Welcome
As winter comes to an end, find superheroes, operatic foxes and Mini Playboxes in Libraries this February half term break; followed by an inspirational array of author and illustrator events during Leeds Lit Fest 2023. Read on to find out more.
February half term
 Get your tickets for Little Listeners: Mini Vixen
Coming to a Library near you, Little Listeners: Mini Vixen is based on the music and story of Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen. Led by a cast of professional opera singers and musicians, expect an interactive and relaxed concert where singing and moving around is encouraged. Our adventure takes place in a mystical woodland where a Vixen meets a Fox. As their friendship grows, they discover how working together is vital to protect their home and the habitat around them.
Free event recommeneded for children aged 4-12. Follow this link to find your nearest event and free tickets: Little Listeners: Mini Vixen | Leeds Inspired
Superheroes save the day
Turn yourself into a stupendous superhero with the help of your imagination and our magic masks! Inspired by Marv’s super-suit in Alex Falase-Koya’s Marv and the Blizzard Zone. Then complete *S.T.E.A.M challenges to save the citizens of LibraryVille from imminent danger!! Do you have what it takes to save the day?
Free event recommended for children aged 7+. Follow this link to find your nearest event and free tickets: Superheroes Save The Day | Leeds Inspired
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Leeds Lit Fest 2023 - more tickets added!
 Prepare yourself for a *S.T.E.A.M-inspired selection of free author events and activities for children and young people visiting Leeds Libraries.
To celebrate World Book Day, from Monday 27 February to Friday 3 March, there are a number of events taking place after-school in Community Libraries in Moor Allerton, Headingley, Harehills, Holt Park, Morley and Middleton. They include workshops with inspirational illustrators Kate Pankhurst and Bethan Woollvin, immersive sessions with acclaimed authors Caryl Hart and James Nicol, and an hour of mummies and myths with storyteller Saviour Pirotta.
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Then on Saturday March 4th, there will be an exciting array of events throughout the day at Leeds Central Library with something for all ages.
- The day begins with author and illustrator Paula Bowles who will talk about her picture book Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab and taking care of the planet, followed by a creative Lego session led by librarians.
- Vashti Hardy will then discuss her latest children's book, Harley Hitch and the Fossil Mystery, then you can code a robot in a creative digital workshop.
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- At lunchtime, authors Alex Falase-Koya and Sophie Deen will share their experiences of writing their series about Marv and Agent Asha.
- When we reach the afternoon, author and illustrator Sharon Rentta will share her story about Stella the Squirrel, then Jennifer Bell (Legendarium and Wonderscape) and Jamie Russell (SkyWave) will chat about the influence of computer games and script writing on their own books.
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- Awesome artist Jack Fallows will then share their 20 years of experience to lead a comic-book creation workshop for young people.
- To end the day at Central Library, award-winning author and cartoonist Mike Barfield will offer a glimpse into A Day in the Life of an Astronaut, and Paula Bowles and Sharon Rentta will share their tips on how to be a children's illustrator.
- We move over to The Carriageworks for the grand finale where best-selling author and science educator (and Stephen Hawking's daughter) Lucy Hawking will introduce her book, Princess Olivia Investigates The Wrong Weather, and talk about climate and earth science.
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 For all the info, as well as booking details, please click the following link:
leedslitfest.co.uk/whats-on/family
*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics
Regular Family Clubs
Be part of a regular club where you can meet new friends, get creative and explore books and stories in a whole new way. See below for more details.
Lego Club
Join us at our monthly Lego Club where we'll be building and constructing creations based on best-loved children's books, featuring a different theme each month. Taking place at various venues and different dates
Recommended for children aged 5+. Follow this link to find your nearest club and free tickets: Lego Club | Leeds Inspired
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Code Club
Start your coding adventure with Leeds Libraries!
You will discover our easy-to-follow projects which will help you to learn a variety of coding languages by making games, robots, animations, and websites in a supportive environment.
Recommended for children aged 9-13. Follow this link to find your nearest club and free tickets: Code Clubs at Leeds Libraries | Leeds Inspired
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Saturday Family Film Club:
Movies from the Bookshelves
Stories spring from the page onto the screen at our regular film club where we select best-loved books that have been adapted as movies for a family audience.
We can't tell you the title of February's movie, but we can say it involves a robot and a young group of engineers who have super skills. And March's movie will certainly be inspired by Women's History Month.
Follow this link to find your nearest club and free tickets: Saturday Family Film Club: Movies from the Bookshelves | Leeds Inspired
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Mini Playboxes in Libraries
Our colourful Mini Playboxes are packed with fun and engaging activities for children under 5 and their families. Each box has 6 drawers and are fill with open ended play activities which you recreate at home with objects you already have. These fun and simple activities support speech and language development, early numeracy skills and encourage creative play.
 The Mini Playboxes are also supported with a series of videos to inspire play at home too, simply find the QR codes hidden on the boxes.
Find a Mini Playbox at the following Libraries across Leeds:
- Armley Community Hub & Library
- Compton Centre Community Hub & Library
- Headingley Community Hub & Library
- Holt Park Community Hub & Library
- Hunslet Community Hub & Library
- Reginald Centre Community Hub & Library
- St George’s Centre Community Hub & Library
- Seacroft Community Hub & Library
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Mini Playboxes were created in partnership with Play.Explore.Art, an artist and educational play designer, and Playful Anywhere, a social enterprise with a mission to catalyse creativity, inventiveness and playfulness.
The Mini Playboxes are part of the growing Ready Steady Readers programme.
HRH Princess of Wales visit to Leeds
 The Princess of Wales visited Leeds on Tuesday 31 January to launch the Shaping Us campaign from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
We were delighted that our Children's Librarian was part of the community group to meet The Princess alongside Child Friendly Leeds, Leeds Dads, Leeds Rhinos Foundation, West Yorkshire Police and colleagues to speak about how we can all work together to support early years in the city.
Early childhood is a top priority to libraries; reading and the enjoyment of books from a young age helps families to bond, as well as supporting early speech, language and communication skills. Ask at your local library about our Ready Steady Readers programme which puts babies and young children at the heart of our service.
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Recommended Reads
Why not try a few suggested titles for Under 5s to mark National Storytelling Week? Click the book covers to reserve and collect them from your local library.
The reader becomes the storyteller in this funny, interactive picture book by author-illustrator Kara Kramer. With lively, stylish artwork and plenty of space for imaginations old and young to add to the story, Tell Me a Lion Story is sure to become a go-to favourite. This book was published less than a year ago, but it is already a firm favourite among staff at Leeds Libraries - highly recommended!
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Imagine you could go anywhere, with anyone and do anything! Where would you live? Where would you sleep? Who would be your friends? Go on - you choose! With the help of Nick Sharratt's illustrations, this book written by Pippa Goodhart looks at a whole range of scenarios where choosing is made fun. There are other books in the You Choose series that explore themes such as space and fairytales. Plus, this writer-illustrator pairing have written an equally interactive book call Just Imagine.
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A warm and funny story about a family where the young son is sure his Dad is a grizzly bear! A playful, warm and funny story following a boy with a wild imagination and his lively family, from creative duo Swapna Haddow and Dapo Adeola. There are lots opportunity to test out your storytelling skills throughout the book by attempting some bear behaviour, and you can talk about different settings such as the woods or the cinema.
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Leeds Libraries are a free; free to join, free to borrow books and no charges for the late return of books. If you're not already, you can join the library in seconds by following this link: Sign Up Online
What's on for Schools
Leeds Book Awards are back!
This year will be bigger and better than ever before. The Leeds Book Awards runs from Early Years right up to KS4, bringing children and young people of all ages together for a special celebration of reading for pleasure in Leeds.
To find out more and see how your school can take part follow this link: Leeds Book Awards 2023: The re-launch | Leeds for Learning
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