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.
Summer Olympics for Kids
Did you know that breakdancing is making its debut as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Games? The Opening Ceremony is on July 26th, so there is plenty of time to get in the Olympic spirit! Our Children’s Department has some great books about the history of the Games, some amazing Olympic athletes, and this year’s host country, France!
History of the Olympics
What are the Paralympic Games?
A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Olympic Games
G is for Gold Medal: an Olympics Alphabet
Great Moments in Olympic Basketball
Great Moments in Olympic Gymnastics
Great Moments in Olympic Track & Field
Olympic Athletes
I Got This: To Gold and Beyond
She Persisted in Sport: American Athletes Who Changed the Game
Sakamoto’s Swim Club: How a Teacher Led an Unlikely Team
Inaugural Ballers: the True Story of the First US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team
History & Culture of France
France: The Culture and Recipes of France
Claude Monet: The Painter Who Stopped the Trains
by Alyssa Young, Youth Services Assistant
FDL Reads: Folktales for a Better World
Folktales for a Better World: Stories of Peace and Kindness by Elizabeth Laird, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini
Reviewed By: Chelsea Bunton, library volunteer
Genre: Folklore
Suggested Age: Children (7-10)
What is This Book About? Folktales for a Better World is a short anthology collection of myths and folklore from seven countries who have all experienced strife due to conflict. Most of these stories hale from the Middle East, but all stories are connected by a central theme of humanitarian kindness. Through these tales, the reader can witness how a deeply human thing it is to experience forgiveness, inner peace, and gratitude. Though the stories may be old, the thematic experience is timeless and personal to us all.
My Review: I always enjoy reading folklore from various origins. I very much enjoyed this particular set as they were stories I had never encountered before. It was very humbling to see stories like these that are rooted in such a very mortal desire for peace, yet they come from countries that we often generalize with dissension today. I think these stories are a testament to what could be in this world if we only look within for that brotherly nature we have lost to instinctually forgive and love our fellow man.
Three Words that Describe this Book: Hopeful, charming, mythical
Give This A Try if You Like…Myths or other folklore, The Librarian of Basra by Jeannette Winter, One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights)
