Programs & Events for Kids
Library staff design a full schedule of engaging, entertaining, and educational programs and events for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children. Various events – including options for early literacy, STEAM, gaming, and crafts – are offered year-round.
1KB4K: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
1KB4K is a library initiative that promotes reading 1,000 books to preschoolers before they begin Kindergarten. It’s easy to do, and the child gets a free book every time they read and report 100 books. Register and track their reading progress online with Beanstack, or visit the Youth Services Department for additional information or to register in person. You can also view the 1KB4K brochure here.
100 Club
The 100 Club is a fun way for kids to build their reading habits year-round – while earning prizes! Kids in kindergarten through 8th grade can join the club and track their progress on Beanstack. There’s no time limit for completing the challenge, but the goal is to read 100 books! The structure is simple: log books in any category and earn a prize for each 10 books read. Each month, a prize winner will be drawn from active readers, and readers who finish all 10 badges will earn a 100 Club completion prize and get to pick a free book to keep. Learn more about signing up in Beanstack at fondulaclibrary.beanstack.org/reader365 or ask a librarian for help and get your young readers involved in this awesome reading challenge!
Anytime Activities, Toys, & Games
Even when there’s not a program scheduled, there’s always something fun to do at the library! Stop by the desk in the Youth Services Department to learn more about the library’s current Anytime Activities – crafts, games, or projects kids can do whenever they visit the library. Additionally, the library offers a wide selection of board games and card games, as well as a train table, Lego table, puzzles, and a puppet theater to play with during your visit.
FDL Reads: Everything Awesome about Sharks
Everything Awesome About Sharks and Other Underwater Creatures! by Mike Lowery
Reviewed By: Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager
Genre: Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Kids (7-12)
What is This Book About? So many cool things are hiding in this mammoth book of ocean facts. Did you know the largest mountain range in the world is underwater? And that some sharks eat plants? In this book we learn about sharks, including some neat prehistoric sharks, before talking about ocean habitats and other ocean animals. The fifth section might be the most important, discussing actions that we can take in order to protect sharks and all other ocean life. Plastic is one of the biggest threats to our oceans, and there are some easy ways anyone can follow to help reduce the amount of plastic reaching our oceans.
My Review: This book is about so much more than just sharks! The cartoon illustrations reminiscent of Dav Pilkey and Ben Clanton make this book fun for kids without taking away from its informative nature. Kids are guaranteed to find something new and fascinating here – I certainly did! Even people who aren’t artistically inclined will be able to follow the directions in the back of the book on how to draw sharks. The call to action at the end of the book has practical, easy-to-follow tips that will inspire any reader. This is a great book for shark enthusiasts and reading for fun.
Three Words that Describe this Book: informative, funny, engaging
Give This A Try if You Like… Narwhal and Jelly by Ben Clanton; Ultimate Oceanpedia by Christina Wilsdon, Wild Kratts, Shark Week
Rating: 5/5
Children’s Book Highlight: Let’s Fill This World With Kindness
Title: Let’s Fill this World with Kindness: True Tales of Goodwill in Action
Authors: Alexandra Stewart and Jake Alexander
Age: Grades 4-6
“The perfect book for troubled times, this collection of over twenty-five real-life stories shows how heroic acts of kindness can change our world for the better.
Let’s Fill This World with Kindness explores the science of how our brains and bodies behave when we give and receive kindness. Featuring biographies of thinkers and philosophers from across different cultures who have celebrated the power of goodwill toward others, each chapter concludes with a list of questions for readers to help them reflect on the ways they too can be a kindness superhero.” (editor’s notes)
Highlights:
- There are examples of kindness in a lot of ways – in sports, towards animals, in the face of prejudice, during war, and more. Every section includes some critical thinking questions too.
- This book is really optimistic! Yeah, sometimes humans are mean to each other and life is unfair. But when you go looking for the helpers, you’ll still find a lot of people.
- Kindness is infectious! The book talks about the science behind kindness but the stories share many examples about how the kindness of one person encourages similar actions in others.
-by Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager