Silly hats and loud noisemakers are part of the ritual of bringing in the new year.
Come to the Pittsfield Branch on Monday, December 31, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.
to make your own party supplies. This is for preschoolers through 5th graders
and their grownups. All supplies will be provided.

For more ideas, go to this website
that has many good ideas for kids' crafts.

My friend Rosalie Koenig is joining me for a cozy, silly storytime with music and riddles and family fun on Thursday, December 27 at 2 pm at the Downtown Library. Rosalie was the elementary vocal music teacher at Mitchell School for years and she'll join us with bells on her toes and guitar in hand! Bring your out of town guests and settle in for some good old fashioned singing and storytelling!

Mark your calendar for Monday, Jan. 21, when the MLK 2013 Children and Youth Program at U-M will happen from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the U-M Modern Languages Building, 812 E. Washington Street. The program, which is turning 15, will celebrate and commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Over the years the program has drawn a total of more than 8,000 K-12 students from schools around southeast Michigan, offering them entertainment, fun, creativity and dialogue through storytelling, discussions, group projects, skits, rap poetry, and music. To register for this year's event, click here.

It’s always a party when Joe Reilly hits the stage at the AADL! Bring the little ones for dancing, singing and learning about this beautiful, mysterious and spinning planet of ours! Wiggle out the winter lazies on Sunday, December 30th at 2:00 pm Downtown and check out Joe's newest CD.

When illustrator-author Derek Anderson visited the Malletts Creek Branch of the AADL in October, I watched as Ann Arbor children and adults fell under his spell. Sketching shapes looked like such fun! Anderson even talked a bit about his life and career. Afterwards I was drawn to buy his book, Waking Dragons and to have it signed for my son. I took the book home, read it, and stole it back for myself.

This picture book, written by master storyteller Jane Yolen, is beautiful and magical, and brought to life by Anderson's gold-washed paintings. After the dragons "bumble" and "tumble" out of bed, the determined boy-knight who is in charge of them prepares a delicious breakfast of waffles -- served from a catapult -- in time for the dragons to fly the boy off to Knight School. As you read the rhymes, don't miss the humor, such as the sign on the fire extinguisher, "In Case of Dragon Breath."

Anderson probably is best known for his Little Quack books, but I'm also a fan of Gladys Goes Out to Lunch. For more good reading for adults, go to Derek's web page, and read "In the Studio: A Creative Journal." Fascinating.

If you're looking for things to do with your children over the holidays, here are some ideas. The first stems from a grandmother at a library baby play group who asked about activities in Ann Arbor for her grandson. Already she knew about the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum and library events, so with help from a co-worker, I made her the list below:
* Visit the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum.
* Ice skate at Buhr Park or Vets Park:
* Go to one of the fabulous outdoor play structures at Eberwhite school or Fuller Park.
For more ideas, check out ArborWiki.

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.

The parent shelf features a few helpful books with information on kids and technology, which is a hot topic, as technolgoy is everwhere, with new devices being released constantly. We have a few titles dealing with cyber safety, such as: Cyber-safe kids, cyber-savvy teens: Helping young people learn to use the Internet safely and responsibly. It might also be worth checking out books on social media, such as Talking back to Facebook: A common sense guide to raising kids in the digital age and CyberSafe: Protecting and empowering kids in the digital world of texting, gaming, and social media. See here for additional items on similar topics.

Brainfuse

The scope of Brainfuse Tutoring available to AADL users has grown since we began subscribing to this service. Brainfuse has on-line learning options that are sure to enhance your study experience. The HelpNow 3.0 upgrade Study Suite offers study tools for an array of Standardized Tests. The interactive Flashbulb will give students access to an extensive library of online flashcard sets in hundreds of subjects. Check out the Test Center for students to practice test themselves in core subjects. Plus there's still the Expert Help you can get from a live tutor from 2:00-11:00 EVERY day except posted holidays. Tutors are available for students from grade school to college. Please take a look at Brainfuse on our website, scroll down & get acquainted with these awesome features!

Sunday, December 2 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. | Pittsfield Branch Library

Join us for cozy craft time on Sunday, December 2nd at the Pittsfield Branch at 2:00 pm, when we will make rangoli. During the month of Maarkazhi ( December 15 through January 15) in India, rangoli are painted on the ground in front of houses with colored rice powder, flower petals and other interesting materials. Our rangoli will involve lots of sticky glue and rice that we have dyed into a beautiful rainbow of colors.

Thursday November 29, 2012: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Traverwood Branch: Program Room

When a child confides these words to a parent, they can totally transform the relationship. Whether that transformation results in a closer bond or a broken one is entirely dependent upon the parent's ability to accept, nurture and honor the child, whatever his or her sexual orientation. Join us and author Anne Dohrenwend at the Traverwood Branch as she shares insights from her book, Coming Around. Coming Around is an uplifting resource for understanding and coming to terms with a child’s sexual orientation and maintaining a dialogue between parent & child. With compassion and wisdom, Dohrenwend addresses parents' fears regarding what to say and what not to say, bigotry and social and religious prejudice, the legal issues facing LGBT individuals and how to understand homophobia. Dr. Dohrenwend will be there to sell and sign books as well.