If it's April, it must be National Poetry Month, and here's a fun way to celebrate. (I know, it's not as much fun as writing chalk poems on the sidewalk outside the school, but I look forward to doing that with you when we get back!) The Academy of American Poets is presenting Dear Poet, an event which asks you to watch videos of poets reading their work, and then write a letter to one of them in response. All letters will be considered for publication on Poets.org next month, and poets will choose some letter to respond to. All the videos and instructions can be found here. Have fun, and stay fly, Eagles!
Some of your favorite YA authors will be reading live and answering questions on Saturday from 12-7:00 pm. Here's the schedule (subject to change). Watch and participate at facebook.com/BookCon.
With a public library card, you have access to free ebooks and audio books. Normally, you would have to go to the library to get a card, but while the libraries are closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, you do have other options. According to Tracy Wright, the director of the Eastchester Public Library, once you fill out the online application (select your home library from the drop down menu, and please use a parental e-mail if you are under 18), you will receive an email with your new library card number. If your email is blocked, you will receive a call. Please note that since the library is closed, the call will be coming from Johnson Chaco, not the library itself. Also, the New York Public Library is offering library cards to all New York State residents through the Simply E app. Any library card will grant you access to Hoopla or Libby, and with those apps you can "check out" ebooks or audio books. Keep reading, and stay fly, Eagles!
Historians and scientists are looking back to the flu pandemic of 1918, which claimed millions of lives worldwide. Although that flu and today's coronavirus are different diseases, and there have been obvious medical advances in the past 100 years, these ads from newspapers at the time show, in some respects, how little has really changed.
You can see more ads, and read more about them, in this Time magazine article. Stay Fly, Eagles!
These are tricky times, indeed. I thought I would have finished at least three books by now, since we've been closed for three weeks, but I actually abandoned one book and am only halfway through another. But I discovered this is not unique, even for people who make their living in the literary world. Everybody seems to be having more difficulty concentrating. This week, BookRiot published this helpful guide if you need some alternative ways to occupy your mind. Stay fly, Eagles!
