Kids Blog

Learn About Real Lives: Biography In Context

Dragons and magicians, flying carpets and talking animals - these imaginative elements all have a place in a child's reading diet. But sometimes kids just want to know about REAL people who used hard work and determination (not magical feathers) to achieve real-life accomplishments.

2019 Sequoyah Award Voting Opens February 1st!

Every year since 1959, Oklahoma children cast their votes on favorite books from a carefully cultivated list of current titles in order to choose the winner of the Sequoyah Book Award. One of the oldest children's choice literary prizes in the United States, the Sequoyah Award currently has three categories: children's, intermediate, and high school books. Take a look at this year's children's list titles! 2019 Children's Sequoyah Masterlist 

Meet Yasmin!, Everyday Adventurer

Great beginning reader alert! "Yasmin" is a new, picture-heavy series of stories that feature Yasmin, a plucky Pakistani-American second grader, navigating the world with creativity, curiosity, and an adventurous spirit. 

Creating Semantic Maps of Winter

The science of reading research highlights how "semantic maps" help us comprehend what we read. ("Semantic" in this sense means anything related to words, particularly the concepts words represent.) In its basic form, the more you know about a topic - the more connected bits of knowledge you have on your semantic map of, say, winter - the more you will be able to understand an article or book about that topic.

Favorite Picture Books of 2018 Countdown: #1!!!

Our FAVORITE picture book of 2018... The Day You Begin, written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Favorite Picture Books of 2018 Countdown: #2

Dreamers, written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Favorite Picture Books of 2018 Countdown: #3

Grumpy Monkey, written by Suzanne Lang and illustrated by Max Lang

Favorite Picture Books of 2018 Countdown: #4

Leaf, written and illustrated by Sandra Dieckmann

Favorite Picture Books of 2018 Countdown: #5

Children's librarians are counting down our favorite picture books of the year! Starting with #5... We Don’t Eat Our Classmates!, written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins

How Fast Can Turkeys Run? & Other Thanksgiving Questions

If your kids want to talk turkey this Thanksgiving, don't start with Google - try a library database instead! The Britannica PreK-8 database collects articles, pictures, definitions, and more for a variety of topics, including "TURKEY-ANIMAL" (as opposed to "TURKEY-COUNTRY"). Follow this turkey trail: 1. Go to www.tulsalibrary.org 2. At the top of the page, click "Research" and then "Databases." 3. Find "Britannica PreK-8" and sign in with your name and library card number. 4. Search for "Turkey"!