Posts by Joshua, Manager of Youth Services

How to Fight Censorship & Book Bans

How to Fight Censorship & Book Bans

On Monday, April 24, 2023 the first national Right to Read Day was held. Organized by the American Library Association (ALA), and kicking off National Library Week, Right to Read Day was established as a call to action in response to the past few years of attacks on access to, and even the existence of, certain books – overwhelmingly those with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters, themes, and information (check out the top 13 challenged books of 2022 to see what I mean). While ALA’s Unite Against Book Bans, and other organizations, highlighted going to the library and checking out banned
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April 25, 2024 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, and Library News.
Tags: #WPFreedomtoRead, activism, banned books, book banning, book bans, censorship, community activism, fight for the first, first amendment, and freedom to read.

Meet the String Quartet

Meet the String Quartet

Sunday, May 19th 2:00 p.m. Grades 1-6 Library Auditorium White Plains Public Library and Downtown Music present: Meet the String Quartet! Join The Ondine Quartet, sponsored by Chamber Music America, featuring Ariana Cappon & Cindy Lan (violins), Chloe Kim (viola), and Sarah Song (cello), for an educational afternoon about the instruments in a string quartet and how they work together to produce glorious music.
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April 24, 2024 12:10 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's event in white plains, Downtown Music, Meet the String Quartet, music event in White Plains, and The Trove.

May Programs for Younger Kids

May Programs for Younger Kids

Great programs for younger children take place all month long, every month, at the Library.  See our online calendar or stop in the Trove for location information. Some programs require advance registration, while others may require a ticket. If registration is required, details will be provided for how to register on our online calendar. If a program requires a ticket, tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis starting 30 minutes before the program. Bilingual Family Night Ages 3+, Families Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. – May 1 Families will listen to a bilingual story, sing bilingual songs
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April 24, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, kids, live music, may 2024, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

SWBOCES Fashion Show

SWBOCES Fashion Show

Thursday, May 16th 4:00 p.m. Library Auditorium The Library is excited to collaborate with the SWBOCES Fashion Design & Merchandising Program to host a special runway event showcasing the work of students throughout the year.  The show, titled “Fashion in Toyland,” was originally inspired by student interest and enjoyment of the Barbie film last summer.  Students then took field trips to FAO Schwarz and Toys R Us to gain more ideas for fashion designs inspired by toys. In conjunction with the Fashion Show, an exhibit of student artwork and designs will be on display in the Library’s Gallery from May
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April 24, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Gallery, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: art exhibit, art gallery, Fashion show, and SWBOCES.

Good Trouble: Environmental Activism

Good Trouble: Environmental Activism

Earth Day takes place annually on April 22.  We’ve created many Earth Day related blog posts, reading lists and activities over the past several years and I urge you to look through them for some great ideas and great reads. Below find some reads related to the formation of Earth Day and climate and environmental activism.   The Day the River Caught Fire: How the Cuyahoga River Exploded and Ignited the Earth Day Movement by Barry Wittenstein, art by Jessie Hartland Library Catalog A shockingly true story about how on a day in the summer of 1969 the Cuyahoga River
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April 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, climate activism, environmental activism, environmentalism, Good Trouble, greta thunberg, John Lewis, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Lee Palmer Storytelling Celebration

Lee Palmer Storytelling Celebration

The Library is excited to present its first annual Lee Palmer Storytelling Celebration – a two-day event consisting of a workshop for librarians and educators and a storytelling celebration for children and families. The Storytelling Workshop will take place on Friday, April 12th, at 1:00 p.m. in the Library’s Auditorium. This free workshop for adults, entitled “Off the Page: Storytelling Craft and Technique,” will be presented by storyteller Rachael Harrington. Refreshments will be available. This interactive workshop will equip you to bring favorite stories off the page to become oral storytelling experiences. Participants will explore story selection, methods of storyboarding,
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April 9, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: April 2024, Glenn Harper, Laconia Therrio, Lee Palmer, Lee Palmer Storytelling Celebration, Rachael Harrington, and storytelling.

The Library’s TTRPG Collection

The Library’s TTRPG Collection

Did you know the Library has a collection of tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) books you can borrow?  They are located just outside the Edge, our teen library (though anyone can check them out!).  Holds cannot be placed on the titles, but you can pick them up at the Library and borrow them for three weeks! Titles in the growing collection include (by game system – Will be updated as new titles are added. Links for unlinked items will be added as they become available.) What’s a TTRPG? A tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) is a system of rules so that a
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April 7, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, library collections, Roleplaying game, roleplaying games, RPGs, staff picks, staff recommendations, tabletop gaming, tabletop roleplaying games, and TTRPGS.

April Programs for Younger Kids

April Programs for Younger Kids

Great programs for younger children take place all month long, every month, at the Library.  See our online calendar or stop in the Trove for location information. Some programs require advance registration, while others may require a ticket. If registration is required, details will be provided for how to register on our online calendar. If a program requires a ticket, tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis starting 30 minutes before the program. First Annual Lee Palmer Storytelling Celebration Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – April 13 Three fantastic storytellers, along with giveaways and snacks!  More information
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March 26, 2024 10:33 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, April 2024, children's events, dance, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

April Is…

April Is…

Each month a variety of observances and celebrations take place, from well-known holidays to much lesser known fun (and downright funny or strange!) observances. National Poetry Month Check out some of the Library’s poetry programs and events all month long, along with some great selections of poetry books for kids!  April 17th is specifically International Haiku Poetry Day!  Here’s some haiku to read. Jazz Appreciation Month Learn about jazz and jazz musicians: A Child’s Introduction to Jazz: The Musicians, Culture, and Roots of The World’s Coolest Music by Jabari Asim, Jerrard K. Polk Library Catalog Benny Goodman & Teddy Wilson:
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March 26, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: April 2024, April Festivities, books for children, books for kids, children's books, and Observances and Celebrations.

Good Trouble: Amanda Gorman

Good Trouble: Amanda Gorman

On January 20, 2021, I watched Joe Biden’s inauguration. Perhaps, like me, you were feeling hopeful and optimistic, that democracy was working, that positive change was taking place – the country had survived January 6, we had a new President, and for the first time a female Vice President. Perhaps, also like me, all of that became secondary as you were transfixed by the young woman who took the podium – Amanda Gorman, only the sixth poet to read at an inauguration, and by far the youngest. As she stood there reading, Amanda Gorman seemed far older than her 22
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March 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Amanda Gorman, Good Trouble, John Lewis, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Snow Kidding! Wintertime Family Variety Show

Snow Kidding! Wintertime Family Variety Show

Snow Kidding! – Wintertime Family Variety Show Children ages 4+, Families Monday, March 25, 6:30 p.m. The hilariously entertaining David Engel returns to the Library for his Snow Kidding! wintertime family variety show featuring the prankster Jack Frost! Cousin to Old Man Winter, Jack Frost’s world-renown comical antics stretch from Victorian England to Scandinavia and even the Hindu Kush Mountains!  Mr. Frost thought his legacy secure as his talents painting fall foliage, spreading frost on windows, and cold nipping at your nose have been featured in books, songs, movies, and television. But recently our world’s weird warming weather has prompted
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March 1, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: comedy, comedy show for kids, David Engel, and performance.

March Programs for Younger Kids

March Programs for Younger Kids

Great programs for younger children take place all month long, every month, at the Library.  See our online calendar or stop in the Trove for location information. Some programs require advance registration, while others may require a ticket. If registration is required, details will be provided for how to register on our online calendar. If a program requires a ticket, tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis starting 30 minutes before the program. Tiny Tots! 0 – 24 months, with a caregiver Fridays, 11:00 a.m. – March 1, 8, 15, 22 Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. –
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February 27, 2024 2:06 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, kids, live music, March 2024, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

New Books in the Trove

New Books in the Trove

We have new books coming in all the time with them on display right as you enter the Trove.  Here’s some of our recent favorite new titles! For Babies My Hair is Like the Sun by St. Clair Detrick-Jules & Tabitha Brown (Birth to 3 Years-Old) Library Catalog “I ask you, one and all, to take a good, long, hard look at this cover. This, my friends, is my perpetual frustration. This cover is not overly complicated and yet it is, in essence, incredibly well made. It’s beautiful, the colors are fantastic, and look at how well the photo itself
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February 26, 2024 3:26 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, children's book, new books, new books in the trove, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

February Programs for Younger Kids

February Programs for Younger Kids

Great programs for younger children take place all month long, every month, at the Library.  See our online calendar or stop in the Trove for location information. Some programs require advance registration, while others may require a ticket. If registration is required, details will be provided for how to register on our online calendar. If a program requires a ticket, tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis starting 30 minutes before the program. Storytime! Ages 2-6, Families Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. – February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. – February 6 Storytime! will
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February 7, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, February 2024, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

Good Trouble: Music and Protest

Good Trouble: Music and Protest

This installment of Good Trouble features a few books about the strong connections between music and activism, as well as individual artists who have made an impact. Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, art by Christian Robinson Library Catalog Discover some of Nina Simone’s music  Born Eunice Kathlyn Wayman, the artist who would become known as Nina Simone was a musical prodigy whose dreams were smashed against the walls of racism and prejudice. As her career finally began to flourish, not in the music halls where her classical piano training would have taken her otherwise, but
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February 5, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Good Trouble, John Lewis, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Good Trouble: Clothing and Activism

Good Trouble: Clothing and Activism

From the uniforms of the Black Panther Party, to slogan t-shirts, to the audacity of women wearing pants, clothing and fashion are frequently connected to activism. Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter by Aida Salazar, art by Molly Mendoza Library Catalog Perhaps you’ve heard of the legendary Chinese folk hero Mulan, who dressed as a man and goes to battle, however Jovita Valdovinos was a real person who disguised herself so she could take part in the battle for religious freedom in Mexico, and came to be known as “Mexico’s Joan of Arc.”  Filled with beautiful
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January 17, 2024 4:31 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Good Trouble, John Lewis, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

January Programs for Younger Kids

January Programs for Younger Kids

Great programs for younger children take place all month long, every month, at the Library.  See our online calendar or stop in the Trove for location information. Some programs require advance registration, while others may require a ticket. If registration is required, details will be provided for how to register on our online calendar. If a program requires a ticket, tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis starting 30 minutes before the program. Tiny Tots! 0 – 24 months, with a caregiver Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. – January 2, 16, 30 Fridays, 11:00 a.m. – January
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December 19, 2023 12:03 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, January 2024, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

One World Concert

One World Concert

One World Concert Thursday, December 28, at 2:00 p.m. Children, Families, All Ages Library Auditorium Chris Merwin's One World concert is a musical exploration of sounds and music from around the globe. Chris has spent decades learning instruments from all around the world, including steel drums, the Japanese shakuhachi flute, and a 10-foot Tibetan trumpet. Come learn about different instruments, dance, and take part in this fun, musical experience.
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November 29, 2023 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

Great Podcasts for Kids 8

Great Podcasts for Kids 8

Traveling with kids for the holidays? It’s a great opportunity to listen to a podcast! All of these podcasts should be available on any service you use to listen to podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, etc. Some, however, may be available only through the link provided. If you have some additional great podcast recommendations, leave them in the comments below! Great Podcast’s Greatest Hits It’s been a while since I have posted one of these, so I’m going to first list off some of the podcasts that have been featured in the Great Podcast
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November 22, 2023 11:30 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Great Podcasts, Great Podcasts for Kids, podcasts, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

December Programs for Younger Kids

December Programs for Younger Kids

Great programs for younger children take place all month long, every month, at the Library.  See our online calendar or stop in the Trove for location information. Some programs require advance registration, while others may require a ticket. If registration is required, details will be provided for how to register on our online calendar. If a program requires a ticket, tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis starting 30 minutes before the program. Tiny Tots! 0 – 24 months, with a caregiver Fridays, 11:00 a.m. – December 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.
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November 22, 2023 11:18 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, December 2023, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.