Laura Raphael

1 month ago | tulsakids.com | Laura Raphael |Tulsa city-county Library

For several years running now, the Tulsa City-County Library year-end circulation statistics show that the MOST popular book title for children is anything in the hilarious, heartfelt “Dog Man” graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey, which was itself a spinoff of his uber-popular (and just as silly-sweet) “Captain Underpants” series.

2 months ago | tulsakids.com | Laura Raphael |Tulsa city-county Library

Back in my weekly storytime days as Youth Librarian, I occasionally struggled to come up with a theme for each session. Sometimes the books I wanted to read easily coalesced around one idea or another (bath time, bears, birthday parties) and, sometimes, my “theme” was just “These are books I’ve discovered recently that I just love, and you might, too!”Here’s my “Books” column equivalent of that non-theme theme.

Mar 26, 2025 | tulsakids.com | Laura Raphael |Tulsa city-county Library

The world is a busy and complex place, no matter what age you are. Evolutionary scientists surmise that ancient humans living 10,000 years ago met, at most, 250 different people in their entire lives. Farthest distance they traveled from birth to death? No more than 20 or 25 miles.

Sep 24, 2024 | tulsakids.com | Laura Raphael |Tulsa city-county Library

A picture is worth…Quick, what do you notice about a picture book? Well, obviously…the pictures. For young readers, the artwork in picture books is what captivates them the most – and what can be the biggest encouragement for them to learn how to translate all of the squiggly lines of text into meaning. In other words, to learn how to read. That’s the essence of the Tulsa City-County Library’s popular Books To Treasure program, which has been in existence for 21 years.

Jul 24, 2024 | tulsakids.com | Elise Gravel |Laura Raphael |Tulsa city-county Library

The school year is swiftly approaching, but summer isn’t over yet, and nothing makes summer reading better than summer reading with friends! Mo Willems created what is possibly the best pair of friends in a book (well, a long series of books) in Elephant & Piggie, who make taking naps, throwing balls, playing trumpets, having a party and, of course, being in a book so hilarious and heart-warming! If you’re looking to expand your circle of book friends to buddy pairs similar to Elephant &...