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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):
- Fold your sheet of paper in half diagonally until it’s in a triangle shape.
- Fold it in half again so the pointed ends meet and it makes an even smaller triangle.
- Now fold the triangle into thirds. You’ll want them to be even, so make sure to do your adjustments before creating the creases.
- Cut across the bottom of the paper to create a triangle.
- 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.
- Unfold the paper completely and carefully. Now you have a unique snowflake of your very own!
- Cut a piece of yarn at least a foot long.
- With tape or glue, attach the yarn to one of the edges of your snowflake.
- Hang up your snowflake from the ceiling, in the window or somewhere else that could use some winterizing!
.png "Snowflake Craft Visual How-To")
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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December New Releases and Bestsellers!
Post by Kristin S.
As we head into the cold, but cozy month of December, take a look at the recent bestsellers, newly released DVDs, and timely series recommendations below! Follow the links in each post to find the item in our catalog for you to check out. Let us know what you think of each book or DVD in the comments section. Enjoy!
Recent New York Times Bestsellers:
Fiction
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Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson at the top of his game.
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Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Janet Evanovich's #1 New York Times bestselling sensation Stephanie Plum returns in her latest captivating thriller where mutilated corpses litter the streets of New Jersey.
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End Game by David Baldacci
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
When their handler takes a rare vacation and disappears, Will Robie and Jessica Reel are sent to investigate, but after arriving in the small town of Grand they encounter a vicious adversary.
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The Midnight Line by Lee Child
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Reacher rides the bus north from Milwaukee. At a comfort stop in Wisconsin dairy country he takes a stroll. Among the cheap junk in a pawn shop window he notices a West Point class ring for sale. It's tiny. A woman cadet's ring. Why would she pawn it? Reacher knows what Serena Sanderson must have gone through to get it. He fights through a biker gang and a South Dakota gangster, following the trail of the ring to the emptiness of Wyoming, in search of Major Sanderson. Is she OK?
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The Rooster Bar by John Grisham
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Three students who have borrowed heavily to attend a third-rate law school realize they have been caught in a scam when they discover that the school's owner also owns a bank specializing in student loans, and plot to expose the scam.
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Artemis by Andy Weir
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook]
The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon.
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Origin by Dan Brown
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that "will change the face of science forever."
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Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook]
An investigation into the murder of a young pharmacist leads Harry Bosch and San Fernando's detective squad into the big-business world of pill mills and prescription-drug abuse at the same time that an old case from Bosch's days with the LAPD returns to haunt him.
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Typhoon Fury by Clive Cussler
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
When they are hired to track down a valuable art collection, Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon find themselves sailing into a perfect storm involving a Filipino insurgency, a Japanese developed super-warrior drug, and a South African mercenary.
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Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The fifth collaborative novel in the Under Suspicion series by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, takes place at the Met Gala in New York City.
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Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A collection of seventeen short stories includes three tales featuring a small-town newspaper column called "Our Town Today with Hank Fiset."
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Quick & Dirty by Stuart Woods
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
When a beautiful new client seeks out Stone Barrington, he becomes entangled in the rarefied and intricate world of the art business, where mistakes are costly and trouble lurks beneath the exclusive veneer.
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Fairytale by Danielle Steel
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
When her life on her family's vineyard is shattered by her mother's death, Camille finds herself at the mercy of a cold-hearted stepfamily at the same time she bonds with her stepmother's mother and a friend from her childhood.
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Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A tale set in a world of reversing evolution and a growing police state follows pregnant thirty-two-year-old Cedar Hawk Songmaker, who investigates her biological family while awaiting the birth of a child who may emerge as a member of a primitive human species.
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Nonfiction
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Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
A deeply moving memoir about the year that would forever change both a family and a country.
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Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza
Borrow: [Print]
Relive the extraordinary Presidency of Barack Obama through White House photographer Pete Souza's behind-the-scenes images and stories in this #1 New York Times bestseller--with a foreword from the President himself.
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Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
He was history's most creative genius. What secrets can he teach us?
The author of the acclaimed bestsellers Steve Jobs, Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography.
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Bobby Kennedy by Chris Matthews
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A revealing new portrait of Robert F. Kennedy that gets closer to the man than any book before, by bestselling author Chris Matthews, an esteemed Kennedy expert and anchor of MSNBC's Hardball.
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Hacks by Donna Brazille
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
The former Democratic National Committee chair presents a revealing look at the 2016 election, discussing the Russian hacking of the DNC and the missteps by the Clinton campaign and Obama administration that enabled a Trump victory.
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Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The fraternal twin daughters of the 43rd U.S. president share personal stories and reflections from their lives within a political dynasty, from their grandfather's presidency through their subsequent upbringing under the eyes of the Secret Service, public, and paparazzi.
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Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans by Brian Kilmeade
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A portrait of the seventh American president focuses on his formative military prowess during the War of 1812 and his pivotal contributions to the capturing of New Orleans from the British.
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Grant by Ron Chernow
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.
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Killing England by Bill O'Reilly
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The breathtaking latest installment in Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's mega-bestselling Killing series transports listeners to the most important era in our nation's history, the Revolutionary War.
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God, Faith, and Reason by Michael Savage
Borrow: [Book]
The conservative radio host shares his experiences with faith and spirituality, as well as his thoughts on religion and the Judeo-Christian basis of American culture that he has committed himself to preserve.
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What Unites Us by Dan Rather
Borrow: [Book] [eBook]
A collection of essays that define the historical changes and essential institutions of America to suggest ways to overcome divisions within the country.
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Endurance by Scott Kelly
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
A memoir by the retired astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station.
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DVD New Releases (Nov-Dec):
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Dunkirk
Borrow: [DVD]
Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea, British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces facing a fierce battle in World War II.
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Stronger
Borrow: [DVD]
A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from devastating trauma.
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Mayhem
Borrow: [DVD]
Just after being fired, Derek's office is put into quarantine for a virus that causes people to act out their wildest impulses. As chaos erupts, he makes his way to the top-floor executives to settle the score once and for all.
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Detroit
Borrow: [DVD]
A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest citizen uprisings in the United States' history.
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The Trip to Spain
Borrow: [DVD]
Comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon continue their hit series with a hilarious culinary road trip through Spain, featuring breathtaking locales and to-die-for cuisine.
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Brawl in Cell Block 99
Borrow: [DVD]
When Bradley (Vince Vaughn) is sent to prison, he is forced to commit acts of violence that turn the place into a savage battleground.
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Logan Lucky
Borrow: [DVD]
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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Tulip Fever
Borrow: [DVD]
An artist falls for a young married woman while he's commissioned to paint her portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.
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Rememory
Borrow: [DVD]
When an inventor turns up dead, a mysterious man (Peter Dinklage) steals his latest invention: a device able to extract, record and play a person's memories.
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M.F.A.
Borrow: [DVD]
Francesca Eastwood gives a breakout performance as an art student who is sexually assaulted at a party. After struggling to receive any support from her college to find justice and cope with her trauma, she impulsively confronts her attacker - a decision that has deadly repercussions. As she tracks down fellow rape survivors, an unlikely vigilante is born.
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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Borrow: [DVD]
A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
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The Hitman's Bodyguard
Borrow: [DVD]
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson star in this outrageous action comedy as an elite bodyguard and renowned hitman forced to work together. In order to succeed, they don't just have to avoid getting killed...they have to avoid killing each other.
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Acts of Vengeance
Borrow: [DVD]
A fast-talking lawyer (Antonio Banderas) transforms his body and takes a vow of silence, not to be broken until he finds out who killed his wife and daughter and has his revenge.
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Good Time
Borrow: [DVD]
Robert Pattinson stars in this fast-paced heist thriller about a bank robber who will stop at nothing to free his brother from prison, launching him into a night-long odyssey through New York's dark and dangerous criminal underworld.
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Birth of the Dragon
Borrow: [DVD]
The legend of Bruce Lee begins in 1960s San Francisco, when Lee fights Shaolin monk Wong Jack Man in a battle for the ages.
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Beach Rats
Borrow: [DVD]
Frankie (Harris Dickinson), a teenager on the edges of Brooklyn, struggles to reconcile his competing sexual desires, leaving him hurtling towards irreparable consequences.
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California Typewriter
Borrow: [DVD]
Cultural historians, collectors, and various celebrity obsessives, including Tom Hanks and John Mayer, launch us into the bittersweet moment when a beloved-but-dying technology, the typewriter, faces extinction.
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Want to read the Dark Tower series before you watch the movie? Here are the books:
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
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Book 1: The Gunslinger (1982)
Borrow: [Print] [Audiobook] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Roland, the world's last gunslinger, tracks an enigmatic Man in Black toward a forbidding dark tower, fighting forces both mortal and other-worldly on his quest.
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Book 2: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
Borrow: [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The second volume in Stephen King’s #1 bestselling Dark Tower Series, The Drawing of the Three is an “epic in the making” (Kirkus Reviews) about a savage struggle against underworld evil and otherworldly enemies.
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Book 3: The Waste Lands (1991)
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Roland, the last gunslinger, and his companions--Eddie Dean and Susannah--cross the desert of damnation, drawing ever closer to the Dark Tower, a legion of fiendish foes, and revelations that could alter the world.
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Book 4: Wizard and Glass (1997)
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Roland, the last gunslinger, and his band of followers escape one world only to slip into the next where Roland reflects upon past adventures and about his one true love.
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Book 5: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
Borrow: [Print] [Audiobook] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Wolves of the Calla continues the adventures of Roland, the Last Gunslinger and survivor of a civilized world that has "moved on." Roland's quest is ka, an inevitable destiny -- to reach and perhaps save the Dark Tower, which stands at the center of everywhere and everywhen.
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Book 6: Song of Susannah (2004)
Borrow: [Print] [Audiobook] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
While Jake, Father Callahan, and Oy struggle to free Susannah Dean, whose body is possessed by a demon-mother named Mia, Roland and Eddie find themselves swept by magic to East Stoneham, Maine, in the summer of 1977.
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Book 7: The Dark Tower (2004)
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The final installment in the epic series completes the quest of Roland Deschain, who works to outmaneuver the increasingly desperate acts of his adversaries and confronts losses within his circle of companions.
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Book 8: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
Borrow: [Print] [Audiobook] [eBook]
Mid-World's last gunslinger Roland Deschain hunts down a murderous shape-shifter. Finding the site of the creature's latest killing, Roland discovers a single surviving witness--a terrified boy named Bill Streeter--and calms him with a story from the Book of Eld.
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Sources: The New York Times, Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon, Goodreads, EarlyWord, New DVD Release Dates
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