Spring Reading Programs for Kids

Now through April 14, kids up to age 12 can read and earn prizes!

Crawl Into Reading for children age 0-3

Stop in at any library branch and pick up a game board that lists simple literacy building activities you can do with your child, such as "describe to your baby what you're doing as you shop, cook, or drive" and "sing a song that has motions you and your baby can do together.” Families will perform these activities at home and then return the game board to the library. A free board book will be awarded to each family that completes the entire series of activities.

Cover to Cover reading program for children age 4-12

Sponsored by In and Out Burger! Kids can pick up a reading log at any library branch, read 5 books, and earn a certificate for a free burger. Finish up to 3 logs to earn 3 burgers.

Book Review: The Girl Who Became a Beatle

Meet Regina, the protagonist of The Girl Who Became a Beatle and teenage frontwoman of a Beatles cover band, the Caverns. The band is the center of Regina’s life and when they break up, Regina does what any teenager would do: she wishes she were someone else. Regina soon finds herself fronting the most famous band in the world: a world in which the Beatles never existed; a world in which she owns the entire Beatles songbook. While Regina initially embraces her new role in the universe, she quickly comes to realize the drawbacks of fame and being considered a genius, especially when that genius actually belongs to someone else.

Author Greg Taylor keeps the pace fast and the prose simple, making The Girl Who Became a Beatle a good read for late middle-schoolers and high-schoolers alike, not to mention any Beatle fanatic who would enjoy every clever nod to the Fab Four’s career. - Nick (Downtown)

For more teen reviews, visit Chandler Library's newest blog, Teens Read... & Write About It!

YA Fiction Roundup

Some of the new arrivals for teens (and other fans of YA novels):

Awkward by Marni Bates
Mackenzie isn't the most graceful girl in school, but when someone catches her latest awkward moment on video, she becomes the latest YouTube sensation. Suddenly she's popular, and that's when things get really interesting...

The End of the Line by Angela Cerrito
Robbie is locked in a room with a pencil and paper, and nothing else - no food, no bed, nothing - until he writes down the words that will explain who he is and how he came to be incarcerated.

Hidden by Helen Frost
The lives of two girls become linked when one girl's father steals the car that the other girl is hiding in. Fans of Ellen Hopkins' books will enjoy this story that uses poetry to bring together the two girls' stories.

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis
Luna thought she had gotten over her mother's death, but when she finds her mother's cell phone - and the seven unplayed messages on it - she becomes caught up in the mystery surrounding how her mother actually died.

Closed February 20 - Take a virtual tour of Washington, D.C.

All four branches of the Chandler Public Library will be closed Monday, February 20 for Presidents' Day. Library resources are still available even if the library's doors are closed - try taking in a virtual tour of Washington, D.C. with our Reference Books from Gale.

You can access numerous Eyewitness Travel Guides, and many other reference resources, through the library's collection of databases. Start at chandlerlibrary.org and hover your mouse over the purple RESEARCH tab. Choose Databases A-Z, then scroll down to choose Reference Books from Gale Virtual Reference Library. To access the database from home you'll need to enter your library card and 4-digit PIN numbers.

You'll see all of our online reference books in an alphabetic list. Scroll down to choose Washington, D.C, or choose any other travel guide. The entire book is available, including full-color illustrations. You can click on the Table of Contents to navigate chapter-by-chapter.

Chandler Science Spectacular: February 16-18

Join Chandler businesses, artists, students, and innovators in a three-day celebration of science! On Thursday, February 16, local businesses including Intel and Microchip are opening their doors to visitors for the Chandler Tech Crawl and open house. Friday's Downtown Chandler Art Walk will feature discussions, exhibits, hands-on activities, shows and tours of the science behind candle making, glass blowing, oil painting, wine and pottery making, and more. Chandler's Science Saturday will be an extravaganza featuring interactive demonstrations and activities from our technology companies and students, showcased along Commonwealth Avenue in Downtown Chandler.

For more information, a detailed schedule, and maps of the events, visit www.chandleraz.gov/science.

Book Review: Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?

Columnist and New York resident Henry Alford takes on modern manners in Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? This funny, irreverent, and sometimes outright rude collection of anecdotes and philosophy looks at how we should - and shouldn't - behave in a world that seems to have forgotten etiquette. He talks about his visit to Japan and that country's rigid system of proper behavior (don't break apart a bunch of bananas at the market), his not exactly mannerly game of Touch the Waiter (and what happened when he tried explaining its rules to a waiter), and his attempts to give etiquette advice to friends ("two successes, one semi-success, one uncertainty, and one miss"). Some of the stories will leave you giggling, some squirming with recognition of an uncomfortable situation, and some glad that you don't have to navigate the manners minefield of New York society. It's not a Miss Manners guide, but it will leave you amused, and maybe grateful that you haven't made the same mistakes. - Michelle (Sunset)

Chandler Centennial Whiskerino Contest

Chandler's Centennial is coming up in May! Join the celebration in the city's Whiskerino Contest - a beard growing contest like those held at the city's 50th and 75th anniversary celebrations, and harkening back to the styles of A.J. Chandler's time.

To participate in the Whiskerino Contest:
1. Get a team of three men who live, work, or go to school in Chandler,
2. Get a sponsor or entity to represent (business, church, school, organization, agency or other entity),
3. Fill out a contest application and turn it in by the deadline of February 3,
4. Appear at City Hall on February 7 for a photo, cleanshaven,
5. Start growing! Teams will meet at Tumbleweed Park on May 19 for their final judging.

See the city's centennial contest website for more information. And visit www.chandler100th.com for a complete list of centennial activities, projects, history, and more!