Receive professional development hours or just get some great information about early childhood — perfect for parents or childcare providers. Pre-registration is required and class size is limited. Adults only please; childcare is not provided.

Building Self Worth in Children
Thursday, March 7, 6:30 PM – Plainfield Township branch

No-Fuss Feeding
Monday, March 18, 6:00 PM – Kentwood (Richard L. Root) branch
Thursday, April 11, 6:30 PM – Plainfield Township branch
Thursday, May 16, 6:30 PM – Byron Township branch

FUN-ics — 15 Minutes a Day for Reading Success
Thursday, April 18, 6:30 PM – Byron Township branch

Child Safety
Tuesday, April 23, 6:00 PM – East Grand Rapids branch

Mini Day of Learning
Apogee Therapy Center in Grandville will provide sessions on nutrition, fitness and basic rehabilitative interventions for young children. Light on lecture and heavy on fun, with practical ideas you can use. Daycare providers and teachers can earn up to three free professional development credits.
Saturday, April 13, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Grandville branch
(program will be held at First Reformed Church, 3060 Wilson Ave. SW)

It’s our Heart to Heart Craft Party, just in time for Valentine’s Day, with snacks and crafts, no less. Stop by these branches and let your kids get their crafties on:

Monday, February 11, 10:00 AM – Plainfield Township branch
Monday, February 11, 6:30 PM – Byron Township branch
Tuesday, February 12, 10:00 AM – Alpine Township branch
Tuesday, February 12, 10:30 AM – Sand Lake/ Nelson Township branch
Tuesday, February 12, 6:30 PM – Comstock Park branch
Tuesday, February 12, 6:30 PM – Krause Memorial branch
Wednesday, February 13, 10:00 AM – Plainfield Township branch
Wednesday, February 13, 10:30 AM – Comstock Park branch
Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 PM – Alpine Township branch
Thursday, February 14, 10:00 AM – Plainfield Township branch
Thursday, February 14, 10:30 AM – Englehardt branch
Thursday, February 14, 5:00 PM – Tyrone Township branch
Thursday, February 14, 7:00 PM – Caledonia Township branch
Thursday, February 14, 7:00 PM – Cascade Township branch
Saturday, February 16, 2:00 PM – Gaines Township branch

Hot tubbing? Naaaah. This looks waaaaaay more fun…

KDL staffers were in our  Service Center warehouse (unheated, open to receive trucks) this morning, braving sub-zero temperatures while sorting 15 carts of books to be added to our inaugural Book Bash in April.

Book Bash will include a giant warehouse book and media sale (over 100,000 items), local author book fair, children’s book swap, Fill-a-Bag sale, children’s activities, refreshment area, Zumba classes and more.  The Book Bash is expected to draw more than 5,000 visitors during the two-day event, with an additional 1,000 visitors at the preview night. Preview night will include free refreshments, prize drawings, local celebrities and, of course, first choice of all the books.

Preview Night: Friday, April 26, 5:30 – 8:30 PM (must have a ticket to enter)

 Regular Sale: Saturday, April 27, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

 Fill-a-Bag Sale Day: Sunday, April 28, 1:00 to 4:00 PM

The event is free to the community. Proceeds will go to support the Summer Reading Program and other programs of Kent District Library. Contact Development Director Linda Krombeen (at lkrombeen@kdl.org or 616-784-2092) if you have any questions or would like to be involved — volunteers get first dibs on sale items during preview night.

Byron Township branch patron Aimee DeHollander’s sons love their library. They also love to play chess. When it came to bringing the two together, Aimee learned that sometimes all you have to do is ask.

Read the DeHollander family’s story here.

(Do you have a KDL story to share? Let us know!)

You can write, Michigan!

Nearly 600 Michigan writers entered the inaugural Write Michigan short story contest, and after a volunteer crew of some 80 preliminary judges whittled those entries to a list of top 10 finalists, you voted for your favorites.

Click here to see a complete list of winners!

Also, mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 19, when winners will gather at the Grand Rapids Public Library for an awards ceremony and the kickoff sale of the collection of their work, published by Schuler Books & Music’s Chapbook Press.

Congratulations to the winners, and until next year!

Today is the final day to vote in our inaugural Write Michigan short story contest. If you haven’t maxed out your allowed votes, go to www.writemichigan.org and vote today for up to one adult and one youth entry.

Grand prize winners will be announced tomorrow, and an awards ceremony featuring Wade Rouse – bestselling (and hi-LAR-ious) West Michigan humorist and memoirist – will be held at the Grand Rapids Public Library on March 19.

All finalists’ stories will be included in a collection published by Schuler Books & Music.

Nearly 600 people entered the contest this year – a tremendous turnout. You can write, Michigan!

The finalists in this year’s Kent County Teen Film Festival tackled themes that include revenge, dwarven adventure, finding home. . . and, of course, chocolate! See below for a complete list of this year’s finalists.

Join us for a screening of all 13 short films at Celebration! Cinema North on Saturday, February 2 beginning at 10:30 AM. Come support these teen Fellinis, these junior Jarmusches, these co-ed Campions – and vote for your favorite film. This is a free event!

• Actually…  (Directed by Leah Bishop)
• BO B-Gone (Directed by Bjorn Hjelms and Joey Miller)
• Cherry Coke Cupcakes (Directed by Ally Faulkner and Madison Helms)
• Conflicted (Directed by Anna Dood and Jordan Shiparski)
• Danny Rade (Directed by Danny Anderson, Zach Bingel, Nolan Darby and Mike Robert)
• Disturbed (Directed by Sarah Dion and Eva Ramos)
• Finding Paradise (Directed by Emily Livermore)
• How to Be Fancy (Directed by Keith Langworthy, Max Scroggs and Trevor Williams)
• How to Braid (Directed by Gerty Venckus)
• How to Train a Paws with a Cause Dog (Directed by Andrew Berry, Blake Grzybawski, Casey Nostrant and Brenden Smith)
• Mancakes (Directed byAvery Erickson and Max Haunch)
• The Mission (Directed by Jagienka Timek and Corrah VanWigen)
• Whip Liner (Directed by Rachel Crudan)

Fun for guys big and small. Try out unique European board games, bring your Pokémon cards to trade and battle with friends and enjoy other great activities at 2:00 PM on Sunday, January 27 at the Cascade Township branch.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Cascade Library.

Did you know there are an estimated 2,900 students in Kent County who currently are experiencing homelessness?

From January 20 through February 28 all KDL branches will accept small and travel-size hygiene products that will be assembled into kits and distributed in cooperation with the Kent Intermediate School District.

This program is part of KDL’s Happiness Project, an effort to promote happy, healthy, helpful habits throughout Kent County.

The finalists in our inaugural Write Michigan short story contest have been selected; now it’s your turn to vote.

Vote for your favorite story at www.writemichigan.org. You may vote for up to one adult and one youth entry per week.

Grand prize winners will be announced on February 1, and an awards ceremony featuring Wade Rouse – bestselling (and hi-LAR-ious) West Michigan humorist and memoirist – will be held at the Grand Rapids Public Library on March 19.

All finalists’ stories will be included in a collection published by Schuler Books & Music.