Blog Post
3rd Annual Lego® Contest and 2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest Guidelines!
by erin
A year has passed, you've been planning and we can't wait to see what you come up with! We're happy to be hosting our 3rd annual Lego® Contest for preschoolers thru 12th grade. Prizes will be awarded in five age categories. Complete rules and guidelines can be found here. Even if you don't enter the contest we invite you to come and take a look on the evening of Wednesday, July 30 in the Downtown library multi-purpose room - it's a spectacular, but limited time only display. Last year we had over 100 entries! Doors open @ 7.
We invite fans of anime and manga, who also like to draw, or write comics, to enter our 2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest. Entries are limited to those in grades K - 12. Prizes will be awarded in four age categories! Complete rules and guidelines can be found here. All artwork submitted will be on display in the Downtown Youth Department during the month of August.
Blog Post
It's Summer Reading Time
by sherlonya
Are you ready for summer reading? We are! Register online or in person at any of our locations beginning Friday, June 13.
This year's theme is "Under Construction" and we have fun planned for all ages. Everyone is invited to come hear the exciting West African Sounds of Like Water Drum and Dance at the new Traverwood Branch, July 6, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Adults who really want to stick to the theme can learn about Creating A Green Home in a presentation; by Michael Klement of Architectural Resource, LLC; on green building strategies, July 30, 7:00-8:30 at the Malletts Creek Branch. Children are invited on July 19, 2:00-3:00, to the Pittsfield Branch, to make their own monster trucks by re-using common household items. Or participate in our summer contests! Teens, come get your game on high tech and no tech throughout the summer.
Whether you want to learn; play; hang out; or find new books, magazines, movies and music; you can do it at AADL this summer.
Blog Post
Summer K-3 Math Bits - Online Practice
by ryanikoglu
Bored? Need something to do?
If you are in Kindergarten-to-3rd Grades, you can KEEP your math skills "Under Construction" and visit IXL Math online. "Created by ed-tech outfit Quia, IXL involves a membership plan, but site visitors can answer 20 questions a day, free of charge". Math activities inspired by books can help too. Try Adding Puppies And Kittens; Measuring Puppies And Kittens; and Telling Time With Puppies And Kittens.
Blog Post
Kid Bits - SUMMER Story Season STARTS !
by ryanikoglu
Storytimes START the week of June 9!
Think GREEN for the first week @ Malletts Creek and Pittsfield.
Crictor and Lizard like to be green.
You can look forward to 8 weeks of Summer programs at
Downtown, Pittsfield, and Malletts Creek Branches for summer.
Blog Post
Find appropriate books and movies with DiscoveryJourney
by pkooger
Want to know if there is sex, drugs, or offensive language in a book without having to read the whole thing? Check out the DiscoveryJourney website. DiscoveryJourney has reviews of many popular children's books and movies with listings of each incidence of violence, profanity, nudity, sexual content, scary elements, and the use of drugs, tobacco, or alcohol. It also suggests an appropriate age range for the intended audience.
DiscoveryJourney rates books and movies on each of ten character traits, including honesty, compassion, courage, and faith. The reviewers give positive and negative examples of each character trait. For example, in the review of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," Harry and his friends' bravery is listed as a positive example of courage, while Gilderoy Lockhart's behavior is listed as a negative example of courage. When rating morals or values, there are bound to be some personal differences of opinion, so use your own judgment when reading the reviews.
Blog Post
Mandy and Pandy go to Chicago
by annevm
A Chicago TV broadcast features Ann Arbor area author Chris Lin talking about his Mandy and Pandy books and materials. At the library we have his Mandy and Pandy say, Ni hao ma? plus other bilingual Chinese-English materials for children including 1,2,3, go! Lin says two more Mandy and Pandy books are coming out this summer, one on sports, one on traveling to China.
Blog Post
Teen volunteers needed at West, Malletts Creek, and Pittsfield branches
by K.C.
AADL needs teen volunteers to help sign up summer reading participants June 13-27. Interested? You need to:
-be in grades 6-12,
-attend training Friday, June 13, 2:00-3:00 p.m., and
-work both weeks (June 13-June 27).
Stop by the branch (West, Malletts Creek, or Pittsfield) at which you are interested in helping. Go to the reference desk, sign up, and take forms to complete. Return completed forms by Monday, June 9.
Jump in and lend a hand to make this our biggest summer yet!
Blog Post
Opportunity to have toys tested for lead
by battlem
This Friday, May 9, 2008, the Washtenaw United Way will provide an opportunity for parents to have toys and other child related plastics tested for lead at the Whittaker Road Ypsilanti Library from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The Ecology Center will have its XRF Lead Analyzer there and they will do on the spot tests to check for high lead levels. Other educational activities will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at our Pittsfield branch. Read more about chemicals in toys from the Ecology Center and check out the top toys from HealthyToys.org.
Blog Post
Looking for a good used car?
by K.C.
Whether you're shopping used cars dealers or Craigslist, auto technology instructor Paul Kruthaup will tell you the things you need to know to buy a car that not only looks good but runs well too. This program, titled "Buy a Ride: No Clunkers, Lemons, or Junkers," will be held from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, in the Malletts Creek branch program room.
Blog Post
Parent Bits - "ScreenTime" and Behavior
by ryanikoglu
Parents struggle with creating healthy habits for children. One BIG issue these days is "Screen Time", homework, social behaviors, video games, computers, television, and how it all fits together. Perhaps these titles can help .... Taking Back Childhood and Grand Theft Childhood, or the following web site, and it's links.
David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family, presented research on the topic at the Public Library Association 2008 Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota in March 2008.