Ages 11-18
Blog Post
The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones
by PizzaPuppy
The new season of Game of Thrones is almost here and for many fans April 12th cannot come soon enough! If you're as excited as I am about the return of the new season, you may be on the lookout for any small sliver of (non-spoiler!) Game of Thrones news or for more content to devour before the start of the 5th season.
A recent addition to our collection is The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones, a comprehensive history of the Game of Thrones universe. As many of George R. R. Martin's fans know, one of his many strengths is the complex worldbuilding within the Game of Thrones novels. The World of Fire and Ice does an amazing job of simplifying the plethora of information offered throughout the series into a (relatively) concise history of the Game of Thrones world.
This 326 page mega-book contains detailed maps of the Game of Thrones world, color illustrations, full family trees for each of the major Houses, and an extended history with cultural information spanning the entire Game of Thrones universe. It also includes all-new material that George R. R. Martin wrote specifically for this collection. This incredibly informative companion novel is a must read for fans searching for an in-depth look at the history of Essos, Westeros, and everywhere in between.
Looking for a quicker way to get reacquainted with your favorite Game of Thrones characters and their backgrounds? Give the Game of Thrones graphic novels a try! For more information about the HBO television series specifically, be sure to take a look at Inside HBO's Game of Thrones for a cool sneak peek at what happens behind the scenes of one of the most popular shows on television.
Blog Post
New Music at the AADL!
by eapearce
The AADL has tons of brand new CDs for fans of all musical genres. Top 40 pop, country, indie, Motown, classical… you name it, and we’ve got it! Here are some of the newest additions to the AADL collection:
Sweet Talker is Jessie J’s latest album, featuring collaborations with stars like Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz. The hit song Bang Bang, which Jessie J first performed at the MTV VMA awards last year, is on this album, along with “Burnin’ Up,” “Seal Me With a Kiss” and “Loud,” all songs that radio listeners will recognize.
Strangers to Ourselves is the sixth album by alternative rock band Modest Mouse. Modest Mouse had been on somewhat of a hiatus before this album’s release; their last album before this was released back in 2007. Strangers to Ourselves has received mixed reviews from critics but has been touted by some as a great example of the band’s growth and evolution over the years. Fans of the band will certainly want to give it a shot.
The Basement Tapes Raw contains thirty-eight highlights from sessions that Bob Dylan recorded with The Band in 1967. These were all restored from the original tapes.
Country fans won’t want to miss Luke Bryan’s Spring Break… Checkin’ Out album, the seventh and last entry in his Spring Break collection, featuring 5 new tracks. Most of the songs focus on the fun Bryan has had performing at spring break locations over the past years, and the album is lighthearted and fun, despite receiving only average reviews from many critics.
Love The Hunger Games? Don’t miss the soundtrack for Mockingjay: Part 1!
The AADL has also recently purchased new copies of older favorites, including albums by the Staple Singers, Marvin Gaye, and Electric Light Orchestra.
Find all these and more new additions to our music collection by browsing the "New CDs" category under "New Items" on the catalog page of our website.
Blog Post
AADL is an Ann Arbor Film Festival Community Partner
by valerieclaires
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is here again, and with it comes another year of films, events, and community partnership. AADL will once again be an official AAFF community partner for Films in Competition 4, on Saturday March 28 at 11 am at the Michigan Theater, which features films especially for viewers and filmmakers age 6 and up.
You can check out the list of films playing and buy tickets on the Ann Arbor Film Fest’s website. Make sure to enter the code AAFF53_AADL for half off your advance ticket – normally $6!
When you come to the screening, you’ll even have a chance to hear the premieres of the film scores participants created in our Making Movie Music workshop, held in conjunction with the AAFF.
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is the longest-running independent and experimental film festival in North America. The 53rd AAFF takes place March 24-29, 2015 and presents over 200 films from across the world with dozens of world premieres. For more information, please visit the Ann Arbor Film Festival’s website.
Blog Post
Leader Dogs for the Blind Summer Experience Camp
by monkk
Summer Experience Camp is a unique summer camp for boys and girls ages 16 and 17 who are legally blind that combines summer fun with an introduction to guide dogs and the opportunity to spend time with peers who are facing similar challenges. Campers kayak, rock wall climb and tandem bike, learn to use a GPS device with instruction and spend time with dogs and Leader Dog guide dog mobility instructors to learn more about living and working with a guide dog.
The program is completely free including airfare to Michigan, and everyone receives a free HumanWare Trekker audible pedestrian GPS device to keep. Summer Experience Camp is scheduled for June 26 to July 3, 2015. Applications are due by April 1, 2015.
For more information and to download an application, go to www.leaderdog.org/clients/programs/summer-experience-camp or call the Leader Dogs for the Blind client services department at 888-777-5332.
Blog Post
Back Down the Rabbit Hole
by hanxanth
Recently, Disney has been re-making some of their classic stories, Cinderella and Maleficent being the newest. But, going further back, we see the re-make of Alice in Wonderland from 2010. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are very popular children's novels, and are full of images and stories that delight children and adults alike. (Check out The Annotated Alice for details on the inspiration behind the book!) Since the original publication in 1865, it has inspired art, music, books, and multiple film adaptations.
In fact, the story has been told and retold so many times, isn't it possible that the original story has changed over time? That is what author Frank Beddor explores in his trilogy, The Looking Glass Wars. In Beddor's book, Lewis Carroll meets a young girl named Alyss, who has escaped her home kingdom of Wonderland, a place run on imagination. But when she tells her story to Carroll, he gets everything wrong and writes his book Alice in Wonderland! Follow Alyss in this 'true story,' along with her bodyguard Hatter Madigan, as she tries to return home, defeat her evil Aunt Redd, and reclaim her kingdom in the first book of Beddor's young adult series, The Looking Glass Wars.
Blog Post
It's All Write: The Countdown Begins!
by yugure
Short story writers, if you haven't written a story for the 2015 It's All Write Teen Short Story Contest, now's the time to get started! The deadline for submission is March 13, which means you have one week in which to write a totally awesome, amazing, incredible, hilarious, jaw-dropping, heart-wrenching, inspired story! Don't have time to write a brand new one? Dust off and spruce up that draft you've got sitting around on your hard drive!
Go to the It's All Write page to find writing guidelines and the submission form.
Happy writing!
Blog Post
New Adult Fiction: In Some Other World, Maybe
by eapearce
I saw In Some Other World, Maybe, by Shari Goldhagen, reviewed a few months ago and have been eagerly anticipating its arrival at the AADL ever since. And now that I’ve read it, I can vouch for its greatness! The premise of this book is an intriguing one. One night in the early ‘90s different groups of teenagers across the country go to see the same movie. Their motivations for seeing the film are all different (and some don’t even make it through the whole thing), but this early insight that readers gain into the characters’ younger years sets an excellent backdrop for the rest of the book. Over the next two decades, these characters’ lives connect and disconnect, entwined by friendship, love, ambition, fame, and tragedy. Goldhagen chooses to focus on different characters at different points in their lives, so sometimes readers are left wondering what the others are up to. More than once I was surprised and pleased when one character appeared in the plot line of another and the two stories went along together for awhile. It’s this instilment of curiosity in readers that keeps the book moving at an unexpectedly quick pace, and that kept me turning pages later into the night than was good for me.
BookPage calls In Some Other World, Maybe, “a compelling tale that leaves readers pondering what is and, had life taken another direction, what could have been.” Fans of Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings should absolutely give In Some Other World, Maybe a try.
Blog Post
SELMA - Because They Marched
by ryanikoglu
SELMA the movie, is up for Academy Awards 2015.
The story began over 50 years ago.
I was twelve years old when the Selma story was taking place in 1965.
My father was a Lutheran Campus Pastor, and my mother was a "Social Problems" Lecturer, at Mankato State University in Minnesota.
Pope John XXIII had convened "Vatican II", creating momentous changes within the Catholic Church.
Many people felt compelled to support and participate in the changes and history was being documented.
History is an amazing thing, and witnessing legends decades later is a moving opportunity.
The subject is especially timely when it falls during African-American History Month.
I find movies, documentaries and youth non-fiction overviews to be my favorite way to review and remember.
If you also like to research an era, surrounding a major movie, the following lists are some my recommendations on this era:
From the DVD Movie Collection:
SELMA
SISTERS Of SELMA: Bearing Witness For Change, includes first person interviews of participants in the civil rights movement, and the march from Selma to Montgomery.
FREEDOM RIDERS, "an astonishing testament to the accomplishment of youth" ... "personal conviction and the courage to organize against all odds."
From the Youth Collection:
BECAUSE THEY MARCHED: The People's Campaign For Voting Rights That Changed America, a new journalistic book covering the movement.
SELMA, LORD, SELMA a DVD movie, through the eyes of a child.
FREEDOM WALKERS: The Story Of The Montgomery Bus Boycott, the movement that produced a famous icon in Rosa Parks.
RUBY BRIDGES, a film of Ruby Bridge's story of integrating a grade school in New Orleans.
Significant biographies of little-known people who practiced for change:
The GIRL FROM The TAR PAPER SCHOOL: Barbara Rose Johns, a story that signifies common experiences leading up to the Civil Rights Movement.
CHILD Of The CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, Paula Young Shelton remembers the time.
AS FAST AS WORDS COULD FLY, a story based on personal experience of the author's father, Mason Steele.
The SCHOOL Is NOT WHITE! The Carter family stuggles to integrate an all-white school in Drew, Mississippi, in 1965.
LITTLE ROCK GIRL 1957 Nine African-American students made history when they defied a governor and integrated an Arkansas high school in 1957.
THROUGH MY EYES Ruby Bridges recounts the story of her involvement, as a six-year-old, in the integration of her school in New Orleans in 1960.
Blog Post
The new graphic novel Here is the coolest thing ever!
by eapearce
Richard McGuire’s Here is graphic novelization at its best! The focus of the book is a single space and the events that take place in and around it over millennia. For much of the book, this space is a living room in a large house on the East Coast, but it is also a swamp, a city, a future archaeological dig, and much more.
McGuire’s uses multiple panels on each page to show the overlapping and intertwining years. A dinosaur wanders by while a child plays with a similar plastic dinosaur in a panel on the opposite page. A question posed between people in the 18th century seems related to a question or answer between different people in the 21st century. The natural world changes and interweaves throughout the book too. A tree grows for several hundred years, and then is depicted on the forest floor. Swamps give way to glaciers, which then give way to forest and farmland. I loved how the unique perspectives that Here provides beautifully represent the transient nature of all things. “Meanwhile,” states the book jacket appropriately, “the attention is focused on the most ordinary moments and appreciating them as the most transcendent.”
Blog Post
Newbery, Caldecott, Printz & ALL the Youth and Teen Book, Audio and Video Awards Announced!
by erin
On Monday, February 2 in a snowed in Chicago The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, video and audio books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting. A hotly anticipated day for librarians, publishers, and lovers of youth and teen literature the awards the announcements culminate a year's worth of reading, listening and watching by a wide variety of librarians and educators all over the country. Over the years the variety of awards given out has grown to cover
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
“The Crossover,” written by Kwame Alexander, is the 2015 Newbery Medal winner.
Two Newbery Honor Books also were named:
“El Deafo” by Cece Bell
“Brown Girl Dreaming,” by Jacqueline Woodson
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
“The Adventures of Beekle,” illustrated by Dan Santat, is the 2015 Caldecott Medal winner.
Six Caldecott Honor Books also were named:
“Nana in the City,” illustrated and written by Lauren Castillo
“The Noisy Paint Box,” illustrated by Mary GrandPré, written by Barb Rosenstock
“Sam & Dave Dig a Hole,” illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
“Viva Frida,” illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales
“The Right Word,” illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jennifer Bryant
“This One Summer,” illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
“Brown Girl Dreaming,” written by Jacqueline Woodson, is the King Author Book winner.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected:
Kwame Alexander for “The Crossover,”
Marilyn Nelson for “How I Discovered Poetry,” illustrated by Hadley Hooper
Kekla Magoon for “How It Went Down,”
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
“Firebird,” illustrated by Christopher Myers, is the King Illustrator Book winner.
Two King Illustrator Honor Book were selected:
Christian Robinson for “Josephine,” by Patricia Hruby Powell
Frank Morrison for “Little Melba and Her Big Trombone,” by Katheryn Russell-Brown
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
“When I Was the Greatest,” written by Jason Reynolds, is the Steptoe winner.
Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
“Viva Frida,” illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner.
Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were named:
“Little Roja Riding Hood,” illustrated by Susan Guevara, written by Susan Middleton Elya
“Green Is a Chile Pepper,” illustrated by John Parra, written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
“Separate Is Never Equal,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh
Pura Belpré (Author) Award honoring Latino authors whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience:
"" is the 2015 Pura Belpré (Author) Award winner. The book is written by Marjorie Agosín, illustrated by
One Belpré Author Honor Book was named:
"Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes," written by , illustrated by Raúl Colón">Raúl Colón">Raúl Colón
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
“,” written by and illustrated by , is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by Two Lions, New York.
Two Geisel Honor Books were named:
“Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page,” written by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by
“Waiting Is Not Easy!” written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:
“This Day in June,” written by Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., illustrated by Kristyna Litten is the winner of the 2015 Stonewall Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award.
Three Honor Books were selected:
“Beyond Magenta,” by Susan Kuklin, photographed by Susan Kuklin
“I’ll give you the sun,” written by Jandy Nelson
“Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress,” written by Christine Baldacchio, pictures by Isabelle Malenfant
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
“The Right Word,” written by Jennifer Bryant, is the Sibert Award winner.
Five Sibert Honor Books were named:
“Brown Girl Dreaming,” written by Jacqueline Woodson
“The Family Romanov,” written by Candace Fleming
“Josephine,” written by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson
“Neighborhood Sharks,” written and illustrated by Katherine Roy
“Separate Is Never Equal,” written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
“A Boy and A Jaguar” written by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Catia Chien
“Rain Reign” written by Ann M. Martin
The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “Girls Like Us,” written by Gail Giles
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:
“Popular,” written by Maya Van Wagenen, is the 2015 Excellence winner.
Four other books were finalists for the award:
“Laughing at My Nightmare” written by Shane Burcaw
“The Family Romanov” written by Candace Fleming, and published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s
Books.
“Ida M. Tarbell” written by Emily Arnold McCully
“The Port Chicago 50” written by Steve Sheinkin
Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by judging committees of librarians and other children’s experts, the awards encourage original and creative work. For more information on the ALA youth media awards and notables, please visit http://www.ala.org/yma.