Calling all Potterheads!!

For all you Potterheads out there make sure you visit the Harry Potter Exhibition when it comes to New York.  I was recently in Boston and was able to catch it while I was there.  You can check out their site at: Harry Potter Exhibition. 
Try to get sorted in to a house and make sure to spend the extra $5 if you can to do the audio tour.  You can learn some pretty neat things about what went into the making of the movies! 
Getting to see how large Hagrid's clothing were was pretty insane!  Big dude!!

In this amazing exhibition, guests will get an up close and personal look at the artistry and craftsmanship that went into creating the iconic props and costumes that appeared throughout the Harry Potter films. These authentic artifacts will be displayed in elaborate settings inspired by locations from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry including the Gryffindor common room, Hagrid’s hut and the Great Hall.

Teen Book Discussion - Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever!

Join Ms. Tracy on Wednesday, February 3rd from 7:00-8:00pm for the second book in the popular Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.


*Snacks and drinks will be provided!  :)

John Green reads Salinger

John Green, author of Paper Towns and Looking For Alaska, reads a selection from Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Mr. Salinger passed away Wednesday in his New Hampshire home at the age of 91.

Circumnavigation!

Do you guys know about Abby Sunderland, who is right now trying to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world? Abby's brother was one of two 17 year olds to accomplish solo circumnavigations last year; Abby is looking to prove that girls can do it to!

You can follow Abby's progress by reading the blog she's keeping on her journey:

I had a visitor yesterday afternoon. I walked into the cockpit and there was a squid there looking up at me! I tossed him back into the water, but I keep finding more! They're all over my boat! I never heard of a flying squid.

Another Book to Movie: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Have you heard?  Diary of a Wimpy Kid is going to be a movie!  This looks like fun!

Be Funky!

We're all chatting about this website this morning called Be Funky. It allows you to turn your photos into fancy, artsy pictures with very little effort. It's not a replacement for high-end photo editing software, but it's pretty fun to play around with if you want to have an original looking Facebook avatar. This is a photo of me that I ran through the different filters. It really only takes one click, super easy. Give it a shot!

ALA Book Award Winners Announced

The American Library Association announced today the winners of many prestigious awards for children's and young adult literature, including the Printz and the Newbery Awards.  To see a complete list of all of the awards given out today check out the ALA website. 

Some of the winners that may be of special interest to teens are as follows:

Michael L. Printz Award (for excellence in literature written for young adults)
“Going Bovine” written by Libba Bray

Four Printz Honor Books also were named
“Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith” by Deborah Heiligman
“The Monstrumologist” by Rick Yancey
“Punkzilla” by Adam Rapp
“Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973” by John Barnes

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award
“Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith,” written by Deborah Heiligman

John Newbery Medal (for most outstanding contribution to children’s literature)
“When You Reach Me,” written by Rebecca Stead

Four Newbery Honor Books also were named

“Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice” by Phillip Hoose
“The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” by Jacqueline Kelly
“Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin
“The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg” by Rodman Philbrick

Schneider Family Book Award (for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience)
“Anything but Typical” written by Nora Raleigh Baskin, is the winner for middle grades (ages 11-13).
 “Marcelo in the Real World” written by Francisco X. Stork, is the teen (ages 13-18) award winner.


William C. Morris Award (honors a book written by a first-time author for young adults)
“Flash Burnout” written by L.K. Madigan

Alex Awards (for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences)
“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope” by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
“The Bride’s Farewell” by Meg Rosoff
“Everything Matters!” by Ron Currie, Jr.
“The Good Soldiers” by David Finkel
“The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir” by Diana Welch and Liz Welch with Amanda Welch and Dan Welch
“The Magicians” by Lev Grossman
“My Abandonment” by Peter Rock
“Soulless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel” by Gail Carriger
“Stitches: A Memoir” by David Small
“Tunneling to the Center of the Earth” by Kevin Wilson

Some of these titles may seem familiar to you if you've been taking advantage of two of the Hauppauge Public Library's volunteer opportunities recently (The Printz Award reading list and the Great Graphic Novels reading list.)  Although the Graphic Novel Project is over (thank you to all who participated), the Printz Award Project is still in action until March.

Just because we now know the winner of the 2010 Printz Award, doesn't mean the project is over.  Instead of predicting the winner from our list of nominees, you can just shift your focus to whether or not you agree with the choice for the Printz winner.  There are many good books on the list of nominees- do you think one of them deserved an award of excellence?  Did you read the official winner or one of the books of honor?  Was it worthy of a prestigious award?   Let us know. 

For every book you read and evaluate from our list of nominees, you will get four hours of community service.  If you haven't already taken advantage of this community service opportunity, you should!  See a librarian for complete details!

Teen Winter Reading Club: sign-up and read!

Winter is a great time to catch up on your reading.  Think about it: most people stay inside during the cold temperature months, so outdoor events are limited; and daylight is minimal, so relaxing in your pj's with a book is a common occurrence; and TV shows are on hiatus, so often there's "nothing good on TV" anyway.   All the signs point to picking up a good book at the library! 

At the moment, we have 18 teens participating in the Winter Reading Club... and we'd like to get more!  Let me explain just how easy it is. 

1. All you have to do is sign-up and you'll receive a free book (yours to keep) from a special cart of giveaway books. 

2. Then you read... you can read anything you'd like (the free book you just chose, a book from home, a book you had to read anyway for school, a book that you checked out of the library, etc.)  Any book you'd like! 

3. When you finish the book, stop by the Youth and Family Services desk and tell a librarian about it.  There's no catch, honestly.  We won't quiz you about it.  We won't make you write an essay.  Just tell us about it:  What was the story about?  Was it good?  Would you recommend it to others?  Easy.  (And if you haven't already noticed, librarians absolutely love to talk about books with people... we're an eager audience!) 

4. You get a raffle entry each time you do this.  There will be one randomly chosen winner at the end of January and one winner at the end of February.  (See prizes in the picture above.) 

It's not too late to join! 

Winter Scrapbooking for Teens

There's still room left in our Winter Scrapbooking class on Tuesday, January 19th from 7:00- 8:30pm.  Bring with you a handful of photos and create a two-page spread with a winter theme.  If you've never been to a scrapbooking class here at the library, you're missing out... Terri (the wonderful woman who runs the program) always brings with her lots of materials and loads of inspiration  If you'd like to sign up for this program, call us at 979-1600 or stop by the library.  *Don't forget that the library is closed on Monday, January 18th for Martin Luther King Jr.Day. 

Middle School Book Chat- February 24, 2010

I just received word that the February 24th Middle School Book Chat titles have been announced. Check them out!  No really, come to the library and check them out!   Then go to the Middle School to talk about it with your friends!  (If our copies are checked out already, we can place a hold on the title and call you when we get a copy... many times you only have to wait a few days.) 

Schooled by Gordon Korman
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizzare world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to "live."

Meet the author: Richelle Mead at Borders in Westbury

This exciting info was just brought to our attention: if you're a fan of the Vampire Academy book series by Richelle Mead head on over to Borders Bookstore in Westbury next Tuesday, January 19th at 7:00pm for a reading and signing.  Thanks Erika for passing on this info to us! 

Keeping with a theme...

In keeping with the "creepy and artistic" theme, here is a video that is NOT by Tim Burton, but is honestly just as awesome as something he would do. It's creepy though, so bewarned if you're easily creeped. It's been called "equal parts Pixar and The Twilight Zone." Here is Alma, by Rodrigo Blaas.

Tim Burton Exhibit

I don't mean to be an advertisement for the Museum of Modern of Art or anything, but last week I saw the Tim Burton exhibit there and it was AWESOME.

From the MoMA website:

"This exhibition explores the full range of [Tim Burton's] creative work, tracing the current of his visual imagination from early childhood drawings through his mature work in film. It brings together over seven hundred examples of rarely or never-before-seen drawings, paintings, photographs, moving image works, concept art, storyboards, puppets, maquettes, costumes, and cinematic ephemera from such films as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Mars Attacks!, Ed Wood, and Beetlejuice, and from unrealized and little-known personal projects that reveal his talent as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer working in the spirit of Pop Surrealism."

The exhibit is there until April 26, and is totally worth the short wait in line if you don't have a timed ticket (which I didn't). Apparently they are required on weekends, and you can buy them with your ticket, which you can buy online here.

Seriously I'm not trying to advertise MoMA but this exhibit was just so good.

The Amanda Project/Invisible i

I'm not going to lie. I'm a little bit technologically challenged and totally stunted in the social networking sphere, but I have been a librarian for a while and a reader since, well, since I could read. So, believe me when I tell you that The Amanda Project may be one of the coolest things I have ever seen in both the literary world and cyberspace. But, wait. I'm so excited that I'm getting ahead of myself. (But trust me, you NEED to check this out.)

The Amanda Project is a web site dedicated to solving the mystery of Amanda Valentino's disappearance from her school and town in Orion, Maryland. The web site was started by her three "guides" Callie, Hal, and Nia with the help of Hal's younger sister, Cornelia. Now, before anyone loses their heads, Amanda Valentino is a fictional character (or is she?!). She is unique and elusive and completely enigmatic. The beginning of her story and the search to find her can be found in the first book of an eight-book series, Invisible i by Stella Lennon and Melissa Kantor. (Stella Lennon is an invented name to encompass all of the authors who will be writing the series). The web site is a maze of wonder as far as I'm concerned. Readers can sign up for a free account, create their own character/avatar and contribute to the story. Some contributors' posts will even end up published in the books. In addition, new clues can be uploaded to the site with pictures and each week additions to the story are posted by Callie, Hal, Nia and Cornelia. Participants can respond to these stories as well. There's even a Zine that's been started to which participants can submit Amanda/non-Amanda artwork and literature. You can view copies of playlists from the main characters and authors, and you can visit the store and purchase Amanda-related products. My suggestion would be to start by reading the book, Invisible i and to download the Welcome packet from the web site. From there, the web site will make a lot more sense and you can sign up and create your own avatar to participate. Read the Stories left by Callie, Hal and Nia and jump in! This is fan fiction brought to an amazing new level. You will love Amanda's world and be as desperate to find her as the rest of us. So, what are you waiting for? Need more incentive to get started? Check out this video:

Podcast: Women in Science

"Girls are talking.  You should listen." 

That's the tagline for a cool podcast I've just discovered called GirlTalk.  If you're not familiar with the term podcast, Wikipedia defines it as "a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication."   It's the same concept as a syndicated show you watch on TV, but instead this is on your computer.  And because there's little expense in terms of equipment and software (many computers these days come with basic recording and editing programs pre-installed) often podcasts can be created by just about anybody. 

Here's what GirlTalk is all about:

GirlTalk is a mentoring initiative that encourages girls to explore science, math, engineering and technology - in their own words. GirlTalk Radio consists of a series of interviews with women scientists, conducted by girls ages 11 – 16, making their debuts as Pittsburgh radio hosts!

Teen "GirlTalk Radio" hosts get the inside scoop from women who are in the field and know their stuff.  Some of the podcast interviews include:

• a marine biologist and exhibit developer for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  
• an expert in clandestine photography and identity transformation who used to be a CIA intelligence officer 
• an orthopedist at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine and team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers and other amateur and professional sports teams in Pittsburgh 
• a Google Maps software engineer

Click here to access the podcasts and discover something interesting!

Cell Phone App- Type and Walk

So I came across this advertisement for an app that lets you walk and type at the same time.  Being the self-proclaimed s..l...o...w...e...s...t texter in town and owning one of the most ancient cell phones known to man, I thought this app seemed a little frivolous and unnessary... as well as slightly unsafe in that it lures you into a false sense of security thinking that you've got it all under control to be able to do two things at once.  But then I thought that I might be the wrong audience for this type of thing.  So I put the question out to you, blog readers, do you think this app is cool or not?

Today is a Palindrome!

Hey, I just found out that today is a palindrome!  What's that you say?  A palindrome is something (a word or string of numbers) that can be read forward and backward in the same way.  Today is January 2nd 2010... 01022010!!!!  Go celebrate... don't ask me how, just do it!  You only have twenty more minutes though, so do it quick!  The next calendar palindrome will be November 2nd 2011.  We should all plan ahead for that one! 

Winter Reading Club

Hello and Happy New Year to all! After reading about all these good books that have been blogged about, I thought I'd give a plug to our Winter Reading Club at the library! It's so easy...just come in to sign up and you'll get either a free book or a small prize just for signing up! Then, every time you read a book, come in to tell us about it and your name will be entered in a raffle to win a prize! We'll pick 2 winners, one at the end of January and again at the end of February. With the weather we've been having lately....there really is "Snow Better Time to Read!" Make it your New Year's Resoulution! Hope to see you soon!

Pictorial Guide to Avoiding Camera Loss

Have you ever lost something very important and wished you could get it back?   Was is ever an expensive item such as a camera?  Well, whether you have or haven't, the idea I'm about to share with you is something we should all consider.  You may not want to go all out with the idea like this guy Andrew McDonald did, but a simple variation on the idea might be a wise idea.  Andrew (who lives in Australia) has created this wonderful series of photos that he always keeps on his camera at all times.  No matter what, these photos remain on his memory card so he can communicate with the person who may find his lost camera in the future.   He calls it: A Pictorial Guide to Avoiding Camera Loss.  It's the technological equivalent of writing your name in permenant marker on the tag of your underwear before going to camp... which is also a very good idea!

Make a Handbag from an Old Book

I read tons and tons of blogs in my spare time.  I really mean tons!  I have one of those Google Reader accounts that manage my blog subcriptions- letting me read the new blog entries and archive any good ideas with tags and a star-rating system.  I've been so busy with the holidays that I haven't logged into my Google Reader in a few weeks- to my surprise I was greeted with over 1,000 new entries to puruse!   I guess that's what I get for having thirty-two (and counting) blog subscriptions that I follow!  

Anyway, when I read some of these blogs, I'm always amazed at how many creative ideas there are out there in the world.  Some of my favorite blogs are the ones that combine craft ideas with recycling ideas.  Check out the example below from a great blog called Crafting a Greener World.  It shows you how to create a handbag from the shell of a hardcover book.  If you've ever had a book that got damaged on the inside (but not on the outside) or if you love to buy cheap books from garage sales, thrift stores or book sales, then this craft may be for you.  The guy who hosts these crafting video segments is a talented and funny guy.  My favorite line from this segment is when he points out that "Now, clearly I'm a dude and don't have an immediate use for a tiny, little handbag no matter how sweet it is..."  He goes on to say that you can still make this project and give it to someone in your life who would appreciate it.   So, guys and girls alike, here's how you make a handbag from an old book: