It’s finally spring, and the signs are everywhere!  Later sunsets, green plants sprouting up, birds chirping, daffodils blooming, and animals waking up from a long winter’s nap. The Ranger Rick article below gives some information about animals coming out of hibernation:

Be on the lookout in your back yard or neighborhood for some signs of animal life, or new animal babies in the area.  A sure sign of spring I have noticed in my yard is the return of many birds.  Each morning is a new symphony!  A great resource in the area to learn more about our native wildlife is the Forest Preserve District of Will County.  They have many events scheduled dealing with our wildlife friends:

Baby Animal SOS- April 1st

Beekeeping- April 2

Spring Bird Hike- April 8th

Migratory Bird Hikes- April 8th and 29th

…plus many more exciting activities throughout the spring and summer months at the various forest preserves countywide.

Find more information at their website, or we have a few brochures available in the library for your convenience.

If you visit the New Lenox Library website, you can also access these databases that can give you more information about animals in general, or many science and social studies topics by going to the Research & Learning tab, then Homework Help:

The New Book of Popular Science

and TrueFlix

Here are just a few of the books we have available with information about hibernation, the upcoming season, and animals to observe:

  J 508.2 HER    Spring by Ann Herriges

   J 508.352 ART  Woods Walk by Henry W. Art

  J 598 BAT  Backyard Birds by Robert Bateman

  J 598 CAT  Look Up! by Annette LeBlanc Cate

    J 590.723 BUR    Citizen Scientists

 

E BER    Finding Spring by Carin Berger

 

 

 

E NA    Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Il Sung Na

 

  E MES    Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

  E KIM    999 Frogs Wake Up by Ken Kimura

As you start to enjoy the warmer weather, keep an eye out for any signs of our wildlife friends also enjoying spring!

Here is a missing post from April you might enjoy, especially if you like poetry…

I’ll bet you thought this would be a post about weather or spring, but surprise….we’re celebrating poetry because it’s National Poetry Month!

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Try writing a poem,

See what you can do!

Okay, I know that’s a pretty simple effort, but April is National Poetry Month, so it’s a good time to familiarize yourself with the many different styles of poetry.  Poems do not always rhyme, nor do they have to be deep and meaningful. Since there are so many different styles, we have many books to help you learn about them, or to just enjoy.  As you enter the Youth Department, stop and look at the display with some books highlighted, or try your hand at our magnetic poetry generator:

 

The 811 section is where poetry is located and we will gladly direct you to that area.

 

 

These selections show different poetry styles:

 

Shape poems, or concrete poems, take on the shape of their subject, like this poem about a boa constrictor from the book Ode to a Commode by Brian Cleary.

 

 

Here are a few more examples of concrete poetry and line poetry, which Elmo thinks are very fun to read:   Verse novels are another style of poetry. Verse novels are a  blend of poetic form and fiction narrative. This is an easy style to start writing since you are telling a story by writing your random thoughts, and you don’t need to worry about sentence structure, punctuation, or capital letters!  Love that Dog by Sharon Creech (one of my very favorites), and The Crossover by Kwame Alexander are just a few choices we have available:

Giant Children by Brod Bagert, and Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia Maclachan are hilarious, and great books to “get your feet wet” in the poetry genre:

When you think about it, many songs are different styles of poetry set to music. They may or may not rhyme as well- just think about rap or hip-hop (is that really still a style??).  Take me out of the Bathtub, while not really a poetry book, is a collection of familiar song titles, but written with different words. That’s another easy way to start writing your own poetry. If you really want to learn about the many different styles, then you might need A Kick in the Head.  This book is a collection of twenty-nine different poetic forms.  You might be able to find a form or style that fits your personality just right:

Finally, my favorite, is haiku.  Haiku has a pattern of three lines, with the first line having five syllables, second line-seven syllables, and the last line-five syllables again.  These poems usually have a nature or season theme, but as you can see from Dogku and Guyku in the photo below, pretty much anything goes, as long as you’re creative!

I have barely scratched the surface of the many different types or styles or forms of poetry, so the best way for you to discover your personal preference, is to come in to see us and we’ll get you started….or help you find whatever else you might need. In closing, here is my attempt at a quick haiku about the library…and remember, if I can do it, so can you!!!!

Books are everywhere,

Movies, music, learn and play,

So much to explore!