Kids' Blog

Read Right Now! Skateboarding & Skate

Carrie — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:00:57 +0000

Read Skateboarding – From board maintenance and ollies to vert skating and grinds, this book uses bite-sized instructions and killer original photography to introduce kids to the action-packed world of skateboarding. Try these activities at home:

Website: Exploratorium – Skateboard Science
Website: KidsHealth Safety Tips – Skateboarding
Website: Scholastic – The History of Skateboarding
Website: Sports Illustrated for Kids: Skateboarding Videos

Read Skate! – Follows the progress of a beginning skateboarder as he advances from basic moves to more exciting tricks and jumps. Try these activities at home:

Online Game: Stuart’s Extreme Skateboarding
Online Game: Lego Street Skater
Printable: Skateboard Vocabulary
Printable: Skate Coloring Page
Printable: Decorate the Skateboard

Superman Day! 75th Anniversary of the Man of Steel

Carrie — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:00:48 +0000

DC Comics has designated June 12th as Superman Day to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the legendary superhero. What better day to remember your own imaginary adventures being the Man of Steel than by reading a Superman adventure or learning to draw him to create a comic of your own!

Man of Steel (opens June 14th) Official Website
DC Comics: Superman
Infographic: A Brief History of Superman
IndyPL Ready to Read Pinterst Board: Easy Costumes (Several for Superheroes!)
IndyPL Kids: If You Like the Avengers

Easy Chapter Books:

Chapter Books – Superman & Other Superheroes:

Graphic Novels:

Non-Fiction:

Selected by: Janet Spaulding, Selection Services

Read Right Now! Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon

Carrie — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:00:07 +0000

Read Amber Brown is Not a Crayon – Amber Brown’s relationship with Justin Daniels, her best friend forever, is threatened when Justin has to move to Alabama, and fighting jeopardizes their friendship.

Website: KidsHealth – What Kids Who Are Moving Should Do or Qué Deberían Hacer Los Niños Que Van a Cambiar de Residencia
Printable: Moving Truck Coloring Page
Printable: Moving Maze

Want to read more without ever leaving home? Use your indyPL library card to download eBooks and audiobooks. Click on a book jacket to choose a book to download.

Downloadable Audiobooks:

Altered Album Cover Art Workshop

Carrie — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 05:00:26 +0000

Children ages 8 and up are invited to talk about and investigate the album art of The Beatles. Presented by the Indianapolis Art Center, this workshop will show young ones how visual art and music work together. Using collage materials and old LP sleeves, participants will alter an album cover to create a new, original cover for the recording artist or group of their choice. Schedule

Read Right Now! Savage Earth & Eye Wonder: Volcano

Carrie — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:00:14 +0000

Click on the book jacket to read Savage Earth – A remarkable account of our planet’s structure and the literally Earth-shattering process that shape it — often with savage consequences for human being and other living things…the relentless action of turbulent volcanoes, rivers of ice, and seismic shudders.

Website: Discover Kids – Volcano Explorer
Website: USGS – US Volcanoes & Current Activity Alerts
Website: National Geographic – Volcanoes
Online Game: Scholastic Volcano Lab
Online Game: Volcano Maker
Activity: IndyPL Kids Science Experiment – Mentos Volcano

Click on the book jacket to read Volcanoes – discover the inner workings of one of Earth’s most terrifying natural phenomena as well as learn about some of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history.

Printable: Mini Book How a Volcano Erupts
Printable: USGS Map – ActiveVolcanoes, Plate Tectonics & the Ring of Fire
Printable: Volcano Word Search
Printable: Volcano Coloring Page

Want to read more without ever leaving home? Use your indyPL library card to download eBooks and audiobooks. Click on a book jacket to choose a book to download.

Downloadable eBooks:

Mobile Lab Workshops

Carrie — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:00:27 +0000

Kids ages 10 – 14 are invited to use laptops and software to explore digital creations of music, art and film inspired by the colorful era of the 1960′s. Each participant will receive a USB drive to keep. Schedule

Indiana Pacers Fan Van & Call-a-Pacer

Carrie — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:00:51 +0000

Children of all ages and families are invited to take a reading time out and read like a pro with members of the Indiana Pacers. This storytime will feature community guest readers and the Indiana Pacers’ “wheel of prizes.” Schedule

Websites:

Official Website: Indiana Pacers
Facebook: Indiana Pacers
Twitter: @Pacers
Indianapolis Star: Indiana Pacers
ESPN: Indiana Pacers
Sports Illustrated: Indiana Pacers

Books:

Chapter Books Written in the 1960s

Carrie — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 05:00:03 +0000

The 1960s was a great decade for chapter books – look how many of these books are still widely read and loved today…fifty years later! Plus, several of them were Newbery Medal and Newbery Medal Honor books…the kind that are still favorites. Read these together…right NOW! Because you can’t get much better than A Wrinkle in Time, From the Crazy Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basel E. Frankweiler and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All three all-time favorites.

jFIC AIK Aiken, Joan The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962)

jFIC ALE Alexander, Lloyd The High King (1968; Newbery Medal)

jFIC ALE Alexander, Lloyd Time Cat (1963)

jFIC ARM Armstrong, William Sounder (1969)

jE BRO Brown, Jeff Flat Stanley (1964)

jFIC BUR Burnford, Sheila The Incredible Journey (1961)

jE CLE Cleary, Beverly The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965)

jE CLE Cleary, Beverly Ramona the Pest (1968)

jFIC COO Cooper, Susan Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)

jFIC DAH Dahl, Roald Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)

jFIC DAH Dahl, Roald James and the Giant Peach (1961)

jFIC FIT Fitzhugh, Louise Harriet the Spy (1964)

jFIC FLE Fleming, Ian Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1964)

jFIC HAM Hamilton, Virginia The House of Dies Drear (1968)

jFIC HUN Hunt, Irene Across Five Aprils (1964; Newbery Honor)

jFIC HUN Hunt, Irene Up a Road Slowly (1966; Newbery Medal)

jFIC JUS Juster, Norman The Phantom Tollbooth (1961)

jFIC KON Konigsburg, E.L. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967; Newbery Medal)

jFIC LEG Le Guin, Ursula The Wizard of Earthsea (1968)

jFIC LEN L’Engle, Madeleine A Wrinkle in Time (1962; Newbery Medal)

jFIC NEV Neville, Emily Cheney It’s Like This, Cat (1963; Newbery Medal)

jFIC ODE O’Dell, Scott Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960; Newbery Medal)

jFIC RAW Rawls, Wilson Where the Red Fern Grows (1961)

jFIC SEL Seldon, George The Cricket in Times Square (1960; Newbery Honor)

jFIC SNY Snyder, Zilpha Keatley The Egypt Game (1967; Newbery Honor)

jE SOB Sobol, Donald Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (1963)

jFIC SPE Speare, Elizabeth George The Bronze Bow (1961; Newbery Medal)

jFIC TAY Taylor, Theodore The Cay (1969)

jE WAR Warner, Gertrude Chandler Boxcar Children: The Lighthouse Mystery (1963)

~Recommended by: Emily Chandler, Lawrence Branch Library & Janet Spaulding, Selection Services

Summer Showtime Movies

Carrie — Fri, 31 May 2013 05:00:37 +0000

A VARIETY OF BOX OFFICE HITS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO ENJOY!

G = All Audiences Admitted

PG = Parental Guidance suggested, some material may not be suitable for children.

Brave (PG), 100 minutes Schedule, Reviews

This Oscar-winning film follows the heroic journey of Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land. Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric Witch for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (PG), 86 minutes Schedule, Reviews

This animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Frakenweenie (PG), 87 minutes Schedule, Reviews

This film is a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments.

Here Comes the Boom (PG), 105 minutes Schedule, Reviews

In this comedy former collegiate wrestler, Scott Voss is now a 42-year-old, apathetic biology teacher in a failing high school. When cutbacks threaten the school’s music program and its teacher, Scott springs into action. He dusts off his long-unused wrestling skills and earns money for the program by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter.

Hotel Transylvania (PG), 91 minutes Schedule, Reviews

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free from meddling from the human world. Over-protective of his teenage daughter, Mavis, Dracula fabricates tales of elaborate dangers to dissuade her adventurous spirit. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

Madagascar 3 (PG), 93 minutes Schedule, Reviews

Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style.

Paranorman (PG), 92 minutes Schedule, Reviews

When a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman, who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse.

Peter Pan (G), 76 minutes Schedule, Reviews

In this Disney classic, Peter Pan takes the three Darling children on magical adventures in Never Never Land where they battle Captain Hook and a ticking crocodile. Adapted from J. M. Barrie’s play about a boy who never grew up.

Rise of the Guardians (PG), 97 minutes Schedule, Reviews

When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.

Wreck-It Ralph (PG), 102 minutes Schedule, Reviews

Wreck-It Ralph longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun, Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan — win a medal — but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade.

Can You Dig It Juggling Show with Troy Roark

Carrie — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:00:51 +0000

Children and families are invited for a funny and insightful educational program by Master Entertainer Troy Roark. His show is filled with juggling, magic and comedy. Attendees will leave with a message that will be remembered long after the show is over. Schedule

Websites:

PBSKids: Juggling with George
Meet Me at the Corner Video: Juggling for Kids (History and How-to)
Neuroscience for Kids: Juggling Juggles the Brain
Oddball Juggling: The Benefits of Juggling for Kids
Kidzworld: Juggling 101

Books: