We have lots of spooktacular fun happening in the Children's Room at the King Library for the month of October. All of our Friday Fun programs are at 4:00PM in the Exploration Room located on the Mezzanine above the Children's Room:

October 5 ~ Fingerprint Tree Craft: Yes it is Fall! To remind us of that children will be creating their own fall trees by using their arms and hands to make the trunks and branches of the trees and then their fingers to make the beautiful colored leaves. They will be using poster paint to create so it will be messy, fun and creative! Join the fun!

October 12 ~ Halloween and Day of the Dead Stories and Crafts. Come enjoy some spooky stories and then have fun making crafts just for Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Remember we have many story books and craft books that you can borrow on Halloween and Day of the Dead. Remember to borrow some so that you can enjoy them at home.                         

October 19 ~ Insect Discovery Lab: Discover the world of insects with Insect Discovery Lab. Get up close and personal with some of them. Seating is very limited (25 children) so please arrive early.  The Insect Discovery Lab will be doing programs at other branches during the month of October, check here to see dates and times.

October 26 ~ Annual Halloween Parade at King Library: Calling all princesses, superheroes, witches and other strange creatures to our annual Halloween Parade. Festivities start at 3:30PM with stories and a craft followed by the parade thoughout the library from the first to the 4th floors led, of course, by Conroy the Cougar, the Library's very own mascot. We'll be doing lots of Trick or Treating! A fun afternoon for the whole family! Adults are welcome to come in costume too, get in the Halloween spirit!

It's a new month and that means new Friday Fun events in the Children's Room of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Our Friday Fun events always take place at 4:00PM, are free, are a great way to start off the weekend and of course are fun for children of all ages.

Here's what our May line-up looks like:

• May 4: Game On! Board Games: We will have a variety of board games and puzzles for children to enjoy.
• May 11: Mother's Day Craft for Kids: This craft is just in time for Mother's Day on Sunday, May 13. Make your mom feel like a "Queen for the Day," by creating a crown just for her. All materials will be supplied.
• May 18: Bella Umbrella Story and Craft: Did you ever want to meet a children's author? Well now you can! Author Marcus St. Marcus will be in the Children's Room to read and talk about his book Bella Umbrella. Children will then make their own umbrella craft. A fun program for children and adults!
• May 25: Make a Lei in May Craft: May 1 is Lei Day but anytime is great for making a Lei. Join us for this fun craft. All materials will be provided, just bring your imagination and creativity. For some added fun we'll dance the hula and pretend we're in Hawaii!

Our Friday Fun events at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library have become very popular. If you haven't been to one yet check us out this month and join the fun. Our Friday Fun events take place each Friday at 4:00PM. Here's our March line up:

• March 2: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss. It will be a Seussical birthday party with stories, games, prizes and a craft. Come join the fun and wish Dr. Seuss a Happy Birthday plus check out one of the many Dr. Seuss books that the library owns.
• March 10: Ain't Gonna Paint Story and Craft: Join us for this fun program which is sure to let that inner artist out of each child. Children will listen to the wonderful story I Ain't Gonna Paint No More, by Karen Beaumont and then will get the  chance to create their own masterpieces. Perhaps we'll discover the next Picasso, Van Gogh, Kahlo or Cassat!
• March 16: Spring Craft: March 20 is the first day of Spring so help us celebrate it at the King Library with a fun Spring craft. All materials are supplied; just bring your creativity.
• March 23: Stuff! An Arts and Crafts Program for Children: Our volunteer, Chris, always has a fun activity for children to do. Come see what she's cooked up for March. It will be a surprise and it will be fun!

It's a new month which means a new assortment of Friday Fun programs at the Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. Library. Each of our Friday Fun programs start at 4:00PM and are a great way to start off the weekend. Here's our line-up for June:

• June 3 - Let's Make Play Dough. All it takes is some flour, salt, water, oil and food coloring; we'll supply the ingredients and children will make the play dough and then let their imaginations fly.
• June 10 - Go Wild! Learn about the Don Edwards S.F. Bay National Wildlife Refuge through stories and fun activities.
• June 17 - The "Art of Japanese Calligraphy," with Hikaru. We supply the ink and brushes and you will leave knowing how to create words with Japanese Calligraphy. Hikaru also teaches each child how to write his or her name in Japanese. This is a fun class!
• June 24 - Decorate Your Own Passport! This program is part of our Summer Reading Celebration programs; children will have fun making and designing their own "passports." During Summer Reading, children can bring their passports to all our libraries to get a special stamp or sticker at the summer reading table.

Our STUFF! program has become so popular we are now offering it twice a month at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Please join us on Saturday, May 21 at 3:00 PM when our very artistic volunteer, Chris, teaches us how to draw pictures using basic shapes. The library has a wonderful series called Let's Draw with Shapes that shows us how to use this technique plus tons of other books on how to draw almost anything: dinosaurs, dogs, faces, buildings, cartoons and much much more. Here's a short video featuring Bob Ostrom, illustrator of children's books, who demonstrates the "drawing with shapes" technique. We may not be doing anything this elaborate but Chris will give us the basics. This will be a fun program for all those budding artists out there! Please remember that parking is FREE until 6:00 PM at the 4th Street garage located above the Flames restaurant.

Are you always looking for cards for those special occasions but never have one on hand? Then join us for our next STUFF! program at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on Saturday, May 14 at 3:00 PM. This time Chris and Mickey, our artistic volunteers, will show us how to make greeting cards for all occasions using collage. We will furnish all the supplies, you just bring your imagination and creativity! Remember that parking is FREE until 6:00 PM at the 4th Street Garage located above the Flames restaurant. Also, the library does have a collection of children's card making books that you can borrow.

The company synonymous with greeting cards is of course Hallmark. The company was founded by the 18 year old Joyce C. Hall in 1910; if you're curious and you'd like to find out more about the history of Hallmark then visit http://corporate.hallmark.com/history/Founding-1910s. Mr. Hall also wrote a book called When You Care Enough. Unfortunately the book is not available at San Jose Public Library but you can request it through our Link+ service.