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Children's Room
• News & Updates •
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• Summer Learning Challenge •
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Summer is for learning! Summer is for reading! Summer is for FUN!
Challenges begin June 25 and end August 27.
The last day to claim prizes is Saturday, September 3.
Complete fun activities! Challenge yourselves to read new books! See if you can read a total of 24 hours this summer!
Raise money for the Lexington Interfaith Food Pantry by earning challenge badges!
Earn a gift certificate to the Friends Book Sale by completing your reading log!
Our 2022 Summer Learning Challenges are Live in your Beanstack accounts! If you've ever participated in a past summer learning challenge or our On the Road to Reading Program, you already have a Beanstack account. Be sure to update everyone’s grades and ages, and then enroll your readers in the summer challenges for which they are eligible. Not sure? Click “Sign In” and “Forgot Your Username?” or contact the library to avoid creating a duplicate account.
Summer Learning Challenges are sponsored by the Friends of Cary Library. See our Summer Learning Challenge website for more detailed information on Beanstack and to print paper logs if desired.
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Summer Book Club
In Person, Indoors
Entering Grades 4 & 5
now open
Tuesday, July 5
4:15 pm
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In this magical, modern twist on Peter Pan, stepsisters Lily and Wendy are spirited away to Neverland by a mysterious boy and must find a way back to the family they love.
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Dance Party
In Person, Indoors
Ages 2 - 5
No registration required
Wednesday
10:15 am
July 6
July 20
Join us for some dancing fun! Wear your dancing shoes and come dance with us! Grown ups will dance too.
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Summer Book Club
In Person, Indoors
Entering Grades 1 - 3
now open
Thursday July 7
4:15 pm
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When Pablo, Violet, and Deepak discover a magical makerspace, they can't wait to check it out! The Maker Maze has cool science games and puzzles behind every door. When they enter the portal, they will find: a wacky scientist who will be their guide, giant puzzles to test their skills, holograms of animals, plants, and more and a friendship challenge?
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Messy Preschool Crafts
In Person, Outdoors
Ages 3 -5
No registration required
Friday, July 8
3:30 pm
&
Wednesday July 27
10:15 am
Drop in to create some messy art! This program will only happen weather permitting, please call or check or calendar before coming to the library.
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Book Talks Book Club
Virtual
Entering Grades 5 & 6
Summer Session Dates: July 11th, August 8th and September 12th. Please register only if you can attend all three meetings. Registration now open.
Monday July 11
7 pm
Book Talks encourages readers through novels to take steps to becoming a citizen of the wider world and seeing a broader perspective. We read stories that offer a differing perspective of the world from how we may experience it and talk about what that means.
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Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies
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Summer Stories
In Person, Outdoors
Ages 0 - 5
No registration required
Tuesdays
10:15 am
July 12: Visitor's Center Lawn
July 19: Visitor's Center Lawn
July 26: Hastings Park
Join us for stories, rhymes, songs, and to meet new friends!
Weather permitting we will be outdoors at the locations specified. In the case of inclement weather, we will be indoors at the Library - please call or check social media in the morning.
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Parachute Party
In Person, Outdoors
Entering Grades K - 2
Now open
Tuesday July 12
3:30 pm
Have a field day with coordination and cooperation playing parachute games!
This program will be held on the Visitor's Center Lawn. Accompanying adults should plan to remain nearby. In the event of inclement weather, we will be indoors in the Large Meeting Room.
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Bring A Bear Picnic
In Person, Outdoors
All Ages Welcome
No registration required
Wednesday July 13
10:30 am
Location: Tower Park
Join us for our annual Bring-A-Bear picnic! Bring your favorite teddy bear or other stuffed friend, a blanket, and a snack and join us for some stories, songs, and games!
Weather permitting we'll be at Tower Park, inclement weather, we'll be in the Large Meeting Room - please call that morning or check social media to confirm location.
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Movie Night
In Person, Indoors
All Are Welcome
No registration required
Wednesday
6:30 pm
July 13:
July 27: Luca
Bring your blanket and a snack and join us for a movie night!
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ASL Storytime
In Person, Indoors
Ages 2 - 5
No registration required
Thursday July 14
3:30 pm
ASL interpreter and performer, Arlene, will be joining Ita at Cary Library to read a story aloud in American Sign Language! Come join us for an interactive story experience. Designed for 2 - 5 year olds, but all are welcome. stories will be told in both American Sign language and spoken English.
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Baby Summer Social
In Person, Indoors
Ages 0 - prewalkers
No registration required
Friday July 14
10:15 am
&
Friday July 29
2:15 pm
A circle time for babies and caregivers followed by unstructured playtime to allow both grown ups and children to meet and make friends.
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Kids Cooking Green Presents Peach, Mozzarella and Basil Pizza!
Virtual
Entering Grades 3 - 5
Friday July 14
3:30 pm
Who says pizza has to be made with tomato and pepperoni? Lets shake things up by making a Peach, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza! We will start with a homemade dough, and then top with fruit cheese and herbs.
We'll provide all the ingredients necessary. Participants must be able to pick up their ingredient kit from Kids Cooking Green on Thursday July 13th.
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Creative Writing
In Person, Indoors
Grades 3 - 5
Monday July 18
3:30 pm
Join us for an hour of creative writing activities. There will be games, story writing, and most important - FUN!
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Summer Book Club
In Person, Indoors
Entering Grades 4 & 5
Tuesday July 19
4:15 pm
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Portico Reeves' secret identity as Stuntboy allows him to use his superpower keep everybody safe, but when his superhero parents start fighting a lot he feels the responsibility to save them.
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Toe Jam Puppet Band Concert
In Person, Indoors
Ages 3 & up
Wednesday July 20
4 pm
The Toe Jam Puppet Band is back! Join us for some silly fun with our friends Mr. Tom and Mr. Vinny! Silly songs, lots of dancing, wacky hats, puppets, and bubbles - you never know what fun will happen with the Toe Jam Puppet band!
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Family Crafts
In Person, Indoors
All Ages Welcome
No registration required
Thursday July 21
2:30 pm
Children of all ages and abilities are invited to get crafty with us! Stay for the whole hour, or just a little bit! Children under age 8 must be accompanied by an adult.
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Summer Book Club
In Person, Indoors
Entering Grades 1 - 3
now open
Friday July 14
10:15 am
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It had sounded so easy: Eddie just needed to watch Uncle Morton's unusual pet for a week while he went on vacation. Turns out, looking after a dragon isn't easy at all.
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Truck Day!
In Person, Outdoors
All Ages Welcome
No registration required
Friday July 22
9:30 am - 12 pm
Come meet our friends from the Fire Department, the Police Department and the Department of Public Works and see the trucks they drive! You'll be able to climb in and explore them and talk to the drivers! We'll also have some special guest trucks fan das a special treat, all kids can have a popsicle or ice cream sandwich from Mo's Ice Cream Truck thanks to the Friend of Cary Library!
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Tiny Tools for Tiny Hands: Fine Motor Fun!
In Person, Indoors
Ages 2 - 5
Friday July 22
2:30 pm
Your child's hands are their first and most important tools! Join us and our friends from Family ACCESS Community Connections for a variety of Fine Motor Fun Activities that will help you build and strengthen the small muscles in your child's hands and support essential skills like getting dressed, brushing teeth, feeding yourself, turning book pages, writing, drawing, cutting and more! Inspired by the Boston Children's Museum' s Tools for Tiny Hands Curriculum.
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Kidstock presents Jingle the Jester
In Person, Indoors
Ages 5 & up
opens at 7 pm on July 18
Monday July 25
10 am
Join Kidstock Creative Theater for a fun, interactive show! Each child will have a chance to be involved, either through audience "call and response" or by volunteering to join the show as a character in the story.
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Block Party!
In person, Indoors
Ages 2 & up
No registration required
Tuesday July 26
7 pm
Drop in and build with our bricks! Bring your Mom, your Grandpa, your friend, your cousin, and see what you create! Children under age 8 must be accompanied by an adult.
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Are you interested in codes and ciphers? Have you ever wondered what it takes to invent an alphabet? If so, this picture book biography about Korean King Sejong is for you! Prior to the year 1443, Korea used Hanja, which was an alphabet of complex Chinese characters. Sejong cared deeply about his people and wanted to make reading and learning accessible to all Koreans, so he created his own alphabet, which took many years. Check out this book to find out why Sejong had to work in secret, and to find out what inspired his alphabet, which is now known as Hangeul.
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Even though Kylie talks to her Amah all the time, visiting her in Taiwan means language barriers, differences in food, and relatives she doesn’t know. At first, Kylie is unsure and
reluctant. But with every passing moment, she is able to see the city through the eyes of her grandmother. This progression is cleverly mirrored in the text through the deliberate sentence structure. Children with relatives who live far away will relate to the feeling of adjustment at seeing a loved one who is familiar yet foreign at the same time.
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On Catalina Castañeda's eighth birthday her fabulous Tía Abuela has come to visit and to host a display of one of her famous gowns at the local library. She gives Catalina a sewing kit that turns out to be magical! By sewing cat ears onto her hoodie, she can turn into a cat herself. This comes in handy when a jewel in the dress goes missing and Catalina and her friend, Pablo, need to investigate what happened. I loved the family and sibling relationships and how they all encourage Catalina to keep learning how to sew and ride a skateboard even when it's frustrating and hard. I also loved how she and Pablo, a Tía Abuela superfan, have to work together in the library to solve the mystery. This was a heartwarming, fun story, and an overall great read.
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Bree has just moved and can't wait for her first day at her new middle school - but unfortunately she's stuck in the only elective that still has space Swim 101. The problem: Bree, can't swim. When avoiding swim class is no longer an option, Bree gets some help from her new neighbor Ms. Etta and faces her fears head on - and discovers that not only does she actually enjoy swimming, she just might have some natural talent too.
Not only is this a fun story about swimming, facing your fears, starting a new school and making new friends, it also explores some of the systemic lack of access to pools and swimming for Black people in the United States. This graphic novel is perfect for fans of Jerry Craft's New Kid, Varian Johnson's Twins, and Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl.
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Booklist: Disability Pride Month
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July has been an important month in the history of disability rights since President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 (which is also when the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston).
The disability community is diverse, and so are the thoughts around disability pride and what it means. To me, disability pride means accepting that my disability is an essential part of who I am.
As a kid, I never saw this part of my identity reflected in the books I read in a positive way. Disabled characters were never leads in the story, were sickly and died, or miraculously recovered thanks to efforts of the main protagonist (Colin, Secret Garden, anyone?). They were never the heroes of their own stories. Never was a disability celebrated.
As an adult, I cried the first time I read Cece Bell's El Deafo because it was the first time in reading a book that I felt SEEN as a person with a disability - even though my disability is different.
This booklist are some of my personal favorites that celebrate the lived experiences of people with disabilities - it is not all encompassing. There are lots more books out there, I'm happy to help you find them!
To my readers with disabilities - I hope you find a story here that helps you feel seen.
To my readers without disabilities: please read these books - read them with an open mind and an open heart so that you can be an ally to the disabled community.
Happy Disability Pride Month
Alissa, Head of Youth Services
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*= author identifies as disabled
Picture Books:
Early Readers:
Chapter Books:
Nonfiction:
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