I have a 3 year old, almost 4. This is the perfect place to spend an hour or two reading books or doing homework. This library offers: Comfy kid sizes seating Separate play room with a beautiful mural Activity play sets Computers for interactive technology Lots of fantastic books, parenting books Tables for collaboration and homework help Secret garden Kid height toilet Kid height sink and soap dispenser Drinking fountain Shared parking lot We love this place! read more

Such a children friendly library. They have events you can sign up on online. Staff is friendly and nice. We were here on a Saturday after noon and they were doing a STEAM LAB that anyone can join. Online reservations are recommended. Outside garden is a short stroll but the sun war shining and it felt good. read more

This is a small but adorable children's library with an amazing staff and lovely story time events. Librarian Alicia busts out her ukulele for all of the kids songs and we go often enough that my toddler knows and requests the songs we sing here. She also loves the puppets they use for Old MacDonald, and how there's always a "surprise" animal puppet. I love how the librarians work so hard to encourage early literacy and make reading FUN for the kids! We adore this library and the staff are incredible. You can tell everyone there truly love children and helping them love reading. read more

Super small library, not lots of parking. The lady who does story time is not the most engaging, I go here bc it's the closets but prefer other readers when I can drive furthef read more

We love Storytime at this cute, well-curated library just-for-kiddos. Fun fact: this was the first library solely dedicated to children's books in the country! My daughter loved the music, puppets, and tactile objects passed out for children to play with (and of course the stories). Storytime is also a great way to connect with other local parents, if you're on parental leave and needing a little adult interaction during the day. The play area for littles is well stocked. My 1y.o. is visibly pumped to toddle towards all the fun books, puzzles, puppets, building blocks, and play mats whenever we drop by. Plenty of books and nooks for "big kids" to read, when you get to that point. There is also a small section of books on parenting, plus many helpful brochures of book suggestions, if you need help getting ideas of where to start. read more

Seriously?! Palo Alto has an entire library completely devoted to children? My library-loving son and I will be back to spend more time there and check it out futher. Unfortunately, we had to leave in a rush yesterday due to a toddler temper tantrum. What I managed to learn: This library opened in 1940, and was the first free-standing public library in the United States exclusively for children. It has a variety of programs, including story-time and summer reading. Nearby are other children's attractions, including the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, Children's Theatre (productions for children, by children), a playground, and an art center on Newell Road. Sometimes those of us who don't live in Palo Alto get irked when Palo Alto residents cop an attitude about how great their city is. This children's library just might be evidence that Palo Alto is pretty damn special, as much as I hate to say it. read more

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I have been going to this location since I was a kid and now continue the tradition with mine. The library while updated still is how I remembered it. Good selection of book with a friendly staff. Ample parking and as noted on a quiet street. Whats not to like? read more

I'm not sure a kids library could get any better. it's got more kids' books than the rest of PA libraries together it's cool on a hot day and warm on a cool day it's clean and well kept (even the bathrooms are nice) it's got friendly and helpful librarians it's got cute and comfy chairs for little readers it's got parking right out front on a safe, quiet street Yay. read more

My kids and I love this library! Plus, it has AC and ceiling fans - the AC makes me happy and the ceiling fans make my baby go bonkers. Can you believe some of the other Palo Alto libraries don't have AC? They have wonderful 30 minute story times throughout the week for different ages (e.g. Preschool story time is on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m.). Beware -- the place gets packed so try to get there right when it starts. Checking out books and DVDs are a breeze at the self-check out station. My four year old loves sliding the books under the scanner. "Mommy, I am going to be a robot designer or a librarian when I grow up." Um... okay. Since I am totally retarded about returning books on time, it is really great getting email notices telling me the books are due in a couple days. Plus, you can renew your stuff at least three times (maybe more) online if you are too lazy/busy to return your stuff. This little corner of Palo Alto is full of free kiddie goodness. We normally make a morning of it by going to the park, then the library, and finishing off at the Junior Museum. read more

The oldest free standing children's library in the country, the Palo Alto Children's Library is a wonderful place to get your kids interested in the literary world. Boldly painted and set up with a child's imagination in mind, you'll find a terrific spot to enjoy a book together whether it be in the Treetop Room or the Secret Garden just behind the building. Whether an event such as a puppet show or a story time is taking place or not, this library enjoys a steady stream of reading visitors. It has never been empty when we've visited. Children are always leaving with arm loads of books and with smiles on their faces. What a great place! The staff is friendly and helpful ---- and they will never "shhh!!" you in this library! read more

This library is great! It has a ton of childrens' books (duh) and videos, and in the Treehouse room it has a colorful mural, a Plan dollhouse, and other toys to boot! Plus, it has the courtyard area where you can bring your books and read to your little ones to your heart's delight. It also has a tinkling Alice in Wonderland tree stump fountain that my toddler adores. They have the best story times in town (librarian Cheryl rocks), and many different childrens' programs. The only thing that would be better is if this library had more books-- since so many people use it, I find that it's generally easier to find a specific book I'm looking for at the Mitchell Park library, without having to request it, that is. read more

The library itself is wonderful. The fact that it is an entire library for children is the stuff of my dreams. However, I would expect more from a story time at such a library. I attended a baby story time with my 2 month old last week. The story time is geared toward 0-18 month old babies. They only read ONE book! The rest of the 30 minute "story time" was spent singing songs, using puppets, and playing with scarves. All perfectly acceptable activities for babies, but NOT what you would expect from a "story time"- especially not at a library. To make it worse, the facilitator said (before reading the ONE book) that they don't usually read long story books during baby story time because the babies can't follow along. This shows a complete lack of awareness of childhood development and more importantly of early literacy skills. This is particularly troubling since it is at a children's library. I was extremely disappointed with the baby story time. read more

This is the cutest library ever. Period. It's so cute that it makes me wish I was a kid again, just so that I could properly experience this place as part of its target audience. I can hardly wait to have kids and bring them here. Seriously, it's like a magical kingdom of books for kids 8 and under (roughly). Those of you who don't like the hours -- that's not the library's fault, that's YOUR fault. Voters are the ones who ultimately determine whether library funding is increased or slashed. Believe me, the library wants to be open for you, and it would be, if only it could find adequate funding. read more

We love this library, it makes kids feel special jst to have their own place. It even has a grassy tree-shaded courtyard so that you can read outside. If a book is not in it is easy to request that it be reserved for you and you can even reserve books from the other libraries so that you can pick up your non-kid book at the chidren's library if you want. I only wish it was open later in the evening. read more

Censorship? I brought various children's magazines/comics/connect-the-dots created by an animal rights organization to be given to patrons for free. There are age appropriate with no scary images, and have been left at other libraries. The person at the desk took them to leave for patrons, and said they looked fun. However, they didn't put them out and returned them to me a couple of days later instead. I feel it's censorship as the decision whether to take them is better left to the parents and children who visit the library. This left me with an odd impression of this library since other libraries didn't do this, and one even requested multiple refills. read more

This library is super cute. I drive all the way from San Jose to take my little neice here. I wish they would open one up closer.

This is, by far, the most comprehensive children's library that I have been to in the Bay Area. Okay, maybe I've only been to about a half dozen libraries around here but this one has an extremely impressive collection. I check out books here all the time, and the ambiance is great. They hold numerous events here, which the kids enjoy, and you don't even have to be a PA resident to check out books! read more

What a gem in the community! The Children's Library is chocked full of a large array of literature and other media. I really like the layout with nooks and crannies to explore with my children. There is also a great resource for activities and joining with other families. There are story times and other activities on a revolving schedule. Not only is this just a great place for families, but it sends a strong message about the role of literacy and young humans in this community. read more

How can reading not be fun in a place like this? This library has a beautiful reading garden, lifelike Wizard of Oz dolls, a reading room with a reading tree, special events year round ("This week: read to dogs who won't judge/look down on your reading skills"). We visit this library every other week to browse and check out material from the library's well-curated selection and every visit, we leave counting our blessings. read more

Great place to bring kids to enjoy some reading. They also children's computers available and a beautiful lawn area in the back for some picnicking. There is also a Secret Garden ;) Not to mention the staff are awesome! read more

What a wonderful place to go with your children and teach them about books and the imprtance of reading. The Palo Alto Childrens library is so nice, they have great reading programs for all ages of children. It was great to listen to the story teller! read more

Great place to bring kids to enjoy some reading. They also children's computers available and a beautiful lawn area in the back for some picnicking. The staff are very very nice! read more

I will miss this library! As you can see from others' reviews, it is truly a magical place for children. The only negative mark would be that they close too early during the week. read more

We come here every Tuesday morning for story time, we just love it! My daughter also love to play in their courtyard outside. They also have very good collection of children's books. read more

It is actually strange that children's library doesn't have own website and it is impossible to find schedule of story times? I am trying to find it for last 30 min and nothing. Also this library is closed on Thursday which is also strange because other libraries are open even on Sunday ( Los Altos Library) read more

I'm sure it's great if you have kids 4 and up. I brought a 2 year old here and there is not one thing for him to do at this library. So disappointed read more