Let the Hunt Begin!

Something buggy is going on at the Avondale Library. Help us find the creepy, crawly critters by joining our Bug Scavenger Hunt. Search high and low, as new bugs invade the library weekly.

Book Review: The Calder Game (Ages 9-12)

The Calder Game by Blue Balliett is a fast paced mystery filled with unusual characters, adventure and puzzles to solve. Three seventh grade friends, Calder, Petra and Tommy, work together using their unique talents to solve the case. Calder plays with pentominoes and loves a good puzzle. Petra has a passion to write and enjoys exploring word games. Tommy loves to collect things. The story is built around Alexander Calder, a famous American artist and sculptor. Alexander Calder had a passion for creating mobiles. Each mobile was a kaleidoscope of movement and form, changing depending upon the perspective of the viewer. The ephemeral nature of the art piece gives a dream-like quality to each work. Each piece of the mobile works together to create a unified whole, a fascinating work of art that always changes, never the same. We each see works of art differently based on our perspective and what is already in our own mind.

Calder Pillay travels with his father to a small English village. Many unusual characters live in this village. And there is a strange aura surrounding the area. An Alexander Calder sculpture in the village square suddenly disappears. And later, Calder Pillay disappears as well. Calder’s friends suddenly must fly to England to help his father find out what happened. What is the mystery surrounding this small village and where is Calder? What happened to the sculpture?

Youth as well as adults will enjoy reading this book. The novel explores art and suggests that we should be open, flexible and look at art from different perspectives. If you like art-themed books and baffling mysteries or puzzles, this book will be just the thing for you. You might just learn some things that you did not know about Alexander Calder as well.

Buzz on into the library for some fun crafts

Come fly in to your local library for some fun crafts. Check out this dragonfly craft from the Central Library.

The Pigeon Has Landed

That begging pigeon is back. You know, the one that reminds you of your kid. The pigeon that will cajole, plead, whine, cry, even fall to his knees and scream for what he wants, when he wants it. And this time The Pigeon Wants a Puppy and he's not giving up until he gets one!

Actually, the pigeon doesn’t really understand what taking care of a puppy entails. (Sound familiar, moms and dads?) He promises to water it once a month because everyone knows that puppies need plenty of sunshine and water to grow. But he soon finds out about slobbering puppies with wet noses, big teeth, and claws, and changes his mind like kids are wont to do. It's not long before he's on to begging for something else... something even bigger and better.

Mo Willems' Pigeon Saga is a fun set of books because the pigeon stands on the page and pleads his case to the reader. Kids love them because they probably see themselves in his meltdowns; it's always smart to have an ally in the "I want!" battles. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! has been called "charmingly absurd." And it is, but so are its sequels.

Mo' about Mo: Mo Willems' interest in drawing and writing started when he was 3 or 4. He made his first “watchable” film—The Man Who Yelled—as a student at New York University. His next successful short film Iddy Biddy Beat Boy led to his job as a writer and animator for nine years on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards for his animation. Willems also produced series for Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

A stay-at-home dad to his daughter, Trixie, Willems wrote Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale about a little girl named Trixie who loses her favorite stuffed animal on a trip to the laundromat. Since she is too young to tell her father what happened, her crying and yelling only succeeds in getting him upset. It isn't until they get home and his wife asks where Knuffle Bunny is that he understands the frustrating world of a toddler.

Willems was awarded the Caldecott Honor Book citation and the American Library Association Award for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! in 2004 and for Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale in 2005. (Biography is from Biography Resource Center. Library card is required.)

Come See a Great Puppet Show!!

BPL is having a great buggy puppet program this summer, presented by Stone Lion puppets. Check your library calender to see where and when they are appearing!

Bubba and Trixie Puppet Show

Bubba is a "nervous Nelly" caterpillar, afraid to leave his leaf, who meets Trixie, a crimped winged ladybug who knows no fear. Join their adventures as Trixie helps Bubba learn to enjoy life and be happy with what he is and what he becomes.

Using multiple styles of puppetry, the nationally acclaimed StoneLion Puppet Theatre brings the magic of a world-class puppet show to our library. All ages will enjoy!

Monday, June 9

1:00 p.m. - North Avondale

6:30 p.m. - Springville Road

Tuesday, June 10

6:30 p.m. - Avondale

Wednesday, June 11

10:00 a.m. - North Birmingham

1:00 p.m. - Ensley