News from Youth Services Category: Picks by Rebecca R.

Diverse Books for Your Classroom

We recently held a program titled Diverse Books to Share With Your Classroom for educators in our community. Thousands of books are published every year, making it hard sometimes to keep with all the great new titles that could be used in classrooms. Library staff are happy to help by narrowing down the choices and sharing the best of the best with teachers.

We have booklists and curriculum resources for you to keep and use and share with your colleagues. Clicking that link will automatically download a zip file with all the resources.

This program was actually suggested to us by a member of the school community. If you have any other ideas for ways we can support you in your teaching, please get in touch and let us know!

Meet Chicago Author Amy Alznauer

meet Chicago author Amy Alzauer

Join us for a fun evening with Chicago author Amy Alznauer! Amy has written several books for children, but this event will focus on her book The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity. This book tells the story of Ramanujan a boy who lived in India in the 1800s and loved math but didn’t enjoy school, but he ended up having a huge impact on modern mathematics. You’ll have to read the story to find out how! During the zoom event, we’ll hear about Amy’s writing process, play some fun math games, and answer questions that you have for Amy about her book or what it is like to be a writer!

You can read or listen to the book on Hoopla! There is a read-along version, a movie version, and an audiobook version!

Make sure you register! We can’t wait for you to meet Amy!

Amy made a special video greeting just for MPPL!

You get a bundle! And YOU get a bundle!

To save time and effort for our patrons, we offer several bundles of materials that make it easy for you to grab, go, and discover new materials!

Board Book Bundles

For our youngest readers we have board book bundles: five board books for babies and toddlers that are sure to delight you. These can be found on display above the board book shelves.

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Storytime Bundles

For slightly older children (2-7) we have Storytime Bundles. These are books on a theme and include an extension activity. Currently we offer these themes to choose from:

  • ABC
  • Adventure
  • Animals
  • Counting
  • Dinosaurs
  • Diversity
  • Funny Stories
  • Let’s Pretend
  • Staff Favorites
  • STEAM
  • Transportation
  • Under the Sea
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Leveled Reading Bundles

Finding a good book at your child’s reading level isn’t always easy. You can get started quickly by grabbing one of our pre-made bundles. But don’t forget, we can always give you personalized recommendations for a book your child is sure to love and will be able to read successfully! For personalized suggestions, you can stop by the Youth desk or send us an email at bookbag@mppl.org. But when you’re short on time, grabbing a leveled bundle is a great option.

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Binge Bundles / DVD&BluRay

When you’re ready to enjoy some flicks with the fam, grab a themed DVD or BluRay bundle! Why endlessly scroll through Netflix or search through our vast collection when you can just take home a ready made film festival? Whether you have a preschooler who is obsessed with trains or the whole family wants to catch up on blockbusters you might have missed, we have you covered. Current themes include:

  • Adventure
  • Animals
  • Book Films (Weston Woods and Dreamscape titles)
  • Feature Films
  • Funny
  • Princess Power
  • Sports
  • Staff Picks
  • Throwback Movies
  • Superheroes
  • Exercise & Dance
  • Transportation
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To request these special items for Parking Lot Pickup or for the hold shelf, you can email youthserv@mppl.org or call 847/253-5675 and ask for Youth Services.

Graphic Novel Booktalk

Becca has some great graphic novels for you to check out! Did you know that graphic novels actually help kids improve their reading comprehension? It’s true! From the Scholastic article: “With graphic novels, kids still must follow plots and character development. They must understand cause and effect, and they must learn about perspective. All of these things will improve their reading comprehension. “

Put these books on hold today using our catalog. Happy reading!