Are you ready to rethink long-standing parenting practices? Author Heather Shumaker has defined 29 "renegade rules" for parenting young children, drawing on her own experience raising two young children as well as the work of child psychologists, educators, and neuroscientists.

Heather Shumaker is the author of It’s OK Not to Share…And Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids, which was named a Best Parenting Book of 2012 by Parents magazine, and is a northern Michigan bestseller. Salon.com called it "an insightful, sensible and compassionate book full of downright revolutionary ideas."

She is a speaker, journalist, blogger and advocate for free play and no homework for young children. She’s been featured on Fox & Friends TV, Huffington Post, New York Post, Parenting, Parents.com, USA Weekend, Wisconsin Public Radio and other media.

Join us at the Pittsfield Branch at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 21 for Heather Shumaker's talk, and be prepared to change your mind! This event includes a book signing, and copies of It’s OK Not to Share…And Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids will be available for purchase.

The Downtown library has a shelf in the Youth Department known as the Parent Shelf. On this shelf you’ll find a variety of parent-child related books on a multitude of topics- including everything from ABCs to tantrums to potty training to home schooling. These books are available for checkout, and can be found in the catalog when searching “parent shelf,” if you’d like to have one sent to a branch of your choice.

One topic that might be of interest is child safety, both in the home and in the community. We’ve got books that cover everything from bike helmets to baby proofing to stranger danger. Check out such titles as:

SafeKids 101: Preparing kids to stay safe at home and in the community

Protecting the gift: keeping children and teenagers safe (and parents sane)

The safe child book: a commonsense approach to protecting children and teaching children to protect themselves

What a rare opportunity for anyone who has small children in the family or teachers and caregivers who work with small children. Jim Gill is coming to Ann Arbor to give a workshop and a family concert.
The workshop will be at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at the Downtown Library. The concert will follow at 7:00 p.m. At the workshop he will talk about how music plays such an important part in children's development. You will learn a lot but you'll also be entertained.
A Jim Gill family concert is fun for the whole family.
Don't miss these great events that are a part of our Children's Book Week celebration.

teens using drugs

The "Teens Using Drugs: What To Know and What To Do" series will be presented again on Tuesday, May 7th (part 1, "What To Know") and the following Tuesday, May 14th (part 2, "What To Do"). This on-going & free series will be presented by Brian Spitsbergen, Director, Community Intervention and Treatment (CITx,) Growth Works, Inc. This two-part of series of Dawn Farm takes place at SJMH's Education Center. The series is co-sponsored by Dawn Farm, the Livingston/Washtenaw Safe & Drug Free Schools & Communities Act Consortium and SJMH Greenbrook Recovery Center.

Written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann, the picture book Oh, No! has the most gorgeous illustrations... and the story is sweet, too! It tells the tale of a group of jungle animals who one by one fall in a deep, dark hole and can’t get out! Then along comes tiger. Will he save them? Oh, no! -- He’s a hungry tiger! Then how will the animals ever get out? With repeating text and a fine bunch of animals, kids and adults will lap it up.

Back by popular demand, this Friday, May 10 at 9:30 and 10:30 am at the Downtown Library, KinderConcert will entertain and educate the littlest music appreciators. We’ll sway to the piano music of Kathryn Goodson, KinderConcertwe’ll dance with Gari Stein and we’ll bounce to the horn played by Kurt Civilette.

The 2013 Michigan Reads! title has been announced! The award goes to the picture book Woolbur, written by Leslie Helakoski and illustrated by Lee Harper.

Woolbur is a unique story about a young sheep who is not afraid to be himself! Some of his antics include running with the dogs and dying his wool blue! His mom and dad are worried about him at first, but his grandparents tell them not to worry. In the end, the other sheep start to see the beauty in Woolbur’s creative ways and realize it is not so bad to live outside the box of a “normal” sheep life.

Helakoski, originally from Louisiana, is a graduate of Northern Michigan University and currently resides in southwest Michigan near Kalamazoo. Her picture book Big Chickens also won the Michigan Reads! Award for 2007.

The Michigan Reads! One State, One Children's Book program “focuses on the importance of reading and sharing books with children, especially toddlers through early elementary, and the vital role libraries play in providing access to the quality books, programs and services that lay the foundation for reading and school success.”

E.L. Konigsburg, author and illustrator of 21 books for children, teens, and adults, has died.

Elaine Konigsburg, born Elaine Lobl in New York City, grew up in small Pennsylvania towns as the middle of three daughters. Though her family would rather she cook or clean, she was a voracious reader. She taught science at a girls' school after graduating college with a chemistry degree and marrying David Konigsburg.

After her third child began attending school, Konigsburg began to write, publishing Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth, which received a Newbery Honor, and Newbery Medal winner From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in 1967.

Of her characters, Konigsburg said, "the kids I write about are asking for the same things I wanted. They want two contradictory things. They want to be the same as everyone else, and they want to be different from everyone else.They want acceptance for both."

Konigsburg won another Newbery Medal in 1997 for The view from Saturday, making her one of five authors to win the prestigious award twice.

Her historical novel A proud taste for scarlet and miniver and short story collection Throwing shadows were both National Book Award finalists.

I encourage you to take a look at E.L. Konigsburg's books in the AADL catalog. You may find yourself revisiting an old favorite or trying something new!

The Downtown library has a shelf in the Youth Department known as the Parent Shelf. On this shelf you’ll find a variety of parent-child related books on a multitude of topics- including everything from language to tantrums to potty training to homework. These books are available for checkout, and can be found in the catalog when searching “parent shelf,” if you’d like to have one sent to a branch of your choice.

One topic that might be interesting to read about is how to help raise shiny, happy kids. Check out such titles as The bear essentials: Everything today's hard-pressed parent needs to know about bringing up happy, healthy kids, How to parent so children will learn: Strategies for raising happy, achieving children, and The mindful child : how to help your kid manage stress and become happier, kinder, and more compassionate.

For additional titles, see here a longer list.