In the back-to-school buzz that is in the air this week, we haven’t forgotten about our homeschool families at the Delaware County District Library.
The library has offered a Homeschool Book Club at our Ostrander Branch Library for many years. It regularly meets on the second Friday of the month from 1-2 p.m. and is for students of all ages. During the program, students are given an opportunity to do book report-style presentations before the group based on changing themes.
This fall, the Ostrander Branch Library Homeschool Book Club will present on the topics of Traveling by Rail: All about train travel (Sept. 9), Crypto Critters (Oct. 14) and Native Americans (Nov. 11). Preregistration is required and can be found on the Delaware library’s website at www.delawarelibrary.org under Events.
The Orange Branch Library is adding its first Homeschool Hangout this fall with a theme of Backyard Adventures. The group meets on Friday, Sept. 30, from 2-4 p.m. and will give homeschool students between the ages of 5-12 the opportunity to meet fellow homeschoolers while exploring the great outdoors (right outside the library). Preservation Parks will join us for a fun presentation before groups will divide and explore nature and wildlife-themed learning stations.
Do you have an at-home learner with a love for creating art? The Orange Branch Library is looking for original student art inspired by our theme “Nature Walk” to put on display at the branch. Drop it off any time before Aug. 29 and we’ll show it off in our display cases throughout the month of September. Include your student’s name, age, and parent/guardian’s contact information on the back of the artwork. Library staff will create artist labels for the art!
Perhaps your learner will create a watercolor portrait of your backyard, or construct a tree from clay or recycled materials — it’s up to you to interpret the theme and create something original. Our display cases can take art as big as 14 inches tall by 10 inches wide.
Of course, all the library resources are available for all learners, whether they learn from home, at school, or on a plane on their way to a beach. Just visit www.delawarelibrary.org/student to see what may be helpful for you this school year.
This week, take a look through our most popular new Fiction A to Z titles on the shelves.
• “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin. A chance encounter launches a 30-year friendship between brilliant video game designers Sadie Green and Sam Masur. Mistakes are made, lessons are learned, and video game fortunes rise and fall. When deciding if it’s for you, consider if you like ability-diverse characters, Oregon Trail, Neal Stephenson’s “Reamde,” gaming fandom at large, and/or the ride-or-die friendships forged therein. If yes, then smash “play” on this.
• “Our Wives Under the Sea” by Julia Armfield. A deep-sea research sub malfunctions, stranding marine biologist Leah on the ocean floor for six terrifying months. Leah returns home but isn’t at all the same loving partner she was. Are they just drifting apart? Or is something stranger happening? Read it for a “moody and intimate debut novel, both a portrait of a marriage and a subtle horror fantasy” (Publishers Weekly).
• “Counterfeit” by Kirstin Chen. Ava Wong bumps into former college roomie Winnie Fang. Ava is quickly drawn into Winnie’s designer handbag scam to earn money for her son’s school fees. But who’s hustling who? Narrated by Ava and Winnie in turn, this witty caper novel leaves readers guessing who they can trust.
• “Cult Classic” by Sloane Crosley. Sloane, on the verge of marrying her “perfect guy,” is suddenly tripping over her (still pretty darn attractive) exes. Her former boss – a self-styled, wanna-be psychology guru – is using her for one of his experiments… but to what end? This will feel like a mashup of “your favorite rom-com meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with a light soupçon of Ghostbusters” (Booklist).
• “Fellowship Point” by Alice Elliott Dark. Discover the luminous lifelong friendship of octogenarians Agnes and Polly, whose families jointly own the pristine slice of coastal Maine known as Fellowship Point. Hidden secrets… put them at odds while developers eye their land.
