“Adventure Begins at Your Library!”
To celebrate the joy of reading and bestow the spirit of adventure on your summer, the Yonkers Public Library has eight weekly themes to help you get the most out of your summer reading journey.
This week, July 29 to August 4, is “Exploring Wildlife.”
Wildlife broadly refers to all living things, especially animals, that are neither human nor domesticated. You might think of especially “wild” animals like the snakes and tigers you might find in jungles, but the birds and bunnies in your own backyard are wildlife too!
Wildlife Conservation
In a world where habitat destruction, climate change, and illegal hunting threaten wildlife, conservation efforts to preserve the environment and protect species is critical.
Zoos and aquariums are hubs of animal education and wildlife conservation through breeding programs. Organizations like the Wildlife Conservation Society, which founded the Bronx Zoo; the Queens Zoo; the Central Park Zoo; the Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium, work to educate visitors on the animals that live there and raise awareness for conservation efforts.
Zoos and aquariums aren’t the only animal sanctuaries engaged in conservation efforts. The Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY helps endangered Red and Mexican Gray wolves. The Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary in Rye, NY provides educational programs of the area, which is recognized as important for local birds and wildlife.
Wildlife in your Neighborhood
Looking to get outside and explore? Check out the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, 40-acre nature preserve comprising woodlands and field habitats. You can also pick up a museum pass and enjoy the wildlife at the Greenburgh Nature Center with the whole family.
Get into bird watching in your neighborhood with Bird Backpacks and Lunetta Explorer Bags from all three YPL branches. You can also check out the Hunt-Parker Sanctuary in Katonah run by the Bedford Audubon.
Online Learning
Looking to answer your burning questions or to help your kids avoid an academic summer slump? Check out our online learning resources like Britannica and Gale in Context, which are available for free with your library card! Learn more about wildlife, the environment, general science topics, and much more with some of the resources below.
Elementary (Gale in Context) allows you to introduce elementary students to database searching with resources featuring age-appropriate, curriculum-related content.
Middle School (Gale in Context) is a general interest reference source with age-appropriate videos, newspapers, magazines, primary sources, and much more.
Britannica School offers encyclopedias and related materials for all grades (Pre-K-12) and all reading abilities.
Britannica Escolar tiene contenido preciso y apropiado para la edad en español para hablantes nativos de español, estudiantes bilingües y estudiantes que aprenden español. Disponible en dos niveles: primaria y secundaria.
Books
There are thousands of books, ebooks, and audiobooks that you can check out about animals and wildlife from the YPL catalog, but here are a few that are really great.
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman - Birds are incredibly intelligent creatures, comparable to the level of primates and humans! This nonfiction read takes you on a journey alongside the author as she tells the story of the findings in bird intelligence research that might change your definition of intelligence.
World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky - From climate change to human development, our ocean ecosystems are becoming less safe for the millions of fish that call the ocean their home. Many of the fish we commonly eat could become extinct if actions aren’t taken to protect them. If you’re looking to have a conversation with kids about the importance of environmental conservation, “World Without Fish” is a great place to start. Check it out right now on Hoopla or Libby!
Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel by Nancy F. Castaldo - Learn about animal empathy, communication, tool use, and social societies through interviews and historical anecdotes.
You can also check out the works of Jean Craighead George, a children’s author who wrote often about wildlife and nature, who lived right here in Westchester in Chappaqua.
There’s even more fun to be had reading this summer! There’s still plenty of time to sign up for Summer Reading on Beanstack. Download the Beanstack app or go to the Beanstack website on your desktop or laptop to create an account for you and your family. Check out this video to help you get started.
Participants can log books on Beanstack from June 1 to August 15 on Beanstack. For every book that you log, your name will be entered into a drawing for different prizes (i.e. Amazon gift card, prize baskets, and more). Each library branch will host its own drawing.
Check out the recommended reading lists Yonkers Public Schools Grades K-12 on the YPL website.
You can check out all of our Summer Reading themed events on the Yonkers Public Library Event Calendar.
This is a collaboration from A to Z!
Alison Robles is a Part-Time Junior Clerk at the Crestwood Library. She is an avid reader with a passion for YA lit, historical fiction and fantasy. A Yonkers native, she is currently pursuing an MS in Information and Library Science from the University at Buffalo.
Z is the Branch Administrator at the Crestwood Library. She enjoys cultivating library experiences for patrons of all ages and connecting people with resources and has been doing so for over 30 years.