Library “Tails to Read” program has sessions available in February

February sessions are available for children to practice their reading with certified therapy dogs in the Randolph County Public Library’s popular “Tails to Read” program.

Children ages 6-12 are invited to improve their skill and confidence by reading to one of five certified therapy dogs at the Asheboro library.

Each child participating spends 15 minutes getting to know and reading to one of the dogs during an initial session, and can return to read each week. Dog owner-handlers are present during all visits between children and the dogs.

Sessions are available on the following days:

·        Saturday, February 2, 10-11 a.m.

·        Thursday, February 7, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

·        Saturday, February 9, 10-11 a.m.

·        Saturday, February 23, 10-11 a.m.

·        Thursday, February 28, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

The program is free, but registration is required. To sign up a child, visit the library’s Children’s Room or call 318-6804.

              

Studies show that reading aloud to dogs has positive effects on children’s desire and ability to read. The loving, non-judgmental canine audience-of-one increases a child’s engagement with reading and helps build confidence.

              

Each child participating will receive a “PAW-some Reader” dog tag or wristband after the first session. Those who continue for five sessions will receive a free book.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Asheboro library’s ‘Hands-On Science’ to feature boats

Kids can learn how things float, and how they sink, in “Hands-On Science: Plastic Bottle Boats” at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, December 27, at the Asheboro Public Library

All the materials for making plastic bottle boats to take home will be provided.

The event is free, and children in grades 2-6 are invited. Registration is required; call 318-6804 to sign up for one of the two sessions.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Guitarist Larry G. Davis to present holiday concert

Virtuoso guitarist Larry G. Davis will present “A Ridges Mountain Christmas” at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 20, at the Asheboro Public Library. The concert will feature tunes for the holiday season.

Davis, who lives on Ridges Mountain near Asheboro, is a former studio musician who has risen to become one of today’s premier solo guitarists. He is a gifted classical and jazz player and has also mastered genres such as country-western and old time music.

The show, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited. The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Asheboro library offers lapsit storytime for babies and caregivers

It’s never too early to share the building blocks of reading skills with your child.

With that in mind, the Asheboro Public Library Children’s Room is offering a storytime for babies and their parents/caregivers at 10:30 a.m. Mondays.

Parents and caregivers are invited to bring their children ages 0-18 months for a 20-minute lapsit storytime that incorporates age-appropriate books, music, rhymes and movement.

The storytime is free. For further information, contact Melina Simpson at 318-6804.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Author Philip Gerard to focus on life in NC during Civil War in library talk

The received wisdom about life in North Carolina during the Civil War is not nearly as interesting as what actually happened, says author PhilipGerard.

Hot off a popular series of articles in Our State focusing on personal and thematic elements of the war, Gerard will talk about his discoveries at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 13, at the Asheboro library.

The talk is free and open to the public.

Gerard is the author of many historical novels set in North Carolina, including Cape Fear Rising and Hatteras Light. He has also written nonfiction books addressing topics ranging from the history of the schooner yacht Brilliant (Brilliant Passage) to World War II Germany (Secret Soldiers).

He is the chair of the department of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and lectures widely on the art and craft of writing history-based stories.

His book Creative Nonfiction: Researching Stories of Real Life is a standard in college classrooms across the country.

Gerard’s appearance it is part of Civil War 150: Exploring the War and Its Meaning Through the Words of Those Who Lived It, a national programming initiative in recognition of the war’s sesquicentennial presented by The Library of America in partnership with The Gilder Lehrman Institute of America, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The library is locate at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.        

Asheboro library to host ‘Milk and Cookies with Santa’

Children are invited to hear holiday stories told by Santa Claus and make holiday crafts during “Milk and Cookies with Santa” at 3:30  p.m. Thursday, December 6, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The special holiday storytime is free and the public is invited. For more information, call 318-6804.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.

Zoo educator to debut polar bear book with library reading, storytime

Discover the real life of Willie, one of the NC Zoo’s polar bears, when author and zoo Visitor Educator Tonya Weeks visits the Asheboro library for a reading and storytime at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 8.

Weeks is author of I Am Polar Bear, a children's book in which readers can learn about Willie’s daily life, polar bear anatomy and ways to protect this endangered species. “I have always been an animal lover and the big guy just spoke to my heart. I had no choice but to tell his story,” Weeks says.

The reading/storytime is free and the public is invited. The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.