United Way for Southeastern Michigan is creating successful adults, by kindergarten. Imagination Library provides free books for children from birth to age five. Benefits include:

• One free book each month mailed to the home, up to age 5
• A graduation book on the fifth birthday to help the transition into kindergarten
• Free newsletter, website and other learning material for parents

For more information, or to register your child, visit the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library website.

It's Super Grover 2.0! This week on Sesame Street is all about the new and improved super monster, who is faster, braver, and cuter than ever! Can't get enough of the loveable, furry blue guy? Check out one of Canton Public Library's Sesame Street movies starring his alter ego. Have fun!

Well, we may have gotten buckets of snow dumped on us but that doesn't mean our creative juices have to be frozen up too. Instead, let your creativity thaw out and have fun creating snow poems, cut out and decorate snowflakes, or build a snowman (or a snowcat) in your front yard. The possiblities are endless. Have fun!

Little Black Crow follows a young boy as he watches a bird fly through skies that alternate from stormy to sunny, cold to warm. He wonders, "Little black crow, where do you go?" This question is followed by other questions about family, friends, love, and fear. Will Boy and Crow be friends? Check it out to find out. You can always check out some other bird adventures too!

Here are some new and popular music CDs for the kid in all of us:

The best of the Laurie Berkner Band

Tangled by Alan Menken

Yo Gabba Gabba! Music is — awesome. Volume 2

Here comes science by They Might Be Giants

Family time by Ziggy Marley

Rockabye baby!: lullaby renditions of Journey by Dennis Caplinger

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with crafts, songs, dancing and food. Join us at the library for a fun celebration beginning at 5:00PM with crafts for the kids followed by snacks and entertainment; at 7:00PM for everyone. This should be a great Chinese New Year for everyone. No registration is needed for this February 17^th event.

Last fall we asked for your opinion on a new library card design and got a great response. In total, 880 votes were cast and many of you included comments. Here are the results:

• 252 thought that the patron should be able to pick a color from our 3 options
• 223 favored the blue card
• 217 liked the orange card
• 148 preferred the turquoise card
• 40 wanted to keep the old card design

Many expressed concern about incurring extra costs to have new cards made. Our supply of cards was already running low (we issue about 6,000 new cards each year), so we needed to order cards regardless of the design. We gathered estimates from several card printers and were able to print the new design without incurring set up charges for the additional colors. Other than a small design fee to include our new logo, which was budgeted, it did not cost anything extra to offer a choice of cards.

We have a limited number of the previous design still available. There is a $1 charge to switch to the new card or replace a lost card if you choose the new design. Remember, your barcode number will change! There is not a charge for a new patron to get a card.

The March/April issue of Connections is available online now as a pdf document.
You may subscribe to an RSS feed of library communications by pasting http://www.cantonpl.org/forpress/rss.xml
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In this second episode of CPL online storytimes, Miss Kristen and Miss Ruth tell stories and sing songs all about pigs.

If you love the Pigeon books, or have your own Knuffle Bunny, you will enjoy this night of fun with Mo Willems books. Kids ages 5-8 are invited to join in the fun Wednesday, February 23 at 7:00PM. We will read some classic Mo Willems stories and create a "Mo" inspired craft. Registration is now open.

In celebration of National Children’s Dental Health Month, Bright Side Dental hosts a storytime with stories and crafts. No registration required.
Program Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 7:00-7:45PM

Miss Kristen and Miss Ruth tell stories and sing songs related to the number 3. Enjoy CPL storytime favorites like the magic box, Miss Ruth's guitar, Miss Kristen telling "The Three Bears," and Miss Ruth saying goodbye to all our friends.

Special thanks to the young patrons of Canton Public Library for clapping, stomping, and playing peekaboo in the video!

Do you like to have soup in the winter, when it's really cold? I do, and so does this special little girl in Soup Day. On a cold, snowy day, a young girl and her mother shop to buy ingredients for vegetable soup. At home, they work together — step by step — to prepare the meal. While the soup is cooking, they spend the time playing games and reading. Before long, Daddy's home and the family sits down to enjoy a homemade dinner. Check out some other soup stories that will warm you up on these long, cold days!

Hey! Why aren't you checking us out?? Is it because we are behind the Children's Information Desk? We are put there to greet you when you come into the great Children's Department. Please! Take us home with you and read us. We are awesome! We are new! We are hot-off-the-press! We are the latest and greatest wonder-reads for kids of all ages! Marverlous mysteries, super sports stories, gripping ghost tales, animal adventures, historical happenings, fabulous fantasy, crazy comedies… we are all here. But we want to be there — at your house — with you enjoying us. So stop by and pick us up ASAP!

Budget and staffing constraints have forced the library to re-evaluate our storytime offerings. We are able to offer more spaces by holding all of our Family Storytimes in the Community Room. Family Storytimes, which are replacing our age specific storytime, do not require registration. These sessions are suitable for children up to age 5 and offer a variety of activities for the whole family.
Our Baby Storytime does require registration and is suitable for babies up to 18 months. Please, no siblings, so that you may devote your full attention to your baby.

If you enjoy fairy tales, you may have read some of Barbara McClintock's books. This Author and Illustrator has created fabulous editions of many of our favorite tales such as The Mitten, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the Gingerbread Man. But did you know she got her start by seeking advice from Maurice Sendak? Or that her first books were stories about Jim Henson's Fraggles? Discover more about Mrs. McClintock (and admire her beautiful artwork) by checking out her website. Then look for some of her books here at the library.

Beautiful, colorful photographs of animals make Zoobooks magazine an instant winner with kids. Each issue focuses on a particular animal, bird, reptile or insect giving lots of information and colorful illustrations. Kids can work on puzzles, games and crafts, while many young readers submit their own drawings and stories. Zootles is geared for ages 2-6 and Zoobies for babies through age 2. Fun resources in the world of wildlife for you to check out!

On Monday, November 29, 2010, enjoy a special storytime during our Barnes & Noble Book Fair. Storytimes will take place at Barnes & Noble in Northville, at 11:00-11:30AM or 7:00-7:30PM. Registration is not required.

This family storytime is for princes and princesses of all ages. Bring your queen or king (mom or dad) to a royal storytime of fanciful fairytales on Saturday, December 4 from 2:00-3:00PM. We will read stories and make a fancy magical craft. Dress in royal regalia and enjoy being noble for a day!

Looking for great Fall stories to read to your little ones? If so, these books,

Pumpkins : a story for a field by written by Mary Lyn Ray ; illustrated by Barry Root

Apples and pumpkins by Anne Rockwell ; pictures by Lizzy Rockwell

Too many pumpkins by Linda White ; illustrated by Megan Lloyd

could be just what you're looking for. My granddaughter sure loved them.