Press enter after choosing selection
Graphic for events post

Blog Post

50th Anniversary of The Outsiders

by manz

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the novel The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, which she started to write at the age of 15. Fifty years, and never out of print, the book is still relevant and read today, touching many generations.

It’s a coming of age tale narrated by Ponyboy, a teen living in small town Oklahoma with his two brothers. Living on the poor side of town and known as Greasers, they and their friends face daily run-ins with the kids from the other side of town – the Socs.

In 1983 a film version of The Outsiders directed by Francis Ford Coppola was released, starring many up and coming young actors who got their break in the film. In 2005 a new version of the film was released, which includes additional scenes that add to the story. The intense behind-the-scenes casting process also included is priceless.

Reading and watching as a kid in the 80s, it was one of the first films and books that had a profound effect on me.

Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

Graphic for events post

Writing & Publishing

Fifth Avenue Press Book Release Reception: AADL's Local Publishing Imprint

Sunday November 5, 2017: 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Downtown Library: 3rd Floor Open Area
Grade 6 - Adult

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Revolutionary Dames

by potterbee

Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson incorporates the stories over 80 women who contributed to the success of the American Revolutionary war. A great read this time of year while the country gathers to celebrate our hard won independence! With a timeline running along the bottom of the pages, young readers can learn of some important events beginning in 1765 up through 1791 with the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

At the age of 16, Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles to spread the word of an eminent British attack which prepared over 400 militia men. Phillis Wheatley came to be known as one of the most famous poets of the Revolution Abigail Adams is a very notable woman as wife to President Adams. Click on the highlighted names which link to the catalog for materials to explore these women's stories.

Women were often left to guard the villages and farms and defend themselves against British troops demanding food and supplies. Some women wanted to fight and joined up with the militia but had to be in disguise as a man, it was illegal for women to join the army. Deborah Sampson was arrested upon her first attempt to enlist, so she fled her town and joined up with the militia later. She fought in many battles and was wounded twice! Her story is written about in the novel Revolutionary by Alex Myers.

There are many historical fiction books based in the time of the revolution. Another gem by Laurie Halse Anderson is Chains, set in New York City at the beginning of the American Revolution. Thirteen year old Isabel tells the story of her life as a slave, her hopes of finding a way to freedom and how she becomes a spy for the rebels. In Patriot hearts, Barbara Hambly presents the lives of four founding mothers: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Sally Hemings, and Dolley Madison over the years of 1787 to 1814.

A couple other books for young readers to check out are Great women of the American Revolution and True stories of the Revolutionary War

Finally, a non-fiction book for older readers to enjoy is Revolutionary mothers by Carol Berkin which moves beyond the better known women of that time and serves as an overview of the remarkable contributions made by a cultural cross section of women during the course of the American Revolution.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

An ode to Raina!

by manz

Okay, you love Raina Telgemeir’s books as much as we do. You met her at A2CAF, and she was great, and now you want to read more of her books. You can’t get enough and need more ASAP, but you’ve already read Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts. And you just can't read any more Baby-Sitters Club. What to do?

Here are some graphic novels NOT by Raina that are readalikes you might also enjoy, nicely compiled on a list for your browsing and placing-holds pleasure!

Here are a few to get you started:
In Roller Girl we have friends who may or may not be growing apart when they find different interests. (The book won a Newbery Honor award in 2016.)
In Awkward we learn how one girl copes with surviving middle school.

Give ‘em a shot! And check out the full list to keep your SUMMER READING going on all summer long. (Some books are better suited for 6th graders vs. 2nd graders and vice versa. You decide!)

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Storytimes: G is for Gardening!

by eapearce

This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories about gardening! We heard about industrious Rabbit, who tricks lazy Bear in Tops and Bottoms. We also heard the story of the trickster Anansi the spider who doesn’t want to help with the community garden in The Talking Vegetables. We read the classic Planting a Rainbow, by Lois Ehlert and discovered what animals were hiding in our gardens in There’s Something in My Garden.

Preschool storytimes at the AADL are intended for ages 2-5 and are free and open to the public. You can see our full storytime schedule here.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Feeling Blue for the Blue Covered Book

by LibraryLiz

So, again - this one time at the library...there was that book you saw on a shelf, with a blue cover, that caught your eye. But, once again, you had to pass it by. Well, if you find yourself in need of that long lost spark of interest, I maybe, perhaps, might have the book for you! I've found it important to the readers and long-lost book interests to create a second list of books that have, or have had, blue covers - whether or not their most recent editions have blue covers now, they did at some point! Plus, this list is welcome to all kinds of blue covers...

Whether it be a deep blue of the world-wide sensation Outlander, a sky-blue, with clouds included, of the book A Long Way Down, or perhaps a blue-grey of the best-seller turned film All the Light We Cannot See, all blues are welcome on this compilation list. But this list isn't just for the adults on the interwebs! There's also a wide age range available for the younger reader feeling blue...

Be it from the Teen section like Stargirl, King's Cage, or maybe Stormbreaker this list has many blue bindings that you might have left on the shelf for a later date. Even the youth may have left an enchanting book resting on it's display, such as The Warden's Daughter or Ready, Set, Build!. This list also provides you with options from every genre in the library...

Maybe you were passing by the express shelf and snuck a peek at A Great Reckoning or Here's To Us? Maybe browsing through the fantasy section to find A Discovery of Witches? Could have been possibly perusing Mystery and seen The Big Overnight on the shelf? What about the non-fiction readers, who may have strolled through the stacks seeing covers that advertised self improvement or a conservation crisis!

This list has ALL THE THINGS (or would like to have) and is growing each day!!! Please feel free to take a look, and make comments of other blue-covered books you think others may be searching for, so the list can continue to grow! Just think: someone out there could be looking for a blue book jacket that you've read before - maybe you have the answer they've been looking for as the search the numerous volumes of AADL. Or perhaps you yourself have been searching, and the book is in this list already!!! Only one way to find out!

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Kids’ Summer Reading Lists!

by manz

Summertime is here! The last day of school is upon us. The SUMMER GAME starts tomorrow! It’s time to grab some books to fill all your summer adventures.

Here are some 2017 summer reading lists that were compiled by Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) that cover a variety of ages and genres. Below are AADL public lists of them to make for easy browsing within our collection. Be sure to check out some of these great titles, everything from board books, picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels!!

Birth–Preschool Summer Reading List

Grades K–2 Summer Reading List

Grades 3–5 Summer Reading List

Grades 6–8 Summer Reading List

What's on the top of your reading list this summer?

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

The Bright Hour

by Lucy S

Nina Riggs’ stunning memoir, The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, was written in the last two years of her life. At the age of 37, with two young boys and a dying mother to care for, Riggs was diagnosed with breast cancer, “just a spot,” that accelerated rapidly to become terminal. This astonishingly moving, never maudlin book, is not filled with the sadness that one might expect to find in these circumstances, but instead is made up of episodes, small and large, presented to us in Riggs’ forthright and humored tone. Riggs, once a poet, writes of hours and days simply and eloquently, reminding us that these moments are the ones making up her life, no matter their content. This book is infused with anecdotes from the front lines of motherhood and marriage, which just happened to be peppered with “dispatches” from the world of a fast-moving cancer and its treatments. Riggs is no stranger to the disease. Her mother has been living with and dying from cancer for the past 8 years. As her mother passes her last days in hospice she relays her regrets for Riggs, that she (Riggs) had been nicer and seen a dentist more often. This pairing of the profound with the trifling details of everyday runs throughout Riggs’ memoir and lends itself to the poetry of Riggs’ words. “I’m terrified. I’m fine. The world is changed and exactly as before. There are crows in my hair. I have no hair.”

Riggs is brave to face cancer with as much acceptance and wit as she does. One wonders if some of her bravery stems from the precept passed down through generations by her great-great-great grandfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “always do what you are afraid to do.” Riggs looks to, and sites, Emerson often, as well as the French philospher Michel de Montaigne, and finds comfort in their viewpoints toward the natural world, life, and death. There are moments though, when Riggs finds it difficult to summon courage and understanding, and they are heartbreaking, as when she thinks of leaving her children. “Their very existence is the one dark piece I cannot get right within all this. I can let go of a lot of things: plans, friends, career goals, places in the world I want to see, maybe even the love of my life. But I cannot figure out how to let go of mothering them.”

Also heartbreaking is that we will never get more writing from Riggs. This book reads as if she is in conversation with her reader, often in the present tense, imbued with humor and fine points, so that when it’s over we are left mourning the book’s conclusion as well as the life of its writer.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Seeing Red...Or Saw it Once...

by LibraryLiz

This one time at the library...there was that book you saw on a shelf, with a red cover, that piqued your interest - but, for whatever reason, you had to pass it by. Well now! If you find yourself hankering for that long lost spark of interest, I may have the book for you! I've recently been compelled to create a list of books that have, or have had, red covers - whether or not their most recent editions have red covers now, they did at some point! Plus, this list is welcome to all kinds of red covers...

Whether it be a fire-engine red of the debut novel Push, a pinkish-red hue of the biography Georgia, or perhaps an orange-red of the best-seller turned film The Circle, all reds are welcome on this compilation list. But this list isn't just for the adults on the internets! There's also a wide age range available for the younger reader seeing red...

Be it from the Teen section like Ruby Red, The Burning Bridge, or maybe Eldest this list has many red hot reads that you might have left on the shelf for a later date. Even the youth may have left an enchanting book resting on it's display, such as The Battle of the Labyrinth. This list also provides you with options from every genre in the library...

Maybe you were browsing through Science Fiction and found Red Rising or Ready Player One? Could have been possibly perusing Mystery and seen False Picture on the shelf? What about the non-fiction readers, who may have browsed through the stacks seeing covers that advertised career development or scientific marvels!

This list has ALL THE THINGS (or would like to have) and is growing each day!!! Please feel free to take a look, and make comments of other red-covered books you think others may be searching for, so the list can continue to grow! Just think: someone out there could be looking for a red-covered jacket that you've read before - maybe you have the answer they've been looking for as the search the numerous volumes we have here at AADL. Or perhaps you yourself have been searching, and the book is in this list already!!! Only one way to find out!

Graphic for events post

Lectures & Panel Discussions

Lights, Camera, Austen: the screen adaptations of Jane Austen

Wednesday December 13, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Westgate Branch: West Side Room