The Year of The Dragon

To celebrate The Year of The Dragon, I created a display of Dragon books.  To make the dragon, I blew up this image of a Chinese Dragon, colored it and cut it out. Then, I accordion folded 4 sheets of construction paper and taped them together. I wrapped the dragon around my go to wooden ladder and added a Happy New Year sign. I have a feeling this display will be empty soon!

All U Need Iz Luv...

And a Good Book!

I printed the words, matted them on construction paper and then taped them to clear plastic cups. The font for my caption is "Cupid de Locke" and I found it here, at Dafont.com

Do You Have a Dream? Display

This is the book display celebrating the words and thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. All of the books are fabulous biographies of African Americans who have worked to make a difference and overcome racism and discrimination. I placed a time line on the display- starting in 1619 with the arrival of the first African slaves in the US, and ending with the election of President Barack Obama.

Latest Displays

This is my latest political statement!

I moved all of the graphic novels to one location for easier browsing.

Unfortunately, I have to limit kids to 1 each or we would be belly up!

Looky What I Got!

I am a loyal 1st Avenue Hy Vee customer during the week.  It is very close to Lemme School- I go nearly every day! (My husband works for the company and  I put myself through college working there myself!)   Each year, Hy Vee has a "Spring Time Party" where each store spring cleans and decorates the entire store in a fun theme.   To my surprise and delight, I walked in on 1st Avenue Hy Vee's Party and found a CHILDREN'S LITERATURE theme!  The entire store was decked to the nines in all of the characters and pages from classic children's books.  One of the show stoppers was a ginormous version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  When I saw that- I knew it had to be mine.  I asked them to hold it for me and 1 week later, it arrived- delivered by 2 very friendly and smiling Hy Vee Employees.  I was mortified to learn that this monstrosity would not fit into the building, let alone the library.   I left it outside for the night and hoped for the best.  I came to school the next morning to find that the book had magically been brought into the building by our amazing custodian, Annie.  For the rest of the morning, Annie and Mr B plotted how they would get the book into the library.  1 toolbox, a little elbow grease and a handful of very long screws later, the book arrived safely in the library.  The kids love it and I love it- I am so thankful to the friends who helped get it here!   And- a big pat on the back to 1st Ave Hy Vee for taking on such a beautiful and meaningful  theme- the community has loved it.   I love this book so much that when I retire, I may turn it into my summer home. 

The Front Cover!

The back cover!

A cute little model to put the size in perspective!

It's Raining Cat & Dog Books... In the Lemme Library!

With the help of Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Hayes & Mrs. Dennis, I was able to make this fun display!  All of the borrowed stuffed animals and umbrella are hanging from the ceiling with fishing line so it looks like they are hanging in mid air.  I have divided the shelf in 1/2... one side for dog books and one for cat books.  Do you know what the expression "It's raining cats and dogs" means?  Read about it here...

Snowmen in the Library

Last week we welcomed snow to Iowa City!  There wasn't much snow, and it didn't build up very much, but Kindergarten didn't care!  I think 5 year olds are walking barometers!  Need to know if the weather is changing?  Look at a kindergarten class! 

We read one of my favorite books, Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner (E BUE).  I have read this book at least 20 times in my career as a librarian, and not until last week did I realize the book is filled with tons of hidden illustrations.  I need to give a shout out to my buddy, Owen for pointing this out to me!  We had a blast going through the pages and looking for hidden images.  

After our story, the kids each made a snowboy or snowgirl in their own likeness... the results?  Total cuteness!  

Sharing my Displays With a Cool Blogger in NZ!

I have fallen in love with this blog, Library Displays written by a librarian in New Zealand.  I have found this site to be a great source of inspiration for my library displays.... so I thought it was time for me to send in some of my displays.  They actually got published!  Check it out!

Books on Display... Show & Tell!

Here are some wonderful library displays from the amazingly talented librarians in Iowa City! 

Jenahlee's Wild Things Display!

Jenahlee's Winter Display!

Judith's Winter Display

Salina's Winter Display

Kelly's (My) Snow Display!

Peter from "The Snowy Day"

Kelly's (My) Winter Holiday Display

Kelly's (My) "Red" any Good Books Display! (All red books)

New Displays in the Library

I have noticed that bright, interesting book displays hook kids!  It doesn't matter what the theme of the display is- if you build it, they will come!  Here are a few displays that are in the library as we speak!  Stop by and check them out! (Literally!!)

Chick Lit... Chicken books!

That's Chicken to you, kid!

Read Something Delicious (food books!)

Chick Lit (Girl books!)

Fall is in the Air

I love fall...  this is a fun display in our library! 

Did I mention?

Did I mention the beautiful library sign that is at the top of my blog?  It was made by the ladies at Things With Wings!  Jill Brown is Will & Sam's mom (they are Lemme Leopards!), and she is 1 of 4 Iowa City artists that work together to make beautiful mixed-media art.  Here is their blog:

Things With Wings

I can't tell you how many compliments I have gotten on our beautiful sign!  They even made one for Mrs. Dickson at Weber School!  

Who wouldn't want one after they see mine! : )