Reminders & New Information:

*  April is National Poetry Month! Have you heard of book spine poetry? Give it a shot, and send us a photo!
*  Check out our Pinterest Book Club! Want to talk about a good book? Discuss the books pinned on the book club board in the comments. If you haven't read the book, remember spoilers may occur in discussions. Feel free to message us on Facebook to suggest books!
*  Our newest board on Pinterest links to book trailers – check out some great past trailers!
*  Every Day is Earth Day in April at HP Library! Drop your Earth Day pledges in the box on the checkout desk. Check the Gerbils’ Twitter page for suggestions each day!
*  Junior Page Volunteers! Registration begins May 1.
*  Meet Michael Jordan's mother on May 5!
*  Meet popular author Sharon Draper on May 12!
*  Spring Storytimes are now in session. Register at www.kidsevents.org.

New 2-Day DVDS:

*  New 2-day is: Space Dogs.

What’s Going On This Week:
*  Wednesday evening, students selected by the 2012 Poetry Challenge judges will read their poems at 7:00 in the auditorium.
*  The Instrument Petting Zoo is back! Saturday, the 21^st, from 2:00 to 3:30pm in the Auditorium and Meeting Room.  You’re never too young or too old for learning to play an instrument. Let the instructors from the Music Institute of Chicago and the Field Violin Workshop demonstrate their instruments for you and then let you try them out. There will be strings, percussion, guitar/bass and wind instruments. New this year, there will also be a Musikgarten class ideal for children birth through age six. No tickets are required for this free drop-in event.
*  The flannel board in the Inger Boye room this week is Silly Sally by Audrey Wood.

Around the Web:
We encountered lots of this week, so we thought we'd break it down for you a little bit.

Books & Book Stuff
*  Do you share your birthday with a literary character? 
*  Katniss is now available as a Barbie. What would she think about that? There are a few other literary Barbies available, too.
*  Tor, a science fiction and fantasy publisher, frequently invites their blog followers to participate in group re-reads of books – and Thursday, Freddy Goes to Florida began a Freddy the Pig series reread!
*  Beatrix Potter fans, check out this original draft of Peter Rabbit – in a letter from Mrs. Potter to a friend’s five year-old son. Eight years later, Potter revisited the letter, and The Tale of Peter Rabbit was born.
*  President Obama and his family read last year’s Caldecott winner & HPPL staff favorite A Sick Day for Amos McGee.
*  A YALSA interview with author and poet Alan Wolf about his most recent novel, The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.
*  Apparently, Random House is a bad name for a publisher, if they want to receive any mail from FedEx.
*  Details about J.K. Rowling’s new book.

Lists
*  The 2012 Indies Choice and E.B. White Read-Aloud awards were announced, as well as the Eisners – the comic awards.
*  The Top 10 Banned Books of 2011, announced in the American Library Association’s annual State of America’s Libraries report.
*  The Greatest Girl Characters of Young Adult Literature.
*  Feeling brave? Participate in the Nerdbury Challenge… read all the Newbery award winners, from 1922 to present. Apparently, the early ones are difficult. How many have you read?

Movies of Books
*  Matthew Lillard’s film adaptation of the 2004 Printz honor book Fat Kid Rules the World debuted at South by Southwest and is set to premier in theaters sometime in 2012. (Trailer rated for mature audiences.)
*  For more news of YA books on the big screen, check out this article from YALSA. What are you excited for? Dismayed at? Any books you’re disappointed haven’t been picked up for a movie?

Highland Park News
*  Pace has debuted hybrid buses in Highland Park! Way to go, Pace!

Gerbil News
*  Did you know the gerbils went on vacation over the weekend?  We posted some of their vactation photos on Facebook.
*  The gerbil's most popular pin this week was Footprint Earth. Take off your shoes and make this fun craft.
*  Our most recent Stumble was The Lake County Forest Preserve's Nature Cam