Mystery Bits - Back To Africa

Mon, 03/23/2009 - 2:08pm by ryanikoglu

Heat Of The Sun was recommended by a patron, and I thoroughly enjoyed the set!! This three movie series is set in Kenya during British Colonization of early twentieth century. Try it if you liked Out Of Africa, and Jewel In The Crown.

BOCD for a spring family road trip

Mon, 03/23/2009 - 12:32pm by annevm

If a driving trip with young children is in your future, say for spring break, be prepared, be very prepared. That could mean checking out PLENTY of family BOCDs from the library. Here’s one from James Herriot to get you started: Treasury for Children, a collection of the author’s stories for kids, including Moses the Kitten, The Market Square Dog, and Smudge the Little Lost Lamb. Happy travels!

Corea/McLaughlin/Ann Arbor: Then and Now

Wed, 03/18/2009 - 3:10pm by amy

The University Musical Society and AADL invite you to participate in Then and Now: Community and Cultural Change from the Fusion Era to Today, an online exhibit in celebration of Ann Arbor’s community heritage from 1968-1975 and the return of Chick Corea and John McLaughlin to UMS on April 4. Both of these musicians have continually reinvented themselves over the years while maintaining an exceptional level of artistry and commitment to their music.

Help us to show Ann Arbor's parallel evolution in its cultural, musical, and community landscape. Do you have a photograph from that era or the present day that you’d like to share? We’d love to include it on our site. Go to pictureAnnArbor to find out how to submit your photographs online, or email AADL Productions at productions@aadl.org to arrange a time to submit your photographs in person.

PreK Bits - Bears are Out

Wed, 03/18/2009 - 9:37am by ryanikoglu

Miss Rachel has "Bear Stories" this week. Here's a list with more.
Brown Bear In A Brown Chair
Sitting In My Box
Big Smelly Bear
Blueberries For Sal
Brave Bitsy And The Bear
Jamberry

Family Time at the Film Festival

Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:29am by shannon riffe

Looking for some family fun at the upcoming Ann Arbor Film Festival? We have a discount code set up for the AADL community to receive $2 off advance online tickets for the For Kids of All Ages program on Saturday, 3/28 at 1pm at the Michigan Theater. Order advance tickets on the Festival website by entering the discount code AADL2009. For Kids of All Ages will feature a colorful mix of shorts that will engage even the youngest film-goer with high-caliber indie films.

Kid Bits - Sheer Silliness

Thu, 03/12/2009 - 1:48pm by ryanikoglu

Here's a silly book for folks who enjoy authors like Daniel Pinkwater, Roald Dahl, James Marshall, and Shel Silverstein.

Jim Copp Will You Tell Me Story? The book incudes a CD of hilarious original recordings with sound effects. The CD and book text match precisely. There are three silly stories and Jim Copp's telling is THE BEST! My personal favorite is story #2, "Miss Goggins And The Gorilla". =) Now see if you can produce your own radio story.

Kid Bits - NEW Easy Chapter Books!

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 3:17pm by ryanikoglu

Is your young Reader stepping out of "Easy Readers" and into "Chapter Books"? Here are some suggestions from the NEW BOOK shelf.

Cinder Rabbit is very easy with double-spaced large print and one paragraph per page. There are cute bunny characters on every page.
Andy Shane Is Not In Love! is a new title the "andy Shane" series with a few paragraphs per page. There are pictures on almost every page.
Annie And Simon is an adorable big brother-little sister pair who share homey family episodes. There are a few paragraphs per page and each scene includes the family dog.
Bad To The Bone is a new title from the “Downgirl And Sit” series. From a dog-point-of-view, this series features single-spaced large print with full page pictures opposite each page of text.
The Haunted Hike is a new title in the “Elliott’s Park” series and may appeal to "Alvin and the Chipmunks" fans. It also features single-spaced large print text. The illustrations are computer-generated cartoon animals.

DVD Bits - The Last Detective

Sat, 03/07/2009 - 11:57am by ryanikoglu

Remember "Triston" in All Creatures Great And Small? If you like to see Yorkshire Farms, Vets in action, WW II era domestic life.

Do you know "Campion" of Campion BBC Mystery? If you like Poirot, mysteries, impeccable set-costumes-cars of the 1930s.

Well I just discovered The Last Detective series! If you like Peter Davison, BBC Mystery series, and contemporary Columbo-type characters, you better try this series.

Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells (the daring life of a crusading journalist) by Philip Dray

Thu, 03/05/2009 - 3:47pm by Tahira

Ida B. Wells fought for justice all her life. When a close friend was lynched she took up her pen and wrote about the injustice of a system that would allow such a thing to happen. Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells recounts the life of a courageous woman who used the power of the pen to bring about change.

Kid Bits - Nature's Stories

Wed, 03/04/2009 - 2:35pm by ryanikoglu

Do you enjoy stories and pictures about natural wildlife? Here are picture books with cozy story lines and elegant illustrations.
How To Heal A Broken Wing is a city story of a pigeon with a broken wing that is taken home to heal, and flies again.
The Very Best Bed settles forest animals into their cozy nests as the moon rises higher in the sky.
Listen Listen with illustrations and rhyming text of nature's sights and sounds each season of the year.

City Council Minutes 1891-1930 Online

Tue, 03/03/2009 - 4:40pm by andrewjmac

Ever wonder how much things in Ann Arbor have changed in the last century? Find out what life was like through the eyes of the body that's overseen it all, the Ann Arbor City Council, with the new Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Minutes archive. This collection features searchable and browsable sets of council minutes from 1891-1930, letting you see 40 years of local issues and legislation. And for all you genealogists, council minutes also contain a wealth of information about the individual citizens of Ann Arbor, whether they were making a request, receiving a citation, or working for the city. Take a look and find out that Ann Arbor hasn't changed that much: we've got speed limits (7 mph in 1902), public transportation fare disputes, and pigs still aren't allowed to run through the streets.

PreK Bits - Backward Day

Fri, 02/27/2009 - 6:15pm by ryanikoglu

The Backward Day needs no explanation. =)
The End starts with "Lived happily ever after ... because..." and tells the story of a knight and princess... backwards.
Previously Tells the adventures of various nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters in backward sequence. It includes Goldilocks, Jack and the beanstalk, Jack and Jill, the frog prince, Cinderella, and the gingerbread man.

Kid Bits - Imagine!

Thu, 02/26/2009 - 3:36pm by ryanikoglu

Here are some NEW books for kids who like to stre-e-etch reality.
The Sea Serpent And Me tumbles a tiny sea serpent through the faucet into the bathtub. What to do?
Tadpole Rex uses dramatic illustration with simple rhyming text to evoke tadpole origins in prehistoric swamp. Thrilling for very young dinosaur and frog fans.
The Child Cruncher finds a bored child for "lunch". She is delighted to have a new "friend".
Imagination required!

What's next for the Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibit Project?

Thu, 02/26/2009 - 10:35am by amy

Listen in as local historians Ray Detter, Louisa Pieper and Grace Shackman talk about the origins, challenges and rewards of putting together the Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibits Program. You'll hear about what's coming up (hint: books and corsets) and how our schools are planning to work the exhibit into the AAPS curriculum.

Toddler Bits - PLAY Activities

Sun, 02/22/2009 - 3:56pm by ryanikoglu

Looking for activities to do with Little Kids? There are great ideas for Play and Arts in the following books:
The Big Book Of Playtime Activities
Games To Play With Toddlers
Bright From The Start
Entertaining and Educating Babies and Toddlers

Eat Your Books and Read Your Vegetables!

Sun, 02/22/2009 - 9:25am by StoryLaura

Join us at the Downtown Library on Friday, February 27th at 7:00 pm to sing along with Mr. Seley's popular songs for five year olds and up, such as “You’re So Wonderful (You Should Live In A Castle)”, “Best Friend (The Dog Song)”, and “Eat Your Books (And Read Your Vegetables)”.

Academy Award nominees- some were books first!

Wed, 02/18/2009 - 2:15pm by lucroe

Some of the 2009 Academy Award nominees were books or short stories first. Here is a a list of some of this years nominees that were books before film:

Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Reader (book by Bernhard Schlink)
Slumdog Millionaire (book entitled Q & A by Vikas Swarup)
Revolutionary Road (book by Richard Yates)
Baader Meinhof Complex (book in German by Stefan Aust)
The Class (book in French entitled Entre les murs by François Bégaudeau)

In honor of the Oscars, Shaman Drum Bookstore asks you to comment on their Twitter page what books you think were better than the movie. So go to the link and post a comment (or tweet) today.

If you are interested in last year's award winners & nominees that were books, here is a brief rundown:
No Country for Old Men (book by Cormac McCarthy)
There will be Blood (based on the book Oil by Upton Sinclair)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (book by Ron Hansen)
Charlie Wilson's War (book by George Crile)
Into the Wild (book by Jon Krakauer)
Away from Her (based on the short story Bear Came over the Mountain by Alice Munro)
Atonement (book by Ian McEwan)
Gone Baby Gone (book by Dennis Lehane)
Beaufort (book by Ron Leshem)
the Counterfeiters (book by Adolf Burger)

Kid Bits - Knucklehead

Wed, 02/18/2009 - 9:38am by ryanikoglu

You need to read Knucklehead if you are a Jon Scieszka fan !!
Scieszka is author of the Time Warp Trio series such as Knights Of The Kitchen Table and See You Later, Gladiator; silly renditions of folklore such as Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of The Three Little Pigs from the Wolf's point of view, and the Guys Read website.
KNUCKLEHEAD is a laugh-out-loud autobiography of growing up in Flint, MI in a 6-boys family. Dad commonly addressed "the pack" with one word, knucklehead, as in, "Which knucklehead _____?" This saved Dad from having to remember all the names and adequately addressed "the pack".

PreK Bits - Silly Stories

Tue, 02/17/2009 - 2:23pm by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel's Silly Stories and songs came from the following:
A Far-Fetched Story by Karin Cates
Shoe Town by Janet Stevens.
Monkey Face by Frank Asch.
Moving To Math singing "Hey There's Something in My Boot".
Jim Gill Makes It Noisy in Boise singing "Stick To The Glue".

Kid Bits - Do You Believe in Fairies ?

Sun, 02/15/2009 - 12:10pm by ryanikoglu

" A Fairy Went a-Marketing - she bought a winter gown...All stitched about with gossamer and lined with thistledown". If you enjoy "fairy lore" take a look at some NEW books.

Beverlie Manson's Fairies: A Celebration Of The Seasons presents beautiful double-page pictures of fairies in seasonal settings. It is also a visual game. On the page borders are small pictures that name and detail the fairies and plants. Then you can find them in the large scene. Dee-light-ful !

Who's Behind The Fairy Doors? - by Jonathan Wright, the local expert on recent fairy door phenomena. He interprets drawings of fairy sightings in the book.

PreK Bits - Royal Stories

Tue, 02/10/2009 - 10:47am by ryanikoglu

Old King Cole was a Merry Old Soul and the Queen Of Hearts Made some Tarts so let's add Regal Stories to the sharing list.
The Queen's Progress- an ABC of Queen Elizabeth I's entourage to her summer home.
Most Wonderful Egg In The World- the Royal Court must decide whose egg is most wonderful.
The Knight And The Dragon- become business partners.
Princess And The Pea- set in Africa by Rachel Isadora.
Imagine You're A Knight- what is it like?

Art From the Heart by Kathy Whitehead

Mon, 02/09/2009 - 3:01pm by Tahira

Clementine Hunter did not wait for the perfect time or the perfect tools to paint. She painted what was in her heart after long days working on the plantation. For all of us who want to wait for the right time or place to use our talents Art From the Heart by Kathy Whitehead is an inspiration.

PreK Bits - Stories from Asia

Tue, 02/03/2009 - 11:34am by ryanikoglu

Stories from Asia were featured in Storytime this week with Ms. Rachel. Favorites include:
The Pan-Asian folktale Counting Crocodiles.
Two Of Everything and The Empty Pot from China.
Mangoes And Bananas from India, and
Go To Sleep Gecko from Bali.

Youth Department Freedom Quilt

Mon, 02/02/2009 - 9:44am by Tahira

February is Black History Month. Come in and celebrate at the Downtown Library Youth Department. Paper quilt patches will be available to color and hang on the Youth Department’s wall.

Freedom Quilts were quilts with encoded messages that helped slaves find their way North to freedom. Although the significance and role the quilts played in the Underground Railroad is debated by scholars and historians, the stories of the quilts are still an important part of African-American history. Read more about Freedom Quilts in Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson, The Secret to Freedom by Marcia Vaughn and Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson.

Seeding the Cloud

Wed, 01/28/2009 - 1:59pm by local_girl

Have you ever been to the Bentley to research local history? It is quiet as a tomb and you have to wear these white cotton gloves if you want to handle the old photos. It can be intimidating but it's also pretty cool. The whole environment is so reverential that the experience can be nearly spiritual. I highly recommend checking it out.

If you don't want to make the trip and just want to sit around in your jammies checking out old photos of Ann Arbor, you can look at some of the Bentley collection online. The material is cataloged according to professional standards and the information is very useful. Which is great, unless you like to browse sites with a little more personality.

If that's the case, you must take a peek at Wystan Steven's Flickr profile. It's a great start to a lost afternoon wandering the old streets of A2. Wystan is well known for his passionate interest in photos and stories about our town (come on, you know, he's the cemetery tour guy). The bummer was that until recently, there was no easy way for him to share his collection. He now has over 200 uploads on Flickr, with notes! Good notes. Sometimes funny notes.

A photo of Carrie Nation (the hatchet wielding saloon smasher) is one of his most viewed uploads but there are also photos of JFK in Ann Arbor. So go and give the man some views and check his page often, he's on there every day.

Michigan Turns 172!

Sun, 01/25/2009 - 3:01pm by aschling

Michigan is turning 172! On January 26 1837 Michigan entered the Union becoming the 26th state. Michigan has many beautiful natural attractions such as: The Great Lakes, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Mackinac Island and Tahquamenon Falls. Michigan was originally home to Native American tribes before the French settlers came. Michigan's largest city is Detroit aka the Motor City, Motown, Hockeytown or The D. Detroit is home of Defending Stanley Cup Champions the Detroit Red Wings, Tigers, and Lions. Our Capital is Lansing and this is the only state that is made up of two peninsulas. Michigan has also produced a number of renowned people such as Henry Ford, Gerald R Ford (raised in Michigan) Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine), Sam Raimi (producer), Thomas Edison and Stevie Wonder to name a few. For a more complete list click here.
Michigan is also home of Meijer, Better Made Potato Chips, Faygo and Kellogg Cereal. To learn more about the history of our state check out the local history room at the Downtown library. Happy Birthday Michigan!

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story by Janet Halfmann

Wed, 01/21/2009 - 3:32pm by Tahira

Read about the amazing life of Robert Smalls, a former slave who: sailed a stolen confederate ship to freedom, became one of America’s first African American captains of a United States vessel, convinced President Abraham Lincoln to allow African Americans to enlist in the Union Army, helped write a new democratic state constitution, became a member of the United States Congress and introduced a petition to give women the right to vote. Seven Miles to Freedom is truly a book of courage and inspiration.

PreK Bits - Russian Stories

Tue, 01/20/2009 - 10:18am by ryanikoglu

"Ms Rachel" is doing stories from Russia this week.
Here are some to find in the folktales:
The Little Snow Girl;
Babushka;
Vasilissa The Beautiful;
Matreshka
Something From Nothing

The Moon Over Star by Diana Hutts Aston

Wed, 01/14/2009 - 12:46pm by Tahira

The first lunar landing inspires a young child to fulfill her dreams. The Moon Over Star, by Diana Hutts Aston is a tribute to that special event as well as to the child in all of us.

PreK Bits

Wed, 01/14/2009 - 12:40pm by ryanikoglu

Welcome back to Storytime Season!
Ms. Rachel, Ms. Sara and Ms. Betsy are doing gingerbread, brown buns, cakes, and Happy New Years this week.
You can repeat the recipes at home often with:
Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone. A Classic.
The Gingerbread Boy by Richard Egielski. An updated version.
The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. Lusciously illustrated.
and sing "Five Brown Buns in the Bakery Shop" with
CDs from some of our favorite performers:
Peter & Ellen Allard in Sing It! Say It!.
Sharon, Lois and Bram in Great Big Hits.
Tom Chapin in Great Big Fun For The Very Little One.