Looking for Love

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2018 by Erin

Valentine’s day can be a tricky day to explain to kids.  My favorite way to find descriptions of love is through books!

Love” by Emma Dodd is a beautiful picture book  that explains that love is so much more than hugs and presents. In her book, Dodd says that “Sometimes love is quiet and it needs no words at all.” After reading the book, can you think about ways your family shows love to each other?

Picture of Love by Emma Dodd

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another great discussion starter is “Pete the Cat’s Groovy Guide to Love” by Kimberly and James Dean. What makes this picture book unique? It’s filled with quotes, and Pete then applies all the quotes to himself. Can you create a quote about love that describes your family? Which one is your favorite and why?

You can check out these books out at your nearest library or bookmobile!

Read-Along eBooks on Hoopla

Posted on Monday, February 5, 2018 by Josh

Frozen eBook Screenshot
“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure”

Hoopla has always offered eBooks at the picture book level, but now they have added another awesome feature: read-along eBooks! With this new feature, kids can now follow along as a narrator enthusiastically reads each individually highlighted word. This is perfect for kids who are learning a new language or for kids who can’t quite finish a book on their own. Hoopla has a lot of up-to-date content, including favorites like Star Wars, Pete the Cat, Finding Nemo and Disney princesses. With over 100 books to choose from, there won’t be a shortage of awesome content to entertain your child while they learn how to read.

You can log into Hoopla using your library card. Simply type “read-along” into the search bar to access the read-along picture books. You get 10 checkouts a month completely free, so take advantage!

Spider-man-eBook-Screenshot
“Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Ultimate Spider-Man”

Books We Love: Little Penguin and the Lollipop

Posted on Monday, January 29, 2018 by Erin

How do you make a friend feel better when you accidentally eat their lollipop? You jump up and down, make silly faces and yell a funny phrase to make them laugh! Little Penguin needs our help doing just that. He accidentally ate Kenneth the seagull’s razzle dazzle seaweed lollipop and Kenneth is mad at him. What will it take for the seagull to forgive Little Penguin?

Little Penguin and the Lollipop” by Tadgh Bentley is a delightful companion to “Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups.” Bentley’s simple and creative illustrations and quirky humor make this book a perfect read-aloud. The characters display many facial expressions, which can lead to great discussions with your kids about different emotions. Benltey’s book is also a gentle reminder to kids that everyone makes mistakes. Do you think penguin fixed his mistake? What would you do differently?

Everyone in my house (even my cats) enjoyed the “Little Penguin and the Lollipop.” I hope you do too!

Play As Learning Bags

Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2018 by Mitch

PAL bag

Let’s be honest, parent to parent – getting your little ones out of the house during the winter is difficult, stressful and all-around inconvenient. The taking off and on of all the coats, hats, scarves and everything else is a pain. Do you almost wish there was a way to bring the library home with you?

Baby and Mouse

You’re in luck! At DBRL, you can check out Play As Learning (PAL) kits and Little Red Reading Bag (LRRB) kits that come with books, DVDs, puppets, toys and much more. Each bag is equipped with everything your family needs for hours of fun and learning. All the kits center around themes such as family reading, language development or creativity. And with over twenty bags to choose from, ranging from ages 0-Baby and book5, your family will have plenty to do. You can even place them on hold to pick up at your library or bookmobile. Continue reading “Play As Learning Bags”

Winner of the 2017 Missouri Building Block Award – 10 Little Ninjas

Posted on Monday, January 22, 2018 by Kristy

10 Little Ninjas book coverThe children of Missouri have spoken, selecting “10 Little Ninjas,” written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Nate Wragg, as the winner of the 2017 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award. Over 18,000 preschoolers and kindergartners participated this year, and “10 Little Ninjas” snuck past “Still a Gorilla!” and “Frog on a Log,” the second and third place winners, to claim ninja victory.
 

Want to read more potential Missouri Building Block Award books? The 2018 Missouri Building Block Award nominees have just been announced. The nominees are:

Feelings Are Universal

Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2018 by Molly

The Velveteen Rabbit book coverA passage in “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams Bianco never fails to bring tears to my eyes: “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real.” Even as an adult, I relate to Skin Horse at that moment because he is experiencing human emotions.

For most of us, childhood is when we learn to master feelings and emotions. And this can be challenging to say the least. Just ask any adult who has carried a screaming child out of a store.

According to an article in Psychology Today, reading to your child is one of the best ways to help them develop their emotional skill sets. Children realize they are not alone when they see fictional characters struggle to make sense of their emotions. They learn that it’s okay to have feelings that you don’t always understand and that working through them is just a part of growing up. Continue reading “Feelings Are Universal”

Books We Love: The Bad Seed

Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2018 by Katie

"The Bad Seed" book coverThe main character of “The Bad Seed” is a bad seed. Everyone says so, even the seed himself. He admits to all sorts of naughty things, like not putting things back where they belong, being late to everything, not washing his hands (or feet) and he even cuts in line!  Why is he so bad? Will he be bad forever?

Jory John (author of “Penguin Problems,” and “Goodnight Already!”) tells the story from the seed’s point of view. He describes the simple sunflower he lived in with his family (back when he was just a humble seed, living in an unremarkable field of sunflowers). Then some stuff happened — it’s all kind of a blur for our seed character — and now he is a bad seed.  Not just any kind of bad seed, but a baaaaaaaaaad seed. Continue reading “Books We Love: The Bad Seed”

Paw Patrol Is on a Roll!

Posted on Monday, January 8, 2018 by Erin

Cover of "Why Do Dogs Drool?"One little quirk about me is that I love PAW Patrol. The puppies are cute, and each episode has many important lessons about friendship, teamwork, sharing and being kind. Because I enjoy the TV show so much, I get giddy about new PAW Patrol books. When I first saw “Why Do Dogs Drool?” and “Hometown Heroes,” I knew I needed to check them out.

These PAW Patrol books are part of an easy-to-read nonfiction series that inserts small factoids or jokes on every page. The information is a great way to start discussions with your child. However, my favorite parts of the books are the jokes (aka, the puppy punchlines). What kind of book does a rabbit like to read? One with a hoppy ending!

Does your child love PAW Patrol like me? Click here for all the titles we have at our branches and bookmobiles.

Fun Art Resources for Kids

Posted on Thursday, January 4, 2018 by Lyndsey

Photo of drawingsLooking to encourage more creativity in your child this year? Pick up a pencil, crayon or marker and start drawing! Drawing has many benefits for kids of all ages. It develops fine motor skills, sparks imagination, builds confidence and can even be therapeutic. 

Need a little help getting started? Art for Kids Hub is a great website that has hundreds of videos teaching kids (and adults) how to draw, paint, sculpt and fold origami.

Rob at Art for Kids Hub draws with his own kids, so children get to see a professional and peer drawing side by side. Kids of any ability are encouraged to create unique masterpieces and are reminded to have fun with it. The lessons range from drawing a cartoon pizza to Harry Potter.

You can start the drawing lessons on their website or on YouTube.

Continue reading “Fun Art Resources for Kids”

“Auld Lang Syne” and New Year’s

Posted on Monday, January 1, 2018 by Josh

photo of floating lanternsAuld Lang Syne” is a song that’s often a part of many New Year’s traditions. The term “auld lang syne” roughly translates to “days gone by” or “old times.” Even though the New Year is often focused on looking towards the future with intentions of self-improvement, this classic song asks us to reflect upon the past year(s) and be introspective about what has changed. Its lyrics help us think about all of the adventures we’ve experienced and the friendships that have come and gone. It’s a nice way to stay thankful, humble and mindful. Here are a few excerpts (translated):

“Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine.

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!

So on this New Year’s, try to reflect on the past in addition to planning for the future. This opens up a whole lot of activities and exercises that can be done with kids. You can discuss fond memories or perhaps memories long forgotten. You can ask them whether they have become closer to anybody or if they have grown farther apart from someone and how that makes them feel.

It can also be an excellent time to look at some old pictures that were taken and talk about memories experienced together. This can improve not only memory but also imagination, storytelling and critical thinking skills. Plus, it’s always fun to reminisce on the past.

Happy New Year!