Books
Central Library Fully Reopens for the First Time Since 2020 Closure With a Public Celebration
Denver’s Central Library fully reopened to the public for the first time since it closed for renovations in March 2020, with a public grand reopening celebration. The day kicked off with a celebratory program and ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Mayor Mike Johnston, Senator John Hickenlooper, and members of library leadership in the new Park View event space. The $60 million renovation of the Central Library is putting Denver’s votes to work. In November 2017, Denver voters overwhelmingly approved measure 2E, which provides $69.3 million to renovate the Denver Central Library and 10 branch libraries as part of the Elevate Denver Bond program. Improvements include: A welcoming and revamped first floor, including Schlessman Hall featuring a new grand stairca...
Why won’t my child sleep? Helps from this gentle sleep coach!
Sleep training didn’t work for you? You’re not the only one. Researcher and sleep coach Macall Gordon and the Sleep Lady Kim West offer a tried-and-true approach to shifting sleep behavior that actually works . . . even when nothing else has. Most modern sleep training methods promise “easy” and “quick” results and for many parents and children, these methods work as intended. However, there is a large, exhausted group of parents whose children have sleep problems that do not respond to sleep training methods that involve leaving your baby to cry-it-out. These children tend to be more alert, intense, persistent, and perceptive than their peers. And when it comes to sleep, they put up a much, much bigger fight. They need a different approach. That’s where Why Won’t You Sleep?! comes in. Bas...
‘When Mommy is Sad’: A Colorado Mom’s Journey Through Depression
We recently learned about a beautiful children’s book “When Mommy is Sad” written by Heidi Bartle, a Colorado mom who has struggled with depression and bipolar disorder. In the book, she explores her feelings and actions and their impact on her family. She shares her steps toward recovery include self-care, meeting with doctors, taking medication, and working with a therapist. The story’s resolution is not one of healing, but of hope. Tell us about yourself and your family. My husband, Garry, and I have been married for 24 years. We have five children: two young adults, one high schooler, and two middle schoolers. They are all wonderful humans. I have a bachelor’s degree in Health Science but stayed home with my kids in lieu of working in the field until the l...
It’s OK to lose it sometimes, just not too often
Denver author and educational consultant Craig A. Knippenberg is renowned for his work with children, adolescents and parents, Craig has a lifelong commitment to improving the lives of children and families by developing effective strategies to help “imperfect” parents build resilient kids so that they may better understand how children’s brains work and foster a deeper connection and independence without guilt or shame. Craig has released two parenting titles: Wired and Connected: Brain-Based Solutions to Ensure Your Child’s Social and Emotional Success and Shame-Free Parenting: Building Resiliency in Times of Hardship, Guns, and Social Media. Letting Go of Parental Shame If you do lose it, apologize and seek forgiveness. Apologizing means you ow...
Help! My child refuses to go to school
Let’s face it: saying good-bye to summer is a huge bummer but for some kids, it’s a lot worse. Most kids don’t want to go to school once in a while. But kids with what experts call “school refusal” have a lot of very extreme anxiety about going to school. Your child may have school refusal if they often try very hard to avoid school and get extremely upset about going. Kids with school refusal may also feel sick a lot and regularly visit the nurse. Sometimes kids may be anxious about going back after being home sick or after a school vacation. For these kids, it is important not to let them stay home. They need to get back in the swing of things as fast as possible. If school refusal goes on for weeks or months, it’s time to take action. Overcoming School Ref...
Summer of Adventure challenge to include a completion party
Now that we’ve got a month of summer under our belts, why not celebrate by cozying up to a great book to avoid that summer heat? The Denver Public Library is excited to announce the return of its popular Summer of Adventure program, designed to encourage youth from birth to 12th grade to learn, grow, and have fun throughout the summer months. Choose your own Summer of Adventure by doing 20 different READ, MAKE, and EXPLORE activities to finish the program. Once completed, bring your Adventure Guide to any Denver Public Library location to receive a completion prize and a VIP ticket to the first-ever Summer of Adventure Completion Party on August 10th. During the summer break, students can often experience a learning loss known as the “summer slide.” The Summer of Adventu...
5 Tips for Camping with Kids this Summer
Camping is a great way to get kids unplugged and connected to nature, and summertime is prime camp season. We tapped Boulder-based Helen Olsson, author of The Down & Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids, which was just released in its second edition in April, to give us her top tips for taking the brood into the woods. #1. Prep the Kids: Before you go camping with small children, read picture books about camping. Pitch a tent in the backyard to get used to sleeping outside. #2. Gear Up: For family camping, remember to bring kid-specific gear like little potties, portable high chairs, pack-and-plays, small backpacks, kid water bottles, and baby backpack carriers. Here’s a few key items of gear: Headlamps: They’re better than flashlights, because your hands are free to cook, cleanup, o...
Reading with the Rabbits Story Hour at The Community Farm animal sanctuary
My name is Leona. Last spring, in April of 2023, when I was in 5th grade. I started a story hour called Reading with the Rabbits to help raise funds to improve the rabbit hutch – aka the Rabbitat – at The Community Farm. I’ve volunteered at The Community Farm animal sanctuary in Arvada, I love that they are calm and cautious with an intense curiosity. They are so eager to try new and different things and they love interacting with people. Most importantly, they are great listeners. I started to think, the horses have riders, the goats have Goat Yoga, the donkeys have the Burro Racing team, but what do the bunnies have? I wanted to create something that focused on the rabbits. I thought maybe bunny meditation? No. I don’t want to meditate with strangers; that’s priva...
Fourteen Talks By Age Fourteen: important advice before the tween years
Let’s face it: the middle school years are TOUGH. Parents sometimes feel like talking to middle schoolers is an exercise in frustration (for both parties!) but there’s no better time to have important yet sometimes difficult conversations about topics like changing friendships, independence, self-care, technology, impulsivity, money, and more — and lay the groundwork for a healthy adolescence. This invaluable parenting book Fourteen Talks By Age Fourteen: The Essential Conversations You Need to Have with Your Kids Before They Start High School by Michelle Icard lays out the BRIEF Model. Begin peacefully. Relate to your child. Interview to collect information Echo what you’re hearing, and give Feedback – for having positive conversations with middle school...
Want a parenting handbook? Now, you can have one!
Are we pushing our kids too early, too much? Perhaps your child is not abnormal. Perhaps they simply need more time. Time to bake. Time to play. Time to simmer and deepen these newly forming pathways of self-regulation and strong attention spans. The research on delaying formal education until age 6-7 is actually fascinating. Benefits are seen in emotional temperament, athletic performance and testing performance. Perhaps this information will empower parents on the fence to make bold decisions for their family. In The Parenting Handbook: Your Guide to Raising Resilient Children, Tammy Schamuhn and Tania Johnson—founders of the Institute of Child Psychology, child psychologists, and moms with an immense social media following—give parents the answers they so desperately ...
The Book Bus: Inspirational bus driver makes it fun & educational!
It could be one of the best ideas ever. It was created out of the blue, and it makes a school bus ride enjoyable. It’s fun and it’s educational. It keeps the kids on the bus well-behaved and well-read. James Chapman has been driving a school bus for over a decade. He transports many of the kids who attend Margaret Elementary School in Odenville, Alabama. What started as a kind gesture by James has caught on. It’s an idea that has turned his yellow ride into the Book Bus. “Down through the years, many of my kids have asked if they could say something through my hand-held intercom,” James told me. “You mean those walkie-talkie things connected to the curly cord?”, I asked. “That’s right,” said James- the device I have to speak throu...
How a mom’s joke turned into a bestselling book
One night during story time, Bess Kalb read a national parks book to her son and noticed the word “Buffalo” made him crack a smile. An Emmy-nominated comedy writer, Bess went further by calling the animals “Buffalo Fluffalos” and he erupted with laughter. This heartwarming moment inspired Kalb’s debut, bestselling picture book Buffalo Fluffalo, which she wrote later that night. Aiming to make her son giggle while teaching him about empathy, the story follows a cute but very grumpy buffalo who acts tough to mask insecurity. But once a rain storm reveals he’s bluffing about his size and is all fluff, Buffalo Fluffalo realizes the other animals love and accept his true, tiny self. The book is already a hit: “If you don’t have little kids at home to entertain with this book, ge...
