App Review: The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Creative Play

App Name: The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Creative Play
Developer: VizuVizu
Cost: Free
Available on iOS, Amazon, and Google Play
Recommended for Preschool - Grade 2

Children create their own artwork based on Eric Carle’s classic style. We love the ample opportunities to create – either with the templates or free hand. The templates range in difficulty allowing younger and older children appropriate entry points into the app. Children will recognize favorite characters, like Brown Bear and the Hungry Caterpillar, in this app. 

App Review: Khan Academy Kids

App Name: Khan Academy Kids
Developer: Khan Academy
Cost: Free
Available on iOS, Amazon, and Google Play
Recommended for Preschoolers 

Caregivers can create profiles for individual children to provide them with age appropriate content in the app. The app includes a mix of books, videos, games, and other activities, appealing to kids with different interests and learning styles. The cute, whimsical design is focused on play while introducing core concepts like literacy, math, and science.  The activities in the app align with Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Common Core Standards for young learners ages 2-6. 

2019 ALA Youth Media Awards

The American Library Association announced the 2019 winners of the Youth Media Awards last month! These awards highlight excellent books for children and young adults that were published in 2018. The winners this year include many great titles!

Books for Children

John Newbery Medal 

For the most outstanding contribution to children's literature

Winner: Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Honor Books: The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani and The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Randolph Caldecott Medal 

For the most distinguished American picture book for children

Winner: Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
Honor Books: Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal, A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin, The Rough Patch by Brian Lies, and Thank You, Omu by Oge Mora

Coretta Scott King Book Award 

Recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults

 

Author Award Winner: A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield
Illustrator Award Winner: The Stuff of Stars by Ekau Holmes
Author Honor Books: Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome, The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, and The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
Illustrator Honor Books: Hidden Figures illustrated by Laura Freeman, Let the Children March illustrated by Frank Morrison, and Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award

Oge Mora, writer and illustrator of Thank You, Omu!

Asian/Pacific American Award 

For Literature that promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit

 

Picture Book Winner: Drawn Together by Minh Lê

Children's Literature Winner: Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award 

For the most distinguished beginning reader book

Winner: Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor

Honor Books: The Adventures of Otto: See Pip Flap by David Milgrim, Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier, King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Hillestad Butler, and Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri 

Schneider Family Book Award 

For books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience

Winner: Rescue & Jessica A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes

Honor Books: The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor, The Collectors by Jacqueline West, Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro, and (Don't) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health edited by Kelly Jensen

The Sydney Taylor Book Award

Presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience

Younger Readers Winner: All-of-a-Kind-Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins

Older Readers Winner: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

Pura Belpré Awards 

Honoring a Latinx writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience

Winner: Dreamers illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales

Honor Books: Islandborn illustrated by Leo Espinosa, written by Junot Díaz and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana illustrated by Jose Ramirez, written by Michael Mahin

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award 

For most distinguished informational book for children:

Winner: The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman

Honor Books: Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild by Catherine Thimmesh, Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow, The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael Mahin, 

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award 

For English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience

Winner: Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Honor Books: Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake and Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Young Adult Literature

Michael L. Printz Award 

For excellence in literature written for young adults

Winner: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Honor Books: Damsel by Elana K. Arnold, A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti, and I, Claudia by Mary McCoy

Pura Belpré Author Awards 

Honoring a Latinx writer whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience

Winner: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Honor Book: They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles 

Alex Awards 

For the 10 best books that appeal to teens

1. The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

2. The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

3. Circe by Madeline Miller

4. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

5. The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil

6. Green by Sam Graham-Felsen

7. Home After Dark by David Small

8. How Long ’Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

9. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

10. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Tiffany D. Jackson, author of Monday's Not Coming

William C. Morris Award 

For a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens

Winner: Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Honor Books: Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough, Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper 

YALSA Award 

For Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Winner: The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown

Honor Books: The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor by Sonia Sotomayor, Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge, The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix, and Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka 

Asian/Pacific American Award 

For Literature that promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit

Young Adult Winner: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

The Sydney Taylor Book Award 

Presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience

Teen Readers Winner: What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper

Other Awards

Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award

This new award is given to a digital media producer that has created distinguished digital media for an early learning audience.

Winner: Play and Learn Science produced by PBS Kids

Odyssey Award

For best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States

Winner: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Honor Audiobooks: Du Iz Tak by Carson Ellis, Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist by Susan Wood, The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.

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

Love Stories

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so we've put together a list of love stories. You're sure to find one, no matter what you're looking for!

Looking for a series? 
Try the Me Before You Trilogy by Jojo Moyes
Book 1: Me Before You, Book 2: After You, Book 3: Still Me

Looking for a romantic comedy? 
Try The Wedding Date or The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

Looking for a royal fairytale? 
Try The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Looking for a love story to make you cry? 
Try They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera

Looking for a story about young love?
Try Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Looking for a classic love story? 
Try Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
You might also enjoy one of the many movie adaptations.

Looking for more choices? Check out the newest romance novels in our collection!

App Review: RelationShapes

App Name: RelationShapes
Developer: VizuVizu
Cost: Free
Available on iOS and Google Play
Recommended for Preschool - Grade 2

This app aims to “promote young children’s visual-spacial reasoning and creative problem solving skills through open ended play.” There are eight levels of activities that prompt players to rearrange shapes and to create matches. Kids can play individually or you can split the screen and enable the multi-touch interface to play together.

As kids master a concept, they’ll move on to more challenging puzzles. The app is centered on play, so children won’t feel as though they are winning or losing. The simple visual design makes the app easy to navigate and allows opportunities for creativity when turning the shapes into works of art at the end of each activity. 

Transparent Language Online Now Available!

100+ Languages Are At Your Fingertips: Transparent Language Online Now Available FREE at Eager Free Public Library

Planning a trip to Italy to celebrate your anniversary? Collaborating with your Chinese counterparts in your company’s Beijing branch? Just want to brush up that language you studied for four years in school, but somehow can’t seem to remember at all? We’ve got you covered.

We are excited to announce that we now offer Transparent Language Online free to all library card holders. Whether you’re starting at the very beginning with a new alphabet or you’re an intermediate learner looking to enhance your vocabulary and grammar knowledge, Transparent Language Online can help. Available for learning 100+ languages, plus English as a Second Language (ESL) materials for native speakers of 26+ languages, the program has something for everyone:

·        Alphabet Courses: Full-length alphabet courses are available for 18+ languages to familiarize you with new writing systems, empowering you to learn one (or more!) of those “intimidating” languages like Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, or Arabic.

·         Essentials Courses: These courses guide you through 30+ lessons of pure language fundamentals, including meeting and greeting, expressing wants and needs, planning for a trip, dealing with money, asking for help, and beyond.

·         Supplemental Vocabulary: Hundreds of topically-organized vocabulary lists will teach you thousands of new words and phrases through a completely redesigned suite of fun, interactive activities that build all four core language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. No more drilling paper flashcards!

·         Grammar Reference: An extensive index of grammar materials rounds out the learning experience, providing both written and multimedia explanations of grammar rules and patterns.

Worried that you won’t be able to learn on your own? A customizable Learning Path allows you to choose what you want to learn, while an integrated analytics system tracks your progress, periodically prompting you to review material that you haven’t seen in a while. It’s like having a built-in teacher there to keep you on track toward your language-learning goals. Best of all, Transparent Language Online works on any Internet-connected device, so you can learn from your laptop, phone, or tablet.

To learn more about Transparent Language Online and preview the program, swing by the library or access the program directly at from our website.