Wednesday, May 9 | 7:00-8:30 PM | Downtown Multipurpose Room

Ever wonder how on earth a book gets chosen as a national award winner? Or what the process is for selecting award books?

Join local librarians who have served on American Library Association book award committees as they discuss the process used to select national award-winning books and authors. Panelists include: Meaghan Battle, 2010 member of the John H. Newbery Medal for youth; Erin Helmrich, 2012 Chair of the Michael L. Printz Award for teens; and Jacqueline Sasaki, 2008-2011 member of The Reading List for adults.

This event is for adults and teens (grade 4 and up).

Saturday, May 5 | 9:00 a.m.-Noon | Downtown Multipurpose Room | All Ages

Work as a family to make your own comics story!

In this hands-on workshop teaching artist Jerzy Drozd will show you how a cartoonist uses shape, size, and line to write with images. Then each family or group will divide up into a team consisting of a writer, artist, and letterer, switching between jobs with every page. The result is an improvisational cartoon story you create together.

This event, for all ages, coincides with Free Comic Book Day and Vault of Midnight will be donating comics to give away.

Thursday, May 3 | 7:00-8:30 PM | Bird Hills Natural Area | All Ages

The City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation staff will lead a nature walk in one of Ann Arbor's most beloved parks, Bird Hills. Covering 147 acres, it is the largest park in Ann Arbor.

Learn about ecological restoration and responsible use of public lands. Opportunities for wildlife viewing are plentiful. If we’re lucky, we may get to view some early spring bloomers like trillium, jack-in-the pulpit, and more. Black, red, and fox squirrels, ground squirrels, deer, and butterflies are very common in Bird Hills. Dress comfortably to walk and enjoy nature.

We'll meet in the parking lot off Newport Road, just north of M-14. This event is for all ages.

Monday, May 7 | 5-8 PM | Roos Roast - 1155 Rosewood St Suite B Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Local cartoonists and writers, here’s your chance for a little international comics exchange at the first ever KRCC Cross-Cultural Exchange hosted by Kids Read Comics Celebrations! A group of Australian cartoonists will be passing through the SE Michigan area, and they agreed to make a stop in Ann Arbor to meet up with area cartoonists for some drawing and conversation. We’ll be joined by:

· Pat Grant
· Ben Hutchings
· David Blumenstein
· Sarah Howell
· Gregory Mackay
· Michael Hawkins
· John Retallick

Roos Roast has generously offered us their studio space for the meetup. It’s the best coffee in town, and a terrific meeting space, so a good time is sure to be had!

Bring your favorite drawing supplies and let’s make some comics international style!

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

Gale Williams, cartoonist and creator of the weekly webcomic "Patbird and Galesaur", will demonstrate how to flat comics in Adobe Photoshop, and share tips and tricks to speed up your coloring process.

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

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

Saturday, April 21 | 1:00-4:00 PM | Downtown Multipurpose Room

Drawing the human hand makes many artists cringe. Trying to get all the bones, joints, blood vessels, finger positions, etc. correct is tricky business. No worries. Patricia Underdown, a faculty member at College for Creative Studies will first demonstrate how to master drawing the human hand. Then it’s your turn. You’ll study a hand model and begin drawing. Drawing supplies will be available.

Here's your chance to grow artistically, whether you're an amateur or a professional artist.

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

Circle K Logo

Tutoring sessions will resume on Monday and Wednesday evenings on April 30. 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 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!

History comes to life under the capable hands of graphic novelist Rick Geary. In the latest installment of his “Treasury of XXth Century Murder” Geary meticulously lays out the April 15, 1920 robbery and murder and outlines the evidence for and against the accused Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. He also provides details of the trial of these two Italian immigrants. He discusses both men’s lives, the times in which they live,and why this case had worldwide impact. Geary provides the facts with impartiality. After reading The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti you get to decide whether these two men were villains or victims.

It's the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Learn about another catastrophic shipwreck, the 1956 collision of the
SS Andrea Doria and the MS Stockholm. Survivor Pierette Domenica Simpson who was nine years old at the time, shares her personal and harrowing account of the event when she visits the Downtown Library on Monday, April 16 at 7 pm.

She is the only survivor in history to write a complete account of the disaster, Alive on the Andrea Doria!: The Greatest Sea Rescue in History. Pierette's new young adult novel is I Was Shipwrecked on the Andrea Doria!: The Titanic of the 1950s. Books will be for sale.

It's a battle to the finish as you build and battle your champion robot!!

Two robots enter the ring, only one leaves victorious! Battle teams will assemble to create the most devastating robot possible. Build your demolition demon, program your plan of attack, then release the un-holy terror that is robot wrestling! Prizes are for the champions!

This event is for teens (grades 6 - 12).

The Arena: The event will take place on a 4’ diameter smooth cardboard ring, with a 2” wide black boarder to help the robots determine the edge of the ring.

All robots must be build on-site using only the provided parts from one (1) NXT 9797 kit. Fight programs must be programmed on site with provided computers and software.