BY AVONELLE D. BOX

"Windy March is blowing with all its might" is a typical school song from back East.

Californians also know about "windy days," so the Children’s Librarian theme for the month of March is "Up in the Air" with stories about kites, clouds and rainbows. A St. Patrick’s Day special theme is "Pots of Gold"!

Preschoolers and toddlers will have story time at 11 a.m. each Wednesday.

A special fun time each Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. will be in the Children’s Room with the puppets. Tita Braley of the Grandparents and Books readers will join the fun with stories for an hour. Other Grandparents and Books Readers at 11 a.m. are Grandma Rose on Monday, and Grandma Donna on Thursday.

Free, live, qualified tutors are available online to help with homework. Simply log onto a designated computer terminal at the library, enter your grade level and the subject in which you need help. You will be connected to an online classroom for up to 20 minutes where specific homework questions can be reviewed. These tutors are certified teachers, college professors, professional tutors and graduate school students who have undergone a criminal background and reference check that extends back seven years. For more information and homework help, visit www.tutor.com.

The popular Bilingual Story time will return from 6 to 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month. Come and enjoy on Tuesday, March 23.

The Adult Book Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16 and review "The Killer Angels" by Michale Shaara. This Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War classic details the Battle of Gettysburg.

The current new edition offered by the Gold Star Book Club, the "Friends" lending library of best-sellers exclusively for Ramonans, are: "Balance of Power" by Richard Patterson; "Shepherds Abiding" by Jan Karon; "Hello Darkness" by Sandra Brown; "Blood Canticle" by Anne Rice; and "The Foot-prints of God," a novel by Greg Iles. The lending fee is $1 for a two-week period, with no reservations or renewals.

"My Favorite Library Book" is a current contest sponsored by the Library Friends of San Diego County for all San Diego County residents. There are two divisions: one for adults and one for any age student through high school. Local judging will be done by Friends of the Ramona Library, then winners will be entered in countywide judging and be eligible for additional prizes.

The Friends of the Ramona Library will award the same prizes in each category: First prize $50, second prize $25, and third prize $10. LFSDC will award countywide: 3 adult winners, $50 each; 3 student winners $50. Entries of 500 words of less about "My Favorite Library Book" must be
submitted to Ramona Library by Friday, April 2. Entry blanks are available at the library.

The Friends of the Library recently have been all work and no play, which, as the old adage says, "makes Jack..." While they successfully made enough jack (with Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s assistance) to submit the application for matching funds for a new library, it’s time to pass out kudos to the Friends.

The community has been generous with its donation of books used by the library and the mini-book sale each month. Starting with the March 20 mini-book sale, the first half hour of the sale from 10 to 10:30 a.m. will be for Friends of the Library only, giving members an opportunity to make selections from the prime collection of the fiction, non-fiction (hardback $1 to $3; paperbacks 25 cents to 50 cents) or from the collector’s table of first editions ($5). The public is welcome from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Take a moment to review the 16 beautiful, original Frances Shaw art collection pieces of still life, landscape and seascape scenes being offered in a silent auction until March 20.

As you know, the Proposition 14 application for a new library is in Sacramento. As soon as the bond board members are seated, you will be alerted to lobby with letters to acquaint the members with Ramona. We can tell them who we are, where we are, why we need this larger library and all the essential information they need to award funds for a new library to Ramona.

Elyse Kuhn, president of the Friends, will convene a meeting of the board of directors at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17 in the Community Room. All directors are asked to be present to plan the lobbying effort. These meetings are always open to the public.