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Tuesday, April 11, 2023 | View in browser
 Earth Day is Saturday, April 22! Founded in 1970, over a billion people now celebrate Earth Day each year. It is a great day for kids to learn about how to make the earth a better, more sustainable place.
First, read all about it:
Listen to the Language of the Trees Book Walk at the Evanston Ecology Center! The 2022 Blueberry Winner is Listen to the Language of the Trees: A Story of How Forests Communicate Underground by Tera Kelley! Come read the book outdoors at the Evanston Ecology Center. Begin the book walk near the circular driveway. Learn how trees communicate underground and envision what's going on under your feet. Available now through the end of May: More Information.
FalconCam is now LIVE! Evanston Public Library's FalconCam is up and operational and you and your family can watch the falcons from the comfort of your home, There are three eggs, as of this writing!
Earth Day Sticker Picture! Come fill in a few colored stickers on our collective mosaic picture. What will it become? Swing by the Main Library Children's Room to help out and to see the emerging picture grow!
Blueberry Webinar! Preschool teachers, lower elementary school teachers, homeschooling parents, and home daycare providers can join the Blueberry Committee in a Natural Start Alliance webinar that introduces many of the Blueberry books and shares ideas on how to use them in a classroom! Tuesday, April 11, 2 pm, Zoom: Register.
Other cool stuff to do with your kids in Evanston to support the earth:
- Main-Dempster Mile clean up and a Downtown Evanston clean up will engage your family in beautifying E-town and you can win goodies! Bags and gloves provided.
- District 65 is having a 10 second film festival showing kids' films about the earth and how to care for it. More information.
- The Evanston Ecology Center will be hosting an Earth Day celebration, full of family-friendly activities. Saturday, April 22, 10 am, Evanston Ecology Center: More Information.
 Money Smart Week, April 15-21, reminds us of another parental project that the library can help with: teaching kids about money.
 Short & Sweet for April: Row, Row, Row Your Boat! Pick up a take home storytime kit. This month features that favorite song of little ones! Kits available while supplies last. Through April 30 while supplies last, Main Library and Robert Crown Branch Library. More Information.
Jammie Time (ages 2-6) Visit the library in your jammies and let us do your bedtime reading. Whole families welcome. No registration required; just drop in for family storytime fun! Thursday, April 13, 6:30 pm, Main Library: More Information.
Purple Crayon Players Storytime (ages 0-5) Join Northwestern University Theatre Students for a joyous storytime at the Main Children's Room. Fridays, April 14-May 19, 9:30 am, Main Library Children's Room; More information.
SingSong: A Family Singalong (ages 1 and up) Start your Saturday with some all-family singing at this fun, once a month, drop-in program! Hear Miss Jess play multiple stringed instruments and sing some of your favorite songs. Saturday, April 15, 9:30 am, Main Children's Room, Main Library: More information.
Miseracordia Hearts of Readers Storytime (ages 2-5) Bring your toddler or preschooler to Misericordia Hearts of Readers weekly storytime and activity, led by Misericordia residents! Come enjoy the fun! Monday, April 17, 10:15 am; and Monday, April 24, 10:15 am, Main Children's Room: More Information.
Family Storytime and Craft (ages 3-7) Join us for stories, songs and a fun craft. Great for parents who are employed during the daytime. Books appropriate for ages 3-7 but all are welcome. Wednesday, May 3, 6:30 pm, Barbara Friedberg Storytelling Room, Main Library: Register.
Read about Mud! Check out some books from our wonderful Mud-luscious Booklist to encourage your child to get muddy and involved with growing things and wiggly things this spring. Included is an adult book called Dirt is Good : the advantage of germs for your child's developing immune system by Jack Gilbert and Rob Knight!
Time for Twos (ages 24-36 months) Storytime filled with songs, picture books, puppets and rhymes for 24 to 36 months with parent, grandparent or caregiver. This is an amazing four week program full of fun! Tuesdays, April 25-May 16, 10:30 am, Barbara Friedberg Storytelling Room, Main Library: Register.
The Young and the Restless OUTDOORS (ages 0-2) Join this singing storytime for our youngest patrons. Singing is one of the best ways for little ones to learn language! This is a four week, drop-in program. Wednesday, April 12, 10:15 am, Smith Park: More information.
The Young and the Restless INDOORS (ages 0-2) Join this singing storytime for our youngest patrons. Singing is one of the best ways for little ones to learn language! This is a four week, registered program. Thursday, April 13, 10:15 am, Community Meeting Room, Main Library: Register.
All By Myself (ages 3-5) A special storytime for children who are ready to attend without parents and younger siblings. We'll share stories, songs and crafts. This is a four week program. Thursday, April 13, 1:30 pm, Barbara Friedberg Storytelling Room, Main Library: Register.
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Read! Check out our Poetry and Verse Novels for Kids booklist.
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Poetry Month Found Poem Scavenger Hunt! Visit the Main Library to find poetry on display, pick out your favorite word from each poem and put them the order you think is best! Get a gel pen prize! More Information!
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Art Garden Poetry Project at Main! Create a "found" poem by using words from the box and gluing them in any order you like. Add your leaf to our "Poetree" when you are finished! Get a gel pen prize!
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Onomatopoeia Guessing Jar! Come try your luck at the Main Library Guessing Jar to see how many "sound" words (Rattle, Buzz, Plop!) you can find in our jar!
TOMORROW! Sewing Drop In (grades 4 and up)! Like designing your own clothing? Want to learn some basics? Have an old item you want to decorate? Come to the Robert Crown Sewing Drop-In and fashion your next favorite outfit! Wednesday, April 12, 4 pm, Robert Crown Multipurpose Room: More Information.
Be a Maker: Embroidery (come with an adult)! Learn basic embroidery stitches in this pop-up program. We will have supplies for a small project to take home; if you'd like to bring your own cloth item to embroider that's great too! No registration is necessary, however children sixth grade and younger must come with an adult. Saturday, April 15, 1:30 pm, Robert Crown Multipurpose Room: More information.
Word Rangers Writing Club (grades 3-5) Attention young aspiring writers: this club is for you! Do you like to write stories, poetry, songs, or other forms of creative writing? Come to the library to discuss writing, find new story inspiration, grow your creative writing skills, and meet others who share a passion for writing! We hope to create a safe space to express ourselves and, if you like, share our work with others. Sunday, April 16, 2 pm, Barbara Friedberg Storytelling Room, Main Library: Register.
Purple Crayon Players Presents the PLAYground Festival (grades 3-7) Join the artists of the PLAYground Festival of Fresh Works to celebrate theatre for young audiences! Watch sneak peeks of the plays, do fun activities, and meet the playwrights! Friday, April 21, 4 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library: Register.
Wonderful Words with Northwestern's Girl Up Chapter (grades 3-5) We’re celebrating women and all people who identify as female by empowering and uplifting girls and girl-identifying children through fun activities. Come home with a cool bracelet and your own handmade dictionary! Saturday, April 22, 2 pm, Main Library: Register.
Get a Museum Pass! Take your kids to visit a museum, zoo, garden or other fun venue with a pass from Museum Adventure or Explore More Illinois! For Evanston Public Library patrons. One Museum Adventure Pass per family per week, More information.
 Eid al-Fitr is a great feast day to end Ramadan fasting! It runs from the evening of April 21 through the evening of April 22 and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide, from Central Asia to the Middle East to Evanston IL. Eid Mubarak to all who celebrate!
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Read Books! Check out our Ramadan booklist to learn more. Eid is mentioned in most books about Ramadan because it is the joyous ending of the fast.
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Eat Sweet Treats! Eid Al Fitr is also known as Sweet Eid because the focus is on delicious sugary foods to bring quick energy to people who've been fasting for a month. The top treat is Baklava; Istanbul, Turkey, even used to have a Baklava Parade! Find out how they make Baklava in this kid-friendly video!
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Give Gifts! Kids get new clothes, monetary gifts and more at Eid! If you have Muslim friends, this holiday would be a great time for a gift or for giving money in their name to earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.
 FREE BOOKS, ALL THE TIME! We're celebrating National Library Week, April 23-29, with the theme "There's More to the Story." We encourage every resident to get a free library card so that you can get your fair share of library goods! When we give library tours to kids, we always ask them, "How much money does a library card cost?" Almost none of them guess the right answer is $0. Best deal in town!
National Library Week is taking place in the midst of a national movement to limit what books public and school libraries can buy and circulate, especially for kids. A record 2,571 unique books were targeted for censorship in 2022, a 38% increase from 2021 when 1,858 titles were targeted. Read with pride what others want to keep from you and your kids:
Both locations of the Evanston Public Library will be closed all day and evening on Thursday, April 27. Mark your calendar and plan ahead!
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