Category: Off The Shelves

Off The Shelves

Between the Lines Reads The Tobacco Wives

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Do you LOVE to read? Do you love trying new books and discussing them with friends? Pick up your book for the next Between the Lines Book Club today!

This March, BTL is reading The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers, a historical drama about the cost of friendship and secrets.

Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South—where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives.

When a series of unexpected events thrusts Maddie into the role of lead dressmaker for the town’s most influential women, she scrambles to produce their ornate gowns for the biggest party of the season. But she soon learns that Bright Leaf isn’t quite the carefree paradise that it seems: A trail of misfortune follows many of the women, including substantial health problems. Although Maddie is quick to believe that this is a coincidence, she inadvertently uncovers evidence that suggests otherwise.

Maddie wants to report what she knows, but in a town where everyone depends on Big Tobacco to survive, she doesn’t know who she can trust—and fears that exposing the truth may destroy the lives of the proud, strong women with whom she has forged strong bonds.

Follow this riveting tale of the power of truth along with your fellow readers this March.

We have added a new meeting to our schedule to better suit your life! In addition to our March 30th meeting at 1:00 pm at the Aurora Public Library, we will also be meeting on April 4th at 6:30 pm at the Aurora Public Library! As always, we will be meeting at the Dillsboro Public Library on March 31st at 1:00 pm. Please feel welcome to attend any meeting that you wish, and keep an eye out for some delicious themed treats coming to your meeting this year!

We cannot wait to see you there! You can check out a BTL book at the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Libraries with a library card.

Margaret Peterson Haddix Visits!

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Calling all readers! Acclaimed and world-renowned author Margaret Peterson Haddix is stopping by the Dillsboro Public Library on April 4th @ 6 pm to meet you all!

Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.

She has since written more than 40 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Double Identity; Uprising; The Always War; the Greystone Secrets series; the Shadow Children series; the Missing series; the Children of Exile series; the Under Their Skin duology; and The Palace Chronicles. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series.  Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and numerous state reader’s choice awards. They have also been translated into more than twenty different languages.

Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio. They are the parents of two grown kids.

Want to read more by Margaret? Just search “Margaret Peterson Haddix” in our catalog or follow this link. You can also read her novel, The Summer of Broken Things with the Teen Book Club in March! Everyone ages 13-19 is welcome to attend Teen Book Club and you can check out your copy of the March Selection at either library today!

Want to meet Margaret? Registration is not required, but is recommended for this event. Margaret can’t wait to meet you!

Jumanji Interactive Movie Experience!

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Are you feeling a little WILD this Spring Break? Get caught up in a game this Spring Break at the APL Spring Break INTERACTIVE movie showing.

Jumanji (2005) is the name of the game and attendees will be part of the action! Your jungle tour guides have prepared a completely immersive experience full of thrills, laughter, and tons of adventure. Be sure to wear your jungle gear and your tennis shoes as you never know what will happen. This is a completely FREE program for children of all ages! Parents are welcome to join in the fun as well!

Start your adventure with us at the Aurora Public Library on March 24th @ 1 pm. We can’t wait to see you all there!

Want to get ready for your jungle exploration? Check out these Jumanji titles below! Believe it or not, Jumanji was originally a book by acclaimed author Chris Van Allsburg!

Teen Book Club Reads The Summer of Broken Things

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Meet up with book lovers just like you for a discussion of The Summer of Broken Things by Margaret Peterson Haddix on Tuesday, March 21st @ 4 pm. We’ll be reading this book to get ready for Margaret’s author visit to the Dillsboro Public Library on April 4th @ 6 pm! Free snacks and drinks will be provided. Stop by the Aurora or Dillsboro Library to pick up your copy today!

Fourteen-year-old Avery Armisted is athletic, rich, and pretty. Sixteen-year-old Kayla Butts is known as “butt-girl” at school. The two girls were friends as little kids, but that’s ancient history now. So it’s a huge surprise when Avery’s father offers to bring Kayla along on a summer trip to Spain. Avery is horrified that her father thinks he can choose her friends—and make her miss soccer camp. Kayla struggles just to imagine leaving the confines of her small town.

But in Spain, the two uncover a secret their families had hidden from both of them their entire lives. Maybe the girls can put aside their differences and work through it together. Or maybe the lies and betrayal will only push them—and their families—farther apart.

Everyone ages 13-19 are welcome to attend! We can’t wait to see you there!

Teen Book Club – Fangirl

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Do you end up saying “just one more chapter” every night? Or maybe you haven’t read a book in forever. Either way, our new Teen Book Club is perfect for all young adult readers!

This month, we will be reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This coming-of-age story introduces Cath, the quintessential, modern-day fanatic, and her journey through college, growing up, and worst of all, real-life boys who aren’t Simon Snow.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life–and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Our next book will be selected by YOU, the reader! Our meeting will be at the Aurora Public Library on February 28th at 4 pm. Everyone ages 13 to 19 is welcome to attend. Registration is recommended but not required.

Books will be available for pickup at the library soon! We hope to see you there.

February Storytimes

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Hearts, love, red, and penguins usher in our February Children’s Storytime.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day stories will have your child’s creativity flowing with hearts and the colors red. R-E-D red, we can all spell red, but can we find books where the covers and spines are red or have the word “red” in the title of the book?

What better way to wind up our February Storytime than with those cute little fellows in tuxedo-looking feathers! That’s right: penguins! Look for further details on our upcoming Penguin Pals show on February 25th at the Aurora Public Library. We don’t mean the stuffed ones either! Real live penguins will be stopping by the library, so come to our penguin storytime to get ready to meet these feathered friends!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!

Chapter Chat Reads “Drama”

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So you love reading, but have no one to gush about books with… Look no further! The Aurora Public Library has the answer for you: The Chapter Chat Book Club at the Aurora Public Library, meeting every month to talk books with kids just like you.

In January, Chapter Chatters are reading Drama by Raina Telgemeier! This story follows Callie, a theatre fan who wants to put on the best production her middle school has ever seen, but drama on and off-stage creates chaos aplenty.

Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s production of Moon over Mississippi, she can’t really sing. Instead she’s the set designer for the drama department’s stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget.

But how can she, when she doesn’t know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen.

And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!

We are meeting in February at the Dillsboro Public Library on February 11th at 10:30 am and at Aurora Public Library on February 15th at 4:00 pm. Snacks, drinks, and fun, themed activities will be provided.

Registration is recommended for everyone ages 9 and up! You can pick up your book at either location. We look forward to seeing you there!

Fly Guy Celebration!

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Bzzzzz… Bzzz… Bzzzzz…

What’s that sound? It must be FLY GUY!

Are you ready for Buzz, Fly Guy, and Tedd Arnold? Tedd Arnold is the famous children’s author of the book series Fly Guy. Our Aurora Public Library District will feature a special storytime on Tuesday, January 17th at 5:30 p.m.! Fly Guy stories, crafts, and activities as well as snacks will be “buzzing” around for the kids to enjoy.

The Dillsboro Branch will also be holding a special storytime on Thursday, January 19th at 4:30 p.m. featuring Fly Guy books. We look forward to having all kids help us celebrate Tedd Arnold and his famous Fly Guy books!

January Storytimes

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Welcome, 2023!
Our storytime for children in January will start off with fun activities using the numbers in 2023. What do the words hibernation, arctic, and nocturnal all have in common? Why, animals of course! We cannot forget about snow, ice, and the color white to fit into our January storytimes also. There is going to be SNOW much fun! We hope you don’t miss out on this! There may be a surprise author study also on 2 special dates!
We hope to see all the kiddos at our storytime! Happy New Year!
January storytime has all kinds of cold-themed activities. We will start off the first week of January by celebrating our new year and incorporating the numbers 2, 0, 2, and 3 into our storytime. Books with numbers in their titles will be featured this week as well as New Year books… maybe books that just came out! Kids will enjoy making party poppers as well as participating in challenges involving building with 2 or 3 items. Imaginations will soar in this first-week challenge.
Happy New Year to everyone and we look forward to seeing you at our storytimes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Dillsboro Public Library and Wednesdays and Fridays at the Aurora Public Library at 10:30 am!

Between the Lines Returns!

Posted on by Olivia

Do you LOVE to read? Do you love trying new books and discussing them with friends? Pick up your book for the next Between the Lines Book Club today!

This January, BTL is reading Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak, perfect for reading in this cozy holiday season.

It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years, the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…

See how the Birch Family’s holiday plays out in this delightful domestic family drama.

We have added a new meeting to our schedule to better suit your life! In addition to our January 26th meeting at 1:00 pm at the Aurora Public Library, we will also be meeting on January 31st at 6:30 pm at the Aurora Public Library! As always, we will be meeting at the Dillsboro Public Library on January 27th at 1:00 pm. Please feel welcome to attend any meeting that you wish, and keep an eye out for some delicious themed treats coming to your meeting this year!

We cannot wait to see you there! You can check out a BTL book now at the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Libraries with a library card.