Gotta Keep Reading!

Here's a cool and inspirational video that Ocoee Middle School in Florida created for a recent reading campaign at their school.   Keep your eye out for the book covers throughout the video... how many of them can you recognize? 

Ocoee Middle School Gotta Keep Reading from Michael Cardwell on Vimeo.

(This video was based on the original flash mob video from Oprah's 24th season kickoff party where the Black Eyed Peas performed their song "I Gotta Feeling" in Chicago and surprised Oprah by having practiced choreographed dance moves with the audience ahead of time. Click here to see the original video clip.)

These types of collaboration videos are all the rage these days.  This is teamwork and cooperation at its very best, that's for sure! 

Star Wars Retold

Continuing on the home-made video theme (although this one wasn't made by someone on staff, like Laura's awesome video)...  I came across this very funny video.  It's a girl who has seen only bits and pieces of the Star Wars trilogy trying to explain the plot of the movies to someone who knows the movies very well.  It's really funny whether you've seen the original movies or not.  Check it out!

XtraNormal

Do you like that video? I made it myself! And you can make your own too! I found this really fun website called XtraNormal. It lets you choose characters, actions, and a setting, and then use text-to-speech software to create dialog. It's so easy (and free). Try it out and let us see your videos! It's really fun (and good for a potential snow day?).

Teen Book Review: Tattoo by Jennifer Barnes

Tattoo by Jennifer Barnes

Summary: When four fifteen-year-old friends share the temporary tattoos they bought from a mysterious woman at the mall, each develops psychic powers that will help them fight the ancient being who plans to wreak havoc at their school dance.

Reviewed by Erika, Gr. 8

This book was a very easy read. It is about these four girls who find these tattoos, that they gain powers from. After learning that they had these powers, they realized that they were evolved with the three fates, and had to save the world all while trying to figure out how to fight the evil power, and to control the powers within them. I wouldn't recommend this book to all people since it is a girly book.

Enter for a chance to attend RANGER'S APPRENTICE DAY CAMP

Enter the world of

Ranger’s Apprentice

Here’s your chance to become an

APPRENTICE TO ONE, HERO TO ALL.

Enter for a chance to win a trip to Austin, TX in Summer 2010 to attend the

RANGER’S APPRENTICE DAY CAMP

Where you’ll learn archery, concealment, tracking, and more.

Go to RangersApprentice.com to find out more about the series.

http://www.rangersapprentice.com/contest/Rangers-EntryForm.pdf 

Author Appearance: Michael Buckley

If you're a fan of The Sister's Grimm series, then you'll be happy to know that the author, Michael Buckley, will be making an appearance at the Best Bargain Books store in Centereach on Friday, February 26th at 6:00pm. 

And if you can't seem to get enough of fairytale characters in modern settings, try some of these books: Beastly by Alex Finn, Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst, or The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley.  These are just off the top of my head... does anyone have any other suggestions? 

Movie Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the lightning thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (film)
Reviewed by Robert, Gr. 9

I had such high hopes for this movie after reading the entire Percy Jackson series, but I was severely disappointed by this movie. There should have been a warning before the film "Loosely Based on the Novel by Rick Riordan" or "A Highly Scripted and Revised Version of The Lightning Thief," would both be appropriate. The plot was very different and several characters were missing completely *cough "Clarise and Ares"* My advice, stick to the books and skip the movie. The movie was a lot less interesting and a lot less fun than the book. 

Snow Day!!!!

Happy snow day!!!

When you're tired and cold from sledding and snow ball fights, here's 10 more ideas to keep you busy both inside and outside.

1. Fill a spray bottle with water and few drops of food coloring. Then make your way back outside and decorate the awesome snow sculptures you made.

2. Try making snow ice cream! It's actually pretty easy! Directions can be found here!

3. Get out your old Lego's and create something huge! See if you can make a whole city (if you've got enough blocks).

4. Go Internet window shopping. Amazon.com lets you make a Wish List for every member of the family. Search the site, add items, prioritize your list and add notes!

5. With Valentine's Day less than a week away, check out this page full of Valentine's Day recipes and make something for someone you love.

6. This one seems so wrong, which is why it's so very right. Find instructions here on how to make a totally washable and awesome stained glass window paint! Then make your masterpiece.

7. Remember blanket forts from childhood? Bring back the blanket fort!! Remember to leave a peep hole to watch TV or movies out of. And make sure to stock up on snacks ahead of time so you don't have to leave.

8. Make a time capsule. 2010 is the perfect year to stock up on memories. Fill a shoebox or coffee can with things like newspaper articles, photos, magazines, music, and whatever else you can think of (click here for ideas). Make sure whatever you put in will remind you of 2010 in the future. Then hide the box (in the basement?) and mark it with a big "Do Not Open Until 2020!"

9. Make meal time fun. Eat in the dining room and/or with fancy dishes, or try have an indoor picnic on the floor.

10. Learn how to make paper beads! Then string them!

Ever wanted to be a librarian?

If you've ever wanted to be a librarian (or even if you haven't), try your hand at this fun librarian game. Help Lydia the Librarian find books for the kids before they get upset and leave! You've got a few seconds to remember where all the books are, then try your best to be the Lightning Librarian! The better your memory the better you’ll do!

Click here to give it a try!

Quote of the Moment: Stephen King on Books

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”

- Stephen King
 

(Answer me this dear readers: Who else takes a book with them to the movie theater so you don't have to watch those annoying ads or trivia games before the movie starts?- Catherine)  

Neat-O Video: Ok Go's "This Too Shall Pass"

I just stumbled upon another cool video from the band Ok Go.  (They were the ones that made that awesome video for the song "Here it Goes Again" with the quirky choreographed dance routine on the four treadmills- all in one take!)  This video for their new song "This Too Shall Pass" is equally as catchy and just as creative, again with the all-in-one-take approach to shooting a video.  Watching this video made me want to be part of a marching band so badly, but then I remembered when I played the clarinet (back in the day)... I could barely play it properly, let alone walk around with it and play!  Here's to creative people everywhere:


OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Best Young Adult Authors of the Last Decade

There's a really cool blog run by the book editors of Amazon.com called Omnivoracious.  They recently posted about the best Young Adult authors of the last decade.  The writer was supposed to have come up with her 10 favorite YA books of the last decade, but found that she couldn't do that since there are just too many good ones.  Instead, she chose to pick 8 authors who have helped to shape the world of YA fiction.  It's a very interesting blog post which reads as a virtual checklist of the heavy-hitters of YA fiction and points readers in the direction of other authors who have similar styles.  Read the whole Omnivoracious blog post here. 

If YOU had to choose the authors who you think have helped to shape Young Adult fiction in the last decade, or just your favorite YA authors, who would you name? 

To start things off, I'll tell you some of my thoughts on authors I've read that I think have had an impact:  Chris Crutcher, Sharon Shinn, Maureen Johnson, John Green, Neil Gaiman, Pete Hautman, David Levithan, Sarah Beth Durst, Barry Lyga, Nancy Werlin, Scott Westerfeld, Gabrielle Zevin, Phillip Pullman, Paul Fleischman, Anthony Horowitz, Rick Riordan, Libba Bray... and I'm sure lots more!  

Some others who I know have had an impact, but I haven't read yet for one reason or another: Tamora Pierce, Sarah Dessen, Cornelia Funke, Darren Shann, J.K. Rowling (Oh my goodness- I've never read the Harry Potter series!), Holly Black, Stephanie Meyers (Oh my goodness- I've never read the Twilight series!), M.T. Anderson... and I'm sure lots more!

Tell us yours!

Creative Short Video: Tips for Better Ideas

Check out this absolutely amazing short video created for Langara College (in Canada).  It's an extremely creative request for entries to their college scholarship program and Rethink Ad Agency internship.  It's for the art/graphic design/ advertisement department of the school, so I guess one would expect the bar to be set kind of high in the creative department.  This video contains great content ideas for the potential entries, but also good advice on living life in general!  Check out the video below and prepare to be wowed:

Cheshire Cat craft

Only one month left until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie hits the theaters and if you totally can't wait, here's something fun to tide you over.

Click here to get your very own Cheshire Cat to cut out an assemble!

Advanced Word on Some Cool Books

Some interesting publishing news from a great blog I read called Early Word: the Publisher/Librarian Connection.

Twilight: the Graphic Novel is being released in March.  Fans who can't get enough of this series can soon get it in a different format.  If you're not into graphic novels, or haven't even given them a try, this may be the time to take a peek at what this format of storytelling can bring to the table.  Check out the details here.

Attention Glee fans- there are plans to release Glee books this coming Fall!  Will they be just as fabulous as the show?  We may soon find out... well not really "soon" since we have to get through the rest of Winter, then Spring, and then Summer, but you know what I mean!    Read more here.

January Raffle Winner for Winter Reading Club

Congratulations to Robert Black... winner of our January Teen Winter Reading Club Raffle!  He has won a copy of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and a $10 giift card to Borders! 

Don't forget that there's still lots of time left to earn a raffle ticket for the February Raffle.  All you have to do is stop by the library and tell a Children's/Teen Librarian about a book that you've read recently.  It really can't be any easier!  A winner will be chosen at the end of this month for the raffle drawing of: a copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and a $10 gift card to Borders. 

Stop in and talk to us... you may just be our next winner!

Great Graphic Novels for Teens- update

Here's an update on the volunteer opportunity we had at the Hauppauge Public Library during the month of December- the one where teens read various graphic novels from our cart of nominees and then evaluated them. The evaluation forms we collected were given to Barbara, the Suffolk County Young Adult Coordinator, (who was also on the nation-wide committee in charge of picking the best Graphic Novels for teens for 2010.) The committee (pictured above) met at the January American Library Assosiation conference in Boston and chose the books they thought were the best of the best.   Click here for the list of winners.

One of the things that Barbara told me, which I thought was super-cool, was that the input from teens (via the evaluation forms) were taken into higher consideration by the committee then the adult input. Barbara told me she, and the other committee members, were extrememly impressed with the well-written, well-thought out responses the Hauppauge teens provided.  Good job, Hauppauge!

Here's an excerpt from Barbara's thoughts on working on the committee:

Working on the 2010 Great Graphic Novels selection committee was difficult, time-consuming, but very rewarding. This group of librarians with a variety of experiences and expertise came together to create a list which reflects reading interests of teens throughout the United States.
Special thanks go to those Suffolk teens and librarians who provided input into the selection process. One of the titles selected is a direct result of a Suffolk librarian suggestion and another selected title reflects reviews from several Suffolk teens. Both titles are on the list because of YOU!

Just further proof to how cool (and generous) Barbara is, she put together goodie bags to thank the Hauppauge teens who participated in this volunteer opportunity.  The bags have all sorts of goodies, including a book that was hand-picked for each participant.  The teens who participated will be recieving a phone call from me with info about picking up their thank-you gift!