Summer Reading [1] continues this month with movies and crafts and programs for all ages. The fair happens July 12-18, and for many Jasper County kids and teens, the fair will be their home away from home for that week. Don't forget to stock up on movies and books at your library to relax in the evenings.
July is...
National Parks and Recreation Month [2]. Learn about the National Parks Junior Ranger Program [3].
Word of the month: delicious. Very pleasing, especially to taste or smell; delightful. Fresh blueberries taste delicious!
July is National Blueberry Month [4]. Pick a tasty treat at a local blueberry grower [5]!
July 1 It’s Emily Arnold McCully [6]’s birthday. The first U.S. zoo opened in Philadelphia [7] in 1874.
July 4 Independence Day How do fireworks work? Check out this video from National Geographic [8] and find out.
July 5 It's Cruise Night in Rensselaer, with a Sock Hop at Brookside Park in the evening. Read about the 1950s [9]! It's P.T. Barnum [10]’s birthday. Read a book about the circus [11]!
July 8 It’s Raffi [12]’s birthday. Sing a silly song!
July 9 Youth Day in Morocco. What do you know about Morocco [13]? Use library resources to learn more.
July 10 It’s Don’t Step on a Bee Day, the time to remember that going barefoot can mean getting stung by a bee! Read a book about a bee [14] instead!
July 11 It’s E.B. White [15]’s birthday. Check out Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac [16].
July 12 The 90th Annual Jasper County Fair [17] starts today! Stop in at the library to cool off or grab a movie at the end of the day.
July 14 It’s Brian Selznick’s birthday. Read The Invention of Hugo Cabret [18] or watch Hugo [19].
July 15 National Ice Cream Day. Learn how to make ice cream in a bag [20]!
July 16 It’s Richard Egielski [21]’s birthday. Check out the Gingerbread Boy.
July 17 Did you know? Disneyland, America’s first theme park, opened on this day in 1955.
July 18 It’s illustrator Felicia Bond’s birthday. Read one of Laura Numeroff's mouse books [22] (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie) and make mouse pictures.
July 19 The Rosetta Stone [23] was found on this day in 1799 by one of Napoleon's soldiers during his Egyptian campaign. Tres bien mon ami! [24] / Zehr gut mein freund! [25] / Muy bueno mi amigo! [26] / Very good my friend! [27] Learn a language today at the library by clicking one of the languages above.
July 20 Did you know? On July 20, 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon [28]. Calculate your moon weight by multiplying your weight by 0.165
July 22 Legend has it that on this day in 1284 the Pied Piper of Hamelin [29] piped away the rats (and children) of his German village. Pied means having blotches of two or more colors, and is commonly used today to refer to the coats of animals, such as a pied horse.
July 24 It’s Amelia Earhart [30]’s birthday. Make paper airplanes [31]! J.R.R. Tolkein's The Fellowship of the Ring [32] is 60 years old this year.
July 26 It’s Jan Berenstain [33]’s birthday. Read a Berenstain Bears book. Watch a short interview with Jan and Mike Berenstain [34] about the origins of the Bear family and The Big Honey Hunt.
July 28 It's Natalie Babbitt [35]'s birthday. Read or watch the classic tale Tuck Everlasting [36].
July 29 It’s Sharon Creech [37]’s birthday. Read Ruby Holler or another classic tale.
July 30 This will mark the 89th year of Chincoteague Island's annual Pony Swim [38], made famous by Marguerite Henry's Misty of Chincoteague [39].
July 31 It’s J.K. Rowling’s birthday (and Harry Potter's birdthday!). Visit Pottermore.com [40] for trivia tidbits and new content from J.K. herself, and live through the books all over again.
"Roses are red, Violets are blue; But they don't get around Like the dandelions do."
-- Harold A. Picket aka Slim Acres
Q. What did one firecracker say to the other?
A. My pop’s bigger than your pop.
Photo via clover_1 [41]@ flickr.