Teen Read Week 2012!

Are you a teen? Did you know it's Teen Read Week? Teen Read Week started in 1998 and is celebrated annually the third week of October (this year it's October 14-20). It encourages you to read for the fun of it and every year it has a different theme. It's important to celebrate Teen Read Week because, even though there are lots of really great entertainment options out there, reading for fun is free, entertaining, and proven to help improve test scores!

This year's theme is It Came From The Library! It can be interpreted however you want, but why not check out some of these popular and wonderful YA books that are both spooky and mysterious?

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Horowitz Horror: Stories You'll Wish You'd Never Read by Anthony Horowitz

Oddest of All: Stories by Bruce Coville

Skeleton Creek: [Ryan's Journal] by Patrick Carman 

Wolf Rider by Avi

And be sure to click here to vote for the theme of Teen Read Week 2013! You have the power to choose!

Hispanic Heritage Month

Every year since 1968, Americans have observed National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. This month-long celebration recognizes the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Here are some good books that celebrate Hispanic culture:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Luminous by Dawn Metcalf

Playing For Keeps by Veronica Chambers

Efrain's Secret by Sofia Quintero

Benito Runs by Justine Fontes

Carmen: An Urban Adaptation of the Opera by Walter Dean Myers

Ambitious by Monica McKayhan

Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman

Banned Books Week 2012

Yesterday was the first day of 2012's Banned Books Week, an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Since the start of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs—a continuous reading of banned/challenged books—as part of their activities. This is the second year that readers from around the world can participate in the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out by creating videos for BBW's YouTube channel.

 

Take a look at some popular banned books below. You might be surprised to find that some of your favorites are listed! Imagine if you never got the chance to read them.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Ttyl by Lauren Myracle

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Exercise your freedome to read and celebrate Banned Books Week from September 30th through October 6th by reading a