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…
Health on the Shelf: Meditative May
Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patienceRalph Waldo Emerson The warmer weather, the clearer skies, the birds singing, the abundant daylight - this time of year always seems…
Beyond Sherlock Holmes: The Other Writings of Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes is easily the most famous detective of all time. And I absolutely love a good Holmes mystery. A couple of years ago, I decided to read all the…
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…
Terror in the Snow
There is something beautiful and haunting and even a little scary about the cold. The silent isolation of a snow-covered mountain, the rising unease that comes with being "snowed in,"…
Introducing Large Print Classics!
I'm very excited to introduce a new addition to our collection! Patrons have been asking and we've answered with a new selection of Large Print classics for your reading enjoyment!…
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 Small List of Giant Books
What is it about giants that capture our imaginations? Perhaps it's just that they're so big. There's something awe-inspiring, frightening, and exciting about a creature that is so much bigger…
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…
Health on the Shelf: Clean Eats
Spring is here . . Spring Cleaning . . . Clean Eating! What is clean eating? According to the Mayo Clinic, clean eating is eating foods that are as close…
A Case of Mistaken Identity
At the end of 2021, I shared my yearly Reading Challenge. Throughout the year, I'm going to share some lists that might help with some of the prompts provided. Of…
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…
Fascinating Near-Future Science Fiction Books
Science fiction has a bit of a reputation for predicting the future. Is good science fiction fortune-telling, or is it talented authors following the latest scientific breakthroughs and their own…
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…
Author Spotlight: John Steinbeck
When I was in high school, if you were to ask me who my favorite author was, hands down I would have told you John Steinbeck. It was no question.…
J is My Favorite Color: An Introduction to Synesthesia
A is a pretty boring gray-tan. B is brown. C is where it gets good: the exact color of Crayola's "Macaroni and Cheese" crayon. My initials, J and M, are…
Seeing Double: Twenty-Two “Twos” Books for Tuesday, 2/22/2022
Today is February 22, 2022. It is also Tuesday. Which means, today is an excellent day for anyone whose favorite number is two, as it's two-two-two-two-two-two...you get the idea. So,…
Author Spotlight: Toni Morrison
Today is Toni Morrison's birthday, so let's celebrate this amazing Ohio author with an Author Spotlight! Toni's books skillfully blend elements of fantasy and magical realism with the brutal realities…
Health on the Shelf: Self-Care during American Heart Month
The National Institute of Mental Health defines Self-Care as "taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health." During…
Black History Month: Celebrating Black Joy
There's a lot going on in our world that is stressful, unhappy, and unpleasant. So, instead of focusing on the more unsavory aspects of the world around us, these authors…