Search results for: melissa rhoades

8+ Ideas for Unwinding During Stress Awareness Month & All Year Long

Stress doesn’t just affect the brain. It affects a person’s whole body. The “fight or flight” response can be helpful if you’re in short-term physical danger. But over time, it can damage your health. All the following can cause harmful long-term stress, also known as chronic stress…

Free & Unlimited Streaming Entertainment Means More to Love about the Library

This time of year is perfect for stay-at-home movie nights, and the library can help you enjoy entertainment for free with your in-district library card! In fact, we offer two free movie streaming services: Hoopla and Kanopy. Add these to our large selection of DVDs and that gives you over 100,000 free movies, TV series, shorts, and documentaries to enjoy.

10 Reasons to Try (and Love) Graphic Nonfiction Books

By Melissa Rhoades You’ve probably heard the saying “your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” Well, that applies to both my eating and reading habits. I tend to gather far more books than I have time to read. As the book stacks grow in my house, so does my sense of defeat and inadequacy. I […]

Finding Fall Picture Books: Good Reads for the Holidays & Every Day

Autumn is a beautiful time. Deciduous trees make their colorful transformations. Cooler temperatures prevail. People revel in steaming beverages and cuddly sweaters.

Autumn is also the time when seasonal children’s books are especially popular for check out. Even with over 100 picture book titles that come up in our catalog for searches for autumn, fall titles start fluttering off the shelves in August. I offer some alternative titles from what you may find in a search for autumn books that are great to share with your family this time of year.

Festive & Informative Juneteenth Children’s Books to Help You Celebrate

By Melissa Rhoades Juneteenth became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021. I admit I first heard of the commemorative day just a couple years before, but some American communities have been celebrating Juneteenth for 157 years. This year, I decided to learn more about the holiday celebration. It’s been enjoyable to discover its history and […]

Ways to Connect with Poems & Celebrate National Poetry Month this April

By Melissa Rhoades Since 1996, April has been designated as National Poetry Month to recognize and honor this long-lived and varied artform. Poems can be emotional expressions, political statements, a spiritual practice, a way to convey narrative, a whimsical play with language, and many other things. Likewise, poems can fulfill specific rhythms, sounds, syllable counts, […]

How to Talk with Children About the Holocaust: Expert Tips & Suggested Books

By Melissa Rhoades Historic atrocities can feel like they’re not related to our lives today. But historic events were shaped and experienced by regular people like you and me. And regular people like you and me are shaping the future right now. As author Deborah Hopkinson writes in We Must Not Forget, “… it’s up […]

The Great Thanksgiving Listen: Discover the Uplifting Effect of Family Stories & Memories

By Melissa Rhoades & Dana Mannino Would you like this year’s Thanksgiving celebration to make your guests feel uplifted, connected, and hopeful? If so, you can participate in The Great Thanksgiving Listen, created by StoryCorps. Each Thanksgiving, StoryCorps encourages us to sit down with an elder, mentor, family member, friend, or someone we admire and […]

Celebrate Victorian Literature During #Victober, from Horror to Happily-Ever-After

October’s cooling weather and crisping leaves offer the perfect excuse to transition to indoor activities—like curling up with a steaming beverage and a substantial book. Perhaps that’s why reading Victorian literature in October has become a recent tradition for some and with its own hashtag: #Victober.

Fantastic International Fiction: Read Beyond the Beaten Path & Expand Your World

By Melissa Rhoades This summer’s reading challenge dares us to “Read Beyond the Beaten Path.” Reading stories by international authors is a wonderful way to do that. International fiction—also called foreign fiction—allows us to not only imagine the sights, smells, and sounds of other landscapes but also gain exposure to diverse customs, cuisines, and cultural […]