Read and Ride at the State Fair

We're now into the last few days of the California State Fair at Cal Expo. If you are planning to attend between now and Labor Day, be sure to stop by the library and pick up some Read and Ride forms, or go to the Read and Ride web page to see the rules and print your own forms.

Read three books, get three free rides - it's as simple as that! Sacramento Public Library is one of the partners of this program, which has been successfully run for the last several years. There is a limit of one form per child per day (8th grade and below), but a new form, listing three different books, can be presented each time you attend the fair for additional free rides.

And if you should pick up your Read and Ride forms at Central Library, plan to visit the Sacramento Room to see a fun exhibit of historical State Fair posters, post cards, and other memorabilia that have never been displayed before! Big Fun!

Book Bug Bingo

This year's "Catch the Reading Bug" summer reading program was a huge success, judging by the number of people of all ages who registered in our 27 Sacramento Public Library branches.

More than 12, 000 kids, teens and adults signed up to participate, keeping track of their reading activities on specially designed bingo-style cards. Each completed card entitles the reader to a chance in a drawing for a $50 Target gift certificate.

We invited adults to participate for the first time, this year, and 2,696 adults signed up. In total 1,694 pre-readers, 6,294 kids, and 1,086 teens also participated.

There are still a few days left before the program winds down. Drawings for the prizes begin August 9. If you hurry, you, too, can still catch the Reading Bug!

Bug Break

I hate bugs!
Though I realize our summer reading theme is “Catch the Reading Bug,” if I see one more bug I am going to scream! I hate bugs, loathe spiders, don’t care for worms or all their germs, but whenever I open my e-mail I discover yet another person has sent me a picture of a hissing cockroach or a tarantula. And these aren’t the happy Miss Spider’s Tea Party versions of insects. No, they’re the real, ugly, horrible, I-can’t-believe-such-a-thing-exists pictures. People, I was already scared half to death after looking at last month’s Visa bill. Are you trying to complete the job?
Do you know what non-human creatures I like? Bunnies, doggies and kitties. To stop myself from having a complete nervous breakdown at being surrounded by bugs, I watch videos of cute animals on YouTube. These two “talking” cats are totally adorable. If you have time, watch the translations. Enjoy your bug free moment.

Catch the Reading Bug ... and Dance

Tomorrow, Katherine Ambuhl and Ikhlas Haleem, instructors from Spotlight Dance and Fitness, will be on hand at Central Library to coach adult readers in a free East Coast Swing dance workshop!

This is the kick-off program for Central's Adult Summer Reading Program. Two addional dance programs, teaching the Fox Trot and Cha Cha, will be held on June 22 and June 29, respectively.

So ... this is a actually an advert for the new-this-year adult participation in the traditional Summer Reading Program, which starts today. The theme - "Catch the Reading Bug." To jazz up your reading experience, go to the library's home page and click the "summer reading" image in the left sidebar. A quick online registration, and you're good to go! Cross off the activities on your reading bingo card, and when you've got 5 in a row, you will receive a free library tote bag (one per participant), and an entry for the end-of-summer drawing for a $50 Target gift certificate.

May I have this dance?

Tired of catching all the wrong bugs?

There are some bugs which you really don’t want to catch, like Ebola and West Nile, and then there are the bugs that are actually good for you, namely the Reading Bug and the Jitterbug. Catch both bugs (the good ones, that is) by reading and dancing the summer away at Central Library!

Summer Reading starts Saturday, June 14th. Everyone from babies to adults can sign up this year. Central’s big kickoff is on Sunday, June 15th. Children can sign-up all day in Kids’ Place and have fun creating cool crafts and Father’s Day cards. Teens and adults can sign up online, then enjoy the first of three instructional dance classes sponsored by Spotlight Dance and Fitness. Learn the East Coast Swing on Sunday, June 15th, the Fox Trot on Sunday, June 22nd, and the Cha Cha on Sunday, June 29th. All classes start at 3 pm.

But why wait until you can officially sign-up online to get in the mood? Check out our Central Express and Kids’ Place displays for a wide selection of books and media. Pick up celebrity biographies, gardening books, great fiction, dance music, books and instructional videos in Central Express. Not sure what to read? Our teen librarian has set up a “What I’m Reading Now” display in Kids' Place. And before you start thinking that teen books are those horrible now-you-know-and-knowing-is-half-the-battle-after-school-special type of stories we were forced to read in high school, pick up a copy of Chris Crutcher’s Deadline.

For those of you who think, “Gee, I would love to come to Central, but the parking there sucks except for Sundays,” I have good news for you. For those who haven’t heard, Central patrons can park for free on Saturdays in the City of Sacramento public parking garages at 10th and I Streets or 10th and L Streets. So we hope to see you this Sunday having the time of your life. (No excuses!)