1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Track progress online with Beanstack or a printable log. If you have questions, email us at 1000books@bcpl.org.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails one free high-quality, age appropriate book each month to children from birth to age 5.
Tales Birthday Club
Children up to 5 years old are eligible to register for the Tales Birthday Club. During the month of their birthday, children will receive a card in the mail! Bring your Tales Birthday Card to any BCPL location to get the card stamped and receive a birthday gift.
Access Video - Just for Kids!
Stream many favorite children's programs and PBS favorites, such as Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Arthur, Reading Rainbow, and much, much more!
ComicsPlus for Kids
A growing collection of digital comics, graphic novels, and Manges specially curated for kids!
Explora for Kids
New Picture Books
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Winnie-the-Pooh and the Party
A charming and gorgeously illustrated Winnie-the-Pooh picture book inspired by a timeless A. A. Milne poem.
Pooh Bear, no matter how he tried
would never win a spelling prize...
because he hasn't mastered yet
the mysteries of the alphabet.
It's Rabbit's birthday and that means party time in the Hundred Acre Wood! With all our beloved characters in attendance, name badges are a must. But spelling can be tricky, as Booh Pear, Tiddle and Wiglet find out . . .
With a gentle rhyming story by bestselling author Jeanne Willis, inspired by A. A. Milne's classic poem 'Teddy Bear', and charming illustrations by Mark Burgess, in the style of E. H. Shepard, this authorized sequel is the perfect gift for anyone who loves Winnie-the-Pooh. -
The Misfit Nugget: Bite-Sized Acceptance
Little Chicky Nug was a little different from the other nuggets. She was small. She had a bulge where other nuggets had a dent. Worst of all, there was a little breading missing from her left side. No one was supposed to see your insides until your eating day! Will a trip to the Island of Misfit Nugs help her find her place on the plate?
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Tater Fry and the Quest for Ketchup: Potato of Perseverance
A lowly French fry finds out that the ketchup bottle is empty. You CANNOT eat fries without ketchup. So, Tater Fry embarks on an adventure to secure the succulent sauce. With the help of a wise old French fry from under the car seat, he'll learn about perseverance in the face of hot sriracha spills, thieving dogs, and crushing bootheels.
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Little Blue Truck and Racer Red
The #1 bestselling Little Blue Truck meets a zippy red race car with a need for speed.
Little Blue Truck and good friend Toad are out for a drive when a flash of red whizzes by--then whizzes back to stop and say hi. Sleek and low, Racer Red is made for speed and loves to go fast! When she challenges Blue to a race, Blue knows that win or lose, it's fun to try! Beep! Beep! Zooooom!
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I Need Pants!
"Fish has a wish for pants. But Octopus points out that fish don't wear pants because they don't have legs! So fish thinks and changes their wish to fuzzy bunny slippers (but fish don't have feet!), a pink tutu (but fish don't do ballet!), and then rainbow hair ribbons (but fish don't have hair!). At last, Fish exclaims: "WELL, I MUST NEED A RAINCOAT! IT IS VERY WET AROUND HERE!!!" And Octopus tells them that they do not need any clothes at all. After all, Fish don't wear clothes! But Fish doesn't need clothes, they just think that clothes would make their heart happy. Octopus frets at first and reveals the insecurity underlying their seemingly cool cynicism about pants what if other fish make fun of them? But when Fish acquires their very own pair of pants and has a blast parading them around the ocean, Octopus realizes that the emotional merits of pants make up for the lack of functional merits and potential embarrassment. Octopus gets pants too (four pairs, naturally!). An imaginative and goofy tale of friendship and being true to yourself even when your choices don't fit the status quo"--
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I Don't Wanna Hibernate!
In this cozy picture book, it's time to hibernate—but our little groundhog is NOT sleepy. So she tries to stay up all winter . . . and almost misses Groundhog Day!
As snow gently blankets the land, the Groundhogs prepare for their long, snuggly hibernation. But little Tess is wide awake!
Tess's parents try everything to get her to sleep, but she knows every trick in the book. When Mommy and Daddy fall asleep without her, will Tess be able to stay up all winter? Or will she snore her way through Groundhog Day?
Join Tess in this wintery bedtime story perfect for readers who are wide awake when the rest of their world is sleepy. -
Lawrence & Sophia: Big & Bold
When Lawrence makes a new friend, Sophia feels left out . . . and then acts out. It's a scenario that so many kids can relate to, told here with loads of laughs and charm.
Lawrence and Sophia do everything as a pair. Together, they are big and bold and fast (sort of). But then one day, another kid appears—and Lawrence is excited about new adventures with this new friend. Sophia . . . is not. And she misses Lawrence while he’s bike-riding and shipbuilding with the other boy. Well, Sophia can build something too! She doesn’t need Lawrence to be big and bold, does she?
As they did in their first book about this lovable duo, acclaimed creators Doreen Cronin and Brian Cronin share universal truths of childhood with a perfect mix of humor and warmth. Friendship triangles have never been so endearing. -
If I Built a Town
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A joyful and inventive read-aloud, part of the award-winning If I Built series! Join Jack and his larger-than-life imagination as he dreams up his ideal town, where everyone is welcome.
“Sunny, inclusive, and imaginary.”—Kirkus Reviews
"My town will be swanky! My town will be swell!
My town will be prized as the best place to dwell!"
Jack has some great ideas for improving the community he lives in. And who better to describe them to than Mayor McKay! As they walk through the park together, Jack eagerly tells the mayor his plans for improving their town.
And what a town he has dreamed up! The zoo is packed with fantastic, Jurassic, and mythical creatures, the mail is delivered by super-fast hover vans, the health clinic travels right to your door, and a parade passes through each and every week. And don't forget the robots! All of Jack's plans include the most exciting and useful serving machines. But best of all, everything is free!
Jack's over-the-top creativity and infectious enthusiasm will inspire budding young inventors. It's a story time romp that you'll want to return to again and again. -
It's Not Easy Being a T. Rex
Life isn't always easy—even for a T. rex! In this sweet, funny picture book, a T. rex who is self-conscious about her big teeth and small arms learns she is perfect exactly as she is! Perfect for dinosaur lovers—with a bonus message about self-acceptance!
Rexy is nervous about starting school. Her head is BIG. Her arms are small. And her teeth are the size of bananas! Rexy wants to fit in with the other dinosaurs, but after catching a kickball in her mouth (and popping the ball!) at recess, she's MORTIFIED and ready to give up. Then a volcano erupts, sending rocks flying onto the kickball field. When another dino needs help, can Rexi's powerful jaws save the day? You bet your tyrannosaur they can!
Featuring a comical cast of animal characters—including a wise-beyond-his-size dragonfly sidekick for readers to find hidden on every page—this picture book about self-acceptance, friendship, and helping others is perfect for young dinophiles!
Everyone has a rough day now and then and wishes they could do something or be someone else. Not even beloved characters like Santa Claus, ghosts, and leprechauns are immune! The It's Not Easy... picture book series explores the witty ways these iconic characters search for happiness, only to find it within themselves.
Also available:
It's Not Easy Being Santa Claus
It's Not Easy Being a Ghost
It's Not Easy Being a Leprechaun -
Brothers Are Not for Hitting (A Kind and Caring Kids Picture Book Series for Kids)
Hands are powerful, amazing tools for playing . . . but hands are not for hitting our friends and family!
Wherever Laila goes, her adorable brother Reggie is always close behind. At school, church, even the bath! But on a trip to the zoo, when Laila feels too excited, impatient, overwhelmed, or reluctant to leave, her body tells her it's time to hit! How can Laila find better ways to express her emotions and be safe with her hands?
Written by Preschool Therapist Ryan Allen, this funny, helpful book, will guide children to recognize the signs that they are about to hit, and teaches great techniques and positive alternatives to stay safe and have fun. There are many reasons why kids hit, from boredom to excitement, impatience to frustration, this is a common experience for many toddlers. But with a Gentle Parenting approach, there are equally many ways to identify, soothe, and change behaviors.
Gentle Parenting Series
Common situations and descriptive illustrations guide kids to choose positive behaviors instead of harmful ones. All books in this useful series include helpful tips and an introduction to the basic principles of Gentle Parenting, all written by licensed Preschool Therapist, Ryan Allen.
New Graphic Novels for Kids
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Thick As Thieves: a Graphic Novel
Caldecott Medalist, National Book Award winner, and New York Times bestselling creator Dan Santat returns to Sidekicks with a brand-new adventure in this second series installment! Suit up for high-octane action and laughs!
There's trouble at the Society of Superheroes!
Captain Amazing, the longtime hero of Metro City, has retired, and he's enjoying a much-needed vacation at the World's Biggest Ball of Yarn. But while he's away, there's trouble at home! A massive data breech disrupts the Society of Superheroes, and a flash drive containing sensitive information about Captain Amazing and other heroes winds up in reckless hands. Meanwhile, an unannounced visitor named Whipley arrives at the captain's house, and his pet sidekicks -- Manny, Roscoe, and Fluffy -- are skeptical of the stranger's intentions. The only sidekick excited by the visit is Shifty.
Could Whipley be Shifty's loving, long-lost brother as he claims? Or is he framing the sidekicks for his own personal gain and vengeance?
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Gumshoe
From the visionary creator of the Sheets trilogy comes a never-before-seen contemporary middle grade graphic novel about a spunky group of girls, set against the backdrop of the Arizona desert. Perfect for fans of Paper Girls and This Was Our Pact.
In the hot, gossipy town of Stony Lonesome, shy eleven-year old Willa interacts with others the only way that feels right to her--the mail. She loves the mail so much that she hopes to become a mail carrier herself one day. But her dreams of delivering birthday cards, thank-you notes, and love letters come crashing down when she's mistaken for the notorious Two Gum Tilly, a bandit rumored to be stealing mail for as long as folks can recall.
Now an outlaw herself, Willa realizes the only way to clear her name is to bring the real crook to justice. But when a chance encounter introduces her to the Gumshoe Gang, a group of runaways looking to right the wrongs of the letter-looting thief, she finds that human connection might be her only path to freedom. Can Willa clear her name and revive her dreams of postal glory, or has she stamped her last letter . . . forever?A Kid's IndieNext pick!
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Flat Stanley: the Graphic Novel
Flat Stanley's iconic original adventure is brought to life in a full-color graphic novel!
Stanley Lambchop wakes up one morning to find a bulletin board has fallen on him during the night. And now he's only half an inch thick and incredibly flat!
But then amazing things begin to happen to him. He gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even becomes involved in an art mystery! But will he be able to use his flatness to help people as well--and become the flattest hero of the day?
Kids love Flat Stanley--even reluctant readers--and this accessible format is a great introduction to the beloved series. And for parents and teachers, each Flat Stanley book delivers problem-solving adventures, plot and character development story elements, and compare-and-contrast lessons.
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Paw & Order Vol. 2
Purrlock and Marlowe have been invited to Paris by Marlowe's Aunt Foo Foo to see the unveiling of M. Henri Porcupine's painting. It's his first painting in ten years and highly anticipated. But, when the detectives arrive, they find out that the painting has been stolen only moments after its reveal! To make matters worse, Marlowe's Aunt Foo Foo has been arrested for the crime. But if it wasn't Aunt Foo Foo, then who? The only other suspect is Hugh Manatee, M. Henri's artistic rival. And what exactly did M. Canard, the arts reporter for the newspaper, see and hear the night of the theft? In Jason Platt's funny and delightfully illustrated story, readers will have their own opportunity to piece the puzzle together and, hopefully, save Aunt Foo Foo!
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Phineas and Ferb's A-MAZE-ing Creature Double Feature
In this outrageous and original double-feature graphic novel, Phineas and Ferb face an oversized maze full of oversized insects and oversized challenges, forcing them to invent their way home! The second story features an alternate reality adventure with Dr Doofenshmirtz as a horror movie TV host teaming up with Phineas and the gang to face real monsters, including a giant feral Perry!
In the first half of this outrageous and original double feature, Phineas and the gang invent a maze to get lost in, but Doofenshmirtz’s ELONG-inator makes it so big that it absorbs all of Danville; and now everyone ELSE is lost too! Our heroes must invent their way out while Agent P stops Doof from exploiting the maze to take over the entire Tri-State area!
The second story features an alternate reality take on our fan-favorite characters, with Dr. Doofenshmirtz as a cheesy, late night TV horror movie host. When Phineas and Ferb discover actual monsters in Danville, they seek out Doof’s help, even as Candace, a staunch non-believer, vows to reveal them as frauds. With the help of Doof and his horror movie knowledge, the kids build wild inventions to confront the creepy creatures, before facing their largest monster yet: a gigantic, feral Perry the Platypus! -
My Little Pony: Lost Stories of Equestria
Get lost in these four stories of action, mystery, and friendship featuring Princess Cadance, Violette Rainbow and Skye, Zipp and Pipp, and the Mane 5!
How did Princess Cadance become an Alicorn? While at the School of Magic in Canterlot, a swarm of dragons attack. Watching Princess Celestia defend them, Cadance jumps in to help. But, what can a pony with no magic do? Then, when Violette Rainbow asks why Skye doesn't visit her in Bridlewood it leads to an argument, but will they be able to learn how the strength of a good friend can help before it's too late?
It's New Years and Zipp and Pipp are having a party! But when Zipp ruins Pipp's big surprise, can she make up for it while keeping her resolution? And, when a famous pegasus returns to Zephyr Heights for a tournament in their honor, they disappear during their flight! The Mane 5 each have a unique perspective on what they saw. Will they be able to put together the clues and find out what happened?
By writers Christina Rice, Tee Franklin, Megan Brown, Stephanie Williams and artists Abby Bulmer, Yancey Labat, Natalie Haines, Asia Simone.