Posts by Erica Roberts

April Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Catching a Storyfish by Janice N. Harrington Library Catalog: Print Libby: eBook This novel in verse tells the story of a young girl whose move to a new state causes her normal stream of words to almost entirely dry up when her classmates make fun of her accent. The only place she feels safe enough to talk is fishing with her grandfather – but what is she
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

March Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali Library Catalog: Print Libby: eBook Amos Abernathy is a gay middle schooler who’s been volunteering as a historical reenactor for most of his life – his mom runs the entire park. When Amos learns about the LGBTQ+ history in his backyard, he wants to share it with audiences through the park – but he gets passed over to
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Sit Down & Write

Sit Down & Write Grades 4-8 April 3-6, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Edge Media Lab Librarians Kat, Caroline, Donna, and Erica will be hosting a series of creative writing sessions for kids and teens during the first week of April! Monday the 3rd is Characters with Kat and Erica Tuesday the 4th is Blackout Poetry with Donna and Caroline Wednesday the 5th is Fairy Tales, Classics, and the Public Domain with Erica and Kat Thursday the 6th is Voice with Caroline and Donna Each day, there will be a discussion on the topic, quiet time to write or create, and time to
Read More

Categories: Library News.

February Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Children of the Quicksands by Efua Traoré Library Catalog: Print Simi is distraught to be plucked from her comfortable city life in Lagos and sent to visit her estranged grandmother in the rural village of Ajao. Soon, however, Simi learns of a battle between the villagers and the local gods – a battle that tore her family apart, and one that she has to resolve before it’s
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

January Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer Library Catalog: Print Libby: eBook Shirli Berman is so excited for her school’s play this year, Fiddler on the Roof. She has high hopes for the female lead role, but those hopes are dashed – she’s playing the role of the older mother character instead. Shirli is soon distracted from her discontent with the role when she discovers secrets
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

December Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser Library Catalog: Print Libby: eBook June Yang, her sister, and her mother have been evicted from their apartment and landed in Huey House, a homeless shelter. She’s ashamed of their new circumstances – until she begins to make friends, especially with longtime Huey House resident Tyrell. Tyrell helps June learn the ins-and-outs of the House, while June gets Tyrell
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

January Tweens Talk Banned Books

January Tweens Talk Banned Books Grades 4-6 January 19th at 4:30-6:00 p.m. Virtual Registration required. Register here. Note: All of our youth-focused virtual programs require a registered Zoom account to attend. Sign up for a free Zoom account here: http://zoom.us/signup. As cases of censorship have grown more widespread throughout the U.S., the Library has kicked off a year-long celebration of banned books – #WPFreedomToRead – that started during Banned Books Week (September 18-24 2022.) The Library’s celebration of banned books will feature a variety of programs for adults, teens, and children throughout the year. Join us at the Trove for
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

December Tweens Talk Banned Books

Tweens Talk Banned Books Grades 4-6 December 15th at 4:30-6:00 p.m. Virtual Registration required. Register here. Note: All of our youth-focused virtual programs require a registered Zoom account to attend. Sign up for a free Zoom account here: http://zoom.us/signup. As cases of censorship have grown more widespread throughout the U.S., the Library has kicked off a year-long celebration of banned books – #WPFreedomToRead – that started during Banned Books Week (September 18-24 2022.) The Library’s celebration of banned books will feature a variety of programs for adults, teens, and children throughout the year. Join us at the Trove for a
Read More

Categories: Library News.

Celebrate December Holidays (younger kids)

The White Plains Public Library is offering a variety of programs celebrating the December holidays this year – we hope you can come and join us! Author Visit & Storytime: Hanukkah Nights Ages 2-6, Families Friday, 11:00 a.m. – December 2 Join author, artist and children’s book creator Amalia Hoffman in celebrating a colorful and creative Hanukkah with her new book Hanukkah Nights! More details can be found here. Hanukkah Grab & Go Kit Available in the Library Lobby starting Monday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m. while supplies last. Hanukkah-themed Grab & Go kits for children in Kindergarten through 3rd
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

November Tweens Talk Banned Books

Tweens Talk Banned Books Grades 4-6 Thursday, November 17th, 2022 at 4:30-6:00 p.m. Virtual Registration required. Register here. Note: All of our youth-focused virtual programs require a registered Zoom account to attend. Sign up for a free Zoom account here: https://zoom.us/signup. As cases of censorship have grown more widespread throughout the U.S., White Plains Public Library has kicked off a year-long celebration of banned books – #WPFreedomToRead– that started during Banned Books Week (September 18-24 2022.) The Library’s celebration of banned books will feature a variety of programs for adults, teens, and children throughout the year. Join us at the
Read More

Categories: Library News.

Wanderhome: The Journey Begins

Wednesday, November 9th, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Grades 7-12 Edge Media Lab No registration required! For more information click here. Have you ever been interested in playing D&D but felt too intimidated by all the rules? Ever read books like Erin Hunter's Warriors or Brian Jacques' Redwall series and wanted to have adventures like those characters? Look no further than the roleplaying game (RPG) Wanderhome! Wanderhome is a game created by Jay Dragon based on cooperative storytelling, with only a couple rules and guidelines to keep straight after character creation. The game is run either by a game master or
Read More

Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

November Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Windswept by Margi Preus Library Catalog: Print Windswept is a story within a story, regaling the reader with a story fit for a fairy tale about the journey of a young girl in search of her lost siblings. In a future of our world, when stories are banned, anyone under the age of fifteen is forbidden from going outside for fear of the wind sweeping them away.
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

October Tweens Talk Banned Books

Tweens Talk Banned Books Grades 4-6 Thursday, October 27th at 4:30 p.m. Virtual Registration required. Register here. Note: All of our youth-focused virtual programs require a registered Zoom account to attend. Sign up for a free Zoom account here: https://zoom.us/signup. Book banning is sadly nothing new, and cases of censorship are growing more and more widespread throughout the US. Librarians oppose censorship and believe that open, honest conversation about challenged material is an alternative to book banning. Join Erica for Tweens Talk Banned Books, a year-long book club designed for middle school students to celebrate and discuss banned and challenged
Read More

Categories: Library News.

October Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Valentina Salazar is NOT a Monster Hunter by Zoraida Córdova Library Catalog: Print Libby: eBook As the title makes clear, the main character of this novel is not a monster hunter – she’s a monster protector! …Or at least she used to be. For all of Valentina’s life, the Salazar family has protected the “monsters” who show up in our world and sent them back where they
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

September Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Definitely Dominguita: Knight of the Cape by Terry Catasús Jennings Library Catalog: Print Libby: Digital Audiobook Knight of the Cape is the first book in the Definitely Dominguita series about a young Cuban-American girl who goes on adventures in her neighborhood, inspired by the classic books she reads and rereads to feel close with her abuela, who has moved to Florida. In the first book, Knight of
Read More

Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.