IndyPL Blog

e-Books & Audiobooks

Browse OverDrive’s Amish and Mennonite fiction collection of e-books and downloadable audiobooks you can borrow with your IndyPL library card.

Amish & Mennonite Fiction Authors

Find a book discussion near you!

You are invited to join in one of our many in-person or online book discussions that take place several times each month. In our book discussion groups we read and talk about both fiction and non-fiction books. We express our opinions (both likes and dislikes!) with other avid readers in the city. You might get even more reading ideas on If You Like Christian Fiction.

Event: Virtual Author Talk: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 17, 2:00pm
Location: Online
Description: Have you ever wondered why the English spelling of words is sometimes… well… just weird? Come on a surprisingly hilarious journey with us and author Gabe Henry through the history of the English language, while we discuss troublemakers like Mark Twain who broke all the rules.
Register Here

Event: WitLITS Book Discussion Group
Date & Time: Friday, September 19, 10:30am
Location: Spades Park Branch
Description: A read aloud group exploring classic literature in a group reading. Do you like classic American Literature? Do you enjoy listening to literature read out loud? Then consider WitLITS where our bookclub requires one thing – show up!
No Registration Required.

Event: Zine Salon
Date & Time: Monday, September 22, 6:00pm
Rescheduled Date & Time: Tuesday, September 23, 6:00pm
Location: East 38th Street Branch
Description: Spend some time reading, talking about, and making zines. We’ll pass around and read five selected titles. If you need to wait while others read, use one of our kits to draw, write, and make a zine of your own.
Register Here

Need help?

Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Tags If You Like, Religion

Vinegar is an acid. Eggshells are made of calcium carbonate. If you soak an egg in vinegar the eggshell will absorb the acid and break down, or dissolve. The calcium carbonate will become carbon dioxide gas, which will go into the air. What is left is the soft tissue that lined the inside of the eggshell. Read on to find out if you can make bouncing eggs.

Science Experiment Idea

Make three bouncing eggs. Soak one egg in vinegar for 24 hours (1 day), one egg for 48 hours (2 days) and one egg for 72 hours (3 days). How do the eggs look when done soaking? Additionally, how do the bouncing eggs behave when you try to bounce them? Hint: BOUNCE OUTSIDE!

Websites, Activities & Printables about Bouncing Eggs

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. Furthermore, this resource provides assistance with your questions. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about chemistry at any of our locations, or check out chemistry e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and alearn how to use audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Ice Cream and Other Edible Science for Kids

Let your kitchen become a science lab and bake, melt, freeze, or boil an experiment you can eat!

Title - The Ultimate Science Cookbook for Kids

Title - Super Fun Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids

Title - 10-minute Kitchen Science Projects

Title - The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists

Title - Hack Your Kitchen : Discover A World of Food Fun With Science Buddies

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

The Muscular System moves the body, gives it posture and circulates the blood. It is made up of three types of muscles: skeletal, smooth & cardiac muscles. The books, websites and other activities on this page will help you get starting doing research to learn how this amazing body system makes your body move.

Websites, Activities & Printables:

Learn about other body systems:

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about the muscular system at any of our locations, or check out muscular system e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Human Body Facts and Functions Revealed in Diagrams, Infographics, and Photographs

Books for kids that explore the digestive, circulatory, nervous, excretory, muscular, and respiratory systems. Learn the names of each body part and all the details about how they function together to keep us breathing, dancing, jumping and running.

Tags Homework Help

A polymer is a chemical compound. Polymers are made up of long chains of molecules that are flexible. Plastic is a type of polymer. Plastics are bendy and stretchy because of their flexible molecule chains. In this experiment we will observe how polymers behave by observing what happens when we poke holes in a ziploc bag full of water. A ziploc bag is a plastic and a polymer.

What You Need

Ziploc Bag
Water
Several Sharpened Pencils

Instructions to Poke Holes in a Ziploc

Fill the ziploc bag half full of water. Zip it closed. Hold a pencil in one hand while you use the other hand to poke the pencil all the way through the ziploc bag – have the pencil go in one side and come all the way out the other side. Repeat with more pencils. Does any water spill out? Do you know why? No water spills out of the holes because ziploc bags are made of a polymer.

When you poke the sharp pencil into the plastic the pencil point slides in between the chain of molecules that make up the polymer. The molecule chains “hug” the pencil, making a seal around the pencil that won’t let the water out. What happens when you pull the pencils out?

Once you figure out how to do this one, try to get someone to stand still while you are holding the bag over their head. Poke the pencils through the bag to get them to trust your science…then pull the pencils out and see what happens! We tried it over the dog’s head. She liked it when the pencils got pulled out – a dog drinking fountain!

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Science Experiments at any of our locations, or check out science experiment e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Satisfying DIY Recipe Books to Experience and Explain Polymers & the Science of Slime

Between them, these ten books provide 100+ different ways to explore slime, science that is stretchy, squishie and satisfying to mix up and ooze through your fingers! You experiment, these books will help you explain why slime behaves the way it does. Slime is fun. It’s also the science of polymers and chemistry.

Title - Make your Own Super Squishies, Slime and Putty

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

The surface layer of liquids has a thin elastic “skin” called surface tension. You can see surface tension at work when you see a drop of water – it creates a little “bead” of water, like a little dome. Surface tension is what makes the dome shape – the water doesn’t flatten out. Look for surface tension at work when you play with bubbles.

Water consists of two kinds of atoms: hydrogen and oxygen. The name for the water molecule is H20. The water molecule has 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. Water molecules are attracted to each other because hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms are attracted to each other and hug close together really tight. This is called cohesion. The molecules hug so close together they don’t want to touch other molecules around them. That’s why a bubble is round and only rests a small part of itself on a surface when it lands.

Molecules and Bubbles

When you blow air into soap bubble solution the liquid molecules want to attract to each other again so they wrap around the burst of air until they can attach to each other again – this is what makes the round bubble shape. The air inside the solution is pushing the molecules in the soap bubble solution apart but the attraction between the soap bubble solution molecules is so great, the bubble doesn’t pop – the molecules are hugging each other too tight.

To experiment with bubbles you need a good bubble recipe. Below are some simple recipes to try. Each of the recipes use water and dish soap. The “other” ingredient can be baking powder, corn syrup, glycerin (sold at the pharmacy) or sugar. We had the best luck with baking powder. The baking powder recipe made some HUGE bubbles.

Science Project Idea:

Mix different formulas of bubble mix and test them to see which one makes the best bubbles. Use the same amount of water and the same amount of dish soap in at least three different buckets. Choose one “Other” ingredient and add it in different amounts to each of your trial buckets. To be fair, you should hold the bubble wand in front of a fan instead of trying to blow on it, that way you know that the amount of air being blown to make the bubble will be exactly the same. Test the three formulas several times and record your results on a chart. Decide before you begin what property you are looking for in the bubbles. Are you going to test which formula makes the biggest bubble, the bubble that lasts the longest without popping or the formula that makes the most bubbles?

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books at any of our locations, or check out e-books and e-audiobooks from home right to your device. Need help? Call or ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or text a librarian at 317 333-6877.

Websites, Activities & Printables:

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Surface Tension Projects from Bubbles to Sand Castles

What do bubbles and sand castles have in common? Surface tension! Learn about the amazing science of water and how it makes both bubbles and sand castles “stick”.

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Dr. Seuss characters and their stories have consistently been storytime favorites for kids all over the world. Snuggle up and listen to this video reading of the Seuss classic, The Lorax, read by Miss Linda from Brightly Storytime. The Lorax is a timely fable about what happens when greed overtakes respect for nature. Several more stories you can enjoy online follow, it’s Dr. Seuss Online Storytime!

Talk!

After listening to the story, talk about some of the things that happened in it.

Who does the Lorax say he speak for? “I speak for …”
What were some of the animals that lived in the Truffula tree forest?
Do you remember what the Once-ler make with the Truffula tufts?
Picture in your mind a place you know that has trees, like your school’s playground, or a park, or your backyard. What would it look like if all the trees were cut down? What would you miss if the trees were gone?
What problems did the thneed factory cause?
What does the Once-ler give at the end of the story? Why did he give it?

Read!

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out Dr. Seuss books at any of our locations, or check out Dr. Seuss e-books and audiobooks from Overdrive Kids right to your device. If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Click on the book covers below to listen to more Dr. Seuss video read aloud stories right now! It’s Dr. Seuss storytime online! Did you like these? You can find more stories at Free Video Read Alouds and enjoy even more themed reading and activity fun at IndyPL’s DIY Online Storytimes at Home.

title - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

title - Yertle The Turtle, And Other Stories

A Dozen Classics for a Dr. Seuss Rainy Day (or any day!) Marathon

“The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day.” Turn those frowns upside down with one of these sure winners from the king of zany rhyming. Available as e-books and e-audiobooks.

Sing!

Enjoy this sing along from Seussville’s YouTube channel. Is your tongue quick? Is your tongue slick? Now here’s as easy game to play, here’s an easy thing to say! Can you do it?

Write!

Find a pencil or pen, some crayons or markers to color a school picture, practice writing the letters, or see if you can follow your way through a maze without getting stuck.

Play!

Take a walk and read a story as you go! We invite you to visit StoryWalk® in Ruckle Street Park at 3025 Ruckle Street. Stroll through the park and read a book displayed in mounted frames. You can even skip or gallop! Or plan a Dr. Seuss Field Day with outdoor sports, activities, and games straight out of Dr. Seuss’s books!

Join Us for In-Person Storytime!

Event: Reading Ready Time – Trash!
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 17, 12:00am
Location: Online
Description: Children 3-6 are invited to a virtual Library visit! Join us from home to sing along, listen to a story, see new places, and meet amazing people. This week, join us on a visit with the Indianapolis Department of Public Works and meet some actual, real-life, garbage people.
No Registration Required.

Event: Storytime at Lawrence – Preschool
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 17, 10:30am
Location: Lawrence Branch
Description: Preschoolers ages 3-5 years and an adult are invited for stories, songs, and other early literacy activities.
No Registration Required.

Need Help?

Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text, or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Tags Storytime Online

Meet Pete, he’s one cool cat! Pete plays baseball, scuba dives, and loves rocking on his guitar. This groovy feline also dresses well! Who wouldn’t want to borrow Pete’s tennis shoes or magic sunglasses?

You can listen to the video read aloud Pete the Cat and the New Guy right now! Watch the story below and then take a look at the fun activities and links to more books you can check out with your IndyPL Library card!

Talk!

After listening to the story, talk about some of the things that happened in it.

How did the new guy feel at the beginning of the story?
Can you describe how Pete feels about meeting the new guy?
What does Pete do to help Gus feel included?
Name two things you could do to help a new friend feel included.
Do you think you can be friends with people who like different things than you do?

Read!

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out Pete the Cat books at any of our locations, or check out Pete the Cat e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Click on the book covers below to listen to more alphabet video read aloud stories right now! It’s alphabet storytime online! Did you like these? You can find more stories at Free Video Read Alouds and enjoy even more themed reading and activity fun at IndyPL’s DIY Online Storytimes at Home.

title - Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

title - Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses

title - Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes

title - Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party

Pete the Cat Books to Check Out with your IndyPL Library Card

List Cover Images - Here is a selection of books for kids featuring personality plus cats (and one dog!) just as cool and groovy as Pete! “If you want to be cool, just be you!” ~ Pete

Sing!

Get groovy and sing along with Pete!

Write!

Find some crayons or makers to color a picture, practice writing the letters, or see if you can follow your way through a maze without getting stuck.

Play!

Take a walk and read a story as you go! We invite you to visit StoryWalk® in Ruckle Street Park at 3025 Ruckle Street. Stroll through the park and read a book displayed in mounted frames. Try skipping! Or gallop! See if you can do Pete’s Cool Cat Boogie Dance Along!

Join Us for In-Person Storytime!

Event: Reading Ready Time – Trash!
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 17, 12:00am
Location: Online
Description: Children 3-6 are invited to a virtual Library visit! Join us from home to sing along, listen to a story, see new places, and meet amazing people. This week, join us on a visit with the Indianapolis Department of Public Works and meet some actual, real-life, garbage people.
No Registration Required.

Event: Storytime at Lawrence – Preschool
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 17, 10:30am
Location: Lawrence Branch
Description: Preschoolers ages 3-5 years and an adult are invited for stories, songs, and other early literacy activities.
No Registration Required.

Need Help?

Tags Storytime Online

Have you ever played with a kaleidoscope? It is a tube that you hold up to your eye. You point the tube toward light and then slowly turn it. As you turn the tube you can see patterns of colors at the other end of the tube. It works by reflecting light.

Light travels in a straight line. When light bumps into something it changes direction. If light bumps into something shiny it reflects back in the direction it came from. Think of light like a bouncing ball inside a kaleidoscope bouncing off all the shiny surfaces.

If you make your own kaleidoscope you can use mirrors or aluminum foil. When you point it toward light, the light enters the kaleidoscope and reflects back and forth between the shiny surfaces inside it. Since you have filled the end of the kaleidoscope with little shiny objects, the light bounces off those too and makes the interesting patterns of color. As you turn the kaleidoscope the little shiny objects move which makes the patterns of color move.

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Books for Kids for a Stress-less Science Fair

Here are books to help you pick a science fair experiment that (1) follows the scientific method, (2) uses stuff you can find around the house, and (3) is great fun to do! The books will also help you understand what you are seeing by explaining the science concepts behind the dramatic results.

Title - Stay Curious and Keep Exploring: Next Level

Title - The Simple Science Activity Book

Title - Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures Activity Lab

Title - The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

The Respiratory System supplies the blood with oxygen so the blood can deliver oxygen to all parts of the body. The respiratory system does this by inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. Listed below are books and websites to help you learn about this amazing body system.

Websites, Activities, Printables & Databases:

Learn about other body systems:

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about the respiratory system at any of our locations, or check out respiratory system e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Human Body Facts and Functions Revealed in Diagrams, Infographics, and Photographs

Tags Homework Help

When the atoms in different kinds of molecules come together they can form a chemical bond. This happens when some of the electrons from each kind of atom have an attraction to each other so they stick together. In this experiment you will be able to see a chemical bond. Dye made from kool aid and vinegar will make a bond, or “stick” to the fabric of a cotton t-shirt – kool aid tie dye!

Some chemical bonds are strong and the two substances really stick to each other. Some chemical bonds are weak. The chemical bond between kool-aid/vinegar and the t-shirt is weak. The vinegar added to the kool-aid is called a mordant. A mordant is a substance that helps dye stick to fabric.

What You Need to Make Kool Aid Tie Dye

T-shirt/Sock/Towel – Anything Made From Cotton
Kool Aid Packets
Several Bowls
Spoon
Water
Vinegar
Measuring Cups
Rubber Bands

The kool-aid/vinegar dye will make a weak chemical bond so your shirt will fade over time. The chemical bond in a permanent dye is strong – shirts dyed with this kind of dye stay bright for a long time. After you practice with kool-aid, THEN try a more permanent dye.

NOTE: Even though the kool-aid/vinegar dye is weak…you should still do this OUTSIDE! The kool-aid/vinegar dye will stay on your fingers and especially your fingernails for a day or so unless you wash them really good. (So…it would also stay for awhile on your clothes or the carpet in your house!) My dog licked the bowl of blue kool-aid/vinegar dye and it turned her tongue blue. She also splashed some on her foot. The next day her tongue was not blue anymore put the fur on her paw was!

Science Experiment Idea: Try dying three identical shirts with kool aid using different amounts of vinegar. Which mixture made the darkest color? Which mixture lasted the longest? To investigate chemical reactions further – try some more experiments at home!

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the A s k Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Chemistry for Kids: Projects to Makes Things Sizzle, Pop, and Explode!

Chemistry is nature’s magic. With it you can learn to do amazing things, like make erupting volcanoes and and fizzy exploding ziplocs. These books will show you how to do these things and also explain the science behind why these things are happening. You can explore chemical reactions by experimenting with things you find around the house in your kitchen, bathroom or garage.

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Every object on earth has potential energy. That means it COULD move even if it isn’t moving right now. When an object IS moving it has kinetic energy. In today’s demonstration you are going to store energy in a spring. That spring will have the potential to move, but it won’t move until you let it move. The marshmallow catapult you make is going to transfer energy from the spring to a marshmallow. The marshmallow will have potential energy until the catapult releases, then the marshmallow will have kinetic energy as it flies through the air.

Watch NASA astronaut Joe Acaba demonstrate kinetic and potential energy on the International Space Station by showing how an object’s potential energy changes.

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Stomp Rocket and Sling Shot Science – How Physics Makes Contraptions Work

For kids who like to tinker and build here are projects books using things around the house to make some fun contraptions like stomp rockets, catapults and sling shots. Other books will teach them about the science behind why these clever mechanical wonders like potential and kinetic energy.

Title - The Awesome Physics in your Home

Title - Launchers, Lobbers, and Rockets Engineer

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Sharpie pens are permanent markers. That means that the ink will not come off with water. If something will dissolve in water it is called soluble. If something will NOT dissolve in water it is called hydrophobic. Permanent marker ink is hydrophobic. You can do a sharpie pen tie dye demonstration of solubility.

What You Need

White T-Shirt
Permanent Markers (Sharpies)
Plastic Cup
Rubber Band
Rubbing Alcohol
Dropper

Instructions

To begin your sharpie pen tie dye demonstration, stretch part of the white t-shirt over the top of the plastic cup and secure it with the rubber band – it will look like a little drum. Choose one of the colors of Sharpie pen and make dots in the center of the t-shirt circle. Choose another color and make more dots. Repeat. The circle of color should be about the size of a quarter.

Sharpie pen tie dye science experiment supplies.

Now slowly squeeze about 20 drops of rubbing alcohol into the center of the circle of dots. Drip the rubbing alcohol really slowly. What do you see happening to the ink? Let the ink dry for about 5 minutes and then you can move the cup to a different part of the shirt. When you are done making colorful circles put the shirt in the dryer for about 15 mintues to set the colors.

The permanent ink of Sharpie pens is hydrophobic. It will not dissolve in water. The permanent ink WILL dissolve in rubbing alcohol though. That is why the colors “run” to make the pretty pattern.

Science Project Idea:

Try this method of tie dying with different kinds of markers and pens. Test whether the ink in the pens is soluable or hydrophobic. HINT: the word “washable” would be a clue to help you guess the answer to that question. Then try using the rubbing alcohol. Can you find an ink that will not dissolve in water OR rubbing alcohol?

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Chemistry for Kids: Projects to Makes Things Sizzle, Pop, and Explode!

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Imagine Your Story! Close your eyes and picture yourself crawling through caves, climbing ocean cliffs, making the game winning basket, winning a singing competition, or outsmarting a fire breathing dragon! Stories can take you places you have never been to do amazing things. Sometimes the places have never really existed, like Hogwarts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have wonderful adventures there! For an afternoon of fun, try these imagination activities.

Listen to a Story

Dragons are a favorite character in many imaginary stories. They can be fierce, or funny, or loyal companions. Here are five favorite dragon stories you can read or listen to online as well as two more about magical, enchanting places and the adventures that happen there. Click on a book cover to read or listen to the story.

title - There Was An Old Dragon Who Swallowed A Knight

My Father’s Dragon is the story of a boy who runs away from home to rescue a baby dragon. He can talk to animals, he travels to an exotic island, he battles alligators, and he hopes to take home a baby dragon! You can read My Father’s Dragon as an e-book or follow along below as it is read aloud.

Here are three more award winners about fantastical adventures in imaginary places. The Graveyard Book is about a boy raised in a graveyard by the ghosts who live there! Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is the story of a donkey who makes an unintentional wish, turning himself into a pebble. And Where the Wild Things Are is the story of a boy who takes a magical journey, all while stuck in his room after being sent there for being a wild thing! Click on a book cover to read or listen to the story.

Imagination Activities

Try one of these online or printable activities at home to learn more about dragons. Imagine having a dragon for a friend. What kind of adventures would you have together? Imagine your own dragon story and then draw pictures to go with it!

Embrace Imagination and Curiosity

Here are some favorite books for imaginative and curious minds. These books invite us to look past our everyday lives, to ask questions about the world around us, and to open our minds to the fanstastical!

"Always be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon. Then always be a dragon." – IndyPL_ShelbyP
Dragon books for kids – IndyPL_SarahS
Raya and the Last Dragon – IndyPL_MelindaM
Use Your Imagination! – IndyPL_JessicaNS
The Wonder of Imagination – IndyPL_BambiP

Need help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

For kids who love to draw, two illustrators of favorite books for kids offer online classes for hours of creative fun! Start drawing today by tuning in to these drawing shows or by checking out an e-book with your IndyPL library card.

Mo Willems

Mo Willems, creator of Knuffle Bunny, the Pigeon books, and the Elephant and Piggie books, hosts a writing show called Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems. See the Lunch Doodles Playlist.

Jarrett Krosoczka

Jarrett Krosoczka, author of Hey Kiddo as well as the graphic novel series Lunch Lady and Jedi Academy hosts Draw Every Day with JJK. Browse his YouTube page for all kinds of drawing tutorials and prompts.

Drawing Books:

We have a lot of drawing books for kids at the library. You can find one for just about any interest you have. Learn to draw NASCAR, forest animals, sea creatures, cartoon characters, buildings and much more. Some of the books feature simple cartoon style drawings and others, for more experienced artists, go into great detail. Each one includes step-by-step directions though, so even if you are a beginner you can create some pretty amazing pictures!

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out drawing books at any of our locations, or check out drawing e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Video Read Alouds about Drawing

Just click on one of the book covers to hear the story.

How to Draw Favorite Book Character Printables

Tags Arts & Crafts

In hard times and in stressful times, reading does not solve all of our concerns and worries, but it can help. Here are some of the ways we are using books to get through this tough period.

I just can’t focus…how am I supposed to read?

Listen, we hear you. When our attention spans are exactly the length of one tik-tok video, we use these tips to get back into reading.

Picture books aren’t just for kids.

Reading something that is beautifully illustrated and has fewer words per page helps us to get our minds re-engaged. Check out some of our suggestions:

Try a new genre.

We tend to have go-to genres but when we are stressed or tired, we might try a new subject or type of book to engage our brains differently. Here are some picks by genre:

Switch how you are reading.

Perhaps you only read print books? Try to read an e-book or explore an audiobook. Or have you only read on a Kindle for the last couple of years? Try listening to an audiobook through your phone or pick up a print book through our curbside pickup.

Reread a favorite.

Our librarian Carri says, “I like to reread books I’ve loved in the past. Mostly giant fantasy epics or other series where I feel like I know the characters well.”

“Reading has been an escape for me — but I am choosing books that allow me to escape because that’s what I need right now.” – Crystal, Library patron

Stop the Scroll

Numerous studies have proven that the more time that we spend on social media, the more we tend to be anxious. We are too distracted by every notification on our cell phones, every text message vibration, or email alert. How many hours have you spent this week aimlessly surfing social media? We don’t want to incriminate ourselves but we’re pretty sure our weekly screen time report could be included as evidence in a trial on why our brains can’t stay focused on one task. Use these tips to help curtail your scrolling time (except the Library’s social media- you should definitely be following us).

Before bed, instead of logging onto social media to doomscroll, open up the Libby App and dive into an e-book instead of going down an anxiety rabbit hole.
Waiting in a line or before an appointment? Carry a book on you and instead of grabbing your cell phone, grab the book instead. We especially like to carry an e-reader on us since they give us endless possibilities for reading.
Swap out your internet browsing time for an educational app instead. Rebuild those lost foreign language skills with Mango Languages, build new skills with LinkedIn Learning, or watch a craft tutorial on Creativebug and then make it. All free with your library card.

“Reading is a learning adventure and escape. When I discover a new author and I really like them I read more of their books and then I also want to find out more about that author” – Theresa, Librarian

Books Can Help Us Feel and Help Us Start Conversations

Books can help us feel different. We turn to books when we want a good laugh or when we want a good cry. Books can help us to express the feelings that we want to feel but more importantly, they can help us to express the feelings that we need to feel.

Books can help us escape. When the days feel long and the wind chill is Arctic, escape to a sunny paradise or get lost on an island. Travel the world or explore a new galaxy without ever leaving your couch or treadmill.

Reading can help us start conversations with friends, family members, and medical professionals. If how you or a loved one is feeling right now is more than the pandemic-blahs, reading can be a way to start a discussion or go into a doctor’s appointment with more information. Reading helps us gain knowledge but also empathy. Here are just a few of the lists that the IndyPL staff has put together on health and wellness:

Tags Mental Health

Physicists study matter – all of the “stuff” in the universe and how that “stuff” moves. One of the most famous physicists of all time was Sir Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac is most famous for explaining gravity, a concept we are so familiar with now it seems obvious to us. He is also famous for explaining how stuff moves in his Three Laws of Motion. Today we are going to look at Newton’s First Law of Motion called Inertia. This law states that a still object will stay still unless a force pushes or pulls it. A moving object will stay moving unless a force pushes or pulls it.

Gravity and friction are forces that constantly push and pull the “stuff” on earth. So, when we roll a ball, it slowly comes to a stop. On the moon, where there is less gravity and friction, “stuff” floats, and keeps floating. Try one of the experiments below to see Newton’s first law of motion in action.

Experiments:

Websites, Activites & Printables:

You can ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Sir Isaac Newton at any of our locations, or check out Sir Isaac Newton e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Newton’s Laws of Motion: The Science Behind How Things Move

Newton’s Laws of Motion explain force and motion, or why things move the way they do. They are great concepts to explore by doing a science experiment. These are especially good science project ideas for kids who like to move! The concepts can often be explained using sports equipment or by understanding how amusement park rides work. These books offer ideas for physics experiments that demonstrate force and motion and the laws that govern them. Some of them provide the background information needed for the report that is often required to go with projects for the science fair.

Title - Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion

Title - Awesome Physics Experiments for Kids

Title - A Crash Course in Forces and Motion With Max Axiom, Super Scientist

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

We have thousands of audiobooks for kids on various platforms. All can be checked out instantly with a library card. Each audiobook platform is unique. You can learn how to use each platform below.

Audiobooks for Kids from OverDrive/Libby

You can borrow up to 20 titles using your IndyPL Library card from OverDrive Kids. If you have never borrowed from OverDrive before both OverDrive/Libby app directions and OverDrive browser directions are available as well as an OverDrive video tutorial and Overdrive Support.

Here are some quick shortcuts to OverDrive’s audiobook collections for kids.

Skip the Wait!

Hold lines can get very long for new and popular titles. Here are two helpful links for young readers: No Wait, No Problem Audiobooks for Kids and No Wait No Problem e-Books for Teens.

Audiobooks for Kids from Hoopla

You can borrow 10 Items each month using your IndyPL Library card. If you have never borrowed from Hoopla before Hoopla directions are available as well as a Hoopla video tutorial.

Here are some quick short cuts to some of Hoopla’s audiobook read along collections:

Skip the Wait!

You don’t have to put Hoopla titles on hold, you are allowed to borrow whatever titles you want, up to 10 per month.

However, if you’ve already read your 10 monthly borrows, Hoopla frequently offers Bonus Borrows. Bonus Borrows don’t count against your monthly borrowing limit – look for them on Hoopla.

Audiobooks for Kids from Kanopy Kids

Kanopy Kids has one collection of read along picture books in their Kanopy Story Time collection. Read them in a computer browser or in the Kanopy app. Videos from the Kanopy Kids section do not require any play credits to view. Feel free to watch as many videos from Kanopy Kids as you’d like without seeing a reduction in your play credits! If you have never borrowed from Kanopy before here are some Kanopy directions and a Kanopy video tutorial.

Audiobooks for Kids from Tumblebooks

You can read Tumblebook read alongs in a computer browser or the Tumblebook Library app. If you have never borrowed from the Tumblebook Library before here is a Tumblebooks video tutorial to help you get started. Here are three examples of the read along stories you can find in the Tumblebook Read Along Library. See the full list of Tumblebook read alongs. The best thing about Tumblebooks – there are no loan limits and no waiting!

Audiobooks for Kids from LOTE4Kids

LOTE4Kids is a digital collection of picture books (e-books and e-audiobooks) in over 70 world languages with an English version available for all books. The collection is for ages 3-8.

Audio Enabled Books for Kids

If your kids like e-book read alongs try our audio enabled book collection – print books that have an audio player permanently attached to them. Children simply push a button to listen and read. The next time you visit one of our libraries, ask where the audio enabled books for kids shelf is or browse the list of all of all our audio enabled books for kids.

Free Audiobooks that Don’t Require a Library Card

World Book Day Free Audiobooks
World Book Day’s World of Stories audiobook collection get refreshed frequently. Audiobooks are taken down after 6 months and then are replaced with new ones so check back often for new stories.

Audible’s Free Audiobook Library for Kids
Audible, Amazon’s audiobook library, offers free audiobook streams on a select number of children’s stories. See the Free Audible Library. The books are separated into six categories: “Littlest Listeners,” “Elementary,” “Tween,” “Teen,” “Literary Classics” and “Folk & Fairy Tales for All.” Books are available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Italian.

Free Video Read Alouds Online
Children also shouldn’t miss these outstanding opportunities to hear old classics like Where the Wild Things Are or a newer favorite like Little Jumbo, often read aloud by the book’s author or a celebrity reader. It isn’t library story time…but you will still hear “I want to hear it again!”

Tags Audiobooks, e-Books & Streaming

Looking for ideas for a science experiments? Here are several ideas that use materials easily found in your house. A couple of them might require a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy, but mostly you can just raid the garage, kitchen or medicine chest for the ingredients. Many experiments you will want to do OUTSIDE. Each one will give you directions as well as suggest websites and books to help you understand what science is at work during the experiment.

Science Experiment Ideas:

ATOMS & MOLECULES
Density: Buoyancy
Miscible Molecules: Lava Bottle
Polymers: Poke Holes in a Ziploc or Cornstarch & Borax Goo
Saturation: Baking Soda Crystals
Soluability: Sharpie Pen Tie Dye
Supersaturated: Borax Crystals
Surface Tension: Bubbles or Sand Castles

CHEMICAL REACTIONS
Acids: Bouncing Egg
Chemical Bond: Kool Aid Tie Dye
Chemical Reaction: Exploding Ziploc
Mixtures: Black Ink Chromatography

HEAT
Melting Point: DIY Slushie
Heated Gases Expand: Ivory Soap

PHYSICS
Aerodynamics: Paper Airplanes
Centripetal Force: Hex in a Balloon
Newton’s First Law of Motion, Newton’s Second Law of Motion, and Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Potential & Kinetic Energy: Marshmallow Catapult

BIOLOGY (LIFE)
Hydrologic (Water) Cycle: Make a Terrarium

Websites:

Here are some websites that have great step-by-step directions and photographs for planning great science experiments.

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Books for Kids for a Stress-less Science Fair

Mad Science for Kids

An assortment of science experiments about fossils, dinosaurs, and rocks, oh my!

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments