Enjoy festive family fun at Shreve Memorial Library
Christmas is only one week away, and if your kids are anything like my own, they are anxiously counting down the days until they can open their presents. Now that they are out of school, they are going a little stir-crazy waiting on the big day. In fact, my daughter and nephews decided to have an indoor snowball fight just the other day, but I have to admit it was kind of fun. If you are looking for fun things to do with your family ahead of the holidays, might I suggest a quick trip to your local Shreve Memorial Library for free, festive, family fun.
Story time programs are always fun at the library, and this week all story time programs are all about celebrating the holidays. Story time programs are geared for younger children and their caregivers and feature fun stories, interactive games, cool crafts, and lots of singing, dancing and smiling faces. Visit the North Shreveport Branch at 10:30 a.m. on December 21 to hear about Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer or stop by the Broadmoor and Hollywood/Union Avenue Branches on December 22 at 10:00 a.m. for a very merry Christmas story time.
Older children and teens are invited to catch a movie at the library. Watching movies at the library can be lots of fun for the whole family, and you cannot beat the ticket price. All movie screenings are absolutely free of charge and open to anyone. Come join us to watch classic holiday movies like Elf and The Polar Express. The Cedar Grove-Line Avenue will show Elf during its Teen Movie Day program on December 21 at 4:30 p.m. Bring the little ones to the Wallette Branch on December 21 at 4:00 p.m. or the Atkins Branch on December 22 at 10:00 a.m. for a free screening of The Polar Express. Additionally, the Broadmoor Branch will host family movie marathons each day from December 28 through December 30. Visit the Broadmoor Branch and watch new releases like Paw Patrol: The Movie, Cruella, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and Jungle Cruise.
If you still have not told Santa what you want for Christmas, you still have time. Santa will be visiting the Mooringsport Branch and West Shreveport Branch on Monday, December 20 and the Belcher-Wyche Branch and Means Branch on Tuesday, December 21. Be sure to visit www.shreve-lib.org for program dates and times.
On behalf of Shreve Memorial Library, I would like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. As a reminder, all Shreve Memorial Library branches will be closed Friday, December 24 through Monday, December 27 for the holiday.
What’s New at the Library
New Year by Juli Zeh (fiction)
Lanzarote on New Year’s Day: Henning is cycling up the street path to Femés. As he struggles against the wind and the gradient, he takes stock of his life. He has a job, a wife, two children – yet hardly recognizes himself anymore. Panic attacks have been pouncing on him like demons. When he finally reaches the pass in utter exhaustion, a mysterious coincidence unveils a repressed yet vivid memory, plunging him back into childhood and the traumatic event that almost cost him and his sister their lives. In this masterful novel, bestselling author Juli Zeh skillfully turns a New Year’s Day bike ride into an unexpectedly dark, psychological family drama.
Three Sisters by Heather Morris (fiction)
Against all odds, three Slovakian sisters have survived years of imprisonment in the most notorious death camp in Nazi Germany: Auschwitz. Livia, Magda, and Cibi have clung together, nearly died from starvation and overwork, and the brutal whims of the guards in this place of horror. But now, the allies are closing in and the sisters have one last hurdle to face: the death march from Auschwitz, as the Nazis try to erase any evidence of the prisoners held there. Due to a last minute stroke of luck, the three of them are able to escape formation and hide in the woods for days before being rescued. And this is where the story begins. From there, the three sisters travel to Israel, to their new home, but the battle for freedom takes on new forms. Livia, Magda, and Cibi must face the ghosts of their past – and some secrets that they have kept from each other – to find true peace and happiness. Inspired by a true story, and with events that overlap with those of Lale, Gita, and Cilka, The Three Sisters will hold a place in readers’ hearts and minds as they experience what true courage really is.
App Kid: How a Child of Immigrants Grabbed a Piece of the American Dream by Michael Sayman (non-fiction)
As his parents watched their restaurant business collapse in the wake of the Great Recession, Michael Sayman was googling “how to code.” Within a year, he had launched an iPhone app that was raking in thousands of dollars a month, enough to keep his family afloat – and in America. Entirely self-taught, Sayman headed from high school straight into the professional world, and by the time he was seventeen, he was Facebook’s youngest employee ever, building new features that wowed its founder Mark Zuckerberg and are now being used by more than half a billion people every day. Sayman pushed Facebook to build its own version of Snapchat’s Stories and, as a result, engagement on the platform soared across all demographics. Millions of Gen Z and Millennials flocked to Facebook, and as teen engagement rose dramatically on Instagram and WhatsApp, Snapchat’s parent company suffered a billion-dollar loss in value. Three years later, Sayman jumped ship for Google. App Kid is the galvanizing story of a young Latino, not yet old enough to drink, who excelled in the cutthroat world of Silicon Valley and went on to become an inspiration to thousands of kids everywhere by following his own surprising, extraordinary path. In this candid and uplifting memoir, Sayman shares the highs and lows, the successes and failures, of his remarkable journey. His book is essential and affirming reading for anyone marching to the beat of their own drum.
Samantha Bonnette is Marketing & Development Manager at Shreve Memorial Library.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Enjoy festive family fun at Shreve Memorial Library
