Library looking to display local patrons’ collections
Collection Display
Show your collection in the library’s display case just inside the gates. Model trains, rocks, shells, arrowheads, model rockets and American Girl dolls are some of the interesting things we’ve displayed in the past. What do you collect? Call Youth Services Librarian Phyllis Peter at (641) 792-4108 if you have a fun collection to share.
Jasper County
Conservation Program
Join Jasper County Naturalist Chrissy Rea from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. today in the library meeting room for a program titled “Not-So-Frightening Friends.” Come learn about animals, such as bats and spiders. This program is free, open to the public and appropriate for families and ages kindergarten through sixth grade. Come dressed in costume if you’d like.
Story Times at Newton Public Library
• Enjoy stories about dragons with Youth Services Librarian Phyllis Peter during Preschool Story Time, for children ages 3 to 5, at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
• Toddlers and Twos Story Time, which is for children ages 18 months to 36 months old, will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. A second Toddlers and Twos Story Time will follow at 11 a.m. Choose to attend one session, but not both. All story times meet in the Carousel Horse Room, except on holidays, and are free and open to all children and their caregivers. Contact Youth Services Librarian Phyllis Peter at (641) 792-4108 with questions.
Book Review of the Week by Library Staff Member Phyllis Peter
“Until It Hurts: America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How it Harms Our Kids” by Mark Hyman gives a great overview of how adults have gone on a quest to turn children into tomorrow’s superstar athletes and how kids are being pushed beyond their physical and emotional limits.
With the prevalence of organized sports for children even as young as three, this book is an eye-opener. Hyman looks at the huge number of sports injuries in kids (in 2003, 3.5 million kids had sports injuries that required medical attention). He pays special attention to overuse injuries, and the stories he tells are scary, including a swim coach who forces a 12-year-old to swim until her elbow is swollen, forcing her to quit swimming by age 14 despite her early successes.
Another frightening tale is the story of a 12-year-old star phenom Little League pitcher who complained to his coach of terrible pain in his elbow. While rain delayed the game his coach had him stick his elbow in the concession stand freezer so it was numb enough that he could pitch the last four innings. By age 15 this young pitcher’s promising career was over. He had surgery to transpose a nerve in his arm and was never able to pitch again. An adult now, this young man still wonders why his parents and other adults didn’t step in on his behalf.
The author balances the cautionary tales with messages about what is good about sports as well. Author Hyman’s book is a warning to adults to keep the big picture in mind with young athletes and is a must-read for any parent or adult with young athletes in the home.
World Book Encyclopedia Online
The library now offers access to World Book Encyclopedia Online both in the library and from home. Just go to www.newton.lib.ia.us, click on the catalog link, login to the catalog, go to the knowledge portal, click on the reference databases link and select World Book. Within World Book there’s access to World Book Online For Kids, World Book Online Info Finder and World Book Online Reference Center. Call the information desk at (641) 792-4108 with questions.
