Upcoming Events
Story Hour is a weekly program where preschoolers can develop kindergarten-ready skills and cultivate a lifelong love of learning through stories, songs, games, and crafts.
The After-School Program provides weekly activities for students in grades K-5.
Disclaimer(s)
Photos
Photos may be taken at this event and used for library promotional purposes. If you do not wish for you or your child's photo to be taken, please speak with the librarian hosting the program.
Disclaimer(s)
No program if school out for snow
If the Marshall County Schools close due to weather, this program will be canceled.
Photos
Photos may be taken at this event and used for library promotional purposes. If you do not wish for you or your child's photo to be taken, please speak with the librarian hosting the program.
Join us for a Coffee & Cuties playdate! There will be a coffee bar and small table activity available for adults and sensory/free play activities set up for children.
Disclaimer(s)
No program if school out for snow
If the Marshall County Schools close due to weather, this program will be canceled.
Photos
Photos may be taken at this event and used for library promotional purposes. If you do not wish for you or your child's photo to be taken, please speak with the librarian hosting the program.
A birthday celebration for Merry the Christmas Fairy.
Meet the 5th grade illustrators and celebrate Merry's 10th birthday!
Disclaimer(s)
Photos
Photos may be taken at this event and used for library promotional purposes. If you do not wish for you or your child's photo to be taken, please speak with the librarian hosting the program.
Story Hour is a weekly program where preschoolers can develop kindergarten-ready skills and cultivate a lifelong love of learning through stories, songs, games, and crafts.
Hayley Fountain
Hayley Fountain is the Children's Librarian at the Calvert City branch of the Marshall County Public Library. She began working at the library as a circulation clerk in 2011, and then started as the children's librarian in 2012. Hayley's favorite part of her job is getting to use her creativity to plan fun programs for the kids and then playing and crafting right alongside them.
Anita Spaulding
Anita Spaulding is the Children's Librarian at the Hardin branch of the Marshall County Public Library. She began working at the Hardin branch as a circulation clerk in 2023. She started as Children's Librarian in the summer of 2025, after working at the Benton branch as a Youth Services and Facilities Assistant. Anita's favorite part of her job is meeting new faces and bringing the simply joy of reading and play to all.
Sara Dittman
Sara Dittman is the Children’s Librarian at the Benton branch of the Marshall County Public Library. She began working at the Hardin branch in 2015 and moved to the Benton branch in 2021. Sara’s favorite part of her job is working with children of all ages and watching their faces light up as they explore their world and make new connections.
Mallory Shaw
Recommended Reads
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One Day at HorrorLand
The next ride might be their last. . . . The Morris family got lost trying to find Zoo Gardens Theme Park. But that's okay. They found another amusement park instead. It's called HorrorLand. In HorrorLand there are no crowds. No lines. And the admission is free. It seems like a pretty cool place. But that was before that heart-stopping ride on the deadly Doom Slide. And that terrifying experience in the House of Mirrors. Because there's something weird about the rides in HorrorLand. Something a little too creepy. A little too real . . .
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The Trouble with Children (According to Cat)
The family cat has a LOT to get off her chest. Because, well, living with children can be...challenging.
Between attempted-bathing incidents and the children stealing her yarn, this feline has had ENOUGH!!!
Will Cat find that there are sweet moments to be cherished amidst the chaos?
A heartwarming and hilarious story celebrating the bond between our furry friends and their humans that's sure to leave you with the "warm and fuzzies". (And a new appreciation for your four-legged family member.)
From award-winning team of Katie Weaver and Caner Soylu who created The Trouble with Children (According to Dog), Uh-OH! My Dragon's Hungry, and Uh-OH! My Dragon's Smelly, this is the perfect gift for any cat lover (and ideal for children ages 3-8).
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The Blob that Ate Everyone
Zackie Beauchamp wants to be a famous horror writer. He's writing a story about a giant pink slimy blob monster who eats up an entire town. Zackie finds a typewriter in a burned down antique store, takes it home and begins to type, but now every scary word he writes is starting to come true.
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How to Count to One
"Just as we once screamed at a pigeon not to drive the bus, we now, with similar glee, take on Salmon as he commands us not to count past one."
--Amy Alznauer, New York TimesOutsmart this bossy and hilarious picture book about counting!
You know how to count, right? GREAT! There are LOTS of fun things to count in this book: whales, baboons, rainbows, pyramids . . . There's just one rule. You must ONLY ever count to ONE.
So don't even about THINK bigger numbers. OK?!
Get ready to show off your skills in this fun new counting book! But all is not as it seems . . . is this book really only about counting to "ONE?" Because there are SO MANY fun things that you could count. But wait --maybe there's a way to outsmart the book . . . and count all the way up to 100!
Featuring Stories Aloud audio-- scan the QR code on the back cover to listen to the book read aloud!
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Round Is a Tortilla
In this lively picture book, children discover a world of shapes all around them: rectangles are ice-cream carts and stone metates, triangles are slices of watermelon and quesadillas. Many of the featured objects are Latino in origin, and all are universal in appeal. With rich, boisterous illustrations, a fun-to-read rhyming text, and an informative glossary, this playful concept book will reinforce the shapes found in every child's day!
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Barbie in the 1990s
1990s culture is back in fashion! Children will get to know the decade that started trends while reading about Barbie in the '90s. Text on the decade's popular and inspiring Barbie dolls is paired with a brief history of '90s culture and womens' changing roles. QR codes and bright, exciting photographs keep readers engaged through the whole book. Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. DiscoverRoo is an imprint of Pop!, a division of ABDO.
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Digestion! the Musical
The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body meets Hamilton in this hilarious picture book about the most basic process of the human body: digesting food!
Candy's made it. She's finally here: the human body! This intrepid sweet treat meets each of the human body's organs as she approaches her "big break": being successfully digested! Here is the scientific process of digestion as you've never seen it before--told through a musical, with Candy in the role of the small-town kid who wants to make it big, the baby carrots as the Greek chorus narrating all the action, and cameos from every body part that plays an important role in transforming food from ingredients to nutrition.
From beloved duo Adam Rex and Laura Park comes a genuinely educational, laugh-out-loud Broadway musical of a book about an epic adventure through the human body, from bite to bottom.
REAL SCIENCE PRESENTED IN A FUN WAY: The text has countless facts about the human body, teaches readers how the body works, and includes all kinds of "teachable moments."
GLOSSARY: A glossary in the back explains the function of all organs we encounter in the book.
ENCOURAGES CREATIVITY: The book is an invented fable and will make kids excited to write their own fables or musicals.
OUTRAGEOUSLY FUNNY: The over-the-top humor is perfect for fans of Goodnight Already!, The Day the Crayons Quit, and the Mother Bruce series.
POPULAR AUTHOR: Acclaimed kids book creator Adam Rex is known for his funny and smart books. The winner of countless state list awards, Rex is the author of beloved books including, On Account of The Gum, Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, School's First Day of School, and many more.
Perfect for:
Fans of Adam Rex
Parents and grandparents
Teachers and librarians -
Haiku, Ew!
Stop right there!
If you think poems about nature are all pretty flowers and rainbow sunsets, this book is not for you. If you can’t handle giant whale farts, turn back right now. If you don’t want to know how lobsters pee, do not read one word further. Seriously, if you open this book, you’re going to find out the disgusting truth about where honey comes from!
All right, you’re in charge. Don’t say we didn’t warn you . . .
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A Forest Song
Beautifully illustrated by an award-winning artist, this cento poem about experiencing a forest with all of your senses will make the perfect read-aloud for nature lovers and curious explorers of all ages.
Into the forest, dark and deep,
With miles to go before I sleep . . .
Beneath the holy oaks I wander.
Here, O my heart, just listen!
This vivid and evocative poem reimagines classic lines of poetry from Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe and others. Readers will journey into a forest, listen carefully to its sounds, and observe the creatures that call it home.
With swirling colors, the stunning illustrations create scenes of the forest awakening through the eyes of a child – a wolf finds its lair, a deer steps with care, even the trees appear to flutter awake! Through each verse, the forest bursts with life and the trees slowly stretch up toward a starry night sky, whispering a gentle goodnight. And when the child awakens, the forest will be there to greet the morning anew.
A tribute to writers of the past, this stunning picture book by poet Kirsten Hall and award-winning illustrator Evan Turk celebrates the beauty of our forests, and encourages readers to respect, honor, and be in awe of their natural wonders. -
Time for School, Little Blue Truck
Ride along to school with the #1 New York Times bestselling Little Blue Truck and meet Blue's new friend: a bright yellow school bus. Beep-beep!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are excited to meet a bright yellow school bus on the road. They see all the little animals lined up in the school bus's many windows, and Blue wishes he could be a school bus too. What a fun job--but much too big for a little pickup like Blue. Or is it? When somebody misses the bus, it's up to Blue to get his friend to school on time. Beep! Beep! Vroom!
Also enjoy Blue's bedtime ride in Good Night, Little Blue Truck and his trip to the city in Little Blue Truck Leads the Way!
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The Human Body
Discover the secrets of the human body with the newest beautiful, educational and fun title in the Shine-a-light series. Hold a light behind the pages to see muscles flex, watch as food travels through the digestive system and take a peek at the skeleton holding you upright.
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Lemons Are Not Red
Lemons are not Red. Apples are red. Lemons are yellow. . . .
Clever cutouts in the pages make a simple, original, and utterly beguiling introduction to color.
Laura Vaccaro Seeger, whose The Hidden Alphabet dazzled critics and readers alike, introduces young children to color in this unique concept book with die cuts. The opening spread features a big, bright red lemon and the simple text, "Lemons are not RED." When the spread is turned an equally bright yellow lemon appears ("Lemons are YELLOW") across from a luscious red apple ("Apples are RED").
And so it goes, from carrots that are not purple through reindeer that are not white, et al. The book ends with "The moon is not BLACK / The moon is SILVER / The night is BLACK / Good night! And the reader sees a tranquil night landscape and a house with the lights turned out.
This title has Common Core connections.
Resources
ABC Mouse
Abdo Digital
Britannica Library
Parents’ Guide to Library Materials
Learn more about how to navigate our collection as a parent by reading our Parents’ Guide to Library Materials.