The Downtown library has a shelf in the Youth Department known as the Parent Shelf. On this shelf you’ll find a variety of parent-child related books on a multitude of topics- including everything from language to tantrums to potty training to homework. These books are available for checkout, and can be found in the catalog when searching “parent shelf,” if you’d like to have one sent to a branch of your choice.

The parent shelf features a few helpful books with information on raising a bilingual child. Check out 7 steps to raising a bilingual child, and The bilingual book of rhymes, songs, stories, and fingerplays. We also have a plethora of books on this topic in the regular collection, with titles such as Growing up with two languages : a practical guide for the bilingual family, and Raising a bilingual child : A step-by-step guide for parents.

To go along with this, AADL also has a wonderful collection of books in world languages, including materials on learning other languages. Check out this handy list of languages!

It seems impossible, but we’re already a couple weeks into the new year. Before 2012 fades into the mists entirely, let’s take a look back at some of the best books containing LGBT subject matter the year had to offer. May 2013 bring us many, many more excellent additions!

The Hunger Angel – The haunting story of a young gay man forced to work in a Soviet gulag just before the end of World War II. Herta Muller (winner of the 2009 Nobel prize for literature) writes with an unmatched intensity and beauty in describing the stark world of her characters.

In One Person – John Irving returns to the themes that he writes so well about in his previous novels, namely New England, great writers, and forbidden sex. His latest book tells the story of a boy growing up in an all-male prep school, discovering the true nature of his family and his past.

Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight? – Dan Bucatinsky offers his own humorous observations on parenting and family life in a family with two dads.

These Things Happen – Wesley’s best friend gets elected as class president and immediately comes out during his acceptance speech, which is rather a surprise to Wesley. Wesley’s adventures in adolescence make for an entertaining read.

A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful – This autobiography follows the author, a self-proclaimed slacker, as he goes on several pilgrimages around the world in search of his life’s direction.

The 2012 The Story Prize has announced its finalists for short story collections that were written in English and published last year in the U.S.

The finalists are:

Stay Awake, by Dan Chaon. A two-headed baby, a child with a sleeping disorder, a near-fatal car accident -- these are just some of the themes around which Chaon builds twelve stories filled with unsettling tension and unexpected resolutions.

In Dominican author Junot Diaz's wildly popular This Is How You Lose Her, he brings back Yunior, the narrator of Drown (1996) and of his prize-winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007) who takes it upon himself to relate the "...important and necessary story of the inner lives of 'bad boys..." in nine riveting stories.

Battleborn, by Claire Vaye Watkins is a collection of ten stories in which the rich Nevada landscape is as much a character as the individuals who populate these tales.

For the first time in the Story Prize's nine-year history, they are announcing a new award, The Spotlight Award, given to an author who may have slipped under the radar. This year's recipient is Krys Lee for her debut collection Drifting House. Ms. Lee's nine stories tackle the Korean immigrant experience.

The winner of The Story Prize will be announced at the New School's Tishman Auditorium in New York City on Wednesday, March 13th.

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.

Jack London was born John Griffith Chaney on January 12th, 1876 in San Francisco, CA. An author, journalist, and activist, he was one of the first fiction authors to make a large fortune off of his works and to gain worldwide fame for his writing. His most popular works include Call of the Wild and White Fang, which are available in AADL's collection, along with many of his other works. Call of the Wild and White Fang were also adapted into films.

He died on November 22nd, 1916 in Glen Ellen, CA from what may have been kidney stones.

The 2013 Academy Award nominations have been decided and it's clear that movies based on books are garnering a lot of attention this year. But which books will prove they are oscar-movie-making material? Many of the award categories have multiple book-based films running against each other. Best Picture nominees alone include Argo, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook. That's some tough competition! How do you compare, Argo (a secret-ops/hollywood masquerade movie) with, say, Les Miserables (a musical version of Hugo's historical epic)? The selection of book adaptations on the ballot offers book-to-movie lovers a variety of genres to choose from. If CIA rescues and revolutionary France aren't your cup of tea, perhaps revisiting the timeless fairy tale, Snow White, sounds more appealing. The brothers Grimm classic is working double-time this year, with two separately produced films, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, both appearing in the list of nominees.

2013 Oscar nominated movies based on books:

It may (or may not) surprise you to learn that the last time a comprehensive travel guide covering the city of Detroit was published was sometime in the 1970s. The city had at least 800,000 more residents and Coleman A. Young was still in the earliest phase of his mayoral tenure. Fast forward to 2012 when 3 Detroit residents (and University of Michigan grads) put the finishing touches on their newest endeavor and publish Belle Isle to 8 Mile: An Insider’s Guide to Detroit. Andy, Emily and Rob Linn take us to every corner of the 139 square miles which make up the city of Detroit, introducing readers to the well-known, as well as the unknown.

Belle Isle to 8 Mile will be a great resource for everyone – from first-time visitors to regulars (and even some long-time residents). Grab a copy and plan your next Detroit adventure!

Thursday January 10, 2013: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Pittsfield Branch: Training Center

Join Darla Welshons for tips on how to use your local library along with other resources on the internet to perform genealogy research. If you're just beginning your genealogy journey, you may enjoy Mastering online genealogy or Mastering census & military records by Daniel Quillen. Meet locals who share your genealogy interests at the Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County.

Registration is not required. The class is filled on a first-come, first-served basis and the classroom will open 15 minutes before the class begins. Check out the class schedule for more classes @ AADL.

See you in class!

Picked by the publisher to relaunch Mysterious Press is Michael Kardos's The Three-Day Affair * *. For Jeffrey, Nolan, Evan, and Will who met 13 years ago at Princeton as undergrads, what was supposed to be their annual gathering of golf, booze and guy-talk turned harrowing in a split second, when Jeff, the dot.com millionaire kidnapped the teenage cashier at a spur-of-the moment stop at a convenient store.

When Jeff yelled "Drive!", their lives would never be the same again. As Will narrates what happen in the next three days, their friendship and long-hidden animosities further complicate their nightmarish situation, making the final twist of an ending, a "vicious closing sting".

Award-winning short story writer Kardos' debut novel features "finely drawn characters, clever plotting, a fine surprise ending, and graceful and economical storytelling". He lives in Starkville, Mississippi, where he co-directs the creative writing program at Mississippi State University and edits the literary journal Jabberwock Review.

"A wonderful piece of literary suspense craftsmanship" ( ~Michael Koryta), sure to please fans of Scott Smith's A Simple Plan (adopted into a feature film), and Deliverance (in video format) by James Dickey. Readers might also enjoy Owen Laukkanen's The Professionals (2012).

* * = starred reviews

Very little about 19-year-old Stefan Bachmann says “typical teenager.” Born in Colorado, he moved to Switzerland with his family at a very early age and is a dual U.S.-Swiss citizen. His mother homeschooled him until he enrolled in the Zurich Conservatory in 2004 at the age of 11.

His book The Peculiar had a first printing of 100,000 copies and met with critical acclaim; it was also a #1 bestseller in Switzerland, and rights have been sold in seven languages. Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, it is a riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.

The young author has just turned in his second novel, The Whatnot, to his editor. “I was nervous because it’s the second book,” he says. “It’s the conclusion to The Peculiar, a duology, so it wraps up the story. The first book had a cliffhanger, and that probably annoyed people.” Bachmann’s next book will “switch between contemporary and historical, which is going to be really new for me, but I can’t really say a lot about it yet. And when I’m 25 I’d like to write an adult book—when I’m actually an adult.”

Amid his literary success, Bachmann sees his music as being just as important as his writing, and he continues to study composition in Zurich. He’s managed to merge his two worlds—he wrote musical pieces for The Peculiar’s Web site and trailer—and sees parallels between the two. “I think the most basic one is that they both take practice,” he says. “You can start music at age five and at first you’ll be bad, obviously, and then you practice a while and you’ll get better. I think it’s the same with writing. If you practice writing a lot and read a lot, you’ll get better at it, though you have to have the spark to begin with.”