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Happy birthday, Beverly Cleary! The children's author, best known for the Ramona Quimby series, turns 98 years old On April 12th. In Cleary's honor, April 12th is also National D.E.A.R. Day: "Drop Everything And Read!"

April 10th marks the 89th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby." Fun Fact: when the book was originally published in 1925, it received lackluster reviews and was considered a financial failure. It wasn't until the story was republished in 1941 that it gained popularity among writers and grew to become the literary classic that it is today.

On April 6th, 1968, Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was released in theaters. The visual style and psychedelic special effects directly influenced other space-themed movies like George Lucas’ "Star Wars," among others.

Did you know that Captain America isn't actually the first Avenger? He didn't join The Avengers until the 4th issue of the comic-book series. Soon after that, he was granted "founding member" status. Read up on the Cap's latest adventure at your local library!

On April, 2, 1953, Spanish explorer and conquistador, Juan Ponce de Leon, on his expedition to discover new land believed to be to the northwest of Hispaniola, spotted land which he named La Florida! Discover more about the role this explorer played in Florida history.

Famed fairy tale spinner Hans Christian Andersen was born April 2nd in Odense, Denmark in 1805. While his tales were his claim to fame, he was known in his own time as a novelist, dramatist and poet as well. Treat your child to some classic Andersen stories:

April is National Gardening Month! Spring into action and grow your garden into full bloom! No yard? No problem. We have books to fit all gardening needs--from sprouting beginners to flourishing enthusiasts, there's a book waiting for you on our shelves.

The awards keep coming for author George Saunders! In addition to his "Tenth of December" nabbing a PEN/Malamud Award and being a National Book Award finalist for 2013, just this month it also won the first-ever Folio Award. If you haven't yet caught up with this acclaimed short story collection, it is available through your local library in a variety of formats.

On this day in 1874, poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California. Frost is a four time Pulitzer Prize winning author who, by the 1920s, was the most celebrated poet in America. His poems are renowned for their vivid imagery and elegant language. Fun Fact: The famous saying "taking the road less traveled" is derived from one of Robert Frost's most famous poems, "The Road Not Taken."

Best-selling author Terri McMillan just released her latest book "Who Asked You?". This novel takes an intimate look at the burdens and blessings of family and speaks to trusting your own judgment even when others don't agree.

St. Patrick's Day is March 17th! Learn more about this celebration of Irish culture by checking out a book from your local library.

Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by Project Gutenberg.

Matthew Quick, author of "The Silver Linings Playbook", has just published another novel! "The Good Luck of Right Now" tells the story of Bartholomew Neil, a single man whose life takes an unexpected turn after his mother dies. Check it out from your local library.

On March 14th, 1879, Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany. Einstein was a world-renown physicist, best known for his theory of relativity, but did you know he was also a published poet and philosopher? Read more about Einstein's profound insights!

Are you a fan of classic literature? Project Gutenberg provides thousands of classic titles available for download to any eReader or tablet, without any checkout limits or due dates!

On March 6th, poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in Durham, England in 1806. Many of her writings can be checked out from the library!