April 2013 Children's Story Time

Can You Dig It? Dirt & Decomposers

Reading new books and old favorites on April 7th and 21st

Looking for a fun, free and easy-to-coordinate activity? Join us in our cozy children's book nook with comfy kid-sized cushions, a bevy of stuffed animals and lively readers. Afterward, families can enjoy a special docent-led children's tour of the Garden. Be sure to bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This event is suitable for children aged 4-8. Held on the first and third Sunday of every month at 10:30am, Storytime lasts approximately 30 minutes. The tour leaves the Library at 11am. The Library also has an excellent collection of books for children on plants, natural history, general science, and nature-related myths and stories.

Featured Book:

A Log's Life

A mighty oak falls and dies on the forest floor, but this is just the beginning of a new chapter in its life cycle. As the log decomposes it provides shelter for woodland creatures and a rich breeding ground for growing fungi. Each season shows the log more and more decayed, until it ultimately returns to the earth entirely. Sculpted from paper and paint, illustrator Robin Brickman creates amazingly realistic three-dimensional images that chronicle the log's life cycle in detail. (Early readers)

(j) QK495.F141 Q7 U6 P475 1997
A Log's Life. Pfeffer, Wendy. New York; Simon & Schuster Books for young Readers, 1997.

 

Apricot ABC. Niles, Miska. Boston: Little, Brown, 1969.
An apricot falls to the ground and becomes a thing to be examined by insects, eaten by a villainous hen, and covered by the processes of nature to grow again. Each page introduces a new letter of the alphabet. (Early readers)
(j) SB379.A7 M595 1969

Compost Critters. Lavies, Bianca. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 1993.
Describes what happens in a compost pile and how creatures, from bacteria and mites to millipedes and earthworms, aid in the process of turning compost into humus. (Advanced readers)
(j) S654 .L391 1993

Compost! Growing Gardens from your Garbage. Glaser, Linda. Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press, 1996.
Illustrates how to grow gardens from your garbage. (Early readers)
(j) S654 .G462 1996

Diary of a Worm. Cronin, Doreen. New York: Joanna Cotler Books, 2003.
A young earthworm discovers, day by day, that there are some very good and some not so good things about being a worm in this great big world. (Early readers)
(j) SB998.E4 C881 2003

A Handful of Dirt. Bial, Raymond. New York: Walker & Co., 2000.
Discusses the nature and importance of soil and the many forms of life it supports. (Advanced readers)
(j) S591 .B47 2000

Pumpkin Jack. Hubbell, Will. Morton Grive, Ill.: Albert Whitman, 2000.
In the course of one year, a jack-o-lantern, discarded after Halloween, decomposes in the backyard and eventually grows new pumpkins from its seeds. (Early readers)
(j) SB347 .H862 2000

Slop! A Welsh Folktale. MacDonald, Margaret Read. Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum Kids, 1997.
To appease their tiny neighbors, an old couple tidily compost their food scraps. (Early readers)
(j) S654 .M144 1997

Squirmy Worm Composters. Kalman, Bobbie. New York: Crabtree, 1992.
This introduction to the physical characteristics and beneficial effects of earthworms includes information on how to raise earthworms as pets. (Advanced readers)
(j) SB998.E4 K126 1992

What Rot! Nature's Mighty Recycler. Ring, Elizabeth. Brookfield, Conn.: 1996.
Text and photos show how rot and all the tiny organisms that cause it maintain the cycle of life. (Advanced readers)
(j) S654 .R472 1996

Wormy Worm. Raschka, Christopher. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2000.
As Wormy Worm wiggles and woggles, it is hard to tell which end is front and which end is back. (Pre-readers)
(j) SB998.E4 R183 2000