YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction

Winners of the best nonfiction published for teens between November 1, 2011 – October 31, 2012 are:

2013 Winner
Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Recounts the scientific discoveries that enabled atom splitting, the military intelligence operations that occurred in rival countries, and the work of brilliant scientists hidden at Los Alamos.

2013 Finalists
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Though Different by Karen Blumenthal

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind With the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose

Titanic: Voices From the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson

Printz Medal

The following Printz titles were announced at ALA Midwinter in Seattle:

2013 Printz Award Medal
In Darkness by Nick Lake
In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, fifteen-year-old Shorty, a poor gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a ruined hospital, and as he grows weaker he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in the 1804.

2013 Printz Honor books:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universie by Benjamin Saenz

Code Name Verity by Robin Sloan

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna

Thursday, January 17 | 7:00-8:00 PM | Traverwood Branch | Grades 9-12

In March, 2013 you get just one shot at the Michigan Merit Exam (MME). One of the MME components is the ACT Plus Writing Test. During the test you have 30 minutes to read a question, think, and then organize and write a short essay. Intimidating? Yes, but Kaplan instructors will provide you a road map for getting ready to write a dynamic response.

While there is a basketball theme to the book, Boy21 is not a sports book, and it’s not just for teens. It is a heartfelt and fast paced story of loss, family, friendship, and competition. It's also a book that is on many "best of 2012" lists regarding young adult fiction. From the writer of Sorta Like A Rock Star and The Silver Lining’s Playbook, we meet Boy21, who is one unique teen.

Set in a fictional blue collar suburb of Philadelphia, Boy21 centers around Finley, AKA White Rabbit, who selectively doesn’t say much and calls himself a “minimal speaker.” He goes about his life playing basketball, living with his hardworking father, and hanging out with his fellow ball-playing girlfriend, who is pretty much his only friend. Together they long to get out of the rough and tumble life in Belmont, which is mainly divided between Irish Americans and African Americans.

Life proceeds as normal until one day his coach lets him in on a little secret. There is a new kid heading to town, and Coach wants Finley to keep a big secret about the new kid and stick to him like glue as he helps guide him as he transitions to the new school. It sounds easy enough, but ends up being more challenging than Finley thought. Russell, who calls himself Boy21, has lost his parents in a tragedy and heads to Belmont to live with his grandparents. His coping mechanisms (acting as though he’s from another planet) are hard for Finley to grasp at first, but as the story progresses the boys learn a lot from each other as they find out that they have more in common than just basketball. These boys are coping with more than any teen should, and how they conquer their demons and rise above leaves for a magical ending.

On a “Military History – What are you Reading Now” booklist, I came across the Charley’s War series, set in World War I. Having just completed the excellent historical non-fiction WWII graphic novel, Two Generals, I thought I would check out how "the war to end all wars" was covered in graphic novel fashion.

Wow, I was not disappointed. Charley’s War 2 June 1916 – 1 August 1916 is the first in a series of volumes following the life of Charley Bourne, who enlists in the British Army at the age of 16. In this volume you see Charley go from enlistment to the frontlines just in time for preparations for the Battle of the Somme. By the time the attack is launched, you’ll know just enough about his trench mates to be anxious of their fate as they ‘go over the top’.

This series is actually a compilation of a 3 to 4 page strip that ran in the British comic book "Battle Action" from 1979-85. Writer Pat Mills moves the action along at a brisk but smooth pace. Though a few of the characters may seem a bit stock/stereotypical, every one of them is compelling and pulls you in to learn their story. Joe Colquhoun’s artwork – fantastic. As long as you are not turned off by black and white, there is much to like here. The details in the panels and the way they are laid out works great.

The period history seems well researched, and the book includes not only a section where the writer gives current day commentary and he does address a few things that in hindsight may not have been too accurate or likely to have occurred, but also includes a brief independent essay on the Battle of the Somme itself.

You may not agree with the author’s preface, but I think you will agree the graphic novel itself is one grim and gripping yarn.

Thursday, January 10 | 7:00-8:00 PM | Traverwood Branch | Grades 9-12

Approach the ACT or SAT test day with confidence! Kaplan instructors will present strategies for preparing for the tests and guide you through some questions, demonstrating how to arrive at the correct answer.

Sunday, January 6 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Downtown Library | 4th Floor Meeting Room

Via Skype, cartoonist Dani Jones will tell us about the joys, challenges, and tricks of juggling work as both a comics creator and as a children's book illustrator.

Dani has created and published her own comics stories, My Sister, the Freak, an ongoing webcomic, and Frosty the Gourdman, a Halloween short story comic. She recently wrote and illustrated the picture book, Monsters vs. Kittens for Stan Lee's Kids Universe and has illustrated other picture books including The Best Mariachi in the World, and Elfis, A Christmas Tale.

Join the Forum to get fresh ideas for your next comics or graphic novel creation. Drawing supplies are provided, so drop in to draw, learn, and network with other cartoonists.

Friday January 4, 2013: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

This Friday, January 4, we'll be making an electronic instrument out of commonly available pieces and parts.

For this Maker Music event, the Ann Arbor Hacker-Makers of All Hands Active will be teaching people how use basic circuitry to create their own musical instrument, the Atari Punk Circuit. What's that? An Atari Punk Circuit uses an assortment of basic electronics and two knobs to allow people to create basic two-tone electronic sounds, kind of like those that used to be the soundtrack to the first video games on the Atari video game console.

Do you need to know electronics to come to this event? No, that's why we're having it! Come learn a bit about electricity, circuits, and have some fun trying out making different sounds. After you're finished, take a look at our Music Tools collection, too!

This event is for adults and teens (grade 6 and up).

Wednesday, March 20 | 6:00-8:00pm | Pittsfield Branch | 6th grade- Adult

Make a mini stuffed marshmallow Peeps bunny using felt and hand-sewing techniques! We’ll have all the Peeps-colored felt necessary to make the cutest little Peeps bunnies. Guaranteed to be a fun evening of sewing and chatting. Join us!

For more projects with felt, check out these books.

Circle K Logo

Tutoring sessions will resume on Sunday afternoons and Monday and Wednesday evenings on January 13. Homework Help will continue throughout the spring. Please read on for more details about homework help at AADL.

Looking for help with your homework? Look no further than AADL’s Downtown Library. The University of Michigan Chapter of Circle K is once again providing tutoring for students in grades K-12. Stop by the Youth Department Story Corner Mondays and Wednesdays between 4:00 and 8:00 pm and Sundays between 3:00 and 5:00 pm to take advantage of this great service!

AADL also provides access to Brainfuse, an online tutoring service. Live tutors are available from 2:00 -11:00 pm every day!