Read It, Make It: Fourth of July!
Get excited about July 4 by reading one of these books, then create a festive patriotic blower to help you celebrate! Have fun! These books are available to check our…
Graphic Novels and the Fate of Literacy
Visit my webcomic, No Pizza After Midnight, for more fun comics! Don't make the same mistake I did! Check out all these great graphic novels: Bone, American Born Chinese, Robot…
Read It, Make It: Dandelion Craft
The classic children's book, Dandeline by Don Freeman reminds readers that it's always best to just be yourself. Read the book then make a fun lion craft. You'll need to…
Read It, Make It: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! I want to see bugs! Bob Barner's Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! is filled with bright and colorful illustrations of bugs that seem to bounce off the page. Check…
The Sherlock Holmes Canon: A Celebration for Sherlock Holmes Day (May 22, 2022)
For the longest time, I've considered myself a Sherlock Holmes fan. But, until very recently (within the last two years or so) I would be forced to admit that I…
Fun and Ridiculous Adventures at Wayside School
Summer is almost here, and the last thing anyone wants to talk about is school. Summer is a time for relaxing, having fun, and forgetting all about getting up for…
Read It, Make It: Paper Flower and Cone Craft
The beautifully illustrated wordless book Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith is an ode to the importance of small things, small people, and small gestures. In this story…
Read it, Make It: May the 4th edition!
Celebrate May the 4th by checking out a Star Wars picture book. If you can't make it to the library, you can check out a Star Wars book from our…
Folklore Fun! African American Tales
Where people go, stories follow. The African diaspora, unjustly facilitated by the brutal Atlantic Slave Trade, forcibly sent African folklore abroad, where it mixed with new environments and grew into…
Beautiful Portraits of Our Animal Friends
Whether they're our companions or something we watch in awe from afar, animals are such an important part of our lives (and such a fascinating topic of interest). The books…
Read It, Make It: Turtle from Shapes Craft
Check out the fun and colorful book, Get Together by Miguel Ordóñez, and discover how simple shapes can come together to make some pretty interesting critters. After you read the…
A Little Birdie Told Me…
That there is new art work in the ArtWalk! This month the ArtWalk path between Westlake Porter Public Library and Westlake Elementary School features spring birds created by Kindergarten Westlake…
Read It, Make It: Hyacinth Craft
Cover of Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert Lois Ehlert's, "Planting a Rainbow" tells the story of a mother and child planting a rainbow of flowers in their garden. Check…
Folklore Fun! Scandinavia
What do the God of Thunder and Disney Queen Elsa have in common? Popular movie franchises? Well, yes. Flashy elemental powers? Um, also yes. However, the answer I'm looking for…
Example of finished butterfly craft
Read It, Make It: Butterfly Craft
Check out the classic story The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, the story of a little caterpillar with a very big appetite, then make a fun butterfly craft to…
Author Spotlight: Lewis Carroll
I still remember the illustrations from when I first read Alice in Wonderland. They were done in beautiful gouache, and the book was so big that I had to prop…
Using the NoveList Appeal Mixer
Today, let's talk about NoveList! This is one of my favorite databases offered at the library. It's a great resource for finding your next favorite read. From author, title, and…
Follow the Yellow Brick Road: The Complete Series of The Wizard of Oz books
I was a very avid reader as a child, and my grade school library had a lot of old books. So, I very quickly developed a passion for reading older…
What I’m Reading: March 2022
I don't know about you, but when it comes to books, it appears that my eyes are bigger than my stomach (or rather, my library bag is bigger than my…
Read It, Make It : Snowman Craft
Find out what real animals think of the mysterious stranger that shows up one day unexpectedly in the story, Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy by Carl Sams II…
(Art)Walking in a Winter Wonderland Part 2
This month the ArtWalk path between Westlake Porter Public Library and Westlake Elementary School features snowflakes created by 1st and 2nd grade Westlake Elementary School Project Link students. There are…
Read It, Make It: Red Paper Snowflakes
Moving away from friends is difficult, especially when everything and everyone is so different from what you know. Friends are Friends, Forever by Dane Liu and illustrated by Lynn Scurfield…
Folklore Fun! Japan
For my first focused Folklore Fun post (say that five times fast!) I decided to feature Japan! I had some preexisting familiarity with the culture and was interested to see…
Read It, Make it: Paper Lanterns
Read It, Make It: Playing With Lanterns by Wang Yage, Illustrated by Zhu Chengliang Lunar New Year falls on February 1 this year. One of the many traditions associated with…