Sneak Peek: Our New Mural

This past Saturday, renowned muralist Mike Miller began the Children's Library's brand new mural! Kids and families have been coming in over their holiday break to watch him work. You'll even get a chance to paint the mural at our Painting Parties on January 21 and 26. Give us a call for more information or to register! Meanwhile, check out some photos of his process:

A blank canvas: Our last mural, done in the late 90's, was painted over during last year's renovation.

Look closely: Mike Miller projected his work onto the whole wall and carefully traced it with a pencil.

A few dabs of green begin the painting process. 

And some more paint...

And some more...

A new sky for our rainbow!

This is only one day of painting! Imagine what the final product will look like!

If you'd like to help bring our mural to life, you can help us paint an element of the mural using stencils on January 21 at 4 pm or January 26 at 4:30 pm. Spots are limited, so please register by calling the Children's Library at 610-655-6350 or emails us at rplmc@reading.lib.pa.us.

Homeschool Programs

You told us what you wanted, and we're delivering! Homeschoolers from across the county told us what they'd like to see in our new enrichment opportunities. Check out what we have to offer and register for a FREE program.

Registration is necessary. To register for any of these programs, please contact the children's library at rplmc@reading.lib.pa.us, call us at 610-655-6350 x3, or stop in to fill out a registration form.

Winter is Coming!

Brace Yourself! Winter is coming, and so are all of these great new programs.

Do you dare join the Secret Readers Society? Each Tuesday at 4:30 pm, the enigmatic society will meet to read, discuss books, and complete a mysterious task. For independent readers.

There's too much science this month to contain it in just one Kids' Science Lab. So join us twice this month: Our regular Kids' Science Lab will meet on December 4 at 4 pm to investigate H2O and its forms. A Special Kids' Science Lab will meet on December 11 at 4 pm to participate in the "Hour of Code," where millions of kids across the globe will learn more about computer coding.

We are celebrating 10 years of Crafty Corner! Join us for our huge Craftacular Party featuring some of Miss Jeanette's favorite crafts from the past decade! December 10 at 4 pm.

Celebrate the holidays with us with cookies and stories on December 22 at 4:30 pm.

Need something to do during Winter Break? Pop into the library for special Holiday movies:
12/26: Jingle All the Way
12/29: Home Alone
12/30: Muppet Christmas Carol
1/2: Frozen

Calling all homeschoolers!

Take our short Homeschool survey and have your voice heard on what types of FREE enrichment programs you'd like to see for your homeschool or cyber school family!

Candy Science

Become a mad scientist this Halloween, and do some experiments on your treats.

 This past month, our Kids’ Science Lab was open for some pretty sweet experiments…on candy! They “skinned” candy corn, made chocolate float and sink, and pulled the color off of fruit candies!

Just in time for Halloween, Miss Hannah is going to share one of her favorite candy experiments from her secret science files. Try this at home with your Halloween candy and join us for the next Kids’ Science Lab on Thursday November 6 at 4 pm to let us know your results.  

Scrambled Stories

Thomas, 19, has been visiting the library since he was 4. He recently co-hosted the 7th Annual Talent Show in the children's library. For him, the library is a place to “hang out and relax. I have lots of good memories here.”

One of his earliest library memories is receiving his first t-shirt for completing the annual Summer Reading Program, a tradition the library still upholds.

What book does this seasoned library veteran suggest for kids?

The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller.

“All of the states in America switch places for a day,” Thomas explained. “And see what each others' lives are like.”

He’s also a huge fan of the book’s author, Laurie Keller. “She’s a really great author. All of her books are fun and she also illustrates her own books.”

Thomas has also attended a ton of library programs over his 15 year history at the library. He said his favorite program was playing the Wii with his fellow teens. “I’m a huge fan of the Wii and Wii U,” Thomas said.

For Thomas, the library is much more than just a place for books. “Don’t be afraid to tell the librarians anything,” he said. “Because they’re here to help you.”

Do you want to find out more about Laurie Keller’s funny books? Click here to see her offerings on our catalog.

How-to: Make Your Own Shaker Eggs

Make your own shaker eggs with this tutorial straight from our craft expert, Miss Jeanette! Miss Jeanette will soon be celebrating 10 YEARS of her popular program, Crafty Corner. Try making these shaker eggs at home and bring them along with your toddlers to our "Baby Lap Sit" program or "Sing It, Shake It Storytime!"

Because you demanded it!

At the end of the summer, we took a survey of our kids and asked them what they liked best about the library. Their answer: Read It & Eat It!

Back by popular demand, our Read It & Eat It program resumes on Friday September 19 at 4 pm. We'll be reading books about pizza and each child will try making their own--with a healthy twist!

How popular was this program? Even The Reading Eagle stopped by to check out these future chefs in action!

Baby Talk

Do you want to raise your baby up to be a reader? Get help from your library with these fun and free programs designed for you and baby.

Summer in the City

The Children's Library recently took its show on the road to the city playgrounds! We were also featured on the TV show "Summer at the Playgrounds" to talk about our trip to 3rd and Spruce Recreation Center.

City parks aren't the only partnership we have. We currently serve children in the Salvation Army day camp, YMCA, PAL, White House daycare, Early Beginnings, Second Street Learning Center, Amazing Kids, St. James Chapel, and had visits from Antietam Academy and Lola Vida.

All the children get a chance to read with us, make an art project, and particpate in our Summer Reading Game.

Awesome August!

Check out these awesome activities we have for August! From science projects to a wrestling-themed dessert competition, the Children's Library has something for every kid!

Check out our version of a World's Fair where we'll be displaying this summer's Mad Science Junk Fair entries, plus lots of cool activities! 

 Yocum Institute's Teen ensemble will be presenting "How to Think Like a Scientist," an original play performed right here in our library!

Join Wrestling Club's first ever SUGAR SLAM! Make the coolest wrestling-themed dessert and you could be crowned champion!

Are you GAME?

Reading to play the Summer Reading Game, our new interactive reading program?
It's easy! Earn points for each book you read and earn chance to win awesome prize packs, including our grand prize: an iPad Mini!

After reading, fill out a reading log: yellow for picture and easy books, green for novels, books with chapters, and comic books.



Hand it in! You'll pick a robot for our gameboard and move one spot for each point you earn. Here's the breakdown of points:

Six picture/easy books are worth 3 points

Comic books are worth 2 points

Novels and books with chapters are worth 5 points

Mega-Books (over 400 pages) are worth 10 points

Pick a prize basket! Each point earns you a raffle ticket for whichever
prize basket you'd like to try and win. We have so many to choose from:

Monster High

Superhero

WWE

Disney Princesses

Barbie 

Lego Ninjao

Mad Science

Nature Photography

Books with Character

Books and Movies

Keep reading! Every ten points will get you a free book! When you hit 50 points you cross our finish line and earn your Summer Reading t-shirt! Plus, the more you read the better your chances will be at winning the iPad Mini grand prize!

Scenes of Summer

Summer Reading is in full effect! Every day, the Children's Library sees hundreds of kids and families. We provide storytimes for many daycares, day camps, and youth programs throughout the city. We provide a FREE public program every single day. And...we have our SUMMER READING GAME, where kids can earn points and raffle tickets for cool prizes like an iPad Mini!

Here are some scenes of summer, but stop in to see all this stuff in action!