This Matisse painting sold at Christies's auction on Feb. 23 for a record price for a work by a French artist.  The sale was of art from the estate of Yves Saint Laurent.  Our collection includes many works on Matisse including Matisse the Master by Hilary Spurling.  News of the auction appears in this New York Times article from Feb. 24.

The Autism Book:  Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions by S. Jhoanna Robledo and Dawn Ham-Kucharski will help parents, grandparents,  and professionals navigate the highs and lows of the autism diagnosis with easy to read layout and a multi-faceted resource section.  As a grandma, I can easily use this book to help with issues that arise with my grandson with autism.

 At least in Lakeland Florida where the Detroit Tigers have begun Spring Training.  Mark your calendar for the Tiger's home opener on April 10th against the Toronto Blue Jays.  In the meantime, browse through the library's collection and transport yourself into spring with

Flowers and Herbs of Early America by Lawrence D. Griffith is a detailed look at a variety of annuals, perennials, and herbs that were around in the early days of the United States and are still found in many gardens and yards today. The color photographs are gorgeous and include both wide shots and close-ups, making for easy identification even by an amateur gardener like myself.

On this day (February 19) in 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, a call for   women to achieve their full potential. Her book generated an enormous response and revitalized the women's movement in the U.S.

Finding My Voice, by author and NPR host Diane Rehm, is the Everyone's Reading selection for 2009. Fans of her award-winning radio show are sure to enjoy her memoir, but others will also find it inspiring as she recounts numerous and often painful obstacles she's overcome in her personal and professional life.

What’s for dinner tonight?

New research shows that even short bursts of exercise a few times a week can be beneficial to overall health.  This is encouraging news for people who don't have the time for the recommended hours of physical activity per week. 

Starting March 8th and ending May 31st, the DIA will be hosting paintings by the artist Norman Rockwell.  He spent his time painting scenes from the world around him, many of his paintings having a small town feel to them that was both welcoming and enduring.  His recognizable art lives on all around us and brings us back to a time when soda fountains were all the rage and kids really did do the darndest things. For a chance to see Mr.

Hola means hello in Spanish.  I just returned from a trip to Riveria Maya, Mexico.  I used Fodor's Mexico 2008 book to help plan my trip.  It was very helpful and gave me some great ideas for places to visit and things to do.

Once upon a time, long ago, way back in February of 1930, the Pluto formerly known as a planet was first sighted by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.  It was the smallest planet out in the far reaches of our solar system, but it was recently reclassified as a dwarf planet. 

Find books about Pluto in our library catalog, or search for Pluto in one of the databases available on our Kids’ Homework Help page.

Are you a dog person who loves to spoil your furry friend? The Three Dog Bakery is a fantastic gourmet treat shop for dogs! They use all-natural ingredients to make their adorable cookies and cakes, not to mention being very reasonably priced. With their added selection of toys, clothing, and just about every dog-related item you can imagine, they have something for everyone. I was just there over the weekend buying a personalized birthday cake for my dog.

You don't have to be an etymologist to enjoy thinking about the roots of language.  In Alphabet Juice, Roy Blount Jr. has a lot of fun looking at the relationships between word structure, meaning and phonetics.  On a more serious note, the arguments he discusses can be traced back to Plato's Cratylus in Plato Unmasked by Keith Quincy.   

Not scared enough by global recession, terrorism, peanut butter, or nuclear war? Death from the Skies by Philip Plait will give you many new reasons to fear, every time you look up.

Plait covers topics such as asteroid impacts, solar flares, nearby supernovae, gamma ray bursts, black holes, and aliens. He concludes with inevitable scenarios; how the Sun will die, and the cold quiet that will end the Universe.

Got teens studying for advanced classes? We have plenty of resources here at the library;  try the AP exam prep guides, or our musem passes are great ways to get their outside activities done, for example the Detroit Institute of the Arts.

In one of history's most fascinating coincidences, February 12, 1809 was the birthday of two of history's most extraordinary and influential figures - Abraham Lincoln and Charl

Doesn't it seem as if partisan bickering dominates politics and government these days? Are we so caught up in red state/blue state, liberal vs. conservative that perhaps we have lost sight of what is really important?

Do you know the symptoms of a heart attack?  How about the best foods to eat to prevent and treat heart disease?  February is American Heart Month and the perfect time to find out how to care for this vital organ.  The American Heart Association has the resources to get y

February 12, 2009 marks the 200th birthday of America's 16th - and perhaps greatest - president, Abraham Lincoln. He is being celebrated in ceremonies all over the country, including at an exhibit in Plymouth, Michigan called "In the Presence of Lincoln" which will run through November 4.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809.  He is considered one of our nation's greatest presidents.  Learn more about him in our Children's Biography collection, or read fictional stories about him in our Children's Fiction collection.