The My True Story writing contest is part of WFPL’s Collective Memory Project to capture the experiences and perspectives of Watertown citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Library’s local history department is preserving printed reflections and oral history interviews for future researchers. The My True Story project focused on the perspectives of teens at this… Continue reading True Stories by Watertown Students
Resources are flying everywhere these days-virtual museum tours, live streaming concerts, etc.. To add to this, if you have children in school, you are probably also getting links to online enrichment learning websites. I don’t know about you, but I am overwhelmed. So to help you, I am going to add another online resource to… Continue reading Kanopy for Adults & Kids
Winter is an important season when it comes to literature for kids and teens! The American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards are announced annually in the new year (they’re the children’s literature equivalent of the Oscars), including the Newbery and Caldecott awards. Here in the WFPL Children’s Department, we also announce our very own award… Continue reading WFPL Children’s Book Awards 2020
One of my favorite things about a year wrapping up is browsing through the myriad of Best Books lists for children! It’s always fascinating to see which titles make more than one list, which titles I haven’t seen yet, and to gain inspiration for our library’s collection, gifts for friends and family, and, of course,… Continue reading Best Children’s Books of 2019
Spooky season is upon us! With that crisp, chill, overcast weather and Halloween decorations abounding, what better time to curl up with a spine-chilling read? The Children’s Department has a robust collection of Halloween-themed picture books, and of course we have creepy classics like The Wolves in the Walls, Coraline, and Scary Stories to Tell… Continue reading Children’s Books for Spooky Season
If you’re a frequent visitor of the Children’s Room, you might have noticed a few changes recently! We’re excited to announce that we’re bringing back Launchpads! These are small, portable touchscreen tablets pre-loaded with early learning games similar to those on the AWE computer we had. With educational games and puzzles featuring everything from farm… Continue reading New Children’s Room Technology
One of our favorite things here in the Children’s Room is something you might not expect from a bunch of literature lovers: wordless picture books! Wordless picture books are totally underrated, and they’re amazing for a multitude of reasons: They encourage the development of visual literacy They foster observational skills They foster storytelling in folks… Continue reading Books Without Words
The Watertown Free Public Library isn’t the only one with a historic anniversary this year! There are lots of historic events to commemorate this year. Some of these anniversaries are for events that are joyous or bittersweet, while others are ones to remember rather than celebrate. Here are a handful of children’s and teen books… Continue reading Other Big Anniversaries
As Kerri announced in a post back in December, this year’s One Book, One Watertown selection is The Library Book by Susan Orlean! I’m so excited about this choice, and it got me thinking about some of my favorite children’s books about libraries and librarians. Here’s a roundup of some stellar picture books for all… Continue reading The Library Book(s)
With so much information accessible to us at all times, sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to read. There’s just too much! Bestseller lists and online reviews help, but we end up reading a lot of the same kinds of books. Plus, a lot of these lists are driven by publishers who have the… Continue reading Under-the-Radar: Young Adult Fiction
