Curious George Wartime Escape

August is here and thoughts are turning to the start of another school year. Summer activities have wound to a close at the library with the final event for summer reading--the tee shirt claim. Readers who reached their goal were not only able to come and pick up their tee shirts on August 4 in the late afternoon, but were treated to an ice cream sundae of their own construction as well. Good work, all you diligent readers! Remember, if you were unable to come to claim your shirt on August 4, you will need to pick it up by August 20, or call the library to make other arrangements.

On the 9th, the library hosted Kansas State University Children's Literature professor Joe Sutliff Sanders who was brought to Liberal in conjunction with the Wartime Escape exhibit currently at the Mid America Air Museum. Sutliff Sanders presented a wonderful, informative program focusing on World War II conditions in France at the time of the German invasion helping those in attendance to better understand the climate under which the German born Jewish Reys, creators of the popular Curious George books, escaped from Paris, and eventually from Europe. Sutliff Sanders was keynote speaker that evening at the Mid America Air Museum for a Chamber After Hours event. The library is excited to partner with the Air Museum on this project, which was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council.

The library has planned additional activities to go along with the Air Museum exhibit which include two days designated for Read with Curious George. Youngsters may come between the hours of 3:30 and 5:30 on Tuesday, August 23, and Thursday, August 25, and read with our large Curious George plush. We will have a number of Curious George titles available. Any youngster taking part will get their name entered into our drawing for a Curious George plush and book combination. In addition, there will be tickets to the museum exhibit given away.

On Tuesday evening, August 30, a bi-lingual Curious George story time will take place in the Children's Library at 6:30 p.m. The regular story time on Thursday, September 1, at 9:15 a.m. will have the Curious George theme. On Saturday, September 10, a video session will take place at 10 a.m. in the Cooper Clark Room. This will feature short stories from the PBS Curious George program and will last approximately 90 minutes. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Museum tickets and a chance to enter the drawing will also be available at these events, which are open to anyone interested.

The library has purchased additional Curious George books for our collection. These include some bi-lingual titles and some Spanish titles. Several of the DVDs which are produced by the PBS Curious George series were also purchased. For patrons interested in the book which parallels the exhibit, it is entitled The Journey that Saved Curious George by Louise Borden, with illustrations by Allan Drummond. This book can be found in the Children's Library. Another recent addition to our collection is the biography entitled H. A. Rey by Cari Meister. This is a simpler written, smaller book which contains a glossary and suggested websites in the back.

As Sutliff Sanders mentioned in his presentation, there are a lot of children's books which deal with the holocaust that help children to better understand it. One book which he shared is entitled The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Saved Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle. This book is on the current list of nominated titles for the William Allen White Award in the third through fifth grade category. Here's a description which the WAW Committee provided:

"During the Nazi occupation of Paris, no Jew was safe from arrest and deportation to a concentration camp. Few Parisians were willing to risk their own lives to help. Yet many Jews found refuge in an unlikely place, the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Not just a place of worship, but also a community center, this hive of activity was an ideal temporary hiding place for escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages, including children."

The library owns both of these titles, as well as many others about World War II and the holocaust. They are well worth checking out.

Story times begin again August 18. This is a fun time for little ones. It not only exposes them to early literacy skill building but also gives them socialization time. It's a good time for parents, grandparents, and caregivers to connect as well. Check with the library for a schedule of times and age groups or go to our website at lmlibrary.org.

For those of you with a special place in your heart for Winnie the Pooh, he will be turning 90 on August 21. If you would like to send him a birthday card, here is the link

http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/29/winnie-the-pooh-birthday

Even though you may be bustling around to get children ready for the start of school, don't forget that the library has great resources for both academic and leisure reading. Stop by frequently. See you at Memorial Library!