September is Library Card Sign-up Month!
Libraries are essential hubs of our communities, supporting literacy and education, preserving cultural heritage, and providing rich opportunities for exploration and the cultivation of imagination. They provide our children with endless opportunities to explore new things, learn more about topics that interest them, and make friends with librarians. In celebration of Library Card Sign-up Month this week’s books focus on young children’s love of libraries.
Joyful Reading!
Luna Loves Library Day
Written by Joseph Coelho, Illustrated by Fiona Lumbers
Luna loves library day, packing up books to return, her library card, and book bag. Her mother drops her off at the library where she meets her father and the explore all the adventures that the library has to offer. Together they find books that interest them both – books about bugs, and magic, and even book about the island where her father grew up. Young readers will delight at the story with the story, that Luna reads with her father. Luna checks out her books as they leave and takes home memories of her outing with the father in the books she will explore. Fiona Lumbers’ colorful illustrations provide a great deal of visual detail to explore while reading this delightful book.
Lottie Paris and the Best Place
Written by Angela Johnson, Illustrated by Scott M. Fisher
Lottie Paris’ favorite place it the library. Lottie Paris loves all things space and looks forward to her time at the library to find books about planets and stars. Lottie knows all the library rules and sticks to them (for the most part). One day while she is at the library she meets Carl who also loves the library, where he can search for books about dinosaurs. Carl also knows the library rules but enjoys testing the limits. Even through their interests are different, Lottie Paris and Carl become fast friends because for both of them the library is “the best place in the world.” Scott M. Fischer’s whimsical illustrations capture the children’s sense of wonder and adventure as they explore their favorite place and make a new friend.
Ron’s Big Mission
Written by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden, Illustrated by Ron Tate
This fictional account of a real-life incident during the Civil Rights-Era childhood of Challenger astronaut Ron McNair. Young Ron skips breakfast and a basketball game with friends to go to the library. After searching the shelves for some time, he is disappointed that he could not find books about children like him. Undaunted he finds some books he would like to borrow. An elderly woman offers to check the books out for him. He respectfully declines her offer, only to find out that he is not allowed to check out the books because he is Black. In an act of civil disobedience, he refuses to be turned away, and in the end, he is finally granted a library card. Ron Tate’s illustrations which feature large head on the characters beautifully capture the range of emotions they experience.
Beyond the Books
Today’s libraries are far more than just a place to borrow a book. To learn more about the rich and varied offerings of today’s public libraries, check out a Love Letter to Libraries from the New York Times and visit I Love Libraries.
If you do not have a library card, September is a great time to get one! This is an excellent time get to know your local library, or to reengage if you have been away. During Library Card Sign-up Month, many libraries sponsor special events to introduce new patrons to their programs and offerings. You can locate the public library closest to you, and link directly to the library’s website through libraries.org, which includes links to all 16,887 public libraries in the United States!
Unlock a world of possibilities for the children in your life by getting them their own library cards! Most public libraries allow children to obtain their own library cards with the permission of a parent or guardian. Not only does this foster a sense of pride in a young child, but it is a wonderful tool to learn responsibility. Accompany the card with a tote bag and they are all set!