If a driving trip with young children is in your future, say for spring break, be prepared, be very prepared. That could mean checking out PLENTY of family BOCDs from the library. Here’s one from James Herriot to get you started: Treasury for Children, a collection of the author’s stories for kids, including Moses the Kitten, The Market Square Dog, and Smudge the Little Lost Lamb. Happy travels!

May Fairy

We're all ready to get outside, but it's still a little too cold - so take your coat off and visit the Matthei Conservatory for the lovely, fun and springy Enchanted Spring Display celebrating Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies. Find fairies hidden in the conservatory, smell the hyacinth, dapple amongst the daffodils and other gorgeous spring bulbs all over the conservatory, and make a fairy sachet! Or make your own fairy container garden, and start some seeds for your own garden. This special display runs through March 31, for complete information on the display click here. And for complete details about the Matthei Conservatory including hours/location click here. On Wednesdays the Conservatory is open until 8:00 PM and admission is FREE! And don't forget that AADL has many of Cicely Mary Barker's Books Finally, make sure you visit the downtown library fairy door too!

Seuss

Hooray, hoorah! The NEA’s Read Across America Day is a nationwide celebration that takes place on or around March 2, which is Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Across the country, schools, libraries, and communities bring children and books together to celebrate the art of reading and to get kids motivated to read. Some schools turn it into a huge party with green eggs and ham for lunch, some principals may dress up as Thing 1 or Thing 2, but no matter what is done or not done, a blast is had by all, and reading is the center of attention. Is your school doing something fun? Are you getting Seussical? Tell us about it!

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

Mo Willems, famous for Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny Too, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, Pigeon Wants a Puppy, and other books for young readers has a new book, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. This is very exciting for me because naked mole rats are the cutest little ugly things ever! Willems' book is delightful, entertaining for both children and the adults reading to them. Maybe you didn't enjoy the Pigeon books, but what's not to love about a naked mole rat?

wawrzaszek

Come join us at the Pittsfield Branch Library on Friday, February 27, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. when local magician Jeff Wawrzaszek comes to the Library for a magic show full of tricks, laughs, and awesome magic.

Want to try some magic yourself? Look for these titles.

Dr Seuss

"The more that you read,
The more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
The more places you’ll go."

daycare

The Ann Arbor Police Department and Huron Valley Ambulance are teaming up to provide a Crisis Preparedenss Workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 10:00 a.m. ~ 12 noon at City Hall for Washtenaw County daycare and preschool providers. Topics include building security, policies and procedures for emergencies, crisis planning and recovery and drill importance. Each daycare or preschool will receive a crisis-planning kit. Registration is required and seating is limited so contact Adele El-Ayoubi at 734.994.8775 or via email at aelayoubi@a2gov.org to register.

Science Fair

What a hilarious book! Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson bring science fairs to a whole new level in this comedy-thriller of a novel. Science Fair: a story of mystery, danger, international suspense, and a very nervous frog, features Toby and his best buds, Micah and Tamara. They battle, suffer, endure, and enjoy(?) the usual middle school happenings. Meanwhile, Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government and destroy America, and plans to secretly use the kids of Hubble Middle School to activate the plan by using their Science Fair projects in an elaborate scheme.

The rich kids at Hubble cheat on their science project year after year and are able to get away with it because of who their parents are. This year’s prize is $5,000 and Toby and his friends are determined to win, not only for the money, but to stick it to the rich Manor Estate kids. Oh, and there’s that whole matter of Toby needing the money to pay off the two guys he’s being chased by, Vader and Wookie, to whom he sold some of his dad’s Star Wars memorabilia to via Ebay. Needless to say this is one fun and bumpy road to the Science Fair. Watch out for the attack robot owl!

Here's a good adventure and coming-of-age story for 'tweens: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, set in a small, boring Texas town in summer 1971. When 600-pound Zachary Beaver is befriended by 13-year-old Toby and his friend Cal, the plot is off and running. Check out the book, DVD or BOCD.

Newbery Medal

The American Library Association will announce the winners of this year's Youth Media Awards on Monday, January 26, 2009 at their Midwinter Conference in Denver. These awards include such high profile honors as the Newbery Award, for the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children, and the Caldecott Award for the most distinguished illustrations. Other honors conferred include the Printz Award for excellence in Young Adult literature and the Robert Sibert Medal which honors an author, illustrator and/or photographer of the most distinguished informational book published for children. There are also other awards that honor excellence in many areas of books and media intended for youth. These are the Oscars of Youth Media!

The new conference will begin at 9:45am ET(7:45am MT), Monday, January 26, 2009 and can be viewed via live streaming video online at the ALA Youth Media Awards Webcast. You can also follow the news conference with Twitter, a micro-blogging service, at Twitter.