Archives for Authors & Books

Dive into Diversity: Environmental Activism in Children’s Picture Books

Dive into Diversity: Environmental Activism in Children’s Picture Books

The protection of our planet and its resources is a global concern, and activists worldwide have been and continue to work on saving the planet from environmental destruction – including our younger generations. An interesting site for kids and educators about kid environmental activists and activism that is worth exploring is Young Voices For the Planet, founded by author and illustrator Lynne Cherry who is well-known for her rain forest classic, The Great Kapok Tree. Gathered here are noteworthy picture books (both stories and nonfiction) that are about environmental activists who have helped and are helping to save our world.
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March 23, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Dive into Diversity, Earth Day, environmentalism, Observances and Celebrations, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Dive into Diversity: YA Books in Verse

Dive into Diversity: YA Books in Verse

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 #ownvoices authors, or authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity, as much as possible. This month, in preparation for Poetry Month, I’m highlighting novels (and one memoir) in verse. I love reading books written in this format. In addition to being quick reads, they’re often beautifully written and convey emotion in a unique way. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo Grades 10
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March 23, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Dive into Diversity, national poetry month, novels in verse, Observances and Celebrations, Poetry Month, staff picks, staff recommendations, teen books, and YA books.

March-April Break Week

March-April Break Week

The Library has some awesome events planned during Spring Break Week, March 29th – April 1st! Note: for events taking place within Zoom, a free registered Zoom account is required to access the Library’s youth programs. Get a Zoom account here. I Will Dance – Storytime & Author Visit with author Nancy Bo Flood Monday, March 29, 11:00 a.m. Ages 2-6 Access the program here. Award-winning author Nancy Bo Flood virtually visits the library to read from her book, I Will Dance. More information here. 3D Design & Printing Monday, March 29 – Thursday, April 1, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00
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March 18, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: author visit, children, children's events, edge events, Spring Break, teen events, teens, and trove events.

Storytime & Author Visit: Nancy Bo Flood

Storytime & Author Visit: Nancy Bo Flood

I Will Dance – Storytime & Author Visit with author Nancy Bo Flood Monday, March 29, 11:00 a.m. Ages 2-6 Access the program here. Note: a free registered Zoom account is required to access the Library’s youth programs. Get a Zoom account here. Award-winning author Nancy Bo Flood virtually visits the library to read from her book, I Will Dance. I Will Dance is the story of young Eva, who has cerebral palsy, and learns that nothing can keep her from her dream of dancing. Celebrating diversity and inclusion, confidence, belonging and following one’s dreams, I Will Dance is a
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March 17, 2021 2:13 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: author visit, children's events, meet the author, Nancy Bo Flood, storytime, and trove events.

Transgender Day of Visibility Event

Transgender Day of Visibility Event

The Power of Visibility: Contributions to History by Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Women Wednesday, March 31st 7:00–8:30 p.m. Click here to register. In honor of both Women's History Month and March 31st being International Transgender Day of Visibility, The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center invites you to an informative and interactive event highlighting the contributions made to history by women of trans and GNC experience. From the Zuni leader We'wha to Biden nominee Dr. Rachel Levine, utilizing archival multimedia footage we will present both about the individual themselves and the context of history which made their journey notable. Join us for
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March 16, 2021 5:33 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: adult events, gender non-conforming, International Transgender Day of Visibility, LGBTQ+, Observances and Celebrations, presentations, staff picks, staff recommendations, The LOFT, transgender, and womens history month.

Reads Revisited: Little Women

Reads Revisited: Little Women

For my ninth birthday, my beloved grandparents gave me a beautiful hardcover illustrated copy of Louisa May Alcott’s, Little Women (Library Catalog / OverDrive). I was ecstatic as I was an avid reader and my grandmother told me specifically about how much she loved the book as a young girl. I will never forget that I ran through those 643 pages in only three days. My memories of it are nothing but fond. As I sat down to reread it for this column, I had a very different experience. First, I happened to be at work, so I grabbed a
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March 16, 2021 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's literature, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, and Reads Revisited.

International Transgender Day of Visibility

International Transgender Day of Visibility

Each year, March 31st is celebrated as the International Transgender Day of Visibility. This is a day to honor the experiences and contributions of transgender and gender nonconforming people, and to recognize the discrimination they face. We’ve collected a bunch of children’s and YA books that reflect and celebrate a variety of transgender and gender nonconforming people. Find a collection of related titles on OverDrive here. The Human Rights Campaign Organization’s Welcoming Schools Project has a wealth of curriculum resources for teachers and parents. For further reading, I highly recommend their booklist: Great Diverse Children's Books with Transgender, Non-Binary and
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March 16, 2021 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, International Transgender Day of Visibility, Observances and Celebrations, staff picks, staff recommendations, YA books, and YA Fiction.

STEAM Children’s Books: Math

STEAM Children’s Books: Math

In this new monthly STEAM series, I will highlight some wonderful picture books that fall under a STEAM category: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. In celebrating Women’s History Month we will review some wonderful math books, including biographies of mathematicians, picture and board books. These books can be found in our print collection at The Trove and on OverDrive. At the end of the post, you'll also find some fun and educational websites for kids. Nothing Stopped Sophie by Cheryl Bardoe and Barbara McClintock Library Catalog Sophie Germaine was unstoppable. During the French Revolution, when nothing seemed to be
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March 15, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Observances and Celebrations, picture books, staff picks, staff recommendations, STEAM, STEAM books, STEAM learning, STEM, and womens history month.

Long Live Pi

Long Live Pi

Pi Day is on March 14th, and any day that combines fun, education, and pie is a day worth celebrating! Pi, also known by the Greek letter “π,” is a constant value used in math that represents the ratio of a circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is just about 3.14….15…9265359… (and so on). Not only that, but the fourteenth of March is also Albert Einstein’s birthday, so all together it’s nothing short of a mathematician’s delight. Celebrate Pi Day with some of the titles below, and with our Grab & Go Kit for K-3 that is available
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March 12, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, math, Observances and Celebrations, Pi day, and STEAM.

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. I really enjoy meta-fictional books for younger readers. By this I mean books that are “aware” of their book-ness, or that actively reinforce their book-ness to the reader. For example, characters may interact with the physicality of the book, provide commentary on themselves and their world within the book, or break the fourth wall and address the reader. I’ve
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March 11, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, goldilocks, Peculiar Picks, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

March LibraryReads

March LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love. Find out more here. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner Library Catalog: Print OverDrive & Libby: eBook / Audiobook Hoopla: Audiobook “Caroline travels alone to London after discovering her husband’s betrayal. Looking for a distraction, she finds one while mud larking along the Thames: a small glass vial. Inspired to research its origins, Caroline uncovers a dark tale of poison and murder in the 1700s, where an apothecary owner with a unique talent, a dark past, and a keen sense of revenge meets a young
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March 10, 2021 2:25 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: Library Reads, LibraryReads, reading list, and recommendations.

March Events for Younger Kids

March Events for Younger Kids

Some great regular events for younger children take place all month long. See below for times and access. Note: All youth-focused virtual programs require a registered Zoom account. Creating an account is free and easy at http://zoom.us/signup. Grab & Go: Kits Grab&Go: Kits are fun and educational activities to do at home. Kits are available in a variety of age ranges throughout the month, including AtoZ and special themed PreK level Kits. Dates that new Kits are available for pickup can be found on our online calendar. Trove Storytimes Storytimes for ages 2-6 with Trove Librarians – books, songs and
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March 10, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's events, dance, kids, live music, March 2021, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.

Celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year

Celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year

Please join us on Friday, March 19th for a cultural spring program celebrating the Persian New Year. This year, White Plains Public Library is hosting a reading of The Phoenix of Persia, written by Sally Pomme Clayton and Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif. Afterwards we will work on coloring eggs for the Haftseen. Grab & Go spring bags for our Nowruz program will be available on March 15th. If you are unable to register or pick up a kit, please feel free to join us. You will need white vinegar, eggs, and food coloring or washable markers. Nowruz, or the Persian New
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March 10, 2021 9:25 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Nowruz, Observances and Celebrations, Persian new year, spring, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Parenting: Great Books for Emerging Readers

Parenting: Great Books for Emerging Readers

Read Across America day, March 2nd, has already passed. But with all the media attention it and Dr. Seuss received this year, I wanted to address it. First, some history: Read Across America is the National Education Association’s (NEA) celebration of reading. Since its inception in 1998, it has focused on motivating children and teens to read, emphasizing that reading is about everyone and for everyone. So what is the big deal this year? Read Across America has long been associated with Dr. Seuss. The NEA had a partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to help draw attention to reading. While
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March 9, 2021 9:46 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Dr. Seuss, easy readers, emerging readers, and Read Across America.

WandaVision & Marvel

WandaVision & Marvel

WandaVision is a current cultural phenomenon and a hit that proves longer-form stories and a move to the smaller screen can work for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Take a deep dive into the roots of the show’s funny, magical, dark, twisty, trauma-filled story with these: Vision (2015-2016) Hoopla / Library Catalog House of M Hoopla Vision and the Scarlet Witch: the Saga of Wanda and Vision Library Catalog Marvel-verse: Wanda & Vision Hoopla / Library Catalog Avengers: Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982) Hoopla / Library Catalog Avengers: Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985-1986) Hoopla Scarlet Witch (2015-2017) Hoopla /
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March 8, 2021 11:03 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: Marvel, Scarlet Witch, staff picks, staff recommendations, and WandaVision.

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. Like so many folk and fairy tales, such as The Three Little Pigs, there are many versions of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. For a traditional telling, check out this bilingual version on Hoopla by Candice Ransom or this version by James Marshall on Kanopy. However, since this is Peculiar Picks, here are three of my
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February 24, 2021 11:40 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, goldilocks, Peculiar Picks, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Perfect Picture Book Biographies for Women’s History Month!

Perfect Picture Book Biographies for Women’s History Month!

Congress first designated March as Women’s History Month in 1987 to honor and celebrate women’s achievements and contributions to American history. The beginnings of the March celebration of women and their important accomplishments started much earlier, however. Kate Hannigan writes in her blog, “Like any great creation, Women’s History Month traces its roots to the tiniest seed of an idea—or in this case, a single date on the calendar: National Woman’s Day. First observed on February 28, 1909, it was organized by the Socialist Party of America to call for equal rights for women on the job and at the
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February 24, 2021 10:00 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Observances and Celebrations, picture book biographies, picture books, staff picks, staff recommendations, and womens history month.

Dive into Diversity: YA Romance

Dive into Diversity: YA Romance

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 #ownvoices authors, or authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity, as much as possible. Predictably, the February edition highlights books that feature romance as a central plot element. Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon Grades 9 and up OverDrive; Library Catalog I was excited to read David Yoon's next book after loving Frankly in Love when I read it in 2019, and
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February 23, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Dive into Diversity, romance, staff picks, staff recommendations, teen books, YA books, and YA Fiction.

Dive into Diversity: Comics Edition

Dive into Diversity: Comics Edition

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. The graphic novel section in the Trove is one of our most loved collections. Read on for some recommendations of great diverse graphic novels and be on the lookout for a new kids comic book discussion club that we’ll be starting
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February 23, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: comics, Dive into Diversity, graphic novels, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Dive into Diversity: Girl Power

Dive into Diversity: Girl Power

To celebrate Women’s History Month, I have gathered together ten diverse titles with feisty and loving girl protagonists. Most are recently published titles and all are available as eBooks on OverDrive, or can be obtained by placing holds on the titles through the library catalog and picked up at the Library. For further reading, I also recommend: “55 Multicultural Picture Books About Strong Female Role Models”, a “Girl Power” booklist from Colours of Us (a website dedicated to multicultural children’s books) as a good resource for both nonfiction and fictional picture books to celebrate Women’s History Month. With all these
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February 23, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, Observances and Celebrations, staff picks, staff recommendations, and womens history month.