Children, teens and families are invited to come to the Edenvale Branch Library to create Valentine’s Day cards on Friday February 11 at 4:00 PM. Supplies will be provided.

Here are some cozy Valentine’s Day books that young children may enjoy:

Be Mine, Be Mine, Sweet Valentine written by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka. Several animals and a little boy give special valentines to the ones they adore.

If You'll Be My Valentine  written by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka. A little boy gives special handmade valentines to those who are important to him.

Valentine Mice!  written by Bethany Roberts, illustrated by Doug Cushman. Several mice deliver valentines to the other animals in the forest.

If you enjoy these books, check out the websites of authors Sarah Weeks and Bethany Roberts, and illustrator Doug Cushman.

Children are invited to make cards for friends and loved ones on Thursday, February 10th at 2:00pm in Berryessa Library's Community Room. The tradition of card giving on Valentine’s Day can create an opportunity for parents to teach children valuable lessons. Supplies will be provided.

Come learn how to knit on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 PM in room 392 on the 3rd floor of the King Library. Professional knitter D. J. Tanner will teach absolute beginners how to knit a small cell phone or MP3 player bag. (It’s really cute!!!) Yarn is free and needles are $3 (or bring your own size 7 needles). Crocheters are welcome to come and crochet with the knitters!

Ready for some puppet fun?  The Edenvale Branch Library will host “Puppet Making for Families,” a delightful interactive program for children aged 3 to 7 and their parents/caregivers on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm.  Can’t make it to this event?   The San Jose Public Library System has plenty of puppetry books that can be found in the online catalog.  

Here are two to explore:

• How to Make Puppets with Children has templates and instructions for a variety of paper hand puppets.  There are also templates for alphabet finger puppets.
• Finger Folk contains a variety of finger puppet patterns that can be sewn and stuffed or created with fun foam.   There are also finger plays and lists of picture books that the puppets can be used with.

We will create "Squirrel Mobiles" for the Thanksgiving craft program on Friday, November 19th at 4:00 PM in Edenvale Branch Library's Community Room.