Portland District Library News
Wear Your Art!
Do you want to submit a piece to Portland Creates but you aren’t sure what to make? Then this in-person program is for you. Learn how to make your own colorful, highly personalized epoxy resin jewelry Monday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. Whether you decide on a bracelet, earrings, a pendant, or a bold statement necklace, your wearable art will be one of a kind. Registration is required, ages 16 and up.
For the Love of Food
Spring finds For the Love of Food checking out a variety of flavors, starting with Irish food in March, doughnuts and cinnamon rolls in April, and your favorite food in May. Share your take on these delectable foods the fourth Wednesday of each month, starting March 26, at 6:00 p.m. Don't forget the recipe!
Portland District Library will assume no responsibility for reactions or illness from consuming these foods.
Creative Flow
Using ready-to-pour paint and multiple small magnet-backed canvases, we will be creating fluid artworks that seem to flow from one canvas to the next. We’ll get our creative juices flowing on Tuesday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m., just as submissions begin for Portland Creates! Registration is required, ages 15 and up.
Children’s and Teen
LITTLES
We don’t know about you, but we love the annual Talking is Teaching County-Wide Scavenger Hunt and we are SO EXCITED to kick things off starting Tuesday, April 1! All seven county libraries and the Ionia County Great Start Collaborative will offer this 8-week-long outdoor scavenger hunt to patrons in each community. Visit other communities to complete the hunt there too. Talk, walk, and earn a prize at each library! Try to complete the hunt no later than Saturday, May 31 to receive 7 special books. Start your family’s adventure by visiting our Youth Desk beginning April 1 to pick up a scavenger hunt sheet! Contact Youth Librarian Eileen Pock at 517-647-6981 ext. 3 or epock@portlandmilibrary.com with questions!
Search the world around us for circles, squares, triangles, and more! Storytime this spring will have Tiny Tots (ages 2 & under) and caregivers exploring shapes in new ways. Miss Eileen will lead everyone through learning them, naming them, and spotting them all around. Storytime at the library will be every other Friday at 10:00 am starting March 28. Can’t make it to in-person storytime? Grab one of our monthly caregiver packets and follow along to our storytime videos to begin shape exploration from your own living room! Register beginning Monday, March 10.
Come along with Miss Jamie for a fun adventure to the land of opposites for storytime this spring! Book Cubs (ages 3-5) and their caregivers will learn about the exciting world of contrasts. Run, don't walk, to the Youth Desk to register. Make yourself happy and join us every other Wednesday at 10:00 am beginning March 19. Don't be sad if you can't be with us in person, you can sign up for our Take-And-Make Bag supplies starting Monday, March 10.
MIDDLES
Watch science come to life with Virtual STEM Club: Give It a Spin beginning Wednesday, March 19. Our Middles (ages 6-12) can use a pencil, a piece of paper, and a little static electricity to make paper spin like magic!
Create collage poetry this spring during Write On!, Portland District Library’s young writers club for ages 8-12. Cut, arrange, and paste found words to give them new meaning! Meetings will be Monday from 6:00-7:30 pm March 17, April 14, and May 12. Sign up today at the Youth Desk!
TEEN
Introducing Lit Loot: the elite surprise subscription box for teens from the Portland District Library! Every month, receive a carefully curated selection of captivating books and fun gifts tailored to that month's genre - think bookmarks, coloring pages, stickers, snacks, and more. Return the books and keep the loot! Perfect for readers ages 13-18 looking to discover new stories. Our first three genres will be fantasy, mental health, and thriller available April, May, and June. Sign up today at the Youth Desk to secure your 3 month subscription and let your next chapter begin!
Get ready to make your next move at Play It Forward, the ultimate club for teens (13-18) who love games! Whether you’re strategizing your way through a classic board game or competing in an epic video game challenge, this club is all about fun, friendly competition, and connecting with fellow gamers. Play It Forward meets Tuesdays, March 11, April 8, and May 13 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm and Fridays March 28, April 25, and May 23 from 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm in the Community Room. Registration is not required.
Page Turners, PDL's teen book club, has chosen "Jo & Laurie" by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz for their spring book selection. This novel reimagines the beloved characters Jo March and Theodore "Laurie" Laurence from the classic "Little Women." In "Jo & Laurie," Jo struggles with writer's block after publishing her first successful novel. Hoping to inspire her, Laurie surprises Jo with a trip to London. As their feelings deepen, Jo must decide whether to accept Laurie's marriage proposal or pursue her dream of being an independent working woman. Register at the Youth Desk starting Monday, March 17 and pick up your free copy of the book. Space is limited to 10 teens (13-18.) Meetings are scheduled for Saturday, April 19 and Saturday, May 10 at 11:00 am in the Community Room.
ALL-AGES
Play Bookopoly to celebrate March is Reading Month with us! Pick up a game board starting Saturday, March 1. We welcome patrons of all ages to participate. Every patron who returns a completed game board to the library by the end of the month will be entered to win a Barnes & Noble gift card. We will have a winner for each of our age categories: Littles, Middles, Teens, and Adults! Read it all!
