Celebrate Evansville History

This week Evansville celebrates local history with the debut of the new town walking tour guide! Join the Grove Society and other community groups at Creekside Place on Friday, May 2^nd for a reception, short presentation, and a walking tour of historic Evansville. The events kick off at 5:00 p.m. and wrap up between 7 and 7:30. Can’t make it to the walking tour debut? You can pick up one of these brochures at Creekside Place, City Hall, and Eager Free Public Library at any time!

To celebrate the historical celebration happening this week, I’m going to point you to a blog post that was written in 2012 about the various local history resources the library has to offer:

LOCAL HISTORY on the Eager Free Public Library blog.

The Central Hotel in Evansville, WI. The building was at the corner of Main and Madison streets and was razed in the 1930's.

Make sure to check out the digital collection of local photographs that capture many of the ways that Evansville and the surrounding areas have changed – or in some cases, really haven’t! – over the last century.

Poetry in the Library

April is National Poetry Month. Here at Eager Free Public Library we have a lot of poetry "stuff", from books of poetry to poetry programs.

At April's meeting of the Young Writers group, the group created bookspine poems that - you guessed it - use titles on the edges of books for lines of poetry. Given the limited amount of time they had, their final products were pretty great!

Below is a list of just some of the poetry books you can find at our library. Here's a tip: don't feel like you have to sit and read any of these cover-to-cover; dip in and out and try reading a new poem every day for a week.

Poetry for Kids

Poetry for Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson

The Poet’s Corner: the one and only poetry book for the whole family compiled and performed by James Lithgow (audiobook)

Edward Lear: poetry for young people by Edward Mendelson

Forgive me, I meant to do it: false apology poems by Gail Carson Levine

Noisy poems for a busy day by Robert Heidbreder, illustrated by Lori Joy Smith

Giggle Poetry is a fun website that’s chock-full of poems and poetry activities for kids and families to try together!

Poetry for Young Adults & Adults

Wisconsin History in Poetry edited by Henry C. Spear

The Cassell Book of English Poetry selected and introduced by James Reeves

The Variety of Poetry: an anthology collected by Edward A. Bloom, Charles H. Philbrick, and Elmer M. Blistein

Poetry out of Wisconsin edited by August Derleth

The Spoken Word Revolution: slam, hip-hop, and the poetry of a new generation edited by Mark Eleveld

How to Write Poetry

The poetry home repair manual: practical advice for beginning poets by Ted Kooser

The shape of poetry by Peter Meinke

Writing poetry: suggestions for young writers by Marie Gilchrist

Happy National Library Week!

Happy National Library Week! We like to think of every week as being a time to celebrate libraries, but in honor of the "official" week, we're going to zero in on some fun library-themed picture books from our library and others in Rock County.

If you're interested in one of these books, you can order it by signing in to RockCat, the library's online catalog, or you can always give the library a call at 608-882-2260 and we'd be happy to put it on hold for you.

• No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou by Rhonda Gowler Greene, illustrated by Brian Ajhar. A fun rhyming picture book about pirates, libraries, and reading!
• Library Mouse series by Daniel Kirk. This series of picture books explores many aspects of libraries, from library buildings to the "stuff" on the shelves, told through the eyes of a small mouse who lives in a library.
• Amelia Bedelia's First Library Card by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynne Avril. The beloved character from the classic easy reader series appears in this picture book about libraries.
• My First Trip to the Library by Katie Kawa. A non-fiction book follows a young boy on his first trip to a public library.
• Library Lily by Gillian Shields, illustrated by Francesca Chessa. A picture book about Lily, who loves reading at the library, and her friend Milly, who dislikes reading but loves adventure.
• Spot Goes to the Library by Eric Hill. This board book featuring Spot the dog is a perfect way to introduce the library to very young readers.
• Homer, the Library Cat by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. Homer is a quiet-loving cat who needs to find a new spot to sleep.
• Kevin Goes to the Library by Liesbet Slegers. This charming book emphasizes the library routine of finding books, checking them out, reading them, and returning them.
• Dinosaur Visits the Library by Dan Shea. With a mighty roar, Dinosaur heads to the library, meeting several animal and bird friends along the way. Perfect for practicing animal sounds and dinosaur roars.

We hope you enjoy these library library books as much as we do! 

Growing Wisconsin Readers

With the - ahem - slow arrival of spring, this seems as good a time as any to highlight a new program in Wisconsin that is intended to support the growth and development of very young readers! The program is called Growing Wisconsin Readers, the focus of which is literacy development in ages birth - 6 years old.

Today we're going to highlight some authors that are great for each stage, from babies to toddlers to preschoolers. Many of these are in our library, but you can also order them through the online catalog, RockCat.

Books for Babies 

• Alma Flor Ada
• Molly Bang
• Byron Barton
• Eric Carle
• Lucy Cousins
• Donald Crews

Check out the Baby section on the Growing Wisconsin Readers website for more authors!

Books for Toddlers

• Denise Fleming
• Tana Hoban
• Ann Jonas
• Bill Martin, Jr.
• Helen Oxenbury
• Leslie Patricelli
• Rosemary Wells

Check out the Toddler section on the Growing Wisconsin Readers website for more authors!

Books for Preschoolers

• Kate Banks
• Nina Crews
• Lois Ehlert
• Bob Graham
• Kevin Henkes

Check out the Preschool section on the Growing Wisconsin Readers website for more authors!

ALTERNATE HISTORIES

The April book for discussion is The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen.  Andersen's book answers the question: What if Anne Boleyn had a son?  Henry VIII divorces Catherine, marries Anne, and that's it.  No beheading, no more wives.  How might things have played out?

Alternate histories are fun reads as they allow you to reimagine history.  How would the world be different?  Would these changes make a difference at all?

The Boleyn King is the first entry in the Boleyn series:
The Boleyn King
The Boleyn Deceit
The Boleyn Reckoning (coming in July)

Interested in more alternate histories?  Try one of the titles listed below.

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove
Fatherland by Robert Harris
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen Carter
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=9780345534095/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

TUCK EVERLASTING

Tuck Everlasting is a children's classic that takes a look at immortality.  Written by Natalie Babbitt in 1975, Tuck Everlasting has endured as a favorite work of children's literature for many years. 

If you have already read Tuck Everlasting and are looking for more magical tales, try one of the choices listed below.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan: Carter and Sadie Kane go on a journey across the world to discover the truth about their family and their ties to a secret order dating back to the time of the pharaohs.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a retelling of Cinderella.  Ella struggles against her curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis tells the story of four children who find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia.

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett follows Mary as she comes to live on a house on the moors.  While there, she discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Matilda by Roald Dahl: Matilda is an extraordinary five year old who must apply her mental powers to rid her school of the evil headmistress.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton tells the story of miniature people who live in a home under a clock. 

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White follows Wilbur, the pig, as he discovers that he is meant to be the farmer's Christmas dinner.  Then, he meets Charlotte who decides to help him.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle is the 1963 Newberry Award winner.  It is the story of three children and their adventures through space and time as they search for Meg's father.


Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0374378487/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

COZY MYSTERIES

 

March in Wisconsin means you never know what you are going to get.  You'll have sun one day, rain the next, and snow the next!  A nice cozy mystery is a great way to occupy your time and cheer yourself up from the gloomy, unpredictable weather outside.

What exactly is a cozy mystery?  A cozy mystery usually has an amateur woman sleuth.  She is a intuitive and bright person who ususally lives in a small town.  Many cozy mysteries are being written as parts of a series.  They are often considered to be more gentle than your average mystery leaving out the graphic violence and profanity that may be found in other books. 

One of my favorite cozy mystery series is the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke.  I just finished reading the latest entry: Blackberry Pie Murder.  This one was a little different from her previous books, and I am interested to see what she does with the next one.  These are fun, quick reads containing lovable characters, delicious recipes, and, of course, a mystery.

Interested in trying out some other cozies?  Try one of the books listed below:

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett
Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt
Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle
Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs
The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Steamed by Jessica Conant-Park

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=9781410465559/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12