Did you know that National Amelia Earhart Day is celebrated each year on July 24th? This day honors the achievements that Amelia Earhart has made as a famous American Pilot. Amelia’s love of flying began in December 1920. Her first flight was in California with a World War II Pilot, Frank Hawks. She started taking flight lessons in January 1921 with a female pilot, Neta Snook. She also bought her first plane in 1921. It was a yellow Kinner Airster which she named the Canary.

She received her pilot’s license in December 1921, and she has achieved many records. In 1922, she became the first woman pilot to fly alone at 14,000 feet. In 1932, she was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Congress. In 1929, she helped form an international nonprofit organization that was called the Ninety Nines. This organization was founded by 99 women pilots who inspired new women pilots through education, and scholarships.

Amelia’s flight around the world started on June 1, 1937 out of Oakland, California. She was on this trip with her Navigator, Fred Noonan. They left New Guinea on July 2, 1937 with 7,000 miles left for their journey. Unfortunately, this was the last time that they had been seen alive.

If you would like to learn more about Amelia Earhart’s life and her accomplishments, check out these books from our Children’s collection.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman? No, it’s a Kite!

Kites come in all shapes and sizes and dance through the sky to a music all their own. They are a childhood favorite that leaves a sense of nostalgia in us. But, as we get older we tend to forget how it feels to have the wind on our face, the string between our fingers, and the sense of joy we get as we dare our kite to go higher and higher in the sky.

Kite flying can be fun, relaxing, and benefit your health. In a 2015 article written for the Health Fitness Revolution magazine, kites are said to promote exercise, improve your mental well-being, help with your eye and neck muscles, and boost creativity. So, grab a kite or try your hand at making one with library staff, August 4th. Registration is already in progress. And, don’t forget to check out our some of these great eBooks on kites below. They are a great way to boost your brain power and earn prizes for the Summer Reading Challenge. And who knows, you might find your next favorite!

On May 23rd and 25th we lost two great authors, Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert. Each with their own talents, touched the lives of so many over countless years.

Lois Ehlert entered the hearts of so many preschoolers with her cut-and-paste shape collages that formed beautiful, eye-popping illustrations. Join us in remembering her through the many books she illustrated and authored through the years.

Eric Carle used vibrant colors and familiar things from nature such as a Very Hungry Caterpillar who ate it’s way through our hearts, as well as, 1 apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries… He will be remembered through the years with the many books he has left us.

Summer is here and so are the bugs! All 983 of them or at least that’s how many live in the state of New York. But in the whole world, there are roughly 10 quintillion bugs!! Here’s what that number looks like in case you were wondering: 10,000,000,000,000,000,000. And, to put that into perspective there are 200 million bugs for every ONE of us!

Carpenter bees drilling holes in our decks and houses, spider crickets hopping into our houses, butterflies flying from flower to flower, ants forming trails to our crumbs, and flies as big as birds are buzzing around our heads. But, as much of a nuisance bugs can be, humans wouldn’t be able to survive on this planet without their help. They do everything from pollinating our crops to cleaning up waste to generating $57 billion in revenue for the U.S. economy. What bugs do for us and the health of the planet is pretty amazing.

Ladybugs are definitely a sight to see and their story is pretty cool too! To discover more fun facts about ladybugs check out these books on Hoopla or check out the MyLibby app or any Suffolk County Library while we are closed for construction.

To get to know more about bees in general, fly over to Hoopla, the MyLibby app, or another Suffolk County Library for these fun books:

For all those other creepy crawlers and the people that study them (entomologists), the shelves of any Suffolk County Library are crawling with them….books that is! Discover the amazing world of bugs with us today!

There are currently fifteen notebooks on many different topics for all age group from A Community Cookbook for all Mom and Dad’s cooking tips and tricks to A Wordless Picture Book for our youngest pre-writers. To learn more about how to participate check out our website where you can see our full guidelines and all of the available topics.

By adding your own thoughts and artwork to the journals, you or your teen or child will be engaging in dialogue and connection with other community members. All adults, teens and children are invited to join the library in this collaborative creative adventure. Look for the journals on display next to the library’s main entrance.