Online Book Clubs and fun

Publishers of books for teens and adults have discovered the Internet as a way to build brand loyalty among young readers.  And why not?  Sites like HarperCollins' Awesome Adventures introduce readers to a variety of titles and authors and offer games, sweepstakes and more.  Check it out.

Scholastic.com has a site for kids and teens called The Stacks.  The site offers movie trailers for films based on books published by Scholastic, a Summer Reading Challenge, games, book reviews and and a live book trivia game featuring authors like Jon Scieszka, and Christopher Curtis.  It looks like a lot of fun.

You plan to read anyway, so, join the Parkland Community Library's Make a Splash - READ! Summer Reading Club and join these online sweepstakes and reading challenges.  You can use the same books for ALL of these clubs  OR you can read even more books and split them between the different challenges.

Keep reading all summer and you will go back to sc***l (shhh, it's too early to even think of that word) smarter than ever!

Voyage of the Vikings!

The Make a Splash - READ!!  Summer Reading Club kick-off event is tonight - at Jordan Lutheran Church on Snowdrift Road - at 7 pm.  Kitty Jones, of Kit's Interactive Theatre, will turn herself and the audience into Viking Voyagers.  Fun for all!

Click here for a list of great books about Vikings, Norse mythology and culture.  All the books on this list are available at the Parkland Community Library.

The Smithsonian Institute has a very informative site about the Viking exhibit.  Click here to learn about North Atlantic Voyages, settlements and more.

Here is a YouTube video that demonstrates how to make a Viking ship out of a milk carton.   It looks like fun!

The World Almanac for Kids gives an overview of all the Norse gods and goddesses at this site.

See you all tonight as we voyage with the Vikings.

Book reviews and games online

I just opened my weekly email from Flamingnet.com, the teen review site.  There are so many new books on this site that I just HAVE to read.  Readers in grades 6 and up can check out what other teens have to say about the newest books.  Check the Parkland Community Library catalog to see if we have the books you want to read. 

There is information on Flamingnet's website on how teens can become reviewers for this site. 

Younger readers might want to play games like Hermie Heckle's Funhouse on Paulysplayhouse.com .  Pauly's Playhouse is a site that hopes to sell CDs so, as with anyplace online, pay attention to what you are doing.

Voyage of the Vikings MOVED!

The Summer Reading Club kick-off - Voyage of the Vikings with Kit's Interactive Theatre - has moved to Jordan Lutheran Church, 5103 Snowdrift Road, Orefield, PA 18069.

This program is open to ALL members of the Summer Reading Club.  Children 5 and up, teens, and adults will especially enjoy Kit's humor and clever script.   Younger children should stay with their parents during this program.

To learn more about this program and this performer, check out Kit's Interactive Theatre.

Are you looking for booklists for summer reading? The Parkland School District has Summer Reading Lists available online for students entering grades 6 and up.  PSD also offers a list of good books for readers in grades 6 through 8 and a list of Newbery winners.

The Youth Services staff here at the Parkland Community Library is working on booklists, too.  A Science of the Sea booklist for grades 1 through 4 is available online on the Summer Reading Club page.  Check back for more booklists throughout the summer.

Younger readers can go to Reading Rockets, the National Education Association's Reading Site for kids, parents and educators.  Lists for preschoolers through age 9 are listed here.

A lot of schools and school districts have reading lists online.  Kincaid School in Houston TX offers lists for readers entering grades 5 through 8.

Check the Parkland Community Library catalog to see if these books are in the library.   Place a reserve from home to make sure the title is here when you visit the library.

Summer is a great time to read.

Summer Reading Club Donors

The Make a Splash - READ!  Summer Reading Club is lucky enough to have wonderful donors. 

Crayola has donated craft items to use in programs and to give away as prizes.

Amelia's Grocery Outlet and Giant Food Stores have donated gift cards.

Just Born came through with Mike & Ike's again this year.

Domino's Pizza and Dunkin Donuts have given certificates for FREE FOOD!

TD Bank will hand out goodie bags at the Kick-off program on June 24th - Voyage of the Vikings with Kit's Interactive Theatre.  Don't miss this program.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo has donated tickets to ZooBASH! in October.  Look for this as a gift basket this summer.

ClubZ! In home tutoring has donated prizes as well.

Swim In Zone will do a program for us this summer.

The DaVinci Center will do 2 programs for the library this summer.

Thanks go out to all these great organizations for supporting the Parkland Community Library's Summer Reading Club.

Summer Reading Club!! FAQ

Make a Splash - READ! Summer Reading Club began today.  Register online by clicking here.  Or visit the Parkland Community Library's website and find the Make a Splash logo.  OR go to the Youth Services page and pick Reading Clubs from the drop down menu.

Here are some of the questions we have heard today.

Q.  What IS the Summer Reading Club?  Do you read to the children at the library?
A.  The Summer Reading Club is a program in which readers read and listen to books and keep track of the time they spend reading and listening to books.  Families can keep track of their reading time online at the this link.  So it is a Do-it-yourself program.

That said, the Parkland Community Library offers quite a number of different programs for all ages.  Please check out the Summer Reading Club page for more info.


Q. My children were in the Summer Reading Club last year.  Do I have to sign up all over again, or just use last year's user names?
A.  You must sign up each child all over again.  The member lists are emptied at the end of the summer.

Q. Can I sign up for the programs online?
A.  You must come into the library to sign up for individual programs.

Q.  I live in the Allentown School District.  May I sign my children up for Parkland's summer programs?
A.  Since every public library has similar programs, the District wide policy is that patrons must use their own libraries for summer programs.  There is one exception.  Residents of the Northwestern Lehigh School District may join the Parkland Community Library's Summer Programs along with residents of the Parkland School District.

Q.  My children are scheduled for other activities during the day.  Isn't there anything fun they can do at the library?
A.  Starting the week of June 22nd, there will be library mysteries posted in the library for Summer Reading Club members to solve anytime they visit the library.  Readers can download activities from the Summer Reading Club page, do Oral Book Reports when they visit the library and earn chances to win gift baskets.

This summer is going to be an ocean of fun.  Sign up and start reading!

New Books!

Yesterday we unloaded two huge boxes of new books for teens and children.  They will soon be ready to go on the shelves.  Look for these titles about the sea and water adventures:

LadyBug Girl at the Beach by David Soman and Jackie Davis.  Lulu wears her ladybug costume during her first visit to the beach.  This is a picture book.

Raider's Ransom by Emily Diamand.  A fisher-girl in 22nd century England must rescue the Prime Minister's daughter from the piratical Reavers.

The Vampirates are here and will set sail for the YA shelves anon.  Prepare to be frightened.  The Vampirates books by Justin Somper are for teen readers and those younger readers made of sterner stuff.

Look for a new Fancy Nancy!  Fancy Nancy! Every day is Earth Day by Jane O'Connor will soon be ready to be checked out.

Summer is a cumen in

Summer is almost here! Make a Splash - READ!.  That's the theme of the Summer Reading Club this year.  It all starts next Monday, June 14th and the YS staff at the Parkland Community Library is very busy racing around making sure as much is ready as can possibly be.

Check out the Reading Club page for information about the Summer Reading Club.  It will be updated regularly as new coloring pages and activity ideas are added.   Here's how to get to the Reading Club page, (should you not wish to refer to this post continually).  Go to the Youth Services button in the left hand column of the website and choose Reading Clubs from the drop-down menu.  Simple, n'est ce-pas?

An online registration option will be posted on the homepage of the Parkland Community Library website and on the Reading Clubs page by next weekend. 

The Summer Reading Club is for young readers between the ages of 2 and entering 12th grade, with different clubs for three age groups and activities for all.  Click here for info.

The library has a paper registration option for people who are not comfortable using computers.  So, sign up on June 14th!  I will tell you a little more each day as this week goes by.