What Animals Can You See at the Zoo?

Bring your family to the Main Library on Wednesday, March 6, for an engaging evening filled with stories and songs about all your favorite zoo animals. Bedtime Storytime is a library program for all ages and designed for families to attend together. The program begins at 6:30 and pajamas are welcome!

There will also be a craft and we will serve animal crackers – the perfect snack for a storytime about zoos!

All Bedtime Storytimes are listed on the Events Calendar:

• Wednesday, March 6, at 6:30 pm: Zoo Fun. Details and sign-up.
• Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 pm: Bunnies and Carrots. Details and sign-up.
• Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30 pm: Picky Eaters. Details and sign-up.

Cleveland, Dunlap, and Pierre Moran Branches also have Bedtime Storytimes! Go to the Events Calendar to check them out!

Abe Lincoln, Mark Twain and the Civil War

Wednesday, March 6, 7:00 p.m. at the Main Library in Downtown Elkhart

Discover how a Union president and a Confederate deserter fought against slavery and racism pre- and post-Civil War. Join us as veteran performer Dave Ehlert portrays both Lincoln and Twain in this live theatrical production of historical drama, humor and education.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Elkhart Public Library.

The event is a perfect prelude to this year’s One Book, One Michiana,  April 1-May 11. The 2013 “One Book” selection is THE KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara. If you want to get a head start on reading (or listening to) it, you can find it in our online catalog or in area book stores.

We will offer a variety of related activities and programs, which will be described in a future post. Check our April and May Event Calendars for a sneak preview.

Do you need to learn a foreign language for business or travel?

Are you interested in learning a new language just for fun?

¿Te gustaría aprender cómo hablar en Inglés?

With Mango Languages, you can learn a language in the comfort of your own home; on your own schedule. All you need is a high-speed internet connection and a resident Elkhart Public Library card. Learning a new language with Mango Languages is FREE to all resident EPL card holders.

Mango offers 40 foreign languages, as well as ESL (English as a Second Language) courses for speakers of 14 different languages. Each lesson combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions.

Get Mango

To access Mango Languages from the Elkhart Public Library website:

• Go to myepl.org/info247.
• Find “Language” on the list.
• Click on the plus sign and choose Mango Languages.
• Create a profile. You will be asked to sign in each time you use Mango, so you can track your progress;
  • OR Click the “Start Learning” button to use Mango without creating a profile.
• Select a language course or click on the “Translate” tab, which uses the Google translation tool to interpret the ‘gist’ of conversations from one language to another. It is not a substitute for human translations.

Try the first lesson in any language on the Try Mango page.
NOTE: While it is helpful to have a microphone for a more interactive experience, you can benefit from the lessons without one.

Mango in Action

Watch this short video to see Mango Languages in action and learn about how this language learning software actually helps you converse in the language(s) of your choice.

Go Mobile

Take your language learning everywhere you go with Mango Mobile Library Edition.  Download  for Android, iPhone or iPod. For the apps to work, you must first have Mango account set up through the Library.  Download the app for your iPhone/iPod or Android device,enter your Mango Languages log-in information, download a course and start learning at your own pace with or without an Internet connection!

Kids! Create your own animations, games, music, art, interactive stories with Scratch! Scratch is a free program you can download to your computer. Check it out:

If you are 8 to 11 years old, you can sign up to learn Scratch at the Main Library. We will have three classes, each one about a different part of the program. Each session is independent of the others, so you can take any or all of them. These are hands-on classes, so class size is limited.

Scratch Classes at the Main Library for children, ages 8 to 11:

• February 26, 4:00 pm: Introduction to Scratch Details and sign-up
• March 26, 4:00 pm: Learn to make music with Scratch – Details and sign-up
• April 23, 4:00 pm: Making “costumes” for your characters –  Details and sign-up

Access the Scratch website and download the program to your own computer at scratch.mit.edu

Parents, here is an excerpt from the About Scratch web page:

Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.

As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.

And the winner is…

Newbery

Katherine Applegate’s THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN was awarded the 2013 John Newbery Medal for outstanding children’s book of 2012.

2013 Newbery Honor Books:

• SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS by Laura Amy Schlitz
• THREE TIMES LUCKY by Sheila Turnage
• BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD-AND-STEAL THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON by Steve Sheinkin

Caldecott

THIS IS NOT MY HAT, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, received the Randolph Caldecott Medal for outstanding illustration.

                2013 Caldecott  Honor Books:

• CREEPY CARROTS illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
• EXTRA YARN illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
• GREEN  illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• ONE COOL FRIEND illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
• SLEEP LIKE A TIGER illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue

The Newbery and Caldecott awards are the American Library Association’s top honors for children’s literature.