Join us for Animal Tales !
Our Park Naturalists and volunteers come to your local library each month to share a story about a native animal and lead a craft or activity . These programs are FREE to attend and are most appropriate for preschool to upper elementary age children . Advance registration is required by contacting your library .
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JANUARY Snow Ravens by Bruno Hächler
In the dead of winter , three ravens perch on the gnarly branch of an old tree . Two of the ravens complain bitterly , grumbling and squawking about the cold and snow . But the third raven doesn ’ t say a word . As he watches the children frolicking in the snow , flopping on the ground and filling the field with fresh snow angels , he longs to join in the fun . The plucky little raven spends a tireless night , wiggling and hopping , trying to make a snow angel of his own !
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FEBRUARY Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller
It ’ s almost Groundhog Day ! Everyone knows that Groundhog has an important job to do every February 2 , but this year he ’ s not feeling well . Dr . Owl diagnoses him with the flu and orders two days of bed rest . But how will people know the weather forecast if Groundhog is down in his hole in bed ? Then Groundhog has in idea ― he can hire a substitute ! Will he be able to find a substitute or will Groundhog Day be cancelled this year ?
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MARCH Skunk ’ s Spring Surprise by Lesléa Newman
When Skunk wakes from her long winter nap , she can ’ t wait to see all her friends . But they ’ re nowhere to be found ! Do they think she stinks ? Poor Skunk is fuming ... until she discovers the real reason her friends are missing . In this charming companion to Where Is Bear ?, Lesléa Newman and Valeri Gorbachev have once again created a funny and warm story about doing whatever it takes to show friends how important they are .
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APRIL Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Mrs . Mallard was sure that the pond in the Boston Public Gardens would be a perfect place for her and her eight ducklings to live . The problem was how to get them there through the busy streets of Boston . But with a little help from the Boston police , Mrs . Mallard and Jack , Kack , Lack , Nack , Ouack , Pack , and Quack arrive safely at their new home . Awarded the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children in 1941 , it has since become a favorite of millions .
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CLAYTON-LIBERTY TWP Tuesdays at 10:30 a . m . Call library at ( 317 ) 539-2991 to register in advance Jan . 3 , Feb . 7 , March 7 , April 4
MONROVIA Tuesdays at 1 p . m .
Call library at ( 317 ) 996-4307 to register in advance Jan . 3 , Feb . 7 , March 7 , April 4
BROWNSBURG Wednesdays at 4 p . m . Call library at ( 317 ) 852-3167 to register in advance Jan . 4 , Feb . 8 , March 8 , April 5
JAMESTOWN Thursdays at 3 p . m . Call library at ( 765 ) 676-6190 to register in advance Jan . 5 , Feb . 9 , March 9 , April 6
AVON Fridays at 2 p . m .
Call library at ( 317 ) 272-4818 to register in advance Jan . 6 , Feb . 10 , March 10
DANVILLE Fridays at 4 p . m .
Call library at ( 317 ) 745-2604 to register in advance
Jan . 6 , Feb . 10 , March 10
RECOMMENDED READING FOR ADULTS
WHAT A FISH KNOWS : THE INNER LIVES OF OUR UNDERWATER COUSINS BY JONATHAN BALCOMBE
Do fish think ? Do they really have three-second memories ? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water ? In What a Fish Knows , the myth-busting ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more , taking us under the sea , through streams and estuaries , and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal the surprising capabilities of fish .
Although there are more than thirty thousand species of fish — more than all mammals , birds , reptiles , and amphibians combined we rarely consider how individual fish think , feel , and behave . Balcombe upends our assumptions about fish , portraying them not as unfeeling , dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient , aware , social , and even Machiavellian — in other words , much like us .
What a Fish Knows draws on the latest science to present a fresh look at these remarkable creatures in all their breathtaking diversity and beauty . Fish conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates . They also plan , hunt cooperatively , use tools , curry favor , deceive one another , and punish wrongdoers . We may imagine that fish lead simple , fleeting lives – a mode of existence that boils down to a place on the food chain , rote spawning , and lots of aimless swimming – but as Balcombe demonstrates , the truth is far richer and more complex , worthy of the grandest social novel .
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