Congress first designated March as Women’s History Month in 1987 to honor and celebrate women’s achievements and contributions to American history. The beginnings of the March celebration of women and their important accomplishments started much earlier, however. Kate Hannigan writes in her blog, “Like any great creation, Women’s History Month traces its roots to the tiniest seed of an idea—or in this case, a single date on the calendar: National Woman’s Day. First observed on February 28, 1909, it was organized by the Socialist Party of America to call for equal rights for women on the job and at the
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Archives for picture books
STEAM Picture Books: Art
In this new monthly STEAM series, I will highlight some wonderful picture books that fall under a STEAM category: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. For the month of February we will be reviewing art books that celebrate African Americans. In celebrating Black History Month we will review graphic novels, picture books on art, poetry, hip-hop, dance, music, and learn about one of the most important moments in history: the Harlem Renaissance. These books can be found in our print collection at The Trove and on OverDrive. At the end of the post, you'll also find some fun and educational
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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. I just love how time travel opens up possibilities for zany storytelling, but also some exploration of deeper ideas, such as cause and effect and the consequences of actions. Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or at Least My History Grade) by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat Library Catalog Sequel
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#BlackJoy Picture Books
Black History Month is celebrated in February, but Black history encompasses every day from the beginnings of this nation, to today and onto the future. The struggles of the past, as well as the present, should not be ignored or forgotten, however it is equally important to remember and celebrate the joys and triumphs. Children’s author Kelly Starling Lyons eloquently writes in her blog, “Children’s books showcasing Black joy remind us of the beauty of family, friendship and community. They are touchstones that surround us with the blessing of who we are. In a world that tries to set us
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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 two Peculiar Picks have one thing in common – hungry monsters on a rampage. Hangry by Drew Brockington OverDrive / Library Catalog A small, Godzilla-like monster arrives in a big city on a train, food guide in hand, looking for a particular highly-rated hot dog restaurant. Only when he arrives, calamity strikes: the restaurant is closed! He’s not
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Multicultural Children’s Book Day
Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) will be celebrated on January 29th, 2021. According to its founders, MCBD “is an online and offline celebration that attracts thousands of supporters, educators, parents, caregivers, book reviewers, and quality authors and publishers who join forces to shine the spotlight on diversity in children and YA literature.” The founders effectively define the important key points of what makes an excellent multicultural book for children in their website article, “What is a Multicultural Book?” To celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I have gathered together notable picture book biographies that highlight diverse people in history and today
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STEAM Picture Books: Engineering
In this monthly STEAM series, I will highlight some wonderful picture books that fall under a STEAM category: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. For the month of January we will be concentrating on engineering books, including biographies, how to build a backyard, construction and building blocks, along with books on tools. These picture books can be found in our print collection at The Trove and on OverDrive. At the end of the post, you'll also find some fun and educational STEAM websites for kids. Future Engineer by Lori Alexander, illustrated by Allison Black Library Catalog This fun and playful
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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. Ben Hatke is best known for his excellent graphic novel series, Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl, but he’s done a number of other works that are absolutely worth reading. Two of these are his picture books, Nobody Likes a Goblin and Julia’s House for Lost Creatures, which feature his signature art style and have amusing, heartfelt, stories. My
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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. Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley Library Catalog My wife and I read a lot of books with positive messages for girls to our daughter – books that show girls and women accomplishing amazing things in every field; emphasizing self-determination; promoting equality (and showing the wrongness of inequality); body/image positivity; being heroes in real-life and fantasy; and
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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. To celebrate the announcement of our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program, today’s Peculiar Picks features two titles about characters who absolutely love books. We hope your future Kindergarten students learn to love books just as much as Winston the Wolf and Leo the Knight. Winston the Book Wolf by Marni McGee, illustrated by Ian Beck Library Catalog Book lovers
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Celebrate Christmas and New Year’s: Children’s Books
Christmas and New Year’s are times to spend with family, and create memories. This year, the challenge to safely create family special moments is greater, but with a little ingenuity it can be done. Penguin Books has come up with 13 Festive Family Activities to Get You in the Christmas Spirit. They write, “The run-up to Christmas 2020 is certainly going to be a little different. But you don’t have to go to a Christmas market or a Santa’s grotto to experience the mirth and merriment of the season.” I really like the activities they list – they are safe,
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STEAM Picture Books: Technology
In this new monthly STEAM series, I will highlight some wonderful picture books that fall under a STEAM category: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. This edition for the month of December celebrates the Hour of Code program. In this post you’ll find technology books, including biographies of notable figures in the tech field, books about coding, video games and robotics. These picture books can be found in our print collection at The Trove and on OverDrive. Please be sure to check out our coding programs for December. At the end of the post, you'll also find some fun and
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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. Rear End Reads. Tail Tales. Stern Stories. Great Glutes. Rump Recommendations. Peculiar Posterior Picks. In other words: Butt Books. I had so many fun names for today’s Peculiar Picks (including some I couldn’t include in this family friendly column) featuring the (probably) most laugh-inducing part of the body: the hilarious heinie. Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by
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Hey Kids! It’s a Snow Day!
Need some ideas for making the most of your snow day? See some of our staff recommendations below. Snow Day Activities Polar Express Train! Read The Polar Express (Hoopla; OverDrive) by Chris Van Allsburg and let your child’s imagination run wild. Make decorated tickets from paper. Build a snow train outside or use furniture and blankets and more to make a train inside. All aboard! Host Your Own Winter Olympics A snow obstacle course with snow mounds to climb over, snow tunnels to crawl through. A sled race. Distance and accuracy snowball throwing competitions – setup targets, such as a
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STEAM Picture Books: Science
In this new monthly STEAM series, I will highlight some wonderful picture books that fall under one area of STEAM [STEAM = Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics]. For the month of November we are starting with science. These books include diverse biographies, books about the solar system, chemistry, physics, environmental science (my personal favorite!), and even a scientific parody on Goodnight Moon. These picture books can be found in our print collection at The Trove and on OverDrive. At the end of the post, you'll also find some fun and educational STEAM websites for kids. What Miss Mitchell Saw by
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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. There are many, many versions of The Three Little Pigs — from traditional retellings, to ones with other animals such as fish and sharks, to ones with other things like trucks or tamales, to, of course, several versions that tell how badly the wolf was maligned in the original tale. This being Peculiar Picks, however, I wanted to pick
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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. Annually, in order to raise cancer awareness, No-Shave November takes place. “The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. Donate the money you typically spend on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.”
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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. ‘Tis the season for… spooky reads! Today’s books are not (necessarily) outright scary but provide some suspense-filled fun, and only one of them is specifically a Halloween title. I recommend breaking out your best creepy “horror movie” voice. Need some inspiration for your spooky reading voice? Vincent Price reads Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven Christopher Lee reads Poe’s Tales
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Halloween Reads
Are you looking forward to Halloween as much as I am? This year we might be limited in our normal Halloween activities due to COVID, but there are still some fun things to do. You can dress up and take photos with your family! In the past two years, I have had fun dressing up as Wednesday Addams and Punk Eleven from Stranger Things Season 2, Chapter 7: “The Lost Sister.” You can also treat yourself to a movie marathon. Some of my favorites include Beetlejuice, Practical Magic, Shaun of the Dead, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and It’s the Great
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book recommendations, eBooks, fun, graphic novels, halloween, Halloween Books, juvenile fiction, Observances and Celebrations, October, picture books, Spooktober, staff picks, staff recommendations, and YA Fiction.
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. Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom is a series of picture books written by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by G. Brian Karas. What I love about this series is that they provide educational lessons and also social emotional lessons for children. Each book follows the kids in Mr. Tiffin’s classroom as they take part in classroom learning, such as the math lessons
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