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Blog Post

Storytimes: L is for Loud

by eapearce

This week at Traverwood and Westgate storytimes on Thursday and Friday, Elizabeth told LOUD stories! We heard the folktale of The Squeaky Door, where lots of farm animals get put into the bed to try and comfort a scared little boy. In The Seven Chinese Sisters, sound effects helped us tell the story of brave sisters who rescue their littlest baby sister from a hungry dragon! And, in Robert Munsch’s Mortimer, we heard the story of the boy who likes to play instruments at bedtime instead of going to sleep!

And a LOUD storytime wouldn’t be complete without the “5 Hot Dogs in a Frying Pan” rhyme. You know what happens when the grease gets hot! One goes BAM!

Storytimes take place at all AADL locations and are free and open to the public. For more information about storytimes, visit our Jump page, created especially for parents and teachers.

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Blog Post

Amy Krouse Rosenthal - Children's Author

by potterbee

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a popular author, filmmaker and speaker died on Monday, March 13, 2017. She is best known for her memoir Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, her children's picture books, and the film project The Beckoning of Lovely. She was a prolific writer, publishing more than 30 books between 2005 and her death in 2017. She was a contributor to Chicago's NPR affiliate WBEZ, and to the TED conference.

Her first success was with the book Little Pea, about a pod denied his favorite dessert (spinach) until he finished all his candy (which he detested). She is the only author to have three children's books make the Best Children's Books for Family Literacy list in the same year for the titles Spoon (2009), Yes Day!, and Duck! Rabbit!, a clever take on the age-old optical illusion: Is it a duck or a rabbit? There's also a subtle lesson for kids who don't know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side, Duck! Rabbit! makes it easy to agree on one thing, reading it again!

The follow up to her alphabetized memoir Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (published in 2005), Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, is full of her distinct blend of nonlinear narrative, wistful reflections, and insightful wit. It sheds light on all the ordinary and extraordinary ways we are connected. A testament to the notion that books and technology don't have to be at odds, this part memoir, part art installation offers a series of vignettes (personal anecdotes, observations, drawings, and photographs) divided into different subjects reminiscent of a high school "textbook."

Her final contribution was published on March 3, 2017 in the New York Times, You May Want to Marry My Husband. In the piece, Rosenthal announced her illness, celebrated her family and sought a new partner for her husband, Jason. She finished the essay on Valentine's Day, and said, "the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins."

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Blog Post

Storytimes: F is for Farm!

by eapearce

Elizabeth told stories about the farm, farm animals and farmers this week at her storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate. We heard the story of Lazy Jack, a retelling of the folktale about the silly little boy who works for various farmers but can never seem to figure out how to carry home his earnings. We also heard about the cowboy who’s trying to find a horse in the fun story Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash. And, we read about the infamous typing cows in Doreen Cronin’s Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Finally, the farm animals drove the farmer’s tractor in AADL’s felt version of The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book, by Jez Alborough.

AADL storytimes take place at all locations and are open to all. For a complete list of storytimes and locations, visit our Jump page, created for parents and teachers.

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Public Event

AADL Book Discussion: Hillbilly Elegy

Saturday May 13, 2017: 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room

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Public Event

AADL Book Discussion: Hillbilly Elegy

Tuesday April 25, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Conference Room A

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Blog Post

Huge Books about a Huge World!

by evelyn

We’ve just gotten in two amazing oversized nature books for kids and their grownups. First up is Under Water, Under Earth by the talented team Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński. I am obsessed with the work by this pair, and this book is my favorite that they’ve done yet. One side depicts life under the ground, including burrowing animals, root vegetables, infrastructures under cities, tunnels, mines, and more. Flip the book over and you are treated to views under the ocean, from fish and scuba divers to the Titanic and hydrothermal vents. The two sections meet in the middle, where they share a spread on the Earth’s core. This book is jam packed with gorgeous, detailed illustrations and tons of fascinating information.

For kids who want to learn more about plants, checkout Botanicum, which joins Animalium and Historium as part of the Welcome to the Museum collection of oversized nonfiction for kids. With a gold-embellished cover and huge illustrations of beautiful vegetables, trees, flowers, and more, this book will win over any plant enthusiast.

These lovely and big books can work independently, but they also make a great pair. Learn about root vegetables in Under Water, Under Earth and then look at the detailed drawings in Botanicum! Just be sure to bring a bag big enough to fit them both.

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Blog Post

Storytimes: F is for Food!

by eapearce

Last week at storytimes, Elizabeth told stories all about food! Yum!

We heard about Gregory, the goat who is a picky eater in Gregory, the Terrible Eater and counted 15 different flavors of ice cream from Rob Reid’s 15 Scoop Ice Cream Cone. We read the classic The Wolf’s Chicken Stew and clapped along to the rhymes of Linda-Sue Park’s Bee-bim Bop! And of course, a food-themed storytime wouldn’t be complete without a “5 cupcakes” rhyme.

Visit our special Jump page for parents and teachers to see a list of storytimes at all locations.

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Blog Post

Unbecoming, by Jenny Downham

by manz

In Unbecoming, by Jenny Downham., we meet three generations of red-headed women, all with their own secrets and stories.

Seventeen year old Katie lives with her uptight mother Caroline and her younger brother, until one day Caroline’s Mother Mary abruptly comes into their lives. Estranged for years, Caroline does not want her mother to come live with them, even though she is suffering from dementia and needs care. As she temporarily stays with the family while social services sorts things out, everyone’s world turn upside down in different ways. On top of caring for her brother, and now her grandmother, Katie struggles to please her mother and keep secret who she’s been kissing. Caroline tries desperately to keep the past in the past and shove Mary away, while Mary tries so hard to remember her past as she wakes up daily wondering who these people are that she’s living with.

Wonderfully crafted, the book mostly stays in present day, but shifts back to Mary’s young adult life. The truth begins to unfold a rich family history of strong women who are either trying to break the rules or trying hard to follow them and keep things quiet and uneventful. Mary will have none of it! She wishes for adventure. If only she could remember.

It is an absolutely touching YA novel and it was a pleasure to spend time with these characters finding their place within their family and in the world. I would love to have a picnic with Mary on the beach.

The Stonewall Book Award is given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. This year there was one winner and three honors – one of which was Unbecoming.

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Blog Post

Hooray for Owls!

by manz

This week at storytime Ms. Amanda brought some cute owl stories featuring a playful owl, a sleepy owl, and a reading owl. Owls sure do have a lot of interests!

In the wonderfully illustrated Hooray for Today!, Owl wakes up and is ready to play but the friends he wants to play with are still sleeping! Whooooo wants to play? This is by the same author as Hooray for Hat!, and both are recommended.

In I’m Not Reading!, Baby Owl is trying to read a story to Tiny Chick, when they keep getting interrupted by more and more bouncy chicks who also want to hear the story. It’s an adorable and cute picture book by Jonathan Allen to read together.

We then met an owl in Good Night Owl who was trying to go to sleep but he kept hearing a loud SQUEEK. He then tears his house apart searching for the noise. It’s quite silly! What’s silier than an owl in a bathrobe tearing the roof off his house?

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Blog Post

My Family and Other Animals

by manz

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of My Family and Other Animals by naturalist Gerald Durrell. This book was the first in a trilogy, followed by Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (1969) and Fauna and Family, AKA The Garden of the Gods, (1978). In the books Durrell tells of the period during his childhood where he and his widowed mother and siblings briefly left England and lived on the rustic island of Corfu off Greece between 1935 and 1939. Gerald found himself surrounded by beautiful creatures and pretty soon the house and surrounding areas are encapsulated by his birds and reptiles.

The memoirs are delightful and the family is a fierce and quirky bunch that makes these books a pleasure to read. Gerald grew up to be a naturalist, conservationist and author of many books.

There have been a few adaptations of the books for television. Notably was the 2005 series My Family and Other Animals, which centers on 12 year old Gerald and his animal adventures, namely from book one. The acting is superb, with Imelda Staunton (Professor Umbridge!) leading the charge as Mrs. Durrell, tyring to rein in her 4 children, while wondering how on earth they turned out the way they did. Larry is a writer, Margo is a teen discovering herself, Larry love his guns, and then there's Gerry and his traveling zoo. There are 3 episodes and I loved it so much I watched them all twice.

Last year came a newer, longer adaptation that involved stories from all three books. This first season of The Durrells in Corfu features 6 episodes, and more emphasis is placed on the mother in this one. As with books and film adaptations, things were changed from the books a bit, but the wonderfulness of Gerald and his family remains. This show was also a pure delight to dive into with the Durrells. Season 2 is in the works.