HPL Children's Activities
Storytime
Children’s Storytime takes place each Monday beginning at 10:15 am at Hopewell Gazebo Park. It is designed for children ages five and under and their companions, and includes several read-aloud stories and songs. Please bring a blanket or chair to sit on as you enjoy listening to some books.
Children's Room
The Children's Room is on the second floor of the library, with books and videos for infants to teens. It also includes a table for activities, and a selection of toys and games.
For more information about children's services, please call the library at 609-466-1625.
Children’s Storytime takes place each Monday beginning at 10:15 am at Hopewell Gazebo Park. It is designed for children ages five and under and their companions, and includes several read-aloud stories and songs. Please bring a blanket or chair to sit on as you enjoy listening to some books.
Children's Room
The Children's Room is on the second floor of the library, with books and videos for infants to teens. It also includes a table for activities, and a selection of toys and games.
For more information about children's services, please call the library at 609-466-1625.
|
"Color Our World"
Summer Reading is Here! Summer in Hopewell is looking brighter with the launch of the "Color Our World" Summer Reading Program, bringing a palette of activities and reading fun to residents of all ages. Registration Opens June 18th! Starting June 18, register yourself or your entire family. Use the website to register at the library and pick up your packet or use the website at home and have your packet emailed to you. How Does it Work? Each participant chooses how many books they want to read this summer. Every child who reaches their goal receives a coupon book of prizes from Hopewell businesses! Adults who reach their goal receive a special prize as well. Are You a Super Reader? There are two ways to work toward additional prizes! 1. Readers of all ages are invited to complete an activity grid: each completed row will enter you into a drawing for additional prizes. 2. Children may also log the books they read. The child who reads the most in each age category, and turns in their reading log, will earn a gift card to The Bear and the Books! The world is much more colorful when enjoying a good book. |
|
|
The Hopewell Public Library Children's Book Festival We had a day of fun, creativity, and community spirit. A special Thank You to featured local authors: Barbara DiLorenzo, Nancy B. Kennedy, Abigail Rayner, Laurie Wallmark, and Yobe Qiu for sharing their love of writing and reading. A special thanks to the many families who came. |
|
|
|
|
Enjoy our Magazines!
We have some serious ~issues~ here at the Hopewell Public Library - in addition to expanding our downstairs magazine catalogue, we've also added a shelf of kids' magazines! Stop by the HPL Children's Room to peruse our copies of National Geographic Kids, Cricket, Ladybug, Sports Illustrated Kids, Ranger Rick, Highlights, and more! Magazines are available for checkout and new issues arrive every month!
|
Children's and Family Events
- Watch the Events Calendar for special readings or events just for kids.
Children's Books
- See Children's Books for new and recommended titles.
Past Activities
|
September 19–27
Yarr! Scallywags of all ages are invited to stop in for some fun pirate-themed activities! Our younger buccaneers can make a pirate hat and follow the clues for some treasure. Or, come browse our collection of pirate books - with a good book, you can sail the high seas without ever leaving home!
|
August & September 2024
Bird Watch Quest:
Join us for a fun-filled scavenger hunt as children search for hidden birds throughout the room. Along the way, they'll identify birds found in their own neighborhood and listen to their delightful sounds. Can they spot them? Paper Chain Crafting: Get creative with our hands-on paper chain activity! Children will enjoy designing and coloring, their very own unique paper chain. This fun craft creates vibrant, fun decorations. |
|
|
May 2024
Book Bouquets
May in Hopewell marks the shift from spring showers to blooming flowers. It's time to share this awesome craft activity with you. You can leave your books blank, or add some words or illustrations to the pages. Idea from https://popgoesthepage.princeton.edu/book-bouquet/ |
|
April 2024
Garbage or Recycling: A Sorting Game
So you think you know what to recycle in Mercer County?
Come test your knowledge with our fun sorting activity. See you in the children's room! |
|
|
March 2024
Eclipse Art
Observing a total solar eclipse (using safety glasses, of course) can be an exciting, once in a lifetime experience! Long before there were cameras or telescopes, eclipse watchers recorded what they saw in the sky in words, drawings, and paintings.
You are invited to create your own picture of a solar eclipse with chalk and paper. See you in the children's room! See you in the Children's Room! |
February 2024
|
February has a lot of LOVE to offer! We celebrate Black History Month, Groundhog Day, Lunar New Year, Backyard Bird Count, Superbowl Sunday, Valentine's Day, Random Acts of Kindness Week, Presidents' Day, and Leap Day, to name a few. Come in during February and find books you LOVE!
The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place from February 16th - 19th. We invite children to play matching games featuring a few birds seen in the backyards of Hopewell. See you in the children’s room!
|
|
|
|
October 2023
In October, children were invited to create a monster to take home or to leave for us to decorate the walls in the children's room. We provided the materials and children provided their creativity to make splendid monsters (or anything else they'd like). Idea from www.CuttingTinyBites.com
|
June 2023During the month of June, we will be collaborating on a project as a fun way to check out books. We will build a LEGO tower together! Each time our friends (ages 3 and up) borrow a book, they will be given 2 Lego bricks to add to the tower. The tower will look different every time you visit. Let’s work together to make something truly epic!
|
|
|
May 2023National Mother Goose Day is May 1st! From the itsy, bitsy spider climbing up the spout to Humpty Dumpty's great fall, nursery rhymes provide endless entertainment for children.
During the month of May, we invite our young patrons to help us create and illustrate a book of HPL’s favorite nursery rhymes. To do this, just choose a rhyme (or two) from the bin on the activity table. Then, use your imagination to draw a picture inspired by reading the rhyme. Once you are finished, sign your name on the bottom page and return it to the bin. At the end of the month, we will put all the pages together to create a book that will be available for all to read! See you in the Children's Room! |
April 2023April has arrived and on the 22nd, we celebrate Earth Day! Children are invited to create a flower for a garden on the walls in the children's room. We provide background paper and glue. We used our collection of paper scraps to cut out shapes for petals, leaves, and stems. Children will provide creativity and make bright and cheerful Spring flowers (or anything else they'd like). See you in the Children's Room! 🌷💐🌻
|
|
|
|
March 2023
Look up, look down, look under, look over, look high, look low, look behind... can you find the 12 book characters hidden in the room?
Hidden in the children’s room are 12 pictures of book characters! Each character has a number. Find each one and write the number under the character on your page. When you are finished, bring your paper to the front desk for a special prize. (You still get a prize if you don’t find them all!) |
February 2023
Did you know that February is Library Lovers’ Month? To celebrate, we made book cover puzzles of a few of HPL’s most borrowed children’s books of 2022. Stop in and give them a try! As always, the best way to show our library some love is to come in and browse for old and new favorites!
The books that were shown the most ❤️in 2022 are:
An Elephant & Piggie Biggie! by Mo Willems, Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Strickland, Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball (#14) by Jeff Kinney, Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris, Bathe the Cat by Alice McGinty, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (#4) by Jeff Kinney, Tick Tock Dog by Tucker Slingsby, Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey, Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward, and Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds.
|
|
Many thanks to to our good neighbor and children’s book writer & illustrator Barbara DiLorenzo, who decorated our summer Quest rocks so artfully and wrote the poetic clues that led us to them! Our thanks also to her daughter, Maddy, who sourced the rocks
for her Mom!