At The Mighty Twig, June 16 from 2pm to 4pm. Evanston artist and author Laura Montenegro brings her book, A Poet Bird’s Garden, to life with puppetry, storytelling, and creative participation from the audience. Best suited for ages 5-12. Children take home a copy of the book as a gift! Fun food provided by Whole Foods.

At the Evanston Public Library North Branch, June 23 from 11am to 12:30pm. Join Evanston author and former District 65 Librarian Denia Hester as her book Grandma Lena’s Big Ol’ Turnip comes to life! Join in with tales of community spirit, family, and plant your own big ol’ turnip seeds to take home. A free copy of the book is available for children to take home. Best suited for ages 4-8.

At the Dempster/Dodge Summer Reading Stop, June 30 from 2pm to 3:30pm. The book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber comes alive in a drama workshop brought to you by Northwestern University’s Imagine U. Theater students from NU will join in with parents and their children to bring this lovable crocodile and his story to life. Parent/caregiver participation is requested in the workshop. Best suited for ages 5-10. Take home a free copy of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.

Books Alive! is supported by a generous grant from The Woman’s Club of Evanston. No registration is necessary. Just a love of books and the arts is required to attend this program.

So, an amazing thing happened on Saturday, and we’re proud you played a part in it. One month ago the Evanston Library Board voted not to fund the continuation of the South Branch Library. Undaunted, EPL Friends stepped up and decided to fund our own experimental space while the Library Board continues its visioning process. Without missing a beat, or running the risk of losing the interest and enthusiasm of our members and the SB community, EPL began work in an empty storefront at 900 Chicago Ave. That space, less than one month later, became the Mighty Twig. Smaller than a branch, (but mighty) the Twig provides kids and adult books, internet, computers, storytime and a community space for everyone.

More than 500 people came to check out the Twig on Saturday, and more than 300 of you took out books on our Honor system of lending. No cards, no fines, no fees, no fooling. Kids fill out a reading log to help them (and parents) get into a good habit of being responsible for the books they check out, and to help parents know which books they are looking for amongst the dust bunnies under their beds.

We’re thrilled — seriously couldn’t be happier — with the initial community reaction, and we hope that this success will carry over as a model that makes sense for elsewhere in Evanston.  If you haven’t seen the space yet, you have to come by. Twig is open Tues – Sat. 10 – 5, with later nights until 8PM on Thursdays beginning in mid-April.  Check out some of our press here: Evanston Now, Trib Local, take a video tour with Evanston Patch .

Lots of things are still in motion for The Mighty Twig, and we still welcome donations of time, books, and financial contributions. All in, we figure it costs approximately $154 per day to run the Mighty Twig, with our entirely volunteer staff.  We welcome your input and suggestions and thank you for your continued support!