March 29, 2024

Read with therapy dog Porsche beginning today

Read with Porsche

Read with Porsche, a therapy dog, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday beginning today in the children’s area of the library. Porsche is certified with Therapy Dogs International along with her handler, Lisa Gibbons. Porsche also visited Thomas Jefferson Elementary this fall to read with children.

This program is for children who are beginning to read independently and would benefit from practice reading aloud. No pre-registration is necessary. Porsche will be at the library Dec. 19 but not Dec. 26. After that, the program will take place every Wednesday. Call Youth Services Librarian Phyllis Peter at (641) 792-4108 with questions.

ABC Author Book Club

The ABC Author Book Club will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. today in the library’s conference room. Call or stop by the library’s information desk to choose from a list of books by this month’s featured author, Agatha Christie. New members are always welcome, and the book club meets on the second Wednesday of each month.

Library Closure

The library will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 24 and 25, as well as Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. On Monday, Dec. 31, the library will be open but will close at 5 p.m. Make your New Year’s resolution to read more in 2013!

Story Times at Newton Public Library

• Enjoy stories about jingle bells with Youth Services Librarian Phyllis Peter during Preschool Story Time, for children ages 3 to 5, at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Each story time includes books, music, fingerplays and a simple craft.

• 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 as back-to-back sessions are offered so neither will be too large. 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.

Library Displays

The Newton Historic Preservation Committee has a display in the library lobby’s display case during the month of December. The committee is working to establish a historic district in downtown Newton, and information about their work is in the case.

The cat figurine collection of Norma Fanning is in the Charlotte M. Smith Memorial Display case just inside the library’s main gates for the month of  December.  Norma has collected cat figurines for years, and many are from other countries and were gifts to her from friends and family members.  Thank you to Norma for sharing her lovely collection.

Book Review of the Week

by Library Teen Volunteer

Courtney Claussen

Have you ever felt torn between two difficult choices? In the book “Hush Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, Nora Grey is faced with good and evil. This book creates a suspenseful plot and has twists that make it hard to stop reading. Patch’s mysterious personality makes the reader curious. “Hush, Hush” draws readers’ attention, then their heart at the finale. When faced with the hardest decisions she has ever had to make, will Nora Grey choose the right side? Find out in Becca Fitzpatrick’s series of books. Check it out from the teen fiction section of the Newton Public Library.

Downloadable E-books, Audio Books Available

Downloadable e-books and audio books are available at the library through the library's catalog for Newton, Lambs Grove, Reasnor and rural Jasper County residents. If someone on your Christmas list is receiving a Nook, Kindle, iPad, Sony e-reader or other e-book device this holiday season, be sure to stop by the library's information desk for instructions on how to access these books that are specific to different e-readers, or visit www.newton.lib.ia.us and click on the "Wilbor" icon.