Learning at Home Resources

We are all spending more time at home this year to curb the spread of COVID-19. For some of you, that means homeschool. Whether you are learning virtually through the Evansville Community School District or teaching your kids through your own independent homeschool curriculum we are here to help you have a successful year! Maybe learning at home is new for you or maybe it's something your family has been doing for years. Either we, we have some resources here at the library that may be of interest to you.

Discovery Kits - We have a collection of 26 kits that provide engaging hands-on learning experiences on the topics of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. You can check out the kits for 2 weeks to use at home. Some of the kits encourage you to get out and explore like the Bird City or Telescope kits. Others will inspire budding engineers like the Keva Planks or littleBits kits. You might also be looking for ways to introduce music into your homeschool curriculum and could try your hand at playing the ukulele or lap harp!

Brain Fuse - This is an on demand eLearning resource with live virtual tutors available from 1-10pm every day. There are tutors ready to help in core subjects like math, reading, writing, science, social studies and SAT prep. You can login here or check out our user guide to get you started. 

BadgerLink - This is statewide resource with A LOT of databases with trustworthy content available to you for free. Resources include Encyclopedia Britannica, EBSCO research databases, LearningExpress test prep, TeachingBooks engaging book collection for kids, newspaper subscriptions, and more. We're happy to help you navigate BadgerLink, so please let us know if you have questions.

Mango Languages - The Friends of the Eager Free Public Library have purchased access to this awesome language learning tool that you can use for free with your library card. It's best suited for older kids who are interested in learning a language. There are over 70 languages to choose from and a very user friendly app and website to guide you through your learning.

Creativebug - Access to over 1,000 art and craft classes on a variety of topics like sewing, painting, drawing, baking, and more. Classes are taught by professional artists and expert makers for students of all experience levels. 

We have even more online tools for adults that you can check out as well on our website.

Our staff is always happy to help you find books, movies, or other library materials to check out! Whether you're planning a unit on geometry, US history, or learning a new language we've got you covered! You can email us at eagerfree@als.lib.wi.us with your requests and one of our librarians will put together a book list for you. We can also pull items and have them ready for you to check out at the library or pick up curbside. 

Read & Watch: TV Shows Based on Books

With all the time we've been spending at home this year, we have been watching a lot of TV! Did you know some of these currently popular series are based on books? 

HBO Shows Based on Books

Lovecraft Country is based on Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff - This popular new series on HBO is not out on DVD yet, but the book it's based on was published in 2016.

His Dark Materials based on Philip Pullman's trilogy of novels The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass.

My Brilliant Friend is based on the Neapolian novel series by Elena Ferrante. The first season is based on the book of the same name and the season is based on the sequel, My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name. The show has been renewed for a third season based on Ferrante's third novel in the series called Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay.

Mrs. Fletcher based on the book by Tom Perrotta.

I Know This Much is True miniseries is based on the novel by Wally Lamb.

The Big Little Lies miniseries is based on the book by Liane Moriarty.

Netflix Shows Based on Books

The 100 is loosely based on the series by Kass Morgan. There are four books in the series: The 100, The 100: Day 21, The 100: Homecoming, and The 100: Rebellion.

Haunting of Bly Manor is based loosely on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Vampire Diaries is based on the series by L.J. Smith. There are four novels in the original series: The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury and Dark Reunion. 

The Witcher is based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski. There are eight books in the series as well as several spin offs and and short stories. The first book in the series is The Last Wish.

You based on Caroline Kepnes book of the same name and her sequel Hidden Bodies.

Hulu Shoes Based on Books

Little Fires Everywhere miniseries is based on the book by Celeste Ng.

The Handmaid's Tale is based on the classic book by Margaret Atwood.

Normal People is based on the novel by Sally Rooney

Killing Eve is based on the Villanelle novel series by Luke Jennings. There are four books in this series. The first one is Codename Villanelle.

Shrill is loosely based on the series of essays written by Lindy West in the book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman.

Queen Sugar is base don the novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile.

Spooky Middle Grade Books

Middle grade books are targeted at readers ages 8-12 - kids who have been reading independently for a while and are ready for something more challenging, but aren't quite ready for the young adult section.

With Halloween coming up, here are some spooky stories for your middle grade readers!

Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega

For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

After eleven-year-old Ollie's school bus mysteriously breaks down on a field trip, she has to take a trip through scary woods, and must use all of her wits to survive.

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh

Harper doesn’t trust her new home from the moment she steps inside, and the rumors are that the Raine family’s new house is haunted. Harper isn’t sure she believes those rumors, until her younger brother, Michael, starts acting strangely. The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can’t remember why. She knows that the memories she’s blocking will help make sense of her brother’s behavior and the strange and threatening sensations she feels in this house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?

Babysitting Nightmares: The Shadow Hand by Kat Shepherd

When babysitter Rebecca discovers that a sinister ruler of darkness has replaced the baby with a changeling, she and her friends must save him by surviving a chilling journey through the Nightmare Realm. For fans of the Baby-Sitters Club.

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon

When Molly shows up on Castle Hangnail's doorstep to fill the vacancy for a wicked witch, the castle's minions are understandably dubious. After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite polite. (The minions are used to tall, demanding evil sorceresses with razor-sharp cheekbones.) But the castle desperately needs a master or else the Board of Magic will decommission it, leaving all the minions without the home they love. So when Molly assures them she is quite wicked indeed (So wicked! REALLY wicked!) and begins completing the tasks required by the Board of Magic for approval, everyone feels hopeful. Unfortunately, it turns out that Molly has quite a few secrets, including the biggest one of all: that she isn't who she says she is.

Anti-Racist Books on Hoopla

There are some long waitlists for digital copies of many popular books about race and anti-racist ideas on Libby (OverDrive). If you've been waiting for ages for some of these titles, it might be time to try out Hoopla!

Hoopla is another digital platform where you can download eBooks and and eAudiobooks for free with your library card with no wait! That's right - there is no wait for all of these titles on Hoopla! The main difference between Hoopla and Libby is that with Hoopla you can only check out 6 titles a month and there are no holds. Libby has a larger collection, but there is still lots to find on Hoopla (including TV shows and movies, but that's another blog post...)!

So, if you want to start one of these today, download the Hoopla app or visit their website and get reading or listening!

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

available as an eBook and eAudiobook

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incareration in the Age of Colorbindness by Michelle Alexander

available as an eBook and eAudiobook

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

available as an eAudiobook

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad 

available as an eBook and eAudiobook

Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis

available as an eBook and eAudiobook

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

available as an eAudiobook

Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? by Mumia Abu-Jamal

available as an eBook

When They Call You a Terrorist: a Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrice Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele

available as an eAudiobook

White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise

available as en eBook and eAudiobook

As Black as Resistance: Finding the Conditions for Liberation by William Anderson and Zoe Samudzi

available as an eBook

The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing by Anneliese A. Singh