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Celebrate National Library week with us April 4-10
April is our favorite month of the year — it's the month we get to celebrate being your community library! While our celebrations this year are going to be pretty low-key, we still want you to know how much we love being part of the Derby community. We hope you will stop by the library between April 5 and 10 (we are closed on Sunday, April 4).
Participate in our virtual family activity to celebrate National Library Week for the chance to win prizes! Read more below.
The Lost Librarian: An Online Family Puzzle
In honor of National Library Week, we're hosting an online puzzle perfect for adults, teens, and families! The Librarian is lost in the grand world of books, and it's up to you to save him from creepy ghosts, grumpy pirates, fiery dragons, and laser-wielding space aliens! All participants will be entered to win one of three grand prizes including a $100 Watermark Gift Card, a $50 Target Gift Card, or an assorted bag of goodies. The online puzzle opens virtually on Sunday, April 4 and closes on Saturday, April 17.
No overdue fines: Return those items on your account that keep you from checking out!
Now is a great time to find any items you have checked out that are overdue or we have marked as lost so you can clear your account of all fines. Every item you return will have the fines waived, and you won't owe anything. Getting those pesky fines off your account means you can get back to checking out all the items you love at the library.
*Please note: Items that are truly lost must be paid for before we can clear your account.
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One more week to finish your read-a-thon books!
Have you been participating in the Travelers Read-a-thon? What team are you representing? Take advantage of this last week to cram some more points in for your team before the
read-a-thon ends April 2. Finish that last book, share a post on Instagram and tag it with #dpltravelers, and watch for a final travelers checkpoint. None of the teams are out of the competition yet, so sprint to the finish!
Get all the details, join a team (it's not too late!), and watch for the final travelers' checkpoint on the library website by clicking the big, red "Read More" button below.
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Derby High School art in the Gathering Space
The Derby Public Library and Derby Arts Council invite the public to enjoy the newest exhibit on display in the Gathering Space Gallery. Artwork, created by students at Derby High School and their instructors, is on exhibit through May 5, 2021.
The challenges during the past year have positively stimulated the artistic effort of these students and teachers. Mediums used by the artists include ceramics, acrylic paintings, pen & ink drawings, photography, and air brush paintings.
Normally, there would be a reception to honor these artists and learn about their processes. Since this is not possible at the present time, this exhibit will stand on its own as library patrons come and go. Several of the students' works on display have already received recognition for merit, and the instructors’ own contributions will underscore the great support for learning that DHS students are receiving, whether in school, or virtually.
Patrons should be sure to visit the display case which holds ceramics, and spend some time viewing the 2-D mediums as well, with offerings ranging from a portrait of Willy Nelson, to Kansas sunsets, and even hand-made dinnerware.
The DHS instructors who have contributed to these students’ art education are Natalie Brown, Renee Fritts, Craig Godderz, Roger Scovell and Brian White.
Click the red Read More button below to learn more about art exhibits at the library.
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Pottery by Rachel Harmon, grade 12
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Ink/marker drawing by Audrey Nelson, grade 11
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Youth Services programs end April 23
Programming for kids and teens ends April 23. There will be no youth programming during May, as our librarians will be busily planning all the exciting activities for summer reading. Summer reading starts on June 1!
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Library hours in April:
9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday
Please wear a mask and social distance while visiting the library.
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Looking for someplace to discuss books? We've got you covered!
We have three active book groups here at the library that are open to everyone. If you love to read and talk about the books you read, pop in to one or more of the book groups!
Bemused Biblipohiles — meets at 1 p.m. April 7. The title for April is The Wives by Tarryn Fisher. *The book club will meet in person in the Community Room.
Hauntingly Good Reads — meets at 7 p.m. April 12. The title for April is 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke . *The book club will meet in person in the Community Room.
Joyful Page Turners — meets at 6:45 p.m. April 22. The book chosen for April is The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming. *The book club will meet in person in the Frank Fanning Room. Please arrive before 7 p.m., when the library closes and you will not be able to enter.
Bemused Bibliophiles meets during the day and reads popular books that have been on the bestseller list. Hauntingly Good Reads meets in the evening and explores all kinds of books that have a supernatural/magical/unexplainable kind of bent—we look far beyond the traditional vampires, ghosts and witches.
Joyful Page Turners is the most enduring book club at the library—it's been meeting regularly since May 2000! Books selected for this book club include just about everything: classics, modern bestsellers, non-fiction, and more.
Click the red "Read More" button below to visit the book club page on the library website, where you can find lists of books each book club has read.
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Five books recommended by Amelia:
 Little Green Donkey by Anuska Allepuz
 The Full Moon at the Napping House by Audrey Wood
 Follow That Dinosaur! by Georgie Taylor
(This one is a book we've read several times!)
 If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
 There's a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher
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Later by Stephen King
First Line: I don’t like to start with an apology – there’s probably even a rule against it, like never ending a sentence with a preposition – but after reading over the thirty pages I’ve written so far, I feel like I have to.
Summary: Jamie Conklin was born with a gift. But not a gift he wants. He can see and talk to dead people. Only his mom and he know of this gift until she tells her friend, an NYPD detective, who then uses this information to help find a killer. Through his involvement in the case, he gets more than he expected.
My Thoughts: I loved this book! Think The Sixth Sense meets crime drama with a Stephen King twist. It is King at his best. He can fit such a great story into 250 pages. I was a little nervous starting this since I loved so many of this older books that it’s scary to start a new one, hoping that it lives up to its predecessors. Starting out I wasn’t sure where the story was going to take us. And that was perfect. I did not find it predictable or cliché. I enjoyed all the characters especially the professor who is like a father figure to Jamie.
I liked how King laid out his story. It starts with Jamie as a young boy, then as he grows up but he flashes farther forward and back to help explain events in Jaime’s life. Plus the layout also gives the reader the meaning behind the title. I knew that there was going to be a big showdown at the end which was just as great as the rest of the book. But King threw in one final twist that I did predict even though it seemed a little farfetched when I guessed it. But as I read it, I yelled out, “I knew it!” All around a fun, quick and spooky little book to read over the weekend.
Release date: March 2, 2021
Ashley's rating: 
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The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
First Line: Interview with Mrs. Sophie Hocking conducted by Ambrose Logan, U.S. Marshal.
Summary: When Sophie Whalen, a young Irish immigrant, answers a personal ad for a wife and mother to a man in San Francisco she sees this as an opportunity for a better life. She leaves her life in the tenements of New York City for a man she has never met. Upon arrival she finds her new husband to be distant but she immediately falls in love with her step-daughter, Kat.
However, on a fateful evening a woman shows up on her doorstep with a story that throws her world into chaos. As these women decide what to do with their new information, tragedy strikes as one of the largest natural disasters in California history. They must survive the earthquake, its aftermath and the secret that they now hold.
My Thoughts: Susan Meissner is a wonderful writer. She brings to life stories of remarkable women. I can always tell she does lots of research and builds intricate lives for her characters. I enjoyed the story, the history and the ending. It was a wonderful twisting plot with little surprises.
I was not too familiar with the events of the San Francisco earthquake. This was one of the main reasons I picked to read this book. It gave me a little bit more insight into what it must have been like. Having now experienced minor earthquakes here in Kansas, I cannot imagine having to live through one such as this.
And as always there is a little twist at the end which just makes the book that much better.
Release date: Feb. 2, 2021
Ashley's review: 
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April 2021 
Issue 408
