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Raffi's Bumping Up and Down is a great bicycling song.
Raffi's Bumping Up and Down is a great bicycling song.

May is here with its blossoming trees and warm, elongated days that make for the most enjoyable bike rides. Did you know that May is National Bike Month? It's a great time of the year to encourage your child to learn how to ride a tricycle or a big-kid bicycle! Reinforcing literacy concepts with play helps your child prepare for independent reading. Here are a few Free Library resources to get your little one excited for biking!

 

Raffi's tune, "Bumping Up and Down,"  has a catchy beat toddlers will love and it's great way to introduce the concept of riding outside with your loved ones. The lyrics are easily adaptable to include different types of bicycles and tricycles!

 

 

Frank Viva created Along a long road as a continuous, 35 foot-long drawing. The book's beautiful retro-modern illustrations and unique pacing conveys the freedom of movement and fun one has while riding a bike.

 

 

 

 

 

Vera, in Rosenberry's Vera rides a bike, overcomes the daunting newness all kids face when attempting to ride a bicycle solo for the first time.

 

Here are a few more biking books:

Ducking for apples by Lynne Berry

New red bike! by James Ransome

Red wagon by Renata Liwska

 

Please contact your local branch librarian if you need help finding these materials.

Tags: Children's books, Pre-K, early literacy, music

Toddlers will enjoy Viva's unconventional illustrations.
Toddlers will enjoy Viva's unconventional illustrations.
Vera's courage to ride a big kid bike will surely inspire young riders/readers!
Vera's courage to ride a big kid bike will surely inspire young riders/readers!

April is National Poetry Month!

Sharing poems and songs with your preschool-aged children helps get them ready to read. Nursery rhymes and nonsense verse are especially great in the way they expand children’s imaginations, and tickle their funny bones. When you sing or say a rhyme, your child learns that words are broken up into syllables. Think about how words are broken up in “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Now you know what a syllable is!

Here are some books, available at your local Free Library of Philadelphia location, which feature poems, songs, and rhymes for preschool children.

The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jane Cabrera

Here’s a Little Poem: My Very First Book of Poetry by Jane Yolen

Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig

Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling by Tracey Campbell Pearson

Itsy Bitsy Spider by Annie Kubler

Pat-a-Cake and Other First Baby Games by Tom Brannon (Sesame Beginnings)

Tanka Tanka Skunk by Steve Webb

Tags: Children's books, Pre-K, early literacy

Stars twinkle, shimmer, and flicker in this new picture book.
Stars twinkle, shimmer, and flicker in this new picture book.
Little John went to bed with his trousers on!
Little John went to bed with his trousers on!
Sing and sign this classic kids' song.
Sing and sign this classic kids' song.
Strangers or angels?
Strangers or angels?

"Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise."

 

So reads the memorable inscription above the door of Shakespeare & Company, one of my favorite bookstores.

This quaint Parisian bookstore welcomes strangers with quiet mystery, magical selections on the bookshelves, and the occasional French cheese hidden among the books.  Far from Paris, at the equally enchanting but much more lively Blackwell Regional Library Children’s Department in the heart of West Philadelphia, we welcome strangers with the gentle chaos and well read books only found in a much-loved children’s library. On one fateful Saturday afternoon of homework frenzy and musical preschool computers, I was about to encounter two strangers who would turn out to be book angels.

Amidst the noise, my attention is drawn to a bright pink laptop and the two adults who are working so intently on something that they might as well be on a deserted island.  Blending professional helpfulness with personal nosiness, I inquire about their project.

As it turns out, this pair of women disguised as regular Saturday afternoon library patrons are none other than Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winning illustrator, Nancy Devard, and up-and-coming author and School District of Philadelphia teacher, Kathleen Wainwright.  And the project on the bright pink laptop?  That turns out to be a picture book which, after many a Saturday afternoon of work, has now been published!

I welcome everyone, stranger and friend alike, to celebrate this collaboration of local Philadelphia talent. Relive the simple joys of outdoor summer games as celebrated in their book, Summer in the City.  And while you’re visiting, perhaps you’ll discover a new favorite library full of magical books, gentle chaos, and strangers in disguise.        

 

Join us for the Summer in the City Block Party Book Launch Event:

Saturday, April 20th 2013

1:00 & 3:00 p.m.

Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library

125 S. 52nd Street

Philadelphia, PA 19139

215-685-7422

Become a fan on Facebook!

 

            

Tags: African American, Children's books, children's programs

Author Kathleen Wainwright
Author Kathleen Wainwright
Illustrator Nancy Devard
Illustrator Nancy Devard

Did you know? April 2nd is Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday -- he would have been 208 years old this year.  Happy Birthday, Hans!

It is also International Children’s Book Day, a day dedicated to the love of reading and to children’s books from all over the world.  This year USBBY (United States Board on Books for Young People) has been awarded the sponsorship of the 2013 International Children’s Book Day.  The Free Library of Philadelphia joins the celebration by highlighting outstanding international books selected from USBBY’s current and past booklists marking this day.  All these exceptional books were originally published outside of the United States and bring a new perspective and flavor to children’s book collections everywhere.

You can find our booklist here.

Tags: Children's books, Recommendations

What Should I Make?
What Should I Make?
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
Moributo II: Guardian of the Darkness
Moributo II: Guardian of the Darkness
2013 One Book, Every Young Child selection
2013 One Book, Every Young Child selection

The Free Library of Philadelphia is celebrating Pennsylvania’s eight annual One Book, Every Young Child selection, The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom! One Book, Every Young Child is a statewide reading initiative designed to highlight the impact of early literacy. The program emphasizes the importance of reading to children early and often AND engaging them in conversations about the books that are read.

Suzanne Bloom will be visiting the Free Library of Philadelphia! 

Join us for an opportunity to meet Suzanne Bloom, the author of The Bus for Us. From a fire engine to a front loader, Ms. Bloom introduces young readers to a variety of vehicles through simple text and spirited illustrations. The Bus for Us is a beautiful picture book, perfect for sharing with young children!

Sunday, April 14th at 2:00 p.m.

Montgomery Auditorium

Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street

215-686-5372

 

Young children and their caregivers are invited to join our children's librarians throughout the months of April and May for special storytimes featuring The Bus for Us. Below is a partial listing of dates and location. Just because your local library isn't on the list doesn't mean they aren't having a special event. Check with the Children's librarian at your local library to be sure. 

Friday, April 5th at 10:30 a.m.

Roxborough Library, 6245 Ridge Avenue

215-685-2550

 

Tuesday, April 9th at 10:30 a.m.

Charles L. Durham Library, 3320 Haverford Avenue

215-685-7436

 

Wednesday, April 17th at 6:30pm

Torresdale Library, 3079 Holme Avenue

215-685-0495

 

Friday April 19th and May 17th at 10:30 a.m.

Oak Lane Library, 6614 N. 12th Street

215-685-2848

 

Thursday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m.

Fox Chase Libary, 501 Rhawn Street

215-685-0547

 

For more information about the book or resources for parents and teachers visit http://www.paonebook.org/.

Tags: Children's books, Pre-K