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Monday, November 8, 2021 | View in browser
 STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. National STEM/STEAM Day is November 8, but we're not limiting ourselves to just one day of STEAM fun. As NASA grant recipients, we love to share cool stuff about Space all the time!
Read: First, start with a great book for kids! Check out our new Out of this World Books About Space booklist.
Create: Challenge your kids to make a Space Lander that keeps two Aliens (marshmallows) safe! To get in the spirit of the challenge, kids can enjoy this funny video short about Evanston Public Library's Little Book taking a trip to the moon and planting the library flag there.
Explore: Check out a NASA Space Backpack at the Main Library with a telescope, robot mouse, and so much more! Explore the night sky with your kids now that sunset is so much earlier in the day.
Register:
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NASA STEM Kids Virtual Event: Artemis Mission to the Moon (K-4th grade)! This virtual event features the Artemis Missions, conversations with NASA experts, a hands-on STEM activity, and a tour of a NASA Glenn facility! Saturday, December 11, 9 am CT. Register at NASA!
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Little Explorers: Space: Young explorers ages 3-5 (with a parent) are welcome to join us as we learn about space, identify some constellations, investigate "space rocks", and make an out of this world craft! Join this in person family craft and story time on Saturday, November 27, 10 am, Community Meeting Room, Main Library: Register.
Check out more great STEM and STEAM related library programs:
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CSI Library Craft Kit (5-8 grades): A crime has happened at the Evanston Public Library! Do you have what it takes to be a detective? Pick up a Forensics STEAM kit with activities ranging from fingerprint analysis to cryptography. Once you finish the activities, you can cast a vote for the culprit on our Google Form and be entered into a raffle! Winners will be announced on November 15. Pick up kits starting Monday, November 8, while supplies last: More Information.
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Art & Design Talk: Design with Ebere Agwuncha (3rd-6th grade): Ebere Agwuncha is a designer, maker, and artist currently based in Chicago via Nigeria. We're excited to continue our partnership with a talented engineer and artist! If you came to our last meeting in this series, this program is new and different. Registration is required, so you can get the Zoom link and the take-home design kit for the event! Thursday, November 18, 5 pm: Register.
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Microwave Cooking Class: Breakfast! (K-5th grade ) This month, Ms. Kim will show us how to make a breakfast cookie, a mugnut, and chilaquiles using a mug and a microwave. An ingredient list will be sent out ahead of time so you can follow along at home. Measuring; calculating; timing! Cooking is STEM. Saturday, November 20, 11 am: Register.
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Young Scientists Book Club: Orphan Island! (3rd-5th grade) This is a fun, interdisciplinary twist on the traditional book club. Kids will read challenging but engaging STEM-focused books from all genres and formats from science fiction to graphic novels. This month, we will be discussing Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder. You can find an ebook copy on Hoopla here. Saturday, November 20, 3 pm: Register.
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Preschool STEAM Storytime Series! (for ages 3-5) Story time is in-person and outdoors in parks around Evanston. Bring a blanket, your boots, and your coat because we will be outside, rain, snow or shine. We'll read stories, sing songs, and have a lot of silly science fun! Monday, November 22, 10:30 am, Penny Park: Register; AND Monday, November 29, 10:30 am, Fireman's Park: Register.
 Parents of young kids, check out this new early learning resource: a series of 14 engaging 2-minute videos that feature real families and give concrete examples of how caregivers can support their young children as they develop social-emotional, math and literacy skills before Kindergarten. Each video shares one measure of KIDS - the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey. The first one shares ways to help kids investigate the world around them: English or Spanish. (All 14 videos: English playlist; Spanish playlist.) An Evanston parent helped to create the videos so you may recognize Evanston families and locations!
Singing and reading stories both help kids acquire language, so join us for story times for kids under 6!
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The Young and the Restless Outdoors! This is a sing-a-long program for infants through 2 year-olds (older siblings welcome, masked). With an outdoor location and a new leader, we are enjoying singing together. Just drop in; no registration required. Thursday, November 11 AND November 18, 10 am, Cornelia Lunt Park: More Information.
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Stroller Stories! Bundled-Up, Walking Storytime: Dress warmly and tuck your young one into the stroller for a new kind of storytime! Meet at the front entrance to Robert Crown. The group will walk around the athletic fields and stop for stories and songs along the route. Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:45 am. November 11: Register; November 13: Register; November 18: Register; AND November 20: Register.
National StoryWalk® Week is November 15 through November 19! A StoryWalk® is a fun, educational activity that places a children's story (literally a book taken apart) along a popular walking route. There are five different books shared throughout Evanston by the library and one shared by McGaw YMCA Child Care Center! Read and walk together at the same time! More Information.
StoryWalk® books and locations (stories are up only one week):
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La Gallinita Roja (Spanish Edition of The Little Red Hen), Robert Crown Library Branch, 1801 Main St
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The Library Book by Michael Mark and Tom Chapin, Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave
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The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, The Ecology Center, 2024 N McCormick Blvd
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Princess Hair by Sharee Miller, Penny Park, 1500 Lake St
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Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang, McGaw YMCA, 1420 Maple Ave
November's Story Star at the Main Library: Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, the First African American Pilot to Fly Across the United States. Families can read the book by walking through the Main Children's Room and then try their hands at paper airplanes, working with tools, and a Sprouting Wings-inspired sun catcher craft! November 13-December 12, Main Library: More Information.
If you've visited one of our StoryWalk® locations, make sure you fill out our survey! Finished all the Evanston-based stories? Check out our listing of other story book walks we know of in the Chicago area. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
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Hora de Aventuras - Cuenta cuentos en español para niñas y niños de primaria: Hola! Ven a la biblioteca para escuchar cuentos en español. Algunos divertidos, otros tiernos, o de risa... o de miedo! Cada lunes a las 4 pm. Deja volar tu imaginación con nosotras! Monday, November 15, 4 pm, Robert Crown Branch Library: Register; AND Monday, November 22, 4 pm: Register.
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Virtual Author Visit with Dr. Zetta Elliot! Chicago-based children's author/poet/activist/educator Zetta Elliott (pictured above) will visit with us and focus on her beloved Dragons in a Bag series and celebrate the upcoming release of a brand new Dragons book! She's also the author of the powerful and inspiring A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal Your Heart, which received a 2021 Caldecott Honor for illustrator Noa Denmon. For grades K-5. There will be a special dragon craft tie-in to this visit, to be announced. Saturday, December 11, 4 pm: Register
 Annually, the Evanston Public Library library staff read as many kids books published that year as we can and pick our 101 favorites! Drum roll and Ta da! The 2021 list of 101 Great Books for Kids is done just in time for gift giving! Publishers now advertise when a book makes Evanston Public Library 101 list; we're famous!
101 Book Display and "Petting Zoo" Want to touch and see the 101 books before checking them out or buying them? Come to the library the week of Thanksgiving (closed on Thanksgiving Day) to see all these books together in one place just in time for Small Business Saturday buying! More information.
More great booklists:
The 2021 Best Picture Book of the Year Presentation with Betsy Bird and Brian Wilson! The most anticipated day of the year for teachers, caregivers, home day care providers, and parents is coming: join EPL's Collection Development Manager and Fuse #8 blogger Betsy Bird, and Children's Librarian and 2017 Caldecott Committee member Brian E. Wilson as they present some of their favorite picture books of 2021! A big treat for those who love sharing picture books with children! (This is not a program for kids themselves.) Saturday, December 4, 10 am: Register.
Book Recommendations tailored to your child! Fill out our Kids Litmatch form and we'll email you with recommendations within a few days; we can even put them on hold for you! Of course, we always welcome you to ask us in person, too!
This is a good time to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures of America's Indigenous peoples, their traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Some kid-friendly activities:
Evanston Public Library acknowledges that our libraries sit on the original homelands of the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa peoples, the Council of the Three Fires.
 Happy Veterans Day to all veterans who live and work in Evanston!
How to commemorate Veteran's Day with your kids? Start with a great book from our Armed Forces, Memorial and Veteran's Day Book List!
Attend Evanston's Veterans Day Ceremony. Thursday, November 11, 10 am, Fountain Square.
Check out these great activities to do with kids to share the story of Americans serving in the military with honor and courage, including how to write to a veteran and send a care package.
In memory of Ryan Bost. At noon on Saturday, November 13, the Bost family is organizing a march called "Justice for Ryan: Stop the Violence." Ryan was a 2019 graduate of ETHS (and a college basketball player) who was murdered last Fall in Rogers Park. The march will begin on Foster St. and will proceed to ETHS. Dodge and Church Streets will be blocked, and marchers will gather at ETHS' Lazier Field to hear speakers. The ETHS varsity basketball and football teams will be involved, as Ryan played both sports, and his younger brother Rashawn is currently a member of ETHS Varsity Boys' Basketball team.
If your children are too young to march or have to miss it, read a peace book with them in Ryan's honor.
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