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Summer Game 2017!!!!!!! (And West Side Story, I guess)

by andrewjmac

Could it be? Yes it could. Something's coming, something good, if you can wait! Something's coming, I don't know what it is--hold on, yes I do: IT'S THE SUMMER GAME! You know, your favorite summertime activity, the one that gives you PUZZLES to solve, CODES to find, BADGES to earn, POINTS to get, and AMAZING AADL STUFF in the Summer Game Shop! We know you want more because when you're a summer gamer, you're a summer gamer all the way! Well, it's back! The game you wait all year for and have started nervously watching the sun go down every day wondering how you can make it through the summer days and oh those summer nights--sorry, wrong musical--without it?! Are you telling me you're not as excited as I am? BECAUSE I FEEL PRETTY EXCITED!

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah: I don't know what it is, but it is gonna be great! LIKE SERIOUSLY GREAT. Did you LOVE the Summer Game last year? Then you're going to LOVE it this year too. How do I know? Because we are making it to be just as awesome (maybe AWESOMER, but don't hold us to that) as ever! All the great exploration of your own hometown! All the crazy Ann Arbor Stories you've never heard before! All the ridiculous information you didn't think you'd ever need to know but suddenly find yourself digging into Wikipedia to find! And this year we have fantastic illustrations by local artist Jeremy Wheeler to make sure the game is as MONSTROUSLY AMAZING as it can be!

Something's coming, don't know when--except that we DO know when: June 16! Sorry it can't be tonight, tonight, but it's only 10 days away! But how will you know the exact second it all begins? Summer gamers, fear not, there's a place for us! Just open play.aadl.org in your browser as soon as June 16 hits and then feverishly refresh every half second or so until that GO! post goes live and then little boy, you're a man, little man, you're a king!

Until then, just be cool boy!

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Blog Post

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #640 Love in Any Language

by muffy

Winner of the prestigious Prix Renaudot in 1988 and available for the first time in English (translated from the French by Kaiama L. Glover), Hadriana in All My Dreams * * * by Rene Depestre, combines magic, fantasy, eroticism, and delirious humor to explore universal questions of race and sexuality.

Set in the coastal town of Jacmel (the author's hometown) during the carnival season of 1938, when Hadriana Siloé, a sensuous pale-skinned Creole woman, collapses at her wedding altar. Two days later, when her corpse goes missing from her grave, zombification is suspected and it is feared that she had earlier taken a mysterious potion. Before we could hear directly from Hadriana herself, this traumatic event is observed from different angles - the locals are convinced a local villain, Balthazar Granchire is to blame, having been turned into an ugly butterfly by his sorcerer father, for his relentless lechery. Patrick, one of Hadriana’s many young admirers, narrates much of the novel, acting as a surrogate for the now-90-year-old Depestre, showing himself throughout to be a true savant on all things zombie.

"The truth of Hadriana’s fate proves more poignant than horrifying, but in Depestre’s hands, this incident is a touchstone of a culture in which distinctions between the empirical and spiritual are obscured, and whose traditional celebrations and beliefs introduce an element of the mythic into the everyday. Eroticism and humor course through his narrative." (Publishers Weekly)

Season of Crimson Blossoms * by writer and journalist Abubaker Adam Ibrahim, won the 2016 NLNG Prize for Literature, one of the world's richest ($100,000) literary prizes. Set in Northern Nigeria, it is the story of an illicit affair between a devout widow and a young gang leader.

55 year-old Binta Zubairu, a devout Muslim, a widow and grandmother met the 25 year-old Hassan Reza, a street gang leader when he scaled her fence and robbed her at knife point. Mysteriously, most of the stolen goods were returned, and when Reza appeared to apologize, the two were overcome by their inexplicable desire and began an illicit romance that brought on disastrous consequences.

"A powerful and compelling debut. The taboo subject of an older woman's sexuality, portrayed with courage, skill and delicacy, is explored in the context of the criminal underworld and the corrupt politics that exploits it. This is a novel to be savoured. " ~ Zoe Wicomb

* * * = 3 starred reviews

* = starred review

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Blog Post

Wonder Woman!!!

by PizzaPuppy

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The new Wonder Woman movie hits theaters today! This demigoddess, superhero and warrior princess has been delighting audiences since 1941 and has had a huge cultural impact across the globe. We have TONS of Wonder Woman materials for all age groups here at AADL to help you celebrate Princess Diana of Themyscira's first feature length movie.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman Unbound both give us an in-depth look at the history of Wonder Woman and her impact on popular culture throughout the years.

Although this is her first foray into the world of feature films, Wonder Woman has previously graced the screen in many different TV shows and movies. There are several animated movies, including the 2017 Wonder Woman film and the 2008 Wonder Woman film. The Wonder Woman TV series ran for three years (Seasons 2 and 3 are available here at AADL as well). Wonder Woman has also been featured in many Justice League and Super Friends films and television shows, as well as her cameo in the recent Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie (played by Gal Gadot in the cameo as well as in the newly released movie).

We have tons of Wonder Woman materials for kids! There is a lengthy Wonder Woman chapter book series, with titles like The Fruit of All Evil, Creature of Chaos, and Trial of the Amazons, and a graphic novel called DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths. We have stand-alone chapter books like Amazon Warrior and Wonder Woman vs. Circe. Younger readers may enjoy the Readers Wonder Woman to the Rescue and Warrior for Justice, while babies may enjoy the DC Super Friends Lift-the-Flap book. The DC Super Hero Girls movie: Hero of the Year features Wonder Woman as well.

Teens will want to take a look at the Superman/Wonder Woman series (with Vol 2, Vol 3 and Vol 4). Our most recent additions include The Legend of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League America Vol. 1, Wonder Woman by Mike Deodato, and Wonder Woman Vol. 1 by Greg Rucka. Other teen titles include The Hiketeia, The True Amazon, Down to Earth, The Circle, and Bitter Rivals.

Adults have plenty to choose from as well, with many of the titles released recently, such as Wonder Woman: Vol 1 The Lies and Wonder Woman, Earth One Vol 1. We have the full series by Brian Azzarello, comprised of Vol 1: Blood, Vol 2: Guts, Vol 3: Iron, Vol 4: War, Vol 5: Flesh, and Vol 6: Bones. Older series on hand at AADL include Wonder Woman: Odyssey Vol 1 and Love and Murder.

For more awesome Wonder Woman materials, take a look at this public list.

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Blog Post

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie!

by PizzaPuppy

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie hits theaters tomorrow, marking another entry in a long series spanning 20 years. The movie follows the plot of the first book, in which 4th grade pranksters Harold and George accidentally hypnotize their mean principal Mr. Krupp into thinking he is the hero of their hand drawn comic books: Captain Underpants. As the new Captain Underpants rushes around town fighting crime, the boys follow him hoping to revert him back to his previous self and finding hilarious adventures along the way.

The Captain Underpants book series includes the original Captain Underpants (now in color!), as well as 11 sequels, including Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets, Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman, Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, and the latest in the series: Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot. The entire Captain Underpants book series can be found here.

With the new movie coming out, AADL has added several new books to the collection, including the Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Official Handbook and Wacky Word Wedgies and Flushable Fill-Ins.

There are several Captain Underpants activity books available through MeLCat, including the Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book of Fun and The All New Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book of Fun 2.

The Captain Underpants series has also inspired several spin-offs, all said to be written by the main characters of the Captain Underpants books: Harold and George. These include The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby (available through MeLCat), The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, and Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers. More recently, author Dav Pilkey has created the Dog Man series (based on more of Harold and George's comics), starting with Dog Man and continuing with Dog Man Unleashed and Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties (due to be released on August 29th, 2017).

Dav Pilkey is also the author of a series of similarly styled books that do not share the Captain Underpants universe. His Ricky Ricotta series follows the adventures of a mouse and his giant robot, beginning with Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot: An Adventure Novel and continuing with 8 sequels, including Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune and Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Unpleasant Penguins from Pluto. A public list of the books in the Ricky Ricotta series is available here.

If you've already exhausted all of these titles, take a look at this public list for more fun suggestions.

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Blog Post

New from David Sedaris

by potterbee

Theft by Finding: Diaries: Volume One is the newest publication from best selling author and humorist David Sedaris.

For nearly four decades, David Sedaris has faithfully kept a diary in which he records his thoughts and observations on the odd and funny events he witnesses. This is the source material for the remarkable essays which have delighted fans for many years. Often read from at live shows, fans have been waiting for a chance to read more of the diaries, which developed into a collection of major turning points in Sedaris' life.

Sedaris came to prominence in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "SantaLand Diaries." He published his first collection of essays and short stories, , in 1994. Each of his subsequent essay collections became New York Times Best Sellers. Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air on NPR, featured an interview yesterday to discuss the challenges of publishing his diaries directly, without crafting them into a humorous tale.

"Sedaris is caustically witty about his bad habits and artistic floundering. Even when he cleans up his act, falls in love, and achieves raving success, Sedaris remains self-deprecating and focused on the bizarre and the disquieting. A candid, socially incisive, and sharply amusing chronicle of the evolution of an arresting comedic artist." - Booklist starred review

Reserve your copy today and peruse the collection to enjoy his other books and recordings!

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Blog Post

YA Authors to Visit Teen Writing Festival 6/4!

by krayla

We have a fantastic group of published authors ready to give their best advice on writing at the upcoming Teen Writing Festival on Sunday, June 4! All attendees are welcome to bring questions to the Writers' Workshop in the Secret Lab, hosted by former "It's All Write!" Winner Mary Gallagher, and the Q&A Author Panel in the Multi-Purpose Room. Read on to find out about our fantastic guest authors!

Leah Vernon hails from Detroit, MI and specializes in multicultural dystopian and science fiction writing. Check out her book Impure or her body-positive style blog.

David James wrote the Legend of the Dreamer series, is a former high school teacher, and lives in Michigan. He is a fan of gummy candy and likes traveling to the Upper Peninsula.

Patrick Flores-Scott, writer of the award-winning book Jumped In, taught high school in Seattle before moving to Ann Arbor. He's currently working on a second book, "American Road Trip."

Courtney Allison Moulton originally lived in Texas before moving to a farm in Michigan. Her first experience participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) actually led to her first published book, Angelfire.

K.A. Barson hails from Jackson, MI and has written 45 Pounds (More or Less) and Charlotte Cuts it Out. She often sports purple hair.

The Teen Writing Festival will also feature contestants of the "It's All Write!" Teen Writing Contest reading their work and the "It's All Write!" awards ceremony. See you there!

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Blog Post

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul!

by PizzaPuppy

The newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is in theaters, which makes now a great time to revisit your favorite Wimpy Kid, as well as to catch up on any you may have missed.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series consists of the original book, as well as the sequels Rodrick Rules, The Last Straw, Dog Days, The Ugly Truth, Cabin Fever, The Third Wheel, Hard Luck, The Long Haul, Old School, and Double Down, with the newest sequel The Getaway due to be released on November 7th, 2017. These books have audiobook companions, which can be found here. The series also has a few supplementary books, including the Do-It-Yourself Book and the Movie Diary for the original movie. You can find out more about the author in Who is Jeff Kinney?.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also consists of several movies, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules, Dog Days and the newest one out in theaters: The Long Haul.

Have you already exhausted everything Diary of a Wimpy Kid? There are several book series that are quite similar to Diary of Wimpy Kid, including the Big Nate series, the Dork Diaries series, and the Amelia's Notebook series, Max Disaster series and Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters series (all by Marissa Moss). The Ellie McDoodle series is popular, as well as the Middle School series by James Patterson. Doodlebug: A Novel in Doodles, Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, and The Loser List are also great picks for Wimpy Kid fans.

For more suggestions, take a look at our public lists: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read Alikes and Children's Diary and Journal Narratives.

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Blog Post

PreK Bits - "Q" is for quiet

by ryanikoglu

There is “quiet” and there is “LOUD”.
Can you tell the difference and make yourself proud?
You can practice with the book Quiet LOUD.

“Quiet” is a delicate concept.
Ms. Rachel brought “quiet” and “loud” to Storytime.
Ms. Betsy and Ms. Rachel led the action song “We're Floating Down The River” which has a quiet part and a loud part!
In the story PLAYTIME? … Little Gorilla needs to quiet down and take a nap.

If you want to read more "quiet" ( and “noisy”) favorites try the following:
The SQUEAKY DOOR by Laura Simms … a different telling with different pictures.
The QUIET BOOK … and The LOUD BOOK both by Deborah Underwood … wonderful lap books to observe and ponder. Truly favorites of Ms. Rachel!
TOO MUCH NOISE … a classic.
CLICK CLACK MOO … a case of farmland civil disobedience.
QUIET In The GARDEN ... amazing things to see when you are quiet and still.
QUIET ! ... a not so "quiet" lion story and BE QUIET MIKE ! a not so quiet monkey story.
THIS QUIET LADY ... a story of waiting.
TIPTOE JOE ... 'nuf said !

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Blog Post

The Contrary Farmer

by ballybeg

Sustainable farms are to today's headlong rush toward global destruction what the monasteries were to the Dark Ages: places to preserve human skills and crafts until some semblance of common sense and common purpose returns to the public mind. Gene Logsdon

One year ago today, author, cultural critic, and renaissance man, Gene Logsdon, aka the “contrary farmer”, died at age 84 years. He had lived a long, happy, and productive life, so perhaps one should not feel too bereft. But I felt a deep hole when he passed for there are few people like Gene around anymore; he was part of a generation of writers and farmers whose experience and orientation to the natural world is still needed. And so, for affirmation of his values and truth, and for the abiding wisdom he embodied, I turn to his books, of which there are many, including, to my surprise, this one on the new book shelf, which was published after his death.

Letters to a Young Farmer: How to Live Richly Without Wealth on the New Garden Farm, finished in literally the last days of his life, is quintessentially Logsdon: breezy style; strong sense of humor; astute, idealistic, and practical in equal measures. His philosophy of life, gardening, and farming embraced the “small” and “slow” movements. When the 1960s and 70s brought the directive “get big or get out” to farming, Gene fought such damaging and, ultimately, ineffective practices tooth and nail. His own 30 acre homestead in Ohio was his proving grounds – there he experimented with, practiced, and perfected all the ideas he wrote about for over 40 years: staying put on a piece of land that you love and care for devotedly, restoring the soil through composting and pasture grazing of animals, using the principles of diversity and permaculture to supply food and fuel, and, not insignificantly, beauty and purpose. He writes of his farm:

Walk with me over our little farm where biological diversity is our first order of business. On this farm lives a human family along with several families of corn, oats, wheat, orchard trees, grasses, legumes, berries, and garden vegetables, the whole domestic tribe living in a sort of hostile harmony with the wild food chain: animals, insects, and plants in such diversity that I have not been able to name them all. On our little farm, I have identified 130 species of birds, 40 species of wild animals (not counting coonhunters), over 50 species of wildflowers, at least 45 tree species, a myriad of gorgeous butterflies, moths, spiders, beetles, etc., and about 593,455,780 weeds.

If you are a gardener, a farmer, or a homesteader, even of the urban sort, or if you love knowing more about relating to the natural world, or if you care about where your food comes from, read anything by Gene you can find. If you enjoy well-written and incisive commentary, full of wit and practical advice about life, from a big-hearted and wise man of letters, read him as well. Though he often shook his fist at the absurdity of modern life and practices, he always did so with a twinkle in his eye and a ready alternative to propose. Cheers, Gene.

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Blog Post

Books for the Birds!

by manz

This week at storytime Ms Amanda told stories all about birds, birds, birds! B is for bird!

We heard the story Home Tweet Home, where two little birds decide to leave the nest for greener pastures, and find that there’s no place like home. We met A Funny Little Bird who discovered what was special about himself, and we read the books Birds and A Mother for Choco.

There are so many great books featuring birds! Here are a few sweet ones to suit your fancy: Nest, Hooray for Today, Beautiful Birds, and Some Birds.