Kids

Hoover Public Library’s week of Halloween fun is almost here!  Make sure you drop by at least once October 25-31, 2021!  Here’s a breakdown of the monstrous fun you’ll find:

ALL WEEK
Our Monster Mash Hopscotch let’s you jump, hop, and skip your way to the library in a spooky take on a classic activity.
Pick up your Monster Fun-tivities Pack in the Children’s Department.  Each bag is filled with crafts and other Halloween fun.
Walk through our Halloween Maze and see what spooky things lurk in the nonfiction stacks.
Pick up a clue sheet and see what marvelous monster-ness you can find in our Monster Mash Scavenger Hunt.
Take a pic with a Halloween character or two in our Photo-Ops.  #hplkidshalloween2021

Rick Riordan has a new book out next week!  And it isn’t a story fueled by mythology.  I know, shocking.  Instead, he pays homage to Jules Verne with a modern take on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Daughter of the Deep (10/26/21)
Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana's parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family she's got left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. Ana's freshman year culminates with the class's weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it'll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory of their lives.

WOW in the World is a popular podcast featuring Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas.  They dive deep into the coolest new stories in science, technology, and innovation.  Learn the who, what, when, where, how, and WOW of a different topic each week!

Guy and Mindy also have a new book!  Maybe you could read it between episodes.

WOW in the World: The How and Wow of the Human Body: From Your Tongue to Your Toes and All the Guts in Between (02/23/21)
WHY in the world do I have a belly button?
And WHAT in the world does it do?
WHEN in the world will my nose stop growing?
And HOW in the world does my pee keep flowing?
Featuring hilarious illustrations and filled with facts, jokes, photos, quizzes, and Wow-To experiments, this book has everything you need to better understand your own walking, talking, barfing, breathing, pooping body of WOW!

The Click graphic novel series is ultra-popular here at Hoover Public Library!  And now fans can get their hands on the first book in a spin-off series featuring aspiring entrepreneurs and best friends!

Besties: Work It Out by Kayla Miller & Jeffrey Canino (10/19/21)
Meet Beth and Chanda, two stylish best friends on their way to building their fashion empire! An unexpected business opportunity presents itself when the girls are asked to dogsit at Ms. Langford's luxurious house while she’s away, but it quickly turns into a disaster after an accident leaves one of Ms. Langford’s prized possessions in pieces! Now Beth and Chanda have to take on as many odd jobs as they can in order to afford a replacement. Car washing, book sales, interior decorating—you name it, Beth and Chanda are there! Will they be able to patch up their mistake in time?

Watch the book trailer!

October is the official season of spooky reads.  Whether you want to be a bit scared or totally terrified, there’s a new book for you!  Here are our favorites of 2021.

We’re halfway through National Pizza Month!  How much pizza have you eaten so far in celebration?  I haven’t eaten NEARLY enough.  I also haven’t had my fill of pizza books yet.  How about you?  Here are some of the latest slices of pizza literature available at Hoover Public Library.

Pizza and Taco: Super-Awesome Comic! by Stephen Shaskan (08/10/21)
When you love comics like Pizza and Taco do, the next step after reading them is to collaborate on one!! But what happens when they run up against "artistic differences?" Who gets to have the bigger muscles and the more rad superpowers? Can these two strong-willed foodstuffs compromise and make a comic that is more awesome than the sum of its parts?

National Fossil Day is an annual celebration that highlights the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations.  2021 marks just the 12th year of this holiday, which makes it relatively new.  Especially compared to the age of fossils!  The National Park Service has a great website you can explore.  And, of course, Hoover Public Library has plenty of books to help you discover the wonder of fossils.  Here are some of the latest titles.

This month's Homeschool Hub is exploring the spooky side of science!  Join The Science Lady on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. for an eerie and hair-raising good time with experiments that are all about Halloween.  We'll create spooky sounds and see some almost ghostly chemical reactions.  You'll BOO-hoo if you miss this show!  This exhibition is designed for grades K-8.  It will take place outside on the Children's Patio (where space is limited) and registration is required.  You can call 205-444-7830 to sign up beginning 10/13.

BOOK BONUS!
Weird But True! Halloween: 300 Spooky Facts to Scare You Silly (2020)
Did you know that there is an underwater pumpkin carving contest?  Or that the U.S. Defense Department has a zombie apocalypse plan?  Maybe you'd be amazed to discover that there are more Halloween emojis than there are U.S. states?  It's all weird -- and it's all true.

It seems that everywhere you go there are pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!  Well, 'tis the season.  And we're embracing it here at Hoover Public Library!  We're hosting a Pumpkin Palooza for fall fanatics on Monday,  October 18, 2021 at 4 p.m.  Kids in grades 1-3 will meet outside on the Children's Patio to build a pumpkin patch marble run and create a negative space jack-o-lantern.  Will there also be ideas for further pumpkin exploration?  Yes, yes there will.  Registration is required and opens 10/11.  Sign up online or call 205-444-7830.

BOOK BONUS!
LEGO Halloween Ideas (2020)
Celebrate Halloween with 50 spooky build ideas!  Use your LEGO collection to conjure up a giant bat, a ghost ship, a witch's house, and many more creepy creations.

Varian Johnson, the author of the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning The Parker Inheritance, has a new novel -- a story about showing great courage and perseverance when life gets shuffled.

Playing the Cards You're Dealt (10/05/21)
Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits!  Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won.  So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table.