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Our Children’s Library is a colourful and lively centre with a notice board for children’s local events and services, display boards for art from local schools, and a colouring table with crayons for small children. There are toys, a cosy corner and a collection of magazines and comics. We provide tables for study and various information leaflets and booklets for parents and carers. Click here for a list of children's items for borrowing

Click here to see our children's regular events

What our members say
"Waggle and Hum reintroduced me and my family to using a library. Now we visit once a week at least and my daughter enjoys reading books. It was also very good for me to learn the nursery rhymes again and meet other mothers and babies. We have made friends for life."

"This is a splendid library - no matter how many times I bring my children, there are always more beautiful books than we have sufficient tickets to take out. We all love coming here. The staff are fabulous - they couldn't be more helpful and the events are great too. We are very grateful for this splendid library! The Children's Librarian in particular is always very kind to my children."

Children's Library News

Saturday Waggle and Hum
We are starting a regular Saturday session for dads (although mums and other relatives are also welcome) at 10.30am once every 4 weeks. The last session for 2011 will be on 26th November and we resume on 28th January 2012.

Pets pyjama party took place on Friday 28th October and we raised £25.67 for City Farms for Children.
Fiona threw a party to which all pyjama-ed children aged 4-10 were invited with their soft toy pets. Children played party games and listened to shaggy dog stories for a £1 per child entry fee, profits of which went to City Farms for Children, a charity founded by Michael Morpurgo.

Summer Reading Challenge
Two hundred and thirty seven children rolled up to take part in our Circus Stars Summer Reading Challenge and over 100 children have achieved their certificate & medal so far, so WELL DONE everyone!
95 children finished by the deadline on 13th Sept 2011and a few more completed afterwards, which was 29 more than the number that completed last year...a great improvement! The challenge ends completely on 30th Sept as we launch our 4th Crystal Palace PARK & READ scheme on Sat 1st October.

World Book Night
To celebrate World Book Night in March 2011, Tayo Fatunla launched an art competition to draw your local library. There were many very good entries and the top three winners were awarded National Book Tokens.
Rhiarna Morgan received the top prize for first place. Sarah-Louise Davila won 2nd prize and Brayner Anbrabe Rosalles won 3rd prize.

These are the two top entries:

WELL DONE RHIARNA AND SARAH-LOUISE!

DID YOU KNOW? - Fact Feature

FACT 1:
We have a section of books called ‘Wordwise’ books. These books are specially written and printed for people who have dyslexia or similar conditions. They are special because they are printed on pale yellow paper, have more space between each line of text, the font is clear and slightly bigger than normal and there are pictures to aid the story. The storyline is fast-paced to encourage the reader to continue. If you know of anyone who finds it difficult to read or who is a reluctant reader, please ask a member of staff to show you where the books are kept (they are in the alcove next to the lift on the ground floor). All the books have an owl on the spine like this:

FACT 2:
The library subscribes to 2 magazines for children. One is Animal Action, the junior version of the RSPCA journal. The other is Puffin Post for Pufflings which is the magazine Puffin publishers produce for younger readers aged 5-8. Both are packed with information, fun things to do and competitions to enter. They can be found on the windowsill next to the Childcare section in the Junior Library area. Once you have enjoyed them, please return everything to the boxes provided.

FACT 3:
As well as PS2 & Wii games we now have a small selection of PSP & DS games for rental. At just £2.50 per week why not try one! They are waiting for you opposite the main counter. If they prove popular we will invest in some more!

FACT 4:
Did you know that if you leave anything in the library we keep it safe for you if we find it? If you realise you might have left something behind, please ask us if we found it so that you can have it back again! Unclaimed items are donated to charity or recyled after we've had them for a month.

Children's items for borrowing

DVDs
A wide variety of popular and educational films for children including pre-school and primary school ages

Music CDs
For Waggle and Hum rhymes and songs

Audio tapes and CDs
Stories for all ages and language sets    

Console games 
Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo Wii & DS games are displayed in the lending library and can be borrowed by children

Fiction books
Picture books with a section in dual languages.  Baby sitters story box and separate display sections for beginner readers, chapter books, traditional tales, junior graphic novels, puzzles and jokes, teenage books and a Wordwise selection.
Wordwise books are specially written and printed for people who have dyslexia or similar conditions. They are special because they are printed on pale yellow paper, have more space between each line of text, the print is clear and slightly bigger than normal and there are pictures to aid the story. The storyline is fast-paced to encourage the reader to continue.

Non-fiction books 
A wide variety of subjects including biographies, leisure interests, hobbies and homework topics. Children up to age 14 may borrow these, and there is also a first facts section for pre-schoolers.  There are reference books and encyclopaedias for help with homework to use in the library.
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Opening hours
Monday  10-7pm
Tuesday   9-7pm
Wednesday  Closed
Thursday  9-7pm
Friday  9-7pm
Saturday 9-5pm