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Kids

Kids
Jan
22

Last Day of Story Walk: Snowmen at Night

9:00am - 12:00pm
Age Group: Kids

Last Day of Story Walk: Snowmen at Night

9:00am - 12:00pm
Jan 22, 2021
Offsite/Outreach
Age Groups: Kids
Description
Monday, January 4 through Friday, January 22, 2021 at Uptown Station...
Jan
22

Sign & Sing with Communication Junction on Zoom

10:00am - 10:30am
Age Group: Kids
Registration Required

Sign & Sing with Communication Junction on Zoom

10:00am - 10:30am
Jan 22, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Kids
Registration Required
Seats Remaining: 6
Description
January 22, 2021, at 10 am. Registration is required, as this will be held on Zoom. For kids ages 0 to 5 with a caregiver....
Jan
23

LEGO My Library @ Home

10:00am - 11:00am
Age Group: Kids
Registration Required

LEGO My Library @ Home

10:00am - 11:00am
Jan 23, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Kids
Registration Required
Seats Remaining: 10
Description
Saturday, January 23, 2021 from 10-11 am on Zoom. For kids ages 2-12. Registration is required....
Jan
25

Baby Rock

10:00am - 10:30am
Age Group: Kids

Baby Rock

10:00am - 10:30am
Jan 25, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Kids
Description
Monday, January 25, 2021, at 10 am. Video will remain posted to Facebook and YouTube for an extended period of time....
Jan
26

Tuesday Tales

10:00am - 10:30am
Age Group: Kids

Tuesday Tales

10:00am - 10:30am
Jan 26, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Kids
Description
Tuesday, January 26, 2021,at 10 am. Video will remain posted on Facebook and YouTube for an extended period of time....
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For the most up-to-date information on our activities for kids, sign up for our Children's Services newsletter.

Activities

The Children’s Department offers lots of activities to educate and entertain kids. There are story hours for various ages, crafts, guest authors, a LEGO club, robotics and other science and tech activities, Partners in Reading, Partners in Technology, and of course our Summer Reading Program.

Learn more about activities offered here.

 

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is an education initiative with three main goals: to promote early childhood literacy, to prepare young children for kindergarten and to facilitate family bonding through reading.

Children’s reading success in kindergarten and beyond begins with positive reading experiences in infancy and early childhood. 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten allows caregivers to play an active role in their child’s learning and development. Studies show that reading with a young child can significantly improve their vocabulary, memory, attention span and mastery of the language.

Parents and caregivers may register any child between the ages of 0–6. Any book may be counted and books may be repeated. Repetition is even encouraged as it increases both comprehension and confidence in young children.  

Login to Beanstack to add completed 100-Book Reading Logs. Please complete this form to select prizes. Library staff will contact parents when prizes are ready for pick up using the library's Curb It service.

All children who have not entered kindergarten or the equivalent are eligible to register. Participants are not required to be Normal Public Library cardholders or residents of Normal. Participants are welcome to register for this program even if they are completing other area 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten programs. 

Questions or comments? Please contact Randi Sutter, Children’s Outreach Librarian, at rsutter@normalpl.org or 309-454-4668.

 

Places to Discover

Whether we have an official activity going on or not, you can always find fun things to do in Children's Services.

The Discovery Room is a popular area for imaginative play, with tons of puppets and a wonderful puppet theater, a dress-up center, velcro wall, gear table, and more. We even have a Tot Spot area reserved for our youngest patrons.

The Book Nook is a welcoming area to find a comfy seat and enjoy a book, put some puzzles together, or build a DUPLO masterpiece.

Jump on an iPad and play learning games in our Tech Playground. The Tech Playground can be a busy place! If all of the iPads are in use, or you want to sit somewhere else in the library, check out an iPad for in-house use.

 

Outreach and Services

The library has lots of services and resources that can help teachers and homeschoolers.

We are happy to offer storytelling or information programs to nursing homes, churches, community centers, and schools. For more information, please contact us at 309-454-4668.

 

New Books for Kids

  • Serena Says

    Serena Says

    Tanita S. Davis

    After her best friend, JC, has a kidney transplant, Serena feels that they are falling out of touch, especially as JC makes a new best friend in the hospital, Award-winning author Tanita S. Davis delivers a heartwarming and humorous middle grade tale about a young Black girl who finds her own voice through vlogging and learns to speak out. 

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Cat Kid Comic Club

    Dav Pilkey

    A brand-new graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey. Readers of all ages will unleash their own creativity as they open the door to visual comic-book storytelling with the help of Dav Pilkey and his heartfelt, humorous, and amazing cast, featuring Li'l Petey, Molly, and Flippy in Cat Kid Comic Club.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Smartest Kid in the Universe

    The Smartest Kid in the Universe

    Chris Grabenstein

    What if you could learn everything just by eating jellybeans?! Twelve-year-old Jake's middle school is about to be shut down--unless Jake and his friends can figure out how to save it. When Jake spies a bowl of jellybeans at the hotel where his mom works, he eats them. But those weren't just jellybeans — one of the scientists at his mom's conference is developing the world's first ingestible information pills. And THAT'S what Jake ate.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Mason Mooney

    Mason Mooney: Paranormal Investigator

    Seaerra Miller

    A spooky, ghost-filled and hilarious adventure awaits when you dive into the mysterious world of Mason Mooney! Join Paranormal Investigator Mason Mooney as he tackles ghosts, witches and grumpy teenagers to prove once and for all who is the REAL talent in the world of paranormal creatures. If anyone can figure out what's going on in Grimbrook's most haunted house - it's him. But with an evil curse looming over him and the house's inhabitants, can Mason finally prove to the Society of Peculiar Paranormal Phenomena that he's the best around - or is he a bit out of his depth?

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Doodlebug Elizabeth

    Doodlebug Elizabeth

    Rachel Vail

    Class 2B is getting pets! What pets will they be? Elizabeth does not like surprises, but she does like pets. When Elizabeth gives her teacher a great idea with her doodles, every kid in 2B gets to choose one animal each to learn about! Elizabeth ends up with...JELLYFISH. She does not feel a little disappointed with her choice. Elizabeth has never felt a little ANYTHING in her entire life. But, Elizabeth is growing too – discovering that she can use her love of doodling to help deal with all her big feelings. Even her feelings about goodbyes, and surprises...and jellyfish!

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Nerviest Girl in the World

    The Nerviest Girl in the World

    Melissa Wiley

    A feisty girl from a family of ranchers lands a job as a daredevil stunt girl in the early days of silent film. One day, Pearl's brothers get cushy jobs doing stunts for this new form of entertainment called "moving pictures." Before she knows it, Pearl has stumbled into being a stunt girl herself--and dreams of becoming a star. The only problem is, her mother has no idea what she's up to. And let's just say she wouldn't be too happy to find out that Pearl's been jumping out of burning buildings in her spare time.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Last Mirror on the Left

    The Last Mirror on the Left

    Lamar Giles

    Otto and Sheed, The Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County, are ordered by Missus Nedraw to bring a fugitive to justice in a world that mirrors their own but has its own rules in this sequel to The Last Last-Day-of-Summer.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Wishes and Wellingtons

    Wishes and Wellingtons

    Julie Berry

    Maeve Merritt chafes at the rigid rules at her London boarding school for "Upright Young Ladies." When punishment forces her to sort through the trash, she finds a sardine tin that houses a foul-tempered djinni with no intention of submitting to a schoolgirl as his master. Soon an orphan boy from the charitable home next door, a mysterious tall man in ginger whiskers, a disgruntled school worker, and a take-no-prisoners business tycoon are in hot pursuit of Maeve and her magical discovery. It'll take all of her quick thinking and sass to set matters right.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Feel the Fog

    Feel the Fog

    April Pulley Sayre

    Discover the wonder and science behind fog in this stunning and immersive nonfiction picture book from award-winning author and photographer April Pulley Sayre. Damp and drippy, misty and mysterious…fog is fascinating. Young readers will love this lyrical and gorgeously photo-illustrated exploration of these clouds that come to visit.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • All's Happy That Ends Happy

    All's Happy That Ends Happy

    Rose Lagercrantz

    It's spring and Dani is going to Rome for her father's wedding. But Ella is not invited; Dad said no. What will Ella think when she learns she hasn't been invited to her best friend's dad's wedding? In this final book in the acclaimed My Happy Life series, the road between Dani and Ella is getting longer and longer. Dani must make sure their story ends happily.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Séance Tea Party

    Séance Tea Party

    Reimena Yee

    After watching her circle of friends seemingly fade away, Lora is determined to still have fun on her own, so when a tea party leads Lora to discovering Alexa, the ghost that haunts her house, they soon become best friends.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Becoming Muhammad Ali

    Becoming Muhammad Ali

    James Patterson, Kwame Alexander

    From two heavy-hitters in children's literature comes a biographical novel of cultural icon Muhammad Ali.. Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

    Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

    Tehlor Kay Mejia

    Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It's all they've heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago. Pao is embarrassed to admit that she has been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Tristan Strong Destroys the World (a Tristan Strong Novel, Book 2)

    Tristan Strong Destroys the World (a Tristan Strong Novel, Book 2)

    Kwame Mbalia

    Seventh-grader Tristan must return to Alke and enlist the help of African gods and black folktale heroes when Nana is abducted from the Strong family farm in Alabama.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Once Upon a Winter Day

    Once Upon a Winter Day

    Liza Woodruff

    Milo's mother is too busy to read him a story so she sends him outside to play in the snow where he discovers a story of his own.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>

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309-452-1757
206 W. College Ave. 
Normal, IL 61761
ask@normalpl.org

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