Archives for 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.

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.

May the Fourth Be With You!

May 4 is Star Wars Day! Youth Services librarians have a variety of great things to celebrate. Star Wars kids eBooks and music Star Wars YA eBooks May the Fourth Be With You – Josh’s Picks STEAM at Home: Origami Yoda STEAM at Home: Pool Noodle Lightsabers STEAM at Home: Toilet Paper Roll Star Wars Characters For more Star Wars fun, check out: Star Wars Uncut – Fans were given 15 second segments from the films and created their own remixed versions of Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Kids Activities from
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

May the Fourth Be With You: Josh’s Picks

Here’s a list of interesting and different Star Wars related content to help you celebrate May the Fourth! Plastic Galaxy – The Story of Star Wars Toys (movie on Hoopla) Star Wars toys helped to redefine toys and merchandising forever. Learn more about their origins, collectability and more in this interesting documentary. Are You Scared, Darth Vader? By Adam Rex (available on Hoopla, Overdrive, and Libby) This hilarious picture book is fun for kids, but possibly even more fun for their Star Wars fan parents. Music Inspired by Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk by Mecco (music on Hoopla) A
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Star Wars YA Fiction

I am something of a latecomer to the Star Wars universe. In fact, a couple of years ago I assembled a Halloween costume from a Stormtrooper helmet and a lightsaber, blissfully unaware of my error. But recently my preschooler has begun reading Star Wars graphic novels, helping me become more familiar with the setting and characters. For example, he now refers to his baby sister as “a Sand People from Tatooine”—that’s a good thing, right? He adores Kylo Ren and celebrates the accomplishments of “Separatist Leader General Grievous.” Actually, I’m afraid my child might be turning to the Dark Side.
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.

STEAM at Home: Origami Yoda

I had never seen Star Wars until my freshman year in college. My roommate, Elizabeth, decided that we needed a marathon. So it began-my introduction to The Force, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi One Kenobi, Han Solo, Jabba the Hut, R2D2, Darth Vader, Ewoks and many phrases that everyone is familiar with: “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.” and “May the Force Be With You.” I also became fascinated with Joseph Cambell’s “The Hero's Journey,” from his seminal work, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, which George Lucas used as inspiration for creating Star Wars. If you’re
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Star Wars Kids Titles

“Star Wars Day, May 4, celebrates George Lucas' Star Wars. It is observed by fans of the media franchise. Observance of the commemorative day spread quickly through media and grassroots celebrations. The date was chosen for the pun on the catchphrase ‘May the Force be with you' as ‘May the Fourth be with you'. Even though the holiday was not created or declared by Lucasfilm, many Star Wars fans across the world have chosen to celebrate the holiday. It has since been embraced by Lucasfilm and parent company Disney as an annual celebration of Star Wars.” Origami Yoda Series, by
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Teen Calendar

Yes, our beautiful building at 100 Martine is temporarily closed, but it turns out there are plenty of other ways we can keep the Library open and still serve White Plains. Join us on Zoom (thanks to support from the White Plains Library Foundation) with a variety of virtual events presented by Library staff and local experts. Find a full listing of events below with details on attending. And don't forget, you can reach us Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at our new number 914-448-4859, by texting WPPL to 66746, or by emailing us anytime. Ideas for
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Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.

Virtual Open Mic for Kids & Teens

“Perhaps the mission of an artist is to interpret beauty to people—the beauty within themselves.”—Langston Hughes To celebrate National Poetry Month, On Thursday April 30, the Library will host a Virtual Open Mic for kids and teens. This event will take place from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. If you have submitted poetry please join in to read your poems! Attend the program by accessing Zoom with this link on 4/30. Writing is a solitary activity, and as we are socially distancing it can become even more solitary and lonesome if we don’t have a place to share our work collectively.
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Categories: Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Graphic Novels and Chapter Books in Spanish

Practice your Spanish with these fun Graphic Novels and Chapter Books from our digital resources. Have fun! ¡Bravo!: Poemas Sobre Hispanos Extraordinarios, by Margarita Engle (OverDrive) El Diario de Anne Frank, by Anne Frank (OverDrive) Ciudades de Papel, by John Green (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 2: La Ley de Rodrick, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 3: Esto es el Colmo, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 4: Días de Perros, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 5: La Horrible Realidad, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 6: ¡Sin Salida!, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Sora Access to Library eBooks

Did you know that White Plains students can access White Plains Library ebooks via their school Sora account? They can thanks to a new partnership between the Westchester Library System and Southern Westchester BOCES. All your student needs to do this is enter their school ID/credentials in the Sora app they already have, and voila! You can borrow age appropriate content from the White Plains Public Library’s eBook collection. In order to search the Library’s collection of eBooks, you simply need to add the Library to your Sora account. Add Westchester Library System as a library, if it is not automatically
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

We Miss You!

This week is National Library Week, and while we can't quite celebrate in the usual fashion this year, we still wanted to do a little something to celebrate. So in that spirit, our staff wanted to take this time to let you know that we miss you! Now maybe you can let us know what you miss most about visiting the Library. Leave us a comment below, send your messages and photos to kthornton@whiteplainslibrary.org, or let us know on social media.     Though the building may be closed, we're still offering reference assistance, virtual programs, and new content on
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Categories: Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Celebrate Earth Day

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and it is now celebrated annually on April 22 in over 193 countries as a way to show support for environmental protection. You can celebrate at home with: A project for adults and kids learning how to sustainably grow your own vegetables from scraps. Checking out some of Trove Librarian Raquel’s awesome recommendations for Earth Day eBooks on Hoopla or Overdrive/Libby! Taking part in Which Craft? Wednesday: Earth Day edition. Join Edge Librarian Erik to learn how to upcycle used snack bags into a decorative
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

STEAM at Home: Plants from Scraps

Today’s Earth Day! There’s a lot of discussion online these days about at home learning. There’s also a lot of discussion online about taking the scraps of vegetables and re-growing them, as a project but also as a way to get more usage out of foods you have purchased. Putting those two discussions together equals one great STEAM at Home project. This is a fun project that promotes sustainability, teaches about gardening, and provides yummy results! It would be great for Earth Day, or any day! What you need: The “ends” of vegetables, such as romaine lettuce, green onions/scallions, etc.
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Arab-American Heritage Month

For this month’s column highlighting titles by Arab-American authors, I leaped at the chance to open a book from my to-read list: Darius the Great is Not Okay, by Adib Khorram. When Darius’ grandfather is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, his parents take Darius and his little sister on their first trip to Iran. Even the pronunciation of Darius’ name is different in Iran, but the change frees him to try new experiences, discovering a talent for soccer and making new friends. The book addresses a range of issues in Darius’ life: the medication he takes to treat his
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.

DIY Masks and FAQ

Over the past few weeks, recommendations on the use of fabric masks have evolved rapidly. At first, there was skepticism that homemade alternatives were effective. However, since the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that everyone should wear a fabric face cover in public, I’ve seen an explosion of mask-making information online. With Governor Cuomo's new decree requiring everyone to cover their mouths and nose in public, we will likely see even more. Sorting through the sheer number of patterns, and the contradicting information about the effectiveness of various filter materials, has been overwhelming and even
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Categories: COVID-19, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Poetry Prompt for Teens

Dear White Plains Library Poets, In addition to sharing a daily poem of the day from our Poetry Slam archives, we want to have a separate program for teens to get us through these tough times by working together to form a collaborative poem. With that in mind, we would ask you to do the following if you are interested in participating: Write a list poem of things that make you smile. Find the subject noun in every item and ADD alliteration. Try to rewrite the list into something more “poetic”…use the above alliteration, rhyme, repetition, and any other poetic
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Categories: Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.

NYT eBook Picks

A recent article from NYT Parenting highlights some great youth titles featuring kids stuck inside. All of these books are available with your library card on either Overdrive/Libby or Hoopla. Ages 3-7 The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, available on Overdrive/Libby Corduroy by Don Freeman, available on Overdrive/Libby Ages 8-12 Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, available on Overdrive/Libby The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, available on Overdrive/Libby and Hoopla The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, available on Overdrive/Libby and Hoopla The Doll People by Ann Martin, available on Overdrive/Libby The Long Winter
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Autism Acceptance Month

While browsing available ebooks on the Libby app, I was pleased to find a Big Library Read selection that complements Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. The current selection is a memoir: Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic, by comedian Michael McCreary. I enjoyed reading about McCreary’s experiences, beginning with his diagnosis at age five and continuing along his path to success as a stand-up comedian. McCreary shares hilarious anecdotes of relatable social awkwardness and moments of self-discovery. He also has a knack for explaining autism—at least, his experience of it—in an approachable way. As McCreary says, not every 22-year-old might feel
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Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.

Lynda.com for Teens

By Kathlyn Carroll, Edge Librarian. As we enter week three (has it only been three weeks?) of quarantine, you may find yourself with some extra time on your hands. Now’s the time to get the hang of that new skill you’ve always wanted to learn, or spend some serious time on a project you’ve been hoping to finish. I’ve selected some beginner-friendly videos on a range of topics from Lynda.com. If you don’t see your specific interest here, feel free to browse the list of subjects. Once you login here, you can search for the courses listed below. Photography Photography
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Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.