Story Tags

How Chipmunk Got His Stripes

Origin Stories

How people got rain, night, fire and more

People didn’t always know what caused storms or earthquakes, so they invented stories to explain the inexplicable. Perhaps lightning flashes across the sky when Zeus is angry. Perhaps earthquakes are caused by the writhing of Loki who is imprisoned under the surface of the Earth while poison drips on his face.

Book cover with a gumball machine

Algebraic!

Math reads for you and the kids

School's here and it's time to embrace something that you tried to forget about all summer: math homework. Get yourself (and your child) ready for the mathemagical year to come with these exciting and fun math reads. For the Kids (K-6th Grade) Seeing Symmetry by Lauren Leedy

Gropius: The Man Who Built the Bauhaus

The Bauhaus Revisited

A 100th Anniversary Booklist

In 1919 architect Walter Gropius was made head of both an arts and crafts school and an art academy in Weimar, Germany, the seat of the newly formed German Republic.  Gropius combined the schools into what is commonly known as the Bauhaus, or House of Building. Students from other arts and crafts or art academies applied with the hope of gaining a paying profession.  Faculty flocked to the school looking to transform society.

surf's up

A Whale of a Good Read

Whale-forward sea stories for younger readers

The beach without books to read is like the sea without whales. Kids and parents alike will love these creative and sweet whale tales this summer.     Surf’s Up by Kwame Alexander

Barefoot in Babylon by Bob Spitz

Peace, Love, and Rock 'n' Roll

Celebrating Woodstock 50 years later

August 15, 2019 marks 50 years since the first Woodstock in Bethel, N.Y. Revisit inimitable acts such as The Who, Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead to celebrate the enormous cultural impact the “three days of peace and music” had on America and the world. From nonfiction tell-alls from those who had a hand in organizing the festival to young adult novels written from today’s perspective, there’s something groovy for everyone here.

Mission Save the Planet cover. A photo of earth in space with the title superimposed.

Let's Care for the Earth!

Books to build environmental stewardship in kids and tweens

With the Washington Post reporting that DC's climate is going to match that of Mississippi's 60 years from now, it can feel like building environmental stewardship in the next generation is critical and urgent. Fortunately, it can also be fun! Try these books for your budding environmentalist to encourage a sense of gratitude and responsibility for our planet.  Younger Children (birth to 2nd grade)

Lovely cover

Learning About Differences

Not just for adults any more!

In cities like Washington, D.C. there are so many people and they are all unique. This curated list contains a variety of protagonists and thoughts about differences. Let's celebrate the beautiful diversity of our city with diverse reads! Picture books for early readers Lovely by Jess Hong

Girls Who Code logo

Get Reading, Get Coding!

And Get Ready for Girls Who Code at Woodridge

Girls Who Code is an organization founded by Reshma Saurani with the mission of closing the gender gap in technology. Since 2012, Girls Who Code has worked with schools, libraries and other public institutions to bring coding to girls in all 50 states, and several US territories. And now - Woodridge gets to be a part of it! Open to all interested children in Grades 3rd-5th, here are some books to get you and your child acquainted with the world of coding before or after our first meeting on Wednesday, March 6:

HomeGoing

Ghanaian Authors

Ghana Ghana. The first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence, a regional power in West Africa, and home to 30 million people. Ghana like many other African countries has a rich oral literature history. For this post, I wanted to discover the writings of Ghanaians and I think this selection of books is a good introduction to Ghanaian authors and a peek into Ghanaian culture and history. Each one of these authors were either born and/or raised in Ghana or have a parent who is Ghanaian.

Dinosaurs from Head to Tail book cover

Science Fun 101

Engaging intros to science topics for preK-2nd graders

Why is the sky blue? Why do dogs wag their tails? Why don’t I float away when I hold a balloon? Why? WHY? WHYYYYY? If you have a kiddo in your life, you probably encounter questions like these all the time. These questions are beautiful proof that children are budding scientists, eager to explore how and why things work. But, um, they’re really dang tough to answer.

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