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Amazing geography/travel books for kids!! The "This Is" series by M. Sesek.

by -alex-

The "This Is" series by M. Sasek are all-around great works of children's nonfiction. Originally written between 1959 and 1970, the titles span the globe.

Here are some of our personal favorites:

"This is Paris"
"This is London"
"This is San Francisco"
"This is Hong Kong"
"This is Edinburgh"

Informative and entertaining for kids, the series teaches about the sights, sounds, and cultural landmarks of a total of 17 "must-see" places. Adults will enjoy these books too - the illustrations are perfect examples of mid-20th century graphic design at it's best, it's boldest, and it's most colorful.

All of the books in this series have been recently updated and re-released. Feel free take a look!!

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Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World

by eapearce

Mitch Prinstein, the Director of Clinical Pyschology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, explains the science behind popularity—and why it can be so elusive for many—in his new book. Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World explains why whether or not we are “popular” as children plays such a huge role in our development. Whether or not we were popular in elementary school and high school has surprising effects on our careers, family life and friendships later on and, interestingly, it's difficult to change our “popularity level.” Prinstein explains that, although we can control to a certain extent whether we are popular or not, craving popularity and striving for it is part of our biology—it’s the way humans are wired.

Prinstein also delves into the difference between being popular because one is likable and being popular because one has high status. Both types of people are socially powerful, but the way others feel about them is vastly different. It’s interesting to read about the details and the science behind popularity, because it’s an issue that even the happiest among us struggle with from time to time. We can all relate to wanting to be well-liked and well-received, and Prinstein’s book offers useful advice for using and controlling those impulses.

Popular is a particularly interesting read today, as social media becomes ever more prevalent in our lives.

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Badge Drop #11: Master Blaster

by andrewjmac




Well, players, Summer Game 2017 is winding down, moving inexorably toward its inevitable end. It's sad, but we can take consolation in one thing: IT AIN'T OVER YET! And if it's FRIDAY and the GAME IS ON, that can only mean that tomorrow is Saturday...ALSO THAT THERE'S A BADGE DROP!



Since this is the FINAL BADGE DROP of Summer Game 2017, this is a very special drop, the biggest drop of the summer, the drop to end all drops: THE MASTER BADGE DROP! Every badge in this week's drop can only be obtained by earning other badges first, stacking them up, and seeing if they stack up high enough to turn into the MASTER BADGE for each series. If you've been keeping up with your badges all summer, chances are you just got a BUNCH OF NEW BADGES and BONUS POINTS just for your latest scoring event (Note: if you feel like you should have gotten a master badge and you don't see it showing up yet, try doing something to score some points (a tag, a review, a comment, anything) and it'll probably show up).



For those of your who haven't been keeping up with this year's badges, and we know who you are (seriously, we have a whole database behind this thing), we have GOOD NEWS! This year there are an unprecedented 6 DAYS after this Master Badge Drop before the end of the game! Nothing new is happening here, we didn't decide to just give you more days, it's just the way the Fridays fall (so if you've got a problem, take it up with Pope Gregory). But that means you have an extra 6 DAYS to try to get all of the master badges you can by completing as many series badges as you can. That means you've got to get on that catalog and get searching, turn on those Ann Arbor Stories podcasts and get listening, and head out to every library branch to get branch exploring and goblin gaming! You've got this!


2017 Badge Drop #11
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What about AFTER you've earned all of those master badges? What else could you possibly do? How about taking a look in the Summer Game Shop and SPENDING SOME OF THOSE MONDO MASTER BADGE BONUS POINTS? What, you say you've already bought everything you are interested in? Have you gotten one of the GOLDEN BUNDLES? You haven't even heard of them? Guess you'll have to watch this space later today to learn about the INSANE and RARE items you can find as part of this year's exciting game end packages!



And after that? Once all of the points have been SPENT? HOW ABOUT A BIG HUGE PARTY WHERE YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH OTHER SUMMER GAMERS, GEEK OUT ABOUT YOUR FAV SUMMER ACTIVITY, and, oh yeah, EARN A WHOLE BUNCH MORE POINTS?!?!! This year's GAME OVER GALA happens next Thursday, August 31 from 6 to 8 pm at the Downtown Library! A special GALA-ONLY GAME, a photo booth, even COOKIES!



So let's finish Summer Game 2017 with a BANG and see just how many MASTERS there truly are out there! See you at the Gala!



AND THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!


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Organizing Your Stuff!

by PaulaG

Do you look around your home, and wonder where all of the clutter comes from? There have been books about whether or not your belongings bring you joy, and this is an important concept; many believe that streamlining your surroundings can also help bring order to other places in life. Let’s take a moment to look at organization in a more basic way, a way to be able to get through daily life, without being overwhelmed by the clutter.

AADL offers some alternatives to scouring the internet for popular organizational hacks. The complete book of home organization, gives you tips and tricks for organizing your home inside and out. In, Cut the clutter : a simple organization plan for a clean and tidy home, the author shares how to clean and de-clutter your home, and how to keep it that way. Here’s one for caregivers that need to de-clutter both adult and kid spaces, Secrets of an organized mom: from overflowing closets to the chaotic play areas : a room-by-room guide to decluttering and streamlining your home for a happier family.

Whichever method you choose, happy organizing!

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PreK Bits - "G" is for Grandparents !

by ryanikoglu

Ms. Rachel did stories about grandparents @ Malletts Creek Branch this week.

BUNNY MONEY ... Ruby and Max go to buy a birthday gift for grandmother.
“Peel The Banana” was our activity rhyme. We prepared "Fruit Salad" for the party. We peeled ... apples, oranges, bananas .... mmmm ... and then avacados for the guacamole dip!

"The Lonely Little Candle" is an original story the Librarians pass around. The grandpa knows what's missing ... the "Little Candle" for the party!
There is not a book to tell this story. You need to remember it (and make up the parts you can't remember). =-)

For more stories with GrandParents in them ... try these favorites:
The HELLO GOODBYE WINDOW … the window is at Grandpa and Grandma’s house.
TWO IS ENOUGH … to have family fun together.
GRANDPA’S GIRLS … love to visit his farm … and share memories.
HOW To TAKE YOUR GRANDMOTHER To The MUSEUM ... a guide book that can also relate to Grandfathers!
MR FRANK ... grandfather moves in with the family and he has a special talent!
The LINES ON NANA’S FACE … each set of wrinkles reminds a child of favorite things they have done together.
OUR GRANDPARENTS: A Global Album … a beautiful multi-cultural photo essay of grandparents with grandchildren around the world.
HOW To BABYSIT A GRANDPA ... lots of great suggestions here!
HOW To BABYSIT A GRANDMA ... and more suggestions here!
HERE COMES GRANDMA is a story of all the transportation Grandma uses to get to her Grandson
OR … choose stories from GrandMothers and GrandFathers In Picture Books.

If you are a SKYPE grandparent, you can pick a story from Ms Rachel's Favorite Books to Read to Babies and read it to your grandbaby ... near or far.

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Contemporary Fiction by African Authors

by oliviabee

With the continuous popularity of books such as Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, fiction about modern Africa is becoming ever more prominent. These novels are a great learning tool to connect readers with stories and experiences they may not necessarily be familiar with. Although these authors may seem hard to come across, the library has you covered with some great recommendations. Be sure to check out this list for more modern novels written by African authors! Here are 2 intriguing titles to get you started.

Named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post is Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. Jende, a struggling Cameroonian immigrant lives in Harlem with his wife and son. When he finds an opportunity working for the Lehman Brothers in New York, he is certain his luck has improved but soon learns that everything is not what it seems. With the 2008 financial crisis serving as a backdrop, read and find out how Jende learns what it takes to make it in America, all while keeping his family together. The novel is currently being featured as apart of Oprah's book club.

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta tells a unique story about Africa. Amid a perilous interstate civil war, a young Nigerian girl is sent to a neighboring village for safety. During her stay, she meets a refugee girl of a different ethnic background and quickly falls in love. Due to cultural norms, she faces negative stigmas placed on her and her new found love leaving her to make an important decision. Does she make the choice to dishonor her host family or to fall in love? This novel was featured on NPR's Best Books of 2015 list.

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we are never meeting in real life: essays

by Nholtzman

Blogger, Samantha Irby, has written a compelling, and wickedly funny book of essays, we are never meeting in real life.

Irby's essays chronicle her life in a contemporary writing style that pays attention to form, but skirts scholarly essay convention, (fine by me, let's read essays that mean something and say it in an interesting way).

She writes about her childhood, her college years, and the years she spends working at a veterinarian office.

Irby has experienced hardships that are often difficult to write about without sounding morose. However, Irby's talent as a comedian and writer is apparent in her candid and hilarious accounts of events like adapting a cat that she, and everyone else, hates.

we are never meeting in real life: essays, has been lauded by authors like Roxane Gay and Lindy West, and has been reviewed by organizations like Kirkus.

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Refuge: A Novel

by Lucy S

At the beginning of Dina Nayeri’s expressive, well-crafted, second novel, Refuge, Dr. Bahman Hamidi sits outside a courtroom and watches the proceedings of the twelve divorce cases that proceed his. During this time, he reflects back on how he arrived at this point, the verge of ending his third marriage. He thinks of his first wife, and his son and daughter, who fled from Iran in 1987 to escape religious persecution after his wife converted to Christianity. Bahman is still plagued, in 2009, by the question of whether he did the right thing in letting them go, and in not joining them. He has only seen his family four times since they left. His daughter Niloo lives in Amsterdam with her husband, and it is her voice that narrates the alternating chapters of this book. We begin to understand her perspective on leaving Iran and her relationship to her father, on her vague memories of her early refugee years that instilled in her a “forever refugee feeling.” As the novel progresses, the story continues to jump back and forth between these decades and the points of view of Bahman and Niloo.

Refuge, rooted in the Arab Spring uprisings and the European migrant crisis, emphasises the ways in which being a refugee has marked Niloo for life. For example, when her debit card is declined while shopping for groceries in Amsterdam, due to bank error, she is shamed by the memory of her mother’s card being declined, of watching her mother put back all her food until she had only what she could pay for. “What Niloo feels is animal panic, the sensation of a world spitting her into another tier, one she has occupied before and that awaits her, that has missed her and knows she will be back.” This notion of having a foot in two worlds is a central theme in Nayeri’s book. One way Niloo manages this push and pull is to set up and live by a strict set of rules, going so far as to compose a list of written guidelines for marriage that she shares with her husband. Through this order, she strives to define and know herself, her exploration underscoring a merging of identities and cultures that may be crucial for many exiles. She meets a group Persian activists and asylum seekers, and finds herself beginning to investigate some of the choices she has made about her tightly structured life. Niloo is able to re-frame the complicated way in which she has seen her father, to realize that he has had his own struggles. The chapters that focus on Bahman provide us with a picture of a man whose life is complicated by his opium addiction, his politics, his ex-wives and his desire to see his grown children. Like Niloo, he is attempting to reconcile these disparate aspects of his reality.

The idea that one must look past the flaws of family members to seek some harmony lies at the heart of this father/daughter story. Refuge speaks to reinvention, finding new roots after being so uprooted, and to finding, perhaps embracing, the exiled parts of oneself.

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Say Zoop! Or oh or ah.

by manz

If you're a fan of Herve Tullet's book Press Here, and other interactive picture books, here's a new one for you! Author and illustrator Tullet's newest, Say Zoop!, invites the reader to press along with words that coincide with each spot. It ends up being a hilarious adventure of colors and sounds as you go from page to page pressing and saying silly sounds louder and softer as you go.

If this sounds great, check out more Press Here readalikes and interactive books that are similar! This style of interactive books are really great to read together with the little ones.