Library Events

Come read a favorite poem at the 21st Favorite Poem Evening at the Library - on Tuesday, April 24, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Choose a published poem you have read and admired. Send its title, author and your name and generic occupation for inclusion in a printed program to Ellen Robbins at the library  ellenr@takomaparkmd.gov by April 18.

All are welcome to read or just listen!.  Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library Sponsored by Takoma Park Library and the Friends of the Library.

Author Samantha Berger and illustrator Mike Curato open our celebration of Children's Book Week on Monday, April 30 at 7 p.m. when they present their new picture book, What If…. As the book opens, a young African-American girl with purple hair who loves to draw thinks about what she would do if one day her pencil disappeared. As Berger details, the girl digs deeper and deeper into her creativity, realizing finally: “If I had nothing, but still had my mind; there would always be stories to seek and to find."

What If has won raves from critics, with Kirkus calling the book a “testament to the power of an imaginative mind,” adding: “ While readers will find much to love in the exuberant rhyming verse, attending closely to the illustrations brings its own rewards given the fascinating combinations of mixed media Curato employs.”At our program, Berger and Curato will read their book and then talk about how it came together; Curato also will do some live drawing for the crowd. Berger has written a number of picture books, including Crankenstein, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat. Curato, known for his best-selling Little Elliott books, visited the Library last fall to spotlight his illustrations for the critically-acclaimed All the Way to Havana, written by Margarita Engle. Politics & Prose will be selling copies of the book, but our event is free and no purchase or registration is required.
 

It's time for the "Wonderful Ones"! Each Wednesday morning in May, we'll gather from 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m. to sing songs and rhymes, read a few stories and do lots -- and LOTS! -- of movement exercises. Most importantly, we'll have fun together! Note: this program is offered as a package of five classes; please register only if you can make all five classes (barring illness, of course) as we often have people on our waiting list. Thanks for understanding!

PLEASE REGISTER USING YOUR CHILD'S NAME, NOT YOURS. THANK YOU.
 

Newbery Medalist Rebecca Stead and best-selling kids’ author Wendy Mass will conclude our Children's Book Week celebration on Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. when they discuss their magical new novel, Bob, in the Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium. Stead won the 2010 Newbery Medal for her novel, When You Reach Me. Mass is hugely popular with young readers for her novels, which include A Mango-Shaped Space, Every Soul a Star, 11 Birthdays, and The Candymakers.

In Bob, Mass and Stead join forces to tell the story of the unusual friendship between Livy, a 10-year-old girl, and a little green creature named Bob. Livy first met Bob when she traveled to Australia from the United States as a five-year-old to spend a few weeks with her grandmother. Now she has returned five years later and has no recollection of Bob, who has been waiting faithfully for her. After some initial discomfort, the two pick up where they left off as Livy pledges to help Bob figure out who or what he is and where he’s from. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called Bob an “irresistible tale of magic, mystery, and friendship that poses timeless questions about identity and belonging.”

At our program, Stead and Mass will talk about how they came up with the idea for the book, and what it was like to work together. Politics & Prose will be selling copies of Bob and other books by Stead and Mass, but our event is free and no purchase or registration is required.

The Friends Of the Takoma Park Maryland Library Spring Book Sale will be held on Saturday May 12, from 10 am to 3 pm on the Library lawn.  We will have books for kids and adults - fiction and nonfiction - all in great condition at low prices!

The Library will accept donations of gently used books of general interest at the Library until May 7th. More than 3 boxes must be by appointment.

To volunteer at the sale, contact Pat Hanrahan at  pat@pathanrahan.com   Service Learning hours are available for High School Students. Sponsored by Friends Of the Takoma Park Maryland Library (FTPML).

Award-winning kids' author Hena Khan returns to our Library on Monday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. to present Power Forward, the first book in a new series about Zayd Saleem, a boy dreaming of being the first Pakistani-American NBA player. In its review, Kirkus said "Readers will cheer for Zayd and look forward to the next volume," while Booklist called the book "a promising series opener featuring a main character with a refreshing perspective, which will appeal to plenty of sports-loving readers." At our program, Khan, who visited the Library last spring to present the critically-acclaimed Amina's Voice, will read from Power Forward, talk about how she came to write it, and then take questions from the audience. Khan also will briefly spotlight her other just-published book, a picture book titled Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes. Politics & Prose will be selling copies of Khan's books, but our event is free and no purchase or registration is required to attend.