STEAM activities: Color

 Just a simple painting project really.

Complete resources on Canva

October in review, looking forward to November

 I had a lot of personal stuff going on this October - I was sick and my mom had major surgery at the end of the month. Other staff were out as well; since we are so short-staffed, any single person being out tends to have a catastrophic domino effect, which is exhausting. It's also been unseasonably warm with lots of weather changes, so I am going through most of this with ongoing sinus headaches. I am pretty grouchy right now.

  Morning storytimes continue to be our most strongly attended programs, ranging from 20-60 people. We partner with the school district's Parent Connections outreach coordinator, who offers storytime alternatively at the library and the rec center weekly and one of my staff offers a second weekly morning storytime.

  After a long break we resumed Paws to Read, where a volunteer from the local shelter visits with an animal and reads stories to the kids (sort of an opposite of a therapy dog program, which did not work for our library, no matter how many times I tried it). We usually get a pretty good attendance for this and we all like playing with the animals, so win-win.

  The afternoon storytime two of our Board members were offering was cancelled, but we really weren't getting much, if any, attendance. Our attendance at Pokemon Hangout has also diminished. Ironically, people will come, see nobody is there, and leave, which means that the next person who comes sees nobody there and leaves and so on!

  I've been offering STEAM activities - the ones on Monday morning earlier this fall got a decent turnout, but that wasn't sustainable since that's our busiest morning (other than storytime mornings) and only one staff member is available. I tried them on Wednesday morning, as a homeschool hangout, but that has not been successful.

  Teen attendance has petered off and my attempts to have teens staff the Create Space as volunteers were a failure. The few times teens showed up, no patrons showed up, because without being sure the teens would show up I couldn't advertise it, and so on....

This all sounds very bleak, but we are actually busier than ever. Circulation continues to increase, traffic is brisk, and I am forming new partnerships to use the space. It's just that a lot of what we're doing now is difficult to quantify in the way that you can count programs and attendance.

Because of... everything, I'm going to slow things down through the end of the year. I am waiting for a lot of things to enable me to plan the next few months and the next year, like budgets, so we are just going to offer a few basic programs and keep steadily plugging away at projects and tasks while I focus on redoing schedules and continuing to pivot our services to match the community's needs next year.

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Nature - Space

 I've fiddled with this one a little in conjunction with the things that GO neighborhood, and eventually settled on books about the planets and outer space in this section with books about rockets and astronauts in the GO neighborhood.

Planet series

• ABDO
• AV2 by Weigl
• Bullfrog books
• Seedlings

520 - Nonfiction about space

• Various titles by Stacy McAnulty
• Skies above my eyes by Charlotte Guillain
• History of Astronomy by Elliot Kruszynski
• Light Speaks by Christine Layton, illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell
• Up, Up High: The secret poetry of earth's atmosphere by Lydia Lukidis
• Just right: Searching for the Goldilocks planet by Curtis Manley, illustrated by Jessica Lanan
• Exploring the solar system by Jill McDonald
• Beyond: Discoveries from the outer reaches of space by Miranda Paul
• The reason for the seasons by Ellie Peterson
• The sun is kind of a big deal by Nick Seluk
• The Goldilocks Zone: Real Facts about outer space by Drew Sheneman
• Thank you, moon: Celebrating nature's nightlight by Melissa Stewart

Fiction about space

• Star of the party: The solar system celebrates! by Jan Carr, illustrated by Juana Medina
• If you had your birthday party on the moon by Joyce Lapin, illustrated by Simona Ceccarelli
• Ada and the galaxies by Alan Lightman, Olga Pastuchiv, Susanna Chapman
• Moonday by Adam Rex
• Oh No, Astro! by Matt Roeser, illustrated by Brad Woodard
• The universe and you by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
• Moon: A peek-through picture book by Britta Teckentrup
• Hello, moon by Evan Turk

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Nature - Weather

 The only part about this section that I have fiddled with was figuring out where to put books about the water cycle. Eventually, in the last update I did, I organized things as seen below.

551 - nonfiction books about the weather

• When the sky glows by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by David Litchfield
• Before it was a hurricane by Mary Kay Carson
• The story of snow: The science of winter's wonder by Mark Cassino
• Hurricane by Jason Chin
• Why? A sciencey, rhymey guide to rainbows by Billy Dunne
• Weather Watch: Fog by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst
• It's snowing by Gail Gibbons
• It's raining; Tornadoes; Hurricanes by Gail Gibbons
• Disaster Zone: Hurricanes by Cari Meister
• Puff: All about air by Emily Kate Moon
• Water is water by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Jason Chin
• What's the weather? by Shelley Rotner
• Zap! Clap! Boom! The story of a thunderstorm by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Elly MacKay
• Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre
• Feel the fog by April Pulley Sayre
• Best in snow by April Pulley Sayre
• Little Cloud: The science of a hurricane by Johanna Wagstaffe and Julie McLaughlin

553 - fiction and nonfiction about the water cycle

• Water by Doe Boyle
• The ocean in your bathtub by Seth Fishman
• Blue floats away by Travis Jonker, illustrated by Grant Snider
• Drop: An adventure through the water cycle by Emily Kate Moon
• Hey, water! by Antoinette Portis

Fiction about the weather

• Rain by Linda Ashman
• The rhythm of the rain by Grahame Baker-Smith
• Noah builds an ark by Kate Banks, illustrated by John Rocco
• Rain stomper by Addie Boswell
• Hear the wind blow by Doe Boyle, illustrated by Emily Paik
• Thunder-Boomer! by Shutta Crum
• Partly Cloudy by Deborah Freedman
• When the rain comes by Alma Fullerton, illustrated by Kim la Fave
• Thunderstorm by Arthur Geisert
• Sunny and Stormy by Sarah Holliday
• The wind blew by Pat Hutchins
• Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld
• A drop in the ocean by Elyon Liu
• Duck and Hippo in the Rainstorm by Jonathan London, illustrated by Andrew Joyner
• Waiting out the storm by Joann Early Macken, illustrated by Susan Gaber
• Watersong by Tim McCanna, illustrated by Richard Smythe
• The house that love built by Jessica Meserve
• Downpour: Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash! by Yuko Ohnari and Koshiro Hata
• Let's go puddling! by Emma Perry, illustrated by Claire Alexander
• The Branch by Mireille Messier and Pierre Pratt
• A Hat for House: One storm, many helpers by Audrey Perrott, illustrated by Druscilla Santiago
• Boom! by Mary Lyn Ray
• Hurricane by John Rocco
• Rain by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Lisa Congdon
• Nothing ever happens on a gray day by Grant Snider
• After the rain by Eleanor Spicer Rice, illustrated by Fiona Lee
• When rain falls by Melissa Stewart
• When the Wind Blows by Linda Booth Sweeney, illustrated by Jana Christy
• Rain by Sam Usher
• Blue on Blue by Dianne White, illustrated by Beth Krommes
• I am the storm by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple; illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Nature - Seasons

 This is one of the original neighborhoods and an obvious and popular one, although it does move seasonally. Fall and winter are the most popular seasons, and at those times of the year there's usually an empty or mostly-empty shelf. Spring goes out briefly (much like the season) and summer mostly circulates right before summer to teachers. When I removed our holiday section a few years ago I moved some of the holiday books here if I felt they emphasized natural seasons.

Series that span the seasons

• When.... comes by Aimee Bissonette
• When winter comes: Discovering wildlife in our snowy woods
• Snowmen by Carolyn Buehner
• Kitten by Eugenie Fernandes
• Kitten's Autumn
• Kitten's summer
• Kitten's winter
• Bruce Goldstone
• Awesome autumn
• Spectactular spring
• Wonderful winter
• Hooray by Kazuo Iwamura
• Hooray for Fall
• It's... Renee Kurilla
• Lily and Milo by Pauline Oud
• Goodbye, Hello by Kenard Pak
• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
• Fletcher by Julia Rawlinson
• Anne Rockwell
• My first spring robin
• At the beach
• The first snowfall
• Hello... by Shelley Rotner
• Hello Autumn

ALL - general seasons, all four seasons

• Cat's seasons by Airlie Anderson
• Rainy, sunny, blowy, snowy: what are seasons? by Jane Brocket
• A wonderful year by Nick Bruel
• Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
• Do I have to wear a coat? A journey through the seasons by Rachel Isadora
• The luckiest snowball by Elliot Kreloff
• Tap the magic tree by Christie Matheson
• In a garden by Tim McCAnna, illustrated by Aimee Sicuro
• Come next season by Kim Norman, illustrated by Daniel Miyares
• Not now, cow by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Troy Cummings
• We are grateful by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac
• The Seedling that didn't want to grow by Britta Teckentrup
• Changes: A child's first poetry collection by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
• Slowly slowly by Toni Yuly

FALL - fall

• Runaway pumpkins by Teresa Bateman
• The tiny woman’s coat by Joy Cowley and Giselle Clarkson
• Harvest Days: Giving thanks around the world by Kate DePalma, illustrated by Martina Peluso
• Leaf man; Boo to you; Red leaf yellow leaf by Lois Ehlert
• Lawrence in the fall by Matthew Farina, illustrated by Doug Salati
• The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry, illustrated by The Fan Brothers
• The wishing leaf by Kallie George, illustrated by Paola Zakimi
• Leaf jumpers by Carole Gerber
• The leaf thief by Alice Hemming, illustrated by Nicola Slater
• Fall leaves by Loretta Holland
• The Squirrel's busy year by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Richard Jones
• Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Jim LaMarche
• Who knew? Under the apple tree by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton, illustrated by Steph Marshall
• Kokum, are these moose tracks? Celebrating fall by Taylor Legault
• Hush up and hibernate! by Sandra Markle, illustrated by Howard McWilliam
• A story for small bear by Alice B. McGinty and Richard Jones
• It's time for berries by Ceporah Mearns and Jeremy Debicki, illustrated by Tindur Peturs
• Fall day, all day by Kari Percival
• Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins
• Sweater weather by Matt Phelan
• Bella's fall coat by Lynn Plourde
• Summer green to autumn gold: Uncovering leaves' hidden colors by Mia Posada
• Oak leaf by John Sandford
• Full of fall by April Pulley Sayre
• Crayola Fall Colors by Mari Schuh
• Yellow time by Lauren Stringer
• A fall ball for all by Jamie A. Swenson, illustrated by Chiara Fedele
• Brown is warm, black is bright by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrated by Keith Mallett

SPR - spring

• And then it's spring by Julie Fogliano
• Is it spring? by Kevin Henkes
• The song of spring by Hendrik Jonas
• Happy springtime! by Kate McMullan, illustrated by Sujean Rim
• It's springtime, Mr. Squirrel by Sebastian Meschmenmoser
• Abracadabra, it's spring! by Anne Sibley O'Brien, illustrated by Susan Gal
• Bloom boom by April Pulley Sayre
• Busy spring by Sean Taylor
• Is this... Spring? by Helen Yoon

SUM - summer

• Fireworks by Matthew Burgess
• Beach House by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Amy June Bates
• But I'm a pumpkin! A summerween story by Kat Choppy
• Summer Solstice Wish by Kate Allen Fox, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
• Water in the park by Emily Jenkins
• At the summer lake by Daniela Kulot
• Summer is for cousins by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Abhi Alwar
• Watermelon Pool by Bonsoir Lune, translated from the Korean by Frances Cha
• Summertime sleepers by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen
• Summer is here by Renee Watson, illustrated by Bea Jackson
• A Cozy Summer Day by Eliza Wheeler
• Raccoon's perfect snowman by Katia Wish
• Beach Hair by Ashley Woodfolk, illustrated by Nina Mata
• Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee

WIN - winter

• I'm going to build a snowman by Jashar Awan
• Winter bird by Kate Banks
• Brownie Groundhog (series) by Susan Blackaby
• Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger
• Bright Winter Night by Alli Brydon, illustrated by Ashling Lindsay
• Little Christmas Tree by Jessica Courtney-Tickle
• So Cold! by John Coy
• Snow friends by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
• The Christmas snow globe by Sibylle Delacroix
• Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
• First day of winter by Denise Fleming
• Magical snowflake by Bernette Ford
• The Snow Rabbit by Camille Garoche
• Snow is... by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Sonia Sanchez
• Winter: A solstice story by Kelsey E. Gross, illustrated by Renata Liwska
• A loud winter's nap by Katy Hudson
• Once upon a snowstorm by Richard Johnson
• Wake up, Moon! By Lita Judge
• Into the Snow by Yuki Kaneko, illustrated by Masamitsu Saito
• Hiders seekers finders keepers: How animals adapt in winter by Jessica Kulekjian
• A little like magic by Sarah Kurpiel
• A day so gray by Marie Lamba, illustrated by Alea Marley
• Mina's White Canvas by Hyeon-Ju Lee
• A big bed for Little Snow by Grace Lin
• Snow Horses: A First Night Story by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Micha Archer
• Waiting for winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser
• Over and under the snow by Kate Messner
• Whose footprints are these? by Gerda Muller 
• Snuggle down deep by Diane Ohanesian, illustrated by Emily Bornoff
• What comes after the snow? by Chiaki Okada and Ko Okada
• A sled for Gabo by Emma Otheguy, illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez
• First Snow by Bomi Park
• Snowfall by Park Sun-jung
• Once upon a northern night by Jean E. Pendziwol, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
• When the snow is deeper than my boots are tall by Jean Reidy
• Claudia and moth by Jennifer Hansen Rolli
• Snow Day by Komako Sakai
• Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How animals get ready for winter by Laura Purdie Salas
• Cold Turkey by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call, illustrated by Chad Otis
• Snow Kid by Jessie Sima
• Pablo in the snow by Teri Sloat, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
• Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
• Little Owl's Snow by Divya Srinivasan
• Winter is the worst! by Dan Tavis
• Fall feast by Sean Taylor
• One snowy morning by Kevin Tseng, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
• Once upon a winter day by Liza Woodruff
• Sneezy the snowman by Maureen Wright
• Go Sled Go by James Yang

STEAM activities: Slime

 I don't know what the ingredients of biocolor putty solution are - they stopped manufacturing it after I bought a bunch. I think it's probably a pre-mixed borax solution. It's really simple though, just mix it with some glue and paint. I really thought we'd have a big turnout for this, but not even for slime.

Complete resources on Canva

STEAM activities: Sounds

I planned this for a full day, having mixed up the calendar and thinking there was no school. Basically nobody came.

 Full resources on canva 

STEAM activities: Gravity

The afternoon STEAM storytime we were offering had to be cancelled, so we only offered this for a few hours once a week with a couple families attending.

Complete resources

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Nature - Fun

 This is my newest section. I had been putting the camping books into Sports and felt they were a better fit for Nature. I also have a lot of interest in fishing and outdoor activities in my area and I frequently get requests from teachers for books on camping and hiking, so I wanted them in an easy place to find. My initial plan was for the Dewey number to mark nonfiction, realistic or instructional books and the fiction portion would be more purely fictional titles, but they've gotten a bit mixed.

799 - Realistic, informational, and instructional books about outdoor activities

• Red canoe shows up at two by Victoria Allenby
• Forest School (series) by Ruth Symons, illustrated by Sebastien Braun
• The Big Fort
• Fly rod was first: Cornelia Crosby's adventures in angling
• Far, Far away by Molly Beth Griffin
• One frozen lake by Deborah Jo Larson
• My first day fishing: a beginner's guide by Will Millard
• Fly fishing with Papa by Christopher Robbins
• Dawn patrol by Rob Sayegh
• Down by the river: a family fly fishing story by Andrew Weiner

Fiction about outdoor experiences, including nature observation and appreciation

• Daniel finds a poem by Micha Archer
• Daniel's Good Day by Micha Archer
• Today we'll be eaten by Alan Barillaro
• Aya has never seen a bear by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane, illustrated by Jiu'er
• Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd
• Flashlight by Lizi Boyd
• Run wild by David Covell
• Up the mountain path by Marianne Dubuc
• Campingland by Ame Dyckman
• The Hike by Alison Farrell
• The collectors by Alice Feagan
• Let's build a dam by Daniel Fehr, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio
• In the tall, tall grass by Denise Fleming
• The world in our backyard by Jami Gigot
• No Bear Anywhere by Leah Gilbert
• Berry Song by Michaela Goade
• Grandma is a Slowpoke by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Michele Coxon
• Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han
• Dig In! by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, illustrated by Mary Peterson
• Searching for wocks by Lucy Knisley
• A pocket full of rocks by Kristin Mahoney
• The camping trip by Jennifer K. Mann
• Camping is a terrible idea by Kirsten Pendreigh, illustrated by Tiffany Everett
• The weedy garden: a happy habitat for wild friends by Margaret Renkl
• Bringing the outside in by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Patrice Barton
• How the forest feels: Sensory play nature's way by Wendi Silvano, illustrated by Mirka Hokkanen
• Shape search by Melissa Stewart
• Fantastic Flowers by Susan Stockdale
• Fatima's great outdoors by Ambreen Tariq
• Seaside Stroll by Charles Trevino, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga
• Sunrise sail by Charles Trevino
• Tiny Garden by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Jax Chow
• How to find a bird by Jennifer Ward
• Bunnies on Ice by Johanna Wright

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Nature - Earth

 This section is divided by Dewey numbers, although the titles are not necessarily nonfiction, but mostly a mix of informational and fiction.

363 - Taking care of the earth: Conservation, Earth Day, and Recycling

• Wildlife Crossings: Protecting animal pathways around the world by Catherine Barr
• On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
• One World by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Jenni Desmond
• Dear earth... from your friends in room 5 by Erin Dealey, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
• Crossings: Extraordinary structures for extraordinary animals by Katy S. Duffield
• Recycling Day: What happens to the things we throw away by Polly Faber
• If you find a fawn: A what-to-do for wild wanderers by Kellie DuBay Gillis
• You are never alone by Elin Kelsey, illustrated by Soyeon Kim
• You are the land by Steph Littlebird
• A garden to save the birds by Wendy McClure, illustrated by Beatriz Mayumi
• Reuse this book by Emma Morris
• The House by NinoCactus, illustrated by Celia Sacido
• Bioblitz by Susan Richmond Edwards
• The Great Pollinator Count by Susan Richmond Edwards
• Can I recycle this? by Jennie Romer
• The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
• Plight of the Pelican: How science saved a species by Jessica Stremer, illustrated by Gordy Wright
• Little Land by Diana Sudyka
• My pollinator garden by Jordan Zwetchkenbaum, illustrated by Kate Cosgrove

550 - Earth Science: Geology and Volcanoes

• Caves by Nell Cross Beckerman
• Stalactite & Stalagmite by Drew Beckmeyer
• Stranded: A mostly true story from Iceland by AEvar Por Benediktsson
• A Stone is a Story by Leslie Barnard Booth, illustrated by Marc Martin
• A rainbow of rocks by Kate DePalma
• I'm a volcano by Bridget Heos
• How to make a mountain by Amy Huntington, illustrated by Nancy Lemon
• Wonder World: Earth the science of soil by Ben Lerwill, illustrated by Xuan Le
• What can you do with a rock? by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Katie Kath
• Old Rock (is not boring) by Deb Pilutti
• I am a rock by Ashley Qilavaq-Savard, illustrated by Pelin Turgut
• Glacier on the move by Elizabeth Rusch
• Geology by Lola Schaefer
• I, Rock by Katie Slivensky

577 - Habitats and Biomes. Day and Night. General nature-themed books

• If you go walking by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Miki Sato
• Animal Antipodes by Carly Allen-Fletcher
• Fluffy Flying Seed by Mary Auld, illustrated by Dawn Cooper
• The home builders by Varsha Bajaj, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani
• The Tinaja Tonight by Aimee M. Bissonette, illustrated by Syd Weiler
• Saguaro's gifts by Kurt Cyrus, illustrated by Andy Atkins
• Green: The story of plant life on our planet by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton
• North: The Amazing story of Arctic Migration by Nick Dowson, illustrated by Patrick Benson
• The Mighty Pollinators by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder
• Planting the wild garden by Kathryn Galbraith, illustrated by Wendy Halperin
• Fungi grow by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Diana Sudyka
• Cactus Hotel by Brenda Guiberson
• Water Land: Land and water forms around the world by Christy Hale
• Moving words about a flower by K. C. Hayes, illustrated by Barbara Chotiner
• This old madrone tree by Barbara Herkert, illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy
• Poo Pile on the Prairie by Amy Hevron
• Plants can't sit still by Rebecca E. Hirsch, illustrated by Mia Posada
• What's inside a flower by Rachel Ignotofsky
• Weeds find a way by Cindy Jenson-Elliott
• The wisdom of trees: How trees work together to form a natural kingdom by Lita Judge
• Dawn by Marc Martin
• What's in your pocket? Discovering treasures in nature by Heather Montgomery
• Ray: how light works by Emily Kate Moon
• Flowers are pretty weird! by Rosemary Mosco
• Sand Swimmers: The secret life of Australia's Desert Wilderness by Narelle Oliver
• Habitats: A journey in nature by Hannah Pang, illustrated by Isobel Lundie
• Little dandelion seeds the world by Julia Richardson, illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell
• Leaflets three, let it be! The story of poison ivy by Anita Sanchez
• Trout are made of trees by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Kate Endle
•  Swirl by swirl: Spirals in nature by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes
• A seed is the start by Melissa Stewart
• Mushroom Rain by Laura K. Zimmerman, illustrated by Jamie Green
• The big book of blooms by Yuval Zommer

577 FOR - Forests and trees

• One day this tree will fall by Leslie Barnard Booth, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
• Look what I found in the woods by Moira Butterfield, illustrated by Jesus Verona
• Thank you, old oak by Britt Crow-Miller, illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford
• Looking for Peppermint; or, Life in the forest by Maxwell Eaton II
• Be a tree! by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Felicita Sala
• Treemendous by Bridget Heos
• Sequoia by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Wendell Minor
• More than a tree by Sarah Kurpiel
• We're off to the forest by Katarina Macurova
• We will live in this forest again by Gianna Marino
• Tree of Wonder by Kate Messner, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani
• Stretch to the sun by Carrie A. Pearson, illustrated by Susan Swan
• The blue jays that grew a forest by Lynn Street, illustrated by Anne Hunter

577 OCE - Oceans

• Ocean Sunlight, How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas by Molly Bang and Penny Chisolm
• Coral Reefs by Jason Chin
• Water sings blue: poems by Kate Coombs
• Down, down, down: a journey to the bottom of the sea by Steve Jenkins
• Hello, ocean! by Corinna Luyken
• It's a seashell day by Dianne Ochiltree, illustrated by Elliot Kreloff
• Aqua Boy by Ken Wilson-Max
• On Gull Beach by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Bob Marstall

577 WET - fresh water biomes including rivers, wetlands, and lakes

• Pond circle by Betsy Franco
• Bog buddies by Amy Hevron
• Over and under the pond by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
• Secret stream by Kimberley Ridley
• About habitats: Wetlands by Cathryn and John Sill
• About habitats: Rivers and streams by Cathryn and John Sill
• The noisy puddle: A vernal pool through the seasons by Linda Booth Sweeney

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Nature

 If I remember correctly, this section started with Seasons and Weather and maybe Space? The first two are an easy choice of course. I wanted to separate the space books that are about planets from the space books that focused on rockets etc. but there's definitely some crossover. The section I've played around with the most is the "Earth" section. Originally, there wasn't a subheading for this section and I just put general environmental books here. At one point I had all the plants, gardening, and tree books here. I also had a lot of requests for and donations of books about fishing, camping, and hiking. 

I ended up making an "Earth" section and putting all the habitat books there (the gardening and food plants went to Community/Farm). I also moved the general ocean books from animals to this section. The last section I added was the "Fun" section - the line between nonfiction and fiction is especially blurry here.

The most popular section here is Seasons, although each section goes out, well, seasonally. Except for snow books, weather and space circulate about equally.

Picture Book Neighborhoods: Go - Trains

 This section has existed from the very beginning. Although trains are no longer as extremely popular as they were back in the heyday of Thomas the Tank Engine, they're still a popular collection. I do put items in here that emphasize the vehicle, rather than just anything riding in a train.

625 - Train nonfiction

• Big book of trains, DK publishing
• Listen up! Train song by Victoria Allenby
• Big Boy 4014 and the Steam Team by Marsha Arnold
• I drive a freight train by Sarah Bridges
• On the train by Carron Brown (Shine-a-Light)
• My big train book by Roger Priddy
• Mighty steam engine by Yvonne Ng

Train fiction

• Thomas the tank engine: The complete collection by W. Awdry
• Cats in conductor hats by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
• Mr. Complain takes the train by Wade Bradford and S. Britt
• Train driver by Phoenix Bright
• Two little trains by Margaret Wise Brown
• Hey! get off our train by John Burningham
• Choo Choo by Virginia Lee Burton
• Night train, night train by Robert Burleigh
• Train by Elisha Cooper
• All aboard the Moonlight Train by Krystin Crow
• Rain train by Elena De Roo
• Snakes on a train by Kathryn Dennis
• How to train a train by Jason Eaton
• Littlest train by Chris Gall
• Dinosaur train by John Gurney
• All aboard the Alaska Train by Brooke Hartman, Illustrated by John Joseph
• Follow the track all the way back by Timothy Knapman
• Sleep train by Jonathan London
• All aboard the dinotrain by Deb Lund
• Trains run! by George Ella Lyon
• I'm fast by Kate McMullan
• Trainbots by Paul Miranda
• Smokey by Bill Peet
• Little engine that could by Watty Piper (original)
• Let's build a little train by Julie Richardson
• Steam train, dream train by Sherri Duskey Rinker
• Night train : a journey from dusk to dawn by Annie Cronin
• Trains don't sleep by Andria Rosenbaum
• Choo-choo school by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Big Choo by Stephen Shaskan
• The Christmas tree who loved trains by Annie Silvestro
• The Goodnight Train by June Sobel

STEAM Activities: Bears

 

This was the last week of offering STEAM activities on both Monday and Wednesday. It was also a pretty slow traffic week and my schedule this month is very in and out, so I didn't observe how the families reacted to this one.

Full resource pages on Canva