September

LIGHTS, CAMERA, CLASS

MAIN BOOK

About: The story is about a cool blue cat named Pete who is heading off to school wearing his favorite red shoes. As he walks around the school building, he discovers all kinds of new places like the big library, the noisy lunchroom, and the busy playground. Even though everything is brand new and could be a little scary, Pete never gets nervous or worries about it. He just keeps moving along, singing his fun song, and rocking in his school shoes because it is all good.

Review: "This book keeps the attention of the children because it has a short amount of words on each page, and has the catchy song in it. Kids (and adults!) will have fun grooving and singing along. I like this book because it teaches children about school and what they will do there. It also touches on the fact that kids might be worried at school. This would be a great book to read with kids a few weeks before school starts, and during those first few weeks of school too." (Miss Sue's Skills for Success,n.d).

September Special Programs 

.The Creative Collector: Personalized Book Bags & Identity Journals (Ages 5–12)

Description:
Children kick off the fall season by building their own custom reading packs. First, every participant selects four free, favorite paperback books provided by the library to jumpstart their home collection. Next, kids receive a blank reading journal notebook and cut out images, words, and characters from old magazines that reflect their unique personality and interests, pasting them onto the cover to describe themselves. Finally, they use colorful markers, floral designs, and stickers to fully customize a vintage library tote bag provided from the library's past reading program inventory. The workshop wraps up with an informal sharing circle where kids get to show off their bags and tell the librarians all about what they made.

Developmental Value

Enhances fine motor precision and bilateral coordination through cutting, pasting, and decorating. The journal design builds self-reflection and emotional literacy as children learn to translate their personal traits into visual concepts, while the closing presentation boosts public speaking confidence, narrative logic, and expressive vocabulary.
Resources & EDI: 
Highlights the library's paperback book giveaway collection and digital clip-art templates. This program directly supports equity by providing free books and school supplies to families, completely removing economic barriers to home library building. Inclusion is built in by offering pre-cut stickers for children with grip limits and providing translation helpers for English Language Learners so every child can proudly share their story.

Staffing Requirements: 1 Children’s Librarian (to lead the sharing circle and greet families) and 2 Library Volunteers (1 teen, 1 adult to manage the craft tables and assist with sciss

The Library Shark Tank: Silly School-Day Inventions (Ages 9–12)

Description: 

A high-energy, theatrical entrepreneurship workshop where tweens become master inventors. Participants use recycled cardboard, plastic gears, and masking tape to build a fast physical prototype of a fictional gadget designed to solve a funny school problem—like an automated homework-eating machine or a locker-cleaning robot. Once their prototypes are complete, kids take the stage to "pitch" their ideas to a panel of library "sharks" (played by children's staff wearing silly executive suits and oversized glasses). The sharks score the pitches based on creativity, humor, and design logic, awarding printable library "funding checks" to all participants.

Developmental Value: 

Drastically strengthens public speaking confidence, oral communication, and persuasive rhetoric. Designing and building the physical prototypes exercises critical spatial engineering, geometry principles, and collaborative problem-solving skills under a fixed timeline.
Resources & EDI: 

Connects directly to the library's physical collection of invention biographies and youth business graphic novels. Equity is supported by providing a completely free supply of raw crafting materials, ensuring economic status never limits access to inventive STEM tracks. For children experiencing vocal anxiety or reading differences, we offer visual pitch boards, peer-buddy presenter duos, and speech-to-text script tablets for full creative independence.

Staffing Requirements:

3 Children's Department Staff (to play the role of the silly sharks) and 1 Library Volunteer (to pass out crafting cardboard and run the audience.

 Motion-Maker Storytime (Ages Birth–5)

Book Selection: Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin

Media Element: 3-minute animated storybook video clip featuring the official musical sing-along

Audio/Song: "The Wheels on the School Bus" rhythmic remix (streamed via Hoopla digital media)

Unique Materials: Colorful movement scarves, paper plate bases, neon markers, and school bus stickers

Lego Animation Studio 

Unique Theme Focus: Building the Perfect Dream School (A school made entirely of candy!)

Unique Materials: Bulk pink, yellow, and pastel Lego bricks, miniature plastic candy props, and bright backdrop sheets

 Script Writers Club 

Unique Theme Focus: Flipping the Script: Writing Your Own Wild Teacher Assignments

Unique Materials: Custom lesson plan script worksheets and red "grading" pencils for editing

Let's Get Moving! 

Book Selection: The Field by Baptiste Paul (High-action soccer picture book / Animated book clip)

Unique Activity: The Back-to-School Field Day & Garden Soccer Relay Drill

Unique Materials: 2 portable pop-up soccer goals, soft foam soccer balls, and plastic field cones

Monthly Programs

Paws & Playback: Read to Dogs 

Book Selection: Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton (Early Reader / Animated Series)

Media Element: 3-minute animated video clip from the television cartoon special showing a classroom pet turtle
Unique Materials: Hypoallergenic dog treats and shiny apple-shaped reward stickers

 Fact-Finder Film Scouts 

 Scavenger Hunt Focus: History of Public Schools, Inventions in Science, and World Geography (Dewey shelves 370 & 500)

Unique Materials: Printed Schoolhouse Scout Manual packets and custom backpack library keychains

 Book To Screen Club

Book Selection: Frindle by Andrew Clements (Juvenile Fiction / Feature Movie Tie-in)

Media Element: 5-minute video trailer clip comparing the written description of the school layout with the live-action movie sets
Unique Materials: Individual snack boxes of movie-theater style popcorn kernels

Cinematic Escape Room 

Puzzle Vault Theme: "Trapped in the Library Detention Room after Dark"

Unique Materials: 3 combination padlocks, 1 locked wooden desk box, alphabet slider cipher wheels, and invisible ink assignment logs