Storytime in the Park

We will have Storytime in the Park this Friday, July 16 at 10:30 A.M. (and likely every two weeks this summer).  We'll read books, sing songs, dance, and participate in fingerplays, rhymes, and more!  

Storytime is planned for children ages 3 to 5. If your child is slightly older or younger and would enjoy Storytime, they are welcome to attend. Older and younger siblings of Storytime children are also welcome!

We plan to meet every other Friday in Wilson Park.  We will definitely meet on July 16 and July 30, and then will evaluate interest and schedule dates for August. 

You can bring a blanket or towel to sit on, if you choose.  We will meet either in the grass near the new pavilion (most likely) or under the new pavilion in Wilson Park.  This is our first Storytime in the Park, so we'll do whatever works best with the group we have.

If you'd like to attend, please sign up here: bit.ly/Storytime-Park.  This will help us know how many people to expect and will add you to the email list to receive reminders before the events, notice when August's dates are scheduled, and updates in the event of bad weather. 

The library is now open without appointments.  If you'd like to visit the library before or after Storytime, you can just drop by.  If you have reserved books or Summer Reading prizes you'd like to pick up without needing to go to the library, please let us know (youth@milanlibrary.org) and we'll take them to the park for you to pick up there before or after Storytime.

If you have any questions, please let us know at youth@milanlibrary.org.

We hope to see you Friday!

Virtual Tickets - Prize Entry Form

Children and teens who have read or listened to books, magazines, and/or audiobooks every day of Summer Reading are ready to enter the prize drawing for reading for 10 days!

You can enter here.  Additional prize levels will be added to that form as we reach them, e.g. the 20-day prize will be added on July 1, the 20th day of Summer Reading. 

To find the form again as you reach future reading goals, you can:

• bookmark that form to return to it
• find it on milanlibrary.org/children and milanlibrary.org/teens
• find it on our specific Summer Reading pages here (for children) and here (for TNT - teens and tweens, 6th - 12th grade)

The prize entry form is the same for children and teens.  Events and additional information vary by age.  

If you have any questions - about Summer Reading, book recommendations, or anything reading or library-related - please let us know! You can email us at youth@milanlibrary.org.

Summer Storytime

We are beginning our Summer Storytime on Friday, June 18 at 10:30 A.M. on Zoom.  

If you'd like to attend, please sign up here and we'll send you the Zoom information to join us.  

We will have some Storytimes on Zoom and some in-person, outside this summer.  Storytime will include books, songs, dance/movement activities, fingerplays, flannel board stories, and more.

Storytime is planned for 3- to 5-year-old children.  If your child is slightly younger or older and would enjoy Storytime, you're welcome to attend.  Older and younger siblings of Storytime children are also welcome to attend.

Our Zoom Storytimes are scheduled for every other week.  You can attend as many as work for your schedule.

We'll meet on Zoom on:
June 18
(We're skipping June 2 in case you're celebrating the holiday weekend!)
July 9
July 23
We'll schedule August dates closer to that time.

If you'd like to attend, please sign up here and we'll send you the Zoom information to join us.  

We hope to see you there!

Encyclopedias and Reference Books

We have withdrawn some of our encyclopedias and reference book sets and replaced them with current books and online databases.  

We are giving away the withdrawn books pictured below.  If you would like any of them, please email youth@milanlibrary.org and include the book or set you would like.  

Current encyclopedias are available online through MeL. Click on any of the links below to access them.

World Book Early Learning 
World Book Kids 

Britannica Fundamentals (PreK - 2nd grade)
Britannica School (K - 12th grade)

Britannica School Elementary (3rd - 4th grade)
Britannica School Middle (5th - 7th grade)
Britannica School High (8th - 12th grade)

Additional online resources for children and teens are available through MeL here.

If you'd like help accessing any of these resources or finding books in our library, please email youth@milanlibrary.org.

Withdrawn books:

If you would like any of them, please email youth@milanlibrary.org and include the book or set you would like.  

Complete set is available - c2008

Share Your Story - one year later

One year ago today, many of us went to work or school as "usual" for the last time for quite some time.  Others were already in the midst of significant changes as essential workers.  

The last year has been challenging for all of us - in different ways and to different degrees - but we have all been affected. 

We invited children and teens to "Share Their Story" with us last summer and are reaching out again as we've passed the one-year mark of living with the changes resulting from COVID.   Some of the responses we received last year are here.  

Our original post from last year is below.  We invite you to share again - anything from any time in the last year.  We'll compile all of these into a book at the library and share some (with permission) online.  

The past few months have been unusual for all of us. School buildings closed. Many businesses closed. We have done school and work from home.  Activities and events have been canceled. Being home all the time may have inspired you to get creative and find new things to do that you wouldn’t have usually done.

We invite you to share your story with us.  We will compile these stories into a book at the library. 

You can send us anything you'd like to share - photographs, drawings, writings - anything that shares your experience and daily life during the pandemic.

If you need ideas, here are a few suggestions:

What did you do that you wouldn't have done on a "normal" day?
What did you not do that you would have done on a "normal" day?
What do you like or not like about being home instead of at school?
How are you keeping in touch with family and friends while you can't visit them in person?
Have you done something to help someone else?
Has someone done something to help you?
Have you missed an event during this time?
Did you celebrate a birthday in a different way?
What are you looking forward to doing after we return to "normal?"

What will you keep doing even after we return to "normal?"

The following two resources provide additional ideas – either for Share Your Story or just for yourself.

My Covid-19 Time Capsule
by Long Creations
Journal-type pages for children to document this time.
My Lockdown Diary
by Stephen McCarthy
Prompts for writing and drawing during this time of no school and social distancing.

You can send information to us for our Share Your Story book

• here - A Gmail account is required. You'll upload your submission directly on that page.
• Email us at youth@milanlibrary.org and then complete this form.
• Bring information to the library once we reopen.  We can scan your documents if you'd like to keep the originals.

Saturday Stories: Valentine's Day

Our theme for Saturday Stories on February 13 will be Valentine's Day.  We'll read books about Valentine's Day and will have craft packets available for you to pick up from the library and create at home.

Saturday Stories are planned for preschoolers and early elementary ages.  All ages are welcome. 

To participate, please register here.  We'll send you the Zoom link and have a craft set ready for you to pick up.

Youth Media Awards 2021

Each year the American Library Association recognizes outstanding youth books, audiobooks, videos, and more with a variety of awards. The Youth Media Awards were announced on Monday.

A complete list of this year's winners is here.  

To see the books our library owns, you can search our catalog here and type Youth Media Awards 2021 in the search box.  If you see a book you'd like to read and we don't own it, let us know here. We'll order what we can, and help you find it through MeLCat if we can't.