by stevendepolo, Flickr.com

You may have noticed that Ann Arbor is steadily sinking into the ground. Shocking news! But as you await the inevitable plunge towards the center of the Earth, at least you can read these cool new magazines.

For the kids:
Zootles is all about Giraffes, the tallest animals on Earth!

Plays Magazine gives you seven all new scripts for aspiring thespians, including "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" inspired by the classic Sherlock Holmes story!

Dig magazine digs into the Aztecs (get it?), and Muse magazine tells you about the weird brain glitches that make magic tricks work.

For the parents:
American Baby is ready to tell you all about decoding your baby's mood signals, dealing with kid-caused embarrassment, and going on baby-friendly vacations.

Have fun!

March 23rd marks the birthday of authors Jim Trelease, Kim Stanley Robinson, Mitch Cullin.

Jim Trelease is an American artist, writer and educator. His The Read-Aloud Handbook, according to his website, "was the inspiration for PBS's 'Storytime' series". It emphasizes the importance of reading aloud to children, and has been used by both parents and educators.

Trelease also published a collection of stories which he thinks are perfect to read aloud. It includes many classics, as well as some inspirational stories, like "I have a dream: the story of Martin Luther King, Jr" by Margaret Davidson.

Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer. His Mars Trilogy has won Hugo and Nebula Awards. The trilogy focuses on a world in which Mars is a colony (by 2027, no less).

In 2009, Robinson published Galileo's Dream, in which Galileo travels to the future and finds himself caught up in political struggles on one of Jupiter's moons.

Mitch Cullin is an American writer of both novels and short stories. His collection of short stories is called From The Place In The Valley Deep In The Forest, and, as explained in a Booklist review, while the stories' topics are not fictional, "Cullin completely avoids making essays of his stories by focusing on vividly realized characters caught in the middle of those circumstances".

Cullin's A Slight Trick Of The Mind is a story of Sherlock Holmes in his old age, his memory failing. The cover is a tribute to Holmes' love of beekeeping in the novel.

image by kevinzim, Flickr.com
This month's magazines will stun and amaze you! Take a look...

For the young 'uns:
Creative Kids -- Featuring an interview with Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia!
Dig Magazine -- When is a hole in your head a good thing?
Ranger Rick -- Do you know that dolphins live in the Amazon River? And that people all over the world eat bugs? It's a strange world out there...

For the teens:
ESPN Magazine -- What's it like to be Jadeveon Clowney, who has been called the nation's number one high school football player? Read to find out!
Rolling Stone -- the Global Warming Hall of Shame and what Lil Wayne is up to these days.

For the parents:
American Baby -- baby traditions from all over the world, and a guide to scary symptoms that are really no big deal.
Horn Book -- What is 'YA Fatphobia'? Plus the favorite picture books of 2010, and a guide to good sports books for kids.
The Old Schoolhouse -- Tips for teaching technology, foreign language and writing skills at home.

I don't know about you, but I think these magazines sound fascinating. Especially that 'hole in the head' one. I'm already stunned and amazed!

KidsKickingCancer logo

Kids Kicking Cancer is a weekly program provided by the Cancer Support Community of Greater Ann Arbor. It consists of martial arts, breathing, meditation and focus techniques that teach children tools to reduce pain, fear & anger. With their mantra 'Power, Peace, Purpose', participants learn how to de-stress themselves & teach others to do the same! The program is open to children with cancer, children of a parent with cancer and all siblings. To register or for more information call the Kids Kicking Cancer office at (313) 557-0021, contact cindy@kidskickingcancer.net, or Cancer Support Community at (734) 975-2500.

Lakeshore Learning Material's Subtraction Machine is a new addition to our line-up of fun and educational toys for children's use during their visit to the Ann Arbor District Library! The subtraction machine gives kids a hands-on way to practice their math skills with immediate feedback on their answers. The toy features a grid of 81 subtraction problems; when you press on the equation button, the answer pops up! The equations reinforce whole-number, single-digit subtraction. The library provides a variety of toys and manipulatives at each location. These tools aren't just fun, they help young people learn.

For more ideas about having math experiences with young people you might visit PBS Kids, Online Schools which has compiled a list of math resources, or this site which is dedicated to math games.Subtraction Toy

by pescatello, Flickr.com

With the rapid evolution of technology over the past few years, children are growing up in an incredibly new and unique environment. In fact, a whole new term has been coined for today’s youth – “digital natives.” For digital natives, born after the development of digital technology, the fantastic gizmos and gadgets of the modern age are seamlessly integrated into everyday life, altering learning and social interaction. Of course, for parents who are not digital natives, the virtual world where their children live may seem like a lawless frontier, inscrutable to outsiders. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources to help digital immigrants to be involved in their children’s online lives:

Background on digital natives: Born Digital by John Palfrey.

Understanding your digital kids:
What in the World Are Your Kids Doing Online?
Totally Wired: What Our Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online
E-Parenting: Keeping Up With your Tech-Savvy Kids

Cyber-safety issues and kids:
Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens
Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence
MySpace, My Kids – a Christian writer offers guidance to parents about MySpace.

And, for kids themselves:
A Smart Girl’s Guide to the Internet

For more information, here’s a Frontline documentary/workshop on digital parenting that you can watch at home.

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Introducing Snap-Together Letter Blocks: one of many new toys at the AADL this season! Who needs flash cards when tots can learn letters and spelling with fun, colorful letter blocks that snap together! Plus, each block features the uppercase and lowercase version of one letter—so they reinforce letter recognition, too! The blocks are at the youth department in the Downtown branch now, but they'll move to another AADL location soon! Come check out the blocks, and all our new toys!

by Steven Fernandez, Flickr.com

Cyber-bullying – bullying conducted over the Internet, using e-mail, social networks, texting and/or attack websites – is an increasingly common problem, and could affect as much as 33% of young people. Lately, high-profile cases of cyber-bullying have been covered by the media, inspiring legislation and crackdowns. President Obama himself has made a strong statement condemning all forms of bullying. Luckily, there are many resources, both in the library and on the Internet, to help parents prevent and respond to this problem.

StaySafeOnline.org offers an excellent list of tips for cyber-bullying prevention and response, as does the National Crime Prevention Council. Check out the Cyberbullying Research Center for research and news about cyberbullying, as well as printable resources for school or home. Stop Bullying Now, a website of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is designed specially for kids, and includes animated videos.

For more information on cyber-bullying and bullying in general, take a look at these books and resources:
7 Ways to Block a Cyberbully and Cyber Safe: Identifying and Combating Cyber Bullies (DVD's).
Girl Wars
The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander
And, for kids:
Stand Up for Yourself & Your Friends
Hot Issues, Cool Choices
Jay McGraw's Life Strategies for Dealing With Bullies

Whether you look at any of the resources above or not, here are some tips to remember:
1. Being involved in your child's online life and knowing what they do online can help prevent cyber-bullying from getting out of hand.
2. Know the resources available to you -- your school may already have an anti-bullying policy. Your e-mail, social network and cell phone providers probably have policies to respond to online harassment.
3. Remember, bullying is not normal, and no one should have to put up with it!

FirstSteps

Join us on Saturday, November 20 at 10:30am at the Traverwood Branch for the Raising a Bilingual Child program. Early Childhood Specialist in Saline and Bilingual Parent Educator for First Steps of Washtenaw Su-Fen Lin will help us understand the language acquisition process for young children whose native language is not English. She'll discuss the advantages of raising a child to speak multiple languages, what to expect from the process, and how you can support your child through it all.

Raising a Bilingual Child | Saturday, November 20 | 10:30 am | Traverwood Branch

Parents

Why simplify? Because kids are more over-stressed, over-scheduled, over-medicated and over-anxious than they need to be. Kim John Payne teaches a path of reducing that stress by simplifying the home environment and the family schedules, creating rhythm and filtering out the adult world. Discover how to deeply nurture children through: plenty of unstructured play-time; regular meals and bedtimes; restricted screen-time; very few toys; and even a bit of old-fashioned boredom.

Ask yourself this about your activities and the state of your home life: does this contribute to the way we want to live? If you suspect that your child is not being nourished by the current pace and volume of modern life, let Simplicity Parenting help you evaluate the choices and guide you through some very powerful changes.