Margaret Peterson Haddix Visits!

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 TimeDouble Identity; Uprising; The Always Warthe Greystone Secrets series; the Shadow Children series; the Missing series; the Children of Exile series; the Under Their Skin duologyand The Palace Chronicles. She also wrote Into the Gauntletthe 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!

Chapter Chat: Bring Your Own Book

Bring your own book, or B.Y.O.B., is the theme for the November Chapter Chat! Bring a favorite book from home or one you enjoyed reading at the library. We’ll participate in a few icebreaker games, have some snacks, and discuss our favorite books.

Chapter Chat is our tween book club, open to all young readers who are in fourth grade or older. Selections for the club will mostly be picked from our Juvenile Fiction selections at the Dillsboro and Aurora Public Libraries, but for this special meeting in November, you are welcome to bring your own favorite book!

We will be meeting at the Aurora Public Library on November 9th at 4:00 pm and the Dillsboro Public Library November 12th at 10:30 am. We look forward to seeing you there! Just bring yourself and your favorite book, or bring some of your friends!

Published in Your Birth Year: 2021-2010

Welcome to a new series, “Published in Your Birth Year”!  We’ll be starting with 2021 and working backward in time, with each book being appropriate to the age of the reader born that year.  For this initial post, we’re covering the years from 2021 back to 2010, and subsequent posts will cover 10 years each.

2021
A Day On the Farm with The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by: Eric Carle

A Day On the Farm with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

2020
Wake Up, Let’s Play!
by: Marit Törnqvist

Wake Up, Let's Play! by Marit Törnqvist

2019
Hey Diddle Diddle: Touch and Trace Nursery Rhymes
by: Emily Bannister

Hey Diddle Diddle: Touch and Trace Nursery Rhymes by Emily Bannister

2018
Zoogie Boogie Fever!: An Animal Dance Book
by: Sujean Rim

Zoogie Boogie Fever!: An Animal Dance Book by Sujean Rim

2017
Imagine That!
by: Yasmeen Ismail

Imagine That! by Yasmeen Ismail

2016
A Tiger Tail: (Or What Happened to Anya On Her First Day of School)
by: Mike Boldt

A Tiger Tail: (Or What Happened to Anya On Her First Day of School) by Mike Boldt

2015
Pete the Cat’s Train Trip
by: James Dean

Pete the Cat’s Train Trip by James Dean

2014
Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page
by: Cynthia Rylant

Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page by Cynthia Rylant

2013
The Notebook of Doom: Attack of the Shadow Smashers
by: Troy Cummings

The Notebook of Doom: Attack of the Shadow Smashers by Troy Cummings

2012
Claws
by: Mike Grinti

Claws by Mike Grinti

2011
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
by: Jonathan Auxier

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

2010
Touch Blue
by: Cynthia Lord

Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

You can place any of these books on hold through your online library account or by calling the library at (812) 926-0646 for APL or (812) 954-4151 for DPL.

Traveling for the Holidays?

If you’ll be traveling by car or by plane over the holidays, you’re probably already thinking about how to keep the kids entertained during the trip. Of course, you can sing along in a car to Christmas songs, but why not try listening to an audiobook together? You can choose one that’s an appropriate length for the trip, and it will help the time fly by! We have some audiobooks on CD at the library, but there are many more available to download to your phone or other device on the Libby app through the Indiana Digital Download Center.

Here are some great holiday stories for kids that would provide a wonderful listening experience. If you need help with the download process, just call the library and we can talk you through it.

 When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke  Bah! Humbug! by Michael Rosen A Ghost Tale for Christmas by Mary Pope Osborne

 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson  Christmas in the Forest and Other Stories   A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

 A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig  Deck the Halls, We're Off the Walls by Dan Gutman  Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne

Happy listening and safe travels!

Fresh Finds with Jessica: June

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!

            

FunJungle Tales from Stuart Gibbs

Join FunJungle’s resident zoo sleuth, Teddy Fitzroy, as he solves mysteries and strives to protect the animals at the zoo with these funny and suspenseful novels in the bestselling FunJungle series from author Stuart Gibbs.

When Teddy Fitzroy moved into FunJungle, the nation’s largest zoo with his scientist parents, he expected things to be kind of quiet. There’d be the occasional elephant stampedes and water balloon fights with the chimpanzees, of course, but when Henry the Hippo dies from not-so-natural causes, Teddy suspects foul play. And that was just the beginning. He begins to realize that the zoo is far more exciting than he thought it was, and soon the mysteries at FunJungle are piling up…

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs Poached by Stuart Gibbs Big Game by Stuart Gibbs

Panda-monium by Stuart Gibbs Lion Down by Stuart Gibbs Tyrannosaurus Wrecks by Stuart Gibbs Bear Bottom by Stuart Gibbs

If you enjoy the books in this series, you’ll also enjoy The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.

The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach

It’s National Best Friends Day!

June 8th is National Best Friends Day! This lighthearted holiday began in 1935 when the US Congress decided to devote a day to close friends. National Best Friends Day has given rise to other national holidays such as Friendship Day, Women’s Friendship Day, and an entire week called Old Friends, New Friends Week. The holiday has gained popularity over the last 5 years due to the rise of social media, and even has its own hashtag to go with it. Don’t forget to show your friends some love on social media today with the hashtag #nationalbestfriendsday

 

Check out some of our books on friendship!

                                  

This Little Piggy

We all know that there are lots of great picture books featuring pigs, but there’s no need to let the little kids hog all the great stories. When you’re rooting through the library shelves, don’t overlook these books that can smooth the transition to chapter books.

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig by Kate DiCamillo Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes by Kate DiCamillo Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise by Kate DiCamillo

The Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo features easy-to-read chapter books with lots of illustrations and white space to keep young readers from getting frustrated. If you enjoy these, you’ll also like the Tales from Deckawoo Drive books, set in the same neighborhood.

Babe the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith       Lady Lollipop by Dick King-Smith

Dick King-Smith was a prolific British writer best known for Babe the Gallant Pig (turned into Babe the movie). Lady Lollipop is a common pig who manages to tame an unruly princess.

The next title is written by Janette Oke, the writer of historical romance novels, and highlights the escapades of a family of piglets. The Pirate Pig by Cornelia Funke features a shipwrecked pig with the ability to sniff out buried treasure.

This Little Pig by Janette Oke   The Pirate Pig by Cornelia Funke

Pigs are very smart animals as seen in the next two highlighted books. Flora and Wilbur both manage to prove they have value as much more than a source of protein. The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz is aimed more at middle readers, coming in at just less than 300 pages. Of course, Charlotte’s Web is wonderful as a read-aloud for the entire family or for older kids to read alone.

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz    Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Finally, a book that is new to our collection! The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City is a heartwarming tale of family, belonging, and growing bigger when you’ve always felt small. This book by Jodi Kendall was chosen by Indiana school librarians for the 2019-2020 Young Hoosier Reading List.

The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City

Rick Riordan Presents

Since 2005, the year The Lightning Thief was published, author Rick Riordan has enthralled young readers with his adventure stories based on characters interacting with mythological beings. The Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus series focused on Greek mythology, the Kane Chronicles looked at Egyptian mythology, and the Magnus Chase series was based on Norse mythology. All of these books had kids running to library shelves to keep up with the newest adventure.

Riordan has now launched a new publishing venture known as “Rick Riordan Presents” with the goal of introducing readers to other authors who are writing mythology-based books for students. These books place the spotlight on some lesser-known mythologies  and have been selected to satisfy even the most ardent Percy Jackson fans.

Aru Shah and the End of Time introduces Hindu mythology. A sequel will be published in April of 2019.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

Maya legends play a major role in Storm Runner by Jennifer Cervantes, with a sequel scheduled for September 2019.

Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

Dragon Pearl, the third “Rick Riordan Presents” title, was released this month and pulls themes and events from Korean legends.

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Explore the richness of world cultures with these newest myth-based adventure stories!

Here Be Dragons

What kid (or adult) doesn’t like dragons? Our collection of chapter books for kids is full of dragon adventures, including several on-going series.

Two of our most popular “dragon” authors are Tracey West and Tui Sutherland.

The Dragon Masters series by Tracey West begins with Rise of the Earth Dragon and Saving the Sun Dragon. These are relatively short chapter books and are great for kids looking for fast, exciting stories.

Rise of the Earth Dragon by Tracey West  Saving the Sun Dragon by Tracey West

Tui Sutherland is the writer of the Wings of Fire series which started with The Dragonet Prophecy and The Lost Heir. These books have a little higher reading level and would be perfect for 4th grade and up. New books are still being added to both of these series.

The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui Sutherland   The Lost Heir by Tui Sutherland

Many kids are already familiar with the How to Tame Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell, because of the movies based on the series. The next sequel hits movie theaters in February 2019, so this is a great time to get started with the books.

How to Tame Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell   How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell

Other great dragon series include The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D’Lacey and the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.

The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey   Eragon by Christopher Paolini

If you and your family prefer e-books or audio-books, many of these titles are also available in those formats through our Digital Downloads link.