After a class trip to a floating zoo where animals are mistreated and Savannah's missing pet monkey is found in a cage, Long Island sixth-grader Griffin Bing and his band of misfits plan a rescue.

I'm dreaming of a Crouch Christmas,
just like the ones I used to know...
Where the book shelves glisten, and children listen,
to sleighbells and storytimes in the snow...

Drop in at Crouch Library on Saturday, November 22 and Saturday, November 29 for some ho-ho-ho-ing holiday fun!

Did you know that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy?  

We are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first recordings of the night sky with his telescope, when he discovered the moon, the stars, and the moons around Jupiter.

To help celebrate, check out these fun activities:

Twelve-year-old Alex has plenty to worry about; he can't get the time of day from the girl of his dreams, and he has to pay the local bully not to beat him up.

Last winter, the Library launched "Reading Rocks", a series of family literacy events at 10 neighbourhood libraries. These fun, hands-on programs built around four themes - In the Wild, Eat it Up, Get a Clue, and The World of Science - are designed to get families reading together in unique ways.

From science experiments and CSI-type investigations to puzzles and word games, each of the interactive Reading Rocks activities are literacy-based and show simple, inexpensive and fun ways that families can encourage and develop literacy skills at home. With give-aways and draw prizes, these drop in programs have proven to be very popular with attendance as high as 85 in some cases. Since January, our Reading Rocks team, along with some fantastic volunteers, has delivered 39 of the events to over 1400 kids!

With only 1 more scheduled before the end of the year and many new ones in the works for 2010, we look forward to welcoming even more families to these events. Thanks to EDPRO Energy Group Inc. for their generous support of Reading Rocks.

World of Science:  Sat. Dec 5, 2-3:30 pm at Carson Branch

ABC Canada has just announced an exciting contest launched in celebration of Family Literacy Day (January 27, 2010). 

The Munsch at Home Contest is back and better than ever! One lucky family will win a private visit to their home from renowned children’s author and Honorary Chair of Family Literacy Day, Robert Munsch.

Click here to check out the ABC Canada website for details.

The town of Spooking is dark, dank, and decidedly eerie--and it suits 11-year-old Joy Wells just fine, thank you.

Hailing from Iceland, Egypt, Spain, Japan, Hawaii, and several other spots on the globe, these 22 spooky folktales offer up a wide variety of things to scare you silly.

The books Linda describes in this video are,

Dying to Meet You

Half-Minute Horrors

The Unexplained

100% Pure Fake

Happy Halloween!

Although a strange note was left behind that explained her sudden absence from school, Nick and Marta are still doubtful about the whereabouts of their teacher, Mrs.