August is a time for preparation. It is time to preserve the produce from the bountiful gardens by canning or freezing in order to prepare for winter. Display your cookbooks that are dedicated to food preservation and jelly-making along with mason jars, a strainer, a big kettle, and a long-handled spoon. It is also a time to get ready for school to start. Gather the books in your children’s area that have school, kindergarten, or teacher in the title and set them together on a shelf or a table. Here are 10 more display and program ideas for August.
Celebrate the “Dog Days of Summer”
Make a display that includes dog bones, pet toys, paw prints, and all of your books about dogs, both fiction and nonfiction, from the children’s and adult’s areas. Request donations of dog food and treats for your local pet shelter.
Family Fun Month
This month is all about having fun with the family. Hold a family game night at your library and encourage families to bring their favorite games to share. Display your books about card games and have a few decks of cards ready to distribute.
National Peach Month
Hold a screening of Disney’s James and the Giant Peach on a day before school starts and serve peach-flavored refreshments.
Watermelon Day (August 3)
Display all your children’s picture books about watermelon. Then, take your Preschool Story Time outside. Serve juicy slices of watermelon and read aloud Greg Pizzoli’s The Watermelon Seed.
Friendship Day (August 6)
Encourage everyone to make a new friend today. Display your books with the word “friend” in the title and books about friends (my first thought was about Frog and Toad…they’re friends, right?).
Kool-Aid Days (August 11-13, 2017)
Get ready for a Very Berry Kool-Aid Days Bash in Hastings this year. There will be great family fun all weekend long—featuring the World’s Largest Kool-Aid Stand. Display information about this event along with Kool-Aid packets and pitchers. You could even serve Kool-Aid to your patrons. They are sure to be delighted. Kool-Aid has played a part in summer for children across the nation…and it started right here in Nebraska!
Julia Child’s Birthday (August 15, 1912)
America’s beloved food authority, who didn’t take a cooking lesson until she was in her 30s, was born in Pasadena, CA. Child’s cookbooks and television shows encouraged Americans to cook and eat well and to be skeptical of food fads and diet strictures. “Cooking is not a chore; it is a joy.” Display cookbooks including those by Julia Child with mixing bowls, wooden spoons, and whisks.
Anniversary of the Death of Elvis Presley (August 16, 1977)
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, died in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 42. Display all your books, music CDs and DVDs by and about Elvis. It would be fun to include vinyl records and album covers, too. I cannot believe he has been gone for 40 years!
Judy Schachner’s Birthday (August 20, 1951)
Place a poster on the shelf with her Skippyjon Jones books to commemorate Judy’s birthday. You could go on an adventure with your Story Time preschoolers by reading one of the many books in her popular series.
Frankenstein Day (August 30)
Celebrate the birth of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley (born August 30, 1797) and her creation of one of the most iconic monsters by making some Frank-inspired treats.
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