Archives for Homepage Kids

Tiny Tales: If You’re Going to the Pool

Tiny Tales: If You’re Going to the Pool

Welcome to our new series of Tiny Tales videos! Tiny Tales are short “bite-sized” song and story videos. Watch one for a short early literacy break, or a few for a whole storytime! You can find all of our Tiny Tales videos, including the thirty six videos in the previous series, right here! Today’s video features Trove librarian Ms. Lauren presenting “If You’re Going to the Pool.” Tiny Tales are made possible with support from the White Plains Library Foundation.
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September 7, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: library storytime recording, library storytime video, online library storytime, storytime, The Trove, Tiny Tales, video, videos, virtual library storytime, westchester libraries, westchester library storytime, white plains library, and white plains new york.

Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness Practice

Transitions can be tricky, and it takes some practice to adjust to circumstances that are beyond our control. Whether it’s watching your child graduate from kindergarten, starting a new job, or getting used to a post-pandemic world, transitions can be overwhelming for most people. During this phase, transitioning from one type of life to another, complex emotions often arise that make us feel overwhelmed, anxious, worried, or frustrated. I have been practicing mindfulness for over ten years now and still have a lot to learn. However, I can honestly state that the practice of Zen meditation, yoga and mindfulness has
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September 6, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: kids books, Meditation, mindfulness, staff picks, staff recommendations, and stress management.

Fall STEM Programs for Kids & Teens

Fall STEM Programs for Kids & Teens

Minecraft for Teens In this session, youth are invited to play Minecraft together online in a safe, learning environment. Activities will include working together to survive in a randomly generated world and/or building things collectively in creative mode. All are welcome to partake in some fun with library friends and Digital Media Specialist Austin Olney. Participants must own Minecraft (non-java) on either Windows 10, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, or Oculus Rift to join a private server. Email aolney@whiteplainslibrary.org for questions and help. 9/7/2021 Tuesday 4:00-4:45 p.m. 10/5/2021 Tuesday 4:00-4:45 p.m. Fortnite with Friends Ready for some
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August 26, 2021 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: digital technology, STEAM learning, STEM learning, STEM programs for kids, STEM programs for teens, and technology.

Tiny Tales Videos Return

Tiny Tales Videos Return

We are excited to announce there will be new Tiny Tales videos by Trove Librarians starting September 7th. What are Tiny Tales? Tiny Tales are short “bite-sized” song and story videos. Watch one for a little early literacy break, or a few for a whole storytime! Tiny Tales will be available for viewing on the Library’s YouTube channel, social media (Facebook, Instagram), and will be posted here on our website. You can check out the 36 videos that were made earlier this year, right here! Tiny Tales are made possible with support from the White Plains Library Foundation.
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August 25, 2021 5:31 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: library storytime recording, library storytime video, online library storytime, storytime, The Trove, Tiny Tales, video, videos, virtual library storytime, westchester libraries, westchester library storytime, white plains library, and white plains new york.

National Novel Writing Month for Young Novelists

National Novel Writing Month for Young Novelists

Have you heard about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo? It’s a challenge that takes place each year in the month of November, where people work toward writing a book. This fall, we’re hosting a pre-planning writing series for young writers in grades 4 and up who may be interested in writing during NaNoWriMo. Each Thursday at 4:00 p.m., we’ll meet to discuss various elements that make up a novel, and work through the exercises in NaNoWriMo’s Young Novelist Workbook. By the end of the series, participants will have ideas for characters, setting, and plot ready to go, so they
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August 25, 2021 10:28 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: creative writing, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and youth writing workshop.

Fall Virtual Tabletop Games

Fall Virtual Tabletop Games

Need something fun to do after school? Then join librarians Ashley and Erik from the Trove and the Edge to play virtual tabletop games! This program is for children and teens in grades 4 and up. We’ll be meeting on September 20th, October 4th, and October 18th at 4:30 p.m. Some of the games we normally play include 6 nimmt!, 7 Wonders, Solo, Sushi Go!, Go Nuts for Donuts, and Yahtzee. We use the platform boardgamearena.com to play the games while we chat on Zoom. Kids and teens that haven’t attended the program before will need to create a free
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August 24, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: tabletop games, tabletop games for kids, and tabletop games for teens.

Dive into Diversity: Happy Autumn Birthdays!

Dive into Diversity: Happy Autumn Birthdays!

There are so many talented and diverse children’s authors and illustrators to recommend! To highlight them, I have continued with my series of celebrating their birthdays on a seasonal basis. I started with summer, and I can’t believe it, but now it’s time to celebrate Autumn birthdays! I hope you enjoy the great titles below. A great resource to find even more diverse notable titles for kids is We Need Diverse Books’ website, Where Can You Find Diverse Books? Right Here! Happy Autumn birthdays! Writer Aisha Saeed, Birthday: September 2nd Bilal Cooks Daal, illustrated by Anoosha Syed (Grades K-2) OverDrive
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August 19, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: authors and illustrators, autumn, children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Dive into Diversity: School Stories

Dive into Diversity: School Stories

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. As inevitably happens this time of year, summer break is unfortunately coming to an end! Get in the mindset for a new school year by reading one of these awesome diverse school stories! The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson For
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August 19, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: back to school, children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Summer Reading 2021

Summer Reading 2021

Summer Reading at the White Plains Public Library starts Monday, June 28 and will run through Friday, August 20! Due to the impact of COVID-19 on services, Summer Reading will be completely online this year via the READsquared platform, the READsquared website, or the READsquared app, available for iOS and Android. Find information on the great lineup of programs and events for kids, teens and families in July and August here. Get Started! Register and login to READsquared. Individual youth participants can register as themselves, or parents and caregivers can register all of their children at one time. This allows
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August 18, 2021 10:31 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: children, families, Read Squared, summer reading, summer reading game, teens, The Edge, and The Trove.

Summer Programs for Kids & Teens

Summer Programs for Kids & Teens

Summer Reading at White Plains Public Library: 6/28 – 8/20 Summer Reading at the Library kicks off Monday, June 28 and runs through Friday, August 20. Reading activity will be logged online with READSquared. More information on Summer Reading at White Plains Public Library can be found here. Programs for Younger Kids Information on the Library’s storytimes, guest performers and special events for younger children and families can be found here. Programs for Kids in Grades K-6 Information on programs, activities and special events for kids in Grades K-6 can be found here. Programs for Teens in Grades 7-12 Information
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August 18, 2021 10:30 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: book discussion, children's programs, dance, music, performing arts, STEAM, STEM, STEM Camp, summer 2021, summer programs, summer reading, teen programs, The Edge, and The Trove.

Great Podcasts for Parents & Caregivers 2

Great Podcasts for Parents & Caregivers 2

In June, the first Great Podcasts for Parents & Caregivers highlighted podcasts about “Parenting & Caregiving” and “Books, Reading and KidLit.” In this entry, find recommendations in the topics of “Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Antiracism & Social Justice,” “Health & Wellness,” and “Parenting & Caregiving,” as well as featuring the local podcast, Ground Truthing, produced by the Westchester Children’s Association. In addition, be sure to check out our other Great Podcasts recommendations for kids and teens. Most of these podcasts should be available on any service you use to listen to podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google
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August 18, 2021 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Great Podcasts, Great Podcasts for parents and caregivers, parenting, podcasts, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Going to School

Going to School

As we start thinking about going to school, either for the very first time or once again, the idea can bring with it sweet memories of best friends and fun activities; or the fear and anxiety of the unknown. Read these titles with your children and start the conversation of how much fun school can be. Mi Escuela / My School, by George Ancona. Library Catalog The King of Kindergarten, by Derrick Barnes. Library Catalog / OverDrive & Libby The Bus For Us, by Suzanne Bloom. Library Catalog Biscuit Goes to School, by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. Library Catalog / OverDrive
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August 12, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: back to school, children's books, children's literature, staff picks, staff recommendations, and The Trove.

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. Today’s Peculiar Picks features girls who befriend monsters, frequently proving to others that there is more to someone than their appearance while dismantling prejudiced ideas and stereotypes. Lula and the Sea Monster by Alex Latimer OverDrive & Libby / hoopla / Library Catalog Lula and the Sea Monster is such a delightful book about friendship, along with some environmentalism.
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August 12, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, monsters, Peculiar Picks, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Great Podcasts for Kids 3

Great Podcasts for Kids 3

Continuing the series of Great Podcasts for Kids, here are some more excellent podcasts for your kids, and you, to enjoy, on a variety of topics and themes selected by Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. Be sure to also check out the other posts in this series: Great Podcasts for Kids 1 Great Podcasts for Kids 2 Great Podcasts for Teens Great Podcasts for Parents and Caregivers 1 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. If you have some
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August 11, 2021 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Great Podcasts, Great Podcasts for Kids, podcasts, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Parenting: Moving

Parenting: Moving

Big changes like moving are hard for everyone, but especially hard for children. Here are some things I learned from my move last year, tips from the pros, and some nice books you can share with your children to prepare them. My five-year-old son was afraid that he would forget his old house. Mind you, this was after we convinced him that all his toys would, in fact, be coming to the new house with us. So, we decided to have him make a video tour of the old house. He went from room to room, explained what he did
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August 11, 2021 9:08 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: parenting and parenting tips.

Dive Into Diversity: Happy Summer Birthdays!

Dive Into Diversity: Happy Summer Birthdays!

There are so many talented and diverse children’s authors and illustrators being published! To celebrate them, I have decided to celebrate their birthdays on a seasonal basis starting with summer, and hopefully continuing throughout the year 2021-22. I was greatly inspired by Eric VanRaepenbusch’s website, Happy Birthday Author, and highly recommend it! VanRaepenbusch’s website focuses on creating “memorable reading experiences by celebrating author and Illustrator birthdays.” He has engagingly documented the authors and illustrators he as a homeschooling parent has studied with his children, and the STEAM activities they have done together to create an incredible resource for other parents
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July 26, 2021 11:31 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Shadow Puppetry Performances and Workshop

Shadow Puppetry Performances and Workshop

Firelight Shadow Theater presents two pre-recorded performances available for viewing from July 11 – July 30. Me and My Shadow is for PreK and family audiences, while Spin Me a Shadow, Tell Me a Tale is for Grades K-5 audiences. Then, on August 11, kids in Grades 2-5 are invited to take part in a shadow puppetry workshop. As Daniel Barash of Firelight Shadow Theater says, “See you in the land of shadows!” Me and My Shadow PreK, families Pre-recorded show accessible July 11 – July 30 Access the video here starting July 11. After first introducing youngsters to the
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July 23, 2021 10:33 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's events, Firelight Shadow Theater, shadow puppetry, shadow puppets, The Trove, and trove events.

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Go on a Trip

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Go on a Trip

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’s summer break and perhaps your family is traveling! If that isn’t the case, here are a few recommendations of great diverse stories about going on a journey that you can stay home and enjoy! Fly on the Wall by Remy
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July 23, 2021 9:50 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, juvenile fiction, staff picks, staff recommendations, and travel.

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. Here’s Part 3 of Peculiar Picks of books based on songs, uplifting and positive. Here are Part 1 and Part 2. Note: I recommend caregivers listen to the music for themselves before sharing with their child to determine if they feel it is appropriate for their child. Let’s Dance adapted from lyrics by David Bowie, illustrated by Hannah Marks
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July 15, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, music, Peculiar Picks, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Great Podcasts for Kids 2

Great Podcasts for Kids 2

Summer’s not over yet and that may mean you have some car trips coming up. Or, perhaps, you just want to give your kids some screen-free learning opportunities? Here are some excellent podcasts, on a variety of topics and themes, to enjoy, selected by Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. Also, be sure to check out Part 1 in this series of podcast recommendations as well as recommendations for Great Podcasts for Parents and Caregivers. 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
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July 14, 2021 10:00 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.