NMMS Sixth Graders!

Mrs. Taylor’s reading list is here, and I've highlighted the books on it that we have available at our library. There are lots!! Come to the Gordon-Nash and check out our display in the juvenile section!

For each title, I also noted the availability of the audiobook or ebook version for download. All you need to download this digital format is a device, an app, and your library card number. If you need help with the set-up, just bring your device in to the library and we'll do it together. Have fun with Summer Reading!

Local Writers' Science Fiction!

Fourth and fifth Grade writers from the New Hampton Community School have their science fiction work on display at the Gordon-Nash during our "Universe of Stories" Summer Reading Program. In early June, students were challenged to compose an original piece, then illustrate it by drawing a book cover. The last week of school, an assembly was held, with each contributor receiving a certificate for their work and first place prizes of a free book.

Fourth grade writing is on the bulletin board at the landing of the rear staircase. Fifth grade writing can be found in a basket in the periodical section. Please take a few minutes to a look at this creative and imaginative work by our local student writers!

Special thanks to NHCS teachers Melissa Markey and Angie Bergholm for working with us this year and in the past. Thanks to the Friends of the Gordon-Nash Library for sponsoring this program and providing wonderful science books as prizes. Kudos to Gretchen Draper - resident, “Friend”, and teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project in NH - for organizing this yearly collaborative program with our local school.

Sign-up Saturday!

Today, thirty-one kids of all ages signed up for the Universe of Stories Summer Reading Program! Young readers received their reading logs and folders so they can keep track of all the books they read this summer. For each book they read, they'll receive a star for our universe bulletin board.

Everyone had a piece of a beautiful "Space Cake" covered with dark-sky frosting, a rocket, and planets (and we forgot to take a photo! 😞)! Kids or families sat in front of the green screen for their photos, then chose a NASA photo to "appear" in. Completed photos were sent to parents' phones so families could save and share them.

LEGO Club 2018-2019

Another fantastic year of LEGO Club is in the books! We spent the May and June sessions thinking about what kinds of living conditions astronauts must need when they spend time in space. Each child built a section for a Space Station and, before we left for the last time, they were all attached into one huge space vehicle. It's on display for the summer in the reference section of the library. Come and look!

We had a blast this year! A big thank you to the parents who let their kids come to the library after school for this club and to Mrs. Troup at New Hampton Community School who made sure everyone arrived safely. Thanks also to club founder Mike Dowal for sharing his LEGO expertise and knowledge with eager learners. Finally, thanks to Wallingford's Inc of New Hampton who graciously donated funds so kids could have an after-school snack before each LEGO Club began.

I'm looking forward to next year's LEGO Club already!

2019 Summer Reading Program!

It’s Summer! and it’s almost time for Summer Reading at the Gordon-Nash Library! This year’s theme is A Universe of Stories and children’s programming will be focused on space and space exploration!

Each week, the library will host an evening family program as well as a Family Movie Night with space-related films rated PG. To accommodate busy family schedules, this year we are staggering the weekday nights for these two events. Our regular storytime session will continue on Thursdays at 10:45, with stellar stories and crafts for children of all ages. Drop in to the Children’s Room with your friends to build with LEGO each Thursday from 2-3pm.

The 2019 Summer Reading Program blasts off on Thursday, June 27th with a 6:30pm family show featuring award-winning NH children’s musician Steve Blunt and best-selling children’s author/illustrator Marty Kelley. This promises to be a night of sing-along, laugh-out-loud fun for all ages. Ice cream will be served beginning at 6pm.

Other evening family events at the library will be “Creatures of the Night” with live animals from the Squam Lakes Science Center. We will also have a performance by Lindsay and her Puppet Pals as well as “Fort Night”, an opportunity to build a family fort at the library and leave a stuffed animal to sleep over. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center will present their program “The International Space Station: Living and Working in Space”, geared to children in grades 1-6. Audience size for this program is limited to 60 so be sure to call the library to reserve your child’s spot.The Summer Reading Program will end on Wednesday, August 7th with our annual “All-Star Talent Show”, featuring performances by patrons young and old. Ice cream and a dance party celebration will follow.

Sign up for the Summer Reading Program by visiting the Gordon-Nash during regular library hours and receive schedules of events and materials to help children track summer reading progress. A special sign-up event will be held at the library on Saturday, June 22 from 11-1:15pm where program materials will be distributed and photos of participants will be taken as if they’re in outer space! The Gordon Nash Library is at 69 Main Street in New Hampton. For questions, please call the library at 744-8061 or email Christine Hunewell, Children’s Librarian, at chunewell.gnl(at)gmail.com. For a full schedule of events, visit https://bit.ly/2IfHiBR

Have an out-of-this-world Summer at the library!

Let's Ride Bikes!

It's June, and time to get out your bicycles! Today's Storytime was all about bikes! We read about Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best, how much she loved her bike, Flash, and what happened when she outgrew it. In Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka, we watched a small child become a fast bike rider! And we laughed at Duck on a Bike by David Shannon as Duck rode through his barnyard visiting his friends!

For our craft, we colored a bike and added a rider. We drew spokes on colored circles to look like bicycle wheels, then fastened them with brads to the bike so they would turn like real wheels. After we glued our bike and its rider to a larger piece of paper, some of us made a setting for our bike ride - like a city, a farm,  or a neighborhood street. And we all made sure our bike rider was wearing a helmet!