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. My daughter and I love music. Jazzy mornings playing; sing-alongs in the car; country, classic rock, reggae, 80s and 90s cookouts and backyard fun; headbanging rock and punk after dinner dance parties; a 70s soul-funk-R&B soundtrack for baking and cooking… Music is a constant in our lives. Here are some picture books filled with positivity based on classic songs
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Archives for music
April 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 Ages 2-6, families Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. – April 6, April 13,
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April 2021, children's events, dance, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.
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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children's events, dance, kids, live music, March 2021, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.
School Break Week Events
The Library has a lot of great events planned during the school break week, February 16-20! 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. Satchel Paige & Negro League Baseball Saturday, February 13 – Saturday, February 20 Children, families, ages 3-12 Join Tommy Terrific all week long for a pre-recorded historical magic show about Satchel Paige and Negro League baseball. More information about the show and how to watch it here. Space: the Cosmos for Kids Dance Party Tuesday, February 16 at 11:00
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February Programs 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. In addition to the regular programs listed below, be sure to check out the programs during the February school break week, many of which are open to younger children or children of all ages! 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
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children's events, dance, January 2021, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.
The Library Boogie Puppet Show
The Library Boogie Puppet Show Wednesday, February 17 at 11:00 a.m. Children, families, ages 3-8 Access the event here Note: a free registered Zoom account is required to access the Library’s youth programs. Get a Zoom account here. Tom Knight has been delighting children and their grown-ups with his original, interactive, musical puppet show since 1988. The Library Boogie celebrates reading with original hand-made puppets, catchy songs, and lots of audience participation. For ages 3-8. Learn more about Tom Knight’s puppet shows and how he crafts them. This program is supported by the White Plains Library Foundation.
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Space: the Cosmos for Kids Dance Party
Tuesday, February 16 at 11:00 a.m. Children, families, all ages welcome Access the event here Note: a free registered Zoom account is required to access the Library’s youth programs. Get a Zoom account here. Turtle Dance Music returns for a virtual out-of-this-world dance party and show! Audience members will meet aliens from outer space, travel through black holes, discover the different characteristics of the eight planets, sing karaoke, participate in a rap battle about the sun and learn about the differences between revolution and rotation. Each song is accompanied by hands-on, visual, and sensory experiences designed to help kids learn
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January 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. In addition, be sure to check out our Grab & Go Kits for fun and educational activities to do at home. The dates that new Kits are available for pickup can be found in our online calendar. Trove Storytimes Storytimes for ages 2-6 with Trove Librarians – books, songs and fun! Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.: January 5, 12, 19, 26 Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.: January
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children's events, dance, January 2021, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.
2020 Staff Favorites
The White Plains Library Staff have assembled their picks for the year, featuring cookbooks, DVDs, music, audiobooks, and plenty of plain old books. It's a wonderfully wide-ranging list, full of lots of surprises, and should help with your holiday shopping or just some entertainment for yourself. Enjoy! Below you'll find a list with links to the catalog or resource where they're available as well as a blurb on why staff enjoyed it. Books: Peace Talks by Jim Butcher Library Catalog OverDrive and Libby: eBook and audiobook Harry Dresden is a wizard living in modern day Chicago. Think of this book
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Fall 2020 Events for Younger Kids
Trove Storytimes Storytimes for ages 2-6 with Trove Librarians – books, songs and fun! Note: The format may be changing as we move forward, so stay tuned for updates. Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.: October 20, November 10, November 17, November 24, Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.: November 19, December 17 Storybook Dancing with Steffi Nossen School of Dance A creative, movement-filled program for ages 2-6 to hear stories and then dance them to life! Thursdays, 10:00 a.m.: October 8, October 22, November 5, December 3 Bilingual Music Time Nancy Hershatter presents a fun-filled musical bilingual program for kids in PreK-Grade 2. Fridays, 11:00
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children's events, dance, fall 2020, kids, live music, music, performances, programs, storytime, The Trove, trove, and trove events.
JazzFest 2020
For its ninth year, JazzFest White Plains is going virtual! Beginning on September 8 with the ArtsBash Virtual Mixology Party and continuing with a series of online JazzFest events running through September 11, prepare to celebrate established Jazz greats, meet its rising stars, and learn more about this wonderful musical genre. The Library is partnering on two events, find out more below: Tuesday, September 8th – 8:00 p.m. | Westchester Jazz: Then and Now Presented by the White Plains Public Library and ArtsWestchester Broadcast on Zoom and Facebook Live Show your Westchester pride by tuning in to this program that
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Staff Picks: Qello Concerts
White Plains Cardholders just gained access to another exciting resource with the addition of Qello. Qello Concerts by Stingray is the world’s largest collection of full-length concerts and music documentaries streamed on-demand to just about any digital device. It’s like a never-ending concert ticket, which means it's perfect for this time when many are missing going to live shows. If you're unsure where to start, check out these recommendations from Adult Services Librarians Austin Duffy, Mariel Perez, and Kristen Thornton-De Stafeno. The Highwaymen, Live American Outlaws The Highwaymen were a country supergroup consisting of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash,
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concerts, music, Qello, staff picks, and staff recommendations.
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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hoopla, music, staff picks, and staff recommendations.
Hoopla Staff Picks: R&B
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 music recommendations from Adult Services Librarian Mariel Perez. Summer: The Original Hits (2018) Donna Summer Another oldie, but goodie! Perfect party or driving music or in my case, cleaning music. A great pick me up for those who love to dance, exercise, or just want to feel happy. All good memories for me.
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hoopla, music, staff picks, and staff recommendations.
Music-Themed Picture Book Read-Alouds on Libby
Some of you may ask what is Libby? Libby is an easy-to-use app that allows you to borrow eBooks and digital audiobooks with your library card for free. Libby has thousands of Adult, Teen, and Children’s titles that you can borrow using your iPad, tablet, or phone by downloading the app from your app store. One of my favorite types of content available on Libby are the Read-Alouds that with their narration and word highlighting make them perfect to share with pre-readers and beginning readers. For fun, I have highlighted 3 of my favorite Read-Alouds that share the subject of
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libby, music, picture books, and read-alouds.
People & Stories Oral History Project: Alexis Cole
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2018! Below is an interview with Alexis Cole from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and Jazz Fest will include stories and music from musicians who local roots or connections, but have performed all over the world. Check out the Jazz Fest 2018 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 12-16, 2018. “Award-winning jazz vocalist
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People & Stories Oral History Project: Albert Rivera
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2018! Below is an interview with Albert Rivera from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and Jazz Fest will include stories and music from musicians who have local roots or connections, but have performed all over the world. Check out the Jazz Fest 2018 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 12-16, 2018. Albert Rivera’s musical
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People & Stories Oral History Project: Brian Carter
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2018! Below is an interview with Brian Carter from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and Jazz Fest will include stories and music from musicians who have local roots or connections, but have performed all over the world. Check out the Jazz Fest 2018 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 12-16, 2018. International professional
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Orin Grossman Presents “Musical Masterpieces”
Professor Orin Grossman will bring his dynamic “Musical Masterpieces” lecture and performance to our second-floor auditorium on Wednesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. following his lecture at Symphony Space in Manhattan. Grossman currently teaches at Fairfield University and has served as the University’s Academic Vice President. Best known for his interpretations of George Gershwin’s music, Grossman has given lectures and performances throughout the U.S. and Europe. For this combination lecture and musical performance, Grossman will select three remarkable musical works from the same period, by musicians young and old, at the peak of their composing careers. He will close with
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People & Stories Oral History Project: Jazz Fest 2017 Pt. 1
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains, and the White Plains Business Improvement District on White Plains Jazz Fest 2017! Below is a clip from the People & Stories Oral History Project, Jazz Fest edition. Each of the clips we post between now and September will include stories and music from musicians who live locally, but have performed all over the world. Tom Van Buren, of ArtsWestchester, co-produced the interviews. Check out the Jazz Fest 2017 webpage for tickets and more information about all the great music happening September 13-17, 2017.
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