Goodbye for the summer. Please go to our CATCH THE READING BUG link for summer reading information and ideas. BLOGS WILL BE BACK IN SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UNTIL THEN, BEE SURE TO BUZZ ON DOWN TO THE LIBRARY TO CHECK OUT BOOKS DURING JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST!!!!

Time to begin thinking about winter activities. Start with the library! Choose lots and lots of great stories to share with your family, a warm quilt, and a cozy fire. You can use our YOUTH WEBSITE links to find book titles that appeal to you and your family, and then just click here to put them on hold at your nearest branch library.

Don’t forget about CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK, celebrated nationally November 11-17. Children’s Book Week brings the United States “together to talk about books and reading and, out of our knowledge and love of books, to put the cause of children's reading squarely before the whole community and, community by community, across the whole nation. For a great nation is a reading nation." Choose a calendar and check out the activities that will be celebrated at your local branch, or just CELEBRATE CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK AT HOME! As a parent, read stories to your children written by your favorite authors, take your children to the public library to check out books that are really COOL, or do some research online about children’s authors. Whatever you do to celebrate, just read, read, read, read, read!

The Madison County Library System welcomes your ideas. Please contact me at (601) 859-7733 ext. 107 to offer program or website suggestions.

Happy Reading,

Martha Womack
Youth Services Director

Hello and welcome to the Preschool page of the Madison County Library System’s website. My name is Martha Womack. As youth services director for this system, it will be my pleasure to connect with families of children ages 5 and under through this monthly blog. I hope that you will like our new website and that it will meet your family’s needs!

My husband and I live in Canton. We are the proud parents of a poodle-mix named Willie, and a “grown –up” son, Matt. In my former life, I spent almost 30 years as a school library media specialist. I heard many words of wisdom about what I should do to motivate young children to become lifelong readers. I think that my very favorite adage is “Teachers show your children how to read. Librarians teach your children how to LOVE to read!” There is a difference!

The youth services staff of the Madison County Library System is eager to share recommendations with you for great books for your preschooler and toddler. In addition, let your children make their own choices at the library. This practice empowers them and helps them to be excited about books. Age appropriate titles for preschool children can be found at all five branches of our system. You may also find our online catalog to be a great time saver. Believe it or not, you can now place books on hold online and just pick them up at your local branch! Please come to the children’s sections anyway to visit with our children’s specialists and read the summer away!

Check out the other features and links for preschoolers and toddlers in this section and don’t forget that anytime is the right time to visit your library. We appreciate your suggestions, ideas, and concerns. You can contact me at (601)859-7733, ext. 107, or mwomack@mcls.ms .

See you next week -------

Martha