Ni Hao Chinese Storytime Wins County Award

 The Children's Library recently received an award for its unique bilingual storytime: Ni Hao Chinese Storytime! With the help of BCIU's Asian Studies Collaborative, the library's storytime featured lessons in Mandarin Chinese for young patrons and their families. This article appeared in the RPL publication, PAGES.

 

April Programs

Spring is finally here! See what programs we have sprouting up at the library this month: 

Storytime is going wild this month as we read stories about your favorite animals every Friday at 4 pm! Join us for a special Animal Party on Friday 4/25 at 4 pm to receive a copy of the PA "One Book, Every Young Child" book selection "Stripes of All Types."

 
Hop into the library for bunny stories and crafts, plus an EGG HUNT! Our annual Egg Hunt will be held on April 17 at 4 pm.

Learn how to play chess or challenge professionals. Mr. Bud from Million Youth Chess visits every 1st and 4th Monday at 4 pm.

If you love art, bring your creativity to Crafty Corner, every Wednesday at 4 pm.

Wrestling Club is gearing up for it's Wrestlemania Party on Saturday 4/5 at 11 am. The library provides the party, but the kids are providing the storytime with special projects they've chosen to share with eachother!

Barbie Girls is having it's own spring fashion show as kids learn how to make simple dresses for their favorite dolls. Join us on Saturday 4/26 at 12:30 pm.

Movie Mondays are the 2nd and 3rd Mondays of each month. In April, we'll be watching the jungle themed movie Kumba on the 14th and everyone's new favorite Disney film, Frozen, on the 21st.

Nervous about reading out loud? Try reading to Clara, our therapy dogs who visits with her trainer Ms. Susan. Clara listens patiently while children read to her. It's a great way to build up self-esteem and confidence.

Our last Chemistry Corner was packed! Kids made slime and learned about polymers. Find out what Dr. Greglynn has in store for Earth Day on Thursday 4/24 at 4 pm.

Hot off the presses!

Wow! The children's library's E-Cafe made the news! Check out this article about the new space!

Bon Jour to our new E-Cafe!

Bon Jour! Last week, we debuted our Parisian themed E-Café!

What’s an E-café? It’s a special reading corner for tweens featuring a Sony E-Reader and a Nook! Tweens can choose a book “off the menu” and read it in a quiet little hub.

“I feel like using an e-reader makes me read faster,” Taneesha, 11, told us when she tried out The Hunger Games on the Nook. She stops into the library and reads a few chapters almost every day in the E-café.

Tweens, ages 9-12, like having this special space all to themselves and love exploring this technology that makes reading seem more interactive and exciting. Inspired by the tiny cafes used for reading and writing throughout Paris, the E-Café also provides a quiet spot for tweens to retreat to when they’re ready to read.

The e-reader and Nook are pre-loaded with popular titles like Big Nate, Dork Diaries, and the Percy Jackson series. Classics like The Jungle Book and some teen titles like The Hunger Games are also on the menu for kids at the E-Cafe. 

The E-Café also features an upcycled typewriter table and patio chair re-designed with tween cartoons and Eiffel tower patterns. Long term library patrons may recognize our much loved Eiffel Tower from various displays and bulletin boards. We even walked it down Penn St. to bring it back from our popUP library location, with onlookers waving and smiling at us. It was even featured on the news when news cameras caught us carrying it up the stairs as we unpacked the library! Now our Eiffel Tower has a permanent home and serves as a fun backdrop to our own little France.

Books (and Nooks) can take you anywhere, so why not start in Paris at our e-café?

Do you have your own e-reader? You can borrow thousands of e-books (including books for children, tweens, and teens) through our library’s website. Click HERE for more information.

March Events!

March is here! Check out some of the highlights from this month's calendar:

It's Monster March at our Storytimes, where every Friday at 4 pm, we'll be reading about silly monsters.

Then, we'll put your monster skills to the test at our Monsters University Party on 3/28 at 4 pm with stories and party games featuring your favorite monsters from the hit Disney movie!

Chess Club meets the first and fourth Monday of every month at 4 pm. It's hosted by Million Youth Chess Club and is the perfect place to learn how to play or practice for their tournaments they hold around the county!

Get crafty with us every Wednesday at 4 pm at Crafty Corner. We do a new art project each week!

Our last Block Party got snowed out, but we're back on March 13 at 4 pm to make gizmos our of Legos, waffle blocks, and connector straws. You can also enter a drawing to win tickets to the Gizmo Guys at the Miller Center.

Chemistry Corner returns on March 27 at 4 pm with a cool chemistry experiment hosted by the Penn State Berks Chemical Society.

Wrestling Club is celebrating National Women's History Month on March 8 at 11 am by talking about the history of women wrestlers.

Barbie Girls is meeting on Saturday March 15 at 12:30 pm. Bring your favorite doll for Barbie-inspired stories and crafts.

Who is Eloise?

What does the beloved children’s book character Eloise have in common with famed singer Liza Minnelli? 

 

The Eloise author Kay Thompson was a singer, vocal coach, and actress who lived in the Plaza Hotel, just like Eloise. Kay’s goddaughter had a penchant for getting into mischief and she based some of Eloise’s antics off of her goddaughter.

(Kay Thompson was a singer and actress. Here she is in the movie "Funny Face.")

Who was her goddaughter? Liza Minnelli, the daughter of her close friend Judy Garland! Liza Minnelli grew up to be a famous singer just like her mother, who you may have seen in The Wizard of Oz.  

(Here is a photo of young Liza Minnelli and her mother Judy Garland who were good friends with the author Kay Thompson.)

Later, when Kay was asked if this was true, she’d answer, “I am Eloise!” Characters can be inspired by lots of people and friends, and even the author herself.

Both Eloise and her creator lived in the Plaza hotel. The hotel made a special portrait of Eloise that is on display even today. Here’s a picture of Eloise and Kay Thompson, her author. 

Are you ready to read some Eloise? Check out our card catalog for HERE.

Lego Man in Space!

Our last Block Party got snowed out! Don’t fret: our next Block Party will meet Thursday March 13 at 4 pm.

Every month, we throw a "block party," using Legos and other types of building toys to design and create lots of fun things. It helps kids practice their STEM skills, but also lets them let loose their imaginations!

Check out what we did at our last Block Party:

After reading Lego Man in Space, a TRUE story about two teens who flew a Lego Man figure into space on a gigantic weather balloon, we began to design and build our own rocket ships.

We use lots of different types of blocks at Block Party. We use waffle blocks because they're big and sturdy for little hands. Block Party is a family program so any age (even mom and dad!) are welcome to join in and start building.

We use connector straws because you can build tall things really fast. Kids love these because they can build things taller than themselves!

And, of course, we use Legos!

 

 We also have lots of Lego books to give kids ideas and teach them how to build models. This rocket is actually modeled after the Empire State Building, a design this boy read about in a library book. 

 This rocket is inspired by the story we read, Lego Man in Space. The boys in the book built their rocket from a box and attached it to a weather balloon.

Want to read more about Lego Man in Space or check out our other Lego books? Check our online catalog HERE. 
Want to see the footage of the real Lego Man in Space? Take a peek at this video?