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Film & Video Events

Special Film Screening: Lincoln Center Local: Mariachi Flor de Toloache

Saturday May 6, 2017: 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

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Blog Post

Get More Out Of This Year's Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads

by valerieclaires

If you’re ready for Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2016, be sure to check out the Reads Website! At aaypsireads.org, you’ll find all sorts of information and resources to help you get more out of this year’s Read and how to lead your own community discussion.

If you still need to get a copy of The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez, stop in to any location and pick one up from the display shelf or head over to the catalog and choose from several different formats. We have paperbacks, large print, audiobooks, and even a Spanish translation. Copies of the book are also available at the Ypsilanti District Library and at area bookstores.

Take a look at the Resources page, with loads of resources especially for book clubs following along with the Read. There is a Reader’s Guide with discussion questions, tips for hosting a book discussion and keeping it on track, and even download-and-print posters to promote your book discussion or other Reads-related event. If you do plan to host an event, let us know! We’ll list it with other Reads-related programming throughout January and February, including our Latino Americans: 500 Years of History film series. You can also find lists of films about the Latino experience and immigration, a few podcasts about the book and Latino culture, and the author's recommendations of the best books of 2015.

Finally, be sure to mark your calendar for a special visit from the author, Cristina Henriquez, on Tuesday, February 23 at 7 pm. Ms. Henriquez will be at the Towsley Auditorium on the campus of Washtenaw Community College to discuss her writing and especially The Book of Unknown Americans. Books will be for sale, and there will also be a booksigning following the talk.

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Blog Post

Dia De La Familia Latina

by Beth Manuel

Join us Sunday, October 4th, 2:30-5pm at the downtown AADL, as we partner with the U of M Comprehensive Cancer Center to bring you Dia de la Familia Latina. This informational program - which takes place during National Hispanic Heritage Month - will include health information and resources from local community agencies and organizations, and aims to raise awareness of cancer and other health issues among Latinos. Refreshments and other fun activities will be provided including crafts, face painting, and the talented Magician Cesar Domico to perform for all!

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Crafts

Day of the Dead/El Dia de los Muertos Tissue Paper Flowers

Wednesday October 28, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Adults, Teens, And Youth In Kindergarten And Up.

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Blog Post

AADL World Languages Audiobook Collection

by BugsAndSlugs

Did you know the AADL has audiobooks in many languages? If you're learning a new language (or already know a few!), check out some of these titles:

Award Winning Audiobooks:

The Pulitzer Prize winning story, Enrique's Journey (Spanish) by Sonia Nazario

The Harry Potter series in German and French.

Classic Literature:

Of Mice and Men (French) by John Steinbeck

Old Man and the Sea (Chinese) by Ernest Hemingway

For Kids:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Spanish) by C.S. Lewis

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Italian) by Lewis Carroll

For more fiction and nonfiction audiobooks in Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, browse our World Languages Collection!

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Blog Post

Dia De La Familia Latina

by Beth Manuel

The excitement will be Sunday October 6th at the downtown library of AADL, as we unite with The U of M Comprehensive Cancer Center to bring Dia de la Familia Latina. This event is aimed at raising awareness of cancer & other health issues among Latinos. We will be featuring the countries of Argentina and Brazil This informational activity - which takes place during National Hispanic Heritage Month - will include health information and resources from local community agencies & organizations that serve Hispanics and Latinos. There will also be fun crafts & activities for children as well as refreshments and entertainment for all! Join us Sunday from 2:00-5:00 pm!

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Blog Post

Benjamin Alire Saenz makes history -- he is the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner literary award

by sernabad

Benjamin Alire Saenz, a novelist from Texas, has become the first Latino to win the prestigious 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his collection of short stories, Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club (on order). Set along the border between the U.S. and Mexico, near the Rio Grande, Saenz's stories focus on the people who live and work along Avenida Juarez.

Saenz is no stranger to awards. Among the honors he has collected over the years as a poet and a novelist are the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry in 1993 and the Southwest Book Award in 1996, given by Border Regional Library Association, for Carry Me Like Water. 1995.

Saenz, 58, was born in New Mexico. A former Catholic priest, he is now the Chairman of Creative Writing at the University of Texas, El Paso. This latest honor comes with a $15,000 check.

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Blog Post

Teen Stuff: Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

by manz

I’ve declared 2013 the year of reading, and I’ve been on a mad tear reading a lot of young adult fiction, and so far Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by poet Benjamin Alire Sáenz, has been my favorite. It is beautifully written, is magically captivating, and I read it in a day.

In January the book won several awards at the Youth Media Awards including a coveted Printz Honor Award, the Stonewall Award, and the Belpré Award.

15 year old Angel Aristotle Mendoza (Ari) is practically an only child with two older sisters and a ghost of a brother who has been in prison for as long as Ari can remember. It’s hard for Ari growing up in a quiet house with so much unspoken regarding his brother and his dad’s past in Vietnam. He has no friends until one day at the community pool he meets a kid named Dante Quintana when he offers to teach Ari how to swim. The boys spend forever laughing when they realize their names are Dante and Aristotle and an immediate bond is formed, just in time for summer.

While they form a strong friendship, Dante's family life is very different from Ari’s. His father is a professor and he and Dante are forever reading and discussing books. It’s not long before Ari gets in on the action as well. The self-assured Dante talks in his unusual way and draws, Ari is an angry sort of quiet and listens, and the boys read and swim and have summer teen adventures, until one day tragedy strikes. What will happen to their friendship as their lives begin to change? It’s a touching, coming of age story about friendship and loyalty, figuring out who you are, discovering family secrets, dealing with tragedy, and just trying to get by in this Universe.

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Blog Post

Hands-On Science Fun!

by Beth Manuel

Join us on Thursday, October 4th at 6:30 pm for this Hands On Science Workshop. Learn some science experiments and watch some cool demos based on traditional and new concepts in science and engineering. Explore the "fun" side of science and engineering. Presented by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and Proyecto Avance: Latino Mentoring Association (PALMA) from the University of Michigan. Be sure to bring your curiosity and energy for a night guaranteed to make you interested in becoming a scientist or engineer!

This event is for Grades K - 8. Parents and caregivers are also welcome.