Library Updates and New Arrivals 5/19/08 - 5/24/08

As we progress in moving to a new library automation system, please remember to come into the library to fill out a new library card application! 

We hope, within a year's time, to go live with the new system and you will be receiving a new library card! 

Moving to a new automation system is essential for our library and for our patrons. As technology progresses, your library should be doing the same. In the future a couple of the main features that we are excited about are; you will be able to manage your library account online and will have access to our online library catalogue!

We hope that you are as excited about moving to a new system as we are!

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At this week's storytime, the kids got to take home something special for Mom and Dad! A new PET Rock! They kids decorated their new bets with feathers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and other random craft objects. 

Miss Donna read, "How Much is that Doggy in the Window?" by Iza Trapani and "Raccoon Tune" by Nancy Shaw.

Next week is Miss Donna's last week to do storytime for the spring! The last two weeks, Miss Lorie will be holding storytime for the kids! Rumor has it, the kids might be making Kites! 

Remember that the last story time for the Spring is on June 3rd.

Then it will be time for the SUMMER READING PROGRAM!!!

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This year's 2008 Summer Reading Program theme is "Catch the Reading Bug."

June 10 - August 2 

Sign-up begins Tuesday, June 10th at 10 am at the library!

We won't be accepting phone reservations until after 12 noon that day! (810.798.3100) Remember that pre-registration is required for all of the SRP performances! Signing up for the program itself does not require pre-registration.

Performances this year are:

June 24th @ 11am - Animal Encounters

July 8th @ 11am & 1pm - Kevin Kammeraad 

[Poetry, Puppetry, Music]

July 15th @ 11am, 12:30pm, & 2pm - Science Alive

July 22nd @ 11am & 1pm - Joel Tracey

[Comedy & Juggling]

July 29th @ 11am & 1pm - Fields of Flutter, Butterflies

The Almont District Library celebrates the Summer Reading Program to help promote and encourage reading for kids of all ages. 

For every 2 hours that a child reads (or a parent reads to the child), he or she will receive prizes up to 10 hours of total reading.  

When the child reaches 10 hours, they will receive a free book!

For every additional 2 hours after 10, the child will have their name placed into a drawing for the grand prize drawings at the end of the SRP.

A couple of reminders:

The SRP's performances will fill up fast because of the limited amount of space available. Please sign up as soon as possible to ensure you and your child will receive a spot!

All of the SRP performances are on Tuesdays.

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DVDs

"National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets"

"Little Einstein's Race for Space"

"Wonder Pets: Save the Dinosaur!"

"The Ten Commandments"

"Davie & Golimyr"

"Mayo Clinic: Diabetes"

"Mayo Clinic: IBS"

"Mayo Clinic: Back Pain"

"Mayo Clinic: Weight Loss"

"Mayo Clinic: Arthritis"

Adult Fiction

“Odd Hours” Dean Koontz

Only a handful of fictional characters are recognized by first name alone. Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas is one of those rare literary heroes who have come alive in readers’ imaginations as he explores the greatest mysteries of this world and the next with his inimitable wit, heart, and quiet gallantry. Now Koontz follows Odd as he is irresistibly drawn onward to a destiny he cannot imagine and to undreamed of places where the perils he will face and the stakes for which he fights will eclipse all that he has known.

The legend began in the obscure little town of Pico Mundo. A fry cook named Odd was rumored to have the extraordinary ability to communicate with the dead. Through tragedy and triumph, exhilaration and heartbreak, word of Odd Thomas’s gifts filtered far beyond Pico Mundo, attracting unforgettable new friends—and enemies of implacable evil. With great gifts comes the responsibility to meet great challenges. But no mere human being was ever meant to face the darkness that now stalks the world—not even one as oddly special as Odd Thomas.

After grappling with the very essence of reality itself, after finding the veil that separates him from his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, tantalizingly thin yet impenetrable, Odd longed only to return to a life of quiet anonymity with his two otherworldly sidekicks—his dog Boo and a new companion, one of the few who might rival his old pal Elvis. But a true hero, however humble, must persevere. Haunted by dreams of an all-encompassing red tide, Odd is pulled inexorably to the sea, to a small California coastal town where nothing is as it seems. Now the forces arrayed against him have both official sanction and an infinitely more sinister authority…and in this dark night of the soul dawn will come only after the most shattering revelations of all.

Burnishing Dean Koontz’s stature as a master of suspense and one of our most innovative and gifted storytellers, Odd Hours illuminates a legacy of mystery and hope that will shine on long after the final page.

“Blood Trail: A Joe Pickett Novel” C.J. Box

It’s elk season in the Rockies, but this year a different kind of hunter is stalking a different kind of prey. When the call comes in on the radio, Joe Pickett can hardly believe his ears: game wardens have found a hunter dead at a camp in the mountains—strung up, gutted, and flayed, as if he were the elk he’d been pursuing. A spent cartridge and a poker chip lie next to his body.

Ripples of horror spread through the community, and with a possibly psychotic killer on the loose Governor Rulon is forced to end the hunting season early for the first time in state history. Are the murders the work of a deranged antihunting activist or of a lone psychopath with a personal vendetta?

As always, Joe Pickett is the governor’s go-to man, and he’s put on the case to track the murderous hunter, as more bodies and poker chips turn up.

Bold, fast-paced, and with a controversial hook—hunting versus antihunting activists—Blood Trail is proof that C. J. Box is an ever-rising talent.

“The Girl With No Shadow” Joanne Harris

Harris revisits characters from 1999's bestselling Chocolat in this equally delectable modern fairy tale. More than four years have passed since Vianne Rocher pitted her enchanted chocolate confections against the local clergy's interpretation of Lent in smalltown France; since then, Vianne has renounced magic, changed her name to Yanne Charbonneau and moved with her two daughters to Paris's Montmartre district. There, Yanne embraces conformity and safety, much to the dismay of her increasingly troubled older daughter, Anouk. When Anouk becomes entranced with Zozie de l'Alba, an exotic itinerant who happens upon a job at the new shop, and the relationship grows increasingly sinister, Yanne must call up all of Vianne's powers, culinary and mystical, to save her family. Harris again structures the narrative (told in alternate chapters by Zozie, Yanne and Anouk) around a liturgical season (in this case Advent). Harris gives fans much to savor in this multilayered novel, from the descriptions (including Yanne's mouthwatering chocolate confections, Zozie's whimsical footwear and Anouk's artistic efforts) to the novel's classic, enduring theme of good vs. evil—and the difficulty of telling the difference.

Adult Non-Fiction

“The Secret to True Happiness” Joyce Meyer

For all the technology, conveniences, and advantages we experience in today's world, many of us struggle just to get through each day. After coming through what seemed like a lifetime of abuse, hardship, and oppression, Joyce Meyer has come to live every day in victory and joy. In her new book, she spreads the word that an exciting, enjoyable life is available to everyone! The breakthrough for Joyce came when she started to look at herself through God's eyes. There, she not only saw the truth about herself and changes she needed to make, but came to know His unconditional love. Joyce has packed this book with biblical principles and practical application revealing secrets she has discovered for living a full and joyful life. After reading this informative and entertaining book, you will be ready to ENJOY TODAY and EMBRACE TOMORROW.

“The First 30 Days: You Guide to Any Change (And Loving Your Life More)” Ariane de Bonvoisin

Has a change happened in your life that you are having trouble accepting? Is there a change you would like to make to help you love life more? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this is the book for you.

This year alone, many of us will fall in love, get in shape, and start new companies, while some of us will lose a job, deal with health complications, or get divorced. Although we often try to ignore change, whether good or bad, it is the one constant. Now, with The First 30 Days, we can learn how to embrace change, move through it, and successfully navigate the twists and turns of life.

The First 30 Days reveals how the beginning of any change is a pivotal time that can either leave us stressed and stuck or lead us forward in our lives with clarity and hope. Change coach Ariane de Bonvoisin provides the tools to make each change a new beginning, whether it is a change you want to make or one brought on by a situation out of your control. Ariane introduces nine principles that will help you develop an optimistic mind-set toward change, an attitude that encourages you to see that life is on your side and that good can come from even the most difficult circumstance. With real-life stories, practical exercises, and inspiring action points, The First 30 Days teaches the skills you need to face any change--skills that will help you today and for the rest of your life.

Book on CDs

“The Rosetta Key” William Dietrich

Last seen in Dietrich's Napoleon's Pyramids, fleeing the forces of evil in a runaway hot-air balloon over Egypt, Ethan Gage undergoes further life-threatening adventures in this rollicking sequel. Nine months before the balloon incident, Gage arrived in the Holy Land with his benefactor, Napoleon Bonaparte. After various misunderstandings involving the secrets of the Great Pyramid, Bonaparte became his implacable enemy. Now, accused of treason by Napoleon's minions, Pierre Najac and Najac's boss, the French-Italian count and sorcerer Alessandro Silano, Gage flees to Jerusalem, where he searches for his former lover, Astiza, who he fears has fallen into Silano's hands. Gage is also hunting clues that may lead him to the fabled Book of Toth, an ancient tome that promises to reveal the secrets of the universe. Ever the incorrigible gambler and all-around scamp, Gage makes an irresistible antihero. The ending promises more volumes in what one hopes will be a long series.

“The God of War” Marisa Silver

An elegantly observed coming-of-age story steeped in poverty and violence, this novel by the author of No Direction Home offers a poignant and often heartbreaking account of Ares Ramirez. The year is 1978, and 12-year-old Ares has outgrown the cramped trailer in the California desert that he shares with his mother, Laurel, and six-year-old brother, Malcolm. Malcolm has profound developmental disabilities, but Laurel, out of a free-spirited and self-righteous view of motherhood, has only recently (and very reluctantly) allowed Malcolm to get treatment. A horrific childhood accident and encroaching adolescence, meanwhile, fill Ares with a potent and inarticulate anger. In the absence of any outlet for his preoccupation with violence, Ares falls into an uneasy friendship with Kevin, the troubled foster child of Malcolm's new speech therapist. Conflict with Laurel, her on-again-off-again boyfriend and a small community that will not accept Malcolm, drive Ares into Kevin's manipulative sway, and Ares will have to choose between protecting his family or embracing the violence building inside him. The characters are painted with compassion and unflinching honesty, and the climax is pithy and consequential.

“Where Are You Now?” Mary Higgins Clark

It has been ten years since 21-year-old Kevin MacKenzie, Jr. ("Mac"), has been missing. A Columbia University senior, about to graduate and already enrolled in Duke University Law School, he walked out of his room in Manhattan's Upper West Side without a word to his college roommate and has never been seen again. However, he does make three ritual phone calls to his mother every year: on her birthday, on his birthday, and on Mother's Day. Each time, he assures her he is fine, refuses to answer her frantic questions, then hangs up. Even the death of his father, a corporate lawyer, on 9/11 does not bring him home, or break the pattern of his calls.

Mac's sister Carolyn is now 26, a law school graduate, and has just been hired as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She has endured two family tragedies -- her brother's inexplicable disappearance, and the loss of her father. Realizing that neither she nor her mother will ever be able to have closure and get on with their lives until they find her brother, she sets out to discover what happened to Mac, and why he has found it necessary to hide from them.

Her journey into the world of people who willingly disappear from their own lives leads her to learn about others who may or may not still be alive, and ultimately to a deadly confrontation with someone close to her who suddenly becomes an enemy -- and cannot allow her to disclose his secret... 


“The Sepulchre” Kate Mosse

Contrivance, cliché and expository overkill overwhelm bestseller Mosse's tale concerning a rare tarot deck that helps link the lives of two women living eras apart. In 1891, Parisian teenager Léonie Vernier and her brother visit their young aunt at an estate in southern France. After finding a startling account of her late uncle's pursuit of the occult, Léonie scours the property for the tarot cards and Visigoth tomb he describes, unaware that more tangible peril in the form of a murderous stalker is seeking to destroy her loved ones. Present-day biographer Meredith Martin is in France finishing a book and tracing her ancestry when she sees a reproduction of the same tarot, which bears her likeness. She investigates the connection when she, too, arrives at the estate, now a hotel in which a new battle between good and evil rages. Mosse (Labyrinth) conveys so much unnecessary information through so many static scenes of talk, reading and interior monologue that the book's momentum stalls for good soon after its striking opening. Mosse's fans will hope for a return to form next time.

“The Whole Truth” David Baldacci

"Matt, I need a war."

So begins David Baldacci's new book--a thriller unlike any he's written before. "Matt" is Mathew Pender, of Pender Associates--a shadowy organization that specializes in managing seemingly impossible situations for its clients. Sometimes, those services extend to managing--and creating--armed conflict. When Matt Pender is asked by his client--the largest defense contractor in the world--to manipulate two nations against each other, a shocking and surprising series of events are set in motion that will possibly bring the world to the brink of World War III.*

In this epic thriller with a global backdrop, David Baldacci delivers all the twists and turns, compelling characters, and can't-put-it-down pacing that readers have come to expect from this master storyteller.

“You: The Owner’s Manual” (Updated and Expanded Edition) Michael F. Roizen, MD & Mehmet C. Oz, MD

Our favorite docs, Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen, have returned to the book that started it all. With brand new chapters on the liver and pancreas, a Q&A section, and The Owner's Manual Workout, You: The Owner's Manual, Updated and Expanded Edition is an even more vital guide to the most important person in your life—you.

Young Adult Fiction

“Smiles to Go” Jerry Spinelli

What is stargazer, skateboarder, chess champ, pepperoni pizza eater, older brother, sister hater, best friend, first kisser, science geek, control freak Will Tuppence so afraid of in this great big universe?

Jerry Spinelli knows.

Junior Fiction

“Outcast: Warriors Power of Three #3” Erin Hunter

There will be three, 


Kin of you kin....


Who hold the

Power of the stars


In their paws.

A secret prophecy shapes the lives of Firestar's grandchildren, but only one of the three knows about it. Jaypaw is captivated by the power it promises, and he believes the key to that power may lie buried in the distant past -- with the ancient cats who once walked these woods and now prowl through his dreams. His search for answers leads him toward the mountains -- the home of the Tribe of Rushing Water. Lionpaw and Hollypaw feel drawn to the mountains too, for different reasons.

But the mountains hide secrets as well as answers, and if the three cats find a way to get there, they may discover more than they ever expected.

Junior Non-Fiction

“The Mysterious Universe: Supernova, Dark Energy and Black Holes” Ellen Jackson

The universe is rapidly expanding. Of that much scientists are certain. But how fast? And with what implications regarding the fate of the universe?

Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop follow Dr. Alex Fillippenko and his High-Z

Supernova Search Team to Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, where they will study space phenomena and look for supernovae, dying stars that explode with the power of billions of hydrogen bombs. Dr. Fillippenko looks for black holes--areas in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from them--with his robotic telescope. And they study the effects of dark energy, the mysterious force that scientists believe is pushing the universe apart, causing its constant and accelerating expansion.

Easy Fiction

“Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words” Jane O’Connor

Fancy Words Are Simply Fascinating!

From everyone's favorite fancy girl comes an alphabetical guide to enhancing vocabulary. Why say beautiful when there are fancy words like gorgeous and glamorous? Instead of hello, try bonjour, which is French and so much fancier. An umbrella will keep you dry, but a parasol will make you feel like a Hollywood movie star!

With this helpful A-to-Z guide, Fancy Nancy shows that making plain words into fancy ones is not only educational, it's fun!

“Read All About It!” Laura Bush and Jenna Bush

Tyrone rules the school!

He's king of the monkey bars, a math machine, and a science whiz.

The only thing he doesn't like about school is reading. Books are so boring! But when strange visitors start dropping by the classroom for story hour, Tyrone discovers there's more to books than just words on pages.

Tyrone and his friends are swept up in a mysterious adventure that lands them in a most unexpected place. Mrs. Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna create a classroom adventure that will leave readers racing to the shelves!

Easy Non-Fiction

“A Home for Dixie” Emma Jackson

For as long as she could remember, Emma had wanted a dog. Instead, she got a fish, a hamster, and even a guinea pig. And although Emma loved all these pets, it was not the same as having a dog.

Meanwhile, an abandoned puppy was brought to an animal rescue. And although this little puppy had a warm place to sleep and food to eat, she dreamed of having her very own family to love.

Happily for both, Emma adopts this puppy and names her Dixie, and in each other they find the companionship they've been looking for. A Home for Dixie is their uplifting story, enhanced by adorable photography and bonus information on how to support your local animal shelter—and even adopt a rescued dog of your own.