Let’s Go Outside and Have Fun!
by Angela Beach

The warm sunny weather of May invites everyone to play outside and to discover nature. At the library, one can find many resources on fun things to do indoors and out. Some of the many books available in the children’s department at the North Haven Memorial Library are listed here.

Froggy Plays T-Ball by Jonathan London has some fun with puns and onomatopoeia with this t-ball story. Froggy literally catches some flies in the outfield and eats them, and then runs towards his house when he gets a home run because he remembers he should run home. This addition to the Froggy series is an amusing story that should be familiar to any child who has ever played on a t-ball team.

Hey Batta Batta Swing! by Sally Cook and James Charlton provides an enjoyable history of baseball. Soft watercolor illustrations enrich the interesting text, which is interspersed with the definitions of baseball slang from the past and present. Nicknames of famous players are included, as well as information on how teams got their names, how players got their numbers, the evolution of equipment used, rules of the game, and much more.

Playground Day! by Jennifer J. Merz features the imagination of a girl on the playground with her stuffed animals. In rhyming verse, she hops like a bunny, flies like a bird, leaps like a frog, and has many more animal adventures. The brightly colored torn paper illustrations are very appealing.

The Leaping, Sliding, Sprinting, Riding Science Book by high school physics teacher Bobby Mercer illustrates how physics can be fun by showing children how to measure their own horse power, how to catch a water balloon without getting wet, how to make a skateboard hop, and many more cool activities. A glossary of physics is included.

Cool Spy Supplies by Esther Beck has instructions with photos on how to make spy supplies from everyday household items, such as using an orange juice container to make a periscope, making invisible ink out of lemon juice and other liquids, making fingerprints from pencil markings, and many more fun spy activities. The book also explains the science behind how the items work in short paragraphs added onto each page, as well as instructions on forming a hypothesis, testing, and then reaching a conclusion. It’s a good resource of rainy day activities.

Firefly at Stonybrook Farm by Wendy Pfeffer is a publication of the Smithsonian Institution about a night in the life of a fully grown firefly living in the backyard at Stonybrook Farm. The story opens by describing how the firefly was living under the soil for the first two years of his life, and now, it is his first night above ground as an adult. The style of this book will be familiar to readers of the Smithsonian Institution’s Backyard series. The softly colored illustrations and gentle text provide factual information in an enchanting storybook style. The last page features facts about the firefly and a short glossary.

Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost and Leonid Gore is a pretty, soft pastel representation of the first summer in the life of a monarch butterfly, and how the butterfly uses the milkweed plant for its birth and survival. The life cycle and migration of the monarch butterfly and the life cycle of the milkweed plant are also illustrated. This picture book is a good resource of information in an attractive format.

Events at the North Haven Memorial Library:

The following are some of the free upcoming events taking place at the North Haven Memorial Library.

Movie Madness will be showing The Golden Compass on Saturday, May 3 at 1:30 p.m. in the Community Room. No registration is required.

The Mother-Daughter Book Discussion group will meet to discuss The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood on Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Interested girls ages 9-14 and their mothers should call the library at 203-239-5803 to register for this program.

The children’s programs for spring will be coming to an end during the month of May in preparation for our summer reading program. This year’s theme is Catch the Reading Bug! An exciting reading game in addition to fun and entertaining programs are planned for North Haven residents. Plus, all are welcome to bring a picnic supper to our family Picnic and Performance series, which will be held on the library lawn Monday evenings at 7 p.m. beginning July 7 and ending on August 4.

Please visit our Best Friends Used Book Store for bargains on fiction and non-fiction books. This store, located on the main level of the library, is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The North Haven Memorial Library is located at 17 Elm Street in North Haven. Please visit our website at www.leaplibraries.org/nhaven and click on “Events/Programs” or phone the library at 203-239-5803 for more information.