Books for Kids

Ready for something magical, inspiring, and a whole lot of fun? Live from the Library is a series of engaging and educational performances - happening all summer long at your local libraries! Designed for children ages 5-12 and their families, you'll meet and learn from exciting musicians, clever scientists, caring animal handlers, crafty magicians, and more!

Make the Jacksonville Public Library - and reading - part of your summer from June 2 through August 2!

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, commemorates the Mexican army's victory in 1862 in the Franco-Mexican War. Also known as the Battle of Puebla Day, it's a relatively minor holiday in its home country. In the United States, however, it has become a day to celebrate Mexican heritage, food, and culture - especially among Mexican Americans or in areas of the country with large Mexican American populations.

Lunar New Year is the celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of the new year - based on the lunar calendar and solar year. The event is celebrated by numerous cultures in various ways and on different dates. Some people celebrate for a day, others for an entire week! The most well-known celebrations occur in China, Vietnam, Korea, and other Asian countries. But it's also celebrated by diaspora communities around the world, including families here on the First Coast.

Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! is designed to raise awareness about the importance of reading and to inspire Florida's students and families to make reading part of their daily routines. This year, the Florida Department of Education has scheduled the celebration for the week of January 22–26. The theme of this year’s Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! is "Believe In Your Shelf – Building Resiliency Through Reading!"

Do you like exploring strange new worlds with your favorite away team? Do you dress up as one of those space wizards with laser swords from a galaxy far, far away? Do you like time travel, alternate universes, steampunk, and robots? National Science Fiction Day is celebrated (unofficially) every January 2 by fans across the U.S. If you're looking for your next escape into fantastical, futuristic worlds filled with advanced technology, we've got some great recommendations to get you started!

Shiver me timbers and batten down the hatches! September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day. If you're looking for some inspiration, the Library has some great books about our favorite scallywags and seadogs. No need to raid Davey Jones' locker. The best part: these books won't cost you a single doubloon! So, check out a book, sing your favorite sea chantey, and "yo ho ho" the whole day long!

Dan Santat is the author and illustrator of over a hundred books for young people including the New York Times–bestselling book After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again). Though he's probably best known for The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, the magical story of a would-be imaginary friend who sets off on a journey looking for the child he's destined to befriend!

It's never easy when your magic goes wonky. For Nory, this means that instead of being able to turn into a dragon or a kitten, she turns into both of them at the same time -- a dritten! A two-time Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor winner and recipient of the Sydney Taylor Book Award, author Emily Jenkins is a favorite with children for her humor and sensitivity. Join the Junior Lit Chat Tuesday, September 5 from 6-6:30 p.m. at Southeast Library (intended for kids ages 5-12). A limited number of copies of Harry Versus the First One Hundred Days of School will be given away to participants, first come, first served.

Make the Library - and reading - part of your summer from June 1 through August 12! Our theme this year, All Together Now, invites you to read, play and explore together with fun shows, programs, hands-on activities and, of course, all kinds of books!