Football? Volleyball? Running? Baseball? What's YOUR Sport?

Whether you are a player or a fan, we've got books for you!  Visit us at the library and read up on your favorite sports, teams and players.

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

ACPL Author Fair -- Saturday, April 23

This Saturday, the library is providing a wonderful opportunity.

It's the first annual Author's Fair! Visit the downtown library on Saturday, April 23, to chat with local authors, including children's authors
Helen Frost and Lynn Rowe Reed,
and attend presentations and author readings.

Click here for more information.

Happy Birthday "I Spy"!

Can you believe it? It's been 20 years since the publication of the first book in the popular I Spy series by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick. To celebrate, visit the library and read some I Spy books! You will also find some fun activities on Scholastic's website.

Snow! Snow! and More Snow!

Folks here in northern Indiana are gearing up for yet another round of snowfall -- what do you do to prepare for snow days? I suggest you add a visit to the library to your list of destinations as you travel today to stock up on your supplies. Check out a cookbook and try a new recipe...or a craft book to learn a new skill or brush up on an old one...or a book of games to play together... or all of the above!

The possibilities are endless...

The Many Different Ways to Tell Rapunzel

Folk tales are one of my favorite things to read. I love the diversity of stories across cultures and I enjoy finding new stories with familiar twists and familiar stories with new twists. On the Children's Services booklist page we have several lists of folk tale variants.

While Paul O. Zelinsky's retelling of Rapunzel might be my favorite, there are many more on the variant list that are worth looking at. Read Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel by Patricia Storace to appreciate a new setting, or try The Canary Prince by Eric Jon Nones for a Turinese version of the princess locked in the tower tale.

The Gingerbread Man is not just a cookie. He can be a tortilla, a matzo ball, or cornbread. If you are in the mood for a classic, straight retelling, try Paul Galdone's The Gingerbread Boy.

We also have booklists or variants for Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Rumpelstiltskin, and Three Little Pigs. Speaking of folktale variants, if you have a sense of humor, please do yourself a favor and read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka. I won't go into how wonderful it is here, because I already went into how wonderful it is here.

2010: Living in the Future

While looking for books for the staff favorites display, we found a GREAT book: 2010: Living in the Future by Geoffrey Hoyle. It was written in 1973 and is full of predictions about the year 2010. It is fun to look through to see what did and didn't become reality.

Now would be a wonderful time to sit down with your family and create a time capsule. Draw pictures, write stories, print up photos and make predictions about your life and the world 35 years from now. Seal it up and put it somewhere safe, then remember to open it in 2046!

The Shortest Day!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Today is the shortest day of the year, so try to soak up all of the sunlight that you can. The days will grow longer, but will continue to be shorter than the nights until the spring equinox in March, when day and night are exactly 12 hours each.

Read a book about the winter solstice to learn how the tilt of the earth creates the seasons and to discover ways that you can celebrate the shortest day.

2011 ACPL Mock Sibert Award

The 2011 ACPL Mock Sibert Award goes to:

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot
by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop




Three honor books were named:

They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)
by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors
by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beckie Prange

Congratulations to our mock winners, and thanks to everyone who participated in this year's program!

Bake Up Some Goodies!

It's that time of year when many families are baking up some tasty treats for winter holiday celebrations. Involving children in the process can be fun -- and helpful in their literacy development! Encourage writing skills by having your children help write out shopping lists...or read aloud the steps of a recipe with your children as you complete them together.

The library has plenty of simple cookbooks written especially for kids; here are just a few. Check some out next time you visit!

Today is King Tut Day!

On this day -- November 4th -- in 1922, the entrance to King Tut's tomb was discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter and his workmen.

Check out some books about Tutankhamen and/or Ancient Egypt, and learn more about the pharaoh known as the "boy king".

Bees are Fascinating Creatures!

If you are interested in bees or other insects, or if you are just looking for something new and interesting to read, then you will want to check out this book!

You'll find fabulous photos and really cool information about honey bees, such as how they make honey and how they build their hives. You'll also learn some interesting ways scientists have been studying honey bees over the last few years.

The Hive Detectives: Chronicles of a Honey Bee Catastrophe
by Loree Griffin Burns

What is inside YOUR head?

Your brain is the most complicated and mysterious part of your body. It contains more than 100 billion brain cells! Every second, billions of electrical signals dart between these cells at speeds of up to 250 mph!
This awesome book helps make sense of the brain's mind-boggling structure and explains how it controls everything you do. It does this in a colorful and engaging format that kids will respond to.

• Discover why your internal clock makes it so difficult to get up in the morning
• Find out why you dream or feel deja vu
• Test your personality

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.

New Cookbooks

Stop by and check out the display case in the Children's Services department ~ it is filled with cookbooks for kids! Cooking with children is a great way to make memories and impart a life long skill. We have a huge collection of cookbooks for all levels and abilities. Come in and let us help you find the perfect one for you and your child.

Photo Riddle Books

We just received a GREAT new series! In Mystery Animal Tracks, there is a photo of the animal tracks & a riddle - you figure out the answer. Here is one of the riddles:

Sneaky Stalker
On shadowed trails I sneak and prowl.
A creature comes near, a tasty snack.
I press my wide paws to the ground.
I pounce! I grab! I drag it back.
WHO AM I?
(from Mystery Animal Tracks: A Photo Riddle Book by Kelly Barnhill, page 19)

Also check out, Camouflage Clues: A Photo Riddle Book by Megan Cooley Peterson & What's That Shadow? A Photo Riddle Book by Christopher Harbo.

May is National Bike Month!

May is the perfect month to dust off that bike and hit the trails! The next time you visit the Library, ask us to help you find some fun bike stories, or books about bike safety or different kinds of bikes.

It's Time to Plan Your Garden!

The warm, sunny weather we've enjoyed recently here in Allen County has me thinking about what I'd like to see growing in my yard this summer! If you're thinking the same thing, why not stop by the Library and pick up some gardening books for your family? We have loads of books to inspire young gardeners.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Today is the birthday of post-Impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

Van Gogh is known for his bold and powerful use of color.
Visit and explore the Metropolitan Museum Website for Kids; it is filled with kid friendly information on this amazing artist.

Abracadabra!

The famous magician and escape artist, Harry Houdini was born today in 1874.
Are you a budding magician? Do you have dreams of grandeur?
If so, we can help! The library has a multitude of books on learning magic.
Stop in and let us show you!