Posted in Explore and Discover on April 3, 2024 at 6:00 am
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... […]
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Tags: adults, books, connection, exercise, humor, parents, positive, reading, screen time, sleep, stress, teens, writing
Posted in Explore and Discover on February 14, 2024 at 6:00 am
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 t […]
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Tags: adults, documentaries, film, hoopla, Kanopy, kids, movies, parents, streaming, teens, television, tweens
Posted in Explore and Discover on December 20, 2023 at 6:00 am
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 […]
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Tags: adults, booklists, books, graphic novels, history, illustration, illustrations, kids, memoir, nonfiction, parents, reading, teens
Posted in Parents and Teachers on October 11, 2023 at 6:00 am
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 autu […]
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Tags: autumn, booklists, books, celebrations, fall, holidays, kids, parents, picture books, reading, seasons
Posted in kids on June 7, 2023 at 6:00 am
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 […]
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Tags: books, celebration, history, Juneteenth, kids, parents, reading, slavery, teachers, teens, tweens
Posted in Explore and Discover on April 5, 2023 at 6:00 am
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, s […]
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Tags: National Poetry Month, poetry, publishing, reading, writing
Posted in Parents and Teachers on January 24, 2023 at 6:00 am
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 […]
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Tags: books, difficult topics, holocaust, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, kids, parents, racism, reading, talking
Posted in Explore and Discover on November 9, 2022 at 6:00 am
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 […]
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Tags: adults, community, family, food, friends, HeritageQuest, kids, oral history, Project Memory, resources, storycorps, teens, tips, tweens
Posted in Explore and Discover on September 30, 2022 at 6:00 am
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. […]
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Tags: #Victober, adults, booklists, books, nonfiction, reading, teens, Victorian, Victorian literature
Posted in Explore and Discover on August 2, 2022 at 6:00 am
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, […]
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Tags: adults, booklists, books, fiction, foreign, international, international literature, reading, Summer reading, world literature
