As your adult might have seen on our Between the Shelves blog, June is Audiobook Appreciation Month. But audiobooks aren’t just for adults. Audiobooks are a great way for you to consume books as well and for a number of reasons. They can give you exposure to a vocabulary you might not hear in everyday conversation, they are great for reading comprehension if you listen and read along with a book, or you can simply get stuff done while you’re reading!

Another great thing about audiobooks is how accessible they are today. You can get them physically from the library or you can download them from our app and take them on the go on your mobile device.

Here are some great teen audiobooks that have been recently added to our collection :

June is LGBTQ Pride Month. This month is celebrated in honor of the 1969 Stonewall riots and works to achieve equal justice and opportunity for LGBTQ Americans. It is also a time when LGBTQ individuals in our community and all over the country celebrate the freedom to be themselves. If you plan on celebrating this month yourself, here are some ways you can do so with the library. Keep scrolling for a craft and some book recommendations. This month we will also be giving out pride ribbon pins at the library!

In case you didn’t get to pick up a kit from the library, below are the instructions for the Take & Make Pride Bracelets. Feel free to switch out the colors for a more specific pride flag color palette.

And of course, find something good to read! Here are some books that are in our collection that have LGBTQ representation.

Looking for more title recommendations? Stop by the Reader’s Advisory desk at the library and a Youth Services librarian will help you!

April is National Poetry Month. I love poetry but are you like me and love to read it but not sure how to write it? Sometimes it seems like writing poetry can be daunting. Where do you begin? What will be your focus? How do you choose the right words to make your poem sound good? Luckily, Blackout poetry takes away most of those problems. Blackout poetry is a type of “found” poetry which means you select words that catch your interest from another text and make them into a poem. After you’ve found your words, you usually color over the words you won’t be using. In order to make Blackout poetry, you will need a pinch of creativity, an old book or newspaper, and a sharpie or other art materials. Below are the steps to make your own Blackout poetry. And don’t forget to register for Take and Make Blackout Poetry here!

1. First start by perusing the shelves of your local thrift store, Little Free Library out in Lindenhurst or even your bookshelves at home. You can also upcycle a newspaper. Grab a book or newspaper that looks interesting to you!

2. Once you have your books, feel free to start ripping out the pages that interest you. Or you can just keep your poetry on the pages inside the book like a journal. When you’ve decided on your pages, start reading through them.

3. Begin to look for keywords that inspire you. Maybe you see the word “night” and now you want to center your poem around nighttime. Circle all the keywords you like in pencil and write them out on a piece of paper creating your poem.

4. When you’re sure you like the poem you’ve found, grab a sharpie and start circling the keywords. Next take your sharpie and begin by blacking out the rest of the page. Feel free to get creative here. And you don’t necessarily have to use just a sharpie. You can use paint, colored pencils, or markers and you can also draw a design on the page. Here are a few examples:

There are so many creative ways to make Blackout poetry. I love the idea of keeping an old book intact and filling each page with a poem. I’ve also seen people make collage art on their Blackout poems. I hope now that you’ve learned how to make Blackout poetry, you will like just it as much as I do!

National Library Week (April 3 – 9, 2022) is a week where Americans celebrate libraries, library workers and library usage! This week started in the 1950s. Back then, research showed that Americans were spending too much time listening to the radio, watching TV, and playing musical instruments but not a lot of time reading. As a result, a group called the National Book Committee was formed. Their intention was to increase the amount of time Americans spent reading in their leisure. Working alongside the American Library Association and the Advertising Council, the first National Library Week was created in 1958 with the theme “Wake Up and Read!”

This year, National Library Week’s theme is “Connect with Your Library”. There are plenty of ways you can connect with us this week, but here are some fun ones:

April 4: Take a Shelfie

Stage a creative picture of your favorite book, tell us why you love it and then email it to us at: engage@lindenhurstlibrary.org so we can add it to our Instagram!

April 5: Fill Out a Heart & Tell Us Why You Love the Library

Come to the Reader’s Advisory Desk and fill out a colorful heart telling us why you love the library!

April 6: Decorate a Bookmark

Need a new bookmark? Come to the library and color your own!

April 7: What Should I Read Next?

Not sure what you should read next? Consult our book fortune teller for your next read.

April 8: Guess How Many Bookworms!

Stop by the library to guess how many bookworms (bookworms = gummy worms) are in the jar at our desk! Fill out a card with your name, phone number and guessed amount. If you guess the correct amount you get to keep the jar!

Peeps Diorama: All Week Long

You can also celebrate with Peeps! Create a Peeps diorama based on your favorite book or a literary theme. All characters must be portrayed using Peeps and all dioramas must use a standard size shoebox. No food can be used as material, other than your Peeps characters. Entries will be judged in four separate categories: Adults, Children, Teens, Families. Snap a picture of your finished diorama and send it to us via email, engage@lindenhurstlibrary.org, along with your name, age category, telephone number, and literary theme/book by Sunday, April 9. Entries will be posted to Facebook on Monday, April 10 and voting will take place via “likes”.

National Drop Everything and Read Day is a day where families are encouraged to take at least 30 minutes to put aside all distractions and enjoy books together. This annual event takes place on April 12 which is the birthday of author Beverly Cleary. When Beverly Cleary’s children were young, they participated in D.E.A.R. at school. Their interest and enthusiasm for the event inspired Beverly Cleary to give the same experience to Ramona Quimby the main character in Ramona Quimby, Age 8. This year the library, along with some of the community, will be celebrating D.E.A.R. Day by reading aloud some of our favorite books. If you’d like to celebrate D.E.A.R. Day here’s how you can join in on the fun:

Celebrate DEAR on April 12 by reading a book of your choice and enjoying a library provided snack with your family at home. Send a photo of you and your family reading to youthservices@lindenhurstlibrary.org by April 15 and be entered to win our DEAR book bundle. Happy reading!

Registration begins March 15. Pick up your snacks between April 4 and April 12.

Not sure what book to choose? Reading Rockets offers Themed Booklists here. These booklists are for ages birth-12 and include topics such as fairy tales, animals, history and more!

When you’re reading, try doing a few of these things:

-Fix some hot chocolate

-Share some funny lines that you find

-Talk about the characters and who you like/dislike

-Talk about your favorite part of the book

Another thing you can do is visit Reading Rockets. They are considered a founding partner of D.E.A.R Day.

On their website you can find more ideas to keep your family engaged. Happy Reading!

St. Patrick’s Day is such a fun holiday. I love to celebrate my heritage, wear my favorite color green and attend parades. I only skip out on the corned beef and cabbage. But with parades and the color green aside, St. Patrick’s Day is actually a holiday that honors Saint Patrick on the day of his death. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with religious services and feasts and only more recently festivals and parades. The St. Patrick’s Day festivities that we are familiar with in the United States started happening mainly in the 1700s, with Boston claiming to have held the first celebration on March 17, 1737. But no matter how you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you should make sure to also celebrate it with the library this month.

Here are some fun programs for kids, teens and their parents or guardians. And try and test your knowledge of St. Patrick’s Day with some trivia at the bottom of this post!

Children’s:

Shamrock Shenanigans

Wednesday, March 9 4:30pm-5:30pm Grades K-5

Celebrate all things green with stories and crafts!

Shamrock Handmade Pretzel with Green Cinnamon Sugar

Friday, March 11 Families with Children

Pick up a kit to make jumbo shamrock pretzels and then head over to our YouTube channel for instructions from the Baking Coach!

Lucky Shamrock Growing Kit

Thursday, March 17 Grades K-5

Pick up a kit at the library and grow shamrocks at home!

Teens:

St. Patrick’s Day Party

Thursday, March 17 3:00pm-4:00pm Grades 6-12

Come celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with us with games, activities and a craft!

Parents & Guardians:

Creative Chef Rob Scott- Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Monday, March 7 All Ages

One of the four videos in Chef Rob Scott’s virtual cooking series will offer a recipe for corned beef and cabbage soup!

Morning Movie: “The Quiet Man”

Wednesday, March 16 10:00am-12:15pm Adults 55+ only

Meet at the Rainbow Center in town for a large screen viewing of this classic St. Patrick’s Day film.

Fiddler’s Green BACCA Arts Center

Saturday, March 19 1:00pm-2:30pm Adults

Join the musicians of Fiddler’s Green as they perform traditional music of Ireland and America in an authentic acoustic style.

Now test your knowledge of this fun holiday:

1. According to Irish Lore, what did Saint Patrick drive out of Ireland?

sǝʞɐus

2. How do leprechauns earn their gold?

sǝoɥs ƃuıpuǝɯ puɐ ƃuıʞɐɯ

3. What color do you wear to keep you from getting pinched by leprechauns?

uǝǝɹƃ

4. What city dyes its river green every St. Patrick’s Day?

oƃɐɔıɥϽ

5. What was Saint Patrick’s real name?

ʇɐɔɔnS uʎʍǝɐW

6. St. Patrick’s Day was originally associated with what color?

ǝnןq

7. What century was St. Patrick’s Day made an official Christian feast day?

ʎɹnʇuǝɔ ɥʇ71

8. Where was the real St. Patrick born?

uıɐʇıɹq

9. What does “Erin go bragh” mean?

ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐןǝɹI

10. What three colors are on the Irish flag?

ǝƃuɐɹo ‘ǝʇıɥʍ ‘uǝǝɹƃ

For some of us the new year means making new promises to ourselves. Your New Year’s resolutions could look like anything. Maybe you want to learn a new hobby, reduce your stress or be more positive. Reading motivational books can help you stay on track with your goals, so here is a list of books that will keep you motivated and optimistic way past January 31st.

Reporters from the Born This Way Foundation explore what kindness is and how it helps to promote unity and healing in people and in the world.

No matter who you are or where you come from, this audiobook can help you define success, envision it, and make it happen – in school, in your personal life, and at work!

Author Nicola Morgan teaches you how to approach life with optimism and understanding. She provides advice on how to flourish both physically and mentally, which will give you the skills you need to develop long-term well-being.

In this book you will be introduced to mindfulness and shown how it can ease fears and anxieties and help you develop a more measured response to the stressors around you. It will even help you build stronger relationships.

This bestseller provides engaging activities, interactives and self-evaluations to help you make better decisions and improve your sense of self-worth.

Transitioning from the summer to school days can be hard, but if you need a little extra help, your library can assist you!

If you need help with your homework, Brainfuse is the perfect place to start! Located under on the Database page of our website, Brainfuse features live online tutoring everyday from 10 am to 11 pm. They also provide:

• Homework Help Interact with live tutors in math, science, reading/writing, social studies, PSAT/SAT, ACT, AP and state standardized tests.
• Skills-Building Choose your topic to receive real-time help.
• Personalized eLearning Tools My File Sharing, My Session Replay, My Tutoring Archive, My Tests Archive, and more!
• 24-Hour Writing Lab Submit essays and other forms of writing for constructive feedback.
• Homework Send Question Submit homework questions for expert guidance.
• Adult Learning Center Access a library of rich adult learning content (GED) and live, professional assistance in resume/cover letter writing, U.S. citizenship prep, MS Office Essential Skills Series, and more!
• Foreign Language Lab /Spanish-Speaking Support

Do you need to learn about the states? Click on the states feature for some interesting facts!

It even offers Life Skills 101! The information provided is everything that is needed and relevant for taking the next steps from high school to adulthood. With topics such as financial literacy, buying a car, getting a credit card, navigating the working world, setting up a home and much more!

Their topics include:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Earth Science
• Environmental Science
• Forensic Science
• Marine Science
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Space and Astronomy
• Weather and Climate

Need the book To Kill a Mockingbird like yesterday? How about another assigned book for class? If you can’t get a physical copy as soon as you need it, try checking our Libby app for the e-book!

All of these services can be accessed through our website! The databases can be accessed through the Research tab on the top of our homepage. All you need is your library card and your library card account information. If you need any help navigating, call, message our chat or come in and ask!

Dungeons and Dragons (aka DnD or D&D) is a fantasy role-playing game that was created in 1974. As the popularity of the game grew, it became referenced in pop culture through out the 70s and 80s. But you may be familiar with it from the Netflix show Stranger Things! But if you’re not familiar with this popular game and are interested in learning more, we’re here to help!

The game is set in a medieval fantasy world and you, along with a group of others, are led through an adventure by one player who assumes the role of a storyteller, or the Dungeon Master. Before the game starts, the Dungeon Master makes up story events or chooses them from a published guide. Then when the players get their turn they can respond in different ways to create a unique gaming experience.

Before the game, you and the other players create your own character. First you choose a race (human, elf, dwarf etc.), a class (Fighter, Rogue, Wizard etc.) and skill sets. The skill sets that you choose will help determine how well you do in certain situations. If you do well in situations, points can be gained. Sometimes difficult actions can fail and this can be determined by rolling one or more of the game’s polygonal dice.

If you’re interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons make sure to sign up for our upcoming sessions:

Saturday, September 25 1:00-4:00pm

Saturday, October 23 1:00-4:00pm

Saturday, November 20 1:00-4:00pm

Saturday, December 18 1:00-4:00pm

We offer these programs to any Lindenhurst resident in grades 6-12.

And if you’re interested in reading up on Dungeons and Dragons or creating your own campaign check out these books from our collection:

El Día de los Niño/El Día de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) commonly known as Día, is an everyday celebration of children, families, and reading that happens every year on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Día is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures. The common goals of all Día programming are to:

-Celebrate and connect children to the world of learning through books, stories and libraries

-Nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture.

-Introduce families to community resources that provide opportunities for learning through multiple literacies.

-Recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities

This year marks their 25th year.

Día is an amplification of Children’s Day which is a celebration that took place in 1925 as a day to bring attention to the importance and well-being of children. Each country selected its own day for the celebration with Mexico and other Latin American countries choosing April 30. In March 1996, the author Pat Mora proposed linking Children’s Day with literacy and bilingualism, creating a new holiday: El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros. On April 30, 1997 the first El Día de los Niños/el Día de los Libros celebrations were held in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

Promoters of Día wanted to make sure that literacy, books and reading were not relegated to a single day, so they adopted the motto “Día! Today and Every Day of the Year.” Here are some ways you can celebrate:

Read a bilingual book from our collection!

And make sure to look out for fun virtual events hosted by the library during the week of April 26. Look out for a tutorial on paletas, a bilingual storytime and more!