Kids

Feb 12-19, 2022 is Random Acts of Kindness Week, and the entire city of Hoover is celebrating!  What is Hoover Public Library doing?  One of the big things is our kindness pledge wall along the main hallway.  Write YOUR kindness pledge on a paper heart, and add it to the Kindness Begins with Me display.  Of course, we are also ALWAYS the source for books on kindness.  Here are just a few of the latest titles available for checkout.

I don't pay any attention to professional football, but even I know that the Super Bowl is this Sunday, February 13, 2022.  Before you watch the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals, get in the zone with these new football books!

No need to keep this a secret.  The first book in the long-popular Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs will soon be available as a graphic novel!  The full-color adaptation illustrated by Anjan Sarkar comes out February 15, 2022.

The Winter Olympic Games in Beijing begin today, February 4, 2022 and continue through February 20.  I hope you'll take a break from watching for two reasons.

Family Night: Winter Olympics - Monday, February 7 at 6 p.m.
Bring the whole family for a night of Olympic-themed activities on the Library Plaza.  You do not have to register for this event.

What Are the Winter Olympics? by Gail Herman
Read one of the latest titles in the ever-popular WhoHQ series.

It's almost time for another Black History Month program here at the library!  Next week's Homeschool Hub is focusing on Black Inventors.  Learn about Garrett Morgan (inventor of the traffic signal and lots of other cool stuff) and James Hemings (a formerly enslaved man who was the first American to train as a chef in France and popularized ice cream in the country's early days), then work on projects inspired by their contributions to society.  The session will be next Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. (notice that it's in the morning, which is different from some of our previous sessions) and is open to students in grades K-8.  Registration is required.  Sign up online or by phone (205-444-7830) beginning 02/03/22.

Prepare for cuteness overload!!!  Miss Anna Beth is hosting a Draw Cute Animals event on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 4 p.m.  Artists in grades 4-6 will follow step-by-step instructions to draw the cutest animals you've ever seen.  It is based on the work of Heegym Kim.  And Miss Anna Beth wanted me to assure you that she is by no means an artist . . . but she was able to draw cute animals.  Which means YOU CAN, TOO!  Register online or by phone (205-444-7830) today!

Another great drawing book overflowing with cuteness!
How to Draw Cute Kawaii: In Simple Steps by Yishan Li (2021)

We got a bit derailed in January, but we're back on track to resume my monthly KJ's Reader Getaways!  In case you don't know, these are casual excursions for adults who love kid lit and want to talk about it!  The next one will be Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 4 p.m.  We'll meet at Santos Coffee on Brocks Gap Parkway for tasty treats and delicious book talks.  I know we'll talk about recent award winners, plus a couple of reading challenges we have going on at the library -- Newbery 100 and Black History Month Book Bingo.  But we'll also talk about whatever YOU want to talk about!  And I'll have ARCs to give away, too!

Mark you calendars for these upcoming dates (fingers crossed, of course):
Friday, March 11, 2022 at 4 p.m. - Baba Java Coffee
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 4 p.m. - Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe

Snowing outside or not, we're having a snow day in the Kid Zone -- all weekend long!  Drop by Snow What Fun! anytime Saturday, January 29-Sunday, January 30 to experience indoor winter fun!  Here's what we have planned for you.

1. Take part in a Snowball Fight with Yetis in the nonfiction stacks!

2. Build a rectangular winter buddy with Snowman Stacking in the graphic novels!

3. Make a Clothespin Snowman Puppet at the craft tables (while supplies last)!

4. Take off your gloves or mittens for a Draw-Along Scavenger Hunt throughout the department!

5. Pick up a Snowy S.T.E.A.M. Pack with an insta-snow experiment and a geometric snowman paper folding activity (while supplies last)!

6. Grab a book to read from our Winter Reading Wonderland display!

The library is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has penned another picture book!  Read the article and watch the interview about the project, which honors the memory of her mother Celina Báez.

Just Help!: How to Build a Better World illustrated by Angela Dominguez (01/25/22)
Every night when Sonia goes to bed, Mami asks her the same question: How did you help today? And since Sonia wants to help her community, just like her Mami does, she always makes sure she has a good answer to Mami's question.  In a story inspired by her own family's desire to help others, Sotomayor takes young readers on a journey through a neighborhood where kids and adults, activists and bus drivers, friends and strangers all help one another to build a better world for themselves and their community.

February is Black History Month, and the Children's Department is planning several big things for the month!  The first event is next Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 4 p.m. Miss Traci is hosting Loving Gee's Bend, a program designed for kids in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.  You'll earn about the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama and make a paper collage quilt inspired by their work.  We are still keeping programs small, so you will need to register to be part of this event.  You can sign up online or by phone (205-444-7830) beginning today!

BOOK BONUS!
Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey & Bettye Stroud
The Quilts of Gee's Bend by Susan Goldman Rubin
Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt by Patricia C.McKissack