It’s that time of year again — National Poetry Month is upon us!  Throughout the month of April, KDL is hosting our eighth annual Word Wise teen poetry contest.

From April 1 to April 30, teens are invited to submit their original  poems online or at their local KDL branch.  Winners will be announced mid May, and each winner will receive a $50 gift card to Schuler Books & Music.  The winning poems will be published on the KDL website.  Take some time to check out our teen page for a complete list of rules and an online entry form.

If you are interested in reading poetry in honor of National Poetry Month, or looking for a little inspiration, check out a list of teen poetry books that are KDL staff favorites.  We are looking forward to another month of great poetry submissions.  Happy writing!

The library is the place for Lego fun! Three KDL branches will host a Lego Family Block Party in April. Drop in and make your own Lego or Duplo creations. All materials are provided by the library, so come, design and create!

Schedule
Wednesday, April 6 at 1:00 pm – Grandville branch
Saturday, April 9 at 10:00 am – Alpine Township branch
Saturday, April 16 at 2:00 pm – Walker branch

Get your creative juices flowing and join us for some Lego mania at the library!

Fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones died Saturday, March 26th at the age of 76. Jones won two Boston Globe–Horn Book Award honors as well as the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award.  Her book Howl’s Moving Castle was adapted into a movie.  Her final book, Earwig and the Witch, is set to be published next year.

On Twitter, Neil Gaiman wrote: “Rest in Peace, Diana Wynne Jones. You shone like a star. The funniest, wisest writer & the finest friend. I miss you.”

It’s party time! Celebrate with Katie L. the elephant as she cuts the ribbon and welcomes you to KDLville, KDL’s new early literacy play space. Families with children ages 6 and under are invited to have fun with crafts, games, balloon animals, face painting, and a dance party. And what’s a party without dessert? Come enjoy a piece of our special KDLville cake!

KDLville is an interactive early literacy learning center where young children and their caregivers can play, grow, and read. The spaces will contain a variety of fun, developmentally appropriate activities that focus on different skills that will help children get ready to read.  Some examples might include a puppet theater, a play grocery store, a train table, pre-writing games, etc.  The activities will be rotated so patrons will get fresh experiences every couple of months. Promotional materials that contain caregiver education on reading readiness will also be provided in the play spaces.

KDLville Ribbon-Cutting Parties will be held:
Wednesday, April 6, 10:30 AM – Byron Township branch
Tuesday, April 26, 10:00 AM – Alpine branch
Thursday, May 12, 10:30 AM – Englehardt branch
Wednesday, May 18, 10:00 AM – Krause Memorial branch

Come and celebrate with us!

In an effort to help the victims of Japan’s devastating earthquakes, KDL invites you to join us for Project Senbazuru (Thousand Cranes). Along with your donations, which will be sent to the American Red Cross, we hope to send 1,000 paper cranes to victims of the earthquake. For every dollar raised (up to the first $1,000), a crane will be created and sent as a token of your support and prayers. Donations are being accepted at all KDL branch locations as well as the Cedar Springs Library.

According to Japanese legend, when a thousand origami cranes are folded, a wish is granted. Our wish is that those affected by the earthquake in Japan will be able to recover as quickly as possible from this tragic event and once again resume their lives.

We would like to recognize KDL staff member and Japanese native, Yuko Roberts, for her efforts to initiate this program and share her knowledge of the paper crane craft.

Are you interested in making a paper crane of your own? View the following:

For more information on the Senbazuru story, check out these books:

One Thousand Paper Cranes by Takeyuki Ishii
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver is one of the 20 Michigan Thumbs Up! award book selections of 2010.  The complete list and voting information is available from the MLA website or at your local library.

Samantha Kingston has it all.  She is a senior, part of the popular crowd and has her longtime crush as a boyfriend.  She just didn’t know that she was going to die that day.  But the strange thing is that she wakes up and it is Cupid Day again (and again).  Can she make the change that will save her life and what will be lost if she does?

Oliver’s second book, Delirium, is currently available and the sequel, Pandemonium, is due out next year.

Lost for Words by Alice Kuipers is one of the 20 Michigan Thumbs Up! award book selections of 2010.  The complete list and voting information is available from the MLA website or at your local library.

After the tragic event of last summer, Sophie feels cut off from her mother and her friends.  But this year is going to be different and she is going to try to be more like her old self.  So taking the advice of her therapist, she begins a journal to express her confusion and fear.  Slowly, Sophie starts to reveal the trauma that shattered her life and comes to grips with the facts that she is no longer the same girl.

This was Kuipers’ first teen book.  She is working on her third book.

The Friends of the Wyoming Library invite you to stock up on great books at bargain prices! Their annual Spring Used Book Sale will be held from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm  on Saturday, April 2 at the Wyoming branch.  A “Buy a Bag Sale” will take place from 3:00 to 4:00 pm.  You can purchase a bag and fill it with books for only $3.00!  Proceeds from the sale will support library projects.

If you love the library and are interested in supporting it, please consider joining the Friends of the Wyoming Library. Stop by the library  for details.

Several KDL branches are hosting book sales this spring. They offer a great opportunity to give your home library a boost!

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel is one of the 20 Michigan Thumbs Up! award book selections of 2010.  The complete list and voting information is available from the MLA website or at your local library.

Garth Hale wasn’t suppose to be in the ghost world, at least not yet, but thanks to ghost-wrangler Frank Gallows’ mistake, Garth is all alone except for the bone horse.  Luckily, Garth runs into his grandfather Cecil who helps him find his way to Ghostopolis and hopefully a way home.

Doug TenNapel has written other graphic novels for teens including Creature Tech and Tommysaurus Rex.

Due to a power outage, the Kent District Library’s Spencer Twp. branch will be opening today, March 23, at 2pm (one-hour delay).

Thank you.