The weather is warmer and school is winding down, which can only mean one thing–Summer Reading is here! Start your summer off right with some out of this world entertainment! We are excited to bring children’s musician Justin Roberts to the Missouri Theater and storyteller Linda Gorham to all of our library buildings. Bonus: Attending one or both of these performances can count toward your completion of the Summer Reading program.
Justin Roberts & The Not Ready for Naptime Players
Saturday, June 1, 2019 › 11 a.m.-Noon
Missouri Theatre, 203 S. 9th St.
Rock out to the music of this award-winning band as we kick off Summer Reading. This former Montessori preschool teacher began writing and singing songs for his students. Soon, his career extended beyond the classroom, and he began recording his music professionally. Now a two-time Grammy nominee, he and his band sing about childhood experiences like “Recess” and “Jungle Gym.”
For ADA accommodations, call the Missouri Theatre at (573) 882-3781. For other concert questions, email kids@dbrl.org. This special Justin Roberts performance is partially funded by the Melissa Carr Literacy Through the Arts Fund established by the DBRL Foundation.
This show is for fans of all ages and abilities. Free tickets are available at www.dbrl.org/justinroberts.
Continue reading “Out of This World Performances”
It’s never too early to introduce your child to the wonder of reading. Nursery rhymes and songs are an engaging way to help your little one develop their early literary skills like phonological awareness, the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. This skill will enable children to sound out the words in books when they begin reading on their own. Additionally, by reading with your child frequently, you are helping expand their vocabulary, letter knowledge and storytelling skills.
Board books are best for young readers because they teach children how to to handle books while withstanding the wear and tear of small hands (and teeth!). Try allowing your child to hold the book while you read the words aloud. Below are some suggested titles that compliment our Summer Reading theme, “A Universe of Stories.” We hope these titles provide plenty of inspiration for exploration and adventure.
Continue reading “Lift Off With Early Literacy Skills”
DBRL and the Stephens Lake Amphitheater Concert Series are pleased to present Jim Cosgrove & The Hiccups on Thursday, May 2 from 6-7 pm. The event, which will be held at the Stephens Lake Park Amphitheater at 100 Old Hwy 63, is for families and children of all ages.
Affectionately known as “Mr. Stinky Feet” by his fans, Cosgrove has performed over 3500 shows throughout both North America and Europe. Upbeat and interactive, Cosgrove’s shows are truly a family affair. His wife, Jeni, manages the business, while their two daughters serve as the road crew and sometimes appear with their father on stage.
An award-winning musician and performer, Cosgrove is also a motivational speaker and the author of “Everybody Gets Stinky Feet,” a collection of essays compiled from a parenting column he wrote for the Kansas City Star. Together, Jim and Jeni co-founded Jiggle Jam, once billed as the nation’s largest independent family music festival from 2007-2013.
Continue reading “Jim Cosgrove and The Hiccups Concert!”
The Unbound Book Festival will return to downtown Columbia for its fourth year! The children’s venue has been generously funded in part by the Friends of the Columbia Public Library. Join us on Saturday, April 20 at the Warehouse Theatre on Stephens College’s campus as we celebrate some of today’s best and brightest children’s authors.
Download a complete schedule of Unbound children’s events and a campus map. This festival is FREE and open to all lovers of children’s literature, no matter your age!
9:30 a.m.
The Singing Princesses
Sing along with princesses Elsa, Anna, Cinderella and Belle. The princesses are part of the TRYPS Children’s Theatre Institute at Stephens College.
Continue reading “Unbound Children’s Events”
For some, spring break means traveling to see exotic animals or taking in some great art and culture. But, did you know you can do all these things and more at your local public library? Check out next week’s line-up of amazing programs for you and your family. Registration is not required for these events.
For Families
Flights of Fancy With Jay and Leslie’s Laughing Matters
Jay and Leslie Cady are award-winning professional entertainers with more than 6,000 performances under their belts. These students of famed mime Marcel Marceau have been twice nominated for Best of Kansas City Theater awards and won the Lighton Prize in 2010 for excellence as teaching artists. At this summer reading preview, enjoy juggling, stories, orbits and more bits to tickle your funny bone. High-flying fun at your library? You can plan on it! Families, ages 4 and older.
Continue reading “Spring Break Preview”
Inspiring young readers to become future scientists is quite the feat to tackle. Science books come in all shapes and sizes, from books filled with science experiments to glossy images of the animal kingdom. However, these aren’t made with the youngest kids in mind. One of my favorite writers of science books, Chris Ferrie, writes books for babies that approach difficult subjects in bite-sized amounts.
Who is Chris Ferrie?
- A senior professor at the University of Technology Sydney and the Centre for Quantum Software and Information
- A PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Institute for Quantum Computing and University of Waterloo
- A father of four children
Ferrie knows that babies are naturally little scientists. Everything is new, everything must be studied and understood. That’s why Ferrie books are among my favorites—they take the imaginative, fun structure of the board book and bring in the expansive knowledge of the universe to make a cute, fun introduction material to the scientific world.
Continue reading “Author Feature: Chris Ferrie”
It’s hard to believe that a childhood classic like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is turning 50 years old this year! Publishers have continued to reprint and circulate this beloved title since 1969. It’s even been translated into 65 different languages!
To celebrate this amazing milestone, DBRL has decided to throw a birthday party for Eric Carle’s most-celebrated book. This event will feature crafts and activities that mirror his use of color and collage. This program is for ages birth-5 with an adult.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Celebration will kick-off at the Columbia Public Library. Mark your calendar for one of the following sessions:
- Tuesday, March 19 from 10-11:00 a.m.
- Tuesday, March 19 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 20 from 10-11:00 a.m.
Then, in April, we’ll continue the celebrate in Fulton, Holts Summit and Ashland on the following dates:
For many children, playtime is their favorite time of the day! But did you know that play is not only fun, but also an important part of the childhood experience? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “[T]he many forms of play enrich a child’s brain, body, and life in important ways.” Overall, creative play not only allows a child to learn about themselves, but also, learn about others and the world around them.
But while playtime is an essential building block of the childhood experience, equally important is learning to clean up after the fun.
Continue reading “Clean Up, Clean Up!”
Valentine’s Day is coming up this week, and that means candy everywhere! If your child is hyped up on sugar, why not let them smash some hearts to burn off steam? You may have heard that the Sweethearts conversation heart candy won’t be around this year, but don’t worry! We can smash the off-brand.
For this activity, obtain some candy conversation hearts. Next, you’ll need a nutcracker and a large tray to work on. After instructing your kiddo about how to safely use the nutcracker (little fingers need to be careful), let them use those fine motor skills to place a candy heart in the nutcracker. Now they just squeeze down, strengthening their hands and crushing the candy heart with a satisfying crunch! Before they do the next one, take a moment to predict how many pieces it will break into. Then count the pieces afterward, to see how accurate the guesses were. Now your child is not only having fun with destruction, they are also practicing math skills!
The candy hearts themselves offer an opportunity for literacy skills, as your child can recognize letters and tell you the sounds they make. If you’re working on colors, have your child sort the hearts by color before commencing the crushing. Thanks to Mary Catherine at Fun-A-Day blog for the idea.
If you want more Valentine’s Day destruction, check out these baked cotton ball hearts that you get to smash with a hammer!
