Month: June 2021

Tails and Tales: Endangered Animals

Posted on by Emma

Our library’s Tales and Tails Summer Reading Program is all about reading about the animals around us! While animals are a lot of fun to read about, some of them need some extra help. Animals that are endangered are close to becoming gone forever unless we do what we can to help them recover.

 

Vaquitas surface for air.

 

One of the most endangered animals in the world is the vaquita. These are small, marine mammals, related to dolphins, and they are classified as critically endangered. It is estimated that there are less than 10 of them left in the world, and they are still declining. This is because of fishing in the Gulf of California where they get tangled in illegal gillnets and are unable to surface for air.

 

A green kakapo.

 

Another critically endangered animal is the kakapo. These are nocturnal, green parrots found solely in New Zealand. These cute birds are flightless and live in the ground. This unfortunately put them in danger when new and invasive predators were brought to New Zealand. Unable to fly and escape these predators, they are at a severe disadvantage and have trouble surviving on their own.

 

A rhino mother and baby.

 

There are currently five existing species of rhino. However, three out of the five are classified as critically endangered and the other two are classified as near threatened and least concerned. They are constantly poached for their horns and need protection from further poaching if we want them to continue living alongside us.

To find out more about endangered animals, check out some of these books from the Aurora Public Library or Dillsboro Public Library, and join in on our summer reading program!

Endangered Animals by Pierre de Hugo

Endangered Animals by Pierre de Hugo

Endangered Animals by Lynn M. Stone

Endangered Animals by Lynn M. Stone

Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink by Jane Goodall

Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink by Jane Goodall

Fresh Finds with Jessica: June

Posted on by Jamie

Check out our YouTube channel every last Friday of the month for Fresh Finds! Join Jessica on June 25th as she discusses 5 of APLD’s newest books! Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our videos! Subscribe here.

Check out the five books below! Click on a cover to place a hold or learn more!

Animals by Steve Jenkins

Posted on by Peggy

I can tell you exactly why I love reading children’s books about animals. During my childhood, my home-town library had a summer reading program where you could read any kind of book and THEN there was a Smokey the Bear program where you needed to read books about animals. My sister just tolerated the nature books, but I loved them. Thank you, St. Simons Public Library!

I think one of the best author/illustrators of animal books for children is Steve Jenkins. His primary medium is cut paper, and he has illustrated his own books, he’s written and illustrated with his wife Robin Page, and he’s illustrated books for other authors like April Pulley Sayre. Jenkins’ books typically focus on one aspect of the animal world, such as relationships, habitats, camouflage, etc. You are guaranteed to learn something amazing with each of his books!

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins Animals in Flight How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest by Steve Jenkins Sisters & Brothers by Steve Jenkins

What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins Eye to Eye by Steve Jenkins  Living Color by Steve Jenkins

Look Again by Steve Jenkins How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? by Steve Jenkins Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails by Steve Jenkins

A Boy and His Skunk

Posted on by Peggy

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold

 

 

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises — some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

 

 

 

After reading A Boy Called Bat, you’ll want to dive right into the next two books in the series.

Bat and the Waiting Game by Elana K. Arnold    Bat and the End of Everything by Elana K. Arnold

For more “unusual pet” stories, give these books a try! Rascal and The Tarantula in My Purse are juvenile biographies (J 912), and Flora & Ulysses and Pax are juvenile novels found in the juvenile fiction of the library.

Rascal by Sterling North The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo Pax by Sara Pennypacker

New on Novelist!

Posted on by Peggy

The eternal question: what to read next! We love to make book recommendations, but if the library is closed, there’s a great resource that you can access through our library website. We’ve recently moved our Reading Online Resources closer to the top of the list at: https://eapld.org/online-resources/. Just click on Novelist or Novelist K-8 (for children’s books). Type in a title or an author to find reading suggestions for books that are similar in subject, tone, or pacing.

The Aurora Public Library District has recently upgraded to a more robust version of Novelist that provides access to all of the Novelist features directly through our online catalog. Just do a catalog search for a book you enjoyed. Select the book title from the search results , and then look for the “Related” link on the left side of the page. Here’s what my screen looked like when I searched the online catalog for the book An American Marriage.

As you can see, Novelist suggested similar titles and similar authors. Scrolling down further will show a tab with Story Elements. By clicking on the elements that you enjoy, you may find additional titles. Here I selected Character-driven, Domestic Fiction, and Southern Fiction.

Scrolling down more will show both book reviews and awards won by the book. Another way you can use Novelist is to determine the order of books in a series. You can do this directly from Novelist, but if the book you are reading is part of a series, you can also grab this information from the Novelist input to the catalog. For example, if I have started the Louise Penny books, but don’t know which book comes after A Great Reckoning, I can search for that title, click on the Related tab, and all the books in the series will be shown in order. You can see that in the image below.

Play around with Novelist through the direct link and also within the online catalog. I bet you’ll find some great new books to enjoy! As always, if you need help with this resource, just ask one of the Library staff.

Join One of Our Book Groups

Posted on by Peggy

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should consider joining one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There is an evening group that meets at Carnegie Hall in Moores Hill on the first Monday of each month (second Monday, if the first Monday is a holiday). There are also afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on the fourth Thursday and at the Dillsboro Public Library on the fourth Friday each month. The Aurora and Dillsboro groups are led by Ron Nicholson of Ivy Tech. All three groups meet monthly in January through October, and the Library provides the books a month in advance. Call the Library at 812-926-0646 to sign up for any of these groups!

Here are some of the upcoming selections for 2020. You can view past selections at: https://eapld.org/programs/.

      For the Moores Hill Group                            For the Aurora and Dillsboro Groups

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell                         The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce                          All Adults Here by Emma Straub

The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger                        Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Tales of Tigers

Posted on by Peggy

To help celebrate our Summer Reading theme Tails and Tales, I want to highlight some of my very favorite tiger picture books. If you don’t currently have a favorite tiger picture book, please check these out! They are all special to me, although for different reasons. I fell in love with Mr. Tiger Goes Wild at first because of the illustrations, inspired in part by A Child’s Garden of Verses (the 1951 version illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen). I also came to love the way Mr. Tiger needs his little escape into the wilderness, but still comes to realize the importance of coming home. Besides all that, I think Peter Brown is a picture book genius. If you don’t believe me, just check out Creepy Pair of Underwear.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown  Tiger in My Soup by Kashmira Sheth

Tiger in My Soup, written by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Cincinnati artist Jeffrey Ebbler, is the story of a young boy who desperately wants his sister to read him a story. Does he imagine the tiger, or is it real?

For every child who has wanted to wander outside at night, just imagine the wonder of coming across a dancing tiger! The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle is perfect for any child who loves the idea of a secret friend. I hope you’re familiar with the picture books by Jan Brett. She often retells traditional folktales and her artwork is always stunning. Look for the side panels in The Tale of the Tiger Slippers to get a hint about what’s coming on the next pages.

The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle The Tale of the Tiger Slippers by Jan Brett

 

June Dollar-a-Bag Book Sale

Posted on by Jamie

Our Dillsboro branch will be holding its Dollar-A-Bag Book Sale on June 18th & 19th. You’ll find something for everyone on your list – mysteries, thrillers, romance, classics, westerns, travel, crafts, DIY, DVDs, audio books, CDs, children’s books, large print, magazines, cookbooks and much, much more.

The sale takes place in the Dillsboro basement on Friday the 18th from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturday the 19th from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.  New books are added to the collection every week, so shop early and often! Bags will be provided.

Father’s Day Book Giveaway!

Posted on by Jamie

Beginning on Monday, June 14th we will be giving away copies of Time Together: Me and Dad in honor of Father’s Day! Stop by Aurora or Dillsboro to pick up your free copy! We will be giving away one copy per family while supplies last!

Time Together: Me and Dad features snapshots of a father and child enjoying every day moments together. From reading a book to playing outside, these small moments are the ones that create big memories. Don’t miss out on your chance to pick up this heartwarming book!

Summer Programs 2021

Posted on by Jamie

We are once again holding in-person programming! Check out the list below for all the fun things we’re doing this summer! To register for any of the programs, call 812-926-0646 or speak to any staff member!

Storytimes with Miss Stephanie

Mondays at 10:30 AM at Aurora Public Library

Tuesdays at 10:30 AM at Dillsboro Public Library

Wednesdays at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM at Aurora Public Library

Registration is required.

Join Miss Stephanie for Storytime and a craft!

 

Tales with Penelope

June 28th at 1:00 – 2:30 PM

Aurora Public Library

Ages 5-12

Registration is required.

Penelope the bull dog loves Summer Reading! Sign up for a 10-minute slot to read her your favorite book.

 

Build-a-Gnome

July 8th at 10:30 AM

Aurora Public Library

Ages 8-12

Registration is required.

Join Mike from Distinctive Knits to build your very own gnome! All supplies will be provided.

 

Outside Fun Day

July 9th from 10:30 to 1:00

Dillsboro Public Library

All ages

No registration required.

Have some fun in the sun with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and water tables!

 

Printmaking with Heather

July 15th at 4:30 PM

Dillsboro Public Library

Ages 8-12

Registration is required.

Join local artist Heather Tackitt in making your own prints! All supplies will be provided.

 

Origami for Teens

July 16th at 2:00 PM

Aurora Public Library

Ages 13-18

Registration is required.

Join Mike from Distinctive Knits as he teaches you how to make an origami star! All supplies will be provided.

 

Beginners Knitting

July 20th & 22nd at 6:00 PM

Aurora Public Library

Ages 18+

Registration is required.

Join Mike from Distinctive Knits as he teaches you how to knit a hat. All supplies will be provided. You must attend both sessions and visit Distinctive Knits at your convenience to complete your project.

 

Silly Safaris Animal Show

July 23rd

Dillsboro Public Library (10:30 AM) & Aurora City Park Pavilion (1:00 PM)

All ages

No registration required.

Meet some cool and kooky real live animals to celebrate the end of Summer Reading 2021!