The reviews are in — Alachua County Library District staff love Animal Crossing: New Horizons! Many of your favorite library staff members are giant fans of the game, so I asked a few of them to tell us about their staff picks for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Read to learn about their favorite villagers, their favorite K.K. Slider tracks, and more.
Stephanie T., Children's Specialist, Tower Road Branch
Favorite Villager: "My favorite one on my island is Julian, the unicorn. He's like my gay best friend. His home is entirely decorated in celestial furniture and he calls me "glitter". <3"
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: "I haven't heard them all, but I really like K.K. Rockabilly."
Favorite Clothing Item: "Yellow biker jacket. It's super bright, and I love pairing it with my black fishnets and pink leopard print skirt. "
Favorite Tip or Trick: "if you want to change the tune your villagers sing, leave a radio or stereo outside and put in a track you like. Soon after, they'll start singing that song."
Storytime: "A friend of mine had a meteor shower party. We all dressed up for the event, she made goodie bags, and then we just stood around wishing on all the stars that fell. The next morning on my island, I had about 12 star fragments to find."
Carolyn W., Branch Manager, Micanopy Branch
Favorite Tip or Trick: "The floating balloon gift colors generally indicate what is inside. Or [the fact that] that you can dig holes around yourself so you don’t bounce back from rocks."
Sam N., Library Specialist, Youth Services
Favorite Villager: "Sherb is adorable."
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: "I only have a few but i love Milonga, partially because of the cover which has one of my neighbors Diva on the cover. It's a little scandalous."
Favorite Clothing Item: "It is probably all the glasses options. in real life I have to wear glasses if I want to see further than 2 inches in front of my face. Having so many options in AC means my character gets to be cute and look like me. "
Favorite Tip or Trick: "I don't know if this qualifies as a tip or trick, but I love designing my own clothes and artwork. I also love that I can get stuff that other people have made online. "
Storytime: "I've been watching my 9 year old niece and 7 year old nephew some. At first, neither of them seemed too interested in AC, they wanted to play Mario Kart. Now they practically fight over who gets to play. They have to do school work but on the breaks all they want to do is sit with me and play. They recently got to go to my friend's island and she showed them around. It was the coolest thing ever to them. It has now become a form of punishment: if they misbehave they don't get to play as long. Since I started doing that, they have been perfect angels."
Danie E., Library Specialist, Newberry
Favorite Villager: Beau
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: Bubblegum KK
Favorite Clothing Item: Witch hat
Favorite Tip or Trick: "Sell your native fruit on your friend's island for more bells!"
Storytime: "My friends and I all dressed up as My Hero Academia characters and hung out on an island together, taking silly photos with Reactions."
Alison M., Library Assistant, Tower Road Branch
Favorite Villager: "I don't have this villager yet, but I love Marshal! He's so adorable and has just the right amount of attitude."
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: "Bubblegum, hands down! I've never been able to get this track before though."
Favorite Clothing Item: "So far, my favorite clothing item has been the DIY recycled boots I fished out of the water."
Favorite Tip or Trick: "I always like to create my own clothing if I can't find anything I'd like to wear. And this new pro custom design tool is amazing! So many possibilities!"
Storytime: "I doubt I'm the only one to do this, but I was able to convince Blathers to move to my island within the same day I first started playing. Nook and all the villagers were so shocked about it. Other than that, nothing crazy has happened to me yet."
Alora C., Library Assistant, Technical Services
Favorite Villager: "This is so hard to choose, but it's definitely a toss up between Wolfgang and Ankha!"
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: "Bubblegum of course."
Favorite Clothing Item: "The black holey tights!"
Favorite Tip or Trick: "One of your villagers will always be crafting something in their house. Go talk to them to get the DIY recipe they're crafting!"
Storytime: "The funnest events are definitely meteor showers. Celeste is the best NPC and I love seeing how many star fragments wash up on my shore the next day."
Sam H., Library Specialist, Millhopper Branch
Favorite Villager: Julian
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: Bubblegum K.K.
Favorite Clothing Item: Ancient Sashed Robe
Favorite Tip or Trick: "Have a group of people that you work with to find the best deal on turnips."
Storytime: "We hosted a virtual birthday party for my nephew on our island."
Cynthia M., Librarian, Tower Road Branch
Favorite Villager: "Fauna!"
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: Space K.K.
Favorite Clothing Item: Butterfly Visiting Kimono
Sabrina S., Librarian, Adult Services
Favorite Villager: Ruby
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: Forest Life
Favorite Clothing Item: Crown
Favorite Tip or Trick: "Hold "A" when sneaking up on bugs with a net."
Storytime: "Collected shooting stars with friends while Celeste is visiting my island."
Becca S,, Library Assistant, High Springs Branch
Favorite Villager: "Clyde the horse. He looks a bit like a zombie horse because he’s green, but he uses the phrase “Clip clawp” which I find adorable and he is snack driven much like I am."
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: "I’ve just recently purchased K.K. Stroll and I find it very relaxing and cute."
Favorite Clothing Item: "My Nook Inc. Bandana."
Favorite Tip or Trick: "You should never plant a 99k bell tree because there’s only about a 30% chance that it will grow to be a 99x3 bell tree. If you plant 10,000 bells on the other hand it’s a 70% chance you’ll receive a 10,000x3 bell tree. So you’re going to make much more profit in the long run if you make all your money trees 10,000 bell trees."
Storytime: "I had a bunch of friends over and we played hide and seek on my island. It was good fun. In this time is self-isolation, Animal Crossing is a fantastic way to get together with friends."
Crissy H, Senior Library Specialist, Archer Branch
Favorite Villager: "Marina or Melba on my island right now."
Favorite K.K. Slider Track: "Drivin' (main room) or Stale Cupcakes (bedroom) or Welcome Horizons (main game theme)."
Favorite Clothing Item: "Really loving my fish pochette right now, and the green Comedian's Pants look like sequin fish scale leggings!"
Favorite Tip or Trick: "Hang onto fish or bugs to sell for a huge profit to CJ or Flick respectively. Plant money bags in glowing holes to grow a bell tree!"
Storytime: "I've really enjoyed just having the music in the background while I do other stuff in real life. I left my gate open all afternoon one day and had a bunch of friends drop by at random. It felt like an open house or a party. It's nice to "see" everyone!"