Library Space Camp!

Fri, 03/31/2017 - 4:14pm by PizzaPuppy

Looking for something fun to do during Spring Break? We'll be hosting Library Space Camp on Thursday, April 6th from 1-3 PM, with special guest Astronaut Tony England!

Join us in making astronaut helmets, creating space-related crafts, running a science experiment, launching straw rockets, watching videos from the International Space Station, and even meeting a real astronaut! We'll have some of our Tools out on display to interact with, including our telescope and our Mars globe. We'll also have a book display filled with many different space books and movies to check out.

Can't wait until the event? In the mood for more space stuff? Take a look at the Smithsonian's Space! The Universe as You've Never Seen It Before or Space: From Earth to the Edge of the Universe for awesome space facts. Learn from Profesor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space or see what it takes to become an astronaut with How to Be a Space Explorer. We also have great movies about space. Check out Destiny in Space, filmed in space by astronauts. Tour the International Space Station with NASA ISS: A Tour or learn about The Planets with one of America's favorite science guys, Bill Nye!

Power Rangers!

Thu, 03/23/2017 - 3:40pm by PizzaPuppy

The new Power Rangers movie hits theaters tonight! Go Go Power Rangers!!

If you have Power Rangers fever, rest assured that the library has plenty to keep you entertained.

We have the official movie novelization if you can't wait to see what happens in the new movie.

For early readers, we have books such as Mega Mission, Meet the Rangers, Rangers Unite, Samurai Strike, and Armed for Battle.

Give our Power Rangers graphic novels a try with series like Super Samurai and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

We also have a great selection of the many television series that make up the Power Rangers universe, including the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, MegaForce, Super Megaforce, RPM, Zeo, Samurai, Super Samurai, Time Force, Jungle Fury, and Dino Charge. We even have the 1995 original movie.

Storytimes: L is for Loud

Fri, 03/17/2017 - 2:39pm by eapearce

This week at Traverwood and Westgate storytimes on Thursday and Friday, Elizabeth told LOUD stories! We heard the folktale of The Squeaky Door, where lots of farm animals get put into the bed to try and comfort a scared little boy. In The Seven Chinese Sisters, sound effects helped us tell the story of brave sisters who rescue their littlest baby sister from a hungry dragon! And, in Robert Munsch’s Mortimer, we heard the story of the boy who likes to play instruments at bedtime instead of going to sleep!

And a LOUD storytime wouldn’t be complete without the “5 Hot Dogs in a Frying Pan” rhyme. You know what happens when the grease gets hot! One goes BAM!

Storytimes take place at all AADL locations and are free and open to the public. For more information about storytimes, visit our Jump page, created especially for parents and teachers.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal - Children's Author

Fri, 03/17/2017 - 7:50am by potterbee

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a popular author, filmmaker and speaker died on Monday, March 13, 2017. She is best known for her memoir Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, her children's picture books, and the film project The Beckoning of Lovely. She was a prolific writer, publishing more than 30 books between 2005 and her death in 2017. She was a contributor to Chicago's NPR affiliate WBEZ, and to the TED conference.

Her first success was with the book Little Pea, about a pod denied his favorite dessert (spinach) until he finished all his candy (which he detested). She is the only author to have three children's books make the Best Children's Books for Family Literacy list in the same year for the titles Spoon (2009), Yes Day!, and Duck! Rabbit!, a clever take on the age-old optical illusion: Is it a duck or a rabbit? There's also a subtle lesson for kids who don't know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side, Duck! Rabbit! makes it easy to agree on one thing, reading it again!

The follow up to her alphabetized memoir Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (published in 2005), Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, is full of her distinct blend of nonlinear narrative, wistful reflections, and insightful wit. It sheds light on all the ordinary and extraordinary ways we are connected. A testament to the notion that books and technology don't have to be at odds, this part memoir, part art installation offers a series of vignettes (personal anecdotes, observations, drawings, and photographs) divided into different subjects reminiscent of a high school "textbook."

Her final contribution was published on March 3, 2017 in the New York Times, You May Want to Marry My Husband. In the piece, Rosenthal announced her illness, celebrated her family and sought a new partner for her husband, Jason. She finished the essay on Valentine's Day, and said, "the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins."

Beauty and the Beast

Wed, 03/08/2017 - 7:14pm by PizzaPuppy

Are you excited for the release of the new Beauty and the Beast movie? This classic "tale as old as time" has been revamped for a modern audience, and hits theaters next Friday, March 17th.

We will be celebrating here at the library with Beauty and the Beast Crafts at the Pittsfield branch on Saturday, March 18th from 3-4 pm. Join us in making themed crafts and listening to music from the movie!

While you're waiting for it's release, now is the perfect time to go back and revisit your old favorites. We have the original Disney animated movie in both regular DVD discs and Blu-ray, as well as the sequels Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World. You can also listen to the original soundtrack as well as the Broadway musical version.

We have plenty of classic (non-Disney) versions of the tale as well. Immerse yourself in this classic story set in 19th century France with copies found here, here, and here, or check out Jan Brett's fabulous illustrations. We have a Reader version available for children who are just beginning to read on their own.

We also have versions of this story that occur in other cultures, such as one that takes place in West Africa or a Chinese version where Beauty agrees to marry a fierce dragon in return for her father's life.

We have Beauty and the Beast inspired books, such as No Lie, I Acted Like a Beast! (where the story is told from the Beast's perspective). There's even a Rainbow Magic book featuring Gwen the Beauty and the Beast Fairy.

Older kids and teens can also get in on the fun with retellings such as Beauty and Belle. Also good are the Beauty and the Beast television show and the movie Beastly, both released fairly recently.

Audio Description Track on DVD!

Wed, 03/08/2017 - 12:33pm by Beth Manuel

AADL continues to grow its collection of films that have a Descriptive Video Service or DVS feature. More films are being produced for children and adults that are Described Video Recordings for L Card users to borrow. When you look at this list, sort the items to show the newest DVDs first! Some DVDs are even available by mail to our WLBPD patrons as Free Matter for the Blind. If your vision isn't what it used to be, you may want to try watching a film with described narration. That way you don't have to ask other folks what's happening on the screen and can concentrate on the film.

Storytimes: F is for Farm!

Fri, 03/03/2017 - 12:10pm by eapearce

Elizabeth told stories about the farm, farm animals and farmers this week at her storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate. We heard the story of Lazy Jack, a retelling of the folktale about the silly little boy who works for various farmers but can never seem to figure out how to carry home his earnings. We also heard about the cowboy who’s trying to find a horse in the fun story Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash. And, we read about the infamous typing cows in Doreen Cronin’s Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Finally, the farm animals drove the farmer’s tractor in AADL’s felt version of The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book, by Jez Alborough.

AADL storytimes take place at all locations and are open to all. For a complete list of storytimes and locations, visit our Jump page, created for parents and teachers.

Hooray for Owls!

Fri, 02/10/2017 - 4:32pm by manz

This week at storytime Ms. Amanda brought some cute owl stories featuring a playful owl, a sleepy owl, and a reading owl. Owls sure do have a lot of interests!

In the wonderfully illustrated Hooray for Today!, Owl wakes up and is ready to play but the friends he wants to play with are still sleeping! Whooooo wants to play? This is by the same author as Hooray for Hat!, and both are recommended.

In I’m Not Reading!, Baby Owl is trying to read a story to Tiny Chick, when they keep getting interrupted by more and more bouncy chicks who also want to hear the story. It’s an adorable and cute picture book by Jonathan Allen to read together.

We then met an owl in Good Night Owl who was trying to go to sleep but he kept hearing a loud SQUEEK. He then tears his house apart searching for the noise. It’s quite silly! What’s silier than an owl in a bathrobe tearing the roof off his house?

LEGO Batman: The Movie

Wed, 02/08/2017 - 10:00am by PizzaPuppy

LEGO fans will be excited to hear that the new LEGO Batman Movie is due to arrive in theaters this Friday, February 10th! In it, Bruce Wayne struggles with fighting the criminals of Gotham City, as well as raising the young boy he has adopted (who most will recognize as his sidekick Robin!).

To prepare yourself for the new movie, you might want to catch up on what the Caped Crusader has been up to in books such as LEGO Batman Movie: Robin to the Rescue! or any of the LEGO DC Super Heroes books: Batman's Missions, Ready for Action!, or Carnival Capers.

We also have several LEGO Batman movies for you to check out, such as DC Super Heroes Unite!, Gotham City Breakout, Cosmic Crash, and Justice League vs Bizarro League.

You can remind yourself of why "Everything is Awesome" with the first LEGO Movie (or by listening to the soundtrack).

Can't get enough LEGO? We have a really fun LEGO Connection program coming up on Sunday, February 26th at 1 pm at the Westgate branch where you can come build whatever you like during open LEGO play.

The Journey: Books on Refugees and Immigration for Kids

Mon, 01/30/2017 - 10:49am by evelyn

If you want to explain the current refugee crisis to a little one, the new picture book The Journey, by Francesca Sanna, is a wonderful place to start. This gentle and moving book is narrated by a child who has to leave home because of a war. Sanna never specifies where the family starts from, nor the country that they are traveling to, making this story applicable to many parts of the world. The illustrations in The Journey are simply stunning. I was moved to tears by this beautiful story and would recommend it to anyone, not just children.

For other picture books on refugees, take a look at Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey and Joseph’s Big Ride. If you have children who are learning about immigration, try We Came to America, Their Great Gift, or This Land is Our Land.