Fifth Avenue Fun!

Tue, 01/19/2010 - 1:33pm by StoryLaura

Both Mouse and Gecko learn how to get along and share in this small world, at the Tuesday 10 am and Wednesday 11 am storytimes at the Downtown Library next week.

Senegal Family Cultural Celebration

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 6:17pm by StoryLaura

Note: Due to planned power outage at the Downtown Library, this event has been moved to Traverwood Branch.

We can’t wait for you to hear the drumming and see the joyful dancing of the Akanni Omowale African Drummers and Dancers at our Senegal Family Cultural Celebration on Sunday, January 17 at 2:00 pm at the Traverwood Branch library. Akanni Omowale recently performed at the Museum of African American History in Detroit. After the music and dance we will enjoy a traditional treat and then make colorful giraffe collages. All ages are invited!

Commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 6:12pm by ringenka

Local youth are invited to join AADL in remembering civil rights leader, human rights advocate, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students in grades k-8 are invited to come to the Downtown Library anytime between 10am and 8pm on Monday, January 18th for our Unity Collage Event. Participants will make collages to celebrate diversity, unity, and the civil rights movement. The collages will be displayed on the Youth Department Bulletin Board.

At 4pm on the 18th, The Ann Arbor Youth Chorale will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a performance featuring songs of peace. The musical event will take place Downtown in the Multi-Purpose Room for students grades k-5.

Fifth Avenue Fun!

Tue, 01/12/2010 - 11:29am by StoryLaura

We’ll give a nod to our tiny but clever furry friends with some mousey stories at the Tuesday 10 am and Wednesday 11 am storytimes at the Downtown Library next week.

More Adventures for Alice

Thu, 01/07/2010 - 5:13pm by SarahRose

Alice is in for more adventures this year. On March 5th Alice will return to Wonderland, this time in a live action movie directed by Tim Burton, the quirky mind behind many somewhat dark children's movies. Although Alice was ten when she had her first Adventures in Wonderland 145 years ago, Burton's Alice is 19 years old on her return. The movie promises many computer generated effects.

Burton makes a habit of casting Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in his movies. This time Depp makes his appearance as the Mad Hatter and Carter plays the Red Queen (whom Alice meets in Through the Looking Glass). The cast also boasts Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar.

When you imagine Wonderland you probably think of the 1951 animated Disney version, but 2010 is not the first year in which a movie has portrayed a darker Wonderland. There was a 1966 made for television version with a decidedly Gothic spin and there was an Emmy award winning TV version in 1999, in which Alice was also portrayed by a teenager rather than a child, and which included Christopher Lloyd (as the White Knight), Martin Short (as the Mad Hatter), and Gene Wilder (as the Mock Turtle).

Fifth Avenue Fun!

Mon, 01/04/2010 - 1:58pm by StoryLaura

Coyote and Wolf get into all kinds of mischief at the Tuesday 10 am and Wednesday 11 am storytimes at the Downtown Library next week. We are kicking off the winter storytime season with two of our favorite characters!

Christmas with Dylan Thomas

Tue, 12/22/2009 - 1:59pm by SarahRose

Spend a holiday evening with Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales on dvd, audiobook, or book. Thomas' lilting Welsh voice lends a magical air to the audio recording. Listening to the story gives me the feeling of an old fashioned Christmas complete with peppermints and caramels, candle light, and thick blankets of snow.

Dylan Thomas is most well known for his villanelle "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night", and his poems and stories about life in Wales during the first half of the 20th century, including Under Milkwood, which was originally written as a radio play exploring the private thoughts of people in a small Welsh town. In 2008 a story about Dylan Thomas' adult life with his wife and childhood sweetheart opened the Edinburgh Film Festival. The Edge of Love stars Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, and Cillian Murphy and wonderfully captures the WWII atmosphere, however, a warning to those who are interested in watching it: it's not a cheerful movie for this joyful time of year.

Silly Songs and Stories

Fri, 12/18/2009 - 12:21pm by StoryLaura

I am really looking forward to silly singing and storytelling with my talented banjo buddy, Noah Haiduc-Dale, on December 29 at 10 am at the Downtown Library. We have a ridiculous story/song involving lots of snorts, clucks and quacks, to get the whole family in on the act. Noah has been entertaining us this past session at storytime and we love to march and dance to Jim Gill songs!

Fairy Land

Fri, 12/18/2009 - 8:40am by StoryLaura

Now that the fairies are well settled in Ann Arbor, they may be looking for little vacation homes. Come on over and make a tiny house or garden for fairies, with spools for tables and marbles for chairs, and perhaps they will visit you soon! On December 22 at 10 am, kids in Kindergarten and up are invited to create a magical fairy home at Pittsfield Branch!

Bob Books are here!

Thu, 12/17/2009 - 12:19pm by manz

There are several new Bob Books now sitting in the readers section in the Youth Departments at AADL locations. What are Bob Books? They are fabulous! Each little box comes with eight small fit-in-your-hands readers for emergent readers to practice reading or to focus on particular skills. Some skills included are long vowels, compound words, and the alphabet. There are also some sets of books that are simply books for beginning readers. (You can visit their website for a better look.) Give Bob a chance, you’ll like him. And if you’re looking for more leveled readers be sure to have a peek at the complete readers section. If you’re not sure where they are, ask us!