Pajama Time! Monday, June 27 at 7pm. Get ready for bed by listening to these stories and songs that will help you drift off to dreamland. Put on your pajamas, cuddle with a loved one and bring your favorite stuffed animal friend! For kids ages 3 and up.

Wake-Up Sunshine Storytime Outdoors (weather permitting): Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30am. Join us for outdoor storytimes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Start your day with stories, songs and rhymes led by Newton Free Library children’s librarians. For children 0-4 and their caregivers. Find us across the street from the Library on City Hall grounds: walk past the City Hall fountain and we'll be under the tree on the corner of City Hall Drive and Commonwealth Ave. 

Outdoor storytimes are weather permitting. If the ground is wet or if the temperature is below 50 degrees, this storytime might be canceled. Please check our website. 

Dial a Story: Listen to a children’s librarian read you a story over the phone. Call 617-796-1415 to listen to a story anytime you like. A new story is recorded weekly. For kids of all ages.

Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys - Live at the Hyde Bandstand! Wednesday, June 29 at 10:30am. Join us as we blast into summer! Vanessa Trien and her band the Jumping Monkeys will be performing a highly interactive and energetic show, featuring plenty of group singing and movement. Together, they create a joyful, acoustic instrument and harmony-rich folk/pop/world sound all their own. For all ages. This concert will take place at the Hyde Bandstand and Playground. Please register if you would like to receive a zoom link to the virtual performance in case of rain. This event is taking place on public grounds and does not require registration. For directions to the bandstand click here.

Your Friends' membership made this program possible. Join us!

A big thank you to the Hyde Community Center for helping organize this event and working with us to use the space. Additional thanks to the Newton Parks, Recreation and Culture Department.

Read Beyond the Beaten Path: Summer 2022 

Have a blast this summer by joining Read Beyond the Beaten Path with Newton Free Library from June 13 to August 31. Read books, have adventures, win prizes! Use Beanstack to keep track of your time spent reading alone or with parents, siblings or your friends. And check out all the fun adventures we've included this year. Children through rising 5th graders in the 2022-23 school year can win prizes.

Register on Beanstack, and you will be entered in a drawing to win a prize each week of summer reading (6/13-8/31) as long as you also log minutes; write a book review on Beanstack; complete an adventure; or attend a library program (and fill in the relevant adventure). 

You can find registration, summer programming and everything else summer at newtonfreelibrary.net/summer.

Scavenger Hunt: Wednesday, July 6 from 10am to 2pm. Are you ready for a Scavenger Hunt at the Library? Come to the Children's Desk anytime between 10am and 2pm and pick up a sheet with clues to find objects and images around the entire area. When you are done you will get to take home a special prize of your choosing. This program is part of our Read Beyond the Beaten Path Summer Reading program. To sign up for summer reading click here.

Movers and Shakers: Wednesday, July 6 at 10:30am. Let's stretch! Let's move! Let's sing and dance! In this storytime we will read fun movement-based stories and then have lots of fun moving and dancing to some familiar rhymes and songs. Each class will begin with some light stretching, and end with a moment of mindfulness. For ages 2-4.

Dance Me a Story With Joanne Langione Dance Center - Live at the Hyde Bandstand! Thursday, July 7 at 4:30pm. The Joanne Langione Dance Center brings us this fun, family event where music, movement and literature align to encourage exploration and imaginative play! This program will take place at the Hyde Bandstand and Playground. Please register if you would like to receive a zoom link to the virtual performance in case of rain. This event is taking place on public grounds and does not require registration. For directions to the bandstand click here.

A big thank you to the Hyde Community Center for helping organize this event and working with us to use the space. Additional thanks to The Newton Parks, Recreation and Culture Department.

Enjoy New Books!

Explore our full list of new books here.

My Must-Have Mom

by Maudie Smith 

Jake’s mom adores dumpster diving and turning her finds into unique items. Jake starts to worry that his mom will want to transform him, too, but receives reassurance from her that she loves him just as he is.

How To Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps

by Pamela S. Turner

This nonfiction book discuss the major steps in evolution that led to modern humans, explaining how and why each happened. Each chapter includes fascinating tidbits such as how walking upright helps to keep us cool and why people on the island of Flores are small, but the lizards extra large.

Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend

by Katie Zhao 

The first book in a new fantasy series about sixth grader Winnie who accidentally summons the ghost of her grandmother, a former shaman, who explains that Winnie is also a shaman who must keep the human world safe from spirit attacks. 

- The Children's Room is currently located in Druker Auditorium. We look forward to welcoming you!

- Learn about the Children's Room renovation.