App Review: Build a Truck

App Name: Toca Cars
Developer: Duck Duck Moose
Cost: free
Available on iOS, Google Play, and Amazon
Recommended for Kindergarten - Grade 2

Users start by designing a truck with options for the body, paint colors, wheels types, and much more. Then, the racing begins! The building and racing elements in this app encourage fine motor skill practice when using the touch screen which can be helpful for writing. It also encourages creativity and play.

App Review: Toca Cars

App Name: Toca Cars
Developer: Toca Boca
Cost: $2.99
Available on iOS, Google Play, and Amazon
Recommended for Kindergarten - Grade 2

Toca Boca is one of our favorite developers. Toca Cars is a creative and whimsical app on a kid favorite theme: things that go. Younger users can enjoy a pre-made racing world. Older users will enjoy creating their own world to drive in. In both game play options, children are encouraged to drive off the track and explore. Children will enjoy the playful philosophy found in all of Toca Boca's apps.

Book Madness 2019

It's time for Book Madness!  This past weekend marked the start of the NCAA college basketball.  To celebrate this time in sports, we've created our own bracket that consists of the most popular books from 2018.  We won't have a winner until April, but keep your eye on our Book Madness display  to see how things progress.

This year's top four seeds are listed below.


Number 1 Seeds:
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Fifty Fifty by James Patterson
The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

Number 2 Seeds:
Red Alert by James Patterson
The Fallen by David Baldacci
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton

Number 3 Seeds:
The Getaway by Jeff Kinney
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Midnight Line by Lee Child
The 17th Suspect by James Patterson

Number 4 Seeds:
Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
The People vs Alex Cross by James Patterson
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly
End Game by David Baldacci


Pictures from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evans/

App Review: Lexi's World

App Name: Lexi's World
Developer: Pop Pop Pop LLC
Cost: $2.99
Available on iOS
Recommended for Preschool and up

Whatever you spell comes to life in Lexi’s World. The guided keyboard only allows you to spell real words that work within the app. This means that even younger pre-reading children can enjoy this app. The simple design makes it very easy to use. Letter recognition is an important skill for learning to read. Choosing letters on the keyboard and seeing them come together to build words is great practice for reading and writing.

THE GOOD LORD BIRD

Next month, we will be reading and discussing The Good Lord Bird by James McBride at our book club meeting.  The Good Lord Bird tells the story of Henry Shackleford, a young slave living in the Kansas Territory.  When John Brown arrives in the area, an argument between Henry's master and Brown quickly turns violent.  Henry ends up leaving town with Brown, who believes Henry is a girl.  Over the course of the novel, Henry continues to play the part of a girl and eventually finds himself at the historic raid on Harper's Ferry.

This novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2013.  The National Book Award for Fiction recognizes outstanding literary work by a United States citizen that was also published in the United States.  Other recent recipients of the award include The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, and Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson.


James McBride is the author of six works:

Five Carat Soul
Kill 'Em and Leave
The Color of Water
The Good Lord Bird
Miracle at St. Anna
Song Yet Sung

If you liked The Good Lord Bird, then you may also enjoy one of the novels listed below.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird
Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
The House Girl by Tara Conklin

Also, look for the Showtime adaptation that will star Ethan Hawke as John Brown.

Picture from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evansint/search/results?qu=the+good+lord+bird&te=

SPRING

While the first official day of spring is still a couple of weeks away, it is starting to feel like winter may be coming to an end.  Daylight savings time began over the weekend which helps make the days seem longer and brighter.  You've advanced your clock so that the evening daylight lasts longer which means you'll have more time to enjoy the sun and time outdoors as we move into spring and summer.

To get you ready for the start of spring, check out some of the books below.

Children's Books:
Hello Spring! by Shelley Rotner
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes
Abracadabra, It's Spring! by Anne Sibley O'Brien
Born to be Wild: Hundreds of Free Nature Activities for Families by Hattie Garlick
Get Outside Guide by Nancy Honovich
And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano

Adult Books:
North on the Wing by Bruce Beehler
Spring Forward by Catherine Anderson
Niki Jabbour's Veggie Garden Remix by Niki Jabbour
Handpicked: Simple, Sustainable, and Seasonal Flower Arrangements by Ingrid Carozzi
Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews
Come the Spring by Julie Garwood
Graced by the Seasons: Spring and Summer in the Northwoods by John Bates

Picture from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evansint/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:2225908/one?qu=Abracadabra%2C+It%27s+Spring&lm=SRCH_LMT-EVANSVILLE

App Review: Dr. Seuss Books

App Name: Dr. Seuss Books
Developer: Oceanhouse Media
Cost: $2.99 per book
Available on iOS, Amazon, and Google Play
Recommended for Preschoolers

Dozens of classic Dr. Seuss books have been made into interactive apps for children and caregivers to enjoy together. The wide appeal of Dr. Seuss translates into these apps with high quality narration, fun animations, and interactive elements interwoven through the books. Beginner readers will appreciate a new way to enjoy Dr. Seuss books!

HOLLYWOOD

The 91st Academy Awards were announced on February 24. The most notable awards were given to Green Book for Best Picture, Rami Malek for Actor in a Leading Role (Bohemian Rhapsody), Olivia Colman for Actress in a Leading Role (The Favourite), Mahershala Ali for Actor in a Supporting Role (Green Book), and Regina King for Actress in a Supporting Role (If Beale Street Could Talk).  After the awards are announced, these movies tend to have quite the wait list.  So, in honor of these awards, we've put together a blog entry with books about movies, the film industry, and actors & actresses to help keep you entertained while you wait.

Grace Kelly: Hollywood Dream Girl by Jay Jorgensen
Majestic Hollywood: the Greatest Films of 1939 by Mark Vieira
Just the Funny Parts by Nell Scovell
All That Heaven Allows by Mark Griffin
Move Night Menus by Tenaya Darlington
Sir Charlie Chaplin: the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman
Robin by Dave Itzkoff
In Pieces by Sally Field
Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon
Blowing the Bloody Doors Off by Michael Caine
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Eric Idle
We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union
Nevertheless by Alec Baldwin
I Can't Make This Up by Kevin Hart
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Audrey: The 50s by David Wills
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

Picture from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evansint/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:2703274/one?qu=Majestic+Hollywood%3A+the+Greatest+Films+of+1939&lm=SRCH_LMT-EVANSVILLE