students learn about George Washington Carver with this reading passage. [READ MORE] 2 This art-based idea focuses on the work of Langston Hughes, a well-known African American author who wrote poetry and plays. [READ MORE] 3 With adventurous characters, exciting plots, and three to five chapters per book, Leaves Chapter Books check all the boxes to engage beginning readers. [LEARN MORE] 4 Want more activities for Black History Month? [READ MORE] 8 Fun Facts about…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Fall Previews and Programming!

Autumn is my fav season — hope it is for you, too! Lots of fun, possibilities and traditions. Ubiquitous, proverbial pumpkin, spices and cooler weather are all in the air. Let’s get programming and looking forward to winter! But first! It’s Time to Apply for the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards For more than 25 years, Penguin Random House has been working to encourage the next generation of writers through their Creative Writing Awards. In 2019, Penguin Random House entered a partnership with national advocacy organization We Need Diverse Books. And they are now accepting applications until February 1, 2022 or until they reach 1,000 applicants. The program awards five U.S. high school seniors with scholarships of up to $10,000. More Crafts than you can shake a cinnamon broom at! The BIGGEST (& Best) List of Fall Crafts, Ever Wednesday is ART day! Have you downloaded our FREE Art Challenge yet? Try these…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Summer READing Gazette – ideas, inspiration and news!

father and daughter reading a book together at the beach

Summer READing Gazette Issue 1 v.1 Summer READing is nigh! Here’s some great entertainment, book, and programming news and ideas to tantalize and inspire! If not just totally distract you from stress! ; )) All Things Comics A new Black Panther comics series is launching in August. What the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger might mean for DC Comics. Legendary Comics announces a new YA imprint, which will launch with five original comic series. The best new YA graphic novels to read right now. Graphic Novel About Freddie Mercury Coming This Fall — Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is getting a graphic novel this fall. The rock legend will be the subject of Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs, a graphic novel written by comic book author Tres Dean. Publisher Z2 Comics says in a press release posted on Queen’s official website: “For the first time in comics format, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs will be a journey through Freddie’s life; from…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

You STILL Can’t Beat Free

You STILL Can’t Beat FREE We live in an age of what economists call “perfect information“. This of course does not mean that the information we get is perfect, Instead, it means no hidden information. Perfect information more precisely means we all have access to instant information, understand its use as well as its plusses and minuses. But we also experience information overload, which is where we come in. And I’m here to help make your lives a wee bit easier, by finding all the free stuff! Ideas, downloads, and a touch of fun. I hope you enjoy and utilize these resources. And of course, I hope you enjoy all the fun stuff, too! Programming Ideas You Can Do! I will come over to your library if you say you can’t do any number of these…well…if you cover my expenses! ; )) When I was an Art major, we were…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

New Year’s Resolution: Inspo 2021

black and white line drawing of a human head in profile with bright idea icon in center

Inspo for 2021 So, we get another shot. The celestial odometer ticks one more trip around the sun. And here goes: some inspo for you to make your 2021 sunny and bright, youth services style! Hygge for Children and Families 30 Phrases That Will Change a Kid’s Day (for the Better) 100+ Indoor Activities to Do with the Kids Re-Arrange! Re-arranging your room is one of the best ways to blow out the cobwebs, literally and metaphorically. Wanna let your fingers do the heavy lifting? Try this free children’s room designer! Create a floor plan with a bird’s-eye view 1. Choose an example from our gallery or create a new design 2. Start with your room’s shape and dimensions, add doors, windows & other features. 3. Browse our furniture and click or drag the icons into your plan. 4. Arrange the pieces to create your perfect set-up You can choose just…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Not Another “Best of” Post

large orange block letters spelling not another

This Is Not Another “Best of” [input year] Post I promise you this is not another Best of [input year] post. In fact, if I were to rename it, it’d be The Most Exciting Stuff in the Youth Services World, like, right now; right now. I like pointing these things out so much I create a biweekly Youth Services newsletter for my colleagues. [mysteriously] Who knows, maybe I’ll unleash it upon the internet in 2021? [strokes goat goatee] It’s loaded with all things frabjous, from live webinars with authors whose work we drool upon to easy crafts, programming ideas, news – [foreign accent] your interest is piqued, no? Oh! And this stuff is all totes free! Sans fees! Gratis! Famous Authors Live! This subheading should read “Not Another Webinar” Probably the most important webinars For the Parents and Caregivers we serve This is not a section about stuff to do…