Children's Book Monday - Library Tips

Library day! Do these words evoke excitement in your heart, or exhaustion? I must admit, there are still exciting library days that end in exhaustion for me, but it is so worth it. Here are some things I've learned along the way:

Gone are the days that I sat comfortably on the floor with a baby in the snuggly and a boy on the computer! Now, Daddy accompanies us on our library excursions, which we plan on his day off, Wednesday. He takes Eliana and her princess books to the playroom, which includes a loft with comfy cushions for reading, and Corban and Micah either walk the aisles and bring me loads of books to put in my basket, or they play computer games first and then fill my basket. As for me, I linger in the aisles brimming with Brothers Grimm stories, tall tales, biographies... okay, I linger in every aisle.

My style is not cultured- I simply run my eyes along the spines, reading titles until something jumps out at me either with the design, the title, or both. So far, I am rarely disappointed when I reach out and pull the book into my lap to pre-read before taking home. This is an important step for me- any book that my children bring to me as well, I read through and check the pictures closely for any material that may not be age-appropriate - or even just appropriate. Then over the next couple of weeks, I am reassured that, when I walk past a boy with a book quietly mouthing the words as he reads along, I needn't worry about the content.

One of my favorite tips for libary day is this: I keep a list in my purse of children's authors we've read that are well-loved; that way, I can look up other books they've written to find some more gems! This is so helpful- we have discovered so many wonderful books this way: David Small and Sarah Stewart (The Journey, The Library, The Gardener, The Friend), Marjolein Bastin (Vera the Mouse Series), Patricia Polacco (Oh, Look!, The Butterfly, Mommies Say Shhh!), Michael Bedard (Emily, Glass Town, The Nightingale), Barbara Cooney (Eleanor, Hattie and the Wild Waves, Miss Rumphius)... the list goes on and on. It is very helpful if you feel in a slump when it comes to choosing books- just find one your children have loved and look for others by the same author! Keeping the list in my purse means I'll always have it at the library when the books are right there in front of me.

When we get home with all of our books, they are kept in two canvas baskets underneath a living room table, right next to the couch. When a library book is read, it must be put back into the basket- this is also very helpful when the time comes to return all of the books with which we came home! The boys take the books to bed with them sometimes, to read before lights out, but they know that in the morning they must be returned to their place. (I am pleased to say that we have never had a fine for an overdue book, except for the time in our small town last year when I checked out a Christmas book and then packed it up with our Christmas things... we found it when we moved. In August. Thankfully, it's a very small town, and they just laughed and put it back on the shelf- no charge! Whew!)

This is a very long post, and if you have read this far, I hope your next Library Day is made better from something you learned! I can't wait to read everyone else's advice!

Happy Reading! (Oh, perhaps all of my links to the author's books we've loved will serve as my reviews today? They certainly have my stamp of approval!)

Please sign your name and leave the direct URL for your post if you have a children's review and/or some library tips for us this week!