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Post By: Leigh R. 

Get Cozy With
  
Holiday Picture Books

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Post By: Elizabeth B

Deck the Halls:
Educational Family Games

The holidays are here! That means nights are longer, the world is colder, and Great-Aunt Gertrude is packing her bags for her annual visit. Whether you have eight celebrations planned or are foregoing all holidays in favor of naps, you may be getting calls from loved ones asking when you can get together. Don't spend your winter dreading another conversation about politics over pie. Your local library has your back with six awesome, educational, and family-friendly games to fill those gaps in conversation with good memories instead.  

Each one is:  

• Playable in 30 minutes
• Builds important literacy skills
• Available at Aurora Public Library to try!

1) For Kids Who Pore Over Picture Books: Dixit 

Whether your kids can read yet or not, they'll love Dixit, a cheerful card game filled with fairy-tale imagery. One player names a prompt, like "music" or "The Little Mermaid." Everyone then chooses one of their cards that they think best represents the theme. Afterwards, all players try to guess what card the prompt-giver picked. With rabbit-shaped game pieces and lush illustrations, Dixit will leave you marveling at cuteness instead of stressing over winning.  

Recommended Ages: 6 and older 

Playtime: 30 minutes 

Literacy skills: Creativity, story-telling, communication 

2). For Your Niece Who Sleeps in a Tutu: Sparkle Kitty 

Cross Candy Land with Uno and you have this sugar-sweet game. The evil Queen Sparkle Kitty has locked the princesses of the land in towers! To escape, players must match cards and shout silly phrases to free themselves. Younger kids will love the bright colors and princess theme, while adults will enjoy the deck's diverse representation and vocabulary. (Plus, who says adults won't laugh over magic phrases like "Otter Devastation?")  

Recommended Ages: 6 or older. Younger kids may need a parent's help to read the words. 

Playtime: 15-20 minutes 

Literacy Skills: Colors, shapes, vocabulary 

3). For the Artist who Doodles in Notebooks: Tsuro 

Game play is marvelously simple: each player builds a path for their token, winding across the board. Players must avoid bumping into other players or falling off the edge of the board...but, as the board fills with paths, this gets harder and harder to do! Play it once and you'll know the rules. Play it twice and your friends will be placing tiles down with a conniving glint in their eyes.  

Recommended Ages: 8 and older. 

Playtime: 15-20 minutes 

Literacy skills: Strategy, spatial reasoning 

4). For Ralph the Reptile Lover: Coloretto 

Match colorful chameleons to win in this award-winning German card game. Players want to match one color with another, but beware: you don't want more than three different chameleon colors! Wordless and bright, the whole family will like this fast-paced card game. 

Recommended Ages: 8 and older 

Playtime: 30 minutes 

Literacy skills: Colors, counting 

5). For the Teen Who Loves to Yell: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Want to scratch that “spy” itch and strengthen communication skills at the same time? Teens at Mission Viejo and Iliff Square can’t get enough of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. The game’s premise is simple: only one player can see the bomb. They must explain what they see to anyone else playing, who desperately scour a rulebook looking for ways to defuse the bomb. Fail three times, and a loud explosion signals that it’s “Game Over.” Players can focus on reading, asking questions, or describing symbols, depending on their skills and confidence level.

 Recommended Ages: 12 and older, though younger kids can play with help.

Playtime: 5 minutes for a quick game, though I promise no one will quit after the first round

Literacy skills: Communication, advanced vocabulary, Morse code (yes, really)

6). For Anyone Who Won't Wash Dishes: Overcooked  

Everyone could stand to help a little more with household chores. And what better way to prompt that than by turning work into a fun game? In Overcooked, players must work together to cook various meals for their restaurant, passing burger patties and dirty dishes across the counters. The trick? You might be cooking on a moving truck, on an iceberg, in a spaceship, or with a flamethrower. Overcooked won multiple game awards for "Best Cooperative Game" in 2016, and after testing it with teens, young adults, and moms, I can confirm it's fun for video game addicts and novices alike.  

Ages: 12 and older.  

Playtime: 5 minutes for a quick game, though finishing every stage might take all winter. 

Literacy skills: Cooperation, time management 

Want more games? Or want to give these a test drive before committing?
 Check out our Tabletop Gaming Clubs at Mission Viejo and Iliff Square: 
Mission Viejo: Wednesdays, 4:30 PM: December 13, January 10, January 24
Iliff Square: Saturdays, 3 PM: December 2, December 16, January 6, January 20

Craft Time! Paper Snowflakes

Post by Justine C

With winter here and snow days waiting to happen, you might be wondering how you can keep kids occupied when it’s too cold for them to play outside. It certainly won’t do to put them in front of the TV or computer screen for hours on end. Fortunately, there are plenty of fun crafts you can do in the comfort of your own home with materials you most likely already own. All you need to make your own snowflakes is a white sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, some tape or glue, and yarn!

Materials:

• A white sheet of paper cut into a square (try coffee filters if you don't have a piece of paper)
• Scissors
• Tape or glue
• A ball of yarn or string

Instructions (see below for a visual of each step):

1. Fold your sheet of paper in half diagonally until it’s in a triangle shape.
2. Fold it in half again so the pointed ends meet and it makes an even smaller triangle.
3. Now fold the triangle into thirds. You’ll want them to be even, so make sure to do your adjustments before creating the creases.
4. Cut across the bottom of the paper to create a triangle.
5. Cut patterns into the newly formed triangle. Be creative! Just don’t cut it clean across - you’ll need to be able to unfold it.
6. Unfold the paper completely and carefully. Now you have a unique snowflake of your very own!
7. Cut a piece of yarn at least a foot long.
8. With tape or glue, attach the yarn to one of the edges of your snowflake.
9. Hang up your snowflake from the ceiling, in the window or somewhere else that could use some winterizing!

This fun and easy craft is suitable for any child who’s comfortable using scissors and is something every member of the family can get in on! Once you’ve tried the way described here, try and make specific designs such as hearts or moons, or search the internet for extreme patterns that you can follow. Try starting with this Google search! Don’t take my word for it - try it out and be sure to share your results on Instagram or Twitter @APLReadingRocks!

Happy crafting!

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This Blog is for You

Do you ever get that feeling of when you finish a book and feel so emotionally drained that you cannot even fathom reading a new book or series? That is a feeling I get all the time. I always feel incredibly invested in all of the characters that line the pages of the book I am reading that when I finally finish that last page-I can barely handle not having them in my life anymore. Recently, I re-read a Young Adult series that I had read when I was a teenager by Meg Cabot-the Mediator Series-and I devoured all 7 books within days. I instantly felt myself lost inside the words and characters of this series that when I finished-it felt impossible to not know what else Jesse and Susanna (trust me, read this series) were up to next. There was a hole in my world-which certainly only the characters of this series could fill-I NEEDED MORE. 

Nevertheless-the series was done and I knew I had to move on. But how do you start a new book-standalone or series-just like that. How could any other book possibly be as good and as invigorating? Of course, we all know this feeling eventually subsides right? We succumb to the fact that we must move on and start the search for our next great read. Do you struggle finding your next great read? Because honestly, I do. I’m a librarian and love books but I often find myself in a book rut-not knowing what to read next. 

This feeling-this fleeting, awful, disgusting feeling is something this blog aims to help you lose all together. Looking for your next great read? Look no further than our blog. Not only will our blog encapsulate family fun, book recommendations, author profiles, and all things library but it will (we hope) be a great avenue and forum for you and others to enjoy sharing, commenting, and growing through shared connections with others. 

Welcome to Aurora Public Library’s Blog. We are pleased to offer this site that showcases posts written and created for you by our library staff. Each week, expect to read new posts that will not only captivate you as a reader but also engage your family as well. This blog is for you-we hope you enjoy it. 

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No Clowning around with IT

Post by Brandon F. 

What could possibly be worse than a clown? How about a multi-dimensional entity that can take on the form of whatever you fear most? I would say that just about takes the cake. If you recently took a visit to theaters to see Stephen King’s IT directed by Andrés Muschietti, then you probably have a few questions about the true nature of IT. While Pennywise the Clown may be the most favored form for IT to take, there is certainly so much more to the story.  In order to tell you the full backstory of IT, you need to know the story of the Stephen King Universe.

Yes that is right, there is a Stephen King universe, much alike you’re Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Cinematic Universe and etc. To the casual Stephen King reader it may seem as if all of his franchises are separate entities, however there is one ultimate series that brings all of his writings together. This would be the Dark Tower universe and it is here where we find out more about where the ancient evil IT actually comes from.  

When I say ancient, I’m talking millions of years. When I say evil, I’m talking about a reality between dimensions where only darkness and monsters reside. In IT, this area is referred to as the Macroverse and was later referred to as the Todash Space within the Dark Tower series. It is from this dreaded space which IT originates. Now with knowing that, I’m sure you can see that IT is most certainly not just a clown. But then you ask “So what is IT?” To that I say “oh boy”.

Describing a creature that is beyond human comprehension is a tricky task, but it is one that Stephen King was up for. In one of the final confrontations between IT and the protagonists, IT takes the form of a giant spider. This however, is not the true form but merely the closest thing the human mind can relate to and grasp. The true form can be found in a realm outside of the ordinary known as the Deadlights. When one looks into IT’s eyes, it is possible to see through to the Deadlights and the true form of this being. After a certain character came dangerously close into looking into the eyes for too long, it was able to see what could only be described as a horrible hairy creature made of orange writhing lights that seemed to stretch on forever with no end. It was fortunate that this time of eye contact was cut short as nearly all of the victims who have looked into the Deadlights have succumbed to insanity with no hope for recovery.

So for those keeping count; that is 7 average preteen children versus 1 shape shifting, malevolent creature that has thrived for millions of years in darkness and terror that is incomprehensible by both size and form. Sure, I say those sound like good odds! Oh, and the more fear it instills in IT’s prey, the more delicious it taste before it feasts.

It is for that reason, that IT takes so many different forms and tends to favor it’s Pennywise persona. So many individuals have an ingrained fear of clowns, that Pennywise is the perfect go to for conjuring up fear. Driving your prey insane just doesn’t cut it when it comes to feeding time. Whether it be an unsettling clown, leper, mummy, werewolf or a massive spider, IT’s objective is to scare you as much as possible. 

For those of you who have seen the new film, you are probably wondering why you haven’t seen any of this. With the combination of the cosmic nature of IT and the limited budget of 30 million dollars, it was far too much of a box office risk to include the origin story of IT. Now that the film has brought in over 600 million dollars the director has ensured that the sequel will delve into the cosmic and very weird aspects of IT. You can look forward to seeing this sequel in September of 2019. With what will most certainly be a larger budget, we can hope for a spectacle for the eyes when it comes out.

We have already delved into spoiler territory quite a bit, but to tell you any more about IT would be a disservice to both Mr. King and you the reader. I highly recommend you pay a visit to your nearest Aurora Public Library and check out a copy of IT and read on for a far better story that one I can tell. I promise that a fantastic and compelling read awaits you. You can also be sure that you will be able to check out IT when it comes out on home media.

Citations
King, S. (1986). IT. New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

Butler, T. (2017, September 01). 'It' sequel to explore book's 'cosmic dimension,' and return to 1989, says director (exclusive). Retrieved October 13, 2017, from https://www.yahoo.com/movies/sequel-explore-books-cosmic-dimension-return-1989-says-director-exclusive-195252661.html
Osborn, A. (2017, September 25). IT Sequel Release Date Announced. Retrieved October 13, 2017, from http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/09/25/it-sequel-release-date-announced