Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 62

Bram Stoker Awards Announced

The annual Bram Stoker Awards were announced earlier this month by the Horror Writers Association.  Awards are given in eight different categories to honor superior writing in the horror genre.   by Stephen King won the award for superior writing in a novel.  R.L. Stine and Stephen Jones received Lifetime Achievement Awards.

For a complete list of winners, check out the HWA site.

 

Holiday Closing — Memorial Day

All Kent District Library branches will be closed on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. We will resume normal operating hours on Tuesday, May 27.

 

All KDL branches will be closed on Sundays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Sunday hours will resume on Sunday, September 7.

 

For additional 2014 holiday closing information, please view our holiday closings page.

 

We appreciate your patronage and wish you a Happy Memorial Day!

 

Memorial Day Suggested Reading

Memorial Day is observed each year to remember the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces. KDL has prepared a list of recent books, both nonfiction and fiction, that have to do with the impact of war on those who served, and on their loved ones whose lives have been changed by separation and loss. Check out the list here.

                             

Other lists of recommended reading having to do with wars are also available. Check out the booklists for American Wars of Manifest Destiny, World War I and World War II. Many books are also available for downloading to your eReader or tablet by visiting ebooks.kdl.org, and doing a search for an individual book or a keyword search for “war” or “soldiers.”

In honor of Memorial Day, Kent District Library will be closed on Monday, May 26.

 

Teens: Kentwoodpalooza Is Back

Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 12 from 2:00 to 8:00 PM at the Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch for a festival-style celebration of the arts, the end of school and the beginning of Summer Reading @ KDL with music, film, poetry, food and more.

Here’s the complete schedule:

1:00 PM — JibberJams

Crane Wives drummer Dan Rickabus will lead a round of intelligent silliness for all ages. This energetic, engaging interactive performance features original songs and improvisation performed in the universal language of jibberish.

1:00 PM — Ongoing Art

Watch local artist Barbara Williams collaborate with about a dozen East Kentwood High School National Art Honor Society students on the creation of a large mural that will hang inside the library when completed.

2:00 PM – Kent County Teen Film Festival Encore

If you missed these teen-created short flicks in February, see them now and meet a few of the young filmmakers who created them.

2:00 PM — Guitar Workshop with Justin Dore Join Big Dudee Roo’s lead guitarist in exploring different playing styles and what makes those styles unique. Find out what it means to be a lead guitarist and hear the dos and don’ts of joining a band. Also, get some practice techniques and hear about the history of the instrument and notable guitarists.

3:00 PM — Songwriting Workshop

Max Lockwood, lead singer and songwriter for folk rock band Big Dudee Roo, will perform some of his songs, discuss the songwriting process, share ideas for building a song from the ground up and show how to put together all the elements of a song.

5:30 PM — Writing Workshop

Published writer and poet Hazel Foster will explain how to take working drafts from revision to publication, addressing revision strategies, submission etiquette, venues for publication and how to survive rejection.

6:30 PM — Poetry Reading and Awards Ceremony

Winners from the Kent District Library Teen Poetry Contest will share their poetry.

4:00–8:00 PM – Live Music on the Amphitheatre

4:00 PM — December Assembly (Electronic Alternative)

5:00 PM — Phantom (Ivory Alternative)

6:00 PM – Virgo (Alternative Rock)

7:00 PM — Big Dudee Roo (Grungy Folk Rock)

Kentwoodpalooza is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Sponsored by the Friends of the Kentwood Library.

 

 

Summer Reading @ KDL Coming Soon!

The school year is winding down, and that means we are gearing up for Summer Reading @ KDL. With programs for kids, teens and adults, we are inviting the whole family to Ignite Happiness @ KDL. And if discovering some great books isn’t enough of an incentive to participate, we have also got some awesome prizes up for grabs!

Summer Reading @ KDL kicks off on Monday, June 2. Stop by your local branch to sign up, and don’t forget to check out our program guide. Our summer line-up includes reptiles, magic, animals, food and music, just to name a few!

 

 

Teen Poetry Contest Winners

KDL’s eleventh annual Teen Poetry Contest was a huge success thanks to all the great teen poets out there. This year, nearly 200 poems were submitted. Library staff reviewed the poems and narrowed down the entries, submitting them to former Grand Rapids Poet Laureate, David Cope, for final analysis. Ten winners were chosen and a PDF of the winning poems will be available soon.

Congratulations to the winning poets!

april 9 by Michelle Starkey
Syria by Jimmy Kastelz
The Box by Ashley Nelson
And It Will Be Beautiful by Janelle Urena Ravelo
An Evaporating Cosmos by Claire Oleson
Goodnight Moon by Deanna Griffin
Resentment by Jyi Herring
Hopeless in Waiting / RE: Hopeless in Waiting by Greg Clapp
A Sponsored Child by Samantha Holland
Bursting from the Inside Out by Kaley Obney

We would also like to extend a special thanks to our judge, David Cope. We appreciate his expertise and his willingness to judge our contest again this year.

 

Teen Poetry Contest: Stay Tuned!

Thank you to everyone who entered KDL’s Teen Poetry Contest. Final judging is currently taking place and winners will be announced as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience!

Early Lit Bits: Learning with Crafts — Windy Weather

Windy Weather

With the warmth of Spring comes lots of fun things to do outside with small children. Take advantage of a windy or wet day to talk about the weather. Is it windy, cloudy, sunny or wet outside? Is it warm or cool? Have fun making simple weather crafts with recycled materials from around the house. Plastic grocery bags make wonderful kites and parachutes. Empty plastic bottles can be turned into rain gauges. When the fun is done, simply toss the materials into your recycling bin.

Materials:

plastic grocery bags
plastic pop bottles
tape
string or yarn
permanent marker
scissors

Directions:

Kite

Make a simple kite by tying a piece of string to each handle of a grocery bag. Tie the two pieces of string together with a knot about 12 inches from the end of the handles. Attach a long piece of string to the point where the two strings meet. Take the kite outside on a windy day to see if you can get the kite to fly.

Parachute

Tape together the two handles of a plastic grocery bag. Use tape to secure small objects such as sticks to the joint where the two handles meet. Stand on a raised deck or playground equipment to release the parachutes so that they float to the ground. Experiment by attaching several parachutes to heavier items such as small toy cars to see if you can make them float slowly to the ground.

Rain Gauge

Cut the bottom 4 inches off a plastic pop bottle. Use a permanent marker to mark one inch increments on the side of the plastic bottle. Set the bottle in an open space with the open end pointed up.  Check the gauge the next time it rains to see how much rain has fallen.

–Anjie G. at KDL’s Walker Branch

 

 

This article originally appeared in our Early Lit Bits eNewsletter. Read the most recent issue online or sign up to receive this monthly update highlighting early literacy tips and resources for parents and caregivers.

 

Best in Mystery Books

The 2014 Edgar Awards were announced recently. The Edgar Awards are presented by the Mystery Writers of America to honor the best mystery fiction and non-fiction books of the year.

Best Novel: Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Best First Novel by an American Author: Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
Best Paperback Original: The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood
Best Fact Crime: The Hour of Peril by Daniel Stashower
Best Juvenile: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
Best Young Adult: Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

 

KDL Top Ten — Computer Books

Find help for tech issues in our Computer section!  This week’s Top Ten highlights some of the most popular Computer books at KDL right now:

 

And if you’re looking for more tech help, check out our upcoming Speak to a Geek programs.