January 2-28, 2025: Professors Mike & Kristin need your help! They have recently uncovered information about a new psychic type Pokémon found only at the Ridgefield Library! The Pokémon’s name is “Readmorasaur.” In order to tell the world about this unique discovery, they need your help to create a new TCG card for the Readmorasaur. Win a prize pack of Pokémon cards and accessories. Pick up an Entry form from the Children’s Services Desk. Submissions will be accepted January 2-28. Winner Announced: February 1, 2025 during Take Your Child to the Library Day. Pokémon Players Club meets on Tuesdays at 4:30 pm. Visit our Event Calendar to register.
Monday, January 20, 2025: Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate MLK Day with an act of community service.
10:30-11:00 am: MLK Day Family Storytime Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday with a special storytime. Immediately following storytime, families can join our community service project making a birthday craft for Meals on Wheels of Ridgefield.
11:00 am-12:00 pm: Meals on Wheels Service Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate MLK day with an act of community service. We’ll be decorating bags and crafting special birthday gifts to donate to Ridgefield’s Meals on Wheels. Drop in after All-Age Storytime to help us honor Dr. King’s birthday!
2:00-2:45 pm: ROAR Service Students in Grades K-5 are invited to celebrate MLK Day with acts of service for the Ridgefield community. We’ll meet a volunteer team from ROAR and hear about the important ways therapy dogs help members our community. Then we’ll work together to make cat toys and decorate adoption folders to donate back to ROAR. Registration required.
4:30-5:30 pm: MLK Birthday Boxes Students in Grades K-5 are invited to celebrate MLK Day with acts of service for the Ridgefield community. We’ll meet local student Ruby Weiner and learn more about her service projects, including Ruby’s Little Pantries, small structures that hold food free to those who need it. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, we’ll assemble Birthday Boxes to donate to the five Ruby’s Little Pantries locations across town. Registration is required.
Tuesday, December 31st @ 11:15 am: Join us for our annual Noon Year’s Eve Balloon Drop in the Bossidy Commons. Families with children all ages are invited to join us as we count down to 2025 with DJ Miles from Ridgefield’s Bach to Rock leading to our balloon drop at noon, and concluding with an apple juice toast. Take & Makes will be available for families to bring home. Drop-ins welcome, but registration required for refreshments. To register or for more information, please visit the event calendar: https://ridgefieldlibrary.librarymarket.com/event/noon-years-eve-balloon-drop-108299
Saturday, February 1, 2025: Families with children are invited to Take your Child to the Library for a day of Library joy, button-making from 12-1pm and a scavenger hunt. With the inspiration of the Children’s Mural art by Cynthia Meyers, we welcome special guest Doug Salati alongside our ROAR therapy dogs, Pistachio the Rooster, and BenAnna Band. To register or for more information, visit the event page.
10:30-11:00 am: Family Storytime with Doug Salati | Families with children of all ages are invited to celebrate Take Your Child to the Library Day with a storytime featuring our special guest, Doug Salati, author and illustrator of the 2023 Caldecott award-winning book Hot Dog. Come talk, read, play, move, and sing together in this celebration of Library Joy!
11:15-11:45 am: Hot Dog Cart Art | Register to visit the Hot Dog Art Cart with Doug Salati to customize your own weiner dog inspired by the art in Hot Dog, Doug Salati’s Caldecott Award-winning picturebook. There will not be food served at this event. Registration strongly encouraged.
11:30 am-12:30 pm: Read to ROAR | Children entering grades 1-4 enhance their oral reading skills by reading to trained therapy dogs from ROAR Ridgefield. Time slots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Please bring a favorite book to read or pick one out in the library before your session. Registration is required.
1:00-2:00 pm: Play Pokemon with Pistachio the Rooster | Ridgefield Library’s very own Pistachio the chicken is teaming up with Pokémon Players Club for a special event. Join Pistachio as he learns how to play the Pokemon TCG and makes Pokémon crafts. Beginners and experts alike are welcome to attend. A very special “Pistachio ex Pokémon Card” will be distributed at the event. Don’t miss your chance to own this special limited edition card! What a great way to kick off the month of “love” by sharing it with Pistachio, Pokémon Players Club and, of course, the Ridgefield Library.
2:00-2:45 pm: BenAnna Band Family Concert | BenAnna Band is a nationally touring children’s band that focuses on music and inclusion for kiddos of all ages, abilities and identities. This family-friendly, interactive concert will give you a chance to dance, sing and play along with Ben and Anna at the Library! This program engages both the caregiver and the child together, so all attendees should expect to participate. Registration is encouraged but drop-ins are welcome as space permits.
Friday, December 27, 2024: Families with children ages 2-5 years old are invited to a lively read-aloud followed by some pretend shopping and baking with author and grandma Margot Mustich as we celebrate grandmas around the world in her first illustrated children’s book, When Grandmas Cook. There might even be a sweet surprise to take home! Books on the Common will have copies for sale and signing. Registration is required and opens on November 27, 2024. To register or for more information, visit the event page.
Saturday, December 21, 2024: Families with children of all ages are invited to join Ms. Kathleen and dancers from the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance for an interactive storytime at 2:00 pm. We’ll march like soldiers, creep like mice, and twirl like snowflakes as we explore the story behind the popular Nutcracker ballet. Stay for a special meet-and-greet with the dancers and pick up a take and make to continue the magic at home! Registration encouraged to reserve a craft. To register or for more information, visit the program event page.
Wednesday, November 27-Saturday, December 7, 2024: There will be no children’s programs, including regular storytimes and afterschool clubs, between November 27 and December 7. Winter session programs will begin on Monday, December 9, 2024 and run through Saturday, March 1, 2025. Please visit the program event calendar for a full listing of all children’s programs and events.
November 4-9: Mascot Bubbles is bowing out of this year’s mascot elections for a slew of brand new candidates! Fox, Owl, and Snake are all eager to represent your reading interests! All humans aged 18 minutes or older are invited to vote in-person in the Lodewick Children’s Library starting Monday, November 4 until Saturday, November 9 at 5:00 pm. If you are unable to visit the Library during that time–do not fear! You can cast an absentee ballot during voting week: 2024 Mascot Election Absentee Ballot. Library cards are not required, but we do ask that only one vote per person is submitted. For updates on the candidates’ platforms, visit: https://libguides.ridgefieldlibrary.org/Lodewickchildrenslibrary/home where recommended reading, campaign speeches and resources will be posted as we near the voting week.
Saturday, October 19: Celebrate Fall in Love with Ridgefield on the Front Lawn of the Ridgefield Library! From a pistachio-colored egg, to a beautiful rooster, Pistachio is now all grown up and a 1st Place winner at the Cannon Grange Agricultural Fair in Wilton! From 11:30 am-12:30 pm families with children of all ages are invited to meet our favorite Library chick, take a picture with Pistachio, learn more about how to care for backyard chickens from the Garguilo family, and even make some art “signed” by Pistachio at this outdoor event. No registration but art materials are as supplies last. Click here to see this event on our event calendar.
Through August 23, 2024: Walk around Downtown Ridgefield and read “Once Upon a Book” by Grace Lin and Kate Messner, while also getting some exercise and visiting town. Pick up a handout at the Children’s Services Desk or download one here to participate and finish the puzzle to earn a rubber duckie! Use the map to visit all 21 stops in numerical order to read this year’s picturebook “Once Upon a Book” by Grace Lin and Kate Messner. Instead of turning the page, you will walk to the next stop! As you visit each location, read the story together, read and talk about the questions on each poster and solve the puzzle on the back. Enter your answer in your Beanstack account to earn your prize! The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.