Children
Facts About the Importance of Language and Reading:
1.Ninety percent of a child’s brain growth occurs during birth and 4 years of age, so it is suggested that parents begin reading to their child at birth.
2.When we read picture books to children, researchers have found that 95 percent of their attention is on the pictures. By occasionally pointing to the words in the book, you are helping them realize that it is the text we are reading, not the pictures.
3.Research has shown that children who play with sounds of words in the preschool years are better prepared to read when they get to school.
4.The language used in story books is different from what we use when we are speaking. Stories also have a certain structure with a beginning, middle and an end.
5.Reading aloud introduces the patterns of language and develops vocabulary.
6.Reading to a child just 20 minutes each day will enable him or her to hear 1 million words in a year and will expand his or her vocabulary by 1,000 words.
7.Acting out stories or parts of them, having young children use their whole bodies, helps them internalize and understand what is happening in the story.
8.Reading aloud helps a child develop a longer attention span and encourages the art of listening.
9.Sharing stories introduces and keeps alive the cultural heritage of our own traditional tales and those of other cultures.
10.Rhyming is one way that children learn to hear that words are made up of smaller parts.
11.Writing can be very motivating. It helps children make the connection between the spoken and the written word. Writing begins with scribbles and develops into the ability to write letters.
12.By using specific names for things, like cat and kitten, not only helps children learn new words, it also helps them understand differences between similar things.
Bathrooms
There is a diaper changing station in every bathroom.
Children’s Room
The Jane Bantley Children’s room is specially designed with children in mind. There are toys and books at age 5 and under level. There is a Lego table, train table, and full size play house. There are adult sized rocking chairs with a bookshelf filled with books on children, parenting and parent’s health.
We welcome your use of the children’s room. It is always good to see children making use of the many books and toys. While we understand that kids will be kids we would appreciate it very much if you would keep a close eye on your charges while they are in your care and in attendance at the library.
- Please accompany your charge to the rest room and inspect the same after their use. Recently we have been experiencing toilets not flushed, excrement in the urinal in the men’s room, the stall doors being locked from the inside and considerable water on the floor.
- Please advise your charges that raised voices are fine for outside play, but screaming and loud talking should be kept to a minimum while inside the library.
- Please ask your charges to treat the books and toys with care. While they were created for use by children, they are breakable.
- Please remind your charges that they should not run in the library.
Story Time
We have a dedicated Children’s Librarian who hosts Story Time in the winter and spring. Story Time dates are listed on the Events page.
Recommended App
Superhero Comic Book Maker – by Duck Duck Moose
An award-winning creative app to ignite the imagination. Create personalized animated comic books with monsters and superheroes. Build comic strips and narrate the story. Includes 55 scenes and coloring pages and stickers. AGE: 3-9. Get it for free at iTunes.
Cruise Into Kindergarten
This program prepares children for entering Kindergarten. It teaches basic class norms and concepts, like colors and recognizing important landmarks in any town. There is a set up in the Children’s Room all year long for kids to access to it.
One Book, Every Young Child
Encourage early literacy development in your preschooler! This program encourages parents to read to their children early and often. It also helps parents engage their children in conversations and activities around the book. There will be programs at the library that are based around this year’s chosen book.
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
Starting in September caregivers can pick up a reading log to hep their kids read a thousand books before Kindergarten. After reading a hundred books kids will receive a prize, just bring the log in to the library. After kids read 1,000 books they will receive a certificate.
By reading to your children you teach them that reading is enjoyable and valuable. Reading to your children helps prepare them for school.
Kids who have not started Kindergarten can participate in this program.
Anytime a book is read to a child, such as at Story Time or bedtime, it counts. You can even count multiple readings of the same book.
Elementary Age Competition Books
We have books for the Interscholastic Reading Competition in a separate section all together in the library. For more info on the competition go here.
PA Child Care and Early Learning
Here’s a link to books with AR points. You can search for books a variety of ways to find the one right for you.
Find books with quizzes available for Reading Counts.
Here is a list of the newest books available with quizzes for Accelerated Reading:
Everlasting Nora J Cruz
So Done J Chase
The Season of Styx Malone J Magoon
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters J Beaty
Merci Suarez Changes Gears J Medina
Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea J Suneby
The Magic Misfits : the Second Story J Harris
Escape from Aleppo J Senzai
A Dash of Trouble J Meriano
Front Desk J Yang
Hurricane Child J Callender
Aru Shah and the End of Time J Chokshi
Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein J Roy
The Sky At Our Feet J Hashimi
The Night Diary J Hiranandani
Like Vanessa J Charles
Wizardmatch J Magaziner
Harbor Me J Woodson
Gone to Drift J McCaulay
Rebound J Alexander
Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring J Cervantes
Jasmine Toguchi, Flamingo Keeper J Florence
Polly Diamond and the Magic Book J Kuipers
Lucky Luna J Lopez
The Witch Boy J GN Ostertag
All Summer Long J GN Larson
Dog Man Lord of the Fleas J GN Pilkey
Dog Man and Cat Kid J GN Pilkey
Big Nate Goes Bananas J GN Pierce
Turning Pages: My Life Story J 92 Sotomayor
Marley Dias Gets It Done J 305.23 Dias
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies J 92 Sidman
No Truth Without Ruth J 92 Krull
Can I Touch Your Hair? J 811 Latham
Brave Clara Barton J 92 Murphy
Calling All Minds J 507.8 Grandin
How to Build a Hug J 616.85 Guglielmo
Natalie’s Hair Was Wild! E Freeman
Mommy’s Khimar E Bigelow
Crescent Moon and Pointed Minarets E Khan
The Petes Go Marching E Dean
I Can Be Anything! : Don’t Tell Me I Can’t! E Dillon
There Was An Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Map! E Colandro
Be Brave, Little Penguin E Andreae
Mae Among the Stars E Ahmed
This is Black Panther! E West
Islandborn E Diaz
The Rabbit Listened E Doerrfeld
I Am Famous E Luebbe
Julian is a Mermaid E Love
Alma and How She Got Her Name E Neal
The Day You Begin E Woodson
Rescue and Jessica E Kensky
Here is a list of the newest books available with quizzes for Reading Counts:
Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl J Florence
Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring J Cervantes
Aru Shah and the End of Time J Chokshi
The Serpent’s Secret J Dasgupta
Front Desk J Yang
Luciana J American Girl Doll Kit Luciana (Her book is included and it has a Reading Counts quiz available.)
The Night Diary J Hiranandani
Escape From Aleppo J Senzai
Like Vanessa J Charles
My Hair is a Garden E Cabrera
Rebound J Alexander
Wizardmatch J Magaziner
Lola Levine And The Vacation Dream J Brown
Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein J Roy
Amal Unbound J Saeed
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code J 940.54 Bruchac
Rising Above J 796.092 Zuckerman
The United States v. Jackie Robinson J 796.357 Bardhan-Quallen
Marti’s Song For Freedom J 972.91 Otheguy
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies J 92 Sidman
Japanese American Internment Camps J 940.53 Waxman
Encourage your children’s learning by finding sites that make learning fun. One such place is here.
Watch videos and read books about animals, celebrations, nature, music, earth, family, community, and more. Some films and books are available in Spanish too!
Learn about people, places, nature, history, and science from videos and eBooks on topics such as American Indians, Ancient Civilizations, Farm to Table, The Civil War, Continents, The Thirteen Colonies, U.S. Government, Disasters, Earth Science, Experiments, Extreme Science, Nature, and many more.
Learn how to be a safe, responsible, and smart citizen with these eBooks that teach you how to avoid predators, play games safely online, protect your privacy, and use social networks. The set for ages 3-6 contains these five titles:
- Avoiding Predators Online
- Playing Games Online
- Protecting Your Privacy Online
- Stopping Cyberbullying
- Using Social Networks
The eBook experience contains a series of fun, engaging “simulations” geared specifically to the topic. Users will create usernames, choose avatars, chat, send messages/email, create profiles, and receive friend invitations all in a safe, controlled environment. Additional eBook features include embedded safety tips, vocabulary terms defined in context, sidebars that further explore important or high-interest material, and credible, vetted resources to find help or get more information.
“Stopping Teen Cyberbullying” is available for teens.
Explore encyclopedias and specialized reference sources on a variety topics from history, government, environment, math, and more! The titles available in the Gale Virtual Reference Library are:
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 1: Development of the Industrial United States, 1878-1899
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1877
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 3: Westward Expansion, 1800-1860
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 4: Reform Era and Eastern U.S. Development, 1815-1850College
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 5: Development of a Nation, 1783-1815
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 6: The Revolutionary Era, 1754–1783
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 7: The Colonial Era, 1600–1754
- American Eras: Primary Sources. Vol. 8: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600
- American Governance
- Civics
- Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters. 2nd ed.
- Ethics, Science, Technology, and Engineering: A Global Resource. 2nd ed.
- Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America
- How Everyday Products are Made
- Human Geography: People and the Environment
- Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States
- Real-Life Math
- Understanding Scientific Principles Through Projects
- World Eras
Elementary students in kindergarten through grade five will find age-appropriate content covering a broad range of educational topics such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, people, social studies, technology, etc. Kids InfoBits includes full-text proprietary content from Blackbirch Press®, U-X-L, KidHaven Press™, and more! Content is continuously updated and provides interesting and important facts with connections to current and past events.
Kids InfoBits includes:
- More than 16,600 images
- Over 1,700 kid-friendly charts and graphs
- More than 600 high-quality educational videos are provided from resources including books, magazines, and news periodicals
Perform research from hundreds of full text science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other reliable sources. View more than 280,000 high-quality science images from sources such as UPI, Getty, NASA, National Geographic and the Nature Picture Library.
You must be logged in to post a comment.