New Year Coming Soon

Many people are busy with holiday parties, shopping, and other activities but at the library we've been coming up with some new classes and resources that we hope will be on your list, no matter if you've been naughty or nice.

The library just added TumbleBook products. 
TumbleBook Cloud is an online collection of eBooks, graphic novels audio books and even some short videos for middle school and high school students with hundreds of titles to choose from.  Just click and read..listen...or watch.  No library card or special software needed. 

AudioBook Cloud features streaming audio books for all ages. Listen to titles like The Great Gatsby or Alice in Wonderland or maybe Romeo & Juliet (were you supposed to have that read over Christmas break?)  Don't panic.  Titles can be viewed by multiple users and there are no due dates or items to return. 

Have a younger brother or sister?  Set them up viewing TumbleBooks, eBooks just for kids in grades K - 4.  They've added lots of animation, sounds, and bling to make reading even more fun and maybe keep them busy so you can share books with friends, set up your favorites, and watch TumbleTV. 

All the TumbleBook products can be viewed on any computer or mobile device through the links provided on the library website or this page.  Many of the books are also compatible with your iPad and automatically conform to the device you're using. Let us know what you think.

Look for our Teen Zentangle class coming January 17, at 4 p.m.  If you can draw a line and a circle then you can create a Zentangle.

Back to School....WHAT!

It's hard to think about class schedules and cafeteria rules when August arrives with warm weather and sunny skies.  When the big day does arrive remember the Amherst Library has you covered with our annual text book covering event that begins August 21 from 3 - 5 p.m. 

Stop by the library and use our supplies for covering those textbooks and have a snack provided by the library staff bakers.  Sort of like Keebler Elves with sensible shoes who make a mean chocolate chip drop cookie.

Remember we have 12 public computers when it comes to writing those term papers and more important, printing those papers off.  Check out our catalogue for your school's reading list and use our online databases for sourcing out journal articles.

Yes, the school year is fast approaching but there's still time to check out a good book and kick back and relax before the first day of school.  Perhaps you could consider these books research, as in, "Sorry, can't mow the grass right now because I'm researching the psychological conundrum of sophomoric interactions."  That should get you some time.  Read on:

10th Grade by Joseph Weinberg

Jeremiah Reskin chronicles his sophomore year by writing his own novel even though he's not what you would call an honors English student.  Along with some less than honorable thoughts and some throw back Bohemian peers, student life doesn't really change.

Bleachers by John Grisham

Every football player likes to reminisce about the glory days. When a funeral brings all the boys back to town will Neely Crenshaw be able to forgive his coach and move on with his life?

Code Orange by Caroline B. Cooney
While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.  Talk about stress.

The Taker by J. M. Steele
There's a lot of pressure to score high, especially if you're family plans on you attending an Ivy League school.  And what's up with that geeky tutor that Carley has hired? 

Hot Dog!

With temperatures in the triple digits it's too hot to even be at the pool.  Pick up a book or spread out the beach towels at home for a movie night in front of the television. 

But keep reading.  I know we said that the last day to turn in your reading logs for summer reading was July 12 but that's just to be included in the prize drawings.  We'll accept reading logs and give out prizes as long as they last.  So keep reading.  Eveyone can go back to school with a "Dream BIG" book bag.

We've got lots of "hot" books at the library.  Check out these titles:

Hot Dog and Bob and the Particularly Pesky Attack of the Pencil People : adventure #2 is just one of the books by L. Bob Rovetch (JF ROV).  Fifth grader Bob and his friend Clementine are once again wrapped up in an adventure and superhero Hot Dog steps in to help.

Hothead : a novel by Cal Ripken, Jr., (JF RIP) combines a great story with baseball as the setting. Connor has a temper on the field, and when his outbursts become the subject of the local newspaper he realizes it's time to get on deck, or suffer the consequences.

Hot Air by Charles Ogden, (JF OGD), as if there isn't enough hot air around already, twins Edgar and Ellen step in to discover the secret of the small town of Nod's Limbs.

Hothouse by Chris Lynch, (YA LYN), is a powerful drama and coming of age story.  Teens D.J. and Russell were once life long friends who have since grown apart.  But when death touches them both they are forced to rekindle their friendship in order to overcome tragedy.

On your mark...get set....

GO! 
The race is on.  The Amherst Public Library’s ninth annual Amherst Scavenger Hunt is underway. Pick up an entry form at the library and identify each of the twenty-five photos taken in downtown Amherst.  All photos were taken within easy walking distance of the library so there’s no need to worry about the price of gas.
The last day to turn in entries is Saturday, August 20.  One grand prize winner will be selected from all the completed entries. Forms will be available soon online.  Pick up a form upstairs at the library and get started today!

What's your dream?

Are you dreaming BIG this summer?  Do you have a dream for the future, or a dream for the moment?  Consider sending us a photo that we can share of what your dream may be.  Here's one example of someone Dreaming BIG.

Learn to Juggle

Today at 2 p.m. Matt Jergens will be at the Main Street Community Center (255 Park Avenue) bringing his comedy juggling act to Amherst.  Matt was one of our most popular programs last summer and he is back by popular demand for another program and juggling workshop.  Be amazed by his unicycle act, by his unusual choice of objects to juggle, and be amazed at how much you can learn.

The show begins at 2 p.m. and afterwards we'll break into groups for the juggling workshop.  Last year Matt brought in spinning plates, Chinese spools, and scarves for us to try our hand at learning to juggle.

Summer reading is all about fun.  Keep in mind that this week you can also attend Magic 101 on Thursday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. here at the library with Professor Zap.  If you're in grades 4 or even if you're 104, you can learn a bit of magic to entertain your friends.  Learn something new this summer!

Space out

This Thursday, June 21,  is the big Sky Dome planetarium show.  Join us at St. Joe's School gym for a virtual field trip through the universe.  The show lasts about 45 minutes and takes you through our solar system for an up close look at Saturn and its moons as well as a look at the Milky Way. 

Sure it looks like a giant silver slug and you can crawl inside where you'll find more than 120,000 LED lights that are synchronized to showcase a sun rise and sun set, the Northern Lights, and even a lesson on the mythological creatures behind some of our constellations.  Any Percy Jackson fan will want to be on hand for that.

The dome will hold up to 75 people and showtimes will start at noon, 1, 2, 4, and 5 p.m.  Once a showtime is over we'll start ushering in the next group.  Seating is on a first come basis and there is no need to have a ticket or register.

Kindergartners as well as adults will enjoy the show so bring the family. 

It's Just Lunch

Members of the library's teen summer reading program stopped by today for It's Just Lunch.  Everyone enjoyed the culinary skills of Mrs. Ashton and Mrs. Stanley along with some Guitar Hero and X-Box Kinnect.  I think the Kinnect Sports won out as a favorite with teens trying their skills at the field games including the 100 yard dash and the hurdles. 

Everyone in attendance put their name in a raffle and when the gong sounded every ten minutes we drew a prize winner.  There were some sweet prizes like cotton candy and of course Nerd ropes.  I think everyone was a winner...in more ways than one.

Stop by next Monday at 2  p.m. when we'll have Mike Leuszler in the house for our super hero drawing workshop. 

Magic Tonight

Just a reminder that Professor Zap will be at the Main Street Center, 255 Park Avenue, tonight at 6:30 for Magic 101.  He'll be demonstrating some of the tricks you can learn at our upcoming series of magic workshops as well as entertaining the crowd with his own repetoire of tricks.

The library has lots of books for instructing magicians of any age.    Amazing magic tricks : apprentice level by Norm Barnhart is part of a series that takes young magicians through several levels of tricks.  Great beginning card tricks for smaller hands and other sleight of hand illusions that can be done with simple items you already have around the house make this a favorite for anyone looking for a general book that will cover a variety of topics.

 

Another series called Inside Magic includes the title Close-Up Magic.  These books by Nicholas Einhorn have a table of contents so you can zero in on the type of trick you'd like to learn.  Here is where you'll find classics like the Ping-Pong Balance and the Indestructible String.  Others in the series include a nice volume on Stand-Up Magic and Optical Illusions. 

I've always loved card magic but found advanced tricks to require a lot of practice and hand moves that were difficult for smaller hands.  Magic with Cards is a book in our children's non-fiction section that has all the good card tricks like Surprise Aces and the Magnetic String.  Many of these tricks are easy to learn. 

Remember Harry Houdini originally performed as the "King of Cards" at the beginning of his career.  It was later that he develop his escape act.  Once you master a few of the easier tricks try out The Complete Course in Magic by Mark WIlson.  Mark was just eight years old when he watched a magician perform and decided that this was something he wanted to do.  Later in high school he worked part time at a magic supply store and later went on to become known around the world for his live performances and his television work.  This volume is a complet education in magic with plenty of black and white drawings to guide you.

My favorite magic book is....wait, if I tell you then it will always be checked out.  I think I'll just keep that one to myself.  But if you find the magic book written by a young man from the Akron area...I think it will become your favorite, too.

Put it in a jar...

The stage is set and the curtain has risen on yet another summer reading program here at the Amherst Public Library.  Our first craft day starts off today and remains open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Stop in and make a dream jar.  Keep it by your bedside, carry it with you on vacation, hide it away in a secret place. Whatever your dream it's all up to you to make it your own.

Following their dream...

Need inspiration?  Need validation of your dreams and goals?  Check out Weapons of Mass Creation taking place this weekend.  It's a weekend dedicated to design, creativity, entrepreneurship and community activism. 

Speakers like Johnny Cupcakes, who took a joke and turned it into a multi-million dollar company starting at age 19.  Kate Binghaman Burt is listed as a creative dynamo who began her dream of being a news anchor and realized her dream when she began teaching drawing.

Get inspired.  Read the blog, explore the website, get up and go.  Dream BIG.

What's your creative dream...

There's Magic in the Air

Everyone loves magic and we're going to try something new this year.  We've booked Professor Zap, a Cleveland area magician who you may know from his appearances at our library and more recently he has been the headliner for the annual magic show at the Rose Cafe in Lorain.


The Professor will be putting on a short magic show for us on Tuesday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Street Community Center, 255 Park Avenue in downtown Amherst.  Come to the show and watch as he demonstrates some of the magic that you could be performing very soon.  The Professor will be at the library for a three part workshop designed for those in grades 4 through age 104. 


Recently he did a once a month workshop during the school year in Cleveland.  He had students attend along with senior citizens, everyone loves a good magic trick.  After the workshop was completed they had a magic show that was hosted by Professor Zap and featured participants in his workshop.  It was a huge success and something I think we could do here in Amherst.


So after the free show, mark your calendars for the three workshops that will be held here at the Amherst Public Library on Thursday, June 28; Tuesday, July 17; and Tuesday, August 14. Then plan on taking part our magic show in August. 

Make it a goal to learn two good magic tricks this summer.  Dream BIG....the time is here.

Summer Prizes

Hey what are the summer reading prizes?


The Teen Summer program has some great prizes this year.  Remember you can earn points by reading, attending an event, or by completing other activities like bringing in donations for the Amherst Food Bank.  For 250 points we've got an array of silicone bracelets you can choose from. Some even glow in the dark. 


The second prize level is at 500 points.  We've got some Bubble-icious pens for you!  These are perfect for writing about your favorite summer activity.  For 750 points you can have your choice of a drawstring book bag or a dream journal.  Both are just waiting to be filled up and taken on your next summer adventure.

Remember, online registration begins this weekend....and you can log points online beginning June 1.  Registration will begin at the library on June 4.

For each prize level you get a ticket for entering into the raffle of your choice.  Food, movies, and a Target gift card are on the list.  

What's going on this summer?

Dream BIG this summer.  Sure the Avengers movie is out on the big screen but why not design your own larger than life super hero?  The sky's the limit, even if you don't draw faster than a speeding bullet, perhaps you can take advantage of our Super Hero drawing workshop with local artist Mike Leuszler. 

This free workshop takes place Monday, June 18 from 2 - 3:30 p.m. here at the Amherst Public Library.  No special drawing ability needed.  Mike will show you some ideas that will have you sketching out your own avenging figures before you know it.

Just show up.  Pencils and paper provided.

What's that up in the sky?  It's Super Pug....even a small dog can dream BIG.

Tropical fun!

Those in grades 5 and up can stop by our upcoming Teen Game Day on Thursday, May 24, at 3:30 p.m. We'll be blending up some tangy, tropical beverages and of course the X-boxes will be out with Kinnect Sports and Guitar Hero. 

Find out about our upcoming Summer Reading Program and get a preview of the prizes.  Check us out.