Blogs from the Oakland Public Library

Play and Literacy

Yes, we have LEGOS at the library. Come by one of many locations for monthly LEGO Mania! Clubs.

Boy playing with LegosPlay has a direct link to early literacy experience. Play and stories work together to encourage creativity, imagination, and dexterity: all skills that help your child learn.  

If you have DUPLOS at home, try some of the acitivities in the the Read! Build! Play! at Home Toolkit developed by LEGO in partnership with The Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC).  

We also have DUPLOS and LEGOS for your child to play with  at many library locations. Bring your child of any age in to one of our monthly LEGO Mania! clubs, where they can play and build with others. 

LEGO Mania! Monthly Lego Clubs

First Tuesdays at 4pm at the Eastmont Library

First Fridays at 3:30pm at the 

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We're not foolin'!

A list of joke and riddle books for kids at the Oakland Public Library.

Woohoo, April Fools' Day! Did your kiddos celebrate with a prank or two? Keep that funny bone tickled with these joke, riddle, and wordplay books for young tricksters:

Ha! Ha! Ha! book cover   

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10 Great Reasons to Read Fiction in April

Check out these great books coming in April. Place your holds now!

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PAWS to Read at Lakeview

Your child can read to a dog! Bring her to Lakeview on April afternoons (sign up requred).

Is your child shy about reading out loud? Is your child shy about reading at all? Join us on Wednesday afternoons in April.  Therapy Pets in Oakland is bringing dogs to the Lakeview Branch to give your child a fun way to practice reading. These gentle dogs do not judge children; they only love them. Research has shown that children gain ease in reading when they read to dogs.

Sign up for a 20-minute session at Lakeview

Another Girl Reading to Dog

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Meet Ana-Elba Pavon!

Have you met Elmhurst Library's new branch manager?

Ana-Elba PavonToday let's head over to 88th Avenue and meet Ana-Elba Pavon, now Branch Manager of the Elmhurst library.  

Ana, What brought you to the Elmhurst library?

I was assigned to work at the Elmhurst Library when I first became an on-call Children’s Librarian here.  I went to visit the library a few days before my first assignment, and like many people visiting this library for the first time, I went right by it because it blends in so well with the houses in the neighborhood!

Give us an example of what a day at work looks like for you.

I often prepare for the day’s activities before we open.  During our open hours, I may do a storytime, visit a school, have a meeting, and, of course, help people find things in the library.  At Elmhurst we are small enough

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Women’s Prize for Fiction Announces the 2013 Longlist of Nominees

If you are searching for your next book, the Women’s Prize longlist has some great inspiration! Here’s the list, with summaries from our catalog.

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Wimpy Kid Read-alikes

Books similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid that may be found at the Oakland Public Library.

So far, Jeff Kinney has released seven volumes of his phenomenally popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid books – a series that I have seen 2nd to 7th grade students enthusiastically devour. Want more illustrated chapter books? Try handing these to young readers hooked by Greg Heffley’s comic missteps:

Origami Yoda book cover   

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Help Your Child Get Ready to Read - Talking

There are five activities you can do with your child to help him or her get ready to read. Today we talk about talking.

Every Child Ready to Read logo

You are your child's first and best teacher. Sharing five ativities regularly - talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing - with him will prepare him for reading.

We now know that from the moment they are born, they are learning about the world around them, processing input, making hypotheses, and coming to conclusions. A baby's brain  already weighs 25% of its adult weight; it has a lot of work to do!

It is never too soon to start talking with your child. As children hear spoken language, they learn new words and what they mean. They learn about the world around them and important general knowledge. Fifteen minute snippets of talking and listening while you are cooking, putting on makeup, driving, or gardening are as much as your child needs to start developing her vocabulary and understanding how language works, thereby getting her ready to read. 

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Check Out an Award Winning Book

Congratulations to the winners of the Man Asian Literary Prize, the Story Prize, the National Book Critic Circle Awards, not to mention last week's blog giveaway.

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Yes, again!

Does your toddler or preschooler insist on reading the same book over and over? They're doing exactly what they should.

Cover of the book Baby Beebee BirdWhy does your toddler or preschooler ask for you to read the same book over and over?  Children learn through repetition, and they need to experience a story many times to fully understand it.  They also love to hear funny or rhyming words, and active or soothing rhythms, over and over and over--it's how they learn to talk, build their vocabulary, and learn to be creative with language! Every time you read that story again, they are growing their brains, and--most importantly--you are bringing them joy.

Of course, it's hard to bring joy if you've just had enough of The Baby Beebee Bird for the night.  Stop in to

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