May brings crafts, games, and LEGO building to the Cosmos Library before the summer reading program begins the last week of the month.

Cosmos Library will host a Craft Circle on Saturday, May 3, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This is a bring-your-own craft program for adults and teens ages 16+. Younger teens can attend with an adult. Bring your work in progress and enjoy the company of other creative people while you create. Examples of projects include knitting, crochet, drawing, papercrafting, and making jewelry. Since it will be held in the library, no messy crafts such as painting, please. No formal instruction will be provided. There’s no need to sign up.

The button maker will be back for the week before Memorial Day, May 19 to 24. This time it will be Super Mario buttons! This free activity is available anytime during library hours for ages 7 and up.

Pokémon continues at the library on Thursdays throughout May. Kids ages 7 and older are invited to play – or learn to play – Pokémon TCG from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the library every Thursday this month. The library has all of the cards needed to play the trading card game, but you can bring your own if you wish. No need to sign up. Free to attend. Parents and caregivers are welcome to stay with their kids, and will need to stay if their child is younger than age 8. Whether you love playing Pokémon or you would like to learn how to play, you are welcome to join this friendly learning environment.

Kids ages 5-18 are invited to build with LEGOs at Cosmos Creation Club on Monday, May 19, 2:00-3:00 p.m.  Children ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. There’s no need to sign up, and everything is provided.

This summer, kids are invited to Level Up at Your Library – the theme of this year’s summer reading program! Play is one of the ways we learn to relate to others, to think in new ways, and to foster friendships. “Level Up at Your Library” is a summer reading program based around games and puzzles. Libraries are more than spaces for knowledge – they are spaces for fun!

At Cosmos Public Library the program will begin the day after Memorial Day: Tuesday, May 27. Kids ages 3-18 can sign up that day or any day throughout the summer. The program runs through August 30^th.

The summer reading program is something kids do on their own time, working their way through the reading game sheets by reading or being read to and doing other fun activities. The reading log for children looks like a board game. The teen reading log is a chart to simply record hours spent reading.

When they sign up, kids get a free book bag and pencil. When they turn in a completed reading sheet, they will earn “library loot,” play money that they can turn in for small prizes.

The goal of the summer reading program is to encourage kids to read all summer long so that they keep up their reading skills and return to school in the fall ready to learn. Because of that, kids can do one reading sheet after another all summer until late August and keep earning prizes.

Cosmos Library is located in city hall. The phone number is 320-440-1012, and the website is www.cosmos.lib.mn.us. The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1. Pioneerland libraries will be closed on Memorial Day, May 26.

Kids ages 7 through teen, come to the Cosmos Library to play Pokémon! In April and May, the program will be held every Thursday, 4:00-5:30, in the library.

The library has all of the cards needed to play the trading card game, but you can bring your own if you wish. No need to sign up. Free to attend.

Parents and caregivers are welcome to stay with their kids — recommended for 7-year-olds.

Whether you love playing Pokémon or you would like to learn how to play, you are welcome to join this friendly learning environment.

Celebrate National Library Week by stopping by the Cosmos Library during the week of April 7-12! The theme of National Library Week this year is Drawn to the Library. What draws people to the library? Everything! From books and movies to computers and creative programs, libraries are essential to thriving communities.

At Cosmos Library, we invite the community to join in the celebration. Whether you’re a long-time library user or haven’t visited before, now is the perfect time to explore all the library has to offer. Our library provides free wi-fi, Libby ebooks and downloadable audiobooks, Chromebooks and wi-fi hotspots you can check out and take home, DVDs, large print books, and much more. Whatever draws you in, the library has something for everyone.

Stop in for a free book-themed sticker to put on your laptop or water bottle during National Library Week, while supplies last.

Gaming time for Pokémon TCG begins again on Thursdays on April 3. Kids ages 7 and up are invited to play – or learn to play – from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the library every Thursday this month. Cards are provided, or you can bring your own. Kids under age 8 should be accompanied by an adult or teen caregiver.

Kids ages 5-18 are invited to build with LEGOs at Cosmos Creation Club on Monday, March 21, 2:00-3:00 p.m.  Children ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. There’s no need to sign up, and everything is provided.

A Dr. Seuss-themed spring craft will be available for kids to take home beginning on Tuesday, April 8. An adult take-home craft , a decoupage plant pot, will be available beginning Tuesday, April 22. While supplies last. One per person please.

Cosmos Library is located in city hall. The phone number is 320-440-1012, and the website is www.cosmos.lib.mn.us. The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1.

Plan to visit the Cosmos Public Library in March for fun and for practical help. Both are always good reasons to visit the library!

Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s March birthday at a drop-in event on Saturday, March 15, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jessica will have a variety of Dr. Seuss books available to read to kids. Activity stations will be set up for kids to visit, including Cat in the Hat hats, Horton the Elephant beaded bracelets, Thing 1 and Thing 2 signs, and a One Fish Two Fish sensory bin. Bring the kids any time between 10:30 and 12:30, and spend a little time to do one thing, or stay to do them all!

Need a little help with technology? Drop by during Tech Time on Saturday, March 22, between 10:30 and 12:30. Katie will offer basic guidance on Libby, email, online searching, updating the settings on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, and similar things. We are unable to assist you with online purchases, tax navigation, legal documents, or anything complex. We will help to the best of our ability, for up to a half hour, depending on how busy the library is at that time. No need to sign up, and assistance is free.

Looking for an activity to do at home with the kids? Stop by beginning March 11 to pick up a St. Patrick’s Day craft for your child, while supplies last.

Kids ages 5-18 are invited to build with LEGOs at Cosmos Creation Club on Monday, February 17, 2:00-3:00 p.m.  Children ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. There’s no need to sign up, and everything is provided.

Looking for some new DVDs to check out? Cosmos Library has some recent additions, including these:

“The American Vice President”
“The Perfect Christmas Present”
“Saturday Night”
“Severance,” season one
“The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” season one
plus the new music CD “Luck and Strange” by David Gilmour, formerly of Pink Floyd.

Cosmos Library is located in city hall. The phone number is 320-440-1012, and the website is www.cosmos.lib.mn.us. The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1.

Kids, join us to build with LEGOs at the library! At Cosmos Creation Club, kids ages 5-18 can use the library’s LEGO collection. The program is held one Monday per month, 2:00-3:00 p.m. No need to sign up.

Children ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver.

Dates are as follows:

January 27
February 24
March 17
April 21
May 19

Cosmos Library News for February 2025

February at Cosmos Library starts off with some nature fun for all ages. On Saturday, February 1, a DNR naturalist from Sibley State Park will offer a nature table called Skin and Bones. The environment around us supports many animals that all have their own special tricks for survival. We can learn about some of those tricks – known as adaptations – by looking at the furs and bones of the animals. Stop by the naturalist table any time during the program hours, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,  to learn about our wildlife neighbors and what makes them unique. Activity takes about 10 minutes.

Kids ages 5-18 are invited to build with LEGOs at the Cosmos Creation Club on Monday, February 24, 2:00-3:00 p.m.  The program is delayed by a week due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. Children ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. There’s no need to sign up, and everything is provided.

The adult winter reading program, Winter Reads, continues all month. Sign up to get rewarded for reading three or six books by March 15. Read library books, your own books, audiobooks, ebooks, print books – whatever you choose. A variety of small prizes are available to choose from, while supplies last. Participation is free. Open to adults only.

The Cosmos Library will offer two take-home crafts this month: one for kids and one for adults. On February 4, kits will be available to kids to make dinosaur Valentine boxes. On February 18, pineapple string art kits will be available for adults. Free, but supplies are limited; one per person.

Pioneerland libraries will be closed on Monday, February 17, for Presidents’ Day.

Cosmos Library is located in city hall. The phone number is 320-440-1012, and the website is www.cosmos.lib.mn.us. The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1.

Take a look at the most-borrowed items of 2024 for Pioneerland Library System!

Top adult fiction

• The women / Kristin Hannah.
• The river we remember : a novel / William Kent Krueger.
• Three-inch teeth : a Joe Pickett novel / C. J. Box
• Toxic prey / John Sandford.
• Spirit crossing : a novel / William Kent Krueger.
• The housemaid / Freida McFadden.
• The teacher / Freida McFadden.
• A calamity of souls / David Baldacci.
• Mind games / Nora Roberts.
• The truth about the Devlins / Lisa Scottoline.

Top adult nonfiction

• Dear Jacob : a mother’s journey of hope / Patty Wetterling with Joy Baker.
• Hillbilly elegy : a memoir of a family and culture in crisis / J.D. Vance.
• The boys in the boat : nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics / Daniel James Brown.
• House of Kahmanns : a memoir : a story about family love and shattered bonds, about finding each other in the aftermath / P. G. Kahmann.
• Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI / David Grann.
• The demon of unrest / Erik Larson.
• Oath and honor : a memoir and a warning / Liz Cheney.
• Gunflint falling : blowdown in the Boundary Waters / Cary J. Griffith.
• The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness / Jonathan Haidt.
• Atomic habits : tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones / James Clear.

Top young adult fiction

• One-Punch Man / story by One ; art by Yusuke Murata ; translation, John Werry.
• A court of thorns and roses / Sarah J. Maas.
• A good girl’s guide to murder / Holly Jackson.
• One piece / story and art by Eiichiro Oda.
• The seven deadly sins / Nakaba Suzuki ; [translator, Christine Dashiell ; lettering, James Dashiell].
• The ballad of songbirds and snakes / Suzanne Collins.
• Powerless / Lauren Roberts.
• One of us is lying / Karen M. McManus.
• If he had been with me / Laura Nowlin.
• Death note / story by Tsugumi Ōba ; art by Takeshi Obata ; translation & adaptation, Pookie Rolf.

Top easy fiction

• The Big Cheese / written by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald.
• The teeny-weeny unicorn / by Shawn Harris.
• Love from Bluey / text by Suzy Brumm.
• Bluey : daddy putdown.
• The pigeon has to go to school! / words and pictures by Mo Willems.
• Buffalo Fluffalo / written by Bess Kalb ; illustrated by Erin Kraan.
• If you give a dog a donut / written by Laura Numeroff ; illustrated by Felicia Bond.
• Creepy crayon! / Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown.
• No cats in the library / Lauren Emmons.
• Penelope Rex and the problem with pets / Ryan T. Higgins.

Top juvenile fiction

• Dog Man. Vol. 12 : The scarlet shedder / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Cat kid comic club. Vol. 5 : Influencers / words, illustrations, and artwork by Dav Pilkey .
• Dog Man. Twenty thousand fleas under the sea / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog man. Mothering heights / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog man. Lord of the fleas / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog Man. Brawl of the wild / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog man. Grime and punishment / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Baby-sitters club. Vol. 15 : Claudia and the bad joke / a graphic novel by Arley Nopra.
• Baby-sitters Club. Vol. 7 : Boy-crazy Stacey / a graphic novel by Gale Galligan.