Archives for Featured

National African American Music Month

National African American Music Month

I love music and it has always been a part of my life. From an early age, I have loved jazz, blues, rock n’ roll and alternative music. Now, more than ever, it is important to celebrate African American Music Appreciation Month. I have chosen artists (available on Hoopla) and a few videos that have captured my ear and heart. Black Violin: Stereotypes One of my favorite elements in art is when a musician blends different genres of music that might seem incompatible. Black Violin is a duo of artists who have successfully blended classical music with hip-hop. I had
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June 2, 2020 2:16 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: African American Music Month, hoopla, Observances and Celebrations, and staff recommendations.

National Trails Day

National Trails Day

One fun activity that has kept us grounded is hiking. Hiking is free, fun, and adventurous, so why not plan a trip for National Trails Day (June 6)? According to the American Hiking Society, spending some time outdoors is great for mental and physical health. Also, if you have children, you can make a day trip by putting together a wonderful picnic to take on your journey. I also love taking photos, so I decided to create a scrapbook of our hiking adventures since it has brought us so much joy during COVID-19. To create a scrapbook you need a
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June 2, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Hiking, National Trails Day, and Observances and Celebrations.

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

You’ll frequently read about my daughter in my blog posts and newsletter, so in the spirit of #WFH, I decided to start making videos with her. Throughout, we will engage with the text and each other, in a process known as Dialogic Reading, which is a super-fancy way of saying we have a conversation about the book we are reading as we read it. Dialogic Reading is an important and effective way of increasing your child’s pre-reading skills and early literacy. And, it’s fun. While you read, don’t just read to your child. Ask them questions. Discuss pictures. Have them
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June 2, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Daddy Daughter, Daddy Daughter Storytime, DDST, Girl Power, Kid Lit Quarantine, STEAM, storytime, and videos.

National Road Trip Day

National Road Trip Day

As spring and summer approach, it is becoming harder to stay at home. Even though the world is slowly opening up, a lot of zoos, museums, and national parks remain closed. Experiencing life to its fullest is the preferable way to live; however, we still have to be cautious about what we do. Why not celebrate National Road Trip Day (June 3rd) and try to do a virtual road trip with your family and friends? Museums, zoos, landmarks, aquariums, and national parks are all offering videos and tours that you can access from your home. This is a new reality
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May 29, 2020 1:24 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: National Road Trip Day and Observances and Celebrations.

Edge Read Aloud

Edge Read Aloud

La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One, by Philip Pullman Young Adult Librarian will be reading short sections from La Belle Sauvage starting Monday, June 1st at 2:00 p.m. on Instagram and Wednesday, June 3 at 9:30 p.m. on Facebook. These videos will stay up for 24 hours so be sure to watch them before they are taken down. The Book of Dust is a prequel series to Pullman’s His Dark Materials books, which is now a series on HBO. Lyra Belacqua is just a baby when Malcolm Polstead finds a mysterious object with a cryptic message. Malcolm
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May 29, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Edge Read Aloud, read aloud, and videos.

Author Visit: Erika Liodice

Author Visit: Erika Liodice

On Wednesday, June 10th at 4:00 p.m., author Erika Liodice will join us for an author visit to read her book Rookie of the Year, part of the High Flyers series. Rocket’s got speed. He’s got talent, along with two blue racing stripes on his wings. There’s only one thing standing between this rookie racing pigeon and his dream of scoring a spot on the High Flyers racing team: ground school. I interviewed Erika over email, and here's what she had to say about her career: “I’ve had a curious mind and heart and wrote my first book when I
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May 28, 2020 3:17 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: author visit, Erika Liodice, events, and High Flyers.

Virtual Tabletop Games

Virtual Tabletop Games

Do you miss playing board games and card games with your friends at the Library? Join Librarians Ashley and Erik on Monday, June 1 & June 15 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. to play tabletop games virtually. We use the platform boardgamearena.com to play the games, and have a conversation on Zoom. To join us, first create a free account on boardgamearena.com and login. Make a note of your username. Sign onto the Zoom link to talk to Ashley and Erik so you can tell us what games you would like to play, get instructions on how to play, and chat with
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May 28, 2020 1:03 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: events and tabletop games.

Pride Month: Chapter Books

Pride Month: Chapter Books

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. June is Pride Month! Here are some recommendations of chapter books to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community! The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy For children in grades 3-7. Hoopla: Audio OverDrive: Audio and eBook Rahul Kapoor and his best friend Chelsea
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May 28, 2020 12:58 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: chapter books, Observances and Celebrations, Pride Month, and staff recommendations.

Coming Soon: Curbside Pickup

Coming Soon: Curbside Pickup

We are working at getting the Library in order— reconfiguring our work spaces to create a better experience for staff—but we are excited that we have two milestones coming up. On Monday, June 8 our book drop will open (24/7) and we're ready for you to return materials. There will be no fines on material returned now until 30 days after the building opens to the public. Please note that all material will be quarantined for 72 hours before being checked in and reshelved, following the latest guidelines from the CDC and best practices around sanitizing surfaces. So be patient
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May 28, 2020 12:34 pm | by | 5 Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: curbside pickup and library update.

Virtual Book Display: Celebrate Pride Month!

Virtual Book Display: Celebrate Pride Month!

LGBTQ+ Pride Month was established in the month of June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969, and are credited as the birth of the gay civil rights movement. The month is dedicated to celebrating the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ+ people around the world. To celebrate, here are notable titles that emphasize love, respect, community, understanding, and of course, pride: Picture Books: Chapter Books: Nonfiction:  
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May 28, 2020 12:05 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: chapter books, children's literature, Observances and Celebrations, picture books, Pride Month, staff picks, staff recommendations, and virtual book display.

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

You’ll frequently read about my daughter in my blog posts and newsletter, so in the spirit of #WFH, I decided to start making videos with her. Throughout, we will engage with the text and each other, in a process known as Dialogic Reading, which is a super-fancy way of saying we have a conversation about the book we are reading as we read it. Dialogic Reading is an important and effective way of increasing your child’s pre-reading skills and early literacy. And, it’s fun. While you read, don’t just read to your child. Ask them questions. Discuss pictures. Have them
Read More

May 28, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Daddy Daughter, Daddy Daughter Storytime, DDST, Kid Lit Quarantine, Operation Storytime, and storytime.

Pride Month: YA

Pride Month: YA

The last couple years have seen an avalanche of excellent YA fiction featuring a broad range of LGBTQIA+ characters. This made it difficult to pick one to review for Pride Month, which is a very good problem to have. I ultimately chose We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra, and absolutely loved it. The story is told entirely through the letters of two high school students randomly paired up for an English assignment. At first, dedicated Walt Whitman cosplayer Jonathan Hopkins and football star Adam Kurlansky seem totally incompatible. But as the weeks pass, their lives slowly intertwine. Jo and Kurl
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May 28, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: LGBTQIA+, Observances and Celebrations, Pride Month, staff recommendations, YA Fiction, and YA literature.

Pandemic Paraphernalia Photos

Pandemic Paraphernalia Photos

Calling all photographers — professional and amateur — of all ages: to celebrate National Photography Day on June 15th, we’re asking for your submissions and have provided prompts for you below. Photographs submitted will be shared in our weekly newsletters (adult submissions in This Week on Martine and kids and teen submissions in What’s the Story?), and they will be added to our Documenting COVID-19: White Plains Experiences collection. So please, take a look at our prompts, or get creative and submit your photos below. Ideas: Empty White Plains streets COVID cleaning supplies Work from home work area Home Schooling
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May 28, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: covid-19, COVID19, Documenting COVID-19, photography, photography prompt, and white plains.

Documenting COVID-19:
Corona Crisis Franken-Poem

Documenting COVID-19: <br />Corona Crisis Franken-Poem

Below is a “Dr. Covid Franken-poem” assembled by White Plains Library's Poetry Slammaster Eric “Zork” Alan. Assembled from pieces of far more fantastic source poems in our monthly poetry prompt [Poets: Romina [Age 46], Nicholas Kalaj [Age 28], Nava D. Pollak [Age 11], and anonymous. Dr. Covid Franken-poem Like a Frankenstein future made properly present Piece by piece Our scars will be seen for our next generations of usersLike wondrous wheels Socially spaced we carry heavy weight Together It’s a beautiful bicycle We ride in a worrisome winter Down empty streets Across sidewalks we are separated But somehow social Dirty
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May 27, 2020 2:34 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: community poem, covid-19, COVID19, Documenting COVID-19, poem, poetry, and white plains.

Documenting COVID-19:
“The Dirty Glove”

Documenting COVID-19: <br />“The Dirty Glove”

“The Dirty Glove” is a poem submitted by Nicholas Kalaj, age 28. The Dirty Glove I do my job to keep these hand clean, I protect these hand from bacterias and germs that can’t be seen. I sacrifice my cleanliness for it is my job to do so, Into the green container is where the trash will go. Keeping these hands clean is my sole purpose, To clean this building is indeed a good service. Being busy is a blessing than a curse, Optimism is good because things could be far worse. Submit your own experience.
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May 27, 2020 2:26 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: covid-19, COVID19, Documenting COVID-19, poem, poetry, and white plains.

Documenting COVID-19:
A Bicycle on the Move

Documenting COVID-19: <br />A Bicycle on the Move

A poem, “a bicycle on the move,” submitted by Romina, age 46. A bicycle on the move A bicycle on the move Maintenance, did you say? Tires are getting low Too many holes in the road Bumps have affected my shape And I am carrying a heavy weight The breeze feels refreshing but cold Cold gets into my inner emptiness Emptiness. Is that how it feels? What’s wrong? Other bikes are riding along… I have no clear path or freedom There is fog menacing my wisdom Sounds of nature are suddenly close I feel the soft soil embracing my rubbery
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May 27, 2020 2:26 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: community poem, covid-19, COVID19, Documenting COVID-19, poem, poetry, and white plains.

Documenting COVID-19:
“A Pen” Poem

Documenting COVID-19: <br />“A Pen” Poem

Poem submitted by Nava D. Pollak, age 11. A pen That never stops using words A unique fountain pen Who’s nib points flat down, Yet up To let ink out just right Fill it up in the color you want Make it yours Right now this pen feels alive So much extra time to write But this pen is so sad For in the wrong hands this pen Writes things learns things A poor pen shouldn’t have to know But this pen can be used by a child A child who finds the obvious topic EXTREMELY BORING In those hands
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May 27, 2020 2:26 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: community poem, covid-19, COVID19, Documenting COVID-19, poem, poetry, and white plains.

STEAM at Home: International Dinosaur Day

STEAM at Home: International Dinosaur Day

Dinosaurs roamed the earth sixty five-million years ago and children are fascinated by these ancient creatures. Whether it’s because of their size, movie lore, history or extinction, dinosaurs have always been popular among children. To celebrate International Dinosaur Day (June 1st), I'll guide you through our latest STEAM at Home experiment. One of my favorite STEAM activities is the Frozen Dino Egg experiment. For this experiment, you need a few items: miniature dinosaurs balloons water scissors First, try to stretch the top part of the balloon and place a miniature dinosaur in it. Next place the balloon right at the
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May 27, 2020 2:07 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: International Dinosaur Day, Observances and Celebrations, STEAM, STEAM activities, STEAM at home, and STEM.

Bilingual Picture Books

Bilingual Picture Books

Here are some digital titles for you and your family. Whether you enjoy traditional tales or totally new stories, we trust you can find a title for every taste in your family. Aquí le ofrecemos algunos títulos digitales para usted y su familia. Ya sea que disfrute cuentos tradicionales o cuentos totalmente nuevos, aquí podrá encontrar un título para cada gusto en su familia. Hands Are Not For Hitting / Las manos no son para pegar, by Martine Agassi. (Available as eBook on OverDrive) Baby Shark / Bebé tiburón, by John John Bajet. (Available as eBook on OverDrive) The Sad,
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May 27, 2020 2:03 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Bilingual books, children's literature, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

You’ll frequently read about my daughter in my blog posts and newsletter, so in the spirit of #WFH, I decided to start making videos with her. Throughout, we will engage with the text and each other, in a process known as Dialogic Reading, which is a super-fancy way of saying we have a conversation about the book we are reading as we read it. Dialogic Reading is an important and effective way of increasing your child’s pre-reading skills and early literacy. And, it’s fun. While you read, don’t just read to your child. Ask them questions. Discuss pictures. Have them
Read More

May 26, 2020 10:50 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Daddy Daughter, Daddy Daughter Storytime, DDST, Kid Lit Quarantine, Operation Storytime, storytime, and videos.