National Poetry Month: Book Spine Poems

April is National Poetry Month!  Check out this cool take on creating short poems from titles on book spines.  Easy, fun, and once you start... quite addicting!  What book spine poems can you make? 

Printz Book Evaluation Results

Thank you to all the teens who participated in the Printz Award Book Evaluation Project!  From December 2009 until March 2010, teens in grades 6-12 have been reading books from our list of award nominees and then filling out in-depth evaluation sheets for each book.   We received 33 evaluations- here are the results:

Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli (2 out of 2 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Carlos is Gonna Get it by Kevin Emerson (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)

Charles and Emma: the Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman (1 out of 1 thought it WAS NOT worthy of an award)
Cricket Man by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Fire by Kristen Cashore (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Going Bovine by Libba Bray (2 out of 2 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (1 of 1 thought it WAS NOT worthy of an award)
If I Stay by Gayle Forman (4 of 4 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Jolted by Arthur Slade (2 of 3 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Jumped by Rita Williams (1 of 1 thought it WAS NOT worthy of an award)
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Riot by Walter Dean Myers (1 out of 1 thought it WAS NOT wothy of an award)
The Roar by Emma Clayton (2 out of 2 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle (2 out of 3 thought it WAS NOT worthy of an award)
The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem (1 out of 1 thought it WAS worthy of an award)
When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (1 out of 1 thought it WAS NOT worthy of an award)
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (2 out of 2 thought it WAS worthy of an award)

If you're interested in seeing the more in-depth answers on a particular title, just ask me and I'd be happy to share it with you!  And if there's anyone who submitted a book evaluation and hasn't gotten credit for it in their community service binder sheet, please see me... I have 3 nameless papers that need to be claimed!!

Raffle winner chosen for Teen Tech Month!

Congratulations to Sharon Dang, our Teen Tech Month raffle winner!  All Sharon had to do to win was submit a book review to our blog.  Fun and easy!  Congratulations on winning a Best Buy gift card, Sharon, and thanks for sharing your reading experience with the Hauppauge community!

Book Alert: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Special thanks to Erika for alerting me to the latest Stephenie Myer news:  Ms. Myer has a new book centered around Bree Tanner, a character who was first introduced in Eclipse.  This new book will be released on June 5th, 2010!  Read all about it here!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Opening Date

Big news!!! Universal Studios has unveiled the opening date of their new and very much anticipated theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

The park, which is part of Universal's Islands of Adventure, will officially be opening their towering castle gates on...

June 18th!!!!

But! If you're really, super, extra excited and you just canNOT wait until June 18th, the attraction will be open beginning May 28th for park guests who buy a special Harry Potter Travel Package (which are still available here under "tickets and vacation".)

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will provide its visitors the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the magical world of Harry Potter. Guests will be able to visit iconic locations found in the books and movies, including Dumbledore's Office, the Defence Agency Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the Gryffindor common room.

Rides will include the Dragon Challenge and the Flight of the Hippogriff.

About the park, J.K. Rowling says, “The plans I’ve seen look incredibly exciting, and I don’t think fans of the books or films will be disappointed.”

Hey, if J.K. Rowling isn't disappointed, how can any of us be?

Teen Book Review: Stolen Children by Peg Kehret

Stolen Children by Peg Kehret

Reviewed by Jeewon

Amy learned a lot in her babysitting course, but not what to do if two thugs show up, intent on kidnapping. Armed with misinformation and a weapon, the men take Amy and little Kendra to a remote cabin in the woods. There they make videos of the girls and mail them to Kendras wealthy parents in an effort to get ransom money. After several of her escape attempts fail, Amy is forced to make one last, desperate move. Award winner Peg Kehret crafts a suspenseful thriller with a spunky heroine who uses her wits to save herself and the toddler.

Hunger Games Movie

Newsflash! Lionsgate officially announced, today, that it has acquired the rights to the film version of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins!

Suzanne Collins is at work adapting the screenplay from her novel and Nina Jacobson will be producing the movie, due out in 2011. The announcement was made by Joe Drake, Lionsgate President. (Comingsoon.net)

Get excited by watching Suzanne Collins read part of The Hunger Games below: swliveconnect



For more Hunger Games fun, check out this site!

Or, if you haven't read the book yet (but now you really want to), click here to put a copy on hold!