Books to Read While Physical Distancing: Fish in a Tree by Linda Hunt

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

Books to Read While Physically Distancing (BtRWPD) will focus on books available for checkout through Libby.

Fish in a Tree 

By Linda Mullaly Hunt
Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin books): New York, 2015

"Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Ally Nickerson, 6th grader, has been outsmarting a lot of adults to disguise the fact that she can't read or write well. All she wants is to be able to fit in, but that seems impossible to Ally. It isn't until a substitute teacher, Mr. Daniels, comes that things turn around for Ally. Mr. Daniels won't let Ally use her avoidance techniques for getting out of work. Overtime, Mr. Daniels helps Ally gain an understanding of her dyslexia and how she can cope with the challenges of having it. The more he works with Ally, the more we see Ally's confidence grow and the more she is able to be herself. Pretty soon she is making friends and realizing that she is more than just a label and all things are possible.

This is a heart-warming tale that begs to be read especially for readers who enjoyed R.J. Palacio's "Wonder." Learning challenges aside, this book offers all readers a chance to see that even problems that seem impossible to solve can become possible. I enjoyed reading this novel and getting to know the characters in it.

Physical Distancing STEM Break with Ms. Meghan: Party with the Penguins

Hey everyone! How are we doing?

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

I'll be pairing up Libby books for GPL patrons with STEM activities, live webcams, educational programs, and citizen science projects. Are we ready to

Party with the Penguins!

There are between 17 and 20 penguin species, and almost all of them live in the Southern Hemisphere. Only a few species live in the icy cold of Antarctica; the rest live in South America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Read: There are a number of books starring penguins that you can borrow from Libby, including Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne, Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, and Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger.

Be a citizen scientist: What is citizen science? Citizen science is when people like you and me conduct scientific research. The data gathered by thousands of people helps professional
scientists in the advancement of their studies and increases the public's understanding of science.You can help Oxford researchers learn about how well penguin chicks are surviving by joining Penguin Watch! You'll get to count penguins and assist scientists with their studies on these important birds, and the role they play in the food web.

Books to Read While Physically Distancing: Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

Books to Read While Physically Distancing (BtRWPD) will focus on books available for checkout through Libby.

Rebound (a companion to The Crossover)
by Kwame Alexander
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing: Boston, 2018

Rebound lets us into the life of Charlie "Chuck" Bell in a pivotal summer growing up during middle school.  He has just lost his Dad and is struggling (with moving forward, dealing with his emotions, and creating a 'new normal').
His mom can't seem to figure out how to help him so he is sent to live with his grandparents for the summer. When he is there, he gains an appreciation for jazz and basketball. With the help of his family, Chuck learns how to rebound on and off the court. 

I really enjoyed this novel. It is a prequel (comes before the Crossover) and is written in verse with some cool graphic novel panels occasionally throughout the book that highlight/ emphasize certain scenes.  I appreciate how the book handles and shows the importance of love and the power of a strong family connection .

Books to Read While Physically Distancing: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

Books to Read While Physically Distancing (BtRWPD) will focus on books available for checkout through Libby.

Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer
New York: Viking Press, 2001

Artemis Fowl is a brilliant criminal mastermind. His family (and their fortune) have been on the wrong side of the law for generations. His latest plan is to ransom a fairy for its gold and find his missing father. Completely realistic plans for a twelve year old.

I'll admit to a bias going into this book. Urban fantasy, especially where other races like fairies, vampires, shapeshifters, etc., live alongside humans is my favorite genre. So it's not surprising that I really enjoyed this book. I'd heard of the series (and upcoming movie) but hadn't had a chance to check it out yet. I finished it within 24 hours, and it was very successful in keeping my interest (I've had trouble concentrating on books lately, for some reason). It was engaging and action packed, and it was a refreshing change to have an anti-hero as the main character. I enjoyed the melding of magic and science. At times, it was a bit over the top, but seeing as how the author referred to it as 'Die Hard with fairies', this is absolutely intentional and works within the book. I definitely recommend this for older kids up through adults. 

Books to Read While Physically Distancing: El Deafo by Cece Bell

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

Books to Read While Physically Distancing (BtRWPD) will focus on books available for checkout through Libby.


El Deafo
by Cece Bell
New York: Amulet Books, 2014

Based on the author's own experience, the main character loses her hearing at age four due to illness. She struggles to connect with her classmates and make friends while wearing bulky hearing aids with long cords (it's the 70s). In her imagination, she's 'El Deafo' and has superpowers, but these don't quite transfer over to the real world.

I found this graphic novel for older elementary kids an enjoyable evening's read. The art style works well on a Kindle, and the story absolutely rings true for the trials and tribulations of elementary school friendships. The addition of such a noticeable difference like large hearing aids makes fitting in all the more difficult.

Physical Distancing STEM Break with Ms. Meghan: Party with the Pandas

Hey everyone! How are we doing?

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

I'll be pairing up Libby books for GPL patrons with STEM activities, live webcams, educational programs, and citizen science projects. Are we ready to

Party with the Pandas!

Giant pandas are only found in China. In 2016 they were upgraded from 'endangered' to 'vulnerable', thanks to decades of conservation efforts.

Read:

There are a number of books on pandas that you can borrow from Libby, including The Great Panda Tale by Laura Buller, ASTOUNDING! Asian Animals by Lisa Kurkov, and A Perfect Time for Pandas by Mary Pope Osborne.

Watch:
All the giant pandas in the world belong to China, and only a few zoos in the United States have them. The National Zoo in Washington D.C. and the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee have webcams set up so you can watch the pandas in their habitats. The pandas may not be visible all the time, and may not be outside depending on the weather. The San Diego Zoo in California sent their pandas back to China last year, but you can watch archived footage here (and be guaranteed to see some panda cuteness).

Observe:
Even though they're bears, giant pandas eat bamboo, a type of grass, almost exclusively. It's not very nutritious, so they have to eat a lot of it. They also sleep a lot, since it doesn't provide them with much energy. Can you be a panda researcher and figure out what a panda does with its day? Write 'eat', 'sleep','walk', 'play', and 'other' on a piece of paper, with space next to each word to make marks. Find a panda on one of the panda cams. Have an adult help you set a timer for 20 seconds, or count 20 Mississippi's. Every 20 seconds, mark down what your panda is doing, right at that moment. Pretty soon, you should start to get an idea of how pandas spend their day. Congratulations! You just made an ethogram! Ethograms help biologists and animal keepers learn about animal behaviors.
You can also watch your pets at home, to see how they spend their time.

Everyone's Awake

Everyone's Awake
by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Shawn Harris
San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020

My brother's staged a coup d' état
and overthrown the state
while my sister's joined the résistance
(they never got on great). 

The lead singer and songwriter of the Decemberists has produced a wonderfully silly book about a family that just won't go to sleep. The narrator is in bed, ready to doze off, when they hear the rest of their family up and about. What starts out with Grandma doing needlepoint and Dad baking swiftly progresses into delightful rhyming mayhem as the whole family (alive and dead) gets involved. The printed illustrations are fantastic, and there is so much to see on every page (when did the frogs start showing up?).  Highly recommended, and will make a fantastic book to read out loud.