HPL Kids
The Kidzone has programs galore as well as books, movies, and other cool stuff. Read our blog below for more information and check out our upcoming events to get an idea of what's happening at the Kidzone! Our main phone number is 205.444.7830.
Kidzone Blog
April's Reading Challenge
I’ve often raved about Brightly in my blogs, but maybe you’re new. Maybe you don’t know what I’m talking about. Or maybe you’re the opposite of new (NOT old, mind you) and need a refresher course. Brightly provides passionate parents, educators, and caregivers with the tools they need to keep kids connected to books through every age & stage of life. Every month they post a reading challenge. You can see it on their website, either as a web page or as a printable flyer. I’m going to do it this month. Here’s MY plan of action. What’s YOURS?
- April 10 is National Sibling Day. I’m going to listen to the author Lesa Cline-Ransome read Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams on KidLit TV. And I’m going to recommend it to my sister Laurie. I know she’ll like it. Not only is she a sister and a tennis player, but she’s a librarian!
- I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that I only have one poetry book in my vast home library. How did this happen?!?! On the bright side, it is an excellent collection of Mother Goose rhymes. Page 30 features Sing a Song of Sixpence.
- I do not own a book of jokes. So I will have to use the internet . . . which I now have since I'm working from home. I am very bad at memorizing jokes, but I will try my best to make someone laugh by telling one. If only I were like Mr. Steve from Circulation! He is the KING of joke telling.
- I used to cross-stitch more regularly, but I hadn’t done it in a good long while . . . until I found myself at home with A LOT of time on my hands. Luckily, I had a book called Cross Stitch to Calm. I've already completed four projects! And there are more to come!
- I’m going to read a book in a voice like Grammy. My maternal grandmother, Veva Jane Ehens, will be turning 95 on April 17. She lives in Canton, IL.
- April 25 is World Penguin Day. I'm going to listen to author Lauren Tarshis (who writes the I Survived series) read her The Amazing Penguin Rescue on Storyworks Jr. And I recommend you look at one of Hoopla's Bonus Borrows ebooks: Five Flying Penguins by Barbara Barbieri McGrath.
- Happy School Library Month to all my Hoover City School librarians! Shout outs to Allison, Raquel, Beth, Julie, Jennifer N., Jennifer R., Heather, Elizabeth, Jolee, Stephanie, Renee, Ginger, Dana, Sheila, Crystal, Jessica, Marnie, and Casey!
- I'm going to read aloud to the many beautiful giant amaryllis flowers that are growing in front of my house.
- One of my favorite movies of all time is The Princess Bride. In fact, I'm drinking from my "Hello: My Name Is Inigo Montoya" mug as I write this blog. It was first a book by William Goldman. I’m going to run out of library books, so I need to start re-reading some of my faves anyway. (BTW, this is one of the rare cases in which the book and the movie are equally good.)
- Fave reading spot in my home? I mostly read on my couch or at the kitchen table. So I'll need to design a sign that can travel. Luckily, not one but TWO friends recently gifted me with colorful pens!
What's All the Hoopla?: April Foolishness
It's April Fools Day! But I'm celebrating by wearing funny socks and my Chewbacca Christmas T-shirt, NOT by tricking my library friends. We have enough to deal with, right? So instead of pranks, I'm extending thanks to Hoopla. Hoopla is one of our downloadable services. It provides access to audiobooks, ebooks, music, and movies. If it shows up on Hoopla, you can check it out -- no wait lists! The library currently allows each patron 10 check outs per month. But Hoopla has created something special for this unusual time. It's BONUS BORROWS collection can be accessed outside of the normal limits! And our library doesn't have to pay for any of it! I'm going to be featuring different things within this collection each week. Today, I want to share some of the silliest things you can find. We all need some laughs right about now.
EBOOKS
A Bear Sat on My Porch Today by Jane Yolen What do you do if a rather insistent bear squats on your porch today? Followed in short order by a shaggy squirrel, a spraying skunk, a playful possum, and a bevy of forest critters large and small? This hilarious cumulative tale of reluctant hospitality and generous inclusivity will leave readers chanting, "OKAY. OKAY! YOU CAN STAY." But watch out! That porch is starting to sway.
Chicken Butt by Erica S. Perl You know what? What? Chicken butt!
AUDIOBOOKS
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog, he can't wait to devour it. But then along comes a sly duckling who wants a bite. Who will be the more clever bird?
MOVIES
Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown Lucy, a young bear, meets a charming little boy in the forest. When she brings him home, her mother cautions her "children make terrible pets." Can Lucy prove her wrong?
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa . . . oh, boy. You're in red-hot trouble.
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day - for no particular reason - they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then - for no particular reason - they decided to go someplace else. They are definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl.
Scaredy Squirrel at Night by Melanie Watts Scaredy never sleeps - sleep might mean bad dreams about dragons, ghosts, vampire bats and polka-dot monsters. So he has a plan to stay awake all night and, just in case he does nod off, a Bad Dream Action Plan!
MUSIC
The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band Includes several silly hits -- Laurie Has a Pig on Her Head, BOOTS, Monster Boogie, and I Know a Chicken.
Apples and Bananas: A Wiggly Collection of Nursery Rhymes by The Wiggles Includes Do Your Ears Hang Low?, Down by the Bay, and other silly classics.
