Posts by Joshua, Manager of Youth Services

October Is…

October 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.  Here are some great younger reads to go with some of them. LGBT History Month The ABCs of Queer History by Dr. Seema Yasmin, art by Lucy Kirk Library Catalog A Child’s Introduction to PRIDE: The Inspirational History and Culture of the LGBTQIA+ Community by Sarah Prager, art by Cailin O’Dwyer Library Catalog Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution by Rob Sanders, art by Jamey Christoph Library Catalog Also check out the ”LGBTQ+ Icons” installment
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September 24, 2024 10:16 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's books, Observances and Celebrations, October 2024, and October festivities.

Kids in the Kitchen 1

Kids in the Kitchen 1

Welcome to Kids in the Kitchen.  This blog series will feature a variety of great cookbooks for kids. The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes) edited by Nadia L. Hohn, art by Roza Nozari Library Catalog “Discussing racism isn't a piece of cake, but this work offers key ingredients nonetheless. In her introduction, editor Hohn notes that talking about bigotry and prejudice can be difficult, even painful, but emphasizes that food gives us an opportunity to do so–after all, ‘it's a lot easier to listen and share when our taste buds are awake and our tummies are full.’ Twenty-one kid-lit
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September 24, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for kids, cookbooks, Kids in the Kitchen, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

New Books in the Trove: September 2024

New Books in the Trove: September 2024

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 Wee Ones The Great Outdoors by Ingela P. Arrhenius (Birth to 3 Years-Old) Library Catalog “Shaped to capture various geographic features, this title will have children looking for a chance to go outside and adventure. Young hands will enjoy the variety of the shapes of the pages, from mountains to trees. VERDICT Interestingly shaped pages and engaging illustrations will delight. Recommended.” –School Library Journal Let’s Go Baby! (Birth to 3 Years-Old) Library
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September 24, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, 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.

Good Trouble: Peaceful Protest

Good Trouble: Peaceful Protest

This installment of Good Trouble shares two books about peaceful protest movements and another about iconic “People of Peace.” Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights by Rob Sanders, art by Jared Andrew Schorr A picture book that demonstrates the many ways regular people can take part in peaceful protest, with a brief introduction to the concept of nonviolent protest. People Power: Peaceful Protests That Changed the World by Rebecca June,  art by Ximo Abadia Covering incidents of peaceful protests from around the world dating from 1902’s The Mud March in the UK to global protests in 2020 for Black Lives Matter,
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September 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Good Trouble, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

September Programs for Younger Kids

September 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. Storytimes! Ages 2-6, Families Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. – September 3, 17 Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. – September 5, 12, 19, 26 Ticket required. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis starting 30 minutes before the program. Stories, songs and fun with a Trove Librarian. Following Storytime on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the children and caregivers are invited to Toy Time in the Story Trove – a time to play and socialize! Bilingual Family Storytime
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August 27, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: 2024, Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, September 2024, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

New Books in the Trove: August 2024

New Books in the Trove: August 2024

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 Wee Ones Dinosaur’s Binkit by Sandra Boynton (Birth to 3 Years-Old) Library Catalog “Boynton's (Snoozers) signature style showcases a restless baby dinosaur who can't go to bed without his (or her) security blanket in this charming large-trim board book. Her rhyming text cajoles the little creature to settle down: ‘Dinosaur O Dinosaur,/ you fuss and fret and yawn./ It's time to brush your dino teeth/ and put your p.j.'s on.’ A silver
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August 22, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, 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.

Good Trouble: Music – Protest and Activism, Part 3

Good Trouble: Music – Protest and Activism, Part 3

This installment of Good Trouble continues a look at the strong connections between music and activism, as well as individual artists who have made an impact.  In this post, find books related to two powerful songs:  “We Shall Overcome” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”  For earlier Good Trouble: Music – Protest and Activism posts, click here: Part 1 and Part 2. “We Shall Overcome” We Shall Overcome: the Story of a Song by Debbie Levy, art by Vanessa Brantley-Newton A bright and colorful introduction to the Civil Rights movement, the history of the song, and its place in history
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August 5, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Good Trouble, music, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Edge Summer Reading 2024

Edge Summer Reading 2024

Summer Reading at White Plains Library begins Monday, July 1st and runs through Friday, August 30th. For Grades 7-12 summer reading, visit the Edge to sign up. Join us for our summer reading kick-off party on Monday, July 1 from 4-6 PM. We will have pizza, drinks, games, a scavenger hunt, and giveaways. For Grades 7-12 Let us know what you’re reading this summer, whether you read one book or fifty. Here’s how we’re tracking points along the way: 1 Book = 1 piece of candy and 1 raffle ticket 5 Books = coupon for 1 free ice cream scoop
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July 15, 2024 10:00 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: activities for children in White Plains, books, children, children's books, children's events, children's programs, families, library programs, Library programs for teens, programs for kids, Read Squared, reading, storytime, Summer 2024, summer programs, summer reading, summer reading game, teen events, teens, The Edge, and The Trove.

Trove Summer Reading 2024

Trove Summer Reading 2024

Summer Reading at White Plains Library begins Monday, July 1st and runs through Friday, August 17th. As part of the kick-off for Summer Reading 2024, on July 1-3, while supplies last, when a child signs up for summer reading, they will receive a free, age-appropriate, mystery bag of 3-4 books! For PreK: Kids and Parents will receive a bingo board. Each bingo board returned earns you a coloring page and an entry to the summer reading prize raffle. For Grades K-6: Kids will receive a booklet that has the reading log, treasure map activities, and a sidequest booklet for extra
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July 15, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activities for children in White Plains, books, children, children's books, children's events, children's programs, families, library programs, Library programs for teens, programs for kids, Read Squared, reading, storytime, Summer 2024, summer programs, summer reading, summer reading game, teen events, teens, The Edge, and The Trove.

Healthy Summer Meals

Healthy Summer Meals

Update: Monday-Friday through August 23 (formerly August 30), the Library is excited to offer healthy meals in partnership with the White Plains City School District. Meals are available only for youth up to age 18 and must be eaten in the Library’s Gallery.  Meals will be provided, while supplies last, 11:30am – 1:00pm.  
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July 15, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: community, food for kids, food for teens, and summer meals.

Good Trouble: Make a Difference

Good Trouble: Make a Difference

This installment of Good Trouble features three books for older kids about ways they can make a positive difference in the world. Make Your Mark, Make a Difference: A Kid’s Guide to Standing Up for People, Animals, and the Planet by Joan Marie Galat Library Catalog Broken into four parts – Examine Your World, Animal and Earth Issues, People Issues, and Change is Everywhere – Galat’s work first encourages kids to learn about activism, then work towards choosing a cause that means something to them by introducing them to various issues Earth-wide, before finally giving some interesting out-of-the-box suggestions for
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July 11, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, climate activism, climate change, Good Trouble, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Summer Programs for Younger Kids

Summer 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. Yoga for Kids! Ages 5-9 Mondays, 2:00 p.m. – July 1, 8, 15, 22; August 5, 12 Ticket required.  Please pick up
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June 23, 2024 10:35 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, June 2024, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

New Books in the Trove: June 2024

New Books in the Trove: June 2024

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 Wee Ones Flora and Friends ABC by Molly Idle (Birth to 3 years-old) Library Catalog “Molly Idle has GOT to stop being as good at her job as she is. Seriously, this is beginning to become a problem. To the best of my knowledge, there are only three Caldecott Honorees that regularly pour their hearts and souls into their original board book creations. One you’ve already seen in Juana Martinez-Neal and her
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June 18, 2024 9:49 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, 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.

Good Trouble: LGBTQ Icons

Good Trouble: LGBTQ Icons

This installment of Good Trouble features a few books about the activists and icons of the fight for LGBTQ rights. The first six titles in this month’s Good Trouble are collections of short biographies of LGBTQ activists and icons.  While there is some overlap, these six books do a wonderful job of introducing a wide variety of more and less well-known, historical and contemporary, individuals – such as Ian McKellan, Krsiten Stewart, Freddy McConnell, Laverne Cox, Bayard Rustin, Jonathan Van Ness, Jazz Jennings, Francisco Manicongo, We’Wha, Alla Nazimova, George Michael, Leonard Bernstein, James Baldwin, Virginia Woolf, Alvin Ailey, Larry Kramer,
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June 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Alla Nazimova, Alvin Ailey, Bayard Rustin, Francisco Manicongo, Freddy McConnell, George Michael, Good Trouble, James Baldwin, Jazz Jennings, John Lewis, Jonathan Van Ness, Krsiten Stewart, Larry Kramer, Laverne Cox, Leonard Bernstein, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Pride, LGBTQIA+, McKellan, Pride Month, staff picks, staff recommendations, Virginia Woolf, and We’Wha.

June Programs for Younger Kids

June 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. – June 4, 18 Fridays, 11:00 a.m. – June 14,
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May 27, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Activities for children in Westchester, activities for children in White Plains, children's events, dance, June 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 continues a look at the strong connections between music and activism. Part 1 can be found here. Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio, art by Charlotte Riley-Webb Library Catalog Discover some of Billie Holiday’s music Billie Holiday was no stranger to racism and prejudice, and when she was given Abel Meeropol’s song “Strange Fruit” – a song about lynchings and violence in the South – she embued it with her own pain. She did not know how the song would be received. She knew, as her mother
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May 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, civil rights, Good Trouble, Jean Ritchie, John Lewis, music and protest, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

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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May 2, 2024 12:10 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: children's event in white plains, Downtown Music, Meet the String Quartet, music event in White Plains, and The Trove.

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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May 1, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Gallery and Library News.
Tags: art exhibit, art gallery, Fashion show, and SWBOCES.

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, 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.

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, Homepage Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, climate activism, environmental activism, environmentalism, Good Trouble, greta thunberg, John Lewis, staff picks, and staff recommendations.