Did you know that on Thursday, February 15th, we're going to reveal the list of Our Favorite Children's Books of 2023? We are, and we're so excited to share them with you! How did we choose our favorite books? First we read a lot. We looked for books with great writing and beautiful art. We also…
Staff Picks
Black History Month: Performers and Artists
This week we are celebrating all kinds of artists and performers--painters, poets, pop stars, and more! Check out our list of Performers and Artists and place a hold, or come in and take something from our display!…
Pride Reads
There's still time left to check out some great reads for Pride! Stop by our display or check out our lists here: Stonewall award books / Pride books for Tweens (4th-6th) / Family Pride Reads…
The Tulsa Race Massacre
This spring marks 100 years since the thriving Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, sometimes called Black Wall Street, was burned down and many of its residents were killed in what became known as the Tulsa Race Massacre. While this is not an easy subject to discuss with children, acknowledging and learning from this violence in…
Pilkey Apologizes for Passive Racism
In March of 2021, a Korean American father reached out to Scholastic about concerns he had about racist imagery and negative stereotypes in Dav Pilkey’s 2010 book The Adventures of Ook and Gluk. After several conversations between the father, Dav Pilkey, and Scholastic, on Monday, March 22, 2021, Scholastic halted distribution of The Adventures of Ook and Gluk with support from Pilkey. The graphic novel is written and illustrated by characters from Dav Pilkey’s…
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Cenus.gov has lots of information about the history of this monthlong celebration: "In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United…
Presidents’ Day
What is Presidents' day? To find out, I looked it up in one of our digital resources, Britannica Library Children's edition. It says: "Presidents’ Day is a U.S. holiday that honors Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Its official name, however, is Washington’s Birthday.
Lunar New Year
The Lunar New Year starts on February 12th. Lunar New Year, sometimes called Chinese New Year, is celebrated in China and Chinese communities around the world. The celebration lasts 15-days, beginning with the new moon and continuing until the full moon. 2021 is the year of the Ox. You can learn more about this holiday…
Black History Month 2021
Today is the first day of Black History Month! According to Britannica Library for Children: The month of February is African American History Month, also known as Black History Month, in the United States. It was first celebrated in 1926 as Negro History Week. It was created to highlight the contributions Blacks have made to…
Christina Soontornvat
photo by Sam Bond Photography Back in October, Christina Soontornvat visited MPPL to talk about her Diary of an Ice Princess series. Today she won several awards from the American Library Association for two of her other books! All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, published by Candlewick, won a Newbery…
