Spy School: Invisible Ink

Sat, 06/04/2011 - 9:57am by fremont

Grab your quill pen and parchment, and get ready to enroll in the Ann Arbor District Library Spy School! Learn how to craft a pot of invisible ink from household ingredients and use invisible ink antidotes to reveal secret messages as we travel back into the exciting world of spies from the American Revolution. Track down a spy gang, draw a hidden treasure map, and write mysterious letters using simple ingredients and kid-friendly recipes. It's science, it's history, and it's a lot of imagination! This program is geared toward children grades K-5. No registration required; all supplies provided.

When: Monday June 20th, 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Where: Traverwood Branch Program Room

Magazine Update -- Owl Cake, Skateboarding Stars and "The Other Middleton"

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 5:40pm by MariaK

Memorial Day is right around the corner! If constant rain prevents you from hitting the pool, at least you will be able to read some great new youth and teen magazines! Or, hey, you could also read them at the pool...

Kids:
Owl Magazine celebrates their 35th birthday by giving you presents! You can win a retro owl t-shirt, and also bake an owl-shaped caked. Cuuute! Also inside are "Animal All Stars" and "10 Things You Didn't Know About Water."

Teens:
Transworld Skateboarding welcomes the "New Breed" of up-and-coming skateboard virtuosos and has fun interviewing Julian Davidson, Felipe Gustavo and Theotis Beasley, as well as oodles more.

Us Weekly shares the diet and exercise secrets of the stars in the "Hot Bodies" issue. You can also read the latest gossip about Leonardo DiCaprio's love life and Pippa Middleton, the sister of the new Duchess of Cambridge.

Of course, we have plenty more great magazines to read while working on your tan! Come on down and check some out, before Memorial Day Weekend!

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill

Thu, 05/26/2011 - 3:26pm by Tahira

The story of a potter who turned mud into beautiful clay pots and inscribed them with poetry is told by Laban Carrick Hill. What is even more remarkable, is that Dave the Potter was a slave. Simple lines in short stanza’s contrasted against deep earth tone illustrations by Bryan Collier bring the beauty of Dave’s craftsmanship to life in the Caldecott Honor book.

Paws to Read

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 2:41pm by StoryLaura

We have another cozy reading time with a READ dog coming right up on Saturday, May 28th at 10 am. All beginning readers or listeners are invited to snuggle up with Annie. Maybe you'll want to grab a good dog story like Be Gentle with the Dog, Dear.

Believe in Ben!

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 10:13am by StoryLaura

One of my favorite children’s authors wrote a great book about Ben Franklin that is fun to browse or read straight through and a perfect companion to the library’s exhibit. In Ben Franklin’s Almanac, Candace Fleming reminds us that Ben rose each morning and asked himself this question. “What good shall I do today?” Thank goodness for all of us that Ben Franklin lived to be 84 years old!

Busing Brewster by Richard Michelson

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 3:06pm by Tahira

Brewster is excited about starting first grade. His mother tells him that he will not go to the school in his neighborhood. He will ride the bus to another school across town, a school with predominantly white children. His experience starts off rocky. Parents are protesting outside the school. A rock is thrown through the bus window and a mean kid tells him that he “Wished his kind would have stayed at Franklin.” After Brewster, his brother and the kid are sent to the library for detention; Brewster discovers a world of books and the positive impact a librarian can have on young lives. Richard Michelson powerfully introduces young readers to desegregation in the 1970’s. A segment of Barak Obama’s speech given at the ALA 2005 Conference about the importance of libraries in children’s lives is excerpted in the author’s note at the end (see below). R.G. Roth’s collage illustrations capture the triumph and challenges of busing students in the 1970’s.

“The moment we persuade a child, any child, to cross the
threshold into a library, we’ve changed their lives forever,
and for the better…We all have a responsibility as parents,
librarians, educators and citizens, to instill in our children
a love of reading so that we can give them the chance to fulfill
their dreams.”
Barak Obama, 2005 ALA Conference

Franklin Family Fun

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 12:34pm by StoryLaura

Read the entertaining novel Ben and Me by Robert Lawson, attend the book discussion/craft program, and then bring the whole family to the Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World exhibit. Amos the mouse, Ben Franklin’s “closest friend and adviser”, has quite the ego and sense of humor. His descriptions of Franklin’s inventions and adventures are filled with wisdom and warmth. The opportunity to explore the remarkable Ben Franklin from to fact to fiction, will be available through July 8th!

A Long Walk to Water

Fri, 04/22/2011 - 11:05am by radler1076

Linda Sue Park's engaging story, A Long Walk to Water, is based on real-life experiences during two different decades in Southern Sudan. In 1985, young Salva is forced to flee from his village to escape civil war. He makes a dangerous trek to uncertain safety in Kenya, along the way facing hunger and violence from cruel soldiers. Other refugees have doubts that such a young boy is anything more than a burden. Salva’s perseverance over hardship and eventual travel to America as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan makes for inspirational reading.

The story of Nya, another Sudanese youngster, takes place in 2008 and is interwoven throughout Salva's story. Nya makes an eight-hour daily trip to and from a pond that is her family's only source of water. When the pond is found to be contaminated, the village begins the project of digging a well. Physical and financial obstacles, as well as the doubts of the villagers, must be overcome for the project to succeed.

Park's terse but beautiful prose and powerful socially-conscious message in A Long Walk to Water will resonate with both children and adults.

You Snooze, You Lose?

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 10:37am by Beth Manuel

Not with Brainfuse
Go to AADL.org & Click
The Services Tab would be your Pick
The link "Brainfuse Homework Help" is Where
You can talk to a tutor from your kitchen Chair
New and Improved
Features you'll Find
Like if you're learning Spanish and it's blowing your Mind
This is real! It's Free!
It's easy and it's fun!
From 2-11 pm EVERY day get help with your homework!
Done!

Please Note Brainfuse tutors will be unavailable:
April 24, 2011 Easter Sunday

Climbing Lincoln’s Steps: The African American Journey by Suzanne Slade

Thu, 04/14/2011 - 4:22pm by Tahira

From the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln, to the speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the steps of the Lincoln Memorial have meant change; one step at a time. Climbing Lincoln’s Steps: the African American Journey, chronicles some of the significant events in the African American struggle for freedom and equality. Suzanne Slade brings past to present with a common symbol of America, the Lincoln Memorial. Short biographies of prominent African American’s are included at the end of the book.