Mini pies are a fun and easy treat to make at home! The hardest part is picking a pie filling… Watch this video to learn how to make your own mini pies and be sure to pick up a recipe card and a mini whisk from the Youth Services department while supplies last!
Ingredients:
2 refrigerated pie crusts
1 can of pie filling
1 egg
Makes 12 servings
Steps:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease your muffin tin with cooking spray.
Using a round object like a bowl or lid, cut out a 4-inch circle of dough (twelve times). Press the circles of dough into the cups of your muffin tin.
Fill each cup almost to the top with pie filling.
Use a slightly smaller circle shape to cut out tops for your mini pies. Use a stencil or cookie cutter to create designs or cut into strips to weave a lattice. Press the top circles onto your mini pies, pinching around the edges.
Whisk one egg to make a glaze and paint it over top each pie.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Our Reading Garden is absolutely buzzing with life this time of year! Come take a walk, smell the flowers, and see if you can find all the plants and critters listed on our Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt board.
If you still want to explore outside but need some new ideas, head into the library and check out one of the books below for inspiration.
And Q, R, S, and T, U, V. Still more—W and X, Y, Z.
The whole alphabet’s up the…
Oh! No! Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!
Skit, scat, scoodle-doot,
Flip, flop, flee.
Everybody running to the coconut tree.
Mamas and papas and uncles and aunts
Hug their little dears
Then dust their pants.
Craft: Alphabet Coconut Tree
Pick up a craft kit from the Youth Services department or the drive-up window to make your own alphabet tree! Available while supplies last. Your kit includes a paper towel tube, 4 construction paper leaves, and foam alphabet letters. You will need scissors for this craft.
Instructions:
Cut out the leaves. Cut a slit in the leaf where indicated.
Stick the alphabet letters on the paper towel tube.
What is This Book About? In the long-awaited 16th novel of the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, Harry Dresden is once again dealing with more than his share of challenges. Delegations of several supernatural “nations” are gathering in Chicago for peace talks. Harry’s place on the wizards’ White Council is in jeopardy. Throw in the unveiling of new (or more accurately, “ancient”) being who may be more powerful that Queen Mab, and it’s business as usual for the never-idle Harry Dresden. But when a head-of-state is nearly assassinated, Harry is caught between a rock and a hard place. Can he save his brother from a summary execution without triggering an all-out war?
My Review: I listened to the audiobook version and thoroughly enjoyed it. It helps that I am a big fan of the Dresden Files and have listened and re-listened to each book multiple times over the last several years. In this next installment of Harry’s adventures, we see how his relationships with daughter, Maggie, and girlfriend, Karrin, are moving forward. At the same time, he is juggling his potentially conflicting roles as the Winter Knight and member of the White Council. This book has what I would call “Easter eggs” scattered throughout where Harry is reacquainted with or reminded of numerous characters and events from nearly all of the past books and short stories. If you want to recognize these, you may want to revisit the earlier novels or the short story collections before diving into this book. When you get to the end, it is clear that the story is not over. It’s a good thing book #17 is due out in late September!
Three Words That Describe This Book: Non-stop, Jam-packed, Unfolding
Give This a Try if You Like… Any Dresden Files novel by Jim Butcher, White Sand by Brandon Sanderson, Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
September is national Library Card Sign-Up Month, and FDL is excited to celebrate by announcing we are now officially FINE FREE! The Board of Trustees has revised library policies to stop the assessment of overdue fines for items checked out at FDL and approved clearing all outstanding overdue fines on items checked out at FDL from patron accounts, effective September 1, 2020.
We’re making these changes to provide the community with more equitable access to library materials and services. Studies have shown that fines do not motivate borrowers to return items on time and actually make people less likely to visit or return to the library. Eliminating fines as a financial barrier will expand access, services, and benefits to the FDL community.
However, “no more fines” doesn’t mean “no responsibility!” Patrons are still expected to adhere to loan periods and return or renew items on or before the due date, and patrons will still be responsible for the repair, replacement, or collection fees for lost or damaged items. Please visit our Fine Free FAQ page for more details about these new policies.
Clearing existing fines applies to anything checked out at FDL no matter where the item is from, where the patron’s library card is from, or where the item is returned. Patrons are still responsible for fines due to other libraries.
Additionally, renewing or signing up for a library card in September will earn patrons an entry into a prize drawing for an Amazon Fire HD8 tablet! District residents can sign up for a card at the Circulation Desk or online. Cards can be renewed at the Circulation Desk or the drive-up window.
FDL celebrates Library Card Sign-Up Month with the American Library Association and libraries nationwide to remind parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library card is the first step on the path to academic achievement and lifelong learning. There’s nothing more empowering than using your library card to access books, technology, resources, and educational programs — tools and opportunities for people of all ages to pursue their dreams and passions.
These cheery flowers are a fun and simple way to brighten someones day or add to your home or party decor. Get creative and pick up a craft kit from the Adult Services Department or from the drive-up window while supplies last! (Suitable for ages 13+)
Supplies
Included in Kit:
2 colors of paint
1 sponge brush
10 coffee filters
4 green pipe cleaners
You will need to provide scissors, paper or surface to paint on, and a small piece of tape.
Instructions:
Fold the coffee filter in half. Cut slits from the edge to towards the middle on the folds of the coffee filter. Repeat this step all the way around the filter.
Round off the edges of the slits you cut previously. You can shape these however you like to change the aesthetic of your flowers.
Lay a piece of paper out to lay the coffee filter out on so the surface below it doesn’t get paint on it, then paint the coffee filters however you like. You can use water to thin some of the paint to achieve the aesthetic of the color fading. You can also paint one side or both sides of the coffee filter. Let the paint dry.
Once the paint is dry you may stack as many of the filters as you like. The more filters you use, the fuller your flower will appear. Gather the middle of the filter and twist it together. Place a small piece of clear tape at the base to hold the filters in the flower shape.
Wrap the green pipe cleaner around the clear tape, and then the rest of the pipe cleaner becomes the stem. I put these in a small plastic cup, but you can arrange and display them however you like.
Did you know there are more than 70 books connected to the popular Warriors series? And there are still more being written! Kids can check how many they’ve read so far by looking at this list at warriorcats.com/books, or move on to Erin Hunter’s other three series: Bravelands, Survivors, and Seekers. If it’s time for something a little different, these books also feature adventurous animals and magical worlds:
Welcome, friends! My name is Miss Laura, and I am so happy are joining us for Story Time (Online). Today we are going to be talking all about owls! Did you know that there are over 200 types of owls in the world? The ones you might see in a tree in your yard are barn owls, screech owls, or the great horned owl, which we call hoot owls! Let’s give a hoot!
Before we start reading about owls, let’s get ready for story time by dancing our fingers. Can you dance your fingers along with me?
Dance Your Fingers Up
Dance your fingers up!
Dance your fingers down
Dance your fingers side to side
Dance them all around
Dance them on your shoulders
Dance them on your head
Dance them in the trees!
And put them into bed Credit: Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting, Pamela Martin-Diaz
Thanks to Penguin Random House for permission to read this book!
Literacy Tip:
Books like this that have descriptive words like this are great to support reading. The more words kids hear, the more words they learn, which will help them develop as readers.
Action Song:If You Want to Be an Owl
(tune of: If You’re Happy and You Know It)
If you want to be an owl, flap your wings
If you want to be an owl, flap your wings
If you want to be an owl, then your wings will surely show it
If you want to be an owl flap your wings
If you want to be an owl, say hoo, hoo!
If you want to be an owl, say hoo, hoo!
If you want to be an owl, then your “hoo” will surely show it
Thanks to Macmillan for permission to read this book!
Literacy Tip:
When you are at home or talking a walk, talk to your kids about what they see, like colors or shapes. Talking about colors and shapes early and often, like asking them about the difference between objects, will help prepare your kids to red!
Rhyme: Wide-Eyed Owl
There’s a wide-eyed owl (circle your eyes with your hands)
With a pointed nose (make a beak with your fingers)
Two pointed ears (make ears with your fingers)
And claws for toes (wiggle your toes)
He lives way up in the tree (point way up)
And when he looks at you (point to children)
He flaps his wings (flap your wings)
And says, “Hoo! Hoo!” (say “hoo”)
Credit: Wilmette Public Library
Craft: Paper Roll Owl Craft
Pick up a craft kit at the library drive-up window or in the Youth Services department! Available while supplies last.
Supplies included in the kit:
Paper roll
2 googly eyes
2 glue dots
Pieces to cut out for wings
Orange paper for beak
Paper for owl’s body
You will need:
Scissors
Glue or glue stick
Instructions:
Fold in the top of the paper roll tube to make the ears. You will do this by folding the two edges of the tube toward the middle. The sides should stay pointed, like ears, and the middle will cave in.
Use the glue dots to stick on the owl’s eyes.
Glue the colorful paper around the tube. (You may need to trim the paper.)
Cut out the wings, then fold each wing in half.
Put glue on just one half of the wing, then glue it to one side of the roll. Repeat with the other wing.
Cut a beak out of the orange paper. You can do this by folding the paper in half, and then cutting
out a triangle with one edge of the triangle on the folded side. Glue one side of the beak on below the owl’s eyes. Ta-da! You now have an owl friend!
Thank you so much for reading and talking about owls with me today! I thought it was a hoot, and I hope you did, too. Let’s say goodbye with a rhyme called “tickle the clouds.”
Goodbye: Tickle the Clouds
Tickle the clouds
and tickle your toes
Clap your hands
and tickle your nose
Library cards are the first step on the path to academic achievement and lifelong learning, and every student should have one! The school year is going to be very different this year, but regardless if your classes are taking place in-person or online, the library still has resources available to help students reach their goals. Librarians can help with research or finding materials (even through online chat), and our online databases can help with language, reading, math, testing, news and journal articles, sociology and geography, and even life skills. Computers and study rooms are currently available by reservation for brief periods. The library also has a variety of homeschooling resources for families who are trying that route. And don’t forget Mango, our free, award-winning language learning app! Stay tuned for updates as we hope to announce the availability of more services and programs throughout the school year!
Hi kids and welcome to story time! Today we’re going to read some books about cooking! How many of you have helped mom or dad in the kitchen? Think about it, what was your favorite thing to cook?
Pick up a craft kit at the library to make your very own chef hat, available in the Youth Services Department or from the drive-up window while supplies last.
Cut a strip of card stock to the circumference of your child’s head. Use a string to measure around your child’s head and cut a strip of card stock to that same length. It may be necessary to tape or staple two strips together to get enough length.
Begin taping the tissue paper to the card stock, pleating a bit as you go. For most small children, 1 piece of tissue paper is enough.
Close the band of card stock with tape or staples (your tissue paper won’t be all around yet).
Gently tuck the tissue paper into the opposite inside side of the band of card stock. Only cover the same amount of the band as the other side, there will still be open spots… that will be fixed later.
Repeat taping and pleating, just as the previous side.
Pull the sides of the tissue paper into the open sides of the card stock, tape and pleat as before. Now all of the band should have tissue paper.
Peace Talks by Jim Butcher
