Flooding in Owosso

Brutus and the library staff had a little more excitement than anyone really wanted this morning. Last night's rain caused some minor flooding in Owosso's Children's Department, and there was no access to water for either patrons or staff. Brutus had a good time, however, riding around on the wet-vac as the custodian tried to clean up the mess. He also enjoyed some extra attention from the staff as they tried to keep him (and everything else) dry. Everyone is hoping that the water will recede in time to open on Wednesday.

Writing Contest Awards

Last night Brutus attended the awards program for the Friends of the Library 3rd Grade Writing Contest at the Durand branch. Here he is shown with the students who received awards. Honorable Mention went to Shane Gardner, Kyle Godley, Joel Landeros, and Jacob Pickel. Winning Entry prizes were awarded to Julia Podsiadlik, Zackary Canfield, and Jared McGinnis.

Brutus was surprised to find out this is the 42nd year for the writing contest, and he figured out that it's six years old in dog years. He was disappointed there were not any stories about dogs but there was one story about cats, "The Cat Alphabet Book". He promised to not chew that book as long as he got a bite of one of the cookies that were served afterwards.

Edible Book Contest

Brutus was caught "red-pawed" sniffing around the Edible Book entries yesterday. Fortunately, he was caught before he had a chance to taste test any of the submissions. He had a difficult time deciding which were the best entries, especially in the Children's Book category. He did, however, finally decide that if he wanted to remain as the library's mascot he should vote for Steve's Egg and I creation as well as Margaret's version of the Thorn Birds. At least, that's what he told us; we'll never really know since he didn't leave any paw prints on his ballot.

He stayed around to hear Patty Pinner speak, and really enjoyed her talk. He hopes that she can come back again, especially if it means more food in the library. He was disappointed, however, when he had to let all the humans eat the cobblers and nothing was left for him.

Brutus @ the Spring Craft Program

Brutus had a fun time at the egg craft program during spring break. He helped the kids make all sorts of egg creatures including a duck, an alien, and even Edward the vampire from the Twilight books. Then he wanted to eat the eggs, but changed his mind when he saw the Brutus egg that Heather made for him. Brutus can't wait for more crafts during the children's summer reading program, "Great Creative @ the Library" which starts in June.

Spring Break Puppet Shows

Brutus had to join in on the fun and excitement of the Spring 2009 Puppet Shows. This week's show, Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark, is being performed through Thursday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Being a dog, Brutus just watched the fish; he didn't try to eat them like a cat might. While the puppet show was fun, he thought the treat (he could eat) at the end was the best part. He also enjoyed meeting some of the kids who attended.

Brutus Looks for Edible Book ideas

Brutus found out there will be an Edible Book Contest at the library in a couple of weeks. He was busy this morning sniffing out a title for his entry; his only request was that it be about a dog. Margaret had lots of ideas. Marley and Me could be used in the Adult Non-Fiction category or any of the Clifford or Carl books as a Children's Title. There were also lots of Adult fiction books to choose from : Kazan or Baree by Curwood, Jack London's Call of the Wild or White Fang, or any of Berenson's poodle mysteries. At first Brutus thought that he was supposed to eat the books, but this misconception was quickly corrected before he could do any damage; instead, he needs to create something which can be eaten based on a book. Brutus has until April 13 to make his selection and turn in his entry blank. Judging and the awards program will take place on April 16th.