November is Picture Book Month, and the Contra Costa County Library system will celebrate it all month long. Picture books cultivate an appreciation for art while strengthening a child’s visual skills.
Before children can read words, they learn understand stories through pictures. Picture books help children learn about the structure of a story while building their vocabulary and comprehension. They can tell simple and familiar stories or very complex and serious stories, and children are exposed to the big world around them. Picture books are meant to be a shared experience between a child or group of children and a trusted adult. Reading books together builds a bond that is very special and unique.
Join the library system in celebrating November as Picture Book Month. In November, you’ll be able to enter a drawing at your local library to win an autographed copy of Dan Santat’s book, “The Cookie Fiasco,” and he’ll take part in a virtual Zoom event at 4 p.m. Dec. 2. To read more about the importance of picture books or find links to several booklists featuring different kinds of picture books visit ccclib.org/blogs/post/celebrate-picture-book-month.
Pet photo contest: Photograph your dalmatian in a scenic location or dress your marmot in a fancy garment. Send in a photo of your pet enjoying the day in its own special way, and you’ll be entered into a prize drawing. Entry photos will be posted on the library system’s Instagram account each day in November, with a Dec 6 drawing for three winners.
Enter by clicking on the “Pet Photo Contest” link at ccclib.org during November. To see all the pet posts, follow instagram.com/ccc_library online. Prizes include a $25 Safeway gift card, a Snoopy character plush toy and other Peanuts goodies from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and an annual membership to the Ruth Bancroft Garden plus Bancroft’s “Bold, Dry Garden” book.
Progress report: The library system recently completed a progress report on the goals listed in its 2019 Strategic Plan. An evaluation of the work done over the last 2+ years tells an amazing story about resiliency during some very challenging times. Read it at tinyurl.com/ccclibprogressreport.
Library calendar
Tales and Trails of California Mountains: 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2. Award-winning guidebook author Matt Johanson combines history, photography and decades of personal experiences in this unforgettable program that will inspire and motivate you to launch your own outdoor adventures.
Read Contra Costa author talk: 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9. Join a live presentation with author Traci Chee, who will discuss her novel, “We Are Not Free.” The book tells the story of a tight-knit group of young second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) citizens living in San Francisco’s Japantown whose lives are irrevocably changed by the World War II internment of Japanese Americans.
Homelessness — Our County’s Challenges and Solutions: 4 p.m. Nov. 18. This Community Conversations program with the League of Women Voters will cover Contra Costa County’s increase in unhoused people and what solutions are being considered.
Please register for these and other Zoom events and find more information about library programs at ccclib.org/events. Visit ccclib.org to sign up for a library card and get connected to books and resources. For questions about library services and programming or account information, contact the library system via online chat, emailing ask@library.cccounty.us or texting questions to 925-290-7627.
Brooke Converse is the Contra Costa County Library system’s public information officer and can be reached at brooke.converse@library.cccounty.us.
