Radical Raptors!

Visit Children's Services at the Main Library on Tuesday afternoon, August 9, to meet some awesome birds of prey -- up close and personal.  Soarin' Hawk, a local bird rescue, will be with us to teach us about these amazing animals.

Radical Raptors
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Click here to find some great books about raptors in the library's catalog.  We'll help you find them the next time you visit the library, or put some on hold to pick up at your nearest library branch.

Tarra & Bella

One of the best things about working in a library is that I get to learn new things EVERY DAY! Today a young customer came in and wanted to find books about two unusual friends -- an elephant and a dog!

Tarra is a retired circus elephant who was the first to come live at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Other elephants also came to live there, but Tarra couldn't find a friend until she met Bella, a stray dog who came to stay at the sanctuary.

Read Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends
by Carol Buckley
to learn more about this amazing friendship!


To read more about The Elephant Sanctuary and Tarra, try these books by the same author:
Travels with Tarra
Just for Elephants

amazing photographs

Nic Bishop is an author and photographer of many award winning books for children. He has a doctorate in biological sciences and a passionate interest in animals. His books are filled with the most amazing photographs of animals. We all get so excited when a new Nic Bishop comes across our desks. Check out his website for a taste of what he does www.nicbishop.com
His latest offering is Lizards and it does not disappoint; the photographs are beautiful.
Stop by the library and check out our selection of Nic Bishop books - you will love them.

Read to a Dog - Tonight!

Thursday evenings, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
at the downtown library
in the Children's Department

The mission of the Paws to Read is to improve the literacy skills of children with the assistance of registered canine reading companions in a fun and relaxed environment. Research with therapy animals indicates that children with low self-esteem are often more willing to interact with an animal than another person. Even more, they are inclined to forget about their limitations. Children involved in Paws to Read nationwide have shown:

• Improved reading skills
• A sense of pride in their accomplishments
• Willingness to become Involved in other positive activities
• More respect and kindness in their interaction with animals
• Found reading more enjoyable
• Check out more books from the library

Paws to Read!

Come to the library and read a story to a book-loving dog. Trained therapy dogs will be here every week with their handlers -- and they want to listen to you read!

At the Main Library, we welcome back Morgan and Samantha and their handlers, who will be here on Thursday evenings from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Readers will take turns as time allows.

Can't make it on Thursdays? Many branches also offer Paws to Read -- check out this video published by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette about Paws to Read at the Little Turtle Branch.

Happy Reading!

Animals at the Library?!? WHAT?!?

Tonight is our Stuffed Animal Sleepover!

Friday, August 27 5:00 pm

Wear your pajamas, bring your stuffed friend and listen to a bedtime story at 5:00 pm tonight.

After our story time, you will tuck your stuffed animal into "bed" and wish her sweet dreams. While you return home to your own snuggly beds, your stuffed pal will get to have fun in the library overnight! Who knows what they will do ~ where they will go...

Come back on Saturday morning at 9:00 am to pick up your friend and "hear" about all the mischief they got into after hours at the library!

All stuffed participants will take home a photo memory book of their overnight adventures in the library.

Scientists in the Field series

Some of the most interesting books I've read recently are a part of the Scientists in the Field series.  

One such book is Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot about a species of bird that is nearly extinct.  There are only 122 kakapo in the world, but scientists and volunteers are working hard to make sure that this number continues to grow.  You can learn more about their efforts at the Kakapo Recovery Program website.

After you've read the book, let us know what you thought of it on the ACPL Mock Sibert blog.

Better start now!!

Your child should read at least 1,000 books

before entering kindergarten.

Start today!

Check out a book and start reading!

Yucky Worms

Who would want to be friends with a wiggly, slimy, yucky worm?
You can't even tell which end is which!
But there's more to these lowly creatures than meets the eye. Find out where worms live, how they move, and why gardeners consider them friends in this humorous and informative look at the unappreciated - and fascinating - worm.

Turtles & Snakes, Oh My!

Natalie, a naturalist from Fox Island visited the library on Saturday with her reptilian friends. The kids enjoyed meeting the turtles and trying on snakeskin. Check out more photos here.

Dogs in the Library?!?

Yes! Paws to Read is tonight at 6:30pm - 7:30pm in the Children's Services department!
Please visit the Library and read a story to a book-loving dog. A trained therapy dog will be here tonight with her handler -- and they want to listen to you read! Research shows that children enjoy improving their reading skills by practice reading to animals. Morgan or Samantha and their handlers will have an hour to spend at the Library -- readers will take turns as time allows.
What could be more fun?!?

Animal Tracks

If there's snow around your house, chances are good that you may find some tracks in the snow. Can you tell what animals may have been there by looking at their paw prints or tracks? Feel free to visit us at the Library to find a book on identifying animals by their tracks.

In the meantime, you may want to check out this online guide from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Happy Tracking!

Bats, Beautiful BATS!

EcoKids Club meets today at 2pm. This month you can meet a REAL LIVE BAT (or two) and hear all about the many ways that bats benefit the environment from Bob Walton, local bat rehabilitator.

Visit the Zoo in a Book!

The claim to fame for this oversize collection of animal portraits is that each animal is shown at actual size. The striking photographs, taken at Japanese zoos, provide a rare opportunity to see animal faces up close. The elephant, alone, is not to be missed. My favorite is the armadillo! If you have a child who loves animals - this book is one that must be checked out!

Where is the Mama Duck?

This mama duck built her nest on the grounds of the downtown library! She is camouflaged by mulch and is almost covered by daylily leaves. We have seen at least 3 eggs in her nest.

If you happen to spot her, please remember to watch her from a distance. She has important work to do!

Butterfly Release and Marks Ark Photos!

What a great time we had at the Main Library, making butterfly crowns...












learning cool stuff about caterpillars and butterflies with local butterfly expert Karie Divelbiss-Harding...









watching our Painted Lady butterflies fly off into the summer sky...












and then getting to enjoy more animal fun with Mark's Ark!


Click here to see more photos from our Mark's Ark and Butterfly Release Events.

For those interested in becoming more involved with our local butterfly population, Metea County Park is offering several butterfly events this summer; click here for more information.

Critters on Tuesday!

Don't miss your chance to see all kinds of critters at the library. Tonight at 6pm please join us for a special Butterfly Release program. Celebrate butterflies with stories and activities and then head outside to Library Plaza to let the butterflies go! Then come back in at 7pm for the Mark's Ark program in the theater on Lower Level 2. Mark always brings interesting animals, we've already seen a baby alligator, a chinchilla, and snakes!

Summer Reading Program Events

This week in Children's Services at the Main Library:

Monday, June 29th @ 11:30am - Team Read (registration required)
Tuesday, June 30th @ 6pm - Beautiful Butterflies Release
Tuesday, June 30th @ 7pm - Mark's Ark Amazing Animals
Wednesday, July 1st @ 10:30am - Smart Start Preschool Storytime: Imagine That

Please note that all branches of the ACPL will be closed Friday July 3rd through Sunday July 5th.

Mark's Ark

Mark's Ark visited the Library on Thursday, 6/11 for a GREAT Summer Reading Program Adventure. Mark and his Ark will be back at the Main Library on Thursday, 6/18 at 10:30 a.m. He plans to bring some new animals and some of the favorites also. Join us in the Theater. Seating is first come, first served. Click here for a schedule of Mark's Ark appearances at all of our ACPL Branches.

Mark's Ark TODAY!

Meet Mark today at 2 p.m. in the Theater (Lower Level 2) at the Main Library. He's bringing a creative collection of animals for you to see!

Seating is first come, first served, and doors will open at 1:40 p.m.



Mark's Ark will be presented again at the Main Library at these times :

• 10:30 a.m., Thursday, June 18
• 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 30

Click here to see all of the times Mark and the animals will be visiting our library branches.