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Children's Newsletter August 2026
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| The Pitkin County Library will be closed experience a service outage from Monday, August 3 through Tuesday, August 4. We will remain open, but some services may be unavailable. We will be closed Wednesday, August 12 from 12:00pm-7:00pm for Library improvement. For more information, click here.
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Keep an eye out for our upcoming school programming e-blast, coming mid-August.
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Summer Reading at the Library |
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Theatre Aspen Storytime
at the Hurst Theatre Hurst Theatre
Tuesday, August 4 | 10:30-11:00am
**THIS EVENT DOES NOT TAKE PLACE AT THE PITKIN COUNTY LIBRARY. THIS EVENT TAKES PLACE AT THE HURST THEATRE. Join us in partnership with Theatre Aspen for a special run of summertime storytimes! Read, watch, and play at the Hurst Theatre at 470 Rio Grande Place. |
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Children's Dinosaur Movie Night:
The Good Dinosaur (2015) Children's Room
Tuesday, August 4 | 4:30-6:00pm
Join us for our final summer movie night at the Library! This month we will be watching The Good Dinosaur (2015).
"Luckily for young Arlo, his parents (Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand) and his two siblings, the mighty dinosaurs were not wiped out 65 million years ago. When a rainstorm washes poor Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) downriver, he ends up bruised, battered and miles away from home. Good fortune shines on the frightened dino when he meets Spot (Jack Bright), a Neanderthal boy who offers his help and friendship. Together, the unlikely duo embark on an epic adventure to reunite Arlo with his beloved family." (Rotten Tomatoes)
This event will take place in the Children's Room and light snacks will be provided. |
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ASL Storytime with Anisa Lavender
Children's Room Wednesday, August 5 | 10:30-11:00am
Join us for a special ASL (American Sign Language) Storytime in partnership with educator Anisa Lavender! |
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Dino-Wednesdays
Children's Room | Wednesday, August 5 | 3:00pm-4:30pm
Volcano Day!
Welcome to Dino-Wednesdays, a time to create art and celebrate Summer Reading with a new activity every week. Between crafting projects and STEAM experiments, each week of the Summer Reading Program will be filled with dinosaur-themed fun! |
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Tunes and Tales with the Aspen Music Festival and School
Dunaway Community Room | Thursday, August 6 | 10:30-11:00am
Thursday, August 13 | 10:30-11:00am
In collaboration with the children's librarians at the Pitkin County Library and the Basalt Regional Library, kids are treated to enchanting stories blended with music performed by AMFS students and local musicians. For kids under age 9, with an adult.
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Special Aspen Historical Society
Children's Storytime Children's Room
Friday, August 7 | 10:30-11:00am
Join us in partnership with the Aspen Historical Society for a seasonal run of Friday storytimes about the history of Colorado with special presenters and activities! Children of all ages are invited to listen and learn from Aspen Historical Society educators in the Children's Room. |
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Special Snowmastadon ACES Children's Storytime with Denali Barron
Children's Room | Monday, August 10 | 10:30-11:00am
This summer we are joined by Denali Barron from ACES to discuss mastodons in honor of the Summer Reading Program. |
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Youth Services Recommends... |
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Noelle (Children's Collection Developer)
How to Save an Otter
"From the bestselling author of the Ranger in Time series, Kate Messner, comes an adventurous new chapter book series about a family dedicated to rescuing animals. Ivy and Ezra are “critter couriers” whose family volunteers to transport injured and orphaned animals to their local wildlife hospital. When they discover a baby river otter with a hurt leg, Ivy worries about the little otter being separated from its family--a feeling she knows all too well. She's struggled to make new friends since her twin cousin BFFs moved away.Taking on a big project for the wildlife hospital keeps her busy, but can she find the confidence she needs to make it a success, build new friendships, and help the otter heal enough to return to the wild?" (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Check out this book here... |
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Rachel (Young Adult Collection Developer)
City of Ghosts "Victoria Schwab delivers a thrillingly
spooky and action-packed tale of hauntings, history, mystery, and the bond between friends (even if that friend is a ghost...)."
(Scholastic)
Check out this book here... |
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Ginny (Head of Circulation and After School Wednesdays Wizard Extraordinaire)
Danny and the Dinosaur "Syd Hoff's comical, charming illustrations will delight readers young and old alike in this beloved classic I Can Read about a boy and his best friend, a dinosaur.
Danny loves dinosaurs! When he sees one at the museum and says, "It would be nice to play with a dinosaur," a voice answers, "And I think it would be nice to play with you." So begins Danny and the Dinosaur's wonderful adventures together. For Danny and his prehistoric playmate, even the most everyday activities become extraordinary, like finding a big-enough place to hide a dinosaur in a game of hide-and-seek. But Danny can teach an old dinosaur new tricks. It's the most fun this dinosaur has had in a hundred million years! Originally published over 50 years ago, this beloved classic is a Level 1 I Can Read that is perfect for the beginning reader learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own."
(HarperCollins Publishers)
Check out this book here... |
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Shannon (Head of Youth Services)
Can You Make A Scary Face?
"What kind of a face would you make if a tickly green bug were sitting on your nose? Or if it were—eek!—inside your shirt? Could you make a scary face to frighten it away? Or, even better, stand up and do the chicken dance? Yes? Then better get to it! This exuberant, interactive picture book starring a bossy little ladybug and a GIANT hungry frog will have kids leaping up and down and out of their seats to dance and make silly scary faces of their own." (Simon & Schuster)
Check out this book here...
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Grace (Early Literacy Librarian)
Bark, George
"From acclaimed author-illustrator Jules Feiffer, Bark, George is a hilarious, subversive story about a dog who can't . . . bark! This picture book geared for the youngest readers is perfect for those who love Mo Willems's Pigeon series. When George's mother tells her son to bark, George goes "Meow," which definitely isn't right because George is a dog. When she asks him again, he goes "Oink." What's going on with George? Readers will delight at the surprise ending!" (HarperCollins Publishers)
Check out this book here... |
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Lily (Young Adult Programming
and Publicity Librarian)
All-of-a-Kind Family
"Meet the All-of-a-Kind Family — Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie — who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century. Together they share adventures that find them searching for hidden buttons while dusting Mama’s front parlor and visiting with the peddlers in Papa’s shop on rainy days. The girls enjoy doing everything together, especially when it involves holidays and surprises. But no one could have prepared them for the biggest surprise of all!" (Penguin Random House)
Check out this book here...
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Sierra (Children's Programming
and Publicity Librarian)
The Snail with the Right Heart
"Based on a real scientific event and inspired by a beloved real human in the author’s life, this is a story about science and the poetry of existence; about time and chance, genetics and gender, love and death, evolution and infinity — concepts often too abstract for the human mind to fathom, often more accessible to the young imagination; concepts made fathomable in the concrete, finite life of one tiny, unusual creature dwelling in a pile of compost amid an English garden. Emerging from this singular life is a lyrical universal invitation not to mistake difference for defect and to welcome, across the accordioning scales of time and space, diversity as the wellspring of the universe’s beauty and resilience."
(Enchanted Lion Books)
Check out this book here... |
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| 1000 Books Before Kindergarten |
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Start healthy, early literacy habits by helping your child read 1,000 books before they start kindergarten! Sign up in person to receive an activity book and receive prizes for every 100 books read together.
Find out more... |
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| Check out our StoryWalk on the Hunter Creek Extension Trail! |
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All-Ages
Children's Storytime | Join us in the Children's Room at the Library for stories, songs, and more!
Wednesday, August 5 | 10:30am-11:00am* *Special ASL Storytime with Anisa Lavender
Thursday, August 6 | 10:30am-12:00pm *Tunes and Tales
Wednesday, August 12 | 10:30am-11:00am
Thursday, August 13 | 10:30am-11:00am* *Tunes and Tales
Wednesday, August 19 | 10:30am-11:15am
Thursday, August 20 | 10:30am-11:00am
Wednesday, August 26 | 10:30am-11:30am
Thursday, August 27 | 10:30am-11:00am |
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Bolsitas Rojas / Little Red Bag Club
Dunaway Community Room | Pitkin County Library hosts Raising A Reader's Little Red Bag Club, Bolsitas Rojas, for caregivers and their 0 to 5-year-old children who are not enrolled in school.
To ensure enough supplies, please register with Suzanne at suzanne@rar4kids.org.
Friday, April 10 | 10:30am-11:30am
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| Book Recommendations |  |
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