Archives for Authors & Books

Holocaust Remembrance Author Event

Holocaust Remembrance Author Event

The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides. To find out more, click here. Find our OverDrive/Libby reading list here. Holocaust Remembrance Day Virtual Author Visit Thursday, January 27th 4:30–5:30 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link. Join us for a visit from author Michelle Bisson to discuss her book, Hedy's
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January 14, 2022 10:01 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: Holocaust Remembrance, Holocaust Remembrance Day, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Observances and Celebrations.

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks are a selection of odd, funny, interesting, curious, moving, irreverent, and otherwise wonderfully awesome, but perhaps not well known, reads. Peculiar Picks are books for younger readers and their grown-ups, handpicked by the Library's Youth Services Manager, Joshua Carlson. While looking for dragon books for the October 14, 2021 Peculiar Picks, I discovered there are so many awesome dragon books, so, there will be more draconic Peculiar Picks, including this one, to come, some around certain recurring themes. This month, we look at dragons and their eating habits. What do you think dragons like to eat? The Yin
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January 13, 2022 10:00 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, dragons, Peculiar Picks, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Children’s Nonfiction Titles to Celebrate Black History Part 1

Children’s Nonfiction Titles to Celebrate Black History Part 1

The banning of children’s books on Black history (And children’s books on the LGBTQIA+ experience) has greatly risen recently throughout the United States. Students and teachers are fighting back. One student and teacher victory (for now) led to the rescinding of a book ban instituted by the Central York Pennsylvania School District board. Alyssa Shotwell wrote in her article in the Mary Sue, “Last year, heated school debates resulted in the York, Pennsylvania schools banning (and, in some cases, holding ongoing ‘reviews’ of) a four-page list of materials. In the list sent to teachers across the Central York District, books
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January 12, 2022 10:46 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Black History, black history month, Dive into Diversity, Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Observances and Celebrations.

Most Popular 2021 Checkouts

Most Popular 2021 Checkouts

Below is a list of the 2021 top 5 most popular fiction, nonfiction, films, TV shows, children's books, and YA titles based on the number of times they've been checked out from our collection. We told you what our staff loved last year, well, here's what was most popular among your fellow Library patrons. I'm sure you'll notice a few trends – our patrons really love mysteries, intrigue, cookbooks, and Peppa Pig! Fiction The Affair by Danielle Steel (Library Collection / OverDrive & Libby) The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Library Collection / OverDrive & Libby) The Bounty: a
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January 11, 2022 3:28 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, books, end of year lists, film, patron favorites, top checkouts, and tv.

January 2022 LibraryReads

January 2022 LibraryReads

Here are the books published this month that librarians across the country love. The Maid by Nita Prose Library Collection: Print OverDrive & Libby: eBook / Audiobook “As a maid in a posh hotel, Molly is very proud of her work and the care she takes of the guests, even though she often has difficulty navigating social cues. When she finds a wealthy guest dead, she never imagines she has the keys to uncover a killer, and finds, after the death of her beloved Gran, there are many people willing to help her. For fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely
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January 11, 2022 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, librarian recommendations, Library Reads, LibraryReads, and staff picks.

Battle of the Books… Club!

Battle of the Books… Club!

Join librarians Kat and Lauren for a new book club in the new year. We'll meet each month for a book discussion and a game, in the beloved Battle of the Books (BOB) trivia format. Read some awesome books and then team up with your friends to show off your book knowledge in a fast-paced tournament. We have so much fun with our annual Battle of the Books tournament, and we're excited to be able to offer BOB events year-round. In January, we're reading It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas. We'll meet on Monday, January 3rd, at 5:00
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December 15, 2021 3:20 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: battle of the books, book club, book clubs for teens, and book discussion.

Project LIT Book Club for Kids & Tweens

Project LIT Book Club for Kids & Tweens

Wednesday, January 12th 4:30–5:45 p.m. Click here to register. Join librarians Ashley and Caroline for a book discussion and trivia game for 4th to 8th graders. We will be reading When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. We will provide a free copy of the book for the first five individuals to register for the discussion. When the books are available, we will email to arrange pickup; please list an email address when registering. You can place a hold on the print book with your library card using our catalog here. If you prefer the eBook, you
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December 15, 2021 3:13 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: book club, book discussion, kids book club, Project Lit, and Project Lit Community.

Feliz Navidad y Feliz Día de Reyes

Feliz Navidad y Feliz Día de Reyes

Se acerca la temporada navideña, y con ella, las reuniones con amigos y familiares. Entre bromas, recuerdos, nuestros platillos preferidos y varias generaciones alrededor de la mesa, recordamos lo mejor que la vida nos ofrece. Esperamos que disfruten de esta muestra de recursos en español y/o bilingües de la Biblioteca para ayudarles a festejar esta temporada tan especial. ¡Feliz Navidad, Feliz Año Nuevo, Feliz Día de Reyes! Celebra la Navidad y el Día de los Reyes Magos con Pablo y Carlitos, por Alma Flor Ada. La Biblioteca / eBook Las Navidades: popular Christmas songs from Latin America, por Lulu Delacre.
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December 14, 2021 3:04 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Christmas, dia de reyes, and Navidad.

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks are a selection of odd, funny, interesting, curious, moving, irreverent, and otherwise wonderfully awesome, but perhaps not well known, reads. Peculiar Picks are books for younger readers and their grown-ups, handpicked by the Library's Youth Services Manager, Joshua Carlson. As 2021 wraps up, I thought I’d focus on some of my favorite peculiar picture books of the year that haven’t been featured in other Peculiar Picks posts. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld Library Catalog / eBook Selected as a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book of the Year, I
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December 14, 2021 1:15 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Peculiar Picks, picture books, Spooktober, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Interview with Emily X.R. Pan

Interview with Emily X.R. Pan

Emily X.R. Pan, the author of The Astonishing Color of After, sat down with our Forever Young Adult Book Club last month to answer questions and chat with patrons. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming Forever Young Adult meetings, special guests, and crafts! We'll be discussing Miss Meteor on December 16th and The Bear and the Nightingale on January 27th, both at 7:00 p.m. The Astonishing Color of After, a New York Times bestseller, follows the story of Leigh Chen Sanders. Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, loses her mother to suicide. Leigh begins seeing a magnificent, fantastical
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December 14, 2021 9:18 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Events, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: author discussion, author event, book club, book discussion, Emily X.R. Pan, Forever Young Adult, Forever Young Adult Book Club, meet the author, Young adult, young adult books, and young adult fiction.

December 2021 LibraryReads

December 2021 LibraryReads

Here are the books published this month that librarians across the country love. The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale Library Collection: Print OverDrive & Libby: eBook / Audiobook “Delphine is returning to Paris to choreograph her own ballet. Here she meets up with her lifelong friends and fellow dancers Margaux and Lindsay. This absorbing and thrilling character-driven novel explores the world of ballet and its mysteries and secrets. Give to fans of Luster, Trust Exercise, and My Dark Vanessa.”—Terri Smith, Cornelia Library, Mt. Airy, GA Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim Library Collection: Print OverDrive & Libby: eBook “Hauntingly
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December 11, 2021 3:31 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: librarian recommendations, Library Reads, library staff picks, and LibraryReads.

Dive Into Diversity: 2021 Releases

Dive Into Diversity: 2021 Releases

White Plains is a wonderfully diverse community! Parents, children, and teens have expressed an interest in titles that reflect the diversity in the community, and Ashley, Kathlyn, and Raquel's “Dive Into Diversity” column will spotlight noteworthy children's and teen titles that are inclusive, diverse, and multicultural to fulfill that interest. Ashley's portion is aimed at readers in grades 4-6. It is absolutely shocking to me that 2021 is winding down! This year has been quite the whirlwind. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds as we head into 2022! There have been a ton of amazing diverse books
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December 10, 2021 10:07 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, and The Trove.

Dive into Diversity: #fREADom to Read

Dive into Diversity: #fREADom to Read

Recently, well-respected, award-winning children’s and teen titles have faced severe, targeted censorship attacks in such states as Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Georgia and Illinois. Award winning titles such as the Newbery-winning title New Kid by Jerry Craft have faced heavy racist and anti-LGBTQIA+ attacks, and we in the Trove wanted to celebrate and support the #fREADom to read them, and all books that affirm the uniqueness and special characteristics of every child and teen. The excellent children’s books highlighted in this blog come from Texas State Representative Matt Krause’s list of over 800 titles (16 pages!) he is seeking “to
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December 9, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: #Freadom to read, banned books, books for children, censorship, children's literature, and Dive into Diversity.

Dive into Diversity: Most Popular YA of 2021

Dive into Diversity: Most Popular YA of 2021

In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. For the last post of 2021, I looked at the circulation data for the YA fiction collection to see which books checked out the most. I came up with this list of the top ten most popular YA fiction books published in 2021, written by authors with diverse perspectives. When You Look
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December 9, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: best of 2021, Dive into Diversity, staff recommendations, YA Fiction, and YA literature.

Remembering Jesse Murry

Remembering Jesse Murry

Jesse Murry was a Black, gay art critic, curator and painter. He was born in 1948 in North Carolina and later moved to nearby Greenburgh to live with an aunt. As a youth he spent a lot of time reading at the White Plains Public Library and became friends with the director, Isabel Duncan Clark, who ended up becoming his legal guardian. He studied at Sarah Lawrence College and lived in a White Plains apartment in the 1970s before moving to New York City in 1979. In the last 14 years of his life he wrote for Arts Magazine, taught
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December 8, 2021 11:18 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Local History.
Tags: Jesse Murry, library history, local history, and White Plains Public Library.

Let’s Draw Cartoons

Let’s Draw Cartoons

Kids, teens, and families are invited to join nationally syndicated award-winning cartoonist Rick Stromoski virtually on Tuesday, December 28th at 2:00 p.m. for a fun workshop to learn how to draw cartoon characters! All participants will need is a stack of paper and something they like to draw with! Participants had a blast when Rick presented his Let’s Draw Monsters! program in October (see below for some examples of work created!) so don’t miss out on this fantastic program! Let’s Draw Cartoons! Tuesday, December 26, 2:00 p.m. Grades 3+, teens, families Access the program here. Note: a free, registered Zoom
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December 7, 2021 1:54 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: cartoons, comics, drawing, drawing workshop for children, drawing workshop for kids in Westchester, learn to draw, and Rick Stromoski.

2021 Staff Favorites

2021 Staff Favorites

The White Plains Library Staff have assembled their picks for the year, featuring cookbooks, DVDs, music, audiobooks, and plenty of plain old books. It's a wonderfully wide-ranging list, full of lots of surprises, and should help with your holiday shopping or just some entertainment for yourself. Enjoy! Below you'll find a list with links to the catalog or resource where they're available as well as a blurb on why staff enjoyed it. Books (Adults) Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir by Christopher Buckley OverDrive & Libby: eBook / Audiobook An funny and touching account of the year writer Christopher Buckley
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December 1, 2021 12:11 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: staff favorites, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Meet Author Scott Reintgen

Meet Author Scott Reintgen

Join us for virtual author visits with Scott Reintgen, author of The Nyxia Triad and the Talespinners series. Book Bunch Wednesday, December 1, 4:30-6 p.m. This event is for children and tweens in grades 4-8. Join librarians Ashley and Kat to discuss Saving Fable, the first book in Scott Reintgen’s Talespinners series. We’ll meet to chat about the book and make a list of questions for Scott, who will join us at 5 p.m. and stay for the rest of the program. The first 10 people to register here will receive a free copy of the book. Please list an
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November 29, 2021 1:13 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: author visits, book clubs for kids, book clubs for teens, book clubs in Westchester, book clubs in White Plains, book discussion, and Project Lit.

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks are a selection of odd, funny, interesting, curious, moving, irreverent, and otherwise wonderfully awesome, but perhaps not well known, reads. Peculiar Picks are books for younger readers and their grown-ups, handpicked by the Library's Youth Services Manager, Joshua Carlson. While the monarchs in these three books each may have outlawed certain activities, by royal decree I do hereby declare “You should read these books!” The Hair Scare by Jeffrey Fisher Library Catalog Much like Al the gnome in Go Big or Go Gnome (featured in Peculiar Picks for NoShave November last year), Radbert is blessed with the ability
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November 17, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, No Shave November, Observances and Celebrations, Peculiar Picks, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Laugh

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Laugh

White Plains is a wonderfully diverse community! Parents, children, and teens have expressed an interest in titles that reflect the diversity in the community, and Ashley, Kathlyn, and Raquel's “Dive Into Diversity” column will spotlight noteworthy children's and teen titles that are inclusive, diverse, and multicultural to fulfill that interest. Ashley's portion is aimed at readers in grades 4-6. National Comedy Day is held on November 7th. To celebrate, here are some humorous diverse book selections that may make you laugh! Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez For children in grades 4-8. Library Collection: Print Hoopla: eBook
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November 16, 2021 2:55 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, humor, staff picks, and staff recommendations.