ArtSmart

Teachers and homeschooling parents...check out ArtSmart! Developed by the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette and the The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, ArtSmart provides a wealth of information on Indiana artists, complete with lesson plans and activities to encourage the study of the art, history and culture of Indiana. Developed originally to support the Indiana history studies of 4th graders, its many ideas can be adapted for use with a variety of grade levels.

You can find a link to ArtSmart, as well as other resources about Indiana and Fort Wayne history, on our Fort Wayne and Indiana History Booklist.

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.

Your Library is a STAR!

Library Journal identified 258 star libraries in the United States and the Allen County Public Library is one of them! ACPL was rated a 4 star library - hooray!

Looking for an Indiana author?

If you are looking for a list of Indiana authors and illustrators, check out this site. You can search by genre, location, name and even publication date.

Welcome ILF!

The Indiana Library Federation Conference is taking place in Fort Wayne October 18th - 20th! Expect to see librarians from across the state at the ACPL.

Welcome Indiana Library Federation!

Dinosaur Travel Guide

This morning I was pulling books for a dinosaur display in the Great Hall and came across The Random House Dinosaur Travel Guide by Kelly Milner Halls. Of course, I could not resist opening it to the Indiana section to discover the dinosaurs nearby. Here is what I found:

Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, IN has incredible exposed fossil beds and the best time to access them is August through October, so plan your trip soon.

If you haven't been to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis to see the Dinosphere exhibit drop everything and go NOW! The chance to speak to a real live archaeologist is worth the price of admission. Did you know that the one and only skull of the Dracorex Hogwartsia (yep, you read that right) is now on display at the museum?

While you are in Indianapolis, stop by the Indiana State Museum to take a tour of the Ice Age.

In Richmond, Indiana you can visit the Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History to see an allosaurus, a giant beaver and other fossils. They also have an Egyptian mummy, which isn't a dinosaur, but it IS really cool.

The Random House Dinosaur Travel Guide has a lot more dinosaur vacation ideas, check it out.

Gene Stratton-Porter

Just an hour's drive from Fort Wayne, you can find an Indiana treasure. The Gene Stratton-Porter Cabin, located on the shore of Sylvan Lake in Rome City is worth a visit this summer. Take a walk through the woods, sit on the dock overlooking the lake, tour the cabin or wander the flower garden which is now in full bloom. Check out this blog about the restoration of the wildflower woods and the tame garden.



Click here to find some of Gene Stratton-Porter's books in our library catalog.

Tornadoes! by Gail Gibbons

Have you ever heard of the Great Tri-State Tornado? I just read about it in the new book Tornadoes! by Gail Gibbons. The Great Tri-State Tornado was on the ground for over 3 hours in 1925. The tornado traveled from Missouri through Illinois and into Indiana.

To learn more about this famous tornado and more, check out this great new non-fiction picture book.

Honk, Honk, Goose!

Have you ever wondered about the families of Canada Geese that you see all over Fort Wayne? Honk, Honk, Goose! is a wonderful new book by April Pulley Sayre all about these interesting birds. In this book you can see the geese meet, build a nest, lay eggs and start a family. Check it out!

Pre-Vacation Reads

Whether you're planning an out-of-town vacation this summer, or just going to stick around the good 'ol state of Indiana, here's a suggestion -- read up on the places you're going to visit before you go!

Here at the Library, we have non-fiction books about the states, biographies of famous people, and lots of picture book and chapter book stories set in real places. Before you take your trip, check out some of these books and familiarize yourself with the area and the people!

Here are some suggestions if you're planning a "stay-cation" here in Indiana:

H is for Hoosier: An Indiana Alphabet
by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds








The Best of Fort Wayne, Volumes 1 and 2
by George Mather










The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts
by Richard Peck










If you're going out of town, ask us for some pre-vacation suggestions -- we love to help!

Fort Wayne Soccer Great

Today is the 27th birthday of soccer great, DaMarcus Beasley. He was born and raised in Fort Wayne and attended South Side High School. He currently plays for the Scottish Premier League Rangers and the United States soccer team. If you are interested in learning more about this Fort Wayne native or other soccer players, stop by the library and let a librarian help you.

Indy 500 Tomorrow

Fast cars, drama and a three day weekend - what's not to love about the Indianapolis 500?
The Indy 500 is an Indiana tradition that has been around for over 50 years!
The history of the race is fascinating and the library has many books for you to take home.
Did you know that the fuel mileage of an IndyCar Series car is less than 2 miles per gallon?
Amaze your friends and family on Sunday with this and other race facts!

Healthy Kids Day !

Fun, Free and Healthy!

Visit "YMCA's Healthy Kids Day" on Saturday April 25th from 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m.

This free event will be held at Parkview Field in Harrison Square, home of the Fort Wayne Tin Caps! Stop by the Children's Services table to pick up a calendar of free activities at the downtown library. We'll also have some bookmarks for you to color, and other fun surprises.

Click here to download the flyer for this event!

Indiana Children's Authors and Illustrators

The Indiana State Library has published an interactive tool for finding and sharing information about children's authors and illustrators local to Indiana:

Indiana Children's Authors & Illustrators Wiki

It's indexed by name, location, genre, and publication date. If you're trying to find Indiana authors and/or illustrators, this is a GREAT place to start!

Art Out of the Box: Indiana Quilts

In March the Art Out of the Box kids met to learn about Indiana Quilts. After the discussion, the kids sat down to design a quilt block which will be made into a quilt for Project Linus. To see the rest of the quilt blocks click here.

Happy Retirement Steve Fortriede!

Yesterday, ACPL and friends said, "Happy Retirement" to Associate Director Steve Fortriede. He has been at the library for 40 years! Steve was named a Distinguished Hoosier in recognition of all of the work that he has done to make a great library for our community. He has even been seen driving with Harry Potter. Thanks for everything Steve!

Snow Globes Galore!

Stop in to Children's Services to check out our most recent display!

Our very own Children's Librarian, Heather Acerro, who has been collecting snowglobes from around the world for over 10 years, has brought her collection to the library for everyone to enjoy!


This collection will be on display through December and the beginning of January.

Happy Birthday Indiana!

Today the state of Indiana is 192 years old! Happy Birthday Indiana!

Celebrate the day by learning something new about this great state. ACPL has a lot of interesting books about Indiana, including H is for Hoosier: an Indiana alphabet by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds.

Hurray for the Hoosier state!

Our Heroes' Tree

Honor a Hoosier Hero
Purdue University has partnered with Indiana libraries to recognize veterans.The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University (MFRI) has created the Our Heroes' Tree Project.

This tree is displayed in honor of those, and the families of those, who have served or are currently serving our country.
Be sure to stop in the Children's Services of the Allen County Public Library to add your ornament to our Heroes' Tree!

To participate in the Our Heroes’ Tree initiative:
-simply create a handmade ornament honoring the service member in your family or community from past and present wars, conflicts or peacetime operations,
-or stop in to Children's Services and write the name of your military hero on one of our yellow ribbons!
Please check out our Military booklist here.


This tree will be displayed in Children's Services until November 20th.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown!

Today from 12 to 5pm you and your family have the opportunity to Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown! This is a wonderful afternoon of fun and adventure right here in Fort Wayne - and it is FREE!

My favorite part of Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown is climbing up to the observation deck at the top of the Lincoln tower. It is well worth the short wait in line at the elevators. Maybe I'll see you there today!

OnTrack Mini-Magazines

Looking for grade-appropriate ways to help your child with his or her schoolwork, based on the Indiana Academic Standards? The Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education have teamed up to publish OnTrack Mini-Magazines for students and their parents/guardians, available online.

Click on the links below to access the booklets in English or Spanish.
Kindergarten: English | Spanish
First Grade: English | Spanish
Second Grade: English | Spanish
Third Grade: English | Spanish
Fourth Grade: English | Spanish
Fifth Grade: English | Spanish
(Booklets are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free).

You can also find these links, and many more helpful resources, on our website! Check out our Parenting Resources
and
Curriculum Resources
for more great information on child development, services for families, reading with children, and more!