Blog Post
Asked and Answered Tips for Feeding Baby
by mansii
If you have a little one, infant through toddler, AADL has an awesome new resource for you to check out! The Pediatrician's Guide To Feeding Babies & Toddlers is hip, comprehensive, and super approachable. Breaking your child's age into three month segments, each chapter addresses developmental milestones, nutrition guidelines, expected growth, and medical concerns in an easy to follow Q & A format. It answers all the questions you never thought to ask.
Topics are as diverse as how to raise your baby as a vegetarian, and spend time addressing numerous allergies. For the do-it-from-scratch mom, there are tips on preparing your own baby food. On debatable topics (such as when to introduce solids) multiple sides are presented, giving you all the facts you need to make your own decision. With easy to follow charts, and "Real Life Parenting" stories about the struggles all moms share, this read is not only informational, but fun. My favorite part is the age-appropriate recipes at the end of each chapter that will pass the bar for the most health-conscious mother, and the most taste-conscious little one. Dairy Free Sweet Potato Pudding anyone?
Click here for more great AADL resources on feeding baby.
Blog Post
Happy 100th Birthday, Beverly Cleary!
by manz
Beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary turns 100 years old today! Her books have been adored by many for decades and she has left quite a mark on children’s literature. Her first book was published in 1950, and her first book about the Quimbys, Beezus and Ramona, was published in 1955.
Popular books include Henry and Ribsy, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ramona the Pest, and Dear Mr. Henshaw, which won Cleary a Newbery Medal in 1984. I remember devouring these books as a child, and they definitely boosted my interest in reading.
What are you or your child’s favorites?
Blog Post
Matisse’s Garden
by manz
This gorgeous picture book features reproductions of artworks by French artist Henri Matisse. Matisse’s Garden tells how he began cutting paper shapes and how his process evolved into large scale works of art that are so recognizable today. It beautifully captures the essence of the color, pattern, and shapes in his work. It’s a beautiful book for art admirers of all ages. I also recommend Henri’s Scissors, and if you want more perhaps you’ll enjoy these other books on Matisse.
Blog Post
Witty New Picture Books!
by eapearce
Readers of all ages will enjoy the brand new book A Hungry Lion, Or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals, by Lucy Cummins. The book opens with a depiction of a hungry lion surrounded by various other animals, including but not limited to a penguin, a little calico kitten, a bunny with floppy ears and a bunny with non-floppy ears, a koala, a pig, and a slightly bigger pig. As readers turn the pages, more and more animals disappear until only the hungry lion and the turtle remain. Who’s stealing all the animals?! Or could the answer to their departure be a little closer to home…? This absolutely charming book allows young problem solvers to begin to guess what’s going on, then delights all with a lovely twist at the end.
In Skunk on a String, by Thao Lam, readers are introduced to skunk who has been tied to the string of a bright pink balloon. This wordless picture book shows the skunk passing through various city scenes, including a bustling parade, a construction site, and a traffic jam, and then ultimately landing on top of a Ferris wheel. Try as he might, Skunk cannot seem to find anyone to untie him… but when he’s finally able to free himself from the balloon he finds that he misses life in the air and devises a unique plan to be able to fly again. The art in this book is created through paper collage in whimsical colors and patterns, capturing urban life in the exact right way. Readers will delight in the new vantage point offered by Skunk while he is on his balloon voyage!
Blog Post
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
by manz
It’s FestiFools weekend in Ann Arbor and today is the BIG robot costume making workshop for tomorrow’s spectacle on Main St.! So of course some of us have robots on the mind around here. You may have heard some wonderful robot stories told at storytimes the past few weeks. Here is a darling new bedtime book that’s a new favorite robot picture book.
In Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep a little boy is trying to get his robots to go to sleep, but they come up with every excuse as to why they can’t. (Sounds a bit like putting kids to bed!) “Three little robots, time for bed, Time to dim your infrared.” The rhyming text, adorable pictures, and ROBOTS will have kids wanting to read this over and over at bedtime. If you're still feelin' the bots the next morning, here is a handy list of even more robot books.
Blog Post
Free High Quality Preschool!
by Beth Manuel
Children who attend a high quality program in the year or two before kindergarten are better prepared for school academically, socially and emotionally.The Washtenaw County Quality Preschool Partnership is a collaboration of school districts and community-based providers who offer state (GSRP) and federally (Head Start) funded preschool services for low to moderate income families. There are preschool locations throughout the County with a wide range of classroom schedules to meet varying stages of preschool development. Enrollment begins March 1, 2016. For enrollment information go to the links provided or call 1-800-777-2861.
Blog Post
A bear finds a piano in the woods....
by eapearce
The Bear and the Piano, by first-time author David Litchfield, is an adorable look at the life of a celebrity musician. When a bear finds a strange object in the woods, he isn’t sure what it is—though readers will of course, notice right away that it is a piano. He touches it experimentally, and is shocked at the sound that comes out! Over time, he teaches himself to play, and becomes a world-famous musician. Litchfield uses this charming story to explore the life of an actual musician. The necessity of “days and weeks and months and years” of practice, the wonder of fame coupled with the loneliness of leaving home, and the exhaustion of traveling and performing. The bear is worried that his friends back in the forest may have forgotten him but when he returns in his rumpled tuxedo, he finds that they have been eagerly following his career, rooting for him the whole way! And of course, it is always friends who are the best audience of all.
Publisher’s Weekly gave The Bear and the Piano a starred review, calling it a “tenderly moving story about embracing one’s potential while remembering one’s roots.” Put it on hold today!
Blog Post
The Night Gardener
by eapearce
Wow! The brand new children's book The Night Gardener is not only a beautiful story, but is stunningly illustrated as well. This is the first book by Canadian sibling duo The Fan Brothers (separately known as Terry and Eric). The book uses sparse language and large, intricate pictures to tell the story of a gray, gloomy town transformed by a mysterious figure known as "the night gardener." One morning, residents of Grimloch Lane wake up to find a large tree transformed into an owl topiary. The people are amazed! Who created this beautiful creature? When did he or she have time to do it? And why? Every night, more topiaries are created: elephants, rabbits, birds, and more. As the townspeople come together to admire the art each morning, their gloom starts to lift. They look forward to the day ahead, and to the people they will meet and talk to at the trees. One little boy in particular is fascinated by the topiaries, and when he stumbles upon the night gardener himself at work one night, his life is forever changed for the better.
This book--which would make a beautiful gift!--is truly one for readers of all ages, although little ones will be particularly fascinated by the wonderfully depicted transformed trees that grace nearly every page. I'm looking forward to whatever The Fan Brothers create next!
Blog Post
Who Done It?
by manz
That’s the name of a super cute new picture book! Who Done It? by Olivier Tallec does not feature a story, but a series of simple who questions and matching sets of illustrations where the reader figures out which image answers the question of who did a particular thing. It’s adorable! Some are pretty funny and kids will get a kick out of them. It’s a great book that further encourages children to use visual clues to help understand the world around them as well as gain insight into human emotion.
Blog Post
The Bear…
by manz
Benjamin Chaud has written and illustrated some lovely picture books for children! I really enjoyed The Bear’s Song, and the next adventures for bear in these new ones in the series are sweet as well.
They are large format with small nearly full-page illustrations, which is perfect for little ones to play “I Spy,” like in Where's Waldo, to follow along in the pictures while the words are read aloud to them. In The Bear’s Sea Escape Papa bear is looking for a place to hibernate and follows Baby Bear to a cruise ship, and winds up on a tropical island. In The Bear’s Surprise Little Bear searches for his father along a forest path that leads him to a mysterious cave, an exciting circus, and a family surprise.
They are all fun little adventure stories that keeps young readers entertained.