Educational Fun Over Spring Break in Louisville, KY
For those of you who are taking a Staycation in the L.A. (Louisville Area) this spring break, I’ve put together a go-to list of books to read together! Also included is a list of online resources to utilize some more literary fun throughout the week, some great read alouds to make reading fun together as a family, and many fabulous, free resources and events that the libraries and local bookstores around town are offering for kids of all ages and their families during spring break week. Enjoy!
Book Suggestions to Read Over Spring Break
Babies (birth to 1):
Roar, Shh!
I’m Grumpy
Peep and Egg
Naptime with Theo and Beau
Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA
Toddlers (2 to 3 years):
The Wonderful Things You Will Be
If Animals Kissed Goodnight
Go! Go! Go! Stop!
Sense and Sensibility: A BabyLit Opposites Primer – all of the books in this series are really cool!
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years):
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
The Full Moon at the Napping House by Audrey Wood
The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
Henry and Mudge series (up to early elementary too)
Ages 5-10:
Big Nate series
Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Furry Detective series
Magic Tree House series
Notebook of Doom series
Rainbow Magic series
The Secret Series by Psuedonymous Bosch
Sisters Grimm series
Troublemaker by Andrew Clements
The Day I Lost my Superpowers by Michael Escoffier
My Weird School series
Tweens:
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Teens:
The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner
Gone series by Michael Grant
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Starflight by Melissa Landers
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Read Aloud Suggestions:
I suggest checking out these fantastic wordless picture books over spring break. Read them together during your quieter down times, and make up the story page by page together as a family. It’s a fabulous memory-making activity!
- Chalk by Bill Thompson
- Journey by Aaron Becker
- Tuesday by David Wiesner
- Flotsam by David Wiesner
- Zoom by Istvan Banyai
- Bluebird Bob Staake
- Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day
- Unspoken: a story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
- Beaver is Lost by Elisha Cooper
- Wave by Suzy Lee
ebook/Audio Book Options: All you need to access free ebooks from the Library (24/7!) is an internet connection and your computer or mobile device, a valid Library card and password. Click here to get started and find some great books to read online during spring break and any time!
Check out this link to One Click Digital for downloadable audiobooks at your fingertips!
eMagazines: The electronic magazines available through the Library are entirely free and there are tons from which to choose!! The instructions on the main page walk you through the whole setup. Once again, all you need is your valid Library card and password. There are more than 160 available, click here for a print ready list!
Online Resources:
According to the Kids Tab on the Louisville Free Public Library website, ABCmouse.com for Libraries is an exciting new online educational resource – designed for children ages 2 – 7+ – that offers more than 3,000 fun learning activities including online books, interactive learning programs, games, puzzles, songs, art activities, and more. Access to this service is available free (with a Library account) at all 18 library locations.
- Learn with Lynda! There are 3400+ courses!
- Stream some music while you play around this spring break! Streaming Music Library.
- Check out the Library’s music link to find all sorts of genres of music to check out! Music Corner.
- Got kids or teens or anyone in your family interesting in designing their own app or website? The free Treehouse service is for you!
- Your family can learn about your family tree and ancestry with all of the Library’s Genealogy resources.
- My Library U is a yet another fabulous free service that the Library offers to its patrons. Spend some time learning something new this Spring Break; it’s a great choice to do together with your older kids, or perhaps you’d like to learn something new as an individual. There are college level course to take, or drop by the Library and enjoy a Short Course. Some previous topics include The Holocaust, Opera 101, and The Beatles: Band of the Sixties.
Free Classes/Courses/Programs – Learn something new this spring break!
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Share 100 Stories Before 4th Grade
TumbleBooks – Scroll down on the LFPL Kids page for access to TumbleBooks online at your favorite library.
Read It Down – This is one of the best kept secrets (not anymore!) going on at all Louisville Free Public Library locations. Your kids or you check out books for your children, and no matter how hard you try to remember, they end up coming back late. You rack up some late fees/fines on your child’s library card. With the “Read It Down” program, children and teens can reduce library fines just by reading. Participants read or listen to books of their choosing in the library. The more you read, the less you owe. It’s that simple! Visit any branch of the Louisville Free Public Library today and Read It Down!
ACT and SAT Test Prep – For your middle school and high school students, perhaps you’d like for them to spend a day this spring break studying??! The Library hosts numerous ACT and SAT test preparation programs all year long. Check it out here.
What’s Happening at Louisville’s Local Bookstores?
Keep checking Carmichael’s Bookstore website for updates to their April calendar. Follow them on Facebook as well because they always list events there.
A Reader’s Corner Bookstore offers a monthly storytime at 11am on the second Saturday of every month.
Read a Book about It / Visit this Local Spot!
- Read The Big Bat and visit Louisville Slugger Museum
- Read the Magic Tree House Research Guidebook: Knights and Castles and visit the Frazier History Museum
- Read Science Stunts: Fun Feats of Physics and visit the Kentucky Science Center
- Read a biography about Louis Braille and visit Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind
- Read Who Was Thomas Alva Edison? and visit the Thomas Edison House
- Read Great American Artists for Kids: Hands-On Art Experiences in the Styles of Great American Masters and visit the Speed Art Museum
- Read What is Inside the Lincoln Memorial? and visit the Abraham Lincoln statue in Waterfront Park
- Read Building Bridges by Rebecca Stefoff and walk the Big 4 Bridge and drive over the newly constructed Lincoln Bridge in downtown Louisville
- Read the book (together) Two Hundred Years at the Falls of the Ohio and visit the historic and beautiful Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana
By guest contributor: Erin
