Children's Book Week 2015

St. Louis County Library is once again a participating location for Children's Book Week. Children's Book Week is a nationwide literacy initiative that is really a celebration of books. We are proud to do our part to spread the love of reading!












Libraries and bookstores all over the country will have activities for kids. There is even a poll for kids of all ages to vote on their favorite books. Check it out here 

Here is our list of events. Make sure you find one close to you.

Monday, April 27, 4:30 p.m.

Children’s Book Week Diorama Contest

Join us for a kick-off party! Bring your favorite children’s book to life in a 3D replica by creating a diorama for Children’s Book Week. Submissions are due by May 9th at Prairie Commons. Creations will be displayed. Prizes will be awarded. Ages 8-11. Registration is required. Auditorium.

Prairie Commons

Monday, May 4 - Saturday, May 9, All Day

Children's Book Week Scavenger Hunt

Calling all kids! Do you like a challenge? Want to search the library for hidden clues and undiscovered hints? Stop by the library, complete our scavenger hunt, and win a prize! Ages 5-10.

Prairie Commons

Monday, May 4- Saturday, May 9 All Day

Celebrate Children’s Book Week

Come in and make a craft during the week or take the craft to go home with you. Ages 3-11.

Meramec Valley

Monday, May 4, 6:30 p.m.

Kind Kids Story Time

Join us for a special story time that emphasizes the importance of being kind to all animals. We will even have a live dog present for practice. Ages 4-6.

Headquarters

Friday, May 8, 10:00 a.m.

Dragons Love Tacos

Dragons love two things: tacos and parties.  Listen to the hilarious book by Adam Rubin, make a fun craft and party like a dragon! Ages 3-5. Registration required.

Headquarters

Saturday, May 9, 11:00 a.m.

Mo Willems Books

Come join the fun as we celebrate children's book week reading some of our favorite Mo Willems books with Elephant, Piggie and Pigeon. Come for the stories and stay for the fun. Ages 4-9. Registration required.

Thornhill

Pete the Cat Visit

Join us for some Pete the Cat fun as everyone’s favorite cool cat visits the library. Bring your camera.

Wednesday, May 6, 10:00 a.m.--Daniel Boone

Wednesday, May 6, 6:30 p.m.--Cliff Cave

Thursday, May 7, 3:00 p.m.--Prairie Commons

Saturday, May 9, 10:00 a.m.--Headquarters

--Desiree S., HQ

Sibling Silliness: How it feels to be the big brother

It is a truth universally known that getting a new sibling can be a painful process for kids. That's why there are oodles of picture books about the topic. They are all important, but sometimes one will stand out from the rest for it's humor, or artistry, or sweetness. Such is the case for "The New Small Person," a recent release by the ever fabulous Lauren Child. Known for her "Charlie and Lola" series, Child has taken this time-worn topic and breathed delight into it with her spot-on, quirky humor and adorable collage-style illustrations. 

In the story we meet Elmore Green, who "started off life as an only child, as many children do." Elmore is pleased with his things and the attention he gets from his parents.Unfortunately, a new person shows up, and Elmore doesn't like it! "The new person was small and didn't do much, but still people picked it up and smiled at it and gave it things to chew. They all seemed to like it. . .maybe a little MORE than they liked Elmore Green. Things go poorly, until one night when Elmore has a nightmare and finds that maybe it's nice to have another small person around.

If you like "The New Small Person," reserve a copy by clicking the link above, and be sure to check out a few more books about the trials of older brothers:

"Big Little Brother" by Kevin Kling--In this hilarious tale, a boy has a little brother who is bigger than he is, and it feels awful. Until one day when a bully shows up, and he decides that it's not so bad to have a big little brother.



"Another Brother" by Matthew Cordell--Davy has too many
brothers and it's driving him crazy! Davy wishes they would leave him alone--until they do. Who will drive him crazy then? Adorable, funny sheep for everyone.


--Andrea W., Headquarters

Kids Music Friday: "How Great Can This Day Be" by Lori Henriques

Start your day off right with this jazzy little tune by Lori Henriques. The retro, brightly colored dancing shapes will get you smiling and dancing along!

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Staff Review: "Sidewalk Flowers" by Sydney Smith

It is said that a picture paints a thousand words--what does a book filled with wordless pictures paint? A story of beauty and kindness, in the case of "Sidewalk Flowers" by JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith. The black and beige drawings with a few splashes of watercolor brightness tell the story of a little girl on a walk with her dad. As they traipse through the city, the dad talks distractedly on his cell phone and the little girl starts gathering wildflowers found in out-of-the-way places. Then, as they get closer to home, she starts gifting small bundles of flowers as she sees fit. It's a delightful story about wonder found in small places, the beauty of small kindnesses, and the ability of children to find color and joy in colorless and dreary places. Watch the trailer below! Perfect for the pre-school set.

--Andrea W., Headquarters

2015 Write Stuff winners

We have had our Write Stuff contest for a number of years now and it just keeps growing. This year we had over 150 entries! This year's prompt, "I peeled back the paper and there you were" allowed for some very diverse interpretations. While we love reading the contest entries, choosing our favorite is so difficult. 

Here are the first and second place winners for each age group:

AGES 8-10
1st Place--Natalie F. (age 8) "Pigs in Space"
2nd Place--Riya A. (age 10) "Fairy Tale"

AGES 11-14
1st Place--Shruthika K. (age 12) "A Special Can of Pringles"
2nd Place--Charles D. (age 13) "The Concert"

AGES 15-18
1st Place--Isabelle Z. (age 15) "Not Done Yet"
2nd Place--Abigail A. (age 17) "In the Depths of May"

The First Place entries for Ages 8-10 and Ages 11-14 are below. Visit our TEEN BLOG to see the winning entry for the Ages 15-18.

Thank you to all who entered and we can't wait to see what you come up with next year!

AGES 8-10
"Pigs in Space" by Natalie F.


“I can’t believe our owner is going to space!” squealed Gracie.  

“It would be cool to study Mars,” said Gerty.  

“What do they eat?” asked Fred. 

“Kids, we are not going to space,” said Mr. Pig. 

“We are just plain, old guinea pigs,” said Mrs. Pig.  

“But, said Gerty. 

“NO BUTS,” yelled Mr. Pig, “WE ARE NOT ASTRONAUTS! NOW GO TO BED!”                                                         

The pigs scrambled to their favorite pile of wood shavings and fell asleep very fast. But when                                                  
the cage was very quiet they leaped out and tumbled into their owner’s lunchbox.  

“It smells like a tuna sandwich,” said Gracie holding her nose.

Gerty and Gracie went to sleep by an apple, but Fred had other plans. He bounced onto a bag of 

potato chips. He tried to open the bag 17 times! Finally he belly flopped on the bag and POP! Potato 

chips flew everywhere.  It was so loud his sisters woke up. AAAHH! Said gerty and graice.

 “WHAT ON EARTH?” asked the owner. 

“Mr. Burny,” said the owner’s partner, Mr. Kean, “we aren’t on earth anymore.” 

“FRED!” said Gerty.  

“Mmmmhhh!” said Fred 

“He’s in the bag!” said Gracie. 

RRRRIIIPP! Went the bag. 

“How did you find me with your tiny paws?” asked Fred.
                                                         

“Well, I peeled back the paper and there you were,” said Gerty.                                

ZIIIIPP! 

“The lunchbox is opening!” yelled Gracie. 

“AHHHHH!” said Fred and Gerty. 

The pigs raced to the apple and hid.  The owner picked up the big potato chip mess. Then he spotted 

the apple. He picked up it up and looked on all sides to check for bruises. Then he spotted the pigs. 

“OH DEAR!” said the owner.


“WHAT ARE YOU OH DEARING ABOUT? GET TO WORK!” yelled Mr.  Bark.  

Mr. Bark is the owner’s boss. The owner hid the pigs in his lunchbox again. 

“I…I will sir!” Then he whispered, “I’ll take you to the moon without my boss knowing,” said the 

owner. 

“Ya, hear that?” said Gerty “we are going to the moon!”


AGES 11-14
"A Special Can of Pringles" by Shruthika K. 

Dear Turtle,

I was a kid who wanted a snack, not an adventure, so when I opened my can of 

Pringles, I was surprised. I peeled back the paper and there you were, sitting there, 

finishing off the last crumbs. I asked why you were so small, thinking I was hallucinating. 

You told me your name was Turtle, and you were the result of an experiment. You had 

snuck into the jar of Pringles because you liked them. Less scared, I introduced myself 

as Cassie and asked exactly what experiment would reduce someone to mere inches. 

You shuddered at the thought and explained that there was a company called 

BioGenetic Visionaries, who had this crazy idea that people need to be the same height 

to ensure equality. They created a serum to change everyone to 5 feet, 10 inches, but 

ended up reducing all the people they tested on to 5 centimeters, 10 millimeters. I 

recognized the company, since both my parents work there, and you simply grinned at 

me, saying tomorrow was “take your child to work day”. 

I doubted my parents knew about the experimentation, since they would’ve 

already quit their job if they had. This was confirmed when they turned down a hallway, 

and you led me down another after I told them I needed to use the restroom. I walked 

into a room, awestruck by the test tubes filled with a translucent orange liquid, the 

miniature people trapped inside birdcages, the scientists milling around, not caring 

about the protests. There was one person, probably the supervisor, sitting there, 

watching all of it.

He saw me and told me to leave. I refused and questioned him about the 

experiment. He wouldn’t explain until you jumped out of my pocket, saying that you 

escaped and told me about it. The supervisor then tried to convince me they were the 

good guys, claiming that they were visionaries of the future; bringing equality to all 

humans by making everyone the same size so no one would be better or stronger than 

others. This angered me, and I said that people who weren’t strong were good at other 

things, and the world was already balanced. 

You whispered a plan to me, and I agreed. You jumped on the supervisor, 

distracting him, as I grabbed all the test tubes, ran to the nearest toilet, and flushed it all 

down the drain. I came back in, just in time to watch the supervisor crush you in his 

hand. Screaming, I ran to the supercomputer with all the information, and smashed it 

with a nearby birdcage, yelling at all the scientists about how they weren’t visionaries, 

they were futuristic Hitlers. All the work was destroyed. I ran out of the room and into my 

parents’ workplace, explaining.

A month later, BioGenetics Visionaries was sued and demolished. I sat down 

writing this obituary for you, Turtle, and your sacrifice. And as I went to get a snack, I 

put aside some Pringles in your memory.

Staff Review: "Sweetest Kulu" by Celina Kalluk

When babies are born, everyone celebrates--even the animals! At least they do in "Sweetest Kulu" by Celina Kalluk. And why wouldn't they? Kulu, illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis, is a most adorable baby with black shiny eyes and a sweet button nose. All the arctic animals agree as they come to give him gifts. "Narwhal and Beluga saw the natural gift to the world that you are. They gave you spontaneity, little Kulu, and the joyful feeling that comes with finishing well what you start." The gently empowering message is brought to life by the vibrant, engaging illustrations in a true feast for the eyes. Perfect for the preschool set.

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Kids Music Friday: "The Creatures Under My Bed" by Caspar Babypants

Do you have a little one at home who's afraid of the monsters under the bed? Watch this adorable video from the always-creative Caspar Babypants, and they'll be checking under their bed for a party instead (and you'll find yourself singing along as well)! If you like the song, you can check out the album, "Rise and Shine."

--Andrea W., Headquarters