Welcome to Youth Services

. . . Check out the new Teen Scene web page!

Youth Services is designed to meet the needs of young people from toddler age through junior high. In addition to a growing book collection for this age group, the library offers an excellent assortment of children's magazines, recordings, filmstrips and videos.

Regularly scheduled programming includes "Toddler Time" (stories, songs and fingerlings for children three years old and under), "Preschool Story Time" (slightly longer and more advanced for older preschoolers), and reading programs meant to encourage reading for pleasure.

The Young Adult collection has materials geared toward ages 13 to 17 and is located in the Youth Services area on the first floor. There is a comfortable place for teens to hang out to study or read.

Also, the library has collected together some Internet tips for kids, as well as Internet resources for parents and teachers. In addition, we have put together a list of World Wide Web book selection tools to help parents, teachers and kids find good books for kids to read. You may also want to check out the American Library Association's "Great Web Sites for Kids," which contains lots of links to educational and fun Internet sites for kids. Feel free to take a look if you are interested.

Need a good book to pass the time away? We can help you find one! Check out one of the newest databases on our Online Databases page -- Novelist K-8 to find fiction for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade. You may also want to check out the library's Internet links for bibliophiles or use the resources in the Reader's Corner for still more good reads.

Check out Reading Rants -- Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists for some good suggestions -- or take a look at the Children's Literature Web Guide, where you'll find lots of information and resources about reading.


2013 Summer Reading Program Theme for Teens -- Beneath the Surface

Coming Soon to a Library Near YOU...
2013 Summer Reading Program

It soon will be time again for the annual Summer Reading Program which runs each year from June 1st until July 31st. Our official 2013 Summer Reading Kickoff Party will be held at ALL Fort Smith Public Library locations all open hours on Saturday, June 1st: 10:00a.m. until 5:00p.m. at the Main Library; noon until 5:00p.m. at each of the branches.

2013 Summer Reading Program Theme for Adults -- Groundbreaking Reading Dig Into Reading is this year's children's theme and Beneath the Surface is this year's teens theme; plus, for all of you grown-up readers, our 2013 Adult Summer Reading Festival's theme is Groundbreaking Reads.

The summer reading program is designed to encourage reading for pleasure; it will help young people who are able to read independently retain the valuable reading skills they developed over this past school year. Preschool children too young to read may also participate and will receive credit for the books read to them. Small rewards will be given to each child for reaching specific goals.

Registration will begin at the Kickoff Party on a June 1st at all four Fort Smith Public Library locations. For more information, please call (479)783-0229, ext. 1131.

2013 Summer Reading Program Theme for Kids -- Dig Into Reading


Story and Toddler Time

Bouncy Tigger GIF

Day

Location

Toddler and Story Time Programs

Time

MondaysWindsorStory Time10:00a.m.
TuesdaysMainToddler Time (Ages 3 and under)10:00a.m.
WednesdaysDallasStory Time 10:30a.m.
ThursdaysMainRegular Story Time (Ages 3 and up)10:00a.m.
FridaysMillerStory Time 10:00a.m.

Award Winning Books
Newbery Medal Caldecott Medal

The movies have "Oscar," Broadway its "Tony," and the recording industry has the "Grammy." but, in the field of children's literature, no prize is more prestigious than the Newbery and Caldecott awards. These prizes are announced each January at the Mid-Winter Conference of the American Library Association, often with additional books designated as Newbery and Caldecott "Honor" Awards. The Newbery Award is for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children and has been awarded since 1923. The Caldecott is for the most distinguished picture book for children published in the United States; it has been given since 1938. The 2013 awards were given to the children's books published in 2012 that were judged the most distinguished.

In addition to these awards for wonderful books for children, the American Library Association also sponsors the Coretta Scott King Awards and and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Awards for New Talent, for books which promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream". The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996 and named for the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. Since 2000, ALA's Young Adult Division has awarded its Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults.

For more information about the history and mission of these other ALA children's book awards, as well as previous winners, visit the Awards Page for the Association for Library Service to Children.

The One and Only Ivan, written by Katherine Applegate

2013 Newbery Awards

The One and Only Ivan, written by Katherine Applegate, won the 2013 Newbery Award for most distinguished children's book published in 2012 and written by an American. This book was illustrated by Patricia Castelao.

2013 Newbery Honor Award books include:

  • Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz;
  • Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin; and
  • Three Times Lucky, written by Sheila Turnage.

    2013 Caldecott Awards

    This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen is the winner of the 2013 Caldcott Award for most distinguished American picture book written for children in 2012.

    2013 Caldecott Honor Awards went to:

  • Creepy Carrots!, illustrated by Peter Brown and written by Aaron Reynolds;
  • Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen and written by Mac Barnett;
  • Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger;
  • One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small and written by Toni Buzzeo;
  • Sleep Like a Tiger illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski and written by Mary Logue.

    2013 Coretta Scott King Awards

    Hand In Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney I, Too, Am America, illustrated by Bryan Collier The Coretta Scott King Awards honor African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults. This year the Coretta Scott King Author Award goes to Andrea Pinkney for Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America, illustrated by Brian Pinkney.

    Bryan Collier won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for I, Too, Am America. The text is Langston Hughes' classic poem, I, Too, Sing America.

    Two Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books were awarded for 2013:

  • Each Kindness written by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis;
  • No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Micheaux, Harlem Bookseller, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.

    Three Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books were awarded for 2013:

  • H.O.R.S.E., illustrated and written by Christopher Myers;
  • Ellen's Broom, illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons;
  • I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Martin Luther King, Jr.

    In Darkness by Nick Lake

    2013 Michael L. Printz Awards
    for Excellence in Young Adult Fiction

    The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults was given to Nick Lake for In Darkness.

    Four Printz Honor Awards were given this year to:

  • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz;
  • Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein;
  • Dodger by Terry Pratchett; and
  • The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna.


    2013 Pura Belpré Awards

    Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert illustrated by David Diaz The Pura Belpré Author Award is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. The Author Award for 2013 goes to Benjamin Alire Sáenz for Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

    One Belpré Author Honor Book was named: The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano.

    The 2013 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award goes to Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert illustrated by David Diaz and written by Gary D. Schmidt.

    No Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were selected this year.



    2013 Arkansas Diamond Primary Award Winners

    Lucky Beans written by Becky Birtha and illustrated by Nicole Tadgell -- 2013 Arkansas Diamond Award Winner Interrupting Chicken written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein -- 2013 Arkansas Diamond Honor Book The Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award began in 1998 to encourage reading for students in Grades K-3. Winners are selected by the votes of Arkansas students (grades K-3) who have read at least three of the titles from the annual reading list. It is sponsored by Arkansas Department of Education, the Arkansas State Library, and the Arkansas Reading Association and is announced at the Arkansas Library Association (ArLA) Conference in the autumn.

    The 2013 Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award was given to Lucky Beans, written by Becky Birtha and illustrated by Nicole Tadgell. The 2013 Arkansas Diamond Primary Honor Book was Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein.



    Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer by John Grisham -- 2013 Charlie May Simon Award Winner Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine -- 2013 Charlie May Simon Honor Book

    2013 Charlie May Simon Award Winners

    The Charlie May Simon Award for children's literature has been presented annually since 1971 to an author whose book has been selected by votes of Arkansas school children in grades 4-6. The purpose of this award is to promote better reading for children and to recognize Mrs. John Gould Fletcher, an outstanding Arkansas author who wrote under the pen name, Charlie May Simon.

    The 2013 Charlie May Simon Award was given to Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer by John Grisham. The 2013 Charlie May Simon Honor Book was Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine.


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    This Page Last updated: 24 April 2013
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