An Encounter with the Elegant and Sensitive Verse of Misuzu Kaneko

Sat, 10/22/2016 - 12:22pm by mansii

Early 20th century Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko inspires wonder and compassion in her writing. Her poems ask questions close to the heart of a child, and step into the slippers of things as plain as the snow under our shoes. The tale of her short life is clouded by hardship, but her poetry brims with a celebration of being alive.

"Snow on top
must feel chilly,
the cold moonlight piercing it.

Snow on the bottom
must feel burdened
by the hundred who tread on it.

Snow in the middle
must feel lonely
with neither earth nor sky to look at."

For the first time, Kaneko's poetry is being made available in North America by a team of translators and journalists passionate about sharing her legacy with the world. Kaneko's work is highly respected in Japan, being standard material in literature classes, and now English speakers have the opportunity to see what is so special about her in the book Are You An Echo?: The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko.

Written at a child's level, this book narrates Kaneko's life story while presenting a whole collection of her poems in translation, with the original Japanese verse alongside. Besides providing an encounter with this lovely woman of words specifically, Are You An Echo? subtly teaches children how to understand and appreciate poetry in general. This is personally one of my favorite publications of the year.

Sustainability Forum: Sustainable Kids

Thursday March 9, 2017: 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
All Ages

City of Ann Arbor 2017 Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum: Driverless Vehicles Coming Down the Pike

Thursday February 9, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

City of Ann Arbor 2017 Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum: Green Your Home DIY

Thursday January 12, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

World Penguin Day Celebration

Saturday April 22, 2017: 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Westgate Branch: West Side Room
Preschool - Grade 5

Penguin Awareness Day

Friday January 20, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Westgate Branch: West Side Room
Preschool - Grade 5

A Magical Wordsmith and a Kaleidescoping Artist

Mon, 10/03/2016 - 2:31pm by mansii

What happens when one of the most cherished children's authors of all time gets written about by one of the most creative book illustrators of all time? You get Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White. Caldecott winning artist Melissa Sweet, who creates unique scrap-booked worlds of kaleidoscopic color, depicts the creator of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little in a biography written for the young, but treasured by all.

E.B. White is known as a wordsmith like no other, using one choice phrase to paint whole, vivid pictures. His works are fantastical, blending the impossible with the ordinary so smoothly that we might easily believe he paints the real world while we are the ones dreaming. His characters may not aggrandize wealth or change the world, but they are rich in kindness, brave in friendship, and they transform homesteads and barns into places of hope and joy. Given the stamp of approval by White’s grand-daughter Martha White, Sweet reveals how White's three novels and numerous writings for the New Yorker came to be. She pays special attention to how the details of White's "real life" shaped the fictional worlds he spun. Especially with the numerous photographs, illustrations from the original books, letter excerpts, and draft excerpts that Sweet includes, reading this book feels like meeting a friend.

Melissa Sweet's illustrations are filled with details you can linger over, and images that have an atmospheric quality that let's you immerse yourself in White's world. Her words celebrate a man who had an appreciation for the miracles of nature, a reverence for life, and a passion to tell straight what bubbles out of ones heart, without trying to please the crowds.

Advent Reflections from Michigan's Northern Woods with Author Gayle Boss

Saturday November 12, 2016: 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room

Perfect Pies & Tarts

Wednesday November 9, 2016: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Secret Lab
Grade 6 - Adult

Attracting native pollinators

Sat, 07/30/2016 - 2:31pm by ballybeg

Wild milkweed comes up in my garden all by itself. It is so strongly fragrant and so appealing to all kinds of bees, butterflies, and other winged creatures, that on one hot day, when the flowers were fully open, I counted 17 different species of insects hovering in those flowers, all at the same time. My cultivated varieties of garden flowers did not host anywhere near so many, though the white flowers on my marjoram were a close second. I could not actually identify most of these little creatures. So, knowing the great resources at my public library, I found all of these books to satisfy my curiosity about exactly what is inhabiting my garden flowers. Each insect was beautiful, in its own way; all sizes and many colors, with some sparkling and iridescent,. Now I want to know how to invite even more to the garden party, and these books have helped in that pursuit. As populations of pollinators are in decline, it is simple and rewarding to provide some habitat to encourage and sustain their health and activity in our gardens and farms. They will return the favor many times over.

The bee-friendly garden : design an abundant, flower-filled yard that nurtures bees and supports biodiversity
Attracting native pollinators : protecting North America's bees and butterflies : the Xerces Society guide
Gardening for butterflies:how you can attract and protect beautiful and beneficial insects
The humblebee hunter : inspired by the life & experiments of Charles Darwin and his children
The living landscape : designing for beauty and biodiversity in the home garden
Bringing nature home : how you can sustain wildlife with native plants
The bees in your backyard : a guide to North America's bees
A buzz in the meadow : the natural history of a French farm
Touch a butterfly : wildlife gardening with kids