Join the Hays Public Library Children's Department as they celebrate the wonders of children's books during Children's Book Week this week. Children's Book Week offers parents, educators, and other caregivers an opportunity to help their children develop a love of reading by guiding them to wonderful literature.

The children's department will celebrate by placing a scoop of ice cream on a cone for each book read during the week. Children will also have the opportunity to sign up for a drawing for a gift certificate to Dairy Queen.

For more information contact me at (785) 625-5916.

There are many ways to celebrate Children's Book Week. Here are few additional suggestions we have revised from the Chicken Spaghetti blog:

1. Write a fan letter to an author whose work has meant something to you or your child. Send it in care of the publisher.

2. Share a favorite book from your childhood with a child you know.

3. Contact the children's department at the hospital and contribute a book. Do not forget Books Etc., the bookstore of the Friends of the Hays Public Library, has almost-new books for very low prices. You might consider contributing one of those.

4. Play Lamar J. Spurgle and the Cut-Ups (or any other favorite characters) in the front yard. See James Marshall's Cut-Ups series. Miss Viola Swamp, the dreaded substitute teacher, is another fun Marshall character to pretend to be -- she is so bossy.

5. Help a child create a fun book journal using an inexpensive paper folder, stickers, markers, notebook paper and, if you really want to go crazy, use a stapler and glue. Making the journal might be as far as some children want to go with the project, while others will want to write down book lists. It's all good.

7. Read a book that takes place in another country or another culture. Have you read Alison Lester's picture book, "Are we there yet?" It is the story of a family journey around Australia. Sosu's Call," set in Ghana, is another good one.

8. Check out from the library and listen to a book on CD.

9. Contact the local Head Start or another nursery school to see if the organization needs any books or a story lady or story guy to read to the children. (If budget cuts pass the House of Representatives, Head Start will be hard hit.)

10. Contribute used books to the library sale.

11. Write a story in a 32-page format (the standard length for picture books) for a small person near and dear.

12. Read a children's book aloud at breakfast or while waiting for the school bus.

For more information on activities at your Hays Public Library this week, go to our Web site, www.hayspub.lib.

Friends of the Hays Public Library

Book sale

The Friends of the Hays Public Library will conduct a children's book sale from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. May 23 and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 24 in the children's department.

Children's department

Kids' game day

New in the children's department this year is our Kids Game Day. This will be from 3:30 to 5:30 every Thursday. A variety of fun children's board games will be available for everyone to play and enjoy.

READ Hays

If your student needs help with reading, call the children's department, (785) 625-5916, for a day and time for tutoring.

Adult department

Feed and Film

The films begin at 12:05 p.m. Wednesdays in the library's main floor gallery. They last about an hour. Bring your lunch and a cup -- coffee is provided. This week, join us for "Ben and Jerry's."

YA department

The young adult department offers a variety of activities, books and other materials geared specifically toward middle school and high school age patrons. All programs are free and for anyone grades six to 12. For more information, call (785) 625-9014.

Weekly programs

All programs start at 3:30 p.m.

* Mondays -- STAGE Drama Club, board games and snacks.

*¬ PS2 Tuesdays -- "Guitar Hero" and "Dance Dance Revolution."

*¬ Wii Wednesdays -- Play our Nintendo Wii.

*¬ Make and Take Thursdays -- Crafts and more.

* Fridays -- Movies and snacks.

Free computer classes

Computer basics are each Monday, and Microsoft classes will be every Wednesday. On Fridays, we answer your questions. All classes begin at 10 a.m. Sign up at the front desk. We have limited seating. For more information, call (785) 625-9014.

Kansas Room

This month, Kansas plant and flower books are featured, and the display cases will highlight prairie wildflowers and Kansas naturalist Lewis Lindsay Dyche.

Norleen Knoll is the children's department librarian at the Hays Public Library.