As parents, we’ve seen our kids navigate that difficult pre-teen stage.

“Children between the ages of 8 and 12 in grades 3 through 5 are in that cross-over area,” explains Springfield-Greene County’s youth services coordinator Nancee Dahms-Stinson. “They are teetering between kid behaviors and teenage attitudes.”

The librarians have always targeted their youth programs for children and teens, but times change and they’ve recently become aware that ‘tweens need a little more TLC, and so they’ve created programs especially for them.

“This stage of children’s life is nothing new,” says Dahms-Stinson, “but the sophistication of the society they live in is unprecedented. They are exposed to so much more and the push to reach ‘teenhood’ is exacerbated by pressure from the media and advertisers.”

Adds Sarah Bean, who works in the children’s department at the Library Center: “They are no longer children, yet not quite teens, they’re in between. Marketing today is pushing kids to grow up fast, but most times ‘tweens are not emotionally ready for the teen world.”

The new ‘Tween Town programs, scheduled monthly through November at the Library Center, Library Station and the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library, allow them to spend time with kids in their own age bracket. “They experience the same issues and can just be themselves—whoever that might be that particular evening!,” said Dahms-Stinson. “It allows them to participate in special activities that aren’t too baby-ish, but at the same time not beyond their chronological maturity.”

These new programs also give librarians an opportunity to promote the new ‘tween fiction. “More publishers are picking up on this market and writing books that are perfect for this age group, not childish, but also not yet at the mature themes of young adult fiction,” said Bean. “Parents are always asking me what their kids should read next, and I love finding great new books to read,” she said.

The early-evening programs include karaoke, Playstation, board games, Internet surfing, Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero and Wii, as well as refreshments and crafts. Pick up the fall issue of Bookends at any of the eight libraries, or access the publication online at thelibrary.org, for times, dates and locations.

Jeanne C. Duffey, community relations director for the Springfield-Greene County Library District, can be reached at jeanned@thelibrary.org.