Fifth Avenue Fun!

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 2:17pm by StoryLaura

Storytimes are beginning all over town! We’ll be celebrating grandparents at the Downtown Tuesday and Wednesday storytimes, with Beautiful Bananas and the silly folktale, The Squeaky Door. Can’t wait to see all our favorite listeners again!

A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams

Thu, 08/26/2010 - 2:45pm by Tahira

A boy and his father go to the beach. The boy is told not to go into the water or past the lion’s tale that he drew in the sand. As the boy draws the lions tail longer he sees many wonders on the beach but loses sight of his father and has to decide what to do. Karen Lynn Williams rhythmic words are like the waves of an ocean. Floyd Cooper’s sandy illustrations reveal the beauty of the beach seen through the eyes of a child.

Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan

Thu, 08/19/2010 - 2:30pm by Tahira

Rubina is excited about going to a birthday party. Her little sister Sana insists on going and ruins everything. When the tables are turned, Rubina has a choice to let her sister suffer the same consequence or to help out. Rukhsana Khan’s The Big Red Lollipop is a well paced entertaining tale that will appeal to any child who has a little sister, or who wonders what it would be like if they did.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Wed, 08/11/2010 - 6:51pm by Tahira

In February 1960 four young men stood up for justice by sitting at a segregated lunch counter. This simple act of defiance helped moved America toward integration. Andrea Davis Pinkney powerful prose illuminate the courage and fortitude of the Greensboro Four.

5th Annual LEGO® Contest Results!

Fri, 08/06/2010 - 2:54pm by erin

Yesterday was our 5th annual LEGO® Contest and once again it was one of the highlights of the year! We had 173 entries from preschool age through Adults (this was just the first year they were invited so adults plan your projects for next summer!). This year we also debuted custom-made AADL LEGO® Trophies - complete with an AADL mini-fig! The trophies were made for us by The Original Brick Engraver, Tommy Armstrong. The lucky 1st place winners in each of the six age categories each received a trophy. The top three finishers in each category received gift cards to Target in the amounts of $35, $25 and $15 respectively. Ribbons were also given out in the special categories. The judges reserved the right to "switch-up" some of the categories where appropriate so you may notice a few different categories listed below. A special thanks to the judges, Eli Neiburger, AADL Associate Director of IT and Production & Amanda Sari Perez and Josh Valdes, both of All Hands Active an Ann Arbor Maker's community. Our "little" contest including a list of the winners' made the Ann Arbor Journal paper and online versions and was also picked up by the American Library Association's weekly news too. Congrats to all of the participants and without further ado please congratulate the winners (with photos of winning entries to follow soon):

PRESCHOOL:
1st Place - Hudhaifah Reman
Runner-Up - Willow Denomm
Honorable Mention - Elise Meints
Most Awesome Toilet - Ionie Steadle
Best Architectural/Engineering Project - Maris Rhizal
Coolest Robot - Andrew VanderMolen
Best Vehicle - Kenneth Jiang
Most Creative - Stephanie Hadley
Most Sophisticated - Jameson Szumko
AADL LEGO® Master Builder - Kayli Doom

GRADES K-2
1st Place - Simon Schafer-Klerkx
Runner-Up - Colin Finnegan
Honorable Mention - Alina Mankowski
Best Book-Inspired Project - Abigail VanderMolen
Best Architectural/Engineering Project - Elvin Poskovic
Coolest Robot - Liam McLaughlin
Best Vehicle - Samantha Devaney
Most Creative - Andrew Young
Most Sophisticated - Nathan Yang
AADL LEGO® Master Builder - Aidan Smith

GRADES 3-5
1st Place - Casimir Mankowski
Runner-Up - Ben Birdsall
Honorable Mention - Tony Tian
Best Game-Inspired Project - Isaac Mangold
Best Architectural/Engineering Project - Mark Bruey
Most Awesome Toilet - Celeste Forester
Best Vehicle - Gavin Nossol
Most Creative - Evan & Ella Markley
Most Sophisticated - Miles Aikens
AADL LEGO® Master Builder - Sarah Remillard
Most Delicious - Stuart Dobson

GRADES 6-8
1st Place - Victor Boyse-Peacor
Runner-Up - Alex Wochna
Honorable Mention - Lee Thompson-Kolan
Best Motorized Project - Alexander Przybylski Deatrick
Best Architectural/Engineering Project - Andrew & Emma Alson
Coolest Robot - Ji Ho Hyun & Philip Rew
Best Vehicle - Matthew Remillard
Mose Creative - Noah Luntzlara
Most Sophisticated - Avi Covrigaru, Gabe Linderman, John & Aaron Crane
AADL LEGO® Master Builder - Hebe Clarke

GRADES 9-12
1st Place - Jordan Steiff
Runner-Up - John Behrendt
Honorable Mention - Peter Zieske
Best Motorized Project - Logan Benton
Best Vehicle - Patrick Weisener
Least Creative - Sam King
Most Sophisticated - Cameron McLaughlin
AADL LEGO® Master Builder - Nick Lemerand

ADULTS
1st Place - Peter Alway
Runner-Up - Virginia Falk
Honorable Mention - LiLi
Best Vehicle - John Harris
AADL LEGO® Master Builder - Leonard Blach

UPDATE Now with video:

Cirque Amongus

Thu, 08/05/2010 - 4:02pm by StoryLaura

Have you ever wanted to know what goes into a circus act? What if you became part of the act? Here is your chance to discover the Big Top with Cirque Amongus at the Downtown Library on August 13th at 10 am for juggling, wild moves, balancing and more!

Traveling the Freedom Road: From Slavery & the Civil War through Reconstruction by Linda Barett Osborne

Wed, 08/04/2010 - 8:12pm by Tahira

African American history from Slavery to Reconstruction are examined in this book by Linda Barrett through diaries, interviews with former slaves, narratives and schoolwork, to piece together the experiences of children and teenagers who lived through each era. Photographs and copies of documents highlight each page and allow the reader to see the faces and writings of some of the children who struggled to survive during this dark period of American history.

Shake It!

Thu, 07/29/2010 - 3:37pm by StoryLaura

We are going to be dancing when musician and dad, Duncan Riley, taps out his tunes and keeps us shaking our own handmade instruments made out of tin cans, dvd cases and baby bottles, on Thursday, August 5th at the Downtown Library Youth Story Corner at 7 pm. Check out other ideas for instrument making and singing games.

Bizarre Bazaar Experiment

Sat, 07/24/2010 - 9:49am by StoryLaura

What is it about digging into an enormous box of junk that makes me so happy? I just spent a couple of hours at the fabulous Scrap Box. There, I met an old friend who is working on their new facebook page, dumpster dove and filled my trunk with junk for the Bizarre Bazaar and Swap-O-Rama experiments. Come one, come all!

You and Me and Home Sweet Home by George Ella Lyon

Thu, 07/22/2010 - 2:51pm by Tahira

What does it take to build a house? People. People who need a place to live. People who care enough to help, and people to celebrate the gift of giving. You and Me and Home Sweet Home by George Ella Lyon celebrates hope and the work of many hands.