Calling All Stories!

Ideas for Your Book and Stories This Week

Week Four – Make a Splash @ your library!

It’s the very last week to enter your stories in our contest – but we hope you keep writing and making books all year!

Stories are due no later than Saturday, July 31. Prizes will be awarded at the picnic on Tuesday, August 3.

There’s still time, and there’s still water all around you.

Really.

It’s hot out – there’s water in your cup. Doesn’t that drink of water taste good? I bet there’s a story in there. What if you turned on your faucet and nothing came out? What if every glass in the world had a hole in the bottom?

How about the water in your bathtub? What if the little rubber duckies floating in baths all over the world all got together and made a rubber duckie army? What if the towels and washcloths all came to life and ran away before you could dry yourself off?

Don’t forget the laundry water… Ever been in the laundry room when the washer decided to overflow and start a flood? What if the rubber duckie army made a fort in the washing machine and nothing could be clean?

OK, it’s silly… but now let’s get real… Not everyone has all the water they need every day:
http://www.waterforchildrenafrica.org/

Kids can (and do) help:
http://www.randomkid.org/water.asp

Ahoy, mateys! It's story-writing time

Ideas for Your Book and Stories This Week

Week Four – Make a Splash @ your library!

On the High Seas…

This week we are setting sail for high adventures. This is the week to imagine yourself out to sea. Are you a sailor in a tall ship? A pirate with a fine treasure to bury? A scientist learning about all those strange undersea creatures?

Imagine the sound of the waves and let them carry you off. What would it be like to live on a ship in the ocean? Where would you go? What would you see?

Would your ship have old-fashioned sails or hot new engines?

Would you have somewhere special to go, or would you just follow a star?

Would dolphins swim alongside your ship? Would whales sing to you?

What would the birds think of you? Once, when I was sailing on a tall ship, a flock of migrating birds came to land for a moment in our rigging. It was a rare rest as they flew over the sea. Their story would be a good one to tell.

What kinds of treasure would you find? What new friends would you make?

You can try a sailing game online here:
http://www.cbc.ca/kids/games/tallships/

Or learn about sea creatures here:
http://www.pbs.org/oceanrealm/seadwellers/index.html

Keep on writing!

Ideas for Your Book and Stories This Week

Week Three – Make a Splash @ your library!

Over the River and Through the Ponds…

There’s freshwater all around us: in the beautiful, historic Delaware River, springing up from the ground at Aquetong near Deer Park, flowing in creeks and into ponds.

Listen for the evening frogs…
are they telling you a story? What does a creek look like to them?

Listen to the River…
imagine an army crossing here, or a ferry with a coach and four horses. Can you hear their stories?

How about the birds who depend on the water?
It’s not just ducks and geese. Look under the bridge to see the swallow’s nests. In the evening you can see the swallows dance low in the air to eat bugs. If they weren’t there, mosquitoes would be nibbling you right now. Their story is worth telling.


Find out more about some local waters:
http://www.aquetongwatershed.org/
http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/

Don't stop writing now!

Ideas for Your Book and Stories This Week

Week Two – Make a Splash @ your library!

Where Does it Come From? Where Does it Go?

This week our inspiration comes from some local waters on the Canal. Long ago the canal was an important way to travel from one place to another and move goods around from where they were made or grown to where they would be bought.

Imagine your way back to the 1800’s…

Where do you come from? Where are you going?
Who else is on the Canal?
The animals may look the same, but are the people different?


Imagine yourself in the 2100’s…

What’s the canal like now?
Is it still there?
Is anyone still using it?
Are the animals still around?


Or take a walk to the canal path and take a look right now today…

What do you see?
Imagine what the people you see are doing, where they come from and where they are going.
Did the heron just fly in from a long winter down south?
Is the Canada goose raising little goslings? Where will they spend the winter?
What’s that turtle eating? Did he go out for dinner, or did dinner fly right up to him?

We're off and running!

Ideas for Your Book and Stories This Week

Week One – Make a Splash @ your library!

Where Do I Start ???

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to put in your book.

Sometimes it’s simple as rain falling down from the sky.

This year our club is all about water, all different kinds of water, each kind making its own special splash!

How about a book of things to do when it’s raining?

How about a book about a town where it never rains? Or never stops raining?

How about a book about the gold at the end of the rainbow?

How did the rainbow come to be, anyway? And who put the gold there?

And who makes that big thunder noise and flashes the lightning around?

Rain is full of stories, falling all around you. Hold out a bucket and catch one.

I bet you already know lots of stories. A book is someplace to keep them safe, and don’t forget: you may have made just one book today, but you can make as many as you want tomorrow!

(PS - If you are one of those who cancelled at the last minute, or who missed and didn't tell us, please stop by the library to pick up your make-a-book kit. We'll have it safely here for you)

Summer Reading Club
For Kids Entering
Grades K—1, or 2—4

Make a Splash at Your Library! is this year's theme

Club members will read books and learn how to make their own books. Every in-library event will include a special presentation and time to pick out new books to read at home. Kids entering Kindergarten and 1st grade will be in one group; kids entering grades 2-4 in another. Both enjoy the same presentations. Older kids will also explore storytelling and illustration, if they want. With younger kids we’ll read aloud and tell stories. We will once again hold writing contests with prizes for both groups.

Kids may sign up for each special event at the library individually. You need not commit to coming every time. Kids may sign up for as many programs as they wish (space permitting).

Those who can’t come to the events at the library can still participate in reading and making a book. Any registered child who completes a reading log, or makes a book, may receive prizes and sign up to attend the final party.

All in-library events are Tuesday Mornings 10:30—12:00

June 29: Learn to Make Your Own Book! We’ll start making books today—books you can add to all summer long, and show off at the final party.

July 6: Canal Splash Learn about the history and wildlife of the Delaware Canal State Park.

July 13: Steve Pullara’s Cool Beans Music and Art program will get your creativity flowing! This is the perfect time to figure out how to illustrate the book you made in June.

July 20: Wacky Waves with Mad Science of New Jersey Learn about water, waves, & the environment as you find creative ways to clean up an oil spill.

July 27: Jane King, Storyteller New Hope’s best-loved storyteller shares tales from the watery world.

August 3: Final Picnic Dinner Party The whole family is invited to pack a picnic and join us for a music and arts program from 6:00-7:30 PM at a special location.

Each club member will receive a T-shirt upon completion of the first reading log. For every completed log after that, and for making one book, each child will receive a book or similar prize. This year, reading logs will measure time spent reading, not books read. We hope this makes things fairer for kids who read l o n g e r books.

Each club member will receive a kit with materials and instructions to help make a book. New ideas for adding to the book will be shared at each in-library event. If you can’t attend the event, the ideas for that week will be available at the library throughout the week, and will also be posted here on our website, so you can keep enjoying the activities even when you can’t be here.

Club members must have their own library cards, and we ask that they please bring their library cards and the club bags they receive at registration to each event. Any outstanding fines must be cleared and any overdue books must be returned before the club starts.

You don’t have to stay with your child at the library, but we do ask that you please drop off and pick up your child promptly. If you’d like to stay and help us, that would be truly wonderful. We also ask you to be aware that children must be able to behave. Children who misbehave can ruin an event for everyone else, and we do reserve the right to ask misbehaving children to leave the program. We’d hate to do that, so please be sure your child is signed up for the appropriate group and events. Thank you.

There is no charge for this program (we thank the Haley Foundation for their generous support).

Space is limited, so please sign up early! In-library events are often full by late in the afternoon of the first sign-up day.

Registration opens Saturday, June 5 (10:00 AM—5:00 PM) (lines form before 10:00 AM) and continues through June 19. You must sign up in person at the library or send a friend to do so for you. Please come ready to tell us which programs fit your schedule.

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Five– Be Creative at your library!

Crazy Mixed-Up Stories

This was Storytelling week at the library.

We hope you’re busy making up your own stories for the Story Contest. Grand Prize winners will be displayed at Farley’s Bookshop. We need to see all your stories by Saturday, August 1. Yipes!!! That’s pretty soon!!!

Still having trouble with ideas?

How about taking a story you know well and mashing it up?

Ken Geist moved the Three Little Pigs underwater and turned it into a great book: The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark.

Bob Hartman pulled a quick switch to write The WOLF Who Cried BOY.

David Conway mashed together many Mother Goose rhymes to create The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster.

How about you? What would happen if Cinderella got lost running away from the ball and stumbled into the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel by mistake? What if Rapunzel’s witch got sick of her and sent her to Hogwarts? What if SpongeBob kissed Sleeping Beauty?

Get us your stories and reading logs by August 1, please. If you’ve completed a story or log, we’ll see you at the picnic August 4!

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Four – Be Creative at Your Library!

Stories from Songs

This week at the library we made up our own songs.

If you missed Annie’s Super Songwriting program, check out her website here:
http://www.notebookrecords.com/

You might also want to link to some great music sites for kids from this list at the Internet Public Library:
http://ipl.org/div/kidspace/browse/amm3000/

Meanwhile, we hope you’re working on your stories. Contest time is coming up soon! Stories are due by July 31. We’ve gotten some stories already, and we hope to read yours, too.

Still looking for new ideas?

Stories can come from songs!

Think of music you like. If it doesn’t already have words of its own, can you think about how it makes you feel and then write words for it? How about drawing what it makes you feel or think about?

Can you make up new words for a favorite song, and draw pictures to go along? Or can you imagine what might have happened to make someone sing that song?

Can you make up a whole new song and write it in your book?

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Three – Be Creative at Your Library!

Stories from Science

This week at the library we saw Piccirillo Sciencetelling (http://www.piccirillo.org/)
And found out how to mix stories and science.

Here are some ideas to take home with you.

To learn all kinds of cool science facts, check out the KidSpace Science Links at the Internet Public Library.

The Internet Public Library also has great links to all sorts of sites where kids can be creative. Some of these will help you learn to write terrific stories. If you write the best story ever – but after our contest at the library is over – there are some sites here that will help you show off your work online so everyone can read it.

What happens when you put science and stories together? Anything you imagine!

Lots of comic books mix up science and stories. There are also books called “science fiction” which tell strange and wonderful stories that may be based on new ideas about science. These are stories about experiments, strange planets, spaceships, time travel and much more. Try it out! What if your best friend was a secret space alien? A robot? A time traveler from the future? A caveman in disguise?

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Two – Be Creative at Your Library!

Inspiration All Around!

This week at the library we saw Nature By the Yard (http://naturebytheyard.com/)
and found out how inspiration waits in our own backyards.

If you missed the program, it’s not too late to find out more!

Take a visit to a wild and wonderful place – your own backyard. Just sit still a moment. Look around you. Stay still and listen. Who’s sharing the land with you? How about the sky? What are all those creatures doing? Do they have stories to tell?

Look around at the trees as well. How old do you think they are? What kinds of stories could they tell you if they wanted? Imagine a nice long conversation with a tree in your yard.

What could a tree teach a squirrel? Do you think that bright red cardinal is a secret superhero?

It would be great to remember a perfect summer day. Why not draw a picture?

Look here to see what other young naturalists are doing:
http://monarchbfly.com/about/

And here's a special project some of us worked on:

Ever here of SPIDERman or BATgirl? At the library we have a cool book about LADYBUG Girl and BUMBLEBEE Boy. Lots of superheroes share names and special powers with creatures you can find in your own backyard. Here's a quick little worksheet to help you imagine your own Backyard Super Hero. This could be the start of a story for our story contest.

Back Yard Super Hero

Superhero Name: ___________________________________________

Secret Identity: ___________________________________________

Is Partly Human and Partly: ___________________________________

Super Powers: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Best Friend: _______________________________________________

Sidekick: _________________________________________________

Most Evil Villain: ____________________________________________

Villain’s Special Power: ________________________________________

Very Best Adventure Ever: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week. This week we start making books. If you didn’t already get your make-a-book kit, pick it up at the library.

Week One – Be Creative at Your Library!

Where Do I Start ???

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to put in your book. Try thinking about books you like. How about books about animals? Alphabet books (“A is for…”)? Counting books?

There are books of memories, books with photos, books with letters to someone you love.

Maybe you’d like to try a story. There are stories with words, and stories told just in pictures. There are fairy tales and make-believe stories, and stories about things that really happen. How about “what if” stories? “What if I walked out of the house and met a talking rabbit?” “What if I found out I could fly?” “What if I went to a baseball game and caught a home run ball?”

I bet you already know lots of stories. A book is someplace to keep them safe, and don’t forget: you may have made just one book at the library, but you can make as many as you want tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who made our opening day of registration such a pleasure! We have about 100 kids signed up so far, and there is still room in some of our programs.

The Young Writers' Reading Club and the Wednesday Read-to-Me Club are full.

There's still space in Saturday Read-to-Me, and in the Young Songwriters Club.

Most Kindergarten-Grade 1 programs in the library are full, but it is still possible to sign up for the club. Kids can still fill in reading logs, win prizes, enter the story contest sponsored by Farley's Bookshop, and join us at the final picnic party.

There are still places in some Grade 2 - 4 programs in the library, and it is also still possible to sign up for the club without attending in-library events. Kids can fill in reading logs, win prizes, enter the story contest sponsored by Farley's Bookshop, and join us at the final picnic party.

Summer Reading Club
For Kids Entering
Grades K—1, or 2—4

Be Creative at Your Library! is this year's theme

Club members will read books and learn how to make their own books. Every in-library event will include a special presentation and time to pick out new books to read at home. Kids entering Kindergarten and 1st grade will be in one group; kids entering grades 2-4 in another. Both enjoy the same presentations. Older kids will also explore storytelling and illustration, if they want. With younger kids we’ll read aloud and tell stories. We will once again hold writing contests with prizes for both groups.

Kids may sign up for each special event at the library individually. You need not commit to coming every time. Kids may sign up for as many programs as they wish (space permitting).

Those who can’t come to the events at the library can still participate in reading and making a book. Any registered child who completes a reading log, or makes a book, may receive prizes and sign up to attend the final party.

All in-library events are Tuesday Mornings 10:30—12:00

June 30: Learn to Make Your Own Book! We’ll start making books today—books you can add to all summer long, and show off at the final party.

July 7: Nature By the Yard Learn about the natural world all around you, and let Nature inspire you to get creative.

July 14: Piccirillo Sciencetelling Science and Storytelling get all mixed up in the exciting adventure Trapped at Tripletree!

July 21: Super Songwriting with Chip & Annie Share well-known songs and write a new song from start to finish. Learn about rhythm, rhyme, beat, and lyric writing.

July 28: Larry Sceurman, Storyteller The Storyteller shares a mix of folk tales, fairy tales, and brand new stories.

August 4: Final Picnic Dinner Party The whole family is invited to pack a picnic and join us for a music and arts program from 6:00-7:30 PM at a
special location.

Every club member will receive a T-shirt upon completion of the first reading log. For every completed log after that, and for making one book, each child will receive a book or similar prize. This year, reading logs will measure time spent reading, not books read. We hope this makes things fairer for kids who read l o n g e r books.

Each child will receive a kit with materials and instructions to help make a book. New ideas for adding to the book will be shared at each in-library event. If you can’t attend the event, the ideas for that week will be available at the library throughout the week, and will also be posted on our website at www.nhslibrary.org, so you can keep enjoying the activities even when you can’t be here.

Club members must have their own library cards, and we ask that they please bring their library cards and the club bags they receive at registration to each event. Any outstanding fines must be cleared and any overdue books must be returned before the club starts.

You don’t have to stay with your child at the library, but we do ask that you please drop off and pick up your child promptly. If you’d like to stay and help us, that would be truly wonderful. We also ask you to be aware that children must be able to behave. Children who misbehave can ruin an event for everyone else, and we do reserve the right to ask misbehaving children to leave the program. We’d hate to do that, so please be sure your child is signed up for the appropriate group and events. Thank you.

There is no charge for this program (we thank the Haley Foundation for their generous support).

Space is limited, so please sign up early! In-library events are often full by late in the afternoon of the first sign-up day.

Registration opens Saturday, June 6 (10:00 AM—5:00 PM) (lines form before 10:00 AM) and continues through June 20. You must sign up in person at the library or send a friend to do so for you. Please come ready to tell us which programs fit your schedule.

ideas for your book and stories this week

Week Five – Catch the Reading Bug at your library!

Bugs at Work

When people say “Busy as a bee” they aren’t just kidding around! Honeybees work hard, pollinating plants that provide a lot of food for other animals, including humans. Honeybee colonies are dying off now, and no one knows why. You can imagine why, or you can learn more and write a news story, but write all about it!

For lots of great information about bees, look at this site created by kids for kids:
http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/detectives/kids/KIDS-000929.html

Some of you have been busy bees already and have turned in stories for the contest, but others have been hanging around like caterpillars waiting to turn into butterflies. It’s time to fly now! We extended the story contest through this week.

Please have all stories in by Saturday, July 26 to enter the contest!
Please have reading logs in by the same date to earn an invitation to the final party!

Thanks for joining us this summer!

ideas for your book and stories this week

Here are some ideas for your book and stories for

Week Four – Catch the Reading Bug at your library!

Beautiful Bugs

Yes – some bugs are beautiful! Probably the first Beauties we think of are the butterflies, bright colored and flying gracefully.

Some butterflies, like the monarch butterfly, fly thousands of miles to migrate, just like birds. What would that be like, for such a tiny, delicate creature? How strong are these “delicate” butterflies anyway?

Remember that a butterfly starts out as a caterpillar, inching along plants and chewing leaves to grow, before it spins a chrysalis and changes form. This is called “metamorphosis.” What would it be like to change forms? What would you change into?

Metamorphosis is an ancient greek word. Ancient Greek and Roman myths are full of tales about metamorphosis – people changing into other animals and things. Arachne was a weaver who challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest – and had the nerve to be better than the goddess! Athena turned her into a spider. We call spiders “arachnids” today, in honor of Arachne. How’s that for a story? Now, write your own!

For more on butterflies, see http://www.nides.bc.ca/Assignments/Insects/Butterflyfaq.htm

For more on Arachne, try http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/religion/myths/arachne.htm

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Three – Catch the Reading Bug at your library!

Backyard Bug Buddies

There are some cool and useful backyard bug buddies in all our neighborhoods. Ladybugs will eat aphids off your favorite plants, rescuing the flowers. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes. And how are fireflies helpful? They eat cutworms, which destroy many garden plants – and they also make us happy! That’s pretty useful!

So here’s your backyard, all full of unsung insect heroes and heroines. Tell the exciting stories of how they’ve saved the world!

To find out how to recognize even more about insects, including which ones are good guys (or “beneficials”) check Clemson University’s insect cabinet at http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/cabinet.htm

And Planet Natural will show you all the insects that help out in the garden:
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/beneficial-insects.html

Now if we could just get a bug to rake the leaves and shovel the snow! Of course, if you’re writing fables or fairy tales you could write about that, too!

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week

Week Two – Catch the Reading Bug at your library!

Bugs That Bug You!

Mosquitos nibbling us… ants invading the kitchen… Gnats flying into us… ICK!

Some bugs can really, really bug you!

But wait! What about the bug’s point of view? What’s the bug looking for? What does it need that you have? Is it really bad, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Try reading Diane Cronin’s Diary of a Fly to get the other side of the story. Then see if you can give us a buggy diary of your own. What’s it really like to be a hungry mosquito with everyone slapping you away and trying to smoosh you all the time? We want to read all about it!

If you’re really feeling brave, check out the Bad Bugs on this kid-friendly page from the US Department of Agriculture: http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Selhome/gbu/badbug.html

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week. This week we start making books. If you didn’t already get your make-a-book kit, pick it up at the library.

Week One – Catch the Reading Bug at your library!

Getting to Know Bugs….

You probably know lots of bugs already…
At least, you can recognize them and know their names.

Look around your house and yard. Whom do you see? Lurking in the deep, cool grass? Flying into your hair? Building a web in the corner of a room? Trying to nibble your favorite food?

You live with all these guys you everyday. It’s only polite to get to know them! You can find books about them at the library. If you can’t get to the library this week, maybe you can go to the Internet Public Library here: http://ipl.org/div/kidspace/browse/mas4520/. From there you’ll find links to lots of cool, kid-safe webpages all about insects.

You could also try imagining your own stories about the bugs in your life. how did the ant pick a perfect picnic? Why did the bee buzz the butterfly? When did mantises learn to pray? Tell Your own story --- and then tell us all about it!

Summer Reading Club
For Kids Entering
Grades K—1, or 2-4

Catch the Reading Bug at Your Library! is this year's theme

Club members will read books and learn how to make their own books. Every in-library event will include a special presentation and time to pick out new books to read at home. Kids entering Kindergarten and 1st grade will be in one group; kids entering grades 2-4 in another. Both enjoy the same presentations. Older kids will also play with storytelling and illustration, if they want. With younger kids we’ll read aloud and tell stories. We will once again hold writing contests sponsored by the Bucks County Herald with prizes for both groups.

Kids may sign up for each special event at the library individually. You need not commit to coming every time. Kids may sign up for as many programs as they wish (space permitting).

Those who can’t come to the events at the library can still participate in reading and making a book. Any registered child who completes a reading log, or makes a book, may receive prizes and sign up to attend the final party.

All in-library events are Tuesday Mornings 10:30—12:00

June 24: Learn to Make Your Own Book! We’ll start making books today—books you can add to all summer long, and show off at the final party

July 1: Jane King, storyteller, will spin special tales and share some ideas about creating and telling your own stories.

July 8: Kim Kurki, illustrator and writer from Your Big Backyard magazine, brings magical drawings from nature and talks about bugs of the great outdoors.

July 15: The Wonder of Butterflies The Butterfly Lady and her live butterflies flit in from Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary to tell all about butterflies, moths, and the balance of the
natural world.

July 22: Mad Science! The Mad Scientist presents a special bug workshop!

July 29: Final Picnic Dinner Party The whole family is invited to pack a picnic and join us for a music and arts program from 6:00-7:30 PM at a special location. Kids who complete a reading log, create and fill in a book, or write a story will earn invitations to this party.

Every club member will receive a T-shirt upon completion of the first reading log. For every completed log after that, and for making one book, each child will receive a book or similar prize. This year, reading logs will measure time spent reading, not books read. We hope this makes things fairer for kids who read l o n g e r books.

Each child will receive a kit with materials and instructions to help make a book. New ideas for adding to the book will be shared at each in-library event. If you can’t attend the event, the ideas for that week will be available at the library throughout the week, and will also be posted on our website at www.nhslibrary.org, so you can keep enjoying the activities even when you can’t be here.

Club members must have their own library cards, and we ask that they please bring their library cards and the club bags they receive at registration to each event. Any outstanding fines must be cleared and any overdue books must be returned before the reading club starts.

You don’t have to stay with your child at the library, but we do ask that you please drop off and pick up your child promptly. If you’d like to stay and help us, that would be truly wonderful. We also ask you to be aware that children must be able to behave. Children who misbehave can ruin an event for everyone else, and we do reserve the right to ask misbehaving children to leave the program. We’d hate to do that, so please be sure your child is signed up for the appropriate group and events. Thank you.

There is no charge for this program (We thank the Haley Foundation for their generous support).

Space is limited, so please sign up early! Most of last year’s in-library events were full by late in the afternoon of the first sign-up day.

Registration opens Saturday, June 7 (10:00 AM—5:00 PM) and continues through June 18 (or until programs are full).
You must sign up in person at the library. Please come ready to tell us which programs fit your schedule.

The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury is pleased to announce the winners of the Summer Reading Club Writing Contest for 2007. Stories were judged in two age groups: children entering kindergarten and first grade, and children entering grades two to four. The young writers wrote and illustrated their own original stories. This year’s theme, “Get a Clue at Your Library!” inspired many mystery tales.

“The quality of the stories we received this year was extraordinary,” said Library Director Caroline Dechert. “This is an exceptionally creative group, and they’ve worked very hard. It wasn’t easy for our team of judges to choose the grand prize winners.” Each winning writer earned a prize certificate, a poster from the Summer Reading program at the library, and a certificate for a free ice cream cone from Gerenser’s Exotic Ice Cream. The Grand Prize winning stories will be published in the Bucks County Herald. “Many of this year’s winners also submitted stories last year,” said Dechert. “We can see them growing as writers each year, and we look forward to reading their work – and eventually buying their books for the library – in the years ahead.”

The library wishes to thank the Haley Foundation, which underwrites the Summer Reading Club, the Bucks County Herald, which sponsors the writing contest, Gerenser’s Exotic Ice Cream for a generous donation of prizes, and all the Summer Reading Club volunteers.

Winners in the Kindergarten- Grade One Group:

Grand Prize: Zach Griffiths
Best Beach Story: Charles Bray
Best Collection of Stories: Sophia Francesco
Very Bravest Story: Samantha Frank
Most Exciting Story: Remy Weil

Winners in the Grade 2 – 4 Group:

Grand Prize Winner: Aaron Frank
Most Surprising Mystery: Zach Baytosh
Best Family Story: Sarah Buschi
Best Mystery with Music: Rebekah Comley
Best Book-lovers Mystery: Parker Miele
Best Ghostly Mystery: Isabella Panzica
Best Science Fiction Story: Christian Scotto
Best Sports Story: James Scotto
Most Original Detective in a Story: Katherine E. Warren
Best Pet Story: Serena Weil
Most Playful Story: Serena Weil

Congratulations, everyone! Thanks for sharing your stories.

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Five – Get a Clue at Your Library!

Why???

Some stories are all about WHY
Something is the way it is:

Why do leopards have spots?
Why do bears sleep all winter?
What are there no hippogriffs in New Hope?

Myths and legends are this kind of
“WHY?” mystery story

You can write a myth or legend,
A Why Story of your own

Pick something that makes you wonder “Why?”
And imagine your own answer

EVERY GENERATION –
EVERY NEW GROUP OF CHILDREN-
RETELLS AND REWRITES old STORIES AND MYTHS.
Now it’s your turn!

Don’t forget these important Whens:

Submit your reading logs by July 27 to get your invitation to the July 31 Picnic and Magic Show!

Submit your stories for the contest by July 27!

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Four – Get a Clue at Your Library!

When???

When does your story take place?

Is it in the present day, or in ancient Egypt?
Is it in the Future, or the days of knights?

Is it in the bright morning, or the dark night?
Is it cold and wintery, or windy fall,
Or hot summer, or rainy spring?

Let your reader know whether
to shiver or bask in the sunshine.
It’s this week’s mystery –
the mystery of When it takes place?

Don’t forget this important When:
Submit your stories for the contest by July 27!Tell Your story in words, pictures, or both –
Yes, some books and stories are just pictures,
And yours can be too.

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Three – Get a Clue at Your Library!

Where???



I bet you can tell where the action
in this picture happens.

Where does your story happen?
Is it a special place?
Does that make the story different?

How can you describe a place?
Is it just how the place
Looks and smells and how hot it is?

Is it also what sounds you hear there?
Is it how the place makes you feel?

What words make you feel that way, too?
Will those words make your readers
Feel what it’s like to be there, too?

It’s this week’s mystery –
the mystery of WHERE IT ALL HAPPENS?

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week Two – Get a Clue at Your Library!

What???

What’s happening in the picture?

What’s happening in your story and book?

Sometimes writers know exactly what’s going to happen in a story,
exactly what they want to write about,
but sometimes they get stuck.

Sometimes you can get good story ideas by looking at a picture.
What’s happening in the picture?
Who’s it happening to? And why?

Sometimes you can get good ideas from music, too.
Try writing a story based on one of your favorite songs.
What really happened On Top of Spaghetti? Or at Old MacDonald’s farm?

It’s this week’s mystery –
the mystery of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Here are some ideas for your book and stories this week.

Week One – Get a Clue at Your Library!

This week we start making books. If you didn’t already get your make-a-book kit, pick it up at the library.

Who???

Now that you’ve made your own book,
What will you put in it?

First you might want to decide:
Who is this book for?

Is it something special just for you,
Or do you want others to enjoy it, too?

Maybe you want to
write a story for the story contest .
That could go in your book if you want,
or you could write it somewhere else.

Either way,
Who is your story about?

Is it about you?
Someone you know?
someone you imagine?
Someone you dreamt about?
A person, an animal, an alien?

It’s this week’s mystery –
the mystery of who you want to write for
and who you want to write about