Doggie Tales and Tricks

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 3:13pm by StoryLaura

Join us for Doggie Tales on Friday, August 9th at 10 am in the Downtown Library MultiPurpose Room. Our friends from Therapaws will bring some of the most lovable service dogs you will ever meet. A story or two and some time for doggie love is what it's all about!

Babytime iPads

Mon, 07/01/2013 - 9:51am by wampishing

Monday July 8 | 10:30 am to 11:30 am | Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room AB | Infants – 2 years old, with adult

Did you know there are apps for your baby to use or be soothed by with your iPad? Bring your baby and come explore these apps on our baby-proofed iPads, starting with some rhymes and music. You and your baby will have time to play with an iPad!

Bernard Waber, creator of the beloved Lyle the Crocodile picture books, has died

Tue, 05/21/2013 - 9:24am by sernabad

Bernard Waber, who turned his commercial graphic arts training into a successful career as a children's book author and illustrator, died May 16th.

Waber, a World War II veteran and devoted movie buff, first introduced Lyle the lovable crocodile in his 1962 book, The House on East 88th Street. In this fanciful, gentle, funny story, the Primm family discovers Lyle hanging out in the bathtub of their Upper East Side brownstone. Lyle made several more appearances, including in Lyle Finds His Mother (1974) and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (1965). His final Lyle book, Lyle Walks the Dog: A Counting Book (2010), was a collaboration with his daughter Paulis Waber.

While most of Waber's books involved whimsical illustrations of animals -- The Mouse that Snored and the delightful A Lion Named Shirley Williamson (1996) -- Waber also had a gift for using human subjects to zero in on and allay common childhood anxieties. In Ira Sleeps Over (1972), little Ira frets about whether or not he can bring his teddy bear to a sleepover. In 2002, Waber published Courage in response to September 11th. He had started it before the attacks, but added firemen and police officers to his examples of people, both ordinary and extraordinary, who exhibit courage every day.

Waber forever endeared himself to book and movie lovers when he said that the way he endured frequent relocations as a child was to seek reassurance from his parents that wherever they moved, a library and movie theater would be close by. "...The Library and cinema were life-giving urgencies, a survival kit for any new neighborhood."

Waber, who was 91, died at his home in Long Island.

KinderConcert this Friday!

Wed, 05/01/2013 - 9:50am by StoryLaura

Back by popular demand, this Friday, May 10 at 9:30 and 10:30 am at the Downtown Library, KinderConcert will entertain and educate the littlest music appreciators. We’ll sway to the piano music of Kathryn Goodson, we’ll dance with Gari Stein and we’ll bounce to the horn played by Kurt Civilette.

El Dia Celebration!

Fri, 04/05/2013 - 10:10am by StoryLaura

Every year we partner with the awesome Ypsilanti District Library to bring you El Dia de los Ninos, a national celebration of children and books for all ages. This year we will have Raices Mexicanas from Detroit, we will make baleros, flags, puppets and have a scavenger hunt! All the fun takes place at the Whittaker Road Library on Sunday, April 28th from 1:30-4:30 pm.

Chu’s Day, by Neil Gaiman

Tue, 03/26/2013 - 1:50pm by manz

Best-selling author Neil Gaiman brings us a delightfully silly picture book! Chu's Day is his first book for smaller kids, and it delivers. A little panda bear named Chu spends the day holding onto a big sneeze that just won’t come out. And as we learn, when Chu sneezes, bad things happen. He visits places around town half sneezing, when eventually, we find out what his sneezes can really do. It’s a cute story, and kids will enjoy ACHOO-ing along with little Chu.

"Tiny Toes" event @ Malletts Creek

Thu, 03/21/2013 - 9:39am by ryanikoglu

Morgan Grubola, author and Teacher of Tiny Toes: a creative movement class for young children, will lead "Tiny Toes" dance at Malletts Creek Library on Saturday, March 30, 2013. The program runs between 10:00 - 10:40 am. in the Multi-Purpose Room. Morgan is back after her fall 2012 program because people loved her. "Tiny Toes" is a program for children ages 1-6 years, and their guardian. Morgan is formally trained in Ballet. Her program/technique inspires children to form ballet positions, using imagery from animals, nature, and stories. Each segment is accompanied by classical music for pace and flow. It is a wonderful opportunity for little ones to exercise their big muscles.

PreK Bits - Happy Birthday to You!

Tue, 03/12/2013 - 2:24pm by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel presented "Candle and Candy stories" in Preschool Storytime this week, which also included birthday stories.
Max and Ruby went to the store to buy Grandma a birthday gift in Bunny Money by rosemary Wells.
There were all kinds of suspicious noises going in the kitchen one day, where the "Lonely Candle" stayed in a drawer.

Here are my favorite birthday stories:
On The Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier
Birthday Presents by Cynthia Rylant
Mr Rabbit And The Lovely Present by Charlotte Zolotow ... and in Spanish El Sr Conejo y El Regalo Perfecto
A Birthday For Cow by Jan Thomas
The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan

Or follow this link to birthday picture books in the Library.

Sign Language For Infants & Toddlers

Thu, 02/21/2013 - 10:35am by manz

Saturday, March 16 | 11:00-11:45 AM | Malletts Creek Branch | Ages 6 mos. – 2 yrs. w/ an adult

Join us this Saturday for a morning of sign language for infants and toddlers! Certified instructor Kathy Brady of Signing Smart will be presenting, and sharing her knowledge. She’ll talk about how to add signs into songs and play, and how to make signing easy and fun for both children and their caregivers. This event is designed for hearing infants and toddlers, ages 6 months to 2 years, with an adult. No older siblings, please.

For additional resources on sign language for children, check out this list of materials to get you started, as well as these titles for more information on signing.

Play Connection for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Sun, 02/17/2013 - 3:02pm by StoryLaura

If you are a parent with a child on the autism spectrum, here is an opportunity to explore the possibilities on Saturday, February 23 at 1:00 pm. Dr. Rick Solomon, from the Play Project, will be there to chat with parents and children. Kids will have an open space, or quiet space to play with construction toys, puppets and much more. Let the kids try out combinations of soothing scents with expert Michelle Krell Kydd, who recently interviewed
Temple Grandin about her sense of smell.