El Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead

The sugar skulls and frosting have been prepared...







The papel picado has been strung...










It's time for Children's Services annual celebration of El Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead!!  Join us and learn about this joyful Mexican holiday that celebrates the lives of the departed. 

Decorate your own sugar skull to take home, add your memories to the community memory board, taste bread of the dead, make marigolds and masks, and bring your camera along to have your picture taken in our holiday photo booth.   To learn more about Day of the Dead, check out this booklist!

Saturday, November 5th, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 6th, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Happy 4th of July!

All Allen County Public Library locations are closed today in honor of Independence Day.

 

 

But we'll all be open tomorrow, so come and visit one of our 14 locations -- maybe over the holiday, you can get some extra reading time in, and be ready to pick up your next gift at one of the Summer Reading Program sites shown here!

Happy Easter!

The library is closed today.

The Main Library will re-open at 9am tomorrow morning; branch libraries will open at 10am tomorrow.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Celebrate African- American History

We are well into February, which means we are well into African-American History Month! Whatever your age, take advantage of the information and resources that are available to learn more about the important contributions the African-American community has made in our country. A good place to start is our African-American History Booklist , where you will find great biographies and non-fiction books, as well as stories, folktales, music and poetry.


You may also want to investigate some of the following websites:

Time for Kids: Black History Month
Library of Congress: African American History
Kaboose.com: Black History Month Crafts and Activities

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the first day of the new year -- according to the Chinese calendar. Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit by learning more about this holiday. You could even make eggrolls or try your hand at a few crafts.

Chinese New Year begins on the first new moon between January 21 and February 20. On what date will it fall next year...?

The Shortest Day!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Today is the shortest day of the year, so try to soak up all of the sunlight that you can. The days will grow longer, but will continue to be shorter than the nights until the spring equinox in March, when day and night are exactly 12 hours each.

Read a book about the winter solstice to learn how the tilt of the earth creates the seasons and to discover ways that you can celebrate the shortest day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

All locations of the Allen County Public Library will be closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We will have storytime at the downtown library on Friday morning:
Babies & Books at 10AM
Toddler Time at 10:30AM & 11AM

Bring in your out of town guests and show off your GREAT library!

Day of the Dead

Visit Children's Services this Saturday and Sunday between 2 and 4pm for the

Day of the Dead Open House

Learn about this joyful Mexican holiday that celebrates the lives of the departed. Decorate your own sugar skull to take home, add your memories to the community memory board, make marigolds & masks, taste bread of the dead and more!

Happy Halloween!

We hope that you have a great Halloween!

Yesterday, Junie B. Jones & Pippi Longstocking spent some time reading at the Reading Tower in Children's Services.

Note: Pippi can't really read. She doesn't have time with all of the thing finding that she has to do to learn about reading and plutification. Junie B. is in first grade now and is a big important reader and that is all.

Happy Fourth of July!

The Children's Services department of the Allen County Public Library

wishes you a peaceful, happy and fun-filled holiday

on this Fourth of July!

The Library Is Closed Today!

All locations of the Allen County Public Library will be closed today, tomorrow and Monday in observance of the Fourth of July!

It IS Summer Now!

Happy Summer Solstice! Today is the LONGEST day of the year, enjoy all of the beautiful sunlight.

Check out Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure. Fans of McClure's artwork are sure to love this one. Not a fan, give it a look and you will be!

Memorial Day

All locations of the ACPL are closed today for Memorial Day. The Main Library will be closed on Sundays for the summer. Sunday hours will resume after Labor Day.

To learn more about the Memorial Day holiday, check out Memorial Day by Lynn Hamilton.

Happy Mother's Day!

We hope that you enjoy this Mother's Day!

Not only is today a day to remember and celebrate our mothers, but in Northeast Indiana, the last frost usually happens before Mother's Day. That means that the weather is warm and it is time to plant a garden!

Happy Mother's Day to you!

Happy Easter!

The library is closed today. We'll see you tomorrow morning!


Have a wonderful Easter!

¡ʎɐp ,sןooɟ ןıɹdɐ

¡ʎɐp ,sןooɟ ןıɹdɐ sı ʎɐpoʇ

¡ʇuǝɯʇɹɐdǝp ǝɥʇ uı sƃuıɥʇ ǝɔɐןd ɟo ʇno uıɐןd ʇsnɾ puɐ 'ʎʞɔɐʍ 'pɹıǝʍ ǝɥʇ ןןɐ puıɟ oʇ ʎɹʇ oʇ sǝɔıʌɹǝs s,uǝɹpןıɥɔ oʇ uı doʇs ןן,noʎ ǝdoɥ ǝʍ

¡sƃuıɥʇ ɥsıןooɟ ƃuıpuıɟ ɹoɟ ʇsnɾ ǝzıɹd ɐ uıʍ

Spring Equinox

Today is the first day of Spring! Celebrate this new season with a good book. Here are a few of my favorites:

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
Birds by Kevin Henkes
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming

You can find many, many more books about Spring on this booklist.

Today is also the day to take photos for the ACPL A Day in Allen County Photo Survey, so get your cameras clicking!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Curl up with someone you love and read a book together, today and every day. Remember, the magic number is 20. Read to your child for 20 minutes a day from birth and he will be ready for school. Don't stop reading when your child begins school or begins to read on his own. Keep reading, bonding and enjoying books together as a family and your children will LOVE to read! Really.

Groundhog Day

Today is Groundhog Day!

Every February 2nd, all eyes in the U.S. turn toward Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to find out if the groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. So what is the big deal about his shadow? According to legend, if he sees his shadow we will have six more weeks of winter, if he does not, spring will arrive early. You can see a video of the official announcement here.

This morning, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so we can expect spring weather to arrive in about six weeks. Six weeks isn't very long, so be sure to get out and enjoy the snow today! The soft snow and slippery ice will be replaced by blooming flowers and fresh green grass before you know it!

Happy New Year!

Hurray, it is a new day and a new year! We hope that you have a great one. Many people have added wishes for the new year to our interactive display in Children's Services. What is YOUR wish for the new year?

All locations of the Allen County Public Library are closed today. We'll see you tomorrow!