Archives for Library News

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month began in the United States in 1949 by the Mental Health America organization. In her Publisher’s Weekly article, “Mental Health and Middle Graders,” Shannon Maughan writes, “A 2019 article in JAMA Pediatrics cites data revealing that one in six youths ages six to 17 experience a mental health disorder in a given year, and that in 2016, 16.5% of U.S. youths ages six to 17 (7.7 million people) experienced a mental health disorder.” To read her article in full click here. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, I have gathered together noteworthy books for younger
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Kids, and Library News.

Library Launches Documenting COVID-19 Collection

We're living in unprecedented times. Many of us are working from home and adapting to shared living spaces, childcare demands, and social isolation. Others have had health challenges or find themselves unemployed. Meanwhile, we hear examples of adaptation and education, creativity and bravery. Our lives have continued in new ways. For these reasons, the Library—with your help—is creating a new collection: Documenting COVID-19: White Plains Experiences. The Library wants to hear about you, what you're doing, how you're doing, what you see outside your window. Contributions to the Library’s collection can be anything, from a three-line poem to a 200-page
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Categories: COVID-19, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Offline Technology Projects: Ideas for Parents

How to Create a Phenakistoscope How to Make a High-Quality Flip Book How to Make a Holographic Illusion Pyramid Code a Lego Maze DIY Cipher Device DIY Chess Set DIY Maze for Kids to Make How to Make a 3D Topographic Map How to Make Collage Art Using Magazine Clippings Ultimate Beginner’s Perler Bead Guide Easy Graph Paper Art for Kids The 8-step guide to creating and publishing your own comic book How to Make a Storyboard for Film Printable PDF Version: Offline Technology Projects Ideas for Parents GRAPHIC DESIGN How to Make Collage Art Using Magazine Clippings
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Categories: COVID-19, Homepage, Kids, Library News, Technology, and Teens.

Parenting: Sensory Needs at Home

Parents, teachers, special education service providers, and everyone who works with children are doing everything they can during these unprecedented times to help our children thrive. One thing many younger children are missing out on in this at home environment is sensory input. This is important for not only our children who have sensory issues (most common in children with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD), but also for typically developing children. As a parent whose son seeks sensory input constantly, I have been working with his service providers to give him as much as possible. I started out this quarantine
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Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Hoopla Staff Picks: American Songbook & Broadway

Possibly our most dynamic digital resource, Hoopla includes a variety of different formats from books to movies and music. In order to highlight some of these, we've gathered staff recommendations of just a few formats you can stream and download with your library card. Below are some album recommendations from Adult Services & Local History Librarian Austin Duffy and Adult Services Librarian Sharon Rothman. The Great American Songbook picks from Austin: Bing Crosby. Bing Sings the Great American Songbook. Short, breezy covers of classics like “Manhattan” and “I’ve Got A Crush On You.” Nancy Wilson. The Great American Songbook. Elegant,
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Census: Not too Late to Count

During this time when it can be difficult to find a way to help our city, there is a very important thing you can do to support it – and the best part is that it can be done from your own home. If you haven't responded to the Census yet, take 10 minutes to shape our future for the next 10 years. Online, phone, and mailed self-responses continue through October 31st. Complete the Census online here or call (844) 330-2020. Have questions? Give us a call at (914) 448-4859.
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Categories: eNewsletter and Library News.

Hoopla Creative Writing Resources

Writing can be a cathartic and stress-reducing activity, making it well suited to our current reality. Just as reading a good book can be a comfort right now, getting lost in a writing prompt can also be a portal into another world. Luckily, Hoopla offers a wealth of resources for writers of all ages, from children to adults. I’ll start by recommending a creative writing book by one of my favorite authors, Gail Carson Levine. I’ve loved her books since middle school, when I read Ella Enchanted, an original fairy tale about a girl who is cursed with the gift
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

STEAM at Home: Trove Kinetic Sculpture

I know there are a lot of people out there who are big fans of the kinetic sculpture in the Trove. The sculpture was created by Jeffrey Zachmann, a kinetic sculptor from Minnesota. Interested in knowing more about the creator of the Trove’s kinetic sculpture? Watch this interview where Mr. Zachmann discusses his work. At the end of each week’s What’s the Story? Safe At Home newsletter, I’ve been sharing videos of a variety of really cool kinetic sculptures and marble runs as an homage to the kinetic sculpture in the Trove. Those videos I have shared so far have
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Mother’s Day Book Display

Mother’s Day is traditionally celebrated on the second Sunday in May, which falls on the 10th of May this year. Usually in the Spring, Mother’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world! The day honors mothers and grandmothers for their love, nurturing, and care. If you are interested in creating some lovely hand-made flowers for the special moms and grandma’s in your life join Lina Cavalcanti’s craft program by watching the video here. To celebrate the mothers and grandmothers in our lives, I have gathered a collection of fun and noteworthy titles below:  
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Make a Flower Gift for Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day will be here soon! If you’d like to make something for your mom(s) or grandma(s), watch the video below as Lina Cavalcanti shows you how to create hand-painted, paper flowers for your special someone(s). Looking for some books to read with your loved ones? Then check out this collection of Mother's Day themed eBooks I recommended. Using a few basic materials, you can create a unique gift – and have fun in the process! In this craft program video you’ll learn how to hand paint the paper, cut out the petals, and embellish your flowers to make something
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

STEAM at Home: Lava Lamp

Make a Lava Lamp using materials found around your home. Then experiment with it. Materials: Clear glass cup Water Vegetable oil Food dye Alka Seltzer Light – flashlight or lamp Procedure: Fill the glass ¼ full with water. Add some food dye. Fill the rest of the glass with vegetable oil (but not all the way to the top). Break up the Alka Seltzer tablet into 4 pieces. Drop 1 piece of Alka Seltzer into the glass and see what happens. Once it has worked, turn off the rest of the lights in the room and place the glass over
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

National Paranormal Day

As a kid, my journey into reading and loving books began with the paranormal. I devoured Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy books along with R.L Stine’s Fear Street. I quickly moved to comic books like The Maxx, horror books by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and my favorite author Robert R. McCammon. I also began to venture into manga, especially CLAMP, an all-female Japanese writing group that wrote Cardcaptur Sakura, xxxHolic, and Tsubasa. Most of their manga has elements of Japanese mysticism and the occult. With the popularity of Stranger Things, we can see that the paranormal can be a coming
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Free Comic Book Day

While Free Comic Book Day (usually celebrated on the first Saturday of May each year) has been postponed due to the virus, and the Library is unable to host our usual big celebration with fun activities and comics to give away thanks to Aw Yeah! Comics in Harrison, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy some comics at home! To get your comics fix, I do encourage you to check in with your local comic book shops (Find yours here!). Many are doing great virtual events, offering deals on comics to get physical books to you at home by pulling titles
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Enjoy these books about the holiday and more books that celebrate Mexican culture. Books About Cinco de Mayo/May 5th: Celebra el Cinco de Mayo con un jarabe tapatío, by Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy (Spanish) (OverDrive) Marco’s Cinco de Mayo, by Lisa Bullard (Hoopla) Cinco de Mouse-O!, by Judy Cox (Audio-Book) (Hoopla) Cinco de Mayo, by Rachel Grack (Hoopla) Cinco de Mayo, by M.C. Hall
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Hoopla Staff Picks: Grown Up Comics

Possibly our most dynamic digital resource, Hoopla includes a variety of different formats from books to movies and music. In order to highlight some of these, we've gathered staff recommendations of just a few formats you can stream and download with your library card. Below are some graphic novel recommendations from Manager of Youth Services, Josh Carlson. These titles are all phenomenal, but are definitely not for kids. Did you just binge watch The Boys, Locke and Key, The Witcher, or Watchmen? These comics are where those, and other great shows, came from: The Witcher Locke and Key The Umbrella
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, “celebrating the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States….The month of May was chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.”—APAICS Here is a list of eBooks, Audiobooks, and a Graphic Novel celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. All these books can be found on OverDrive on
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

STEAM at Home: Phases of the Moon

The First Friday in May is National Space Day. To celebrate, you and your family can create a fun activity that is also tasty! For a Phases of the Moon Craft you will need a pencil, strips of paper (to write down the phases of the moon), a marker, paper towel, paper/regular plates and cream filled cookies to twist open. Twist off all the cookies and practice math skills by explaining that you now have eight cookies to create your craft. Start with The New Moon by scraping the cream off. Explain that a New Moon is when the moon
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Categories: eNewsletter, Kids, and Library News.

Virtual Table Top Gaming Programs

Do you miss playing fun games with your friends at the library? Join Ashley and Erik from the Trove and the Edge to play virtual table top games! Before our first program, please have your parent or caregiver help you create a free online account on boardgamearena.com. Note: Boardgamearena.com does have a for-pay premium service. Please take care when creating your account to not incur any unwanted charges. We will host the game on Zoom and play the games on boardgamearena.com. We’ll play Kingdomino, Solo, and Sushi Go! For children and teens in grades 4 and up! Our first session
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Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, and Library News.

Hoopla Staff Picks: Fantasy Novels

Possibly our most dynamic digital resource, Hoopla includes a variety of different formats from books to movies and music. In order to highlight some of these, we've gathered staff recommendations of just a few formats you can stream and download with your library card. Below are some fantasy novel recommendations from Programming Librarian Kristy Bauman. Hardinge, Frances. The Lie Tree. Abrams, 2016. Set in a male-dominated Victorian society, we follow the life and story of 14-year-old Faith Sunderly. Faith’s family has recently moved to the island of Vane following the mysterious death of her scientist father. Thought to be shy,
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.

COVID-19 Writing Prompt: Community Poem

Poetry is a party on a page and poems, people and words have PERSONALITIES Words have personality and life of their own: Happy, Sad, Angry, Lazy And, in times like these, we can sometimes feel like the universe has completely changed. What if part of this change was to make us each an inanimate object…our job in this poetry prompt is to pick the object that best represents us during this strange time. And, then to breathe LIFE into that object. Every inanimate objects have a personality: stapler, scissors etc What inanimate object best represents you? Now here are the
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Categories: COVID-19, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.