Hello...Can You Hear Me?

If you sung this post’s title instead of reading it, then I can only assume that you are under the same Adele spell that took hold of me from the very first time I heard that glorious song. Seriously, I know it’s played everywhere constantly, has been spoofed on Saturday Night Live, and remade with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots using classroom instruments (my personal favorite), but I CAN’T GET ENOUGH. So, you can imagine just how thrilled I was to realize that I could get Adele’s new album, “25,” for FREE! Yes, I’m talking about the same album that is featured in Target commercials as a critical Black Friday purchase. No, it doesn’t involve being trampled by crazed bargain-hunters. Yes, I said free. And, yes, you can have it too. All you need is your library card!

If you’re not familiar with Freegal, a fabulous music service provided by our library, it’s time to change that! With your library card, you can download five songs each week to your computer and/or smartphone from Freegal’s massive music directory. Unlike most things you check out from the library, these songs are yours forever. So, that means you can download almost half of Adele’s new album right now (or more, if more than one family member has a library card!). Now, THAT’S something for which we can all be thankful this Thanksgiving!

If you want some more tips on other life-changing library services, check out my Top Ten post from last Thanksgiving here.

And if you’re wondering what Adele has to do with early literacy, you bring up a great question...But, I have an answer! Singing with your children is one of the five early literacy skills that we promote at the library. So, if you’re singing Adele’s songs (or one of the many children’s songs found in Freegal’s catalog), you’re helping to improve your child’s early literacy skills. See? I wouldn't let you down! J Have a safe, happy, and music-filled Thanksgiving!

Dry Pie

There really is nothing worse…to wait all year long for that perfect piece of Thanksgiving pie, only to find that it sticks to the roof of your mouth and tastes more like cardboard than pumpkin. That’s this lady's problem:

Given the surplus of sickeningly sweet picture books about thankfulness that toddlers and preschoolers aren’t developmentally capable of yet, this rollicking sequence story is the perfect anecdote. It starts out with an old lady and a dry pie, and ends with some hilarious and shocking gastric accomplishments.

So, as you prepare your own Thanksgiving feast, take time to share this classic with the little ones in your family!