In Laika, Nick Abadzis beautifully and compassionately tells the sad tale of Sputnik II and Laika, the Russian dog who became Earth's first space traveler. Abadzis carefully blends fact with fiction to show the human side of the overtly political Soviet Space Program of the 1950s. Unfortunately, we all know that Laika's story does not have a happy ending. There was never a plan for her return. Abadzis takes full advantage of the affordances of comics storytelling, using thoughtful and poetic page layouts to fully investigate the inner lives of the characters and their struggles. The panels themselves are packed full of visual information--including phases of the moon depicted accurately to the date of the events within the story. Abadzis explores the fragile balance between obligation to one's duties and having to live with the consequences.
If you'd rather have a happy ending, try Pupniks by S. Ruth Lubka. It tells the story of Sputnik 5, in which Belka and Strelka returned safely to Earth in 1960.

Did you ever wonder if life exists outside of our planet or our universe? Would you like to get caught up on space stuff in general? If so, I recommend you check out Jeffery Bennett's book Beyond UFOs. The author explains interesting things such as the true scale of the solar system and the center of mass between Jupiter and the Sun. If you like to sound smart at parties, this is the book for you.

According to a New York Times article, it took a citywide fund-raising effort for The Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to raise the $68 million needed to keep a Thomas Eakins masterpiece - The Gross Clinic in the city. "The painting is widely considered to be among the greatest convases in American art".

Though Eakins' fame is "almost entirely posthumous and he was little known and admired in his native city" during his life time, but in Lawrence Goldstone's debut The Anatomy of Deception, Eakins is front and center in this highly readable, intriguing and historically well-researched forensic thriller. Also depicted are the real-life characters such as William Osler (the Father of Modern Medicine), famed surgeon William Stewart Halsted and the vibrant social scene of Philadelphia 1889.

Historical mystery readers, especially those of Caleb Carr and Matthew Pearl will find much to like here.

Did you feel the earthquake this morning (Friday, April 18) at about 5:45 a.m.? The epicenter was in Illinois but some Ann Arborites who were up that early felt some weird vibrations. Adding to that weirdness was my discovery that on April 18, 1906, the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake hit, and because of resulting fires, most of the city burned to the ground. That quake measured 8.3 on the Richter scale and was felt from Southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and as far east as central Nevada. Scientists later determined that the San Andreas Fault had moved about 23 feet. To learn more about earthquakes, check out the Library's books and dvds.

On April 11, 1633, Gallilco Galilei was put on trial by the Inquisition for his preposterous claim, originally stated by Copernicus that the Earth revolved around the Sun. When Galileo wrote a book titled, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, he angered Pope Urban VIII who contended that any theory not seeing the Earth as the center of the universe went against scripture. Galileo was placed on house arrest for the rest of his life at his home in Florence where he eventually went blind and died in 1642. It wasn't until 1835 that the Vatican removed the book from its list of banned books and in 1992, the Catholic Church formally admitted that Galileo was right.

Iceberg

UM Exhibit Museum of Natural History presents the last Polar Science Adventures in the series! Explore the effects of the melting of land ice and sea ice. How will it affect polar animals or people? What can we do to help right now?

Join this workshop for children ages 6-11 and an adult to learn about the Artic and Antarctica. Activities are designed to be accomplished with collaboration between adults and kids. Register at any public services desk or call the library at 327-4200 and choose a session. Walk-ins are also welcome!
Pittsfield Wednesday, March 26th, 4:30-5:30 PM
Malletts Creek Saturday, March 29th, 10-11 AM
Northeast Saturday, March 29th, 2-3 PM

What animals live at the poles and how do they survive? Discover how polar bears swim in ice-cold water and other sub-zero animals live through extreme temperatures through hands-on experiments. Find out all about artic animals in this fun-filled adult/child workshop presented by the UM Exhibit Museum of Natrual History. Call any information desk to register your spot in a branch or drop in. Workshop for children ages 6-11 with an adult.

Pittsfield Branch, Wednesday, February 20, 4:30-5:30 PM
Malletts Creek Branch, Saturday, February 23, 10-11 AM
Northeast Branch, Saturday, February 23, 2-3 PM

Iceberg

Spend the day at the UM Exhibit Museum of Natural History to learn more about the Poles. Check out the Antarctica's Climate Secrets: One Teacher's Story exhibit on the Museum's fourth floor to learn about Robin Frisch-Gleason's recent trip to Antarctica. Robin is an Ann Arbor 4th grade teacher, who took the trip as part of the Antarctic Drilling Project (ANDRILL). Learn how the drilling project collected ocean floor core samples to research the long-term climate changes in Antarctica, and see a real set of Extreme Cold Weather gear.

Also check out the exhibit in the Museum's Rotunda lobby called From Pole to Pole: UM Research at the Ends of the Earth. Learn how UM Scientists are investigating pollutants in the Artic and frozen mammoths in Siberia.

Iceberg

Where are the North and South Poles, and why are they so cold? What’s the difference between seawater and fresh water? Sea ice and land ice? How do layers of ice stack up? From ice cores to ocean currents, we’ll learn about the coldest places on Earth in this exciting science workshop held in collaboration with the UM Exhibit Museum of Natural History. The workshop is for children ages 6-11 and their adult guardian. Activities are created for both adults and children to complete together.

Call the Youth Desk at 327-8301 or ask at any service desk to register for the program. Choose from the following dates:
Wednesday, Jan. 16, 4:30-5:30 PM at the Pittsfield Branch
Saturday, Jan. 19, 10-11 AM at the Malletts Creek Branch
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2-3 PM at the Northeast Branch

Read up on the topic in these great books: Life in the polar lands by Monica Byles, Icebergs, Ice Caps and Glaciers by Allan Fowlar, Shackleton’s Stowaway by Victoria McKernan, and Polar Bears Past Bedtime by Mary Pope Osborne.

It was on December 27, 1831 that Charles Darwin sailed from England on the HMS Beagle. During this trip to South America and the Galapagos Islands, Darwin explored the rainforests and made some amazing discoveries about the plants and animals he found there. It was on the Islands that Darwin began to formulate his theories that later became the groundbreaking book, The Origin of the Species, a book that would create one of the greatest scientific controversies of modern times.