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Are you looking for Farmer's Markets? Planning a road trip or vacation in Wisconsin? Hoping to find the freshest cheese curds in the State? Take a look at SavorWisconsin.com. The vendors and manufacturers featured on this site produce, manufacture and grow their products in Wisconsin. The site is searchable by region/county, restaurant, business type or keyword. So don't leave home without knowing where the freshest and most local items can be found statewide.

The Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library will hold their annual Spring Literary Luncheon on Monday, May 19 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Wisconsin Club, located at 900 W. Wisconsin Ave. This year's event will feature award-winning author Louise Erdrich. She is the author of over a dozen novels, including Love Medicine, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. On May 19, she will be signing copies and reading from her latest book, The Plague of Doves.

Reservations are required for this event. Each reservation includes an autographed hardcover copy of The Plague of Doves or a Schwartz Bookshops gift card of equal value. Please call 286-8720 for more information.

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention month.

Here are some facts on teen pregnancy from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee.

-Milwaukee is one of the Top Ten cities within the U.S. with the highest percentage of total births to teen mothers.
-The long-term cost of a Milwaukee teen having one baby is estimated at $79,320.
-Girls born to teen mothers are 83% more likely to become teen mothers.
-Children of teen mothers are much more likely to drop out of high school prior to graduation.
-In Wisconsin, 71% of babies born to teen girls are fathered by males over 20 years old - in 20% of the cases the fathers are at least six years older.

For more information on preventing teen pregnancy, check out the links below. These sites are for both parents and teenagers.

http://www.donttellmyparents.org/parents/

http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/ntppm.htm

http://www.teenpregnancy.org/

http://www.plaintalk.org/index.htm

http://www.milwaukee.gov/PlainTalk23791.htm

Milwaukee Urban Gardens will present a program on how to use your backyard to raise vegetables for fresh produce at a fraction of the supermarket cost. Learn how to prepare soil. Discover which crops work best for the success of a small personal garden. Find out how to reap a good harvest and reduce your grocery bill.

Saturday, May 10, 2008, -- 1pm
Atkinson

Saturday, May 31, 2008 -- 1pm
Tippecanoe

Monday, July 14, 2008 -- 6pm
Tippecanoe

For more information visit
Milwaukee Urban Gardens

A Teen Violence Prevention Series sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library and the MPL Teen Advisory Board.

Two teams will compete against each other for prizes while learning the facts about violence from professionals in each respective field. The competition will conclude with a question-and-answer session on violence.

Central Library
Meeting Room 1
Saturday, May 10, 2 p.m.

For information about parking downtown, please visit ParkMilwaukee.com.

Please join us at the MPL Central Library on Tuesday, May 13th at 7 pm for a discussion of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried : a work of fiction. However, prior reading of this book is not necessary to join in the discussion. Tell the group about your experiences in the military or discuss the impact of military service on your family. Any and all contributions are welcome!
The Vietnam War experiences of the author are told in this outstanding work of fiction. This novel was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and the acclaim is well deserved. The book is not a novel in the traditional sense, or a collection of short stories and not quite a memoir.

Celebrate Children's Book Week with the Milwaukee Public Library! Since 1919, Children's Book Week has promoted connections between children and a love of reading. All over the country, schools, libraries, bookstores, and families take part in events honoring children's literature. Here is a list of fun activities at the Milwaukee Public Library.

Story Times
Sing along with the story “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” and then make your own version to take home.
Atkinson, Tuesday, May 13, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Center Street, Wednesday, May 14, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Make Your Own Bookmark
Central, May 12-17. Materials will be available all week in the Children’s Room to make your own bookmark.
Martin Luther King, Wednesday, May 14, 3:00-4:00 p.m.

Book Bingo
Fun for the whole family! Listen to a story, play book bingo, and enjoy a snack.
Capitol, Tuesday, May 13, 6:30-7:15 p.m.
Bay View, Saturday, May 17, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

What are the shortest and longest streets in Milwaukee?

The shortest street in the City of Milwaukee is S. Davidson St. It is a mere 55.91 feet long.

By contrast the longest North-South running street is 27th St., which runs 11.89 miles. The longest East-West running street is Oklahoma Ave., which runs 8.33 miles. Finally, the longest diagonal street is Fond du Lac Ave., which runs 8.7 miles.

For other information on streets in Milwaukee, a great source to check out is the book Milwaukee Streets: the Stories Behind Their Names by Carl Baehr. He explores the stories behind their names and provides other interesting facts such as previous names of certain streets.

MPL’s Jacki Potratz was featured on WUWM’s “Lake Effect” program on Thursday, May 8 where she reviewed some up and coming fiction titles.

Click to listen!

For the past two years Wisconsin residents have turned to AskAway-a free online information service staffed by professional librarians 24 hours a day, seven days a week-for reliable answers to all sorts of questions. Now AskAway is encouraging young adult residents to share their positive experiences by creating and posting short videos as a part of the “I Love AskAway” YouTube video contest for teens. Click and scroll here for detailed entry instructions.

Entries should consist of an original video that depicts the AskAway chat service available to all state residents at the Milwaukee Public Library. Videos should be between 30 to 60 seconds long (longer videos may be edited), and must either be uploaded to YouTube or submitted on DVD or CD-ROM by July 31, 2008.

First prize is a $150 Best Buy gift certificate and second prize is a
$75 Best Buy gift certificate. Contest winners will be announced Sept.
2, 2008.

Washington Park Library will be hosting the 2008 Money Camp for Kids! Sponsored by Upsilon Mu Omega, this weeklong camp for students entering grades 6-8 will take place June 16th-20th from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Students will learn how to open a bank account, listen to presentations on finance, banking, and the stock market, and take fun field trips.

In order to register for this free program, fill out an application and Emergency Contact Form and mail them to:

Upsilon Mu Omega
c/o Money Camp
P.O. Box 510426
Milwaukee, WI 53203

Please register by May 30. Questions? Contact: Tammi Summers (414) 313-5907