Roald Dahl Day

13th September is officially Roald Dahl Day across the world!

Take the Roald Dahl Day Challenge today, and see how many challenges you can complete

1. Wear something yellow – Roald’s favourite colour!


2. Wear one or more items of clothing backwards


3. Drop "gobblefunk" convincingly into a conversation


4. Swap a Roald Dahl book with a friend


5. Talk backwards


6. Tell a silly joke – Roald Dahl loved swapping these with his kids


7. Play an "unexpected" prank


8. Give someone a treat – Roald was a great believer in treats, whether it was a bar of chocolate or a lovely surprise


9. Write your own revolting rhyme


10. Make up an Oompa Loompa dance and get all your friends to join in!

(Hmmm... there's at least two people here who seem to think it's Roald Dahl Day every day!)

Roald Dahl's books in our libraries.

The Roald Dahl Day web site has lots of information, quizzes and fun things to do.

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Young readers have their say about services

Here's your chance to tell us what you like and dislike about our library service as part of a national survey of library users (not just members) under 16.

Every library in the Borough (including the Mobile Library) will be carrying out the survey between Monday 17th September and Saturday 29th September. If you come into the library we'll ask you to answer a few questions about the library and the services you'd like us to provide. (If we don't ask you don't be scared of asking us!)

We really want to know what you think about our libraries so that we can make sure that we're providing the services children and young people want and need.

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It's still not too late to finish the Big Wild Read!

Thanks to everyone who joined in this summer's Big Wild Read events. We hope you enjoyed them!

If you haven't finished the Big Wild Read reading game there's still time: the game doesn't finish until 22nd September.

• Wild Reads!

Stories for people who don't like reading

It isn't everybody who likes to read a great, big, thick book (although plenty enough folk have been reading Harry Potter!) so we've made sure to get in a lot of books for people who like their stories short and snappy. Pop in and have a look around!

We've listed some of these stories in our Kids' Portal. If you're a member of the library you can request a copy online to be picked up at your local library. We'll let you know when it's arrived (and it doesn't cost a penny!) And remember: if you've joined one of our libraries you're a member of all the libraries in the Borough!

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Patient: Doctor, doctor, I'm having real trouble with my hearing.
Doctor: Really? What are the symptoms?
Patient: They're those yellow cartoon characters on the telly.

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What do those numbers on the information books mean?

These are called "class numbers".

Class numbers are useful because they tell us what the book's about (the subject). Every subject has its own class number (it's a sort of code, but we don't keep it a secret). We put the books on our shelves in number order, starting at 000 and ending in 999, to help you find what you're looking for -- all the books on dogs are in one place, the books on the weather in another place and joke books somewhere else.

Here's a few examples:

• Bats are J599.4
• Castles are J728.81
• Disasters are J904
• Dogs are J636.7
• Dreams are J154.634
• Maps and atlases are J912
• Pirates are J910.4
• Relationships are J301.41
• Tractors and diggers are J629.225

Don't worry: you don't have to learn all the numbers by heart (we haven't!)

Story books don't have class numbers. We put these books on our shelves in "author order" (authors are people who write books) starting with the people whose surnames begin with the letter A and ending with the people whose surnames begin with the letter Z.

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What do you call a baby cat that works at the doctor's?
A first aid kit!

What's red and goes up and down?
A tomato in a lift!

What's green on top and yellow underneath?
Last week's custard!

"Would you like your pizza cut into six or four?"
"Just four, please. I don't think I could eat six!"

What howls at the moon in frilly knickers?
An underwearwolf!

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Homework Help (sorry!)

Did you know that we've lots of online reference books and encyclopædias which you can use for your homework? You can use them in the library on one of our Library Online PCs. Or you can use them at home by logging onto the web sites with your library barcode.

Titles include:

• The Encyclopedia Britannica
• Grove Art Online
• Grove Music Online
• The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• The Oxford English Dictionary
• Oxford Reference Online

Links to these sites, newsletters, quizzes and help sheets are available on the Web Catalogue.

We also have lots of books which can help you with your homework. The "Homework Help" section of the Kids' Portal includes subject-based booklists and suggestions for useful websites. Why not have a look?

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If you put six ducks in a crate what have you got?
A box of quackers!

What goes ninety-nine bonk, ninety-nine bonk?
A centipede with a wooden leg!

Who's the boy in the glasses who writes down train numbers while riding a broomstick?
Harry Spotter!

How does a monster count up to twelve?
On his fingers!

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A quick joke for a wet weekend

What's red and sits in the corner?
A naughty bus!

We've lots of joke books in our libraries!