Be Creative: Make Your Own Kaleidocycle
Marlene, Assistant Branch Manager - Cypress Hills, Assistant Branch Manager - Cypress Hills
We here at Brooklyn Public Library invite you to Make Your Own Kaldeiocycle. Try it at home or look in our Calendar of Events for a local branch hosting this activity! No matter where you make it, you can receive a Be Creative sticker for your Book Your Brooklyn Summer@BPL gameboard. You can learn more about Summer@BPL on our website. MATERIALS NEEDED: Paper with Printed Template (Sample templates from We're Calling Shenanigans and Easy Peasy Fun) Tip: If you have it, we recommend printing this out on cardstock or other heavy paper.…
Figure It Out: Build Your Own Robot Hand
Brooklyn Library invites you to Make your own Robot Hand and receive a Figure it Out sticker for your Book Your Brooklyn summer gameboard with this fun activity. Try this at home or look in our BPL events calendar for a local branch hosting this fun activity! You can learn all about Summer@BPL on our website. CRAFT MATERIALS NEEDED: One piece of cardstock paper, a pencil, scissors, string or twine, tape and straws. How to: Trace a hand and wrist onto the piece of cardstock. (The bigger the hand you trace the better, so ask a caregiver to lend you theirs…
Summer Solstice Reads: How to Handle 15 Hours of Daylight
Laura, Center for Brooklyn History, Center for Brooklyn History
The summer solstice is upon us once again. I’ve always loved the solstice. Who doesn’t love the start of summer and all it entails: ice cream cones, flip-flops, the smell of sunscreen on the beach? But this year, the solstice feels even more fitting to the timeline in which we are existing. The longest day of the year? That is exactly what the past few pandemic years have felt like: one weird, nebulous, chaotic and LONG year spanning multiple years. In the year of our lives, 2020 to present has been its longest day. Linear time no longer feels true to experience, so even a day where the…
BKLYN Kids Presents: Summer Reading 2022!
On Saturday, June 4th we kicked off Summer Reading at Brooklyn Public Library! This year is extra special because it's also BPL's 125th birthday, and You're Invited! This summer, we encourage you to read whatever you like. Drop by your local branch to pick up a booklist of suggested titles, or check out our booklists of 125 titles we love for recommendations in both English and Spanish. We have these materials in print format, plus most of them are available as e-books or audiobooks too! Plus we have tons of fun in-person and virtual programs available…
Reading Challenges to Try!
One fun way to discover new books is to complete reading challenges. Here are a few challenges to try: Find a book with titles that start with the first letter of your first name and/or last name. Pick a state, city, or country of your choice, and find books to read set in that place. Search for books with a specific cover, ie: flowers, food, a rainbow, hands, an animal, etc. Try reading books of another genre or format. For example, if you usually read fantasy, try a mystery or historical fiction. Or, if you usually read traditional novels, try a graphic novel or…
August New Releases!
This poster was created by Eileen, one of our awesome TLVP summer interns. Put any, or all of these books on hold for pick up by visiting our library catalog.
Epic Domino Chain!
BPL's libraries have expanded their services and hours for the summer, just in time for you to visit, enjoy some free AC, and find some good books to read! If you were wondering what BPL staff were up to while the libraries were closed to the public, check out this video of a book domino chain made by librarians Ben and Emma in the Central Library's Youth Wing. You'll never look at books the same way again! Photo by Tom Wilson on Unsplash
It's Disability Pride Month!
“I wish for a world that views disability, mental or physical, not as a hindrance but as unique attributes that can be seen as powerful assets if given the right opportunities.” -Oliver Sacks July is Disability Pride Month, which only officially started in 2015. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but more progress lies ahead! Disability can be physical or mental, common or rare, visible or invisible, or learning disabilities. Most disabilities are invisible! Are you interested in learning more about living…
Keep Cool and Read On!
Reading indoors is one of my favorite ways to stay cool on hot and humid days. Here are six books to check out that are set during the summer! A MAP TO THE SUN BY SLOANE LEONG: One summer day, Ren meets Luna at a beachside basketball court and a friendship is born. But when Luna moves to back to Oahu, Ren's messages to her friend go unanswered. Years go by. Then Luna returns, hoping to rekindle their friendship. Ren is hesitant. She's dealing with a lot, including family troubles, dropping grades, and the newly formed women's basketball team at their high school. With Ren's…
BKLYN Kids Presents: Summer Reading 2021!
Have FUN this summer with books, activities, and virtual programs from Brooklyn Public Library! This Saturday, June 5 is the official launch of Summer Reading in Brooklyn! You can find fun virtual and in-person programs throughout the summer to help you get excited about reading what you love in a favorite spot at the beach, park or cozied up at home. And to help you carry your books home from the library this summer, Brooklyn Public Library is giving away colorful tote bags to toddlers and babies, kids and teens! We will also have some free book giveaways! …
Summer Reading Family Feature: Katherine from Cortelyou Library
It was a busy summer at Cortelyou Library with the library serving summer meals every day, volunteer book buddies and Summer Youth employees working hard, and of course, lots of programs for the whole family! One local family who made the library part of their summer fun was Katherine Guzman and her mother, Guadalupe Oliveri. Katherine and her mom spent an enjoyable summer afternoon completing the 2018 Books & Beats Summer Reading Game Board challenge. Activities for children were divided into three age categories: 0-5, 6-12 and tween/teen. Since Katherine is a second grader, she…
Summer Reading Family Feature: The Kantrowitz Family from Windsor Terrace
Thank you to Children's Librarian Hasina Islam for submitting this Summer Reading story from the Kantrowitz Family! Meet the Kantrowitz Family Cara: I was born in Brooklyn, but didn't actually grow up here. My husband and I moved here after I finished graduate school and started working for the Department of Education. I've always loved to read. I immediately got a library card and was constantly maxing out the number of books on hold at a time. Now that our kids are (almost!) 5 and 16 months, we spend SO MUCH time at the library. We meet friends, attend story…
Summer Reading Family Feature: Tatyana and Sofiya from Windsor Terrace
As Summer Reading 2018 comes to a close, we'd like to feature some of our all-star patrons who participated in the program! Meet Tatyana and Sofiya My family came to the USA from Ukraine 25 Years ago. To start a new life was not easy at all. But everyone was full of hope and desire to learn, work, and succeed. Friends introduced my daughter to the Windsor Terrace Library. That was a lot of help for her. She was a very shy teenage girl. With support from the librarians, she started reading books. High school studying was very challenging, but she never gave up. My mother-in-law was…
Summer Reading Family Feature: The Millers at Canarsie Library
As Summer Reading 2018 comes to a close, we'd like to feature some all-star patrons who rocked it out with us this summer! Meet the Millers from Canarsie Library The Millers are very special patrons at the Canarsie Library. Rayne and Gerard Miller, both originally from Grenada, now live in Canarsie with their two children, five-year-old Maisyn, and two-year-old Maliyah. Rayne never had the opportunity to go to college, but wants the best for her kids. She says, “Education is key. You have to know how to read, write, and explain yourself. It doesn’t…
Baseball Book Review 2018 Contest Winners!
On August 16, we joined our friends at New York Public Library at Yankee Stadium for the afternoon game with the Tampa Bay Rays to celebrate the winners of the Summer 2018 Baseball Book Review contest. Congratulations to Brooklyn Public Library’s winners Frankie Kuzler, age 8 and Lucas Miller, Age 13. Check out their winning reviews! Frankie Kuzler, age 8 Review of Sports Illustrated Kids’ Big Book of Who: Baseball: The 101 Stars Every Fan Needs to Know, by Mark Bechtel My name is Frankie Kuzler and this is a review of a book called Big Book of Who: Baseball. It features the really,…
Summer 2017 Contest Winners!
August 30, we joined our friends at New York Public Library at Yankee Stadium for the afternoon game with the Cleveland Indians to celebrate the winners of the Summer 2017 Baseball Book Review contest. Congratulations to Brooklyn Public Library’s winners William Vaccaro, and Jonathan Peripinal on a job well done.