Blog Post
Storytimes: S is for Snake! Sssssss!
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories about snakes! Ssssssss! We heard Mama Hen’s Big Day, where Mama Hen has to find the perfect place to lay her beautiful egg, and The Gruffalo, where mouse plays a trick on all the forest creatures (including snake, of course!). We also read The Snake Who Said Shhh, by Jodie Parachini and heard the story of Samantha the snake who lost her silly snake siblings while babysitting and had to go search for them!
AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and are free and open to the public. For details about our storytimes at every location, visit the Jump page!
Blog Post
Storytimes: H is for Heart
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories with hearts in them! We heard about The Love-Me Bird, who has to change her call to find a mate, and saw zoo animals made out of hearts in the book My Heart is Like a Zoo. We also heard the brightly colored rhyme The Shape of My Heart and the gentle classic story A Kiss for Little Bear. And we got some love letters in the mail in a special Valentine’s rhyme (even though it’s April!).
AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and take place at all of our locations and are free and open to the public. For a full list of our storytimes visit our JUMP page, specifically for parents and teachers.
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.
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.
Blog Post
From the "Neighborhood": A2 Native Ben Cowan's Art Installed at Westgate
by christopherporter
The Ann Arbor District Library's Westgate branch is filled with new things. After all, it just reopened in September 2016 after a massive expansion and remodel.
But even newer than the computers, coffee shop, and shiny shiny bathrooms are three large paintings by Ann Arbor native Ben Cowan. The video above gives you a guided tour of Cowan's paintings. We also interviewed the artist about growing up in Ann Arbor, his influences, and how he came to create the works from his Neighborhood Views series, which have ended up finding permanent homes in the library.
Q: You grew up in Ann Arbor. Any specific memories of coming to the library as a kid?
A: An early memory I have from growing up in Ann Arbor and going to the AADL as a kid is the summer reading programs. I remember desperately wanting to earn bookmarks and other prizes for reading books. As a middle school and high schooler, in the pre-internet streaming days, the library was the place I discovered all kinds of music, classic movies, and art documentaries. Frequently I could be spotted checking out as many art books as I could carry home. In the video discussing my paintings I describe the library as a place of "equality." I picked that word specifically, not to be buzzword savvy but because I really think it's true. The library is one of the few places that any individual who has a lot or a little can access so much information and resources. I always wander the aisles of libraries looking for things I didn’t know about, take a couple books to a chair and learn something.
Q: What schools did you go to and were there any art teachers along the way who inspired & encouraged you?
A: I went to Haisley Elementary, Forsythe Middle School, and one year at Pioneer High School before transferring and finishing at Washtenaw Technical Middle College (WTMC).
Middle school was when art became a strong focus for me personally and the Forsythe art teacher Mrs. Austin gave me a tremendous amount of freedom and encouragement. Her art class was by far my favorite hour of the day.
High school was an interesting time of life. I found a home working behind the scenes of the Pioneer Theater Guild. I designed a few of the show posters, one stage set, and learned to paint faux-wood panels. Meanwhile, during some of my summers, I was attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. It was here I met Patrick Schmidt, a wonderful painter and teacher, and he was the first to challenge me to think and see like an artist.
At WTMC, I was able to pursue an associate degree in graphic design along with fulfilling high school academic credits. The entire teaching staff in the graphic design and art departments were phenomenal. The seriousness of the classes and expectation of quality really pushed me as such a young student. I don’t think you can get away with this at WTMC now, but I was able to craft a schedule allowing me to graduate late and fill my class load with non-required fine-art classes. I was so lucky to study with Fred Horowitz, Jon Onye Lockard, and Elaine Wilson.
Q: How did the AADL come to acquire your paintings?
A: The three paintings are from a series named Neighborhood View. I painted these at the finale of my grad school studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. ... Bloomington reminded me so much of Ann Arbor and I really thought of these works as a hybrid of both landscapes. I tried to put everything in these paintings that I had experienced and remembered. Rather than paint directly from a specific location, I developed these paintings in my studio from memories of views while walking around and paintings of art history. This buffer of time allowed for the more imaginative space, multiple references, and paint handling that is present in the work.
Q: Any particular influences on this paintings?
A: A lot of different art influences inspired these paintings. There is some post-impressionism, mainly Vuillard, specifically a piece at the Art Institute of Chicago called Foliage—Oak Tree and Fruit Seller. Plus a variety of more modern and contemporary painters like Josef Albers, Fairfield Porter, Jonas Wood, and certainly David Hockney. I was very interested in early Northern Renaissance paintings while working on this series. Paintings from that period illustrate a narrative across the landscape and will often have what we understand to be distorted spaces and exaggerated proportions. What’s exciting is how your eye navigates through the distant spaces and the artists craft little pockets where separate events of a bigger story are happening. The painting is seen all at once, unlike a movie or TV show, but with sustained time observing the painting can reveal a sub or supporting narrative.
Q: When did you move to NYC? How often do you come back to A2?
A: We moved to NYC in fall 2012 after living in Ann Arbor for a year and a half post-grad school. Moving was a decision to live in a bigger city with more opportunities and more diversity. Then the opportunity to work for Jeff Koons as a painting assistant came and enable me to move with my family to the Big Apple. I try to get back to Ann Arbor about once a year to visit family and friends.
Current AADL Art Exhibits:
➥ 2017 AIA Honors Award Exhibit through February 27
➥ Coloring with the Masters: Quilts Based on Selected Artists' Work, Aussome Study Group through February 27
➥ Real and Surreal: Art Teachers as Artists through March 16
Christopher Porter is a Library Technician and editor of Pulp.
Blog Post
Storytime: W is for Wind!
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Westgate and Traverwood, AADL storyteller Elizabeth shared stories about wind! Whoooosh! An old man complained about his noisy house and the wind outside in Too Much Noise, until the town’s wise woman solved his problem in a unique way. Ben floated away to the moon with his red balloon in Come Back, Ben and the mouse and his boat were blown every which way by the wind in The Mouse and the Wind, a story from Arnold Lobel’s classic Mouse Tales. We also tracked down the owner of a lovely hat that the wind had whisked away in Whose Hat Is That?
For more windy favorites for preschoolers, try Windblown by Edouard Manceau and The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins.
Blog Post
Storytimes: D is for Dog!
by eapearce
Elizabeth shared Dog stories this week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate! We heard about the adorable, yet misbehaving dog who wouldn’t drop the shoe in Drop It, Rocket … until he heard a story, of course! Farm animals had to bravely venture into the scary doghouse to find their missing ball in Jan Thomas’ The Doghouse. Mack the dog ate a cake intended for the farmer in The Cake That Mack Ate, and we met a “talking” dog in Lois Ehlert’s Rrralph! Of course, storytime wouldn’t have been complete without a rousing version of B-I-N-G-O!
AADL’s new Westgate storytimes take place three times a week in the program room:
Mondays, from 11:00-11:30am
Wednesdays, from 1:00-1:30pm
Fridays, from 10:00-10:30am
Storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 years. All are welcome and no sign-up or registration is required.
Blog Post
Westgate is looking for a few good hands! (And eyes, and smiles)
by shurand
In preparation for the grand reopening of the Westgate Branch, AADL has opportunities for community members who want to lend a hand. Adult volunteers (ages 18+) can help staff complete specific projects at Westgate in late August - early September before the branch opens (exact dates and times TBD). Those wishing to sign up should email volunteer(at)aadl(dot)org by 8/18/16 with the following information:
- subject line: "Westgate Volunteer"
- first and last name
- birthdate (day/month/year)
- phone number (cell phone preferred)
- any questions or additional information about yourself that may be important for staff to know
Our Volunteer Coordinator will contact interested participants when specific volunteer shifts become available.
The deadline to sign up is Thursday, 8/18/16.
Blog Post
Amazing Magazines!
by iralax
Whether you call them periodicals, zines or just plain magazines you will find some cool selections in the aadl magazine collection which, except for the current issue, can be put on hold with your library card and borrowed for two weeks. Titles like Michigan Riparian, Pointe, Bee Culture, Brick Journal, Treasures, Babybug, Cheng Ming, Scrapbooking & Beyond, G.I. jobs, or a multitude of popular glossies can be browsed at the library or at aadl.org. That’s also where you can click on Research and use the General Reference Center Gold database for magazines that we no longer carry. No matter what you call them, AADL has a magazine for everyone!
Blog Post
AADL Bags Make Great Holiday Gift Wrap
by rebouleto
This year, consider wrapping your holiday gifts in something their recipients can actually use: an attractive, reusable AADL tote bag.
These little numbers come in black, emblazoned on one side with our fetching teal logo. They look pretty sharp when coordinated with a contrasting color of tissue paper (I'm liking blue, red and silver). Oh, and did I mention they're only $1?
Wow your friends and family this holiday season with your eco-friendliness and discerning sense of style! Our totes are roomy enough to hold your holiday gifts, as well as groceries for years to come. AADL totes are for sale at the circulation desks of all branches of the library. This year, wrap in the gift that keeps on giving!