Get comfortable and explore the role of technology in the lives of children and teens as presented in these eye-opening documentaries.  This program will take place in the Community Room.

Monday, February 6 at 10 a.m.*

Remote Control - The average American child spends over 40 hours per week consuming media, the equivalent of a full-time job.  Remote Control offers a fascinating look at the centrality of media in our lives, revealing far-reaching effects that we are only beginning to understand.  39 minutes.

*An encore screening will be held on Monday, February 27 at 10 a.m.

March

Mondays, March 5 and 19 at 10 a.m.

Growing Up Online - This Frontline documentary looks inside the world of the new cyber-savvy generation of tweets and teens; a generation with a radically different notion of privacy and personal space.  60 minutes. 

The Children's Librarians have chosen new books that make great gifts for the little ones in your life, whether they're being read to, starting to read themselves, or are already non-stop, voracious readers. 

The following are a couple of ideas that aren't yet in the Children's Library collection, but will be soon.

For parents who want to introduce their babies to the music they love, there are Rockabye Baby CDs.  Imagine Aerosmith, The Flaming Lips, The Cure, Lady Gaga, and more played on the harp and xylophone.  Ultra-soothing and enjoyable for both kids and adults.

It's A Little Book by Lane Smith is a conversation between two baby animals about what to do with a book:  it's not for e-mailing or eating or building, it's for reading.  Fun, tongue-in-cheek humor for kids and grown-ups whose lives are filled with technology.  Check out the book trailer here.  The original, It's A Book, is available at the library.

 Click on the link below to see our other titles (many of which are series)!

Another "Best of Picture Books 2011" list is out, this one by Publisher's Weekly.  From a history of African-Americans with beautiful oil illustrations to the dry tale of a bear who has lost his hat, there's a book for every interest.

Click on the link below to see the list.  Enjoy!

See The New York Times Best Books list.

Calling all kid filmmakers!  The StoryTubes 2012 competition is on and this is your chance to make a film about your favorite kids' book.

This year, Darien Library is a partner library with Storytubes!  StoryTubes is a way to combine kids' love of reading and interest in technology by asking kids to create a video about a book they love, either individually or as a group.  The video can be a booktalk, in which the kids tell a little about the book and why it's so great, or it can be a dramatic performance, or even an animated clip. 

Check out this StoryTube video:

 See the winning and honorable mention StoryTube videos from 2011here.

 Here is more information about what the videos should include and who can enter:

• Videos should be less than 2 minutes long
• Kids ages 5 to 18 can enter, as individuals or in a group of no more than 5 kids

Some simple instructions for creating an online video can be found here.

Entries are accepted January 20- February 20.

Storytubes Creation Lab:

Darien Library will have a room and a camera available for kids and groups to use on the following dates.  Come with your scripts and ideas and film at the Library!  Contact the Children's Library at childrenslibrary@darienlibrary.org or (203)669-5235 to reserve a time.

Tuesday, December 27, Wednesday, December 28 , and Thursday, December 29 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Wednesdays, January 11 and 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Saturdays, February 4 and 18th from 2 to 4 p.m. 

The New York Times Book Review just announced it's 10 picks for Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011.  These books run the gamut from dry humor (I Want My Hat Back) to gorgeous biographies (Me...Jane and A Nation's Hope, which you might remember as a Booktalking title from this past summer!).

The list of books is below, with the exception of two books:  Ice by Arthur Geisert and A New Year's Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong. 

The Children's Library has even more great books--from picture books to novels, from books about friendly tractors to books about killer koalas! 

Click on the link below to see what's new!

Showing at 2 P.M. in our Community Room

Sunday, October 30 at 2:00 p.m. -- THE LION KING (1994); Rated G; 89 minutes

This piece of magical animation from Walt Disney may indeed be their best one yet. A talented crew of more than 600 artists, painters, designers and technicians worked more than three years to bring this spectacular story of the heroic lion Simba to the silver screen. A who’s who of Hollywood voices that includes Mathew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg and James Earl Jones, bring all of the colorful characters to life.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).

I recently wrote a post recommending a book called The Great Hamster Massacre and, in particular, really enjoyed the funny illustrations (just look at the cover, I've never seen a more kid-friendly depiction of a massacre).  It turns out that Hannah Shaw, the book's illustrator, has also created the illustrations for, and even written, picture books!  I love a funny, well-illustrated book, so it was my lucky day.

Hannah seems to have a thing for animals because she has written about and illustrated bullying weasels who try to change their ways, a squirrel hidden in a bag of nuts, bedtime sheep who are difficult to count. and stuck-up crocodiles.  If you love any of these animals or just want a snappy, enjoyable read, click on the link below to see more of Hannah Shaw's books.

If you spent your summer NOT doing research and are noticing that your internet research skills could use some work, Google is here to help! 

A Google a Day is a "game" (depending on your definition of fun, of course) where a new question is presented each day and your job is to use your online searching skills to find the answer.  Some of the questions are really tough, some are a little easier, but they all require you to think, and search, creatively. 

Here is the question from Friday, September 2:

"The war that gave us the phrase 'Theirs not to reason why, theirs is but to do and die' also gave the world a nurse credited with starting professional nursing.  What was her name?"

Do YOU know the answer?