Steve Marsh, our very favorite wildlife expert, is returning this Thursday, August 9th, to the Pittsfield Branch Library for a 1 pm and a 3 pm program all about crawling, climbing, slithering creatures. Steve has rescued animals from all over the world and given them safe, healthy homes at the Creature Conservancy. This program is for K and up.

As always one of the most anticipated events of the year did not disappoint! We were in a new location this year and the competition was as stiff as it always is. Our judges this year were AADL Associate Director of IT & Production, Eli Neiburger, Comics Are Great Podcaster and Kids Read Comics founder, Jerzy Drozd and local artist, Jeremy Wheeler. It takes a full three hours for the judges to pour over the 200 or so entries, but they had a blast doing it and made their decisions. NEW this year were the PEOPLE's CHOICE awards! Anyone who attended the contest and saw the entrires from 6-7:30 were invited to vote for their favorite within each of the six age categories. Congratulations to the 2012 winners! We will have photos loaded soon as well.

Preschool

1st Place = Milo Varnum
Runner-Up = Iggy Reem
Honorable Mention = Emma Khu
People's Choice = Milo Varnum
Best Motorized = Alexander Smith
Best Architectural/Engineering = Kevin Chu
Coolest Robot = Kaiden Davis
Best Vehicle = Dominic Nazario
Most Creative = William Epps
Most Sophisticated = Theo Sacks-Thomas
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Daniel Mazza
Most Enigmatic = Elijah Davis

Grades K-2

1st Place = Hudhaifah Rehman
Runner-Up = Maxwell Mayman
Honorable Mention = Devayani Pradhan
People's Choice = Micah Davis
Best Motorized = Armann Kamat
Best Architectural/Engineering = Keegan Globke
Coolest Robot = Joseph Bonenberger
Best Vehicle = Ocean Brabbs
Most Creative = Heeryun Kim
Most Sophisticated = Adir Vuppala
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Noah Nieman
Most Magical = Elise Meints

Grades 3-5

1st Place = Betsy Nieman
Runner-Up = Derek Mrachko
Honorable Mention = Anisha Fujii
People's Choice = Elliot Varnum
Best Motorized = Koen Van Nieuwstadt
Best Architectural/Engineering = Kyan Stevdle
Coolest Robot = Grant Pierfelice
Best Vehicle = Liam Farr
Most Creative = Sofiya Palcyzinski
Most Sophisticated = Alina Mankowski
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Elliot Varnum
Most Delicious = Abby Dobson
Most Sustainable = Aakarsh Verma
Most Career-Advancing = Bach Nguyen

Grades 6-8

1st Place = Leah Fleming
Runner-Up = Celeste Forester
Honorable Mention = Ryan Sauer
People's Choice = Lesh Fleming
Best Motorized = Robby Duquette
Best Architectural/Engineering = Justin Nieman
Coolest Robot = Hamza Khan
Best Vehicle = Taras Palczynski
Most Creative = Jeffrey Brooks-Conrad
Most Sophisticated = Kareem El-Tawil
AADL LEGO Master Builder = Casmir Mankowski
Best Flyswatter Based Summer Blockbuster = Peter Johnson
Leafiest Giant = Beatrix Dergis
Best Simulation of Ann Arbor Zombie Apocolypse = Oliver Mayman

Grades 9-12

1st Place = Logan Benton
Runner-Up = Cameron McLaughlin
Honorable Mention = Kevin Tian
People's Choice = Logan Benton
Best Architectural/Engineering = Alianha Porter
Coolest Robot = Alex Morey
Best Vehicle = Luke Thompson-Kolar
Most Creative = Bethany Pletzer
Most Sophisticated = Lee Thompson-Kolar

Adult

1st Place = Allen Ano
Runner-Up = Nieka Apell
Honorable Mention = Brian Mickey & Max & Rose Locke
People's Choice = Allen Ano
Best Architectural/Engineering = Sherif El-Tawil
Coolest Robot = Michele Loewe
Most Creative = Richard Mascotto
Most Sophisticated = Joshua Bartell
AADL LEGO Master Builder = David Papp

Imagine a big, interactive and colorful space for pure play at the Play Connection on Sunday, August 5th from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the Pittsfield Branch. All parents with children on the autism spectrum are invited to join the kids as they bounce bumpy balls, crawl through tunnels, create towers with construction toys, put on a puppet show, dig in buckets of buttons or feathers and more! Onna Solomon and Dr. Rick Solomon, from the Play Project, will be there to chat and share their wisdom with parents and children.
Play Project

One of the most hotly anticipated events of the year is almost upon us! The 7th annual LEGO contest is on Thursday, August 2 at the Kensington 610 Hilton Blvd. at Briarwood Mall behind Sears. The contest is open to all ages from Preschool to Adults! If you plan to enter the contest be sure to read the complete rules and guidelines. Attendees please note that this year there will be a "People's Choice" award in each age group! Drop-off is from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm; Doors close for judging from 3:00-6:00 pm and doors open for public viewing from 6:00-8:00 PM. The award ceremony is at 8:00 pm.

Margaret Mahy, a New Zealand children's author, died July 23rd at her home in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Ms. Mahy was a children's librarian who wrote books on the side. Twelve years into her career, an editor from Franklin Watts Publishing happened upon one of her stories in a New Zealand educators' journal and flew to NZ to meet with Ms. Mahy. It was a successful discussion and by 1980, Ms. Mahy quit her library position to write fulltime.

Her youth novel, The Haunting (1982), won her her first of two Carnegie Medals for Children's Literature. In this charming, edgy book, eight-year-old Barney has ESP. Two years later, Mahy won the Carnegie again for The Changeover, in which 14-year-old Laura battles to save her little brother who is possessed by evil spirits.

Her whimsical, lyrically catchy Bubble Trouble (2009) became a bestseller.

In 2006, the Swiss-based International Board on Books for Young People bestowed upon Ms. Mahy the Hans Christian Andersen Award for her lifelong contribution to children's literature.

Ms. Mahy, who was 76, had been battling cancer.

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well." (The Olympic Creed).

Soon, participating countries will again set aside their differences for two weeks to cheer on their athletes in the world’s most prestigious sporting competition. To get your family into the spirit of the 2012 Summer Games, here are some fun facts, lessons, activities and games to share with children.

Wenlock and Mandeville, the official London 2012 mascots, have their own website, where you can play games, watch films, make your own mascot and more.

Here are some printable Olympics coloring pages, and ideas for crafts

And of course, don't forget to check out our books about the Olympics.

It has been a hard day for children's literature fans. First we learned of the death of Donald Sobol, creator of Encyclopedia Brown, and now comes word of the passing of Else Minarik, the Danish author whose series of books about Little Bear has enchanted generations of young readers.

Ms. Minarik, born in Denmark in 1920, came to the U.S. five years later. She taught first graders during WW II, and began writing children's books in order to entertain her young daughter.

The Little Bear books launched Harper's I Can Read books, part of a new genre of readers, books written for new readers to tackle themselves. The first one came out in 1957 and was illustrated by Maurice Sendak who sadly died in May.

In 1995, when Nickleodeon ran an animated adaptation of Little Bear adventures, interest in the series exploded once again.

Mrs. Minarik, who was 91, died July 12th at her home in North Carolina from complications of a heart attack she suffered a while ago.

Donald Sobol, who created Encyclopedia Brown, one of the most beloved of classic children's characters, died today.

Sobol's writing career began as a copyboy and then reporter for the New York Sun newspaper back in the 50s. In 1963, he published the first Encyclopedia Brown book, Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective. In each of the 39 books in the series, Leroy (a.k.a. Encyclopedia) Brown, is a 10-year old genius. The format for each book is that Brown faces ten mysteries. The reader is given a chance to solve the mystery, before consulting with the answers in the back of the book.

This formula has worked for nearly 40 years. In 1997, Sobol updated Brown's wardrobe, dressing him out in a work shirt and jeans in Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's Nose. Six years later, Sobol marked Brown's 40th anniversary with the release of Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogs.

Sobol also penned a popular syndicated newspaper feature, his Two-Minute Mysteries.

Mr. Sobol's death (he was 87) immediately began trending on Twitter as news spread and fans of all ages mourned his passing with tender tributes about what their books meant to them.

Reading Rainbow began its 26-year run on PBS as a way to combat summer mind decay. Now it's taking the same goal to a different medium.

LeVar Burton, Reading Rainbow host, says: "What were kids doing in the 80's? Sitting in front of the television. So we went where they were to steer them back in the direction of where we wanted them to go." While television still accounts for the largest amount of children's screen time, it's not the only screen in town anymore. About half of children under 8 have access to some sort of mobile device.

So Burton and former film and television producer Mark Wolfe have co-founded the company RR Kidz. Their new iPad app incorporates classic Reading Rainbow segments, 16 new video "field trips" starring Burton, and 150 narrated interactive books. Each story comes with games and puzzles. Kids can design their own virtual backpacks, track the minutes they've read, and receive digital stickers as rewards for finishing new titles.

The Library has a large collection of DVDs of the original Reading Rainbow shows. For a trip down memory lane, take one home today!

2011 LEGO Contest
If it's summer it's LEGO Contest time! One of our largest and most anticipated events is scheduled for Thursday, August 2, at the Kensington Court Hotel, 610 Hilton Blvd., (near Briarwood Mall). Last year we had over 200 entries and we can be sure there will even more this year!. Preschoolers, Kid, Teens and Adults are invited to participate. New this year: PEOPLE'S CHOICE! Attendees of the contest may vote for one project in each age category. People's Choice winners will receive a special LEGO trophy. For all the details read the complete rules and guidelines, and then start building!