AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: MADELEINE L'ENGLE

In honor of Madeleine L'Engle's birthday (November 29), we thought we would put together a blog entry in her honor.  Born in 1918, she is best known for her novel A Wrinkle in Time.  She was the recipient of multiple awards including the Newbery Medal, American Book Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award (lifetime achievement).  

If you are interested in reading one of her works, click on the links below and place a hold today!

The Moment of Tenderness

A Wrinkle in Time (1st in series)

Meet the Austins (1st in series)

The Arm of the Starfish (1st in series)

And Both Were Young

The Other Dog

A Circle of Quiet (Crosswich Journals)

The Small Rain

The Love Letters

A Severed Wasp

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ADVENTURES IN SPACE

In recent news, SpaceX sent four astronauts to the International Space Station!  Their next project will be launching a new satellite into orbit.  This isn't the only thing going on in space exploration.  Further studies have come out regarding dust storms and their impact on Mars' water, new studies have been made of stellar collisions, and the Leonid meteor shower will be active until Monday, November 30.

This week's blog post will feature materials about space, space exploration, and astronauts.  Check one out today!

Books:
American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race by Douglas Brinkley
Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam Jr.

One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon by Charles Fishman

Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut's Photographs from a Year in Space by Scott Kelly

The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth by Michio Kaku

Rocket Men: the Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon by Robert Kurson

Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of Four African American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space by Margot Lee Shetterly

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

A Space Traveler's Guide to the Solar System by Mark Thompson

Beyond: Our Future in Space by Chris Impey

DVDs:

Pluto and Beyond (DVD)

Apollo 11 (DVD)

Back to the Moon (DVD)

Rise of the Rockets (DVD)

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PICTURE BOOK MONTH

November is Picture Book Month!  This is an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book.  Picture books are most often targeted at young children.  They are often written with basic language that a child can understand even if they cannot read it on their own.  Picture books are great for adults and children to read together.  They are often a starting point for children to read on their own once they have started to learn to read.  A great resource for Picture Book Month can be found here.  

To help you celebrate, we've put a list together of some of our new picture books.  Check one out today!

When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith
The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom by Colleen AF Venable
Sun Flower Lion by Kevin Henkes
The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney
Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer
Bear Is Awake! by Hannah E. Harrison
While We Can't Hug by Eoin McLaughlin & Polly Dunbar
Cozy by Jan Brett
The Problem With Problems by Rachel Rooney
Some Dinosaurs are Small by Charlotte Voake
Falling for Autumn by Kimberly & James Dean
Unicorn Day by Diana Murray

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NATIONAL YOUNG READERS WEEK

Happy National Young Readers Week!  This is an annual event that was co-founded by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.  This week is meant to raise awareness of the importance of literacy and generate a passion for reading among young students.  

To help you celebrate this event, we have put a list together of some of our new middle grade fiction titles.  Check one out today!

The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay

The Candy Mafia by Lavie Tidhar

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley

Caley Cross and the Hadeon Drop by Jeff Rosen

A Talent for Trouble by Natasha Farrant

Alien Superstar by Henry Winkler

The Best of Iggy by Annie Barrows

Tune It Out by Jamie Sumner

The Longest Night of Charlie Noon by Christopher Edge

War Is Over by David Almond

Unadoptables by Hana Tooke

The Middler by Kirsty Applebaum

The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray

Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things by Matilda Woods

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NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH

It's National Novel Writing Month!  During the month of November, participants are challenged to write 50,000 words.  This challenge has resulted in the creation of NaNoWriMo, a nonprofit organization that supports this effort.  If you are interested in participating in National Novel Writing Month, you should check out NaNoWriMo's website: https://nanowrimo.org/.  

National Novel Writing Month is a great way to inspire someone to get started on their novels, and some notable books have been written during this event.  Some of the novels include: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

Need some help with your novel?  Check out some of these books on writing today!

My Weird Writing Tips by Dan Gutman
Flash! Writing the Very Short Story by John Dufresne

Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel by Elizabeth George

Brave the Page by Rebecca Stern

Elements of Fiction by Walter Mosley

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

The Last Draft: A Novelist's Guide to Revision by Sandra Jean Scofield

Writing Fantastic Fiction by Jennifer Joline Anderson

Telling Tales: Writing Captivating Short Stories by Rebecca Langston-George

Creative Writing by Casey Clabough

Writing Crime Fiction by Rosmary Rowe

Writing Romantic Fiction by Barbara Samuel

Writing New Adult Fiction by Deborah Halverson

Get Started in Writing for Children by Lisa Bullard

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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.