Filed under: Children, Programs | Tags: Children, Legos, Library, Play, Program, stem
Join us for some building fun this Saturday @ 1pm!
All ages welcome. See link below for more information.
Filed under: Children, Programs | Tags: animals, education, nature preserve, Sulphur Creek
Sulphur Creek will be at this Castro Valley Library Amphitheater this Saturday, May 17th @ 10:30am!
See link below for more information.
Filed under: Books, Children | Tags: book review, books, Christmas, cookies, recipes
Cookies and Books
There are few nicer things to do in winter, at least to this Librarian’s mind, then curling up with cookies you made with family, a warm drink, and a good book. So let’s all bake some cookies together and find some perfect books for the season!
The Book:
The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson is a hilarious story about finding new perspectives on familiar events and people. The Herdman kids are famous in town for their rudeness, bad behavior, and roughness and now they’re the stars of the nativity play. Can the small town survive a little girl angel who likes to beat people up, three wise brothers with their own ideas of proper gifts, and the toughest meanest girl 5th grade has ever seen as Mary? The book will certainly turn conceptions on their ears. At times uproariously funny and other times sincerely sweet this book makes a wonderful book to read as a family or a great book for fourth and fifth graders to read alone. This is a treat for the holiday season.
The Cookies:
A book about bad kids doing good things deserves a perfectly dark and sweet cookie that’s so good it is bad for those kids who act bad but are good. This is a great treat for using up extra nuts, dried fruit or chips from other recipes and fitting personal tastes.
Coal Cookies (with all regards to King Arthur Flour)
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Prepare two baking sheets or trays for the oven.
1/2 cup unsalted butter (make sure to take it out the night before so it is easier to work with) 1 1/3 cups brown sugar 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour (Do NOT pack it down) 2 cups (12 ounces) of filler which can be dried fruit, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, crushed candy canes or a mixture of all the above.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Add the eggs, beating until smooth. Slowly to avoid spraying the material stir in the cocoa powder, then the flour; the dough will be stiff. When fully integrated mix in the filler.
Drop the dough in tablespoon blobs onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes they’ll look not-quite-done in the center. That’s what makes them coal. Remove them from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool for about 10 minutes. Gently squeeze and shape the cookies into uneven balls, to resemble chunks of coal.
Makes a delightful 3 dozen to have with milk or coffee and an excellent book.
Note: Cookies stay fresh at room temperature no longer than a week. For extended storage, bake & freeze immediately to serve later.
CSV_Children’s Services Staff_DF
Filed under: Children, Technology | Tags: Chabot Space and Science, Children, science, Space, volunteer
Chabot Space and Science Center Wants to Hear What You Think ~ About a Fantastic Upcoming Exhibition
SPACETIME will be a 25,000 sq foot, multi-level playground located in the outdoor courtyard at Chabot Space & Science Center. The space will be a one-of-a-kind experience, appearing in multiple iterations, accompanied by a narrative that unfolds over time via various local and international media. It will engage kids age 6-12 in active, imaginative play; spark excitement and interest in space exploration; and evoke the spirit of wonder at discovering worlds unknown.
Chabot is seeking families to volunteer an hour of their time to help us determine what you, our communities, would like to see in this new exhibition. We invite you to join us for an hour-long session on Saturday June 1, 2013, at either 2pm or 4pm. There will be an engaging conversation for adults, while our experienced educators entertain the kids with fun, related activities (plus, there will be thank you gifts!). We will be video-taping the sessions.
To sign up (registration ends May 29), contact Camie Bontaites, Creative Content Producer,
Chabot Space & Science Center: 510-336-7312 or cbontaites@chabotspace.org. 
Filed under: Books, Children, Libraries, News, Programs | Tags: dance, holidays, magic, music, puppets, science
School winter holidays begin later this year, with Castro Valley Unified winter vacation December 24-January 7. We’ve planned a full line-up of activites begining the middle of the month.
Sunday, Dec. 16, 2 pm, Winter Concert Hillside Woodwind Quintet & Montecito Brass Ensemble, Seasonal & Classical Music
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 10:30 am Preschool Storytime with Sulphur Creek Nature Center in the Chabot Room
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 11:30 am Santa Claus Prechool Storytime (bring your camera!)
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 4 pm, Holiday Puppet Show Frosty’s Magic Hat with Tony Borders
Thursday, Dec. 20, 10:30 am Music Together for children birth to 5 years old
Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2 pm Extreme Science, Science Magic for all ages
Thursday, Dec. 27, 2pm Spectrum of Science, States of Matter, for grades k-5
Wednesday, Jan. 2, 1 pm Movie, BRAVE Rated PG
Thursday, Jan. 3, 1 pm, LEGO Club (Leave your own LEGOs at home. We have enough for everyone…and DUPLOs for younger kids)
Filed under: Book Sale, Books, Children, Libraries, News, Programs, Senior, Teen
The Friends of the Castro Valley Library will be holding their book sale in the Library’s meeting room this weekend, November 30-December 2.
Friday is the Members Only preview sale from 6-8pm. Did your membership lapse? Do you want to join? Memberships are sold at the door!
The book sale is open to everyone on Saturday from 10am-4pm and Sunday from 1-4pm. On Sunday you can buy books for $3 per bag (bags will be provided).
With all of the donations they’ve been receiving, you’re sure to find some great gifts and things for yourself as well!
All proceeds support the Castro Valley Library. For more information call the Friends at 510-733-3285
Filed under: Books, Children, Libraries | Tags: Alameda County Library, book club, book review, Castro Valley Library, Erskine, Libraries, Mockingbird, Program
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Imagine seeing the world in black and white and trying to navigate yourself through an unbelievable loss. Caitlyn tries to do just that after losing her brother in a middle school shooting. She struggles with Aspergers Syndrome and seeks the definition of closure as a way to recover from such a devastating loss. Read a review below from a member of the Castro Valley Library’s Parent/Child Book Club:
I’d rate Mockingbird a 4.5 out of 5 stars. This book was touching, but it was very depressing for me to see what Caitlyn and her dad were going through. It’s nice to know how an autistic child actually feels and thinks. It is much different from the way I think and do things everyday. It was a good book and I learned that I should change the way I think about autistic people around me.
-Shaeli, 6th grade
