Blog Post
What's On MyPlate?
by Beth Manuel
One of my favorite things about summer is the opportunity to eat so many healthy fruits and vegetables! Do you feel the same? Not so much? Or yes, a whole bunch? Well, join us Thursday June 22, 2017: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm in the Downtown Library: Secret Lab to learn more about having a healthy lifestyle beginning when you're young like you are right now!
PE-Nut (Physical Education and Nutrition) is a program that uses a holistic approach to motivate kids, parents, and families to be physically active and eat healthier.
Join us for this fun session involving games, crafts, and activities to learn about nutrition and healthy eating choices. This program is facilitated by and in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation and is intended for grades K-5.
Blog Post
Kids’ Summer Reading Lists!
by manz
Summertime is here! The last day of school is upon us. The SUMMER GAME starts tomorrow! It’s time to grab some books to fill all your summer adventures.
Here are some 2017 summer reading lists that were compiled by Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) that cover a variety of ages and genres. Below are AADL public lists of them to make for easy browsing within our collection. Be sure to check out some of these great titles, everything from board books, picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels!!
Birth–Preschool Summer Reading List
Grades K–2 Summer Reading List
Grades 3–5 Summer Reading List
Grades 6–8 Summer Reading List
What's on the top of your reading list this summer?
Blog Post
Wonder Woman!!!
by PizzaPuppy
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The new Wonder Woman movie hits theaters today! This demigoddess, superhero and warrior princess has been delighting audiences since 1941 and has had a huge cultural impact across the globe. We have TONS of Wonder Woman materials for all age groups here at AADL to help you celebrate Princess Diana of Themyscira's first feature length movie.
The Secret History of Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman Unbound both give us an in-depth look at the history of Wonder Woman and her impact on popular culture throughout the years.
Although this is her first foray into the world of feature films, Wonder Woman has previously graced the screen in many different TV shows and movies. There are several animated movies, including the 2017 Wonder Woman film and the 2008 Wonder Woman film. The Wonder Woman TV series ran for three years (Seasons 2 and 3 are available here at AADL as well). Wonder Woman has also been featured in many Justice League and Super Friends films and television shows, as well as her cameo in the recent Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie (played by Gal Gadot in the cameo as well as in the newly released movie).
We have tons of Wonder Woman materials for kids! There is a lengthy Wonder Woman chapter book series, with titles like The Fruit of All Evil, Creature of Chaos, and Trial of the Amazons, and a graphic novel called DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths. We have stand-alone chapter books like Amazon Warrior and Wonder Woman vs. Circe. Younger readers may enjoy the Readers Wonder Woman to the Rescue and Warrior for Justice, while babies may enjoy the DC Super Friends Lift-the-Flap book. The DC Super Hero Girls movie: Hero of the Year features Wonder Woman as well.
Teens will want to take a look at the Superman/Wonder Woman series (with Vol 2, Vol 3 and Vol 4). Our most recent additions include The Legend of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League America Vol. 1, Wonder Woman by Mike Deodato, and Wonder Woman Vol. 1 by Greg Rucka. Other teen titles include The Hiketeia, The True Amazon, Down to Earth, The Circle, and Bitter Rivals.
Adults have plenty to choose from as well, with many of the titles released recently, such as Wonder Woman: Vol 1 The Lies and Wonder Woman, Earth One Vol 1. We have the full series by Brian Azzarello, comprised of Vol 1: Blood, Vol 2: Guts, Vol 3: Iron, Vol 4: War, Vol 5: Flesh, and Vol 6: Bones. Older series on hand at AADL include Wonder Woman: Odyssey Vol 1 and Love and Murder.
For more awesome Wonder Woman materials, take a look at this public list.
Blog Post
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie!
by PizzaPuppy
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie hits theaters tomorrow, marking another entry in a long series spanning 20 years. The movie follows the plot of the first book, in which 4th grade pranksters Harold and George accidentally hypnotize their mean principal Mr. Krupp into thinking he is the hero of their hand drawn comic books: Captain Underpants. As the new Captain Underpants rushes around town fighting crime, the boys follow him hoping to revert him back to his previous self and finding hilarious adventures along the way.
The Captain Underpants book series includes the original Captain Underpants (now in color!), as well as 11 sequels, including Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets, Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman, Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, and the latest in the series: Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot. The entire Captain Underpants book series can be found here.
With the new movie coming out, AADL has added several new books to the collection, including the Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Official Handbook and Wacky Word Wedgies and Flushable Fill-Ins.
There are several Captain Underpants activity books available through MeLCat, including the Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book of Fun and The All New Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book of Fun 2.
The Captain Underpants series has also inspired several spin-offs, all said to be written by the main characters of the Captain Underpants books: Harold and George. These include The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby (available through MeLCat), The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, and Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers. More recently, author Dav Pilkey has created the Dog Man series (based on more of Harold and George's comics), starting with Dog Man and continuing with Dog Man Unleashed and Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties (due to be released on August 29th, 2017).
Dav Pilkey is also the author of a series of similarly styled books that do not share the Captain Underpants universe. His Ricky Ricotta series follows the adventures of a mouse and his giant robot, beginning with Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot: An Adventure Novel and continuing with 8 sequels, including Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune and Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Unpleasant Penguins from Pluto. A public list of the books in the Ricky Ricotta series is available here.
If you've already exhausted all of these titles, take a look at this public list for more fun suggestions.
Blog Post
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul!
by PizzaPuppy
The newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is in theaters, which makes now a great time to revisit your favorite Wimpy Kid, as well as to catch up on any you may have missed.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series consists of the original book, as well as the sequels Rodrick Rules, The Last Straw, Dog Days, The Ugly Truth, Cabin Fever, The Third Wheel, Hard Luck, The Long Haul, Old School, and Double Down, with the newest sequel The Getaway due to be released on November 7th, 2017. These books have audiobook companions, which can be found here. The series also has a few supplementary books, including the Do-It-Yourself Book and the Movie Diary for the original movie. You can find out more about the author in Who is Jeff Kinney?.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also consists of several movies, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules, Dog Days and the newest one out in theaters: The Long Haul.
Have you already exhausted everything Diary of a Wimpy Kid? There are several book series that are quite similar to Diary of Wimpy Kid, including the Big Nate series, the Dork Diaries series, and the Amelia's Notebook series, Max Disaster series and Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters series (all by Marissa Moss). The Ellie McDoodle series is popular, as well as the Middle School series by James Patterson. Doodlebug: A Novel in Doodles, Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, and The Loser List are also great picks for Wimpy Kid fans.
For more suggestions, take a look at our public lists: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read Alikes and Children's Diary and Journal Narratives.
Blog Post
Books for the Birds!
by manz
This week at storytime Ms Amanda told stories all about birds, birds, birds! B is for bird!
We heard the story Home Tweet Home, where two little birds decide to leave the nest for greener pastures, and find that there’s no place like home. We met A Funny Little Bird who discovered what was special about himself, and we read the books Birds and A Mother for Choco.
There are so many great books featuring birds! Here are a few sweet ones to suit your fancy: Nest, Hooray for Today, Beautiful Birds, and Some Birds.
Blog Post
Ramadan Mubarak, Curious George!
by evelyn
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts next week. If you have a little one who is curious about this holiday, check out our great selection of Ramadan materials for children!
Babies can start learning about Ramadan with the board book It’s Ramadan, Curious George, in which the little monkey celebrates with his friend Kareem.
Older readers will love the picture book Lailah’s Lunchbox. Ten year old recent immigrant Lailah is proud to be old enough to fast for Ramadan for the first time, but she is nervous about explaining it to her classmates. Lailah’s school librarian comes to the rescue with sage advice in this beautifully illustrated book.
Children who like Sesame Street can watch the Ramadan episode of Adam’s World, a television show in which puppets explain the Muslim world to kids.
For even more kids’ books on Ramadan (both fiction and nonfiction), take a look at this list!
Blog Post
Storytimes: S is for Snake! Sssssss!
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories about snakes! Ssssssss! We heard Mama Hen’s Big Day, where Mama Hen has to find the perfect place to lay her beautiful egg, and The Gruffalo, where mouse plays a trick on all the forest creatures (including snake, of course!). We also read The Snake Who Said Shhh, by Jodie Parachini and heard the story of Samantha the snake who lost her silly snake siblings while babysitting and had to go search for them!
AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and are free and open to the public. For details about our storytimes at every location, visit the Jump page!
Blog Post
Stellar New Children’s Books
by manz
These are two of my favorite new oversized picture books, both in content and in illustration.
The Blue Hour by Isabelle Simler has the most beautiful etchings you’ll find in a story and is an absolute work of art in every respect. The words are sweet and quiet. The pages and the animals featured are all shades of blue. Pale blue, ocean blue, royal blue, slate blue, and so many more blues you never noticed. It is a treat for the eyes as the animals in the page go throughout their day until the blue hour sets in.
In contrast, Big Dogs, Little Dogs: A Visual Guide to the World’s Dogs by Jim Medway has no story and very little words. What it does have is oodles of illustrations of a variety of dogs! Just about every breed you could think of, from toy dogs to sporting dogs, is included. But the best part is the page with the mixed-breed dogs, which invites the reader to guess what breeds make up each dog. The book is a delight, and features a dandy appendix that lists the breeds with info about them.
Blog Post
Storytimes: H is for Heart
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories with hearts in them! We heard about The Love-Me Bird, who has to change her call to find a mate, and saw zoo animals made out of hearts in the book My Heart is Like a Zoo. We also heard the brightly colored rhyme The Shape of My Heart and the gentle classic story A Kiss for Little Bear. And we got some love letters in the mail in a special Valentine’s rhyme (even though it’s April!).
AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and take place at all of our locations and are free and open to the public. For a full list of our storytimes visit our JUMP page, specifically for parents and teachers.