LBPL CONNECT
IT'S NATIONAL PET MONTH!

This week’s storytime video highlights May as National Pet Month, which encourages us to celebrate all the benefits that our pets bring to our lives. Join Miss Janine as she reads Bark, George by Jules Feiffer and introduces us to her very own pet.

The fun doesn’t have to stop here! Other awesome ways to celebrate National Pet Month include:

• DIY Dog Toys: put an old tennis ball or an empty plastic water bottle into a sock and knot the end

• DIY Cat Toys: take one end of an empty toilet paper roll and fold the edges in, creating a semi-closed side; place several treats inside the roll; then fold the edges of the opposite end of the roll to enclose the treats; decorate the outside of the roll with colorful drawings

• Hold a photoshoot with your pet; once you have several good pictures, create an Instagram account for your pet to show him off.

• Hang a bird feeder in your front yard

Ideas for creating special times with your pet are endless! We know you’ll discover many creative activities to celebrate this month.
MAKE TIME!
 Everyday life can be stressful, so it's important to make some time for yourself. Grab a pen and some paper for this week's Make Time , where Studio Guide Cortnee will teach you the basics of mindful drawing. This guided drawing exercise will help you unwind, all while channeling your creative side.
WE RECOMMEND

This week we’re recommending ebooks and downloadable audiobooks from OverDrive about some of our furry (and not so furry) friends .
Eco Dog by Corbett Marshall
A comprehensive guide to nontoxic and planet-friendly dog care
 
Buddy by Brian McGrory
How a rooster made me a family man
 
The Cat Bible by Tracie Hotchner
A fully comprehensive guide to "all things feline," from the host of Cat Chat on Martha Stewart Living Radio.
 
Dog Sense by John Bradshaw
How the new science of dog behavior can make you a better friend to your pet
 
Lion in the Living Room by Abigail Tucker
How housecats tamed us and took over the world
 
Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer S. Holland
47 remarkable stories from the animal kingdom
 
You Had Me at Woof by Julie Klam
How dogs taught me the secrets of happiness
ZIP BOOKS

Zip Books is an LBPL service that lets you borrow books and audiobooks that the library does not own. Fill out the form here and, if available, we will order the book for you from Amazon and have it delivered to your home. You get to keep it until the libraries reopen. And repeat! Books can be in any language, for any audience, and in regular or large print.

If the library already owns the title or plans to buy it when released, you won’t be able to get the book using the Zip Books service. You can, however, get the book via our catalog . Just place a hold on the title and when it becomes available, you’ll be notified. More information on Zip Books is available here .
FROM THE LBPL ARCHIVES
The 200-ton Hughes Flying Boat (aka “Spruce Goose”) being maneuvered by tugboats down the Terminal Island Channel toward her temporary home in the Port of Long Beach. Waiting at the site to hoist the famous plane from the water is "Herman the German," the world's largest self-propelled floating crane. Feb. 11, 1982
This past May 8th, 2020, nations and people around the world paid solemn tribute and shared memories in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of V-E Day – “Victory in Europe” Day – celebrating the unconditional surrender of Hitler’s German forces to General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Reims, France, which took place the day before on May 7th, 1945. This defeat signaled Europe’s liberation from terrifying Nazi occupation and oppression, and effectively ended of the war on the European continent.

One huge reminder of V-E Day and the Allied defeat of Germany was visible right here in Long Beach for nearly 50 years after WWII. Seized by the Allies after the German surrender, a nearly 375-foot-tall floating crane – formerly called Schwimmkran Nr. 1 but nicknamed “Herman the German” (officially YD-171) by the US Navy – was disassembled and transported back to Long Beach Naval Shipyard via the Panama Canal in late 1946. It was finally reassembled and ready for service in the shipyard on December 31st, 1948, and helped to lift ships, ship parts, cranes, and other heavy objects and equipment – perhaps most memorably, the Spruce Goose (during transport to its former location under the dome near the Queen Mary). Herman the German’s lifting capacity was 386 tons, and it was powered by three 900-horsepower diesel engines. In 1996, after almost a half-century of faithful service to the LB Naval Shipyard (which closed on September 30, 1997), the massive crane was sold to the Panama Canal Company and relocated to the Panama Canal, where it was named La Titan.

Recent reports from late December 2019 indicate that this historic crane is now scheduled to be replaced by a new floating crane, though official dates as to when this will take place (or what will happen to it afterward) still remain to be seen.
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