This week a batch of cool readers hit the shelf at the library. Check out the new I spys titles: I spy : 4 picture riddle books, I spy a school bus, and I spy a dinosaur's eye. For all those beginning reader Care Bear fans, we have Care Bears : 4 easy-to-read stories, and Care Bears : most valuable bear. There are also some new Margaret Hillert readers to add to our collection: Three Little Plays, Penguin, Penguin, Not too little to help : (a version of The lion and the mouse), The no-tail cat or, I like what I am, and another adventure with our favorite dragon Happy Mother's Day dear dragon.

Now that the dog days of summer are over, it's time to focus even more on our actual canine friends. National Dog Week runs from September 18-24, and AADL can help you celebrate! You can read a story to your dog, find new ways to train him, or read about all of the jobs dogs do in our society. Or just curl up with a great book of dog essays and stories put out by Bark Magazine.

Don't have a dog? We have lots of books with great dog pictures and even more on how to choose the right breed for you.

(If you're not a dog person, you can always try reading to your cat or your teddy bear ... and see which is the more active listener!)

With Eastern Michigan University visiting on Saturday, the Wolverines should be able to start a winning streak. The attendance at EMU’s home game last week was 5628. Can you use the term “crowd” to describe 5628 people in Rynearson Stadium with its capacity of 30,200? This week they will be playing before a crowd of more than 100,000 fans. Assuming Michigan has a formidable halftime lead, you can spend the second half reading one of these books:

The Big House: Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium by Robert M. Soderstrom

What It Means to Be a Wolverine: Michigan’s Greatest Players Talk About Michigan Football edited by Kevin Allen

The Obscene Diaries of a Michigan Fan by Ann Arborite and Ann Arbor Observer writer Craig Ross

It appears that the American book-buying public can’t get enough of romance and adventure. Four new titles debut this week.

At #1 is Polar Shift by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos: Kent Austin must match wits with the leader of an antiglobilization group in this apocalyptic thriller.

At #3 is Slow Burn by Julie Garwood: another romantic adventure by this popular author, set in Charleston and featuring a successful businesswoman.

At #10 is The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks: a sweeping Civil War novel with a courageous heroine who allows Confederate troops to use her plantation as a hospital and a cemetery.

Every year, the American Library Association puts together a celebration of the freedom to read, called Banned Books Week. This year, BBW will occur from September 24-October 1. In honor of the hundreds of wonderful, well-written, well-loved books that have been challenged or banned in America, look each Saturday (starting 9/17) in September in the “Books Blog” to find books that have been challenged or banned for some…“interesting”…reasons.
For example:
The American Heritage Dictionary was banned in Alaska (1976); Indiana (1976); Montana (1977); and California (1982) due to…objectionable language. Who volunteers to be the first to write a dictionary without any objectionable language?

The James Beard Foundation and the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) have selected these books about food, cooking, baking, wine and spirits, and literary food writing as award winners.

Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food: an Opinionated History and More Than 100 Recipes

Rich Stein’s Complete Seafood

A Blessing of Bread: Recipes and Rituals, Memories and Mitzvah by Maggie Glezer

John Ash Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher

Neesie is Janell's imaginary friend. Neesie makes Janell laugh and keeps her company. When Janell starts school Neesie says goodbye. A warm and touching story of family and the wonderful imagination of a child. First published in 1975, this newly illustrated thirtieth anniversary edition is a Reading Rainbow book.

Kevin Boyle, the 2004 winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction, can be seen on local Community Television Network Channel 17 next week, speaking on his book Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age. A professor of history at Ohio State University, Boyle’s book is a probing, riveting account of the murder trial of Dr. Ossian Sweet, one of the significant chapters in the early Civil Rights movement and race relations in Detroit. Professor Boyle spoke at one of the library’s 'Sunday Edition' programs earlier this year. The program can be seen on September 20 (3:30 p.m.),September 22 (1:30 p.m.), September 23 (5:00 p.m.) and September 24 (1:30 p.m.) The National Books Award Foundation lauded 'Arc of Justice' as ‘a history that is at once an intense courtroom drama, a moving biography and an engrossing look at race in America in the early 20th Century.’ A DVD of the program is also available from the library.

Lisa See’s latest novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a departure from her Edgar Award mystery series featuring an American FBI agent and a female Chinese investigator: Flower net, (a New York Times Notable Book of 1997); The Interior,(1999); and Dragon Bones, (2003).

In Snow Flower, See delved into the inner lives of two women in 19th century China who shared a secret written language called nu shu that existed for centuries in a remote part of Hunan province.

An Entertainment Weekly Editor's Choice.

Did you know you can teach your dog sign language or that you could have a secret conversation with your friends in sign? Aside from being able to communicate with deaf friends and family, these are a few good reasons to learn signing. A new book, Sign Language for Kids: A Fun and Easy Guide to American Sign Language by Lora Heller with excellent photographs and easy instructions, will have you signing in one day. Give it a try.