The Sacramento Library provides literary experiences for children ages 0-3 years old. These enriching events are held throughout the Sacramento region at multiple library branches each month. Children, parents or caretakers have the opportunity to interact in a literary rich environment. A language-filled experience consists of more than books and storytelling, but is filled with music, social time, nursery rhymes, and games. For new mothers, there is a bonding time program called “Baby Lapsit Storytime” intended for infants 0-24 months. The importance of creating meaningful learning experiences is often overlooked with the idea that human learning comes natural. However, when children ar

Lance Briggs, NFL linebacker of the Chicago Bears and comic book writer, visited his hometown on Friday, March 2, to celebrate the life of a legend.  At 3:30 p.m. you would have found an army of toddlers, a sprinkle of teenagers, and parents promptly at the Elk Grove Library, listening to one of the most memorable books of our time—“Green Eggs and Ham.”  “Green Eggs and Ham” was one of 44 books that Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, wrote and illustrated before he died in 1991.  Over his lifetime, his books have been purchased by around 200 million people worldwide and translated into 15 different languages, according to DrSeussArts.com.  As an acclaimed children’s b

Sacramento, CA | The momentum is building. That was the message that Stand Up, the Sacramento based non-profit organization devoted to reforming education, touted in front of a packed house at the Guild Theater on Monday night. The event was part of a series of monthly meetings organized by Stand Up to spotlight education improvement efforts in Sacramento. Previous events have brought in former California State Senator Gloria Romero to discuss the “parent trigger” law, the founder of Teach for America Wendy Kopp, and the co-founder of the Knowledge is Power Program, Mike Feinberg. Local high school students acted as ushers alongside staffers from a variety of organizations including Sa

This weekend, Fairytale Town was transformed into a menagerie of creative writing and reading. Fairytale Town hosted the 11th Annual ScholarShare Children's Book Festival this past Saturday and Sunday. Arts and literacy organizations were on hand, most of them providing information to parents and interesting literacy activities for children. Mother Goose Stage was the centerpiece of the day. Authors and presenters sat in a giant and rather royal-looking throne at the center of the stage and the children crowded around. The weekend’s events included readings by eleven different authors including Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Trevor Wyatt was the MC and resident magici

This weekend, Fairytale Town will host the 11th Annual ScholarShare Children's Book Festival. The festival will include hands-on literacy activities for children, dramatic performances and readings and presentations by numerous authors and illustrators. The event will feature a special appearance by Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi will read her first book, "Dream Big, Little Pig!" on Saturday on the Mother Goose Stage at 3:00 p.m. The 2011 release by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. "Dream Big, Little Pig!" was illustrated by Tim Bowers. Fairytale Town will host the book festival this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24 and 25. O

“The Language of Flowers” expresses the yearnings of the heart. Author, Vanessa Diffenbaugh is doing just that as she kicks off a nationwide book tour with a five hundred dollar a head fundraiser to raise money for foster kids who have aged out of foster care, followed by a talk & book signing at Tsakopoulos Library Galleria on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 7:30pm to 9pm. The petals hide the tragic inequities of foster care. Her protagonist, Victoria, a damaged foster kid, ages out at 18 and finds herself sleeping in a park. She works at a flower shop for change and communicates meaning through her artistry of flowers. It is what she determines is what she is good at, a creative outlet and

“Telling stories without shame” is the goal of a new digital magazine published by Sacramento writer and editor Janna Marlies Santoro. The premiere issue of Under the Gum Tree was released this month, and Santoro said she asked contributors to write creative nonfiction that showcases important moments in people’s lives, as told by them. One writer, Sarah Heffron, wrote about her own unplanned pregnancy. “It’s a snapshot of the days just before and the moments after finding out I was pregnant,” she said. While the “creative nonfiction” genre leaves some question as to how much is true, Santoro said all of the stories are true, but sometimes dialogue is written from memory and timelines

Enjoy a summer of reading, fun educational programs and PRIZES for the entire family! Sign up at the Arthur F. Turner Community Library in West Sacramento. Summer programs for the entire family have started at the Arthur F. Turner Community Library - but there's still time to sign up! Summer Reading Program, Ages 0-12: Read books, win prizes, join us for fantastic programs at the Library! Sign up at the Library and get a book bag, a reading log and a list of all the summer programs. Visit the Library at least 6 times during the summer, check in at the Information Desk to chat with us about what you've been reading. Come to programs and travel around the world without leaving your home t

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced the launch of a third grade reading campaign for the greater Sacramento area Tuesday at his press conference. According to Johnson, the three areas that the campaign will focus on are school readiness, school attendance and summer learning. The 10-year campaign will combat low literacy levels and make sure that all Sacramento students will be reading at grade level by the time they graduate third grade, Johnson said. “Third grade is a pivotal point for young people. It’s where kids transition from learning to read and reading to learn,” he said. “In terms of a city, it impacts our crime rate, impacts our employment rate, impacts our competitive environment

Meet Liz Franklin at ONCE UPON A SHELF USED BOOKS on Saturday, January 29 @ 2:30. Once Upon A Shelf is located at 7753 Roseville Road, Suite C, Sacramento. On the corner of Antelope and Roseville Roads. Call for more information @ 745-1200. Take a peak what's in store: If you’ve ever wondered about how much time and money you’ve lost because you can’t remember where you put things, you’ll probably think that Liz Franklin was heaven sent to be your guardian angel. She’s on a one-woman crusade to make people laugh their way out of chaos to achieve new levels of organized perfection. Liz Franklin is a 27-year veteran of office organizing and she’s been called in to do rescue and damage

Smart phones. E-readers. Netbooks. Mama sure does a lot of reading these days, but not too much of the paper-and-ink kind. Enter: Kidaround. It was as appealing in a tired mother’s hand as a latte and as likely to induce a welcome perk. Yes, you read that last line correctly, it was. Barbara Hennelly announced on Facebook last month that the November/December 2010 issue of Kidaround would be her last. After publishing the bimonthly magazine for five years, Hennelly decided that the financial stress finally was too much. The magazine was profitable, but cash flowed too slowly. Delays in collecting advertising revenues meant Hennelly scrambled to pay her print bills each issue. “I think

A few weeks ago, I saw Richard St.Ofle read from his book No Wolf (the waygoing compromise) at Luna’s Café on 16th street. St.Ofle had just wrapped up writing and promoting the book, and the reading was a way of, in St.Ofle’s words “celebrating, in advance, the break I’m going to be taking”. Well, that break didn’t last very long, St.Ofle just announced the release of the accompanying audio book, to what is already an ambitious project that includes a soundtrack by Montreal musician August Hell, and a really cool marketing campaign where readers were encouraged to send in photos of them reading the book. The audio book was recorded by another notorious Sacramento busy-body, Robby Moncrie

Dave Eggers spoke about his book, “Zeitoun,” at the Crest Theatre Wednesday in the feature event of the sixth-annual One Book Sacramento: Connecting Our Communities. In her opening remarks, Sacramento Public Library Director Rivkah Sass mentioned the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Aug. 29) and the flood threat to the Sacramento region as reasons the library selected “Zeitoun.” Eggers took the stage in hiking boots and a pinstripe jacket. He was joined by interviewer Joseph Palermo, associate professor of American history at Sacramento State. Palermo has written two books on Robert F. Kennedy and blogs at The Huffington Post. “Zeitoun” narrates the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun,

Are you a fan of Jane Austen or of great literature in general? Then don’t miss the unique opportunity to study Austen’s novels this fall at the Central Library branch of the Sacramento Public Library in downtown Sacramento. Grab a copy of “Emma,” download the study questions from the library’s website, and join in the fun this Sunday. The wildly popular 12-part series How Austentatious! began in June and continues through November. Each month, presenters discuss one of Austen’s novels over the span of two meetings. Remaining for the fall are “Mansfield Park” in September, “Northanger Abbey” in October, and “Persuasion” in November. The series will conclude with a birthday tea in honor

Conference rooms filled to fire capacity were a sign of the success of the first Northern California Storybook and Literature Festival held at the Maidu Community Center and Maidu Branch Library in Roseville on Saturday. The festival brought together local published and aspiring authors, writing groups and literary agents as well as book lovers young and old. The brainchild of event coordinator and library specialist Jamie Finley of the Roseville Library, the project began with the desire among library staff to host local authors. “It seemed like a natural thing to do - bring the community in to listen and meet someone who has published a work that may be found within our walls,” Finley w

Genelle Chaconas remembers the first time she read poetry in public quite vividly. It was a few years ago at Luna’s Poetry Unplugged open mic. “I was shaking head to foot,” she said. “A fire truck blared past, three lines into my poem, and someone from the crowd shouted, ‘Start over!’ I thought I was going to just disappear.” After a timid finish, the audience erupted in rowdy applause. Chaconas decided to speak with the host, longtime Sacramento poet B.L. Kennedy. “That’s how I got to know B.L. Nobody else knows more about what’s going on artistically in Sacramento,” she said. Three years later, Chaconas is organizing her own reading at Beatnik Studios. Along with Charlene Ungstad, Ke

Sacramento local hero and NBA player, Jon Brockman spent time with me on and off the court - check out his story. Order of appearance: Paul Westphal - Head Coach Sacramento Kings Jon Brockman - #40 Sacramento Kings Zack and son Ethan India Graff Jaime Tastor with daughters Madeline & Sophia   video by: Chris Morrow Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/morrowchris

The Arden Dimick Library open book club has announced a fall theme for foodies – reading about eating, cooking and sharing food. Recent slow food events in Sacramento have illustrated the region’s deep interest in sustainable food issues. Michael Pollan’s California Lectures event sold out. The Crest Theater continues to be pestered by callers looking for opening night of sustainable food documentary Food Inc. Local foodie websites like Vanilla Garlic and Poor Girl Eats Well garner huge audiences and serious praise. With that in mind, this summer may be the perfect time to read about food, preparing you to take part in the book club discussions this fall. September 20, the club will discu

In an era that has seen the rise of mega-bookstores and online book retail giants, three used bookstores in downtown Sacramento have managed to stand their ground. Beers Book Center, Time Tested Books, and The Book Collector continue to offer the same product they have for years--used books and a knowledgeable staff eager to answer any questions their customers might ask. Beers Book Center, on S and 9th, opened in 1936 and is Sacramento's largest and oldest used bookstore. Jim Naify, owner of Beers, was forced by the city to move from his original location on 14th and J, where the Sacramento Convention Center now resides. He moved into another high traffic location on 15th and L before b

Time Tested Books is pleased to announce the opening of our 2009 Poetry series. It has been a decade since we have hosted a regular poetry series and figured the time is right to focus on the Sacramento area’s wealth of veteran voices, folks who have spent time on their craft, promoting poetry, and teaching others. We start our series with two names familiar to literary Sacramento, Pat Grizzell and B.L. Kennedy. Pat Grizzell is a poet, songwriter and visual artist. He is a founding member and former director of the Sacramento Poetry Center. His collections of poems include Dark Music, Menotaure Into Night (with painter Jimi Suzuki) and the forthcoming 13 Poems from Rattlesnake Press. His