Congratulations to all of the WINNERS at the 10th Annual LEGO Contest! 2015 is the summer of LEGO Awesome!

Thu, 08/13/2015 - 1:27pm by erin

Summer 2015 has been the summer of LEGO in all of its interlocking awesomeness and the highlight of EVERY summer, the annual LEGO contest, has come and gone and now it’s time to celebrate! This year we had 200 entries in 6 age categories:

Preschool, Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12 and Adults!

We gave out 24 LEGO trophies, 72 medals and over $500 in gift cards to the winners! As always the house was packed and about 600 people attended to vote of their favorites, see all the projects and experience the Award Ceremony!

Congratulations to the winners in our 10th Annual LEGO Contest!

Preschool Category:

1st Place = Hotel by Emmet Forbes
Runner-Up = Outer Space by Nate Kubiak
Honorable Mention = Tootie Ta Train Tower by Clara Balazer
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (voted on by attendees of the contest) = Hotel by Emmet Forbes

Best Motorized = Its’s a Camp by Eleanor Coffman
Best Architectural/Engineering = Rainbow Pyramid by Sam Mickey
Coolest Robot = Rock Mech Robot by Gabriel Nazario
Best Vehicle = Drone Galaxy Cruiser by Jackson Erickson
Most Creative = Indian Street Food by Amit V.
Most Sophisticated = Knights of Fires all Fighting All Day by Liam Anderson
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Lava, Frank the Dog, Alligator, Ninjago Volcano by Isaac Semrau
Best Use of the #10/Visual/Conceptual = Waterfall by Theo Tsai

Grades K - 2:

1st Place = Edmund Fitzgerald & Andersen by Alexander Burrow
Runner-Up = SS Collage by Dominic Nazario
Honorable Mention = M City by Emma Khan
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (voted on by attendees of the contest) = Farmer’s Market by Ivy & Ethan Miller

Best Motorized = Top in 10 Years by Mave Coffman
Best Architectural/Engineering = Gems & Marble Run by Desmond Beckerleg
Coolest Robot = The Best Workers by Lincoln Bolazer
Best Vehicle = Spy Tracker by Connor Geoghegan
Most Creative = Banana Boat by Sorin Bleed
Most Sophisticated = Spy Central by Evan Lowrie-Miuccio
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Pacmania by Ruby Brabbs
Best Use of the #10/Visual/Conceptual = I Spy 10 by Will and Sean Beaupre
Best RV = Every kind of person animal Tubobus by Micah Jule Rijke-Epstein
Best Planes, Trains and Tower Cranes = Busy Day at the Harbor by Jacob Rice

Grades 3-5 Category:

1st Place = iPhone Characters Come to Life by Ennis Poskovic
Runner-Up = Castle Under Attack by Nathan Gillick
Honorable Mention = Under the Water by Avalon McNew
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (voted on by attendees of the contest) = Brenda Khuu

Best Motorized = Baja by Jeffrey Wang
Best Architectural/Engineering = Top Notch Security Robot Lab by Joe Bonenberger
Coolest Robot = B-29 Robot Dog by Beck Nordstrom
Best Vehicle = Ann Arbor Airport 2110 by Kevin Hudson
Most Creative = Dog Walker by Noah Forbes
Most Sophisticated = LEGO Jewelry Part 2 by Hiba Khan
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Frank the Pub by Gabriel Senrau
Best Use of the #10/Visual/Conceptual = Tenth Anniversary of Ten by Caitlin Trievel
Wettest Infrastructure Fail = Ann Arbor After it Rains by Brendan Khuu
Best Municipal Amenity = Skate Park by Levi Berg
Fastest Spaceship = New Horizons by Alexa Daniels
Toxoplasmosis Award = 3 Kittens by Daniel Lee

Grades 6-8:

1st Place = LEGO Bridge by Deniz Kirza
Runner-Up = 21 Balloons by Ethan Mascato
Honorable Mention = PLAY by Elliot and Milo Varnum
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (voted on by attendees of the contest) = LEGO Bridge by Deniz Kirza

Best Motorized = LEGO Car Wash by Brian Khuu
Best Architectural/Engineering = City of the Future by Bach Nguyen
Coolest Robot = The Robot that Shoots Bot by Aakarsh Verma
Best Vehicle = Main St. USA
Most Creative = Pizza Horse’s Food Temple by Connor & Charlie Wilcox
Most Sophisticated = Good vs Evil by Katrina Walbridge
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Snoopy & Woodstock by Nishant Domala
Best Use of the #10/Visual/Conceptual = LEGO Chopped by Conor Pyle
Most Relaxing = Bernice’s 24 Hour Spa by Jennifer Shim
Bits to Bricks by Sam Fleming

Grades 9-12 Category:

1st Place = My Ride, Our Ride, The Ride by Casimir Mankowski
Runner-Up = A Day On Set by Hamza Khan
Honorable Mention = Winter Treehouse by Saskia & Tara Van Nieuwstadt
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (voted on by attendees of the contest) = My Ride, Our Ride, The Ride by Casimir Mankowski

Most Sophisticated = Desolation by Isaac Ferguson
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Art in the Park by Ethan Jansen

Adult Category:

1st Place = Spinning the Cube by David Lorch
Runner-Up = Elves vs. Orcs by Gabriele, Matter and Valentina Carcassi
Honorable Mention = Save the Monarchs by Nieka Appell
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (voted on by attendees of the contest) = Elves vs. Orcs by Gabriele, Matter and Valentina Carcassi

Best Architectural/Engineering = I’m not saying it was aliens, but… by Denise Kratz
Best Vehicle = 201 Fiat Aburt by John Huber
Most Creative = LEGO Foosball by Michael Bleed
Most Sophisticated =
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Viking Ship by Paul Bierdz
Best Use of the #10/Visual/Conceptual = Port-a-John by John Bayles
Master Minecrafter = Skeleton From Minecraft by Milo Hofer

Bird is the Word!

Tue, 08/04/2015 - 12:57pm by manz

Hello everybody, and how do you do?! This week Ms. Amanda told bird stories at preschool storytime! Tweet tweet!

We heard the story of A Funny Little Bird who is great at camouflage. We heard the story of Home Tweet Home, where two little birds left the nest and flew off to live somewhere else…. Like on top of a tortoise! And we listened to I Heard Said the Bird, where there is a new one born and the silly farm animals are trying to figure out which animal has a new baby.

We hung out with a parrot, an ostrich, an owl, a turkey, and a penguin, and it was a fun time!

Here’s a handy list of all the stories we’ve read together this summer at preschool storytime, and here are more bird books if you’re looking for more wing-flapping fun.

I Smell a Good Book Series

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 1:43pm by manz

Looking for a fun and pretty way to explore the world around you? I See…, I Hear…, and I Smell… are books in the same picture book series by PatrickGeorge. With bold, colorful illustrations and simple text the books are a great way to get little ones thinking about the world around them by exploring through their senses. There are even some funny finds.

For more fun with senses, check out these other titles as well.

Library Lists: Best Board Books!

Wed, 05/27/2015 - 5:11pm by eapearce

Language learning and picture recognition both begin at a very young age, an age so young, in fact, that often babies can’t yet handle the delicate pages and covers of real books! This, of course, is where board books come in. The AADL has a great collection of board books that we replenish regularly and keep at all of our locations. Here are some favorites, from alphabet books, to shortened versions of classic children’s stories, all available at the library!

Rhymoceros: In this adorable book, a bright blue rhinoceros demonstrates pairs of rhyming words by attempting various feats and experiments.

In Small, Smaller, Smallest, flaps and tabs help demonstrate different sizes of colorful objects and creatures to curious young readers.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Colors Primer introduces babies to colors, using the familiar figures of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. Also in this adorable series are Frankenstein: An Anatomy Primer, Anna Karenina: A Fashion Primer, and tons of others, all by author Jennifer Adams.

Little fans of trucks, trains, planes and other vehicles will enjoy Steve Light’s board books such as Planes Go, Trains Go, and Diggers Go, where they can see, sound out, and recreate the noises of lots of different moving machines!

Sandra Boynton’s board books are hilarious classics that are not only fun for kids, but are amusing for adults too. Try Blue Hat Green Hat, which features a turkey who can’t quite seem to get dressed properly or The Going to Bed Book to start.

Little Pear Tree is a beautifully illustrated book with flaps to lift and unique words to learn and creatures to discover. Readers will enjoy seeing a pear tree and its surroundings change throughout the seasons.

Yusuke Yonezu’s fun board books about fruits and vegetables are fascinating for the littlest readers: pairings of different foods morph into animals when a page is shifted or a flap is lifted! Try Guess What?-Food and Guess What?-Fruit.

Alphablock is a fantastic first alphabet book for babies. With thick pages cut into the shape of each letter, young hands can really FEEL how a letter might be written or drawn. And of course, there are lots of items and creatures that begin with each letter on the pages so kids can begin to learn what words are associated with them.

If you’re looking for more fun and interesting board books, check out this list!

Gorgeous New Youth Non-Fiction

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 12:03pm by evelyn

If you’re looking for new books with beautiful and interesting images, look no further than our Youth Non-Fiction section!

First up are the companion books Amazing Animals: A Collection of Creatures Great and Small, and Beautiful Beasts: A Collection of Creatures Past and Present. These books are light on text but littered with gorgeous drawings of all kinds of animals, from the cute to the gruesome. The animals are organized by color, but also by more unusual ways, such as speed, tails and even ear size! With some of the most lovely illustrations I’ve ever seen, these books are sure to please everyone.

If the above books leave you wanting more information about animals, check out Information Graphics’ Animal Kingdom. With bright colors, tabs dividing sections, and quick, interesting animal facts, this book wonderfully compliments Amazing Animals and Beautiful Beasts.

Finally, Matthew Burgess’ new biography of E.E. Cummings, Enormous Smallness, will delight even readers who are unfamiliar with the poet. With text that swoops all over the pages, and beautiful illustrations by the always fantastic Kris Di Giacomo, this book captures E.E. Cummings’ unique style. A chronology, selected poems, and author’s note complete this book, providing extra information to curious readers.

Classic Literature for the Littlest Listeners

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 10:05am by Sara W

The Babylit board book series by author/illustrator team Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver introduce concepts like counting, colors, and opposites using adorable designs and eye-catching colors. Adams' simple text and Oliver's sleek and clever designs are a perfect combination. These are books parents will enjoy as much as their little ones, and there are plenty of little details to point out and talk about with your child - counting creatures, naming characters, finding objects, make Babylit books a great interactive reading experience.

The Cozy Classics series by brothers Jack and Holman Wang combines single word storytelling with photographs of elaborately felted object to convey classics like "Les Miserables" or "War and Peace." These wholesome and painstakingly detailed photographs add magic to this very simple retellings.

Check out this list for titles from both series, and start laying the foundation for the future literature lover in your life!

Code Babies Academy

Mon, 04/13/2015 - 11:32am by manz

The Code Babies Academy series is written by John C. Vanden-Heuvel and includes computer programming baby board books for the tiniest of hands. The books available in the series are HTML For Babies, CSS For Babies, and Web Design For Babies. Perhaps these baby board books will help turn your toddlers into computer programmers? The books are odd and adorable.

Lift-the-Flap Board Books!

Mon, 03/09/2015 - 2:08pm by manz

The library has many baby board books, with thick pages ready for babies and toddlers to handle. But sometimes you’re looking for the books that have peek-a-boo style flaps that the kiddos can lift up and explore! We have several of those.

This past week Ms. Amanda featured Guess What? - Food at storytime, and it’s great if you’re looking for a silly guessing story, even for preschoolers. AADL also has many more lift the flap books to choose from! Check out the list and see what might make your little one's reading time more hands-on.

Winter Wonderland at the Tot Table

Fri, 01/09/2015 - 1:18pm by StoryLaura

Too cold to roll in the snow outside? Come to the downtown tot table to celebrate winter and play with furry friends and snow people in colorful hats and mittens! They have a tiny skating rink, just like ours. They have a snow covered tree, like the lovely ones we see all over town. Can fox and bear and mouse all fit in the Mitten? Come and see!

At the Art Table: Dinosaurs!

Wed, 01/07/2015 - 10:04am by manz

Roar! The next time you’re in the youth department downtown visit the art table and see what we’re making. This time around we have out dinosaur stencils and primary colors! Test those fine motor skills by outlining dinosaurs. Make a blue T-Rex. Make a yellow stegosaurus.

For more inspiration, check out some books on how to draw dinosaurs.