Sure we're going to get creative this summer but we can also think "Green" at the same time. Remember when you check out a book from the library you're saving money and saving trees.
Look for our earth-friendly slogans on most of our prizes this year. This logo appears on our prize for 15 hours of reading. It's a great bag for carrying your books, your groceries, your creative collection with you where ever you go. What color is the bag? Well, green of course.
How many kids can you fit in the storytime room? With two sessions to fill the answer was "a whole lot". Not only did we run short of cookies this year but with more than 70 people in the morning session and 140 people filling in the evening session it was a wild and crazy culinary time.
More than 400 people gathered on the lawn for one last bash during the recent kids Summer Reading Fair at the Amherst Public Library. Each child received a bag with 15 tickets
which they could use to play games like the bean bag throw and the duck pond. Ice pops and popcorn were also just a ticket away with cool, refreshing, lemonade being offered by the "Good Deeds Club" who were raising money for local kids undergoing cancer treatment.
and passing off prize bags to be airborn for just a moment. 
Even the baseball pitch game was lined up across the lawn. The weather which threatened to be a problem all day, held off and the real rain and thunder managed to skirt around the library with a few gusts of wind being the only real nuisance.
getting a close up look at all the equipment. The firemen were great and handed out lots of free stuff. I hope they come back next year!
to wait for magicians who've gotten lost, and Metro Park rangers who go to the wrong location, and who help mark off time on paper reading logs. Thank heaven for parents who ride with their kids in cars and on bikes, searching the downtown buildings for scavenger hunt clues. 
about what I've told the kids for years, the Amherst Public Library really does have the best summer reading program around. It really doesn't have anything to do with our building, or what our prizes or craft will be that week, or how much money we have left in the budget. It's the kids and families who walk through the door each day...they make us number one. Thanks for a great summer.
I had a great seat for the Amherst Jamboree Parade. I really didn't know what to expect of the event and found out I had a lot in common with many of the participants. I expected marching bands but mostly there were a lot of people riding and lots of four-legged friends. I had no idea.
Check out the dog in the fire truck. He had a great seat but I noticed there wasn't a window so he could stick his head out. Walking alongside the firetruck was the strangest dog I ever saw. He looked friendly but his head was so big they must have had a hard time finding a hat for him.
There were a variety of horses in the parade. One was one horse following a lawn mower and he looked a little stiff.
There were other horses, maybe they were younger because they were small and moved very well, who pulled a wagon.
There were lots of kids in the parade, too. We saw many of our summer reading friends who were riding in trucks, 
twirling batons, and just having a great time.
Lions and elephants, although not common in Amherst, were spotted in the Parade.
I noticed that there was a man with a cart and shovel who followed the horses but no one was 
following after the elephant which could have been a BIG problem, if you know what I mean. 
I should call the mayor....wait...there's Mayor Taylor now!
Oh well, it was a great day. I was getting a little hungry when I saw my friends from the new Mexican Restaurant downtown, Quesadilla. Ola, amiga!
I think I'll head down and see what the lunch special is today. I love the Fajita special on Wednesdays and of course the two chicken tacos with rice and beans is my usual. Try the sauce on the "Angel" special, awesome! Well I better get back to the Amherst Library. It's been a long day and I may need a nap.
See you at the library, or maybe Quesadilla.
Love,
Ike
What a weekend I had at the Amherst Jamboree. I wasn't the only dog jammin' downtown as many of my four footed friends came down for the pet show on Saturday. I don't know where some of these dogs do there shopping but they were decked out. I saw dogs in strollers, dogs with wings, dogs in 
wagons. It's important on hot afternoons like today to make sure your pet has enough fresh water. Some dogs will do anything for a dog treat. Me, I held out for the pizza eating contest. Here I am guarding boxes of pepperoni pizzas. I saw a lot of familiar faces, most of them covered in sauce.
Let me tell you these kids can put away some pizza. 
There were a lot of summer reading friends in the crowd. Hey...were you guys really here to enter the pizza eating contest or just looking for a free dinner? Well it's off to the lemonade stand to wash down that last slice. I think they're 
skimping a little on the lemon this year. 
