Monday, December 3, 2012

The holidays draw near...

Whew! We escaped the worst of the winter rains this weekend in Marin County. Still, a rainy day
is awfully nice for sitting at home at the kitchen table with a STACK of library books and a cup of hot chocolate and a lazy afternoon of crafting holiday cards and presents.

Oh come let us adore Ed Emberly and his clever drawing books. Here are a few sweet designs from  his Big Red Drawing Book.




And for grown-ups who keep art journals or scrapbooks, Emberley's designs are fantastic fodder for doodling ideas and page graphics. Take a look at the bead garland designs. Even just the simple shapes would look great on a journal page.


Rejoice all those who celebrate Hanukah! I love The Crafty Crow's website of ideas for Hanukkah crafts.

Dancing Hanukkah Characters from The Creative Jewish Mom
Save a nice hot crispy latke for me and don't forget the applesauce....


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Image from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Here's hoping everyone's Thanksgiving is swanky.

Elliott Erwitt, Snoopy through the window of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1988

Before we settle in to watch the Macy's Day Parade, here's a little poem to read at the Thanksgiving table. It's from a classic book of children's poetry and I love the illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. Click on the poem to discover the book and then check it out and take it home! 

 I give thanks for YOU dear reader and this blog and books and reading and free public libraries and poetry and parades. xoxo Miss Kitty



Wednesday, November 7, 2012

And the winner is....

It's a landslide win! The cutest dog costume  IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE goes to....
this little guy! 
 
Pinterest


You know Miss Kitty is a sucker for dogs, so here, dear reader, are a few of my favorite picture books with dog illustrations. Click on the illustration to place a hold on each title, grab your library card and a leash...good boy! Good girl!



Sunday, October 28, 2012

October's Bright Blue Weather

I confess dear reader I'm in a bit of shock that this blog has been up and running for little over a year! We've had a wonderful first year, and for the here and now,  how lucky we are to enjoy October's bright blue weather.  I've always loved Helen Hunt Jackson's ( 1830-1885) poem.

      October's Bright Blue Weather
    O SUNS and skies and clouds of June,
        And flowers of June together,
    Ye cannot rival for one hour
        October's bright blue weather;
    When loud the bumble-bee makes haste,
        Belated, thriftless vagrant,
    And Golden-Rod is dying fast,
        And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
    When Gentians roll their fringes tight
        To save them for the morning,
    And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
        Without a sound of warning;
    When on the ground red apples lie
        In piles like jewels shining,
    And redder still on old stone walls
        Are leaves of woodbine twining;
    When all the lovely wayside things
        Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
    And in the fields, still green and fair,
        Late aftermaths are growing;
    When springs run low, and on the brooks,
        In idle golden freighting,
    Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
        Of woods, for winter waiting;
    When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
        By twos and twos together,
    And count like misers, hour by hour,
        October's bright blue weather.
    O suns and skies and flowers of June,
        Count all your boasts together,
    Love loveth best of all the year
        October's bright blue weather.


In the next few days we'll carve our pumpkins....


















...and prepare for THE BIG NIGHT...















I'll share some of my very favorite costumes in my next post..but in the meantime, we can dream about all that spectacular candy.

Swap you my Mars Bars and candy corn for your Atomic Fire Balls and Snickers?!

Friday, September 14, 2012

To the Batmobile!

Holy cow, join the caped crusaders and burn rubber over to the Marin County Free Library where it's
Library Card Month!


I'm no Joker dear reader! For the entire month of September, you can get a shiny new library card or replace a lost one for free! That's right...FOR FREE!!!! And we will give you a secret crusader curly keychain so that you don't loose your shiny new card whilst battling evil in Gotham and abroad.






After all, having your very own library card really is having a superpower.


I think I need to start coming to work as Cat Woman instead of Miss Kitty. There's a very high probability I already own the boots.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Force is Strong With This One

I don't know about you but it feels like the summer days have zipped by at warp speed. One of my favorite young readers turned in his reading log and I had to smile..... this young Jedi certainly knows what he wants to read! Determined he is. If you look very closely, there are three entries for Harry Potter. An essential part of the magic of childhood summer reading is getting to read whatever you feel like.  Enjoy your August weekend, dear reader, while there's still time for an afternoon of podracing around the neighborhood before it's time to come in and wash up for supper. Save a nice cold slice of watermelon for me.