Posted on April 1, 2016 by Jacqueline Overlid

Words with Wings: Children and National Poetry Month

Celebrate National Poetry Month and support early readers!

 

"He liked the word - its smallness, its density, the way it rose up at the end as if it had wings.  Poetry."  

-Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo     

April is National Poetry Month, what a wonderful excuse to share poems with youth! Story poems filled with adventure and glee, short bite-sized poems to fit in your pocket, classic poems to carry them through school, poems that rhyme and will forever be stuck in your head, and so many more! Language is beautiful and poetry is a wonderful way to encourage youth to play with words. 

                                         

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Posted on March 3, 2016 by Nichole Brown

Radical Princess and Pioneer Barbie

Celebrate Woman History Month by embracing the imagination within our girls.

                                  

March is Women's History Month and OPL is hosting a Women's History Celebration in many libraries across the city.

But did you know that OPL's Womens History celebration was inspired by a costume contest? That's right, a simple game of dress-up resulted in the RADest Women's History celebration OPL has ever seen. 

I am bringing this to your attention because I want to remind you that our little girls play dress-up every day. Disney sells millions of dollars in costumes for Elsa, Ariel, Tianna and Merida et. al. During Woman’s history month, I don't want you to forget the power of a princess.

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Posted on February 4, 2016 by Nichole Brown

Black History Homework Re-Imagined!

Are you looking for a twist to writing your Black History Report?

Yesterday while talking to my friend who is a teacher she was bemoaning how bored she was with Black History and how she wished she could just "cancel the whole thing." 

To say I wasn't thrilled with her comments was an understatement.

But trying to give my soon to be ex-friend the benefit of the doubt, I asked her to clairify her statements. She continues by saying that although she enjoys celebrating Black History and loves the oratorical  competitions, she absolutely HATES reading 25 biographies about President Obama, 5 about Michele Obama and maybe 3 about a current Black celebrity or athlete. 

And just when I was about to shout 

she finished her diatribe with a very interesting

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Posted on January 28, 2016 by Amy Martin

Introducing Cleo!

Is this the start of the best new middle grade series? We hope so.

Cleo Edison Oliver will be your boss someday. For now, she attends the fifth grade, endures her mom's health food experiments, and dreams up new businesses. She also wonders about her birth parents; Cleo is adopted, and has two adopted younger brothers. How should Cleo react when kids at school tease her for being adopted? And what makes her family her family? 

Cleo's world is warm and supportive, and readers will appreciate the strong depiction of a multiracial family: her father and brothers are African-American, her mother is White, and Cleo herself is Filipina and African-American. Readers who love the Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker will love Cleo, too, for her scrapes and flashes of inspiration.

CLEO EDISON OLIVER: PLAYGROUND MILLIONAIRE is by Sundee T. Frazier, and just launched this week, so keep an eye out for her! OPL has already ordered copies, and you can

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Posted on January 14, 2016 by Amy Martin

#Winning: the 2016 ALA Youth Media Awards

A banner year! Check out this year's Newbery, Caldecott, and other medal winners.

Big news from the 2016 ALA Youth Media Awards! This year's Newbery Medal went to LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET, a picture book by Matt de la Peña--notable because the Newbery is the award for outstanding writing, not illustration. There's only been one other picture book in the almost-100 years the award has existed that beat every novel released that year for the esteemed prize.

de la Peña, who's most known for his young adult novels, is also the

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Posted on January 9, 2016 by Annabelle Blackman

Preschool Adventure : Exploratorium

Discover & Go with the preschool and under set. Indoor, FREE fun during the winter.

If you have encountered me at all, chances are I have talked your ear off about OPL's Discover and Go service. It is one of my favorite services!

Museum passes for FREE! How can you not like that?!?!

If you have been raising a preschooler in California, they have spent their whole lives in drought weather, and this rainy, wetter than usual winter is driving your household crazy. 

What do you do when you can't run them ragged at the park? How are you going to expend their energy?

My answer: Discover & Go Adventure Days

This month, I'll share our Exploratorium adventure with you.

Reserving an Exploratorium

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Posted on January 7, 2016 by Nichole Brown

New Year, Old Me.

This year, instead of changing into someone new, resolve to embrace the old you, and celebrate your uniqueness.

Last year my New Year’s Resolution was to give up dieting. Surprisingly, keeping this was harder than it sounds. Nonetheless it was the first New Year’s resolution I kept until bathing suit season. So with this whole “new year new you” mantra upon us again, I am asking myself, what is the point? Seriously, why should I try to change anything? What if I believe the old me is pretty cool and I don’t need to change anything? Would embracing the old me change how I raise my kids? Would accepting the old me help  my child embrace his uniqueness and understand he is special in his own way?  Maybe instead of a new year’s resolution that rejects the old me for the new, this year I’ll resolve to embrace the old me.

I invite you to join me. Instead of trying to change your future, why not try looking in your past and maybe you will realize just how awesome you are. Share with your children who are our future just why the past makes them so special. Here is what I’ll be sharing with mine: 

 

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Posted on December 29, 2015 by Nina Lindsay

Has this happened to you?

No one wants to talk about accidentally damaging a library book, but it happens to everyone, even librarians.

Yesterday one of our children's librarians told me this story:

"Today a young child came to me with her mother carrying a book. Eyes downcast she explained that her three-year-old sister learned how to use scissors and handed me this":

Cut Book

"I laughed and told her the story of my library book when my three-year-old sister discovered crayons. I asked her if she kept her temper,  she admitted she lost her temper "a little, but she deserved it!"  The girl promised to keep her library books in her backpack next time. Luckily I had a back-up copy in storage anyway. The child is relieved, the mother is happy, and they checked out several more chapter books."

Baby Eating Book

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Posted on December 17, 2015 by Erica Siskind

Q&A: Patrons Ask; Librarians Answer. What books do you have for and about Muslim children?

Q&A: Patrons Ask; Librarians Answer. What books do you have that will help our Muslim classmates feel welcome, and give the rest of the class some idea of what it means to be Muslim? I teach reading in elementary school, so a range of reading levels would be best.

Q: I’m looking for books to help our Muslim students feel welcome, and give the rest of the class some ideas of what it means for their classmates to be Muslim. Where do you keep books about Muslims for kids? I need books for kindergarten through third grade.

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Posted on November 30, 2015 by Nichole Brown

Is Santa Real? A Librarian's Dilemma

Not all questions asked in the library have cut and dry answers. And not all can be accurately answered using a book. When a child asks me about the existence of Santa, what am I supposed to say?

In my personal life, I don't touch this question with a 10-foot pole. But when I am asked this question as a librarian; I cannot deflect. The child is asking me as a trusted professional for an accurate and factual answer. Furthermore I am obligated to provide reliable resources to justify my answer. And herein lies my dilemma; I am supposed to affirm or deny the “realness” of a “person” whose very existence is based on faith! The potential answer to this question is as dangerous as a child asking me if Jesus Christ is “real.” Now before you guffaw or laugh at me, I understand  Jesus and Santa are not the same. 

But just like everyone doesn't share the same beliefs about Jesus, everyone doesn't share a universal belief in Santa. Furthermore there are many adults who would not appreciate my answering this question contrary to their beliefs especially considering I am working in a professional capacity.   As a

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