Dance around the World to China…Stories and Art, too!

Monkey visits the Dragon King in his jade palace

Travel with us around the globe as we present folk dances, stories, and art from different countries.

This coming Sunday, January 29 at 3:00 pm, we invite you to welcome the Chinese Year of the Dragon with a special puppet show. Guests from the Asian Studies Center of the University of Pittsburgh will introduce kids to China’s favorite trickster superhero, Monkey, as he travels to the the jade palace of the Dragon King looking for treasure. You’ll also learn a Chinese folkdance and make your own monkey and dragon puppets.

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Celebrate the Year of the Dragon

“The year of the Dragon is a time of power and ambition… It is the year to take giant steps forward.”

Animals in the Stars: Chinese Astrology for Children written and illustrated by Gregory Crawford

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Sunday Storytime

Inclusive Storytime is now held on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM.

This storytime is designed for children with special needs, their friends, and family members. Join us for stories, music, sensory exploration and crafts!

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If a toucan can…

…so can you! A young bird enthusiast visited the Children’s Department on Sunday! She wore a brightly colored costume as she browsed our collection of books and DVDs.

    

Some birds may fly south for the winter, but this toucan found the perfect place to stay warm.

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BYOK! (Bring Your Own Kazoo)

Join us for The Sixth Annual Oakland KazooFest

Saturday, January 28 at 2:00

Kazoos will be provided, but you are welcome to BYOK if you wish. We’ll practice our standard repetoire and then open the program to requests. Everyone is invited, so bring the whole family.

Anyone can make music with a kazoo, so pucker up and party!

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C is for Checkmate!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capitano_teo/

…and for chess and for classes and for Children’s Department.

Sign up for FREE chess classes,  Saturdays, January 21 through February 25, 10:15-11:30.

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Diapering Every Little Bottom

  We are partnering with the Junior Leage of Pittsburgh and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to collect donations of diapers for families who need them.

One in three families struggles to provide enough diapers for their babies.  You can help by bringing a package of disposable diapers — any size, any brand–to the Children’s Department for our Diaper Drop.

While you’re here, pick up some books about potty training, as your baby gets ever closer to the day he or she will be Done with Diapers!

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Two Top 2011 Chapter Books

Book lists designating top books start appearing at the end of a year—or the beginning of the next. School Library Journal and Kirkus have recently published their choices for best fiction for last year. Here are just two of the many books that I think stood out in 2011:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherine M. Valente is a little like the Oz books, a little like Carroll’s Alice books and unlike anything you’ve ever read before.

September, blown by the Green Wind into Fairyland, makes friends with a Wyvern named A to L, a dragon who is half library. She meets the evil Marquess, who has enacted strict rules including locking creatures’ wings.

September saves a blue-skinned Marid boy from enslavement. She is forced to travel Fairyland’s seasons and islands in search of the Marquess’  sword.  On her way, she becomes a tree, invades a bicycle stampede and samples some very curious fairy food – although she’s been warned to taste none of it.

The ending is satisfying and as unique as everything that leads up to it. You’ll be glad you joined September circumnavigating Fairyland.

Three friends: bossy Leandra, thoughtful Ali and sensitive Bunny spend One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street in a book by the same name by Joanne Rockland. They all have ties to the last remaining orange tree on their street. So does a boy who wants to make magic, a retired teacher who remembers the past with loving detail but is growing hazy about the present and a mysterious man who recalls a childhood tragedy.

Loss or the fear of loss, the importance of a supportive community, of  family and love are explored in this quiet, hopeful book that will appeal to third to fifth graders.

-  Glorious Read

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Once upon a…

toon!

Joe Wos delights a crowd of library patrons with stories, drawings, puzzles and games.

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Imagination Builders

Young builders created gardens, ariplanes, harbors, skyscapers, and more at today’s Imagination Builders program.  Join us for more Imagination Builders tomorrow and Thursday.

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