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“Rebels, this is your captain speaking. Good job infiltrating the Order’s base. Your mission now is to find their plans and transmit them back to us so we can stop them. Good luck, and may the force be with you.”

This is what a group of 5th-8th Graders will hear when they walk into the Star Wars Escape Room at DPPL on June 9th and are greeted by a fully-functional robotic BB-8. Registration info here.

(I know, we’re the coolest library ever.)

Continue Reading "Escape Rooms in the Library" →

Hands down, the best hiding place in the world was Grandma and Grandpa Beckwith’s hall closet: Long…narrow… seemingly endless.

One of the Great Cousin Myths was that no one ever reached the end of the closet; we all agreed to believe that it went on forever.

You would crawl in earthworm-style, navigating the maze of shoes and handbags and wool coats by feel more than sight.

Between the excited anxiety of hiding and the lack of air movement, you'd get sweaty – but your hair would be full of static from the friction of the carpet. Sweat and static cling at the same time - a distinctly uncomfortable feeling.

When you finally found your knee-hugging spot between the sneezy burlap-covered walls and the scratchy wool coats waiting for someone to find you, time would slow down so the space between every heartbeat felt like an eternity. 

Until recently, I got that same anxious, itchy, uncomfortable feeling whenever I thought about trying to learn how to code.

Continue Reading "Ready or Not, Here I Code!" →

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature is way older than I am

So is the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children.

Continue Reading "Heavy Medal: Youth Media Awards 2019" →

It's that time of the year when everyone is sharing their top choices for 2018.

The Youth Services staff is always reading and this year we've read some phenomenal books.

Read on to see what we recommend!

You can click on each title to place a hold in the catalog or stop by the Youth Services desk for additional recommendations.

Happy reading!

Continue Reading "Youth Services Staff Picks for 2018" →

Being a classroom teacher for over fourteen years, I tried to encourage the students in my class to never let fear or challenges get them down. 

This idea was sometimes met with excitement and at times, with some tears.

However, I repeatedly had seen for myself that if a child adopted a mindset of working through their obstacles, fears, or mistakes, that experience of overcoming adversity empowered them to meet future fears or difficulties head on. 

Continue Reading "Grow A Little: Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone" →