I leave for Isle Royale National Park next week for a few days of island wilderness living in the splendor of Lake Superior. With an address of Michigan, the park is actually closer to Canada and Minnesota and is completely uninhabited except for moose, wolves, snowshoe hares and the few park rangers and employees of the one lodge that exists. Yellowstone Park sees more visitors in one day than Isle Royale sees in one year. The remoteness of the place makes getting there an adventure. The being there is just icing on the cake. In preparation for any trip I try to read as much as I can about the place I’m going to be visiting. There is not a whole lot of literature on Isle Royale but I’ve been able to find a few interesting books on the history and environment that will enhance my stay there. In my quest I always try to find a novel that takes place in the locale I’m visiting. So for this trip, that means two mysteries in Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series. Read more »

The Library sees a lot of action during the summer months. The action taking place in this photo is the best kind there is. This is exactly what we hoped having the boat would inspire. Reading is fun all by itself, but giving kids a unique place to do it makes it even more so. Take books to the beach, to the cabin, to the campsites, to the picnics, to the park. Take the books, the reading will follow.

But that I would have had my camera today while I was at the Manawa Elementary School promoting the Summer Reading Program. I spent my morning forming conga lines with kids to the tune Splish Splash by Bobby Darin. It was great fun even if it did leave me a little winded. Mrs. Porter the School Librarian, and even some of the teachers joined in all the fun too. Other great moments included being able to hear a pin drop while I read the book All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, and seeing the kids recognize the irony in the book Shark in the Park! by Nick Sharratt. The theme this year is Make a Splash: Read and it's one that is going to give us many opportunities for fun. We've been busy purchasing new books and getting them ready for the kids to check out, planning clever on the spot activities for participants to do and planning the special programs that make this time of year so fun. The kick-off event will be a visit from Dino of Nature's Niche in Stevens Point. Dino is bringing his Animals of the Rainforest program and we're expecting a full house. Also coming later in June is singer/songwriter Tom Pease. His shows are crowd pleasers and we'll be hosting him up at Little Wolf High School to accomodate the crowd. Read more »

It's officially spring. Hurrah. And unlike many years when the calendar says spring but the weather says "gonna be winter for a long time yet", it's actually feeling like spring outside. If this wonderful weather holds, it would be the first time in a long time that spring actually arrived on time. Here at the Library we know it's spring for a couple of reasons. The Adult Reading Program is over, the prize baskets have been claimed, and we have put up our annual garden display. One thing is very different this year, however. And that is the quality of the display. With The Design Artist Formerly Known as Rae on staff, the look of the Library has taken on a decidedly jazzier feel. Whereas in garden displays of years past you would see a few books centered around a lonely clay pot or a garden tool or two, this year the display extends all across the adult stacks section and includes picnics, kids gardens and making dried flowers. They are beautiful displays and the depth they give to the Library is effective. They've inspired me to purchase more garden books than usual this year and they're putting everyone who walks through the doors in the appropriate spring mood. So, if the almost inevitable happens in the next few weeks, at least inside these library walls, we will be able to pretend the real deal is here to stay.