BTL Reads This Is How It Always Is

BTL Reads This is How It Always Is

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should join one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on September 28 @ 1:00 pm and the Dillsboro Public Library on September 29 @ 10:00 am. There will also be an evening meeting at the Local History Library on October 3 @ 6:30 pm. We will be discussing This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel.

This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.
When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.
Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. Until one day it explodes.
This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.

Pick up a book today to join our club and get reading!

Special Storytime!

Mo Willems Storytime in September

The Pigeon wants to drive the bus! Would you let this wacky bird take the wheel?

Explore this story and many more by beloved children’s author and illustrator Mo Willems at our Special Saturday Storytimes this September! It’s the Pigeon’s 20th birthday, so there’s no better way to celebrate! These storytimes are about all things Willems, including Elephant & Piggie, Pigeon, Unlimited Squirrels, and the Knuffle Bunny! Listen to your favorite stories, get up to sing and dance, and create cool crafts with Miss Tammy based on Mo’s best books, which you can check from the library with your own library card!

Aurora’s special storytime is September 23rd at 10:30 am and 1 pm. Meet us at the Dilslboro Public Library for our special storytime on September 9th at 10:30 am or 1 pm. We can’t wait to see you there!

Check out these books below to get ready to celebrate the Pigeon’s birthday!

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo WIllems The Pigeon Will Ride the Rollercoaster by Mo Willems The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems The Duckling Gets a Cookie by Mo Willems Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo WIllems

Chapter Chat Reads Yusuf Azeem is NOT a Hero

Chapter Chat meets in September

Chapter Chat is back… with a little twist!

Children can pick up each month’s book with interactive elements in a bag that go along with the story. As you read, there are items in that bag that have page numbers on them. When you reach that page, you will have a fun, interactive element paired with the story to play with!

September’s book is “Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero” by Saadia Faruqi.Yusuf Azeem is not a hero

Yusuf Azeem is thrilled to attend middle school, but he is upset to see a letter that reads, “You suck.” He is passionate about robots and hopes to compete in the Texas Robots Competition and make the middle school robotics team. However, as the 20th anniversary of September 11th approaches, life for Muslim families and their friends in this small Southern town is becoming increasingly stressful.

Bags can be picked up at Aurora at the lower level desk and a Dillsboro. Meeting times are as follows:

Aurora: September 20th @ 4:30 pm

Dillsboro: September 19th – After School Hours (3:30 pm)

Snacks and Drinks will be provided.  Ages 7 to 12 only. Please register in advance by picking up a book today!

Dollar-a-Bag RETURNS!

The book sale returns in September

The Dollar-A-Bag Book Sale is officially set to be back at the Dillsboro Public Library in September!

The Book Sale will be open to teachers only from September 9th-15th during library hours (10 am-6 pm M-F, 10 am-3 pm Sat.). Please bring your teacher ID or educator library card with you to access the book sale. The following week, the Book Sale will be open to the general public from September 16th-23rd during library hours.

The Book Sale will be set up in the basement of the Dillsboro Public Library. Please bring your own bags to fill. Each bag will be $1.

Any questions? Please call 812-954-4151 or come to the library to speak to a librarian today.

September Storytimes!

storytime is back

The Pigeon, Duckling, Piggie, Elephant, Gerald, Knuffle Bunny, and Edwina are just a few of the characters you will be meeting at our September Story Times. Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems is all about a pigeon who wants to drive a bus when the bus driver takes a break! This September is the 20th anniversary edition of the book! Does the pigeon get to drive the bus? NO? MAYBE? YES? You’ll have to come to Story Time to find out… hint, hint… stay off the road.

Storytimes at the Dillsboro Public Library are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am. Storytimes at the Aurora Public Library are Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:30 am. We can’t wait to see your smiling faces ready for a new adventure!

NYM Book Club Reads “Silent Patient”

Not Your Mother's Book Club Meets August 31st at HankeringWant some excitement in your book club? Check out “Not Your Mother’s Book Club” from the Aurora Public Library District, where you’ll get to read today’s hottest books from Booktok and beyond and discuss them with readers just like you! Olivia, our resident “edgy” book lover, will be there to lead the discussion and take recommendations from attendees. Remember, this is your book club, and your reading opinions matter!

This month, we will be reading “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides.The Silent Patient Book Cover

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening, her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations: a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…

We will be meeting at Hankering Southern Kitchen at 6 pm on August 31st. You can pick up your book TODAY at the Aurora Public Library. We’ll see you there!

Teen Book Club Reads Everything, Everything

Teen book club reads everything everything and meets on August twenty second.

Meet up with book lovers just like you for a discussion of Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon on Tuesday, August 22nd @ 4 pm. Free snacks and drinks will be provided. Stop by the Aurora or Dillsboro Library to pick up your copy today!

My disease is as rare as it is famous. It’s a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, but basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house and have not left my house in fifteen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives. New next-door neighbors. I look out the window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean, and wearing all black—black t-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. I want to learn everything about him, and I do. I learn that he is funny and fierce. I learn that his eyes are Atlantic Ocean-blue and that his vice is stealing silverware. I learn that when I talk to him, my whole world opens up, and I feel myself starting to change—starting to want things. To want out of my bubble. To want everything, everything the world has to offer.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

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

Regular Storytime is BACK!

storytime is back

A B C D E F G… no way can it be time for school to start! Summer is winding down! Here in our children’s library, storytime for August will be featuring none other than… LETTERS. Books about silly letters, learning letters, colorful letters, big letters, and little letters will have you ready to build, create, search, and do a little Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! How many books can you read that have letters in them?

Storytimes are at the Aurora Public Library on Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:30 am and at the Dillsboro Public Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am. Families of all ages are welcome to attend!

We can’t wait to see you all there, ready to read, craft, dance, and sing with us!

BTL Reads Dava Shastri’s Last Day

BTL reads Dava Shsatri's Last Day in August.

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should join one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on August 24 @ 1:00 pm and the Dillsboro Public Library on August 25 @ 1:00 pm. There will also be an evening meeting at the Local History Library on August 29 @ 6:30 pm. We will be discussing Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti.

Dava Shastri's Last Day Book Cover

Dava Shastri, one of the world’s wealthiest women, has always lived with her sterling reputation in mind. A brain cancer diagnosis at the age of seventy, however, changes everything, and Dava decides to take her death–like all matters of her life–into her own hands.

Summoning her four adult children to her private island, she discloses shocking news: in addition to having a terminal illness, she has arranged for the news of her death to break early, so she can read her obituaries.

As someone who dedicated her life to the arts and the empowerment of women, Dava expects to read articles lauding her philanthropic work. Instead, her “death” reveals two devastating secrets, truths she thought she had buried forever.

And now the whole world knows, including her children.

In the time she has left, Dava must come to terms with the decisions that have led to this moment–and make peace with those closest to her before it’s too late.

Pick up a book today to join our club and get reading!

Teen Book Club Reads Dumplin’

Meet up with book lovers just like you for a discussion of Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy on Tuesday, July 25th @ 4 pm. Free snacks and drinks will be provided. Stop by the Aurora or Dillsboro Library to pick up your copy today!

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

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