Come together and celebrate the love of a good book with a brand new Frederick Reads! This year, Frederick Reads is changing to a month-long book festival in April featuring two headliners, national authors, and numerous local and regional authors. Plus, there will be art and music events that blend nicely with our book selections. We hope you'll join the fun and help us celebrate this new chapter of Frederick Reads.

Next up is poet Naomi Shihab Nye, who is the eighth speaker in the annual C. Burr Artz Trust Poetry Series, joining a long line of distinguished previous poets including Robert Hass, Robert Pinsky, and Kay Ryan. Poetry lovers are in for a rare treat when Ms. Nye shares her poems and prose. Born to a Palestinian father and an American mother, she grew up in St. Louis, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, although she's spent many years traveling the world leading writing workshops and inspiring students of all ages.

The public is invited to attend these free, non-ticketed events. Book sales and signings will follow each event. For more information and the full line-up of events visit FrederickReads.org.

Thank you to the Ausherman Family Foundation, The C. Burr Artz Trust, Delaplaine Foundation, Inc., Frederick Arts Council, Frederick Community College, Maryland State Arts Council, Plamondon Hospitality Partners, Weinberg Center for the Arts, Frederick County Public Libraries, and Friends of Frederick County Public Libraries.

Do you know why librarians share nursery rhymes during storytime?

First, rhymes are good for children's developing brains and help them gain awareness of how smaller sounds relate to how language works. Second, hearing rhymes conditions children to be more sensitive to word sounds which assist in their language development. These rhymes may also be a child's first experience with literacy and helps them build their memory capabilities. Rhymes can also help paint mental pictures and spark imaginations. Use of pictures or flannel boards along with nursery rhymes creates a full visual and auditory experience. Reading, singing, or acting out rhymes conveys to children that sounds make words and words can be fun.

In The Surprising Meaning and Benefits of Nursery Rhymes, Michael Sizer states, "Nursery rhymes are still relevant to our modern day kids and parents because learning rhymes preserves an oral tradition and a part of culture that may span generations giving parents, grandparents and kids a shared ritual." The poems and verses provide a great group activity which helps children build confidence as they learn the rhymes and motions. Acting out the rhymes further assists with fine motor skill development and coordination. Nursery rhymes may be enjoyed for the rhythm, or merely how the words sound, but it is in this practice of hearing nursery rhymes that children learn how to listen, which is a vital skill to learn.

Finally, positive experiences with nursery rhymes provide a socially engaging and playful experience for young children that is part of a literacy-rich environment. Librarians strive to create stimulating engaging story programs, and nursery rhymes are one tool used in story programs that enhances learning (hidden under the guise of just being fun!).

Submitted by Shelba Bollinger
Thurmont Regional Library

Reading has so many benefits for young children. It increases vocabulary, improves concentration, develops imagination, entertains, relaxes, and teaches children about the world around them. Although most parents are aware of the positive effects of reading, it isn't always easy to get kids to read.

One great way to motivate your child to read is to read a chapter book with them, starting with a chapter a day. An engaging story will have them begging for the next chapter. If you can find a series that they like, it's an easy transition to have them wanting to pick up the next book to read for themselves. Some series that we've found to be hits with young readers are:

• Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
• The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

If your child finds reading a chapter book daunting, there are many graphic novels that are fast paced and have lots of pictures. Some favorites of young readers are:

• Squish by Jennifer Holm
• Baby Mouse by Jennifer Holm
• Lunch Lady by Jarrett Krosoczka
• Legends of Chima by Yannick Grotholt
• Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton

For more recommendations, see our booklist Great Books for Picky Readers or talk to any of our friendly Children's Services staff. 

The Kiplinger's Retirement Report is a new addition to FCPL's magazine collection. The Retirement Report began in 1993, is twenty pages long, and is published monthly. This is a valuable resource for people who are getting ready to retire or who are already retired, as there are many things to plan for.

The Retirement Report covers many topics related to retirement and is full of informative and interesting articles. Some of the topics covered each month are:

• Investing  
• Health
• Estate Planning
• Taxes
• Managing Your Finances
• Retirement Living
• Travel

These monthly reports are located in the magazine section at the C. Burr Artz Public Library and can be checked out with your library card.

 

FCPL also receives other Kiplinger products: the Kiplinger Letter (weekly), the Kiplinger Tax Letter (biweekly), and the Kiplinger's Personal Finance Advisor (monthly). These three letters can be found in the Business Resource Center at the C. Burr Artz Public Library and are available for in library use only. 

 

Submitted by Terri Klco

C. Burr Artz Public Library 

 

The Frederick Speaker Series is sponsored by: The Ausherman Family Foundation, The C. Burr Artz Trust, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick County Bank, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., PNC Bank, The Kiplinger Foundation, Graphcom, Inc., Frederick Magazine, The Frederick News-Post, Frederick County Public Libraries, and The Weinberg Center for the Arts.