Once upon a time in the kingdom of Far Far Away lived an ogre named SHREK! Join us this Thursday, May 16 at 3:30 p.m. for an afternoon of awesome Shrek activities: Hear the original story by William Steig, enjoy crafts, snacks and of course the movie starring everyone’s favorite ogre! For children grades K-5th. No registration required.
Fairy Fest a Big Success!
Miss Meryle has posted TONS of fabulous fairy and elf photos on the library’s Flickr account. Check them out here: DPL Flickr Fairies.
We were so pleased to see so many happy and creative fairies and elves at this year’s festival. What a privilege it is to bring this celebration of the magic of spring to our patrons.
Of course, now that the Derry Fairy and Elf Festival has come to a close, it’s time to start thinking about summer! The many tasks on our long to-do lists are quickly getting checked off as the days progress. We’re so very excited to transform the library into an adventurer’s paradise; we hope you and your children will delight in this year’s theme. We’ve also been steadily adding new books to all of our collections: picture books, non-fiction, chapter books, biographies, graphic novels… the list goes on! We’d love for you (and all your friends!) to join us this summer in exploring all that your library has to offer.
The Summer Reading Program at the Derry Public Library officially begins on Monday, June 17th.
The fairies have landed!
Today we had our Rainbow Magic Fairy Party, and even Jack Frost’s goblins couldn’t keep the children from having fun!
Fairy dust, fairy poetry, fairy bread, and of course, enchanting fairy crowns to wear again and again!
Two girls enjoying the fairy crowns they crafted at our party.
The kids did a wonderful job at finding all the lost petals before gaining entry to Fairyland, where they made gorgeous floral fairy crowns and ate Australian fairy bread! We just know those crowns will be perfect to wear at Saturday’s Fairy and Elf Festival, which will happen rain or shine at 1pm. If the weather is rainy, we’ll build houses indoors for children to take home and install in their backyards.
More fairy crowns!
Interested in making your own crown for fairy fun? Silk flowers, one headband, floral tape, and ribbon (to cover the tape when you’re finished) are all you need to create a one-of-a-kind halo of springtime flowers!
If you’d like to read more about the Rainbow Magic Fairies series that inspired this party, take a look at our series wall in J Fiction! We just received six brand new books in the series, and they are waiting for you to check them out. One young patron is on a quest to read EVERY book in the Rainbow Magic Fairies series…are you up for the challenge?
All the marvelous fairies that landed at the library this afternoon! What a great time!
register today for the fairy and elf fest
Fairies meet just once a year
and fairy time is drawing near!
So don your wings, prepare to prance,
and join us for a fairy dance.
Then watch for shadows floating by
as Mr. Evan’s fairies fly.
Later, when you’ve built a home
for fairy friends to call their own,
we’ll invite you back inside
to check out books you’ve never tried!
——————–
On May 11th, 2013, the Derry Public Library will be holding its annual Derry Fairy and Elf Festival. We invite children of all ages to come and celebrate the onset of spring at this enchanting event. Costumes are encouraged but not required. We ask that you please register for this free (and very fun!) afternoon with fairies and elves in MacGregor Park.
Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own natural items from home with which to build fairy houses: sticks and twigs, pine cones, seashells, grasses, bark, moss, and flowers are all excellent building materials for fairy homes.
We hope to see you THIS SATURDAY starting at 1:00 p.m.!
Fairy dancing at last year’s festival. What fun!
Fairy time!
Tomorrow is May 1st, and that means Fairy Month is officially underway! Join us for some magical programming this month, including a RAINBOW MAGIC FAIRIES PARTY for children in grades K-3, the DERRY FAIRY AND ELF FESTIVAL for all ages, book clubs, Miss Kathy’s GOING TO THE ZOO! program for kids ages 2 and up, and a really neat STRING-A-STORY activity with Miss Kathryn, where kids ages 7+ will learn to make a cat’s cradle (and learn to tell a story with it).
Click here to register for the Rainbow Magic Fairies Party and/or the Derry Fairy and Elf Festival!
In case you missed it last year, the Fairy and Elf Festival is a full afternoon event, beginning at 1pm and ending at 4pm on Saturday, May 11th. It includes dancing with Miss Eileen, face-painting, music, and of course, building fairy houses! Bring your all-natural materials (shells, twigs, pebbles, acorns, flowers, etc.) to the library for an enchanting outdoor afternoon.
Hard at work building fairy houses at last year’s festival.
storytime update
Attention parents, grand-parents, and caregivers of 3-5 year olds:
Miss Eileen’s Step Into Music storytime has been cancelled for tomorrow (Tuesday), April 30th. We hope to see you all next week! Thanks!
fairies and legos and egypt, oh my!
Here we are: April Vacation! We hope you’ve all had a chance to enjoy the warmer weather that vacation has brought to us, and that you’re rested and ready for the rest of the school year. We’re gearing up for a thrilling summer, but before June hits we have all kinds of excitement still in store.
It’s nearly May, and here in Derry that means only one thing: FAIRIES! You may have noticed that our Children’s Room is decked out in all things fairy! The big day will be Saturday, May 11th, starting at 1pm. There will be dancing, face-painting, one of Mr. Evan’s wonderful shadow puppet shows, and of course, fairy house-building! Don’t forget to bring your own all-natural house materials to the big day. Seashells, pine cones, acorns, twigs, moss, fresh and dried flowers, pebbles, tree bark…fairies love to be nestled in nature! Please see our Calendar link above to pre-register for this event.
Every shape and size–we welcome your LEGO donations!
- Looking ahead to summer, we’re still on the hunt for LEGO donations! We’ve got a bin started with donations that have already come in, but we still need your help. Please stop by the desk if you have any questions, but we welcome ALL of your donations, including parts of old sets and kits that may be missing pieces, all shapes, sizes, and colors. We even welcome kit-specific pieces!
And finally, if you’re curious about what to expect this summer, think BIG: pyramids, the Sphinx, King Tut, and loads of other ancient Egyptian treasures (and mysteries!) will be the foundational elements of our Summer Reading Program. We look forward to sharing all of the details with you in future blog posts. We’ll also be visiting each Derry elementary school in May and June with giant posters and handouts about all of our summer programs and activities. Look for that information in your children’s backpacks and handout folders as we get closer to the last day of school.
Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories
Tuesday Nights – 6:30 p.m.
Story program for working parents and their children ages 2-5. Join us for stories, rhymes and lively participation fun. Pajamas, blankets and stuffed animals welcome. No registration required. With Miss Jackie.
Storytime is in Session
We’re delighted you’ve come to Storytime!
Here are a few guidelines for an enjoyable experience:
* Please arrive five minutes early to fill out a name tag for your child.
* Please sit with your child on the floor to model and participate throughout the activities.
* Please save snacks for outside the library. No food or drinks are allowed.
*Please turn off all cell phones.
* Please help us ensure that everyone enjoys Storytime by taking your child outside the room for a moment if they become upset or loud enough to disrupt the program. You’re welcome to rejoin us as soon as your child has caught their breath.
If you see this sign on the door…
Storytime is already in session and we ask you to join us the following week, as to not disrupt the class. All of our weekly Storytimes begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. Please help us make sure that your child and all of the other families have a wonderful experience by being on time. We understand that parking is limited and can be problematic, so please give yourself ample time to find a parking place and fill out a name tag before class.
Thanks for your help.
We look forward to seeing you!
how does your (poetry) garden grow?
I think we can finally say that spring has sprung in Derry! The days are longer, the temperature is milder, and the sun is actually warm. All that reminds me that we have some wonderful programs coming up in April, including a special dancing program with Miss Eileen, a weather lab with Miss Courtney, and a special Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration featuring the Lorax with Mr. Evan. For information on all of our programs, check out the calendar link above, or read our special programs section.
April is also National Poetry Month! We’ve already had a number of kids participate in our poetry bulletin board, but we’d love to see more. Come on down to the library to put your own special poem up in our poetry garden, then borrow a few poetry books for more inspiration. If you are interested in learning more about children’s poetry (and if you love having zany word-based fun!) come to Mr. Evan’s “Shel-ebration” program: a celebration of acclaimed children’s poet Shel Silverstein on Saturday, April 27th at 11:00 am. There will be games, art, activities, and of course, poems.
Don’t forget that we have all kinds of children’s books pertaining to the marvelous months of spring, from gardening to bird-watching, life cycles, weather, and everything in between.
-Courtney
