Dear Arbor Families,
Lucky for us librarians, teachers, writers, producers, and publishers around our state, our nation, and our world continue to create and curate, and make freely available, engaging digital information materials and artworks for our children during these unforgettable days. Accessing these sometimes seemingly buried treasures can be a bit tricky for our kiddos. Some digital portals ask for users to create a free login. Others require a specific series of clicks to find the hidden gems. The good news: our children are eager learners and relish a promising scavenger hunt. With the support of their grown-ups and any available older siblings or friends, our readers might enjoy discovering the following pirate booty.
Summer Reading at the Multnomah County Library
Behold! Next week on June 1, registration begins for the Multnomah County Library Summer Reading Program “Imagine Your Story” with fairytales, folktales, and fantasy. The program includes a fantastic, flexible game beginning on June 15 which features reading and listening to books and participating in activities that promise giants and ogres and dragons and spells and potions and sprites galore. Here are the simple steps to join the magical mystery adventures of long ago and far away! And remember: any resident in Oregon with a phone number qualifies for a Multnomah County Library card.
The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian - A serialized sci-fi adventure story that is reported to be part Scooby-Doo and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yowzah sounds like some good fun! You and your kiddo can enjoy over one hundred 15-20 minute episodes!
What If World: Stories for Kids - What if there was such a thing as magic shoes? What if dinosaurs were alive today? What if a tree named Harrigo went to eat a chocolate that was talking? Yes actually, you read that right! Ten to 20-minutes stories are spun to answer these curious questions we like to ponder.
Brains On! Science-based stories for curious kids and adults, From the coronavirus to aliens and UFOs to the secret world of dust - it’s all here! Episodes run roughly 20-40 minutes.
Wow in the World - Another excellent science podcast that explores wonders of the world, including trips into our brains, trips to outer space and trips into new areas of science.
Ebooks & Audiobooks
Audible is currently offering over 200 hundred free audiobook recordings in the range of genres. Here’s the breakdown of the levels:
103 Available Audiobooks for Elementary
Including this well-reviewed title, Coronavirus: A Book for Children
The Multnomah County Library continues to offer easily accessibly no-holds always-available ebook and audiobooks across the genres.
Teen “always available” ebooks/audiobooks: https://multcolib.overdrive.com/collection/1064729
Kids “always available” ebooks/audiobooks: https://multcolib.overdrive.com/library/kids/collection/1065257
Finally. And I believe I’ve saved the best for last. (Check with your kiddos about the truth of that.) J.K. Rowling once again delights her devoted readers with a new story, The Ickabog, a tale with a cast of quirky characters in an imaginary land, Cornucopia, to be serially released over the next seven weeks. Along with her release of the new-but-also-old-story (you’ll have read on her dedicated website about that twist) she invites her listeners to help her illustrate the story. How fun is that! Students can even choose to submit their illustrations in a competition if they like.
My hope is that you and your young readers will find some stories and ideas to nosh on together here in these various digital offerings. As we come to the close of this odd school term, I want to wish you all my best in these uncommon days.
Yours,
Shelly