By Amy Notarius
Rowan PublicLibrary
What do you do when your article’s due but you’re not in a writing mood? Write about your bad mood. You can check out some great grumpy books at Rowan Public Library.
Author Molly Bang won a Caldecott Award for her book, “When Sophie Gets Angry ó Really, Really Angry.” When Sophie’s little sister takes her stuffed gorilla, Sophie gets upset. “She kicks. She screams. She wants to smash the world to smithereens.” Soon Sophie feels like “a volcano, ready to explode,” and the bright orange, red and yellow pictures match Sophie’s intensifying feelings.
After going for a run, Sophie starts to feel calmer and quieter. Sophie’s story shows children ways to cope with their feelings, and they learn that being mad, while kind of frightening, is temporary.
In Rachel Vail’s “Sometimes I’m Bombaloo,” Katie Honors is usually a well-behaved, polite, happy girl. But every so often enough things go wrong to make her lose her temper ó and then she’s bombaloo.
When that happens, Katie uses her feet and fists instead of her words, and she wants to smash stuff, not stop and think things over. When something makes her laugh, Katie returns to her old self. The brightly colored illustrations again help convey both angry feelings and a lighter, happier feeling as her mood improves.
On a slightly lighter note, don’t miss Sam McBratney’s “I Love It When You Smile.” When little Roo wakes up feeling grumpy for no reason (can you relate?) his mother tries all kinds of tricks to get him to smile. It’s not until both kangaroos accidentally land in a big mud hole that little Roo begins to come around. Illustrator Charles Fuge’s characters are amazingly expressive. If little Roo’s grumpy face doesn’t make you smile, you’re in a foul mood for sure.
Bring your smile to Rowan Public Library and check out these and other children’s books today.
Computer classes: Classes are free. Sessions are 90 minutes long. Class size is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Dates and times are subject to change without notice.
Headquarters ó Monday, 7 p.m., Absolute Beginners Computer Class; Thursday, 2:30 p.m. Wikimania!; March 9, 7 p.m., Introduction to Yahoo e-mail; March 12, 2:30 p.m., Taming Information Overload with RSS; March 23, 7 p.m., Yahoo e-mail Beyond the Basics; March 26, 2:30 p.m., Open Office Up Close ó Impress.
South ó March 9, 7 p.m. Introduction to Social Networking; March 24, 11 a.m., Trip Planning.
Children’s Storytime: February-April, weekly story time. For more information, call 704-216-8234.
Headquarters ó Monday or Wednesday, 11 a.m., Tiny Tots and Moms (infants-18 months); Tuesday, 10 a.m., Toddlers and Kinfolks (18-24 months), and 11 a.m., Toddlers and Kinfolks (24-36 months); Thursday, 10:30 a.m., Three through Five; 4 p.m., Noodlehead (4-8 years).
South ó Monday, 10:30 a.m., Preschool Time (3-5 years), 4 p.m., Noodlehead (4-8 years); Wednesday, 10:30 a.m., Toddlers and Twos (12-36 months); Thursday, 10:30 a.m., Baby Time (0-12 months).
East ó Tuesday or Wednesday, 10:30 a.m., Preschool (2-5 years); Thursday, 11 a.m., Baby Time (6 months-2 years).
Teen program: South, March 10, 5:30-7 p.m.; East, March 19, 5:30-7 p.m.; Headquarters, March 10, 5:30-7 p.m. Calling all teens for Teen Tech Week. Teens from across the country will celebrate. Come to the library and show off your gaming skills by playing Rock Band 2 and other PS2 games. While you wait your turn, make a customized duct tape cover for you I-Pod or MP2 player.
Tuesday Night at the Movies: All movies are at 6:30 p.m. All movies are rated G, PG or PG 13; some movies are inappropriate for younger audiences. Children should be accompanied by an adult. Free popcorn and lemonade.
Movies about basketball.
Tuesday, “Glory Road”; March 10, “The Sixth Man”; March 17, “Space Jam”; March 24, “Eddie”; March 31, “Like Mike.”
Displays: Headquarters ó artwork by Fred Young; South ó photography by DB Imaged, Daryl Brewton; East ó stained glass by James Brady.Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.