Create It! Magical Unicorn Magnet
by Karen
It's Make It Monday! Today Karen shares how to make a enchanted unicorn magnet to add some magic to your refrigerator or locker!
(September 19, 2020) On Friday, September 18, 2020, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Rescue responded to the intersection of South Aurora Parkway and East Arapahoe Road on a reported traffic crash involving a motorcycle and a Honda Pilot.
The initial investigation has revealed the motorcycle was traveling eastbound on East Arapahoe Road and entered the intersection on a green light. The driver of the Honda Pilot made a left turn from westbound Arapahoe Road and failed to yield to the motorcycles right-of-way causing the crash. The driver of the Honda Pilot stayed at the scene of the crash, and was later treated for minor injuries. The driver of the motorcycle, an adult female, tragically succumbed to their injuries at the scene.
Neither drugs nor alcohol are suspect by either driver, and at this time there is no indication speed was a contributing factor. This is an active and ongoing investigation being conducted by the Aurora Police Traffic Unit. Appropriate traffic charges will be determined at the conclusion of the investigation. At this time no one is in custody, or otherwise charged with any violations.
The identity of the deceased will be released by theArapahoe County Coroner's Office after positive identification and next-of-kin notification.
We are asking anyone who may have witnessed this crash, has dash camera footage, or if you have any information about this incident, to please contact theMetro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867) or reach out to the Aurora Police Department Traffic Unit.
Officer Crystal McCoy
Media Relations Unit
720.432.5095
Game reviews by Elizabeth, Justine, and Tessy.
Hello everyone! If you’re looking for games that are longer in length, heavy with plot, and driven by story – these games are for you! These games are our all-time favorite story driven games; we hope you’ll enjoy these reviews and recommendations!
Story-Drive Role-Playing Video Games
Dragon Age
Available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows, OS X, and iOS
If you love story-based fantasy games, and you haven’t yet stumbled across Bioware’s Dragon Age series, I recommend it will all of my heart. Let’s give this review a bit of perspective with a game of “Would you rather?”. If someone asked me if I had to choose between two video game series, Witcher and Dragon Age, and the one I didn’t pick would be wiped off my computer and mysteriously crash every time I every tried to install it again... I would choose to keep Dragon Age. Without hesitation. Pausing for the gasp of shock, how could I denigrate one of the mostly highly rated game from the past few years that is a book series and a TV show? Yes I’m still holding to my decision. Both games are a three part series moving from bad graphics to gorgeous, with ever elevating game-play, complexity, and just all around awesomeness. Both have lore so expansive I could build them libraries, with a dash of fluff (or not so fluff) romance, and elements of the ever sought after “your-choices-matter-somewhat"". But where Dragon Age pulls ahead is their character customization and game companions. You are the gruff and grizzled warrior Warden, the flirty and light-footed Carta rogue, or the crusading Vashoth Qunari mage. And (unless you cheat via Wiki) that character is only grudgingly aiding you in your quest while that one adores you, but that one over there holds a secret that might ruin your entire mission. That sense of emersion and personal stakes is a necessary element to a story-based RPG that you’ll be investing hours and hours of your life into, and is the only reason why you won’t fling your keyboard/controller away in disgust at all of the side missions (that both of them have an abundance of).
Now that I’ve hopefully intrigued you, here are a few basics. Bioware’s Dragon Age series currently has three games, with rumors of the fourth game having been confirmed at Gamescom 2020 with early production teasers. The game series takes place in the fantasy world of Thedas full of rich history and magic, and if you gave me this entire blog post I would outline the lay of the land for you with a color-coded map and a lot of arrows and doodles. Suffice to say, in the first game, the stakes are pretty clear. You are the accidental hero tasked with gathering your team and uniting the kingdom of Ferelden (in Thedas) against a tainted evil, the darkspawn. What are darkspawn? Where did they come from? How do we kill them? Well the first game will involve lots of the latter and fans are hoping Dragon Age 4 will clear up the first two questions. After a variety of endings where evil is still vanquished (for now), we move on to Dragon Age 2. For those familiar with Bioware’s other story-based RPG, Mass Effect (also amazing but with spaceships), Dragon Age is a bit different since each story has its own main character, probably because your choices can lead to your death. So, in Dragon Age 2 you get stuck as a human (a mistake Bioware hasn’t made again), and fleeing with the aid of a dragon from the darkspawn invasion from the first game, you start your life anew in Kirkwall, a former slave city, and hope the giant statues outside the docks aren’t an ominous foreshadowing of your future (they are). From there, you’ll inevitably get involved in epic plotlines, even though you’re just trying to ensure that your family and found-family survives (good luck with that). A chain-reaction is sparked (you contribute) and a war breaks out that sweeps you right into Dragon Age 3, where once again you are an accidental hero tasked with saving all of Thedas, but this time from demons. At least you get a castle where you can stand on the ramparts and think heavy leadership thoughts this time. In the first game I tried it with the pond, and it just didn’t have the same effect. This is all a gross oversimplification of an amazing game series (And I didn’t even get to mention the romances! That would be an entirely separate blog post!), but I hope its enough that when the series goes on sale as Dragon Age 4 looms on the horizon, you’ll give it a chance, and end up loving the series just as much as I do. – Tessy
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Available on Nintendo Switch
Fire Emblem: Three Houses for the Nintendo Switch isn’t just a game. It’s an experience. It’s easily in my top 5 favorite video games of all time and is a must-have if you’re a Switch owner looking for an adventure worth your time and money. You play as Byleth, a professor at an Officers Academy called Garreg Mach Monastery where you must choose between teaching one of three houses: the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, or my personal favorite, the Golden Deer. Each house consists of 8 students you train in combat, taking them on monthly missions to face off against bandits, those who oppose the monastery, and even monsters! Your objective is to keep your students alive and build bonds with them as you lecture, host tea parties, give them gifts, and most importantly strategize well in turn-based battles. With so much to do, you can easily sink 80 hours into the game before completion, and with such amazing re-playability, you can spend weeks or months playing without tiring of it. Each of the 4 routes is unique, containing completely different storylines and characters, and you’ll want to experience them all for a whopping total of 320+ hours of gameplay! For me, Fire Emblem is an easy 5/5. The art direction is phenomenal, the gameplay is addictive, and the story and characters are unforgettable. You won’t be able to put it down or play it fast enough, and you’ll have a hard time finding a game that will measure up. - Justine
Eliza
Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Nintendo Switch.
Hey, you can't talk story games without visual novels. Visual novels are the ultimate story games: instead of jumping, fighting, shooting, or solving puzzles, you read paragraphs of text, occasionally making choices and influencing the story along the way. Visual novels have a bad rap for being all dating games: (a) dating games are fabulous, I have no shame and (b) that's about as silly as calling every book in the library a textbook.
Eliza, a 2019 visual novel by Zachtronics, is a game all about dialogue, but there's no dating here. You play as Evelyn, a young woman in a grey hoodie with exhaustion permanently etched on her face. Once, tech genius Evelyn created a virtual counseling AI named Eliza. Then, she burned out, quit her job, and vanished for 3 years. Now ELIZA is everywhere, and Evelyn has returned to her old company to work on the lowest rung on the corporate ladder. As an ELIZA proxy, Evelyn sits in a room with desperate people and reads ELIZA's therapy script -- and only her script -- as words appear on screen. She's a human face for an AI assistant. When bosses and friends realize Evelyn is back in town, they start offering her paths forward: advanced work on ELIZA, developing an alternate AI, or abandoning the tech industry completely. Is ELIZA making the world better or worse, and what will you as Evelyn do to shape the future? Eliza is a thoughtful story with no easy answers, and it's even more relevant this year than last (thanks, 2020). It's currently available on Windows, mac, and Linux, and will be available on Nintendo Switch in October. - Elizabeth
Know of any games we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Grab a pencil and paper - it's time to Draw It! 📝 Our librarian Kristin shows how to draw an adorable penguin!
Show us your penguin in the comments below and tell us what you'd like to draw next!
Welcome to Make & Learn!
with Sara
In this program, our librarians will be sharing easy-to-make games and activities that support cognitive development and practicing early literacy skills.
In this video, Miss Sara shares a fun fishing game that supports print awareness and letter knowledge.
APL Reader's Corner
with Nicole & Tessy
We're reading dystopians this month with "Moon of the Crusted Snow" by Waubgeshig Rice. Let us know what you think about the book as you read along in this online book club, and then join us for our live discussion on Friday, September 25 at 1 p.m. on Facebook!
"Moon Of The Crusted Snow" by Waubgeshig Rice
Available instantly as a eBook and digital audiobook via hoopla digital
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.
Discussion Questions
- In dystopian scenarios, the loss of individualism is a reoccurring theme. How important is it for people to have choice?
- What do you think happened to the world outside of the Anishinaabe community? Do you think you would be able to survive an event like this?Who is your community? What stories would you fight to keep alive?
- What was your favorite part about this book?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below and join us on Facebook at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 for our live discussion!
(September 14) On Monday, September 14, 2020, at approximately 4:25 P.M., Aurora Police Officers and Aurora Fire Rescue responded to the area of East Alameda Avenue and South Peoria Street on reports of a vehicle crash involving a motorcycle.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a Mazda sedan and motorcycle were both traveling eastbound on E. Alameda Ave, approaching S. Peoria St., in the right-hand lane. The Mazda slowed to make a right-hand turn onto S. Peoria St. when the motorcycle rear-ended the Mazda. The driver of the motorcycle was thrown from his motorcycle and tragically died on scene. The driver of the Mazda was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Investigators for our Traffic Unit will attempt to reconstruct the scene to determine speeds and other contributing factors of the crash. The identity of the deceased male will be released by the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office after positive identification and next-of-kin notification.
We are asking anyone who may have witnessed this crash, has dash cam footage, or if you have any information about this incident, please contact the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867) or reach out to the Aurora Police Department Traffic Unit.
Officer Matthew Longshore
Public Information Officer
Aurora Police Department
720-432-5095
It's time for our September Family Book Club!
We are very excited to host award-winning children's author Ben Guterson at 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28 to discuss his book "Winterhouse". Register for our Zoom meeting with Ben Guterson here!
Need a copy of "Winterhouse"? Pick up a copy at Tallyn's Reach Library or call 303.627.3050. You can also listen to the audiobook for free from hoopla digital with your library card!
"Winterhouse" - Part 2 (Chapters 16 - 23)
- Do you like codes and secret messages? When I was a kid, I would make up symbols for each letter of the alphabet and write secret messages to my brother!
- Have you ever done a scavenger hunt? That chapter was pretty fun! What was your favorite clue that Freddy made for Elizabeth?
- Hiems and his wife have "found the girl" and Norbridge is also curious about her. What do you think that means?
- Do you think Elizabeth has The Book?
- Do you think Elizabeth will accept the Hiems' invitation to tea?
- What happened in the library on Christmas Eve?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Create It! DIY Pencil Holder
by Karen
Karen shares a fun and easy pencil holder - perfect for back-to-school or office desk decor!
Read It! "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins
by Sara
It’s been a long while since I visited Panem, but I recently took a trip back when reading “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins.
When I first heard Collins was releasing a prequel to her bestselling series "The Hunger Games", I wasn't sure what to think. I absolutely loved "The Hunger Games". When I first read it, I remember devouring it (pun intended), reading non-stop until I finished the trilogy. While I was excited for more from Collins, I had mixed feelings about the story. I wanted to know more about the revolution and the start of the games in Panem – how did they get to the dystopian world where Katniss, Peeta and Gale had to fight to survive. But I didn't think I'd enjoy reading about a young Coriolanus Snow - who would later become the villainous President Snow in Katniss' world. After the first few chapters, I was proven wrong.
"The Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds" was just as enthralling as the original trilogy; I could not put it down. I've read many books before the Hunger Games and after, but there is something about this series that makes it hard to not consume all in one sitting. From a dystopian future to a unique cast of characters, from the (sometimes terrifying) biological inventions that come from the Capitol and the underlying commentary of human nature – it all make this series so good!
Coriolanus, the heir to the once-prominent Snow family, is a student at the Academy. His family has fallen on hard times like many did after the war, but he finds a potential way to land on top when he is selected as a mentor in the 10th Annual Hunger Games. This mentorship is harder than he anticipated once he realizes the tributes are like him – a young person, not animals – and he sparks a connection with his tribute, Lucy Gray of District 12 – making him question everything he has known.
Collins did a great job incorporating pieces of Snow and Panem’s history that fans already knew from the original series into this prequel, tying them together seamlessly. Aside from getting an early look at Snow’s slow corruption and eventual rise to power, fans will appreciate the subtle explanation of Snow’s ever-present rose on his lapel, his relation to an future rebel and his deep-rooted connection to the Games, both from its inception to making them into what Katniss would face 64 years later. Other not-so-subtle connections are the mockingjays in District 12 and the origin of “The Hanging Tree” song. This story finds a way to weave itself into the series and set the grand stage for what was to come decades later in the Panem timeline.
One of the best parts of this book are the characters. Having read “The Hunger Games”, I thought I would have a hard time rooting for Coriolanus Snow. But for most of this book, he isn’t quite yet the Snow that you know (though there are definitely glimmers of his maniacal mind throughout). I actually found myself rooting for him, wanting him to the get “happily ever after” he thought he wanted – at least until his slow and steady corruption becomes evident. His tribute, Lucy Gray of District 12, is a likable character from the start, especially once the reader gets to know her – in many ways like Katniss, but softer. I found myself rooting for her, wishing she got a different ending.
His classmates gave more insight into the youth of the Capitol and the disparity of life in the Capitol versus the Districts, which made it easier to see how Katniss’ world came to be. One in particular, Sejanus, a boy from the Districts whose family rose to prominence during the war, is very interesting to watch. He struggles with his new identity as Capitol while not wanting to let go of his true identity as District, leading him to make hard decisions that affect more than just himself. Sejanus shows that maybe there aren’t as many differences between people as there appear, but instead people put up the barriers to divide.
Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul gives even possibly the greatest insight into how Panem becomes the world we see in the original trilogy as she alters creatures of all kinds – even humans – in her lab. Her pushing of Coriolanus – both in his studies and even life after the Academy – gives insight into the views of the Capitol and how their desire for power is derived from chaos versus control. Her constant presence in Coriolanus’ life and mind seem to be a driving factor that takes him from Coriolanus, a young man trying to find a place in the world, to Snow, the man that would become a tyrannical president through less than respectable means.
Overall, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is an engaging read and a truly great addition to “The Hunger Games” series. From beginning to end, there were twists and surprises that kept me guessing and immersed in the world of Panem as Snow worked his way through challenges to discover his ultimate fate and future. Without giving too much away, the ending left me absolutely shocked…but, as Tigris and Coriolanus both say – “Snow lands on top”.
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