Kids Blog

Keep up-to-date with the latest news about the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
04/16/2013 - 1:58pm
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdich

The Ojibwa trappers had come to trade with the villagers on Spirit Island, but what they saw caused them to turn their boats around and head for home as quickly as they could.  The entire island seemed empty of life. Smallpox, the terrible illness for which the Native Americans had little immunity, had wiped out everyone. Well, almost everyone. Still alive and crawling through the ruins was a baby girl, all alone.

Omakayas, or Little Frog, was soon adopted into another Ojibwa family on Lake Superior’s Madeline Island.  Her life is as rich and full as that of another beloved book character, Laura Ingalls, and there are many similarities between the stories, including the children’s delight in nature and wild creatures.. Omakayas’ family’s everyday activities and celebrations and tragedies are carefully set down, from season to season.  The Birchbark House is foremost a very well-written story with believable, lovable and intriguing characters, including Omakayas’ annoyingly greedy little brother and beautiful but sometimes cold-hearted big sister.  Older generations are also well-represented.  The grandmother, a gifted healer, shares stories of long-ago, and her dreams are filled with omens of things to come and solutions to real-life problems given by the spirit world.

04/01/2013 - 12:11pm

Young Lee Bennett Hopkins was an unlikely candidate to go down in the Guinness Book of World Records for having edited the most poetry anthologies ever.  He spent half his childhood in the projects of Scranton, New Jersey, and hated school.  His father left the family when Lee was fourteen, leaving him to look after his younger brother and sister.  His mother had her own problems, but she did love her children.

What made the difference for him was a special teacher who gave him hope.  In eighth grade, Mrs. Ethel Kite McLaughlin encouraged him in his writing and urged him to go to as many plays as possible, some of which he managed to see by slipping into the theatres during intermission and catching this second act. This opened a new perspective for Lee, and he was soon on different path, away from the poverty and street life he had known.

03/28/2013 - 7:30am
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. Illustrated by Peter Brown

Everybody knows that rabbits love carrots. Jasper Rabbit, in Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, is no exception. Jasper especially loves the carrots that grow in Crackenhopper Field. The problem is that Jasper can't get enough carrots, yanking and ripping them from the ground every chance he gets. That is, he did until the carrots started following him. Jasper is convinced that the carrots are creeping up on him.

03/21/2013 - 7:31am
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

On a Southern farm during the Civil War, a young girl finds a runaway slave hiding in the family's barn. She is frightened but must make a difficult decision. What does she owe to the runaway with frightened eyes? Unspoken, by Henry Cole, is the story of a choice she makes and the bond that forms between the two of them.

Throughout the book, the reader never sees the runaway slave's face, just an eye peering fearfully from among the stored corn stalks. The girl and the slave never speak. In fact, there are no words in the book. But though all communication is unspoken, the message remains powerful. Detailed graphite drawings convey the tension and emotions, as well as the strong connection that grows between the girl and the runaway.

03/20/2013 - 5:30pm
Porter Branch winner

Each February hardworking area Kindergarten teachers connect their students to our kindergarten library card campaign.  Our goal is for every child to have the opportunity to explore the wonderful world of books, classes, and events available to them at the public library. With the teacher's help, students can easily register for a public library card and take an important step toward lifelong reading and learning. 

Connecting with kindergartners in this way would be impossible to do without the teachers.  This year, thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Library, one teacher at each  branch was randomly selected to receive a Friends' bookbag filled with wonderful books for their classroom.  

Congratulations to the winners for the 2013 Kindergarten Library Card Campaign teacher prizes!

03/14/2013 - 7:31am
Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman and Illustrated by Adam Rex

Chu's Day, the new picture book by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Adam Rex, must have found some of its inspiration from the YouTube video in which a baby panda sneezes so explosively that its poor mother is absolutely shocked.

Chu is a young panda who has bad things happen when he sneezes. With this fact begins the suspenseful build towards the big event. Just how destructively massive will Chu's sneeze be? We go to a library with dusty books. Chu is able to restrain himself. We go to a diner with pepper in the air. Chu manages to hold back, but trouble begins to brew at the circus. 

03/08/2013 - 4:28pm

How can you help the Earth?  There are lots of ways to get involved in conservation whether you're a kid, teen, or adult. Check out the local activities, Web sites and library materials listed below for some great ideas.

Join a Club
The Virginia Cooperative Extension Agency offers 4-H clubs. If you are between the ages of 5 and 18, you can learn about plant and soil sciences, the environment and natural resources as well as animal sciences from great teachers. There are 4-H clubs in Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland counties. These have hands-on activities that strongly encourage leadership development. 4-H projects are fun and can be competitive.

Become a Friend of the River
Not of a mind to face the crowds at the National Mall celebration? Consider volunteering with the Friends of the Rappahannock.  From planting trees to designing and painting rain barrels, they have many volunteer opportunities.

Fun Things to Do to Celebrate Earth Day:

Discover Earth: February 26 - April 24 at England Run Branch
Visit the England Run Branch and explore the Discover Earth: A Century of Change exhibit.  The Central Rappahannock Regional Library system is one of only ten libraries in the country to successfully apply for this grant-funded, museum-quality science exhibit.  It features interactive, multimedia displays allowing visitors to interact with digital information in a dynamic way and encouraging new perspectives on our planet while reinforcing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts.  

03/07/2013 - 4:22pm
Oh, No! by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann

In Oh, No! the animals of the jungle are having a bad day. Tiger is on the prowl, and frog has fallen into a deep, deep hole. "Oh, no!" Mouse tries to help, only to fall in herself. One by one, more animals fall in, joining the group trapped in the hole. "Oh, no!" Finally tiger slinks over, licking his teeth and smiling as he offers to help the other animals out. "Oh, no!"

"Mouse came along, but what could she do?
Pippa-eeek! Pippa-eeek!
Mouse came to help, but what could she do?
Pippa-eeek!
Mouse was so small, what could she do?"

03/06/2013 - 8:31am
Cover to The Great Good Thing

There are many fantasy books that lead you to other places filled with wizards, royalty, and magical creatures. They provide an escape for their readers.  But what if the characters wanted to escape?  The Great Good Thing, by Roderick Townley, is about a princess who wants something more out of her fairy tale life—if only she can get the chance.  

For ages and ages, no one had opened the book. Just as Sylvia sat weeping in boredom by the edge of the lake, pleading for something to happen, a fan of light began opening in a corner of the sky, sending flashes of color across the water. "Rawwwk! Reader!" screamed an orange bird. "Boooook open! Ooopen! Boook open!" groaned a bullfrog.

04/22/2013 - 1:38pm

Outside the wind is lifting just so, ruffling the new leaves on the trees and chasing the old ones away. It's spring, a time to celebrate the rebirth of the flowers and the greening of the trees. It's time to go fly a kite and watch it buck and soar in the breeze.

You can make a simple kite all by yourself, paint it or color it with markers, and let it fly up in the air.