August 16th marks the birth date of a fantastic fantasy author - Diana Wynne Jones. Her most recent book, The House of Many Ways (the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle) gives one a whole new perspective on housesitting. Charmain is ecstatic to get away from her parents and house-sit for her Great Uncle William, the Royal Wizard of Norland, but soon discovers the house has a mind of its own. The Game (2007) is an fascinating read for all fans of mythological fiction. Orphan Hayley is sent to a family gathering in Ireland.

Did you know that President Barack Obama turned 48 today? Do you know how many children he has? Do you know if he got the dog he promised his kids? Do you know what kind of dog they were hoping to get? Do you know ANYTHING important about our new president? If not, check out some of our biographies on him. You can learn about him, as well as other presidents, by visiting this social studies website also. Live and learn and learn to live!

Traveling with your family can be awesome or terrible or a mixed bag. You might be stuck with your art-obsessed mom, a grumpy dad, and your obnoxious little brother for weeks, as Melanie is in The Diary of Melanie Martin, or, how I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza by Carol Weston. Or you might wish you had your family all together again as Marya does in The Impossible Journey by Gloria Whelan. On her journey she is glad to have her little brother Georgi with her as she sets out in search of her parents who have been exiled to Siberia.

Have you ever considered how strange, scary, and weird school can be?! Well, your school is probably pretty normal compared to the schools in these hilarious stories, but then again, maybe not. Read for yourself and find out. You may need to start preparing for the next school year well in advance if you have to deal with any of these situations.

• My Weird School & My Weird School Daze by Dan Gutman
• Ghostville Elementary by Marcia Jones
• Louis Sachar's Wayside School stories

Beware! Camping adventures can turn into calamities. If you doubt me, just read what can happen

Camping catastrophe! by Abby Klein ; illustrated by John McKinley

Alvin Ho : allergic to camping, hiking, and other natural disasters by Lenore Look ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham

A week in the woods by Andrew Clements

The Canton Seniors Book Discussion group has recessed for the summer.  Book discussions will resume on  the fourth Wednesday of the month in September (9/23), at a new time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.  All Canton seniors are welcome,  but registration is required.  To register call the Summit's Senior Adult Department at (734) 394-5485.  Check the Canton Public Library website for future book discussion titles and dates.

American history can be thrilling to read about — if you pick up the right books. Try one of these recent suspenseful spy stories:

Soldier's secret: the story of Deborah Sampson by Sheila Solomon Klass

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Hannah Pritchard: pirate of the Revolution by Bonnie Pryor

Some awesome kids books take place right here in the Michigan we all love. Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff introduces us to Maggie Dillion whose life has been turned upside down by World War II. Her experiences and realizations help us all believe in the power of friends and family to support each other in uncertain times...something we could all use about now. The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis is a roll-on-the-floor laughing book about a Flint family, their adventures and relationships...comic relief which is also very therapeutic in stressful times. A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban won the 2007 Michigan Mitten Award.

Why not join in the Summer Reading theme of being creative and try your hand at writing? Mysterious and magical powers might just help you once you get started. Read about these supernatural powers in The Bronze Pen (Snyder) or Dying to Meet You: 43 Cemetery Road (Klise). The library also has other great books about authorship if these are out by popular demand.

Distant Waves: a novel of the Titanic by Suzanne Weyn is a captivating new story of adventure, romance, scientific discovery, and psychic mystery. What more could you ask for?

Are you fantasizing about what you will read for fun when school finally ends? Why not escape into a realm where dragons are real and dreams come true? Here is a magical link to such adventures.

I Wanna Be Your Shoebox by Cristina Garcia is a poignant story about a young girl who comes from a complex family - her father is Jewish-Japanese, her mother is Cuban, and her parents are divorced--and when her grandfather Saul is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Yumi asks him to tell her his life story, which helps her to understand her own history and identity. This new book is but one of many fictional stories dealing with cancer available for you at the library.

why not try another mythological marvel! As Rick Riordan said in a recent interview, "Mythology is a natural draw for kids. It has magic, mystery, adventure - everything you could want." There are fictional stories based on Greek mythology, as well as books about the glorious gods and goddesses and traditional olympic myths. Riordan recommends a great Web site for mythology buffs: Theoi Greek Mythology

V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day, commemorates the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces towards the end of WWII. But the joy seen in this photo was dampened by the memory of fallen comrades and the ongoing war in the Pacific. If you don't have grandparents to share their memories with you about this tragic war, many moving stories available at the library will help you appreciate what this time was like.

Grey weather getting you down?  One of my favorite books with some good rainy day chapters is Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary.  Curl up with a good Ramona story, check out Ramona online, or if you're really feeling adventurous, grab your galoshes and raincoat and splash in a few puddles!

International Astronomy Day is observed on a Saturday near the first quarter moon between mid-April and mid-May. This year it will fall on May 2nd. To learn more contact Gary Tomlinson who is located in Comstock Park, MI or visit the website sponsored by Astronomy Day Headquarters. Great biographies on the most famous astronomers are available at the library, as well as many informative books on outer space. Have fun exploring the realms which inspired such Sci-Fi hits Star Wars and Star Trek!

In honor of Shakespeare's birthday, why not pick up a great read dealing with the theater?

Travel back in time and meet some of baseball's all-time greats. Nine incredible adventures await you now, but more are sure to follow.

The Friends of the Canton, Plymouth, Northville and Novi Libraries present the 23rd annual Book & Author Luncheon featuring guest author and speaker Paula Tutman, WDIV reporter.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Fox Hills Country Club in Plymouth Twp.
Lunch included.  Seating at 11:30 with lunch at 12 noon.
Tutman is the author of Deadline, a thriller loosely based on her true life experience as a police reporter.
Tickets available at library reception desk for $25 from April 1 to May 4.

Many kids have been asking this question this past week. There is not a special area or spine label devoted to Christian fiction, but the library certainly does have lots of books that meet this need.