Who couldn't use a giggle or two during these gray days of winter?

Two recent picture books that both take place in the barnyard are sure to provide laughter for both children and the adults that read to them.

Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka is about a rock band (cow, pig, goat, sheep and chicken) that swings into action when Farmer Joe goes off to bed. The concert will have all readers and listeners singing along.

Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds will have readers rushing off to the kitchen in search of munchies. This is the story of what happens to a normally quiet barnyard after the rooster sneaks up to the farmhouse and sees an episode of a cooking show on television.

For more barnyard antics, also check out Doreen Cronin's classics Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack.

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert takes the reader on an imaginary journey of a leaf with two acorns for eyes and a burr for a mouth. The beautiful collage pictures of ducks, geese and prairie animals accentuate the simple text with the refrain "A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows."

The Library of Michigan announced the winners of the 2006 Michigan Notable Books. These twenty titles, all published last year, highlight “…Michigan people, places and events.” They must be written by a Michigan native or resident and are wide-reaching in coverage.

On the list this year are 14 non-fiction titles, four novels, and two children’s books. The winners in alphabetical order are:

Non-fiction

Beast of Never, Cat of God: The Search for the Eastern Puma by Bob Butz

Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink by David Margolick

Booking Passage: We Irish and Americans by Thomas Lynch

The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy by Charles K. Hyde

Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll by David A. Carson

Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio photographs by Ed Wargin

Made in Detroit: A South of 8 Mile Memoir by Paul Clemens

Michigan Agricultural College: The Evolution of a Land-grant Philosophy, 1855-1925 by Keith R. Widder

Michigan Shadow Towns: A Study of Vanishing and Vibrant Villages by Gene Scott

Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Michael Schumacher

Singing in a Strange Land: C.L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America by Nick Salvatore

Soapy: A Biography of G. Mennen Williams by Thomas J. Noer

Under Michigan: The Story of Michigan's Rocks and Fossils by Charles Ferguson Barker

Vintage Views of the Charlevoix-Petoskey Region by M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson

Fiction

How Like an Angel: A Novel by Jack Driscoll

The Lake, the River and the Other Lake: A Novel by Steve Amick

Please Don't Come Back From the Moon by Dean Bakopoulos

The Summer He Didn't Die by Jim Harrison

Children

Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher

Winter's Tale: An Original Pop-up Journey by Robert Sabuda

"For a green-eyed reader filled with desire" a volume of blank parchment pages may reveal the magic of Northumbria. "Rich with mystery and atmosphere, this is a thought-provoking fable" about magic and greed. Avi does it again for a tale to share-aloud among families, The Book Without Words.

For generations Comfort Snowberger's family has owned the funeral home in town. With care and cosmic understanding the family handles the loss of a family member at the same time that Comfort is losing peace with her best friend, Declaration. With southern charm and humor the rhythms of life flow with Each Little Bird That Sings, a lovely family read-together.

March Madness is just around the corner, so now's a great time to check out some fiction about basketball. Ball Don't Lie, by Matt de la Pena is a great place to start. Between foster homes and living in the street, Sticky 17, has developed some amazing basketball skills; enough to get him noticed by big-time scouts. He hangs out at Lincoln Rec, a gym in L.A. which functions as a shelter and a place where serious ball players go. Sticky's compulsive about his stance, his routine, and his shots, but way beyond normal. He's obsessive as he tucks his shirt in six or more times, until he gets it right. Detailed game action pulses like a fast court break. Anh-thu, is Sticky's girlfriend and she too wants him to reach his dreams.

Fred Adams, professor of astrophysics at the University of Michigan and a world-renowned theorist on star and planet foundation, talks about his book Origins of Existence: How Life Emerged in the Universe on Community Access Cable Televison Channel 17 on Tuesday, January 31 at 3:30 p.m.; Thursday, February 2 at 1:30 p.m.; Friday, February 3 at 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday, February 4 at 1:30 p.m. The program was originally recorded in April 2003 as part of the library's 'Booked for Lunch' series, now known as 'Sunday Edition'. Among Dr. Adams' many provocative ideas is that life began inside our planet, not on its surface -- and that the universe exists in a forest of universes in space-time. His talk is also available on VHS Video at the library.

My favorite Ann Arbor News comics are Pooch Café and Arlo and Janis.

The library has No Collar, No Service: a Pooch Café collection, profiling the life of Poncho with his master Chazz, Carmen (and her cats), Poncho’s canine buddies, the postman, the Fish, and his kibble. Very funny, very silly. A quick antidote to any gloomy winter day.

Unfortunately, Arlo and Janis do not have a collection of their comic strips in print.

Sandra Storrer directs Eve Ensler's Obie-winning play, THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, a series of ribald, explosively funny monologues exploring a woman's relation to her body, sexuality, and language. Originally a one-woman show, it is now regularly cast for 3 monologists. Cast: Grace Morand, Judy Dow Rumelhart, Linda Carter. A benefit for SafeHouse, the local shelter for battered women and their children. The Ark, 316 S. Main. General admission $20 in advance at Herb David Guitar Studio, the Michigan Union Ticket Office, & all other Ticketmaster outlets; $25 at the door. Saturday, February 4 at 2pm, evening show sold out.