Rumiko Takahashi FamilyYou might not recognize Rumiko Takahashi by name, but I bet you’ve seen her manga and anime characters before. Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most successful manga artists/authors in the world. She’s the creator of several worldwide favorites like InuYasha, Maison Ikkoku, and Ranma ½. Her manga is very popular and several of her series have been made into anime TV shows. AADL has lots of her manga series and a few of her anime series on DVD. Take a look!

One more thing. Fans of InuYasha will be happy to know (if you don’t already) that the final story arc is at long last being adapted for TV! AADL has DVDs of the original series and the movies. Check out the manga and follow along with the story as it unfolds each week.

The popular musical "Annie" will be presented by Encore Musical Theatre Company in Dexter at 8 p.m. Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 3-6, 10-13, & 17-19. This highly peppy, Tony Award-winning 1976 musical comedy was inspired by the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. Set in New York in the Great Depression, the story follows feisty Annie and her puppy Sandy as they escape from an orphanage and find a home with millionaire Daddy Warbucks. Popular songs from the show include "Tomorrow," "Hard-Knock Life," and "Easy Street." Buy tickets here.

helping hand

It takes work to be a responsible parent, or even just a responsible adult. This month's parent magazine update focuses on magazines that give advice -- because we all need a little help now and then.

Home Education Magazine has advice for any parent who wants to be a little more involved with their child's education -- including an article on the National History Day contest, a guide to running a book club for boys, and a list of good books for teaching teens about money.

Working Mother Magazine features a list of the 100 most family-friendly companies to work for, a guide to purchasing life insurance, and an article on how to rid your home of scary chemicals often found in paint, upholstery and even toys.

American Baby Magazine provides a guide to recognizing signs of autism spectrum disorders in children and seven tips for managing tantrums.

Did you catch it? NPR's The Diane Rehm Show aired an interesting interview with Robert Darnton, director of the Harvard University Library and author of The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future, which just came out in October. Darnton and Diane discussed the history of the book, from scrolls to codices to kindles, and Darnton's predictions for the future of books and e-books.

AADL has some excellent books about books. The Coming Of The Book, Art Of The Printed Book, and A Short History Of The Printed Word are all first-class books for learning about the history of books starting with the invention of printing in the middle ages. If you are interested in even earlier books, our Ladies' Library Collection has some beautifully illustrated books about manuscripts. I found the plates in A History Of Illuminated Manuscripts really amazing.

Kids LOVE things that GO and books and songs about things that go. Here are some very good ones to share.
The Wheels On The Race Car. Guess what tune you use?
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off To The Moon
Duck On A Bike
Row, Row Row Your Boat
The DVD Cars Boats Trains and Planes
and of course ... Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!
Do you know we have pre-packaged sets for you to check-out called WHEELS to GO. Each bag contains items on themes for preschool ages.
Explore and discover Stories To Go: Transportation.
See what you think!

The American northwest has become a music mecca once again, only this time it's not the power chord wallowing of grunge but the low harmony of Americana and folk-pop music that's growing out west. With a nod to the early '70s autumnal sound of groups like The Band and The Grateful Dead, several bands have emerged from the pine woods of Oregon to both critical praise and pop audience accolades.

Blitzen Trapper is among this camp, distinguishing themselves from the pack with their heel stomping Skynard-esque southern rock style while flirting with bluegrass and even baroque rock throughout their last two records. On last year's Sub Pop release, Furr, Blitzen Trapper produced their most consistent work, with standout songs "Fire + Fast Bullets" and the title track bringing listeners back for repeat listens. This year's EP, Black River Killer, is a collection of songs they've been playing live on the Furr tour, so it serves as a great traveling buddy for the full length Furr. As the title, Black River Killer, indicates, the songs here are of a darker vein both thematically and sonically, but the songwriting remains just as strong.

If you’ve read Zeitoun, Dave Eggers’ account of one family’s “adventure” during Hurricane Katrina (which I highly recommend), you may enjoy this Academy Award nominated documentary, which won Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Trouble the Water begins 24 hours before Hurricane Katrina fully hit New Orleans, with 24 year old aspiring rap artist Kimberly Roberts’ hand held video camera footage of the initial onslaught. She and her family decided to stay and brave the storm rather than evacuate with the rest of city. The film interweaves Roberts’ personal footage with that of documentary film makers. The footage is truthful, heartfelt and horrific. The film follows Roberts, her husband, and nearby neighbors before, during and after Katrina, where some of them view the tragedy and severe loss as a doorway to a new life.

I also recommend A.D.: New Orleans after the deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld. Similarly, it tells true survival stories of seven individuals before and during Hurricane Katrina, as told through fabulous illustrations by the author.

My name is Daniel and I'm the Defender of Earth. The alien the Prayer killed my parents when I was 3. Now I use my superhero powers to kill the aliens on the most wanted list my parents had used. Hopefully one day, I'll catch-up with the Prayer and get my revenge. You can read about my adventures in The Dangerous Days of Daniel X and Daniel X: Watch the Skies. They even made a graphic novel about me, Daniel X: Alien Hunter.

John Porcellino has written a graphic story inspired by Henry David Thoreau's life at Walden Pond. The images in Thoreau at Walden are as simple and still as Thoreau's words and convey the deliberate life of meaning that he sought to live in his cabin in the woods. This is a refreshing reminder of an inspiring life.