Cave Painting

Join us this Crazy Thursday to learn about the cave paintings of Lascaux and to create something of your own!

 

Cave Painting

Thursday, February 27

4:30 - 5:15 pm

Children Grades K-5



Love Your Pet Day

Next Thursday, February 20, is Love Your Pet Day, and our Crazy Thursday program will be dedicated to this day. Special guests from the League City Animal Shelter will be visiting the library from 4:30 until about 5:15pm to talk about pets, pet care, and much more!





Love Your Pet Day

Thursday, February 20

4:30-5:15pm

Children Grades K-5

Spring Programs

Spring programs have begun! View the current brochure or pick one up next time you are in the library.

Happy Holidays

The Helen Hall Library will be closed Tuesday, December 24, and Wednesday, December 25. The library will open Thursday December 26 at 10:00am.

The library will be closing at 5pm on Tuesday, December 31 and will be closed Wednesday, January 1, 2014 in observance of the New Year.

Library Opens at 2:30pm Wednesday

The Helen Hall Library will be opening at 2:30pm on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

The library will close at its regular time of 9:00pm.

Happy Halloween

Join us this Thursday, October 31, for trick-or-treating at the library from 10:00am to 8:00pm. Feel free to wear your costumes!

Children in Grades K-5 will be able to decorate a small haunted house made out of recycled cardboard materials and make a mini monster during our Crazy Thursday activity.

Crazy Thursday: Halloween

4:30pm - 5:15pm

 Children Grades K-5

The Assassin's Curse

f you are looking for a great book with lots of action and adventure I recommend that you read The Assassin's Curse by Houston author, Cassandra Rose Clarke.  

Ananna of Tanaru the daughter of a pirate ship captain runs from her family when she is to be married off to another pirate clan.  The clan that she has refused to marry into sends an assassin after her. When the assassin attempts to attack her she fends him off with magic that she isn't sure how to use.  They soon discover that they have been bound together and the only way to break the spell is to complete three impossible tasks.  Together the pair set off to undo the spell.  

The Assassin's Curse can be found in the teen area at Helen Hall Library.  The sequel The Pirate's Wish is on order and should be in soon.  The third book in the series is expected in May of 2014.

Super Hero Crafts

Join us this Crazy Thursday, October 17 for Super Hero crafts! Make a super hero mask, super hero cuffs, a paper roll super hero, and take your photo holding up a 1000 pound barbell!

  

Thursday, October 17

4:30pm - 5:15pm

Children Grades K-5

 

Preschoolers at Play: Haunted House Craft

Join us Monday from 10:15am - 11:15am (drop in) for a Halloween craft! Children will decorate a Haunted House template with Halloween characters and shapes.

Preschoolers at Play

Art on a Cart: Haunted House Craft

Monday, October 14

10:15am - 11:15am (drop in)

Star Wars Reads Day II

Join us next Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 2:00pm (drop in) for Star Wars Reads Day II. Children will get to make a lightsaber and pick up a Star Wars activity kit to take home. The kit includes sheets from the official Star Wars Reads Day II activity kit as well as instructions for creating Star Wars origami and a bookmark.

There will be a drawing for a Star Wars prize bag; children can fill out a short form during the week and the winner will be selected Saturday, October 5.

Saturday October 5, 2013

2:00pm - 3:00pm (drop in)

Children Grades K-5

While Supplies Last

Lava Lamp Science

Join us this Thursday for Lava Lamp Science! Learn the science behind lava lamps and create one of your own.

Crazy Thursday: Lava Lamp Science

4:30-5:15pm

Children Grades K-5

Fall Activities

Fall activities start September 3rd! Pick up a brochure with details on the activities at the library next time you visit. We hope to see you at the library!

Diary of a Wordy Kid

Join us next Crazy Thursday at 10:15 am for our Diary of a Wordy Kid program, where children in Grades 1-5 can decorate their own diary and take part in other fun activities!

Medieval Magic

The Summer Reading Program has officially begun this week and programs will be kicking off next week. For children entering Grades 1-5 we have Science Safari on Tuesdays from 3:00-3:45 pm and Crazy Thursdays take place on Thursdays from 10:15-11:05 am. You can also come build something exciting during our Build with LEGO program every Friday from 1:00-2:30 pm.

Join us this upcoming Crazy Thursday, June 20th, at 10:15 am for our Medieval Magic program, where children will take part in activities centered on knights, princesses, wizards and dragons. They will create a shield, a sword, a wizard or princess hat, and a mini-catapult!

Reading is Sweet

Join us for lots of fun, activities, learning, reading, and prizes during our Summer Reading Club! Check out the Summer Brochure for more information!

June 10 - July 31, 2013

Art on a Cart: Trees

Join us this Monday, April 29th, for a preschool activity creating trees from recycled materials. Drop in any time between 10:15am and 11:15am.

Book List: Fairytales and Fairytale Retellings

If you love fairy tales or fairy tale retellings, check out these great fiction and nonfiction books in the children's section. Make sure to bookmark this list, we'll be updating it. Also, if an item is in red, that means the book is on order. Place a hold on it to be the first to read it!

After Happily Ever After Series by Tony Bradman (J-F BRADMAN)

The Sisters Grimm Series by Michael Buckley (J-F BUCKLEY)

Brixen Witch by Stacy DeKeyser (J-F DeKEYSER)

Cinderella (as if you didn’t already know the story) and Thumbelina (Tiny Runaway Bride) by Barbara Ensor (J-F ENSOR)
 

Once Upon a Toad by Heather Vogel Frederick (J-F FREDERICK)

A Tale Dark & Grimm and In a  Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz (J-F GIDWITZ)

The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin (J-F LOFTIN)

The Witch’s Guide to Cooking with Children and The Witch’s Curse by Keith McGowan (J-F McGOWAN)

Ugly by Donna Jo Napoli (J-F NAPOLI)

Twilight Land by Howard Pyle (J-F PYLE)

Whatever After Series by Sarah Mlynowski (J-F MLYNOWSKI no. 1)

Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: the True Tale of Sleeping Beauty by Jane Yolen (J-F YOLEN)

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler (J-F ZAHLER)

Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde (J 398.2 VAN)

Check out the 398s in the Children’s Nonfiction Section for many more fairy tales.

New Juvenile Fiction and Nonfiction Books

There are always new things to check out at the Helen Hall Library. These are just some of the amazing new fiction and nonfiction books for children that are just waiting to be checked out!

Fiction
The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee: An Origami Yoda book by Tom Angleberger (J-F ANGLEBERGER) - McQuarrie Middle School's students miss Origami Yoda when Dwight leaves for Tippett Academy, but he sends Sara a paper Fortune Wookiee that seems to give advice just as good as Yoda's--even if, in the hands of girls, it seems preoccupied with romance.

Canterwood Crest series by Jessica Burkhart (J-F BURKHART) - Follow Sasha Silver, her horse Charm, and other students in their adventures at Canterwood Crest Academy, a school for equestrian riders.

Little Magic Shop of Horrors by Annette Cascone (J-F CASCONE) - A boy must save his headless best friend when a talent show magic act goes horribly awry.

Darkbeast by Morgan Keyes (J-F KEYES) - Twelve-year-old Keara runs away rather than sacrifice Caw, the darkbeast she has been bound to all her life, and, pursued by the Inquisitors who would punish her for heresy, she joins a performing troupe of Travelers.

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin (J-F LIN) - An innkeeper's chore boy discovers that a visitor's stories hold the key to returning the moon to the Starry River of the Sky. 

Here Where the Sunbeams are Green by Helen Phillips (J-F PHILLIPS) - Sisters Madeline and Ruby travel to a Central American jungle to help find their missing father, a renowned bird watcher, only to discover a nefarious plot that puts their lives in danger.

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Schlitz (J-F SCHLITZ) - When Clara vanishes after the puppeteer Grisini and two orphaned assistants were at her twelfth birthday party, suspicion of kidnapping chases the trio away from London and soon the two orphans are caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it is too late.

Never Girls: The Space Between by Kiki Thorpe (J-F THORPE) - While wondering if she has a talent for animals, Lainey, along with her three friends and the fairies of Pixie Hollow, discovers a passage between Earth and Never Land.

Nonfiction
Haunted Histories: Creepy Castles, Dark Dungeons, and Powerful Palaces by J. H. Everett (J 133.122 EVE) - Shares facts about the locations where calamitous historical events occurred, covering topics ranging from the Tower of London and the torture methods used there, to dungeon life for prisoners, and the most popular poisoning methods. 

The Elephant's Friend and Other Tales from Ancient India by Marcia Williams (J 398.2 WIL) - Draws eight stories from well-known collections of Indian folktales--Hitopadesha tales, Jataka tales, and Panchantra tales--and presents them with cartoon-like illustrations.

The Glaciers are Melting! by Donna Love (J 551.312 LOV) - Presents facts about the melting of glaciers around the world and the impact this has on the animals that live near them, in a text with a story about Peter Pika and his friends who go to the Mountain Monarch to find out what they can do about it. 

Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart (J 591.5 STE) - A collection of gross animal facts details the strange behaviors of different animals, including desert tortoises who use urine to protect themselves from predators and penguin chicks who feed on regurgitated food from their parents.

Wild Horse Scientists by Kay Frydenborg (J 599.665 FRY) - Traces the work of two wildlife veterinarians who protect and chart the lives of Assateague Island's wild horses, describing their shared efforts to balance the horses' ecosystem and raise awareness. 

Every Day's A Dog's Day: A Year in Poems by Marilyn Singer (J 811.54 SIN) - A lighthearted treasury of canine-themed poems presents a year's worth of seasons and holidays as experienced by dogs and celebrates such special occasions as Hole Digging Day and the dreaded Visit to the Vet Day. 

Make Magic Do Good by Dallas Clayton (J 811.6 CLA) - Presents a collection of poems that features such elements as a boy with a beard who wants to remain six years old forever, a frightful monster who fears children, and a magical rope to the sky that invites youngsters to climb.

College Admissions Essay Workshop

College bound teens are invited to attend our College Admissions Essay Workshop this Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 pm. Dr. Beth Dennard of Bright Futures Consulting will lead the workshop and guide you through writing a successful admissions essay. Bring samples of any admissions essays you have been working on for some one on one guidance. To register, please call (281) 554-1102, or e-mail Lindsay.Faust@leaguecitylibrary.org

Mini LANDFILL Science Experiment!

Here is Ava T. holding her mini landfill!
She reports that the paper has already dissappeared, but the plastic is still there.