The Teen Halloween Party 2009 was a blast! We entertained around 70 teens with a movie, games, contests, crafts, and delicious snacks. Many teens came in costume and everyone had a great time. Hopefully we will have another Halloween success next year!
An assortment of ghoulishly delightful Halloween themed drinks.
White chocolate bones and spooky sandwiches
were two of our most popular dishes.
We had fake tattoos for teens who wanted to
make their costumes a little more gory and a
hair spray station with funky (washable) colors.
Teens could create their own personalized Halloween bags.
Several teens enjoying a game of Dance Dance Revolution.
The party in full swing.
Our donut bobbing contest was fun (and hilarious)!
I should have posted this at the beginning of October instead of the end, but there are still 4 more days to enter all of our Teen Read Week contests. Click on the Read Beyond Reality logo to the right for more info!
Though it may not look like it from the title or cover, this book is about the zombie apocalypse. However, it’s a refreshing change from all the Twilight-esque vampire/zombie/werewolf/fairy/pixie/
selkie/witch/shapeshifter/boy-who-turns-into-a-fire-hydrant-on-Wednesdays romances out there. For starters, the zombie threat is always an outside one (no star-crossed dead or undead lovers here!), and this is just the story of a group of young people trying to survive.
Mary and her friends live in a village surrounded by the Forest of Hands and Teeth, where the Unconsecrated wait to feast on human flesh. The world in which Mary lives is supposedly one in our future, after The Return, when the dead begin to come back to life. However, the constant threat of the Unconsecrated, along with years spent isolated in a small enclosed village, has made the villagers scared and allowed religious zealots with their own questionable agendas to take control. Once the village’s fences are breeched and the village overrun, Mary & her friends must make their way through covered paths in the forest in hopes of finding a safe haven. Of course, things are never that simple—she’s also dealing with family issues and convoluted love triangles along the way. Read this book soon—the sequel is out next year!
and Teen Summer Reading 2009 will be over! Hope you can all make it to the Masquerade Ball Finale in the Barrett Room tomorrow from 3-5pm. It's going to be fun!
In today’s political climate, it’s sometimes hard to know who the true bad guys are. After terrorists attack San Francisco, this becomes a particularly difficult problem for seventeen year-old Marcus and his friends. They’re regular high school students, if also computer hackers and avid gamers. Caught in the wrong place during the attack, they are detained and interrogated by the Department of Homeland Security. Once Marcus gets out, though, he still doesn’t feel safe—it’s like living in a police state, where everyone is under suspicion. To fight a system that’s terrorizing all its citizens, Marcus gets together a group of hackers and uses modified Xboxes to communicate. Before too long, he finds himself in over his head in a complicated battle against DHS. They want to shut his hacker network down and send him back to prison, but he just wants to free his city from an oppressive government. This book has a really interesting look at what’s good and bad, and what government measures are appropriate in a time of emergency. It really makes you consider your rights as a US citizen, as well as how they may be taken away from you. It’s fast-paced and interesting, and you’ll learn a lot about computers, security systems, and the internet.
Lindsay is the newest Teen Room staff member.
Stop by sometime and introduce yourself.
Read on to learn more about her!
HOMETOWN: Royal Oak, Michigan
THEN WHAT: Moved to South Carolina, graduated from Landrum High School, received my BA in English from Converse College.
FAMILY: Husband, Sam, and Oliver, the cutest kitty in the world.
HOBBIES: Reading, watching anime and Doctor Who.
FAVORITE QUOTE: A true friend stabs you in the front - Oscar Wilde
FAVORITE TEEN BOOKS: Uzumaki by Junji Ito, Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman, A Seperate Peace by John Knowles, FAKE by Sanami Matoh.
FAVORITE NON-TEEN BOOKS: Anything by Kurt Vonnegut, anything by Haruki Murakami, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (anything about zombies really).
RECENTLY READ: House of Mystery by Matthew Sturges, Doctor Who Classics by Pat Mills, Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa, Nil by James Turner.
For the last few months, we’ve been organizing a series of shows featuring the art of local teens. Our first installation will be from July 1st - 15th, and it will display the art of Cathy, a graduating senior from Spartanburg High. We are excited to showcase her talents before she heads off to college! If you’re interested in having your art displayed in one of our next art shows, come to the Teen Services desk and sign up for a spot. In the meantime, be sure to check out Cathy’s show!
This summer, we’ve had a lot of great Teen DIY events! First, there was Paint Like Pollock, where teens braved high temperatures to create their own splatter-paint art. Here they are in the middle of creating their paintings...
Check out some of the great finished products!
Knitwits is starting its first group project—a cell phone or iPod cover! This month, we had 9 new members who are learning the basics of knitting before they start working on the project. The next Knitwits meeting is Tuesday, July 14th at 3pm in the Teen Room. If you’re interested in joining, be sure to sign up by emailing, calling, or stopping by the Teen Room—space is limited to 9 new members per session.
We’ve got one more DIY event coming up this summer, where we’ll make masks for the Teen Summer Reading Finale—a masquerade ball! All materials will be provided; you just need to sign up by calling us at 864-285-9031, emailing us at teens@infodepot.org, or stopping by the teen room desk. Hope to see you there!
Yesterday was the kickoff event for Photobook: Spartanburg 2009. We handed out 36 of our 50 cameras, so there are still some available! To request a camera, either come to the teen room at Headquarters or click here and fill out the camera request form. Cameras are first come, first served. We’re looking forward to seeing your photos this year!
Want more information about Photobook? Here it is!
·Photobook is a project where 50 Spartanburg County teens are given a camera each and asked to photograph Spartanburg as they see it. This is the third year of the project and we are changing things up a bit with an optional photo scavenger hunt! To participate and learn more, attend the Photobook kick off event on June 8th @ 3pm in the Hoechst Celanese Room at the Headquarters Library. If any cameras are left after the kick off event, they will be at the Teen Services Desk in the teen room or you can request them by clicking on the Photobook logo on www.infodepot.org. First come, first served!
·Photobook is open to teens ages 12-18 or entering grades 7-12 and runs June 8th-June 30th. Cameras can be turned in to any Spartanburg County Public Library location. All returned cameras will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Visa giftcard!
·Film from the cameras will be developed and at least one photo from each camera will be selected to display at the Headquarters Library in the AT&T Exhibition Gallery in September. The photographers will be given a set of prints from the film in their camera. All photos taken become the property of the Spartanburg County Public Libraries
·Three photos will be selected as the best based on originality, creativity and composition. The winning photographers will receive $25 Visa giftcards!
·Call 864-285-9031 or email teens@infodepot.org with questions!
Teen Summer Reading is here! Our kickoff was last Thursday, and we had a lot of fun. About 50 teens signed up, and there were snacks, games and prizes all afternoon. If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry! You can still sign up for Teen Summer Reading at any SCPL branch throughout the summer. Click on the Teen Summer Reading logo to the right to find out more information.
The cake before...
and after.
Playing MarioKart on the Wii
and playing musical chairs. Who knew it could be so much fun?!
Last week, we also got a new sign for the Headquarters teen room! It’s on the outside wall in HUGE purple letters, so everyone knows where the teen room is. Be sure to check it out next time you’re here!
This past Thursday we had our last regular TAG meeting of the school year, which means next year we'll have at least 9 less smiling faces around the TAG table. (A couple of graduating teens were at the very first TAG meeting ever in 2004. It has been so much fun watching them grow up!)
A big thank you to the TAG Class of 2009 for everything you've given the library and good luck out in the world! You will be missed.
The small but mighty ice cream cake!
A few graduating TAG members pose with the tiny cake. :)
Our Mad Tea Party was last Monday, and if you didn’t come, you missed out on a lot of fun! It was based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, so there was all sorts of craziness going on.
We had lots of snacks and tea (obviously)…
played “Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat” and
“Move Down, Clean Cups” Musical Chairs…
made Un-Birthday Cards and tissue paper roses…
and had some great costumes for the Mad Hatter Contest!
Below is our “Maddest Hatter” by popular vote. Congratulations!
Don’t miss out on any of our other great events—keep an eye on the teen events page to see what we’ve got planned for the summer!
Happy Spring Break! I'm glad it's April because March was a busy month. A new Teen Services Assistant named Lindsay started (bio coming soon!), Teen Tech Week was celebrated, TeenWinter Reading was conducted, jamboread! happened, we showed Twilight the movie, TAG decided on Teen Summer Reading prizes, Knitwits knitted, Spartanburg High's Theatre Odyssey performed a short play, J.A.M.S. watched Ouran High School Host Club, and Game On! played Super Smash Bros. and MarioKart. Whew! April is not as crazy, but there is still plenty to do. Check out the teen events calendar to see what is happening for teens at the Headquarters Library in April. Enjoy your week off of school!
Here's a photo of local band Sing Sing '76 performing
in the teen room at jamboread! They were awesome
and we hope they'll play for us again sometime!
So, technically (haha) Teen Tech Week is March 8th-14th this year, but we love technology SO MUCH that we’re celebrating it all month! There are lots of fun things going on—programs, contests, and lots of chances to win prizes! Check out some of the things we’ve got going on in March:
·Take the TTW quiz (it’s easy, promise) available at any branch to receive a piece of candy and enter into a drawing to win a flash drive.
·Know anything about binary? Pick up a binary decoder bookmark, crack the code, and turn it in at any branch to get more candy and possibly win a flash drive.
·Are you a Smartie or a Dum-Dum? Visit your local branch’s teen area and count the candy in the jar—if you’ve got the closest answer, you’ll win it all!
·Come to one of our special programs to celebrate Teen Tech Week. All teen events are listed on the calendar of events.
You can also do other things to celebrate Teen Tech Week on your own. Need ideas? Try these:
·Check out some DVDs or CDs from any SCPL locations.
·Download an eBook or audiobook—if you go to http://digitalbooks.infodepot.org, you can download them for free with your library card!
·If you aren’t already MySpace friends with the library, you should be! Visit us at http://www.myspace.com/scplteens.
·Did you know that a lot of authors also have MySpace and Facebook profiles? Find your favorites and add them too.
·Try out a book review website like LibraryThingor Goodreads. You can list the books you’ve read and/or own, add your friends, and get suggestions for new stuff to read!
·Are you an expert on Alexander Hamilton? Velociraptors? InuYasha? Anything else? Add something to Wikipedia to share your knowledge with others.
·Start a del.icio.us (online website bookmarking), Twitter(microblogging) or Flickr(photo sharing) account and find a new way to connect with your friends online.
So much has been happening lately that I am just now finding time to post! Today is jamboread!, the library's annual family reading festival. I am writing from the teen room before things get too crazy. In the background teens are playing Rock Band 2, decorating eco bags and iron-ons, making journals and creating jewelry from hardware. Teens were here earlier than usual this year and the room is pretty crowded for 10:30am. We'll continue the activities until 3pm when we'll rearrange the room for a concert by local band Sing Sing '76. If you're in the area, stop by and check it out!
The 2009 Printz Awards were announced today. The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. Here are the results:
2009 Award Winner Jellicoe Road
by Melina Marchetta
Honor Book Nation
by Terry Pratchett
Honor Book Tender Morsels
by Margo Lanagan
Honor Book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by E. Lockhart
Honor Book The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing vol. 2
by M.T. Anderson
About a month ago, construction was completed on a new computer counter for the teen room. We also added 4 computers (now we have 8!) and SAM, the computer management software used on all other computers throughout the library. We're super happy to have more computers reserved just for teens, so stop by and check it out!
A rare time right after installation when all computers were available.
Teen Winter Reading began January 1st and ends March 31st. To participate, just read and review a book! Review forms are available at all SCPL locations or you can follow this linkto fill out an online review. Random drawings will be held weekly for travel mugs and great teen books. Good luck and happy reading!
Okay, so the first awesome thing about Chris is that he published his first novel before he was a junior in college, which isn’t that much older than a teenager. The second awesome thing about him is that he is a fantastic, clever writer. While a lot of authors think they can present an authentic teen voice in their books, a lot of them also fail horribly; Chris doesn’t. The characters in Venomous (and those in Chris’ first novel, Heavy Metal and You) are so well-developed and realistic that you become completely enveloped in their world—they’re the kind of people you’d want to be friends with (well…most of them). The narrator, Locke Vinetti, is witty and engaging even while he’s dealing with his own (very formidable) problems, and while not everyone has violent rage outbursts like his, any reader can identify with Locke’s struggle with elements of his own personality.
Here’s the basic idea: Locke Vinetti has serious, serious anger problems. When he was eight, he bit off the tip of a classmate’s nose. His anger isn’t just a small part of his life—it’s a separate entity (which he calls “the venom”) that bubbles up and consumes him, and he’s having more and more trouble keeping it at bay. To complicate things further, Locke has just met Renee, the “beautiful, unpredictable, messed-up goth girl of his dreams.” Hanging out with her seems to help him at first, but when things start to go awry in his new circle of friends, he finds himself struggling with the venom more and more. The novel is intense and fast-paced, and each chapter is followed by a stylized illustration and a passage from the sub-narrative involving Locke’s superhero alter ego, Blacklight.
Venomous is a fun, powerful read, and it will keep you interested the whole way through. If you love it (and you will), be sure to check out Heavy Metal & You next. You'll want to be familiar with Chris and his books, in case you see him around here sometime soon...
Ann is our other new Teen Services Assistant.
Stop by the teen room and welcome her to the library!
HOMETOWN: Spartanburg (technically Roebuck)
FAMILY: I have a husband named Randy (married for almost 2 years), 2 older brothers and 2 sister-in-law's, niece: Ellie (Elizabeth Logan) and a nephew on the way who's yet to have a name.
EDUCATION: I graduated from Dorman High School and have an Associates Degree in Business Management with Marketing Elective from Spartanburg Community College.
HOBBIES: I enjoy spending time with my husband, hanging out with my girlfriends, going to mountains, going to parks.
FAVORITE TEEN BOOKS: all four of "The Sisterhood and The Traveling Pants", all four of "Pretty Little Liars Club", "Let It Snow", and "A Starry Night."
I can't remember the last time I started a book and didn't want to put it down. I wish it happened more often, but who knows if it is my inability to choose books, my short attention span or my tendency to watch a lot of TV that is to blame. :) In any case, I am so glad this book was recommended to me (thanks, June)!
The Hunger Games tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl living/surviving in the future North America, now known as Panem. She lives in district 12 (there use to be 13, but during an uprising against the Capitol it was obliterated), one of the poorest districts, and is forced to hunt for food for her family in forests that are actually off limits. Each year, to commemorate the rebellion and basically remind the districts that the Capitol will always win, each district has to send two residents between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete in The Hunger Games. The goal of the Games? Don't die. The last one standing wins and receives a life of luxury. The other 23 die, mostly at the hands of each other.
Intriguing plot, huh? When I started it, I liked it immediately. Unfortunately, I started it at 11:30pm on a Sunday night. I kept reading, thinking I would quit and sleep when it got boring, only IT NEVER DID. Finally, at 3am, I forced myself to stop at the end of a chapter. I finished it the next day and now I'm telling everyone about it. This includes you! We own six copies at the library and soon, thanks to a donation, we'll have seven. So check out The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Teen Room, Tara and Ann. Here is a short bio and photo
of Tara so you can get to know her. Next time you're
in the library, stop by the Teen Room and say hi!
HOMETOWN: Hendersonville, NC (known to all outsiders as “kind of near Asheville”)
THEN WHAT?: college at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT (where I learned that I am not cut out for wintry adventures)
NOW: I live in Arden, NC (or, “Asheville…ish”) with my kittycat pal Lou Diamond Phillips. I am in grad school at Appalachian, getting my MLS.
HOBBIES: kitty-cuddling, knitting, marathon napping, pretending I am a dinosaur, pop culture consumption
FAVORITE QUOTE: “A little glitter can turn your whole day around” –Junie B. Jones
FAVORITE TEEN BOOKS: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Chbosky); Heavy Metal & You (Krovatin); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Haddon); Boy Meets Boy (Levithan); Angus, Thongs & Full-Frontal Snogging (Rennison); The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (Townsend)
FAVORITE NON-TEEN BOOKS: All Families are Psychotic (Coupland); The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky); The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner); Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married (Keyes); Diary (Palahniuk); Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked (Park); Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter (Pearl-McPhee); We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier (Rivenbark); Cowboy & Octopus (Scieszka); War & Peace (Tolstoy); Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Willems)
RECENTLY READ: Eleanor Rigby (Coupland); Venomous (Krovatin); The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (Mackler); Cycler (McLaughlin); Mountain Man Dance Moves: McSweeney’s Book of Lists; Mississippi Sissy (Sessums)
So our 3rd Annual Teen Halloween Party was last Saturday and I am just now posting about it...sorry it took so long. Hopefully the awesomeness of the pictures will make up for the tardiness of the pictures. :-)
The entrance
Halloween shaped sandwiches
Chocolate eclair fingers
Our graveyard cake- I didn't eat any (too busy),
but I had fun decorating it!
The pumpkin decorating table
The zombie toy supplies
An awesome tablecloth for zombie toy making.
Scary dancing/DDR
Some toys brought back from the dead.
Taking a break from zombie making to pose.
Taking a break from pumpkin painting to pose.
A bear in zombie transformation.
I think this picture is my favorite, although I am a little
frightened that I can't remember if I found the dinosaur this way,
or if I put him like this. Hmmmm....
During the mummy race game.
(I didn't do anything to this photo, they were just walking that fast!)
Another year, another great Halloween. Hope everyone had a
fun day yesterday and got to dress up and go somewhere!
Book Review by Tara (who will be formally introduced in a future post!)
The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy
I don’t read a lot of fantasy novels, but I read this book’s dust jacket and I had to check it out. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a book with talking cockroach butlers and a cranky Russian colonel whose decisions are based on what his digestion tells him? James Kennedy’s style is much like Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) or Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth), delightfully absurd and witty. His characters are lively and engaging, and every new plot twist is hilariously surreal. The villains are as ridiculous as they are inept, and you’ll even find yourself rooting for some of them.
The book is about a 13 year-old girl named Jo who, as a child, was delivered onto her Aunt Lily’s doorstep with a note reading, “This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a DANGEROUS baby.” Jo seems to be anything but dangerous, but at Aunt Lily’s Christmas party, things start going awry. Through a crazy course of events, Jo and her aunt end up in a new, magical world as members of the Order of Odd-Fish, a group of knights who have set out to make themselves experts on any and all useless information. Jo eventually learns important information about her past, and becomes torn between her new home and what seems to be an undeniable destiny.s
This is one of those books that upsets you because it’s the author’s first and only. The Order of Odd-Fish is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time, and it’s definitely enjoyable even for those who don’t consider themselves fantasy readers. Get ready for a crazy ride, and read it. Seriously.
Teen Read Week is celebrated nationally for one week each October, but at SCPL we celebrate it for the whole month! This year the theme is
so we are having three appropriately themed contests just for teens- a Candy Counting contest, a Bite-sized Short Story contest and a Design a Bookmark contest. For more info, the rules and what you can win, please click here. Happy reading!
This year was the second year for our Photobook project where we give 50 cameras to 50 teens and have them take pictures of Spartanburg as they see it. Cameras were given out starting June 15th and due by July 31st. We developed the film, chose at least one good photo from each camera to display and selected five photos as the overall best. Those photographers received a $25 Visa giftcard for their work. All of the photos we chose are on display at the Headquarters Library in the at&t Exhibition Gallery through September.Below are the five photos selected as the best-
No, seriously-- it seems like just the other day Teen Summer Reading was over, then it was August 2nd and Breaking Dawn came out, then it was the 19th and school started and now it is August 28th! Only 3 days until September. We've kept busy with events this month-- a TAG meeting where we discussed Teen Summer Reading 2009, a read & feed where we discussed King Dork by Frank Portman, a Flicks for Teens where we showed Step Up 2: The Streets and a J.A.M.S. where we watched a little Emma and Negima vol. 2 among other things. We also said goodbye to a teen room employee who changed departments, welcomed an intern for the fall and next week two new teen room employees will start. Exciting stuff!
Dancing in the teen room. Just kidding, they are dancing, but they are not in the teen room, they are in Step Up 2: The Streets. Although I think this part is in a warehouse or something, not the streets. :-)
over the weekend and LOVED it. I only liked New Moon and Eclipse, so I was thrilled to enjoy Breaking Dawn as much as I did. I have only discussed it with 3 other people though (no one else is finished!). Two of them loved it and one hated it. Not just disliked, but hated. It is getting mixed reviews online too, but I want to go on record as saying I LOVED IT.
So this year the Teen Advisory Group (TAG) voted to have a beach party theme finale, so we decorated some koozies to keep beach drinks cold, made jewelry with shells, had Spongebob playing in the background, searched for messages in bottles, played pineapple bowling and ate some popsicles! Here are a few photos of the fun!
First up-- the few teens who would humor me by wearing this face frame for a photo-
(I am pretty sure she took this picture herself!)
That is a coconut bowling ball in his hand.
You don't see one of those everyday!
All of the above photos just prove my theory that everyone
looks cool with an inflatable palm tree on their head.
Next up- Koozie decorating shots!
These girls asked if they could looked surprised in the
photo and it was my favorite question all day!
It was an awesome summer-- we read a lot of good books,
held a lot of fun events and had an overall great time! Hope everyone enjoys their last few weeks of freedom before school starts. We're going to draw for the big summer reading prizes before the end of the week, so cross your fingers!
Friday we celebrated all things Twilight at our Twilight Party! We had some fabulous freebies thanks to the publisher-- buttons, stickers, t-shirts and a DVD of the trailer with some behind the scenes stuff. We had a trivia contest, vampire teeth, a wedding cake for Edward and Bella, pennant flag making so everyone could express where their loyalties lie, a costume contest and temporary tattoos of bite barks, scratches, etc.
Everyone could also vote who they thought Bella would end up with and if she would become a vampire, but then I totally forgot to announce the results when we did prizes! So, for the record-- only 3 people think she'll end up with Jacob, everyone else thinks Edward and only 2 people think she'll remain human. Pretty overwhelming numbers, I think. I can't wait to read what happens!
The wedding cake
Close-up of the top (Bella and Edward "disappeared" at some point during the party, so I'm glad I got a photo to remember them by!)
Teens posing by the cake
What would a vampire party be without vampire teeth?
This month we discussed Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. It's about a girl who can see and hear faeries... and then the faeries start stalking her. Read & Feed attendees were overall pretty pleased with the book and one girl said it is in her top 10 favorites. It has a sequel called Ink Exchange that continues the story. Next month's book is King Dork by Frank Portman. I've been meaning to read it since it came out, so it will be nice to be forced to read it!
The next event is the Twilight Party on Friday!
Hope to see you there. :-)
Yesterday was our monthly J.A.M.S. meeting and since we didn't get permission for xxxholic vol. 2 (in time, that is-- they approved it today so I guess we'll watch it next month), we watched a little of 4 different anime including Ragnarok
and Batman: Gotham Knight
Next month we'll meet on Friday, August 22nd @ 4:30pm!
Every summer we hold our TAG meeting at Barnes & Noble and use the time to find and request books for the library to add to its collection. It is always crowded, we are always in the way (the teen books are on the way to the bathrooms and the staff lounge, so we get a lot of "excuse me's"), but it is always fun and a nice change from our regular meetings. Yesterday I got pages of requests, a tall mint mocha chip frappucino and some pictures of teens on the hunt for a good book!
Searching the teen section for books to request.
Posing with (I think she said) an old Bratz case.
Money from Hong Kong where one of the teens just went.
You can't tell, but it's plastic!
Usually I am behind the camera (I honestly don't even
know who took this), but it is rare to find me listening
and not talking, so here is proof that it happens!
About 10 teens came out Friday not to decorate their t-shirts, but to transform them! We used patterns from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt by Megan Nicolay. We used only the no sew ideas and we had some interesting creations! The book is available for check out if you're interested. :-)
Here are a couple of pictures of the teens at work-
Yesterday we had a Mario Kart tournament on the Wii which was lots of fun and pretty competitive! Around 40 teens played in a single elimination style tournament where only one teen could be the fastest. Here is a photo of some of the action-
and below is a photo of the winner. Congratulations!
The next teen event is Transform Your T-shirt on Friday, July 11th @ 3pm in the Hoechst Celanese Room. Don't forget to bring a t-shirt!
Yesterday our anime club, J.A.M.S. met and enjoyed the whole first volume of xxxholic! I'm going to try and get permission to show volume 2 in July. We also had a little cosplay contest and I took a picture of the awesome results!
Yesterday we showed The Other Boleyn Girl to a group of teens who knew a surprising amount about King Henry VIII and his life. I was impressed! The movie is based on a book of the same name by Philippa Gregory if you'd like to read it. We won't have another teen movie until August and we'll vote for what to show at the July TAG meeting. Our next event is our anime club, J.A.M.S. on Wednesday, June 25th @ 3pm. We're showing anime (probably xxxholic!) and having a cosplay contest, so I hope you can join us!
So last year we tried a little experiment called Photobook where we gave 50 teens a camera each and asked them to take pictures of Spartanburg. It went so well we decided fo do it again this year! Find more info here.
Last Wednesday we made custom marble magnets and buttons using our sweet button press. Here are some pics of the fun and the results!
Then yesterday we enjoyed ice cream in the heat while
discussing 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
at our June Read & Feed. The next teen event at HQ is The Other Boleyn Girl on Thursday, June 19th at 3pm. Hope to see you there!
Here are more pics that I promised from TSR sign up! We tie dyed in the raging heat on Friday, but it was so crazy busy that we didn't get to take a picture. It was fun though!
Teen Summer Reading began last Friday and we had a sign up party with lots of cake, Wii playing and duct tape creating. Below are a few pics, I'll post more later!
For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here is a link to the official Twilight teaser trailer. I'm pretty happy with it and can't wait for the whole movie! It opens 12/12/08 which isn't so bad since we'll have Breaking Dawn in August to tide us over. Btw, we're planning a Twilight party for this summer- should be fun!
Since all I'm doing is planning teen summer reading these days, I thought a post about it was in order, especially since I have been slack about posting recently. Here is the 2008 teen summer reading logo!
All the fun begins Friday, May 30th--stay tuned for more info soon!
Considering the last time I posted, one might think nothing happened at the library in March. It did though-- we had a teen book discussion (Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce), a TAG meeting, a double feature movie day (Enchanted and I am Legend) and a J.A.M.S. meeting.
Now here it is April already! This month we are discussing Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan,
showing The Golden Compass, making major teen summer reading decisions at our TAG meeting, and hopefully watching some Bleach and InuYasha at our J.A.M.S. meeting . Also, April 19th is the deadline to enter films for Take One: Teen Short Film Festival and on the 25th local band Backside Forward is going to play the library again. If you missed them last time, here's your second chance! Check the calendar of events for official dates, times and places. Hope you can join us!
jamboread! was this past Saturday and it was crazy and loud and lots of fun! We made altered books, sang karaoke, played the Wii, made custom buttons and got to meet author John Green. My arms are still sore from making buttons with the button press for 5 straight hours, but there are about 400 great buttons accessorizing local teens now, so it was all worth it. :-) Below are some pictures of the fun!
Teen Haiku Contest winners posing with John Green
Making buttons!
Hiding behind altered books
Making altered books
More altered bookmaking
Just a reminder, if you've never read a John Green book, you should consider it. He has two out right now (Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines) and one out in the fall named Paper Towns. I can't wait to read it!
jamboread! is this Saturday and I've been busy preparing, so this blog entry is very late! J.A.M.S. was last Friday and we watched some of Bleach vol. 2, some of Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 1 and gave out a lot of prizes courtesy of Right Stuf! Here are some pics of the crowd posing (while engrossed in their anime)!
Friday we made our own holiday and celebrated by having an Anti-Valentine's Day Party! We made black duct tape roses, anti-valentine's and ate broken heart cookies. I totally forgot to take pictures (although the newspaper was there and they ran some in the paper the next day), but one very sweet teen posed afterwards with her anti-valentine for me!
Monday was our Read & Feed meeting where we discussed An Abundance of Katherines by jamboread! author John Green. We had a great time and can't wait to meet him March 1st!
TAG met last Friday to finalize jamboread! plans, vote on a movie for March (I think we're going to have a double feature, btw) and start a discussion on summer reading for 2008. Much was accomplished, as usual-- the TAG teens are awesome!
Friday we had Greenville band Backside Forward play and they were great! Most of the audience was imported from Greenville though, so next time they play we'll have to get more Spartanburg people here. To hear what you missed, visit their myspace page at www.myspace.com/backsideforward.
Backside Forward
Monday was Read & Feed and we discussed Polly Shulman's Enthusiasm and ate a dessert that involves Fritos (sounds gross, but is good.) Next month we're reading An Abundance of Katherines by jamboread! author John Green. Hope you can join us!
Just a quick note to let you know that the 3rd book in the Inheritance cycle will be released Saturday, September 20th and is titled Brisingr. Here's the cover art-
We got halfway through Naruto disc one yesterday, so we'll probably finish it in February. Next month we're back to meeting on Friday (the 22nd to be exact) and I'm taking suggestions, so let me know what you want to watch so I can get permission. Enjoy the rest of your snow day!
It's been a busy few days! Thursday we had a TAG meeting where we made final decisions about jamboread! activities. Yesterday morning the 2008 Printz Awards were announced and in the afternoon we showed Stardust to celebrate the day off school. In case you don't already know, the Printz Awards are kind of like the Oscars of teen literature. They are for books that "exemplify literary excellence in young adult literature." This year the awards went to:
Printz Award winner
The four Printz honor books are...
The awards totally caught me off guard this year-- I haven't read any of the winning books and they weren't even on my award radar! We own copies of all of them, so check them out and see if you agree with the Printz committee!
Stardust was a lot of fun yesterday, too. If you like the movie, try the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman!
Today was our monthly J.A.M.S. meeting where for the first time in recent memory, we watched 4 episodes of the same show (Bleach) and actually finished a DVD. Pretty exciting. :-) Next month we'll meet on Wednesday, January 16th @ 4:30pm in the Barrett Room. Not sure what we're going to watch yet, so if you have a suggestion, feel free to leave it. Happy Holidays everyone-- see you in 2008!
First, a confession. I begin reading LOTS of books. I also quit reading LOTS of books. I maybe finish 1 out of every 5 I start, so it would be fair to say that I am a pretty picky reader. I used to feel obligated to finish reading a book, but that was several years ago and I am very over that. So, here are 7 teen books* that I not only finished reading this year, but thoroughly enjoyed and/or loved.
*The God of Animals is not technically a teen book, but the main character is a teenage girl and nothing happens that would make it have to be an adult novel, so I'm not sure why it was published for adults. I actually heard about the book from John Green's (author of An Abundance of Katherines) brother Hank on their Brotherhood 2.0 blog. Hank was the author's neighbor. Small world.
I have a lot of reading planned over Christmas break, so it is possible I will have some late 2007 additions. If so, I will post them here. Have great holidays and happy reading!
Last Friday we showed the 5th installment of the Harry Potter story, The Order of the Phoenix and at Monday's Read & Feed we discussed Dairy Queen, one of my favorite books of 2006, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. The author, as it turns out, is sister to Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love, which I happen to currently be reading. Who knew?
Next month we're showing Stardust and discussing Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman (not on the same day though-- check the schedule of events for times!).
We had a great TAG meeting last Friday at which much was discussed and...I forgot to take pictures, so I am just now posting about it. We made some decisions regarding teen jamboread! activities and contests that you will hear more about in the next couple of months. Here's a hint- brush up on your anagramming skills!
Now for some Twilight movie news-- Edward has been cast! Visit Stephenie's official website for a photo, the press release and how she feels about the casting. As for me, I'm thrilled with their choice and I can't wait for the movie!
Soon I will post a list of my favorite reads of 2007, but because I have a problem with a post with no pictures, I'm going to give you a sneak peak-
If you like good books and you like to cry, this is the book for you!
We're having our first ever Teen Winter Reading program this year. It's really easy -- you just read books, review them and you're entered to win prizes! Prizes include great teen books, coffee mugs and bookbags. The fun ends February 29, 2008, so curl up with a good book and then tell us about it!
Friday we showed Hairspray on the big screen and Saturday we had an all day Dungeons & Dragons event led by a couple of awesome D&D experts who go to Wofford. Here are some pictures of the fun!
Next month is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Friday, December 14th @ 4:30pm in the Barrett Room!
Teens at the Westside Library recently had a program called Top Chef Teens - The Peanut Butter Challenge. It was a culinary competition where the teens had to prepare a dish that included peanut butter, but could also include anything else on the ingredients table, which had everything from candy and chocolate sauce to celery and apples. Contestants really got into this program and competition was fierce. Once all the contestants had completed their dish they had to name it, and then it was taste-tested by the judges (Westside staff). A winner was determined for each category: Best Overall (meaning it looked great and was edible), Most Creative, and Nastiest. Winners received a teen cookbook!
Today we had our 3rd anniversary Read & Feed! The book was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I just finished it today but not because it was a difficult read, just a long one (423 pages). I loved the different perspectives of all the characters telling one story but the ending took me by surprise. I haven't made up my mind about it yet...
Next month we're discussing Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock and I think I'm going to propose a cookie exchange because the only thing better than cookies, is lots of cookies!
Friday we had our monthly J.A.M.S. meeting where we finally finished Tsubasa (and gave it away!) and started Blue Gender. Here are a few pictures of everyone "looking natural" and one of a part of Blue Gender.
Next month we'll meet on Friday, December 21st @ 4:30pm in the Barrett Room. Hopefully we'll have something new to watch!
Friday we celebrated the 3rd anniversary of our Teen Advisory Group. We had fancy chocolate cake, fake candles, sparkling grape juice, flowers and ring pops! We even had 3 boys attend, which is a record for us.
We voted for the December teen movie (it's a tie between Stardust and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), discussed the Teen Winter Reading program (coming to a library near you very soon!) and talked about what to do at jamboread! 2008 where the teen author will be....
JOHN GREEN!
For those of you not familiar with John, he's written Looking for Alaska (which won the Printz Award) and An Abundance of Katherines (which won a Printz honor).
For those of you who know and follow his blog, I hope to see all of you nerdfighters there!
We held our monthly J.A.M.S. meeting on Monday and watched a little Pumpkin Scissors (very appropriate for October!), Blue Gender and Tsubasa. Next month our meeting will be back on a Friday (the 16th of November to be exact) and we'll watch either School Rumble, Mushi-Shi, Black Cat or Samurai 7-- J.A.M.S. member votes are due by midnight tonight. Tomorrow is our Teen Halloween Party so I'll post a recap and pics on Monday. Enjoy your day off of school and I hope to see you tomorrow!
Yesterday we showed Transformers and over 20 teens showed up to watch and try to win the DVD. The Teen Advisory Group votes on what movies we show and they've chosen Hairspray for November, so mark your calendars for Friday, November 30th @ 4:30pm and join us!
We had a TAG meeting last Wednesday to discuss last minute stuff for The Teen Gatsby Gala (which was yesterday night) and the Teen Halloween Party (which is in 2 weeks). Here's a photo of some of the crew deep in thought/cheesing for the camera-
We had about 50 teens attend the Teen Gatsby Gala last night (thank you teachers who offered extra credit for attending!) and indulged in food invented in the 1920s such as cheese sandwiches (Velveeta and Wonder Bread), PB & J's (Peter Pan Peanut Butter, Welch's Grape Jelly and Wonder Bread), Milky Ways, Butterfingers, Good Humor bars, A & W Root Beer, Life Savers, and lots more! I forgot to take a picture of the food before it was decimated--oops! It looked so fancy too. :-(
Teens were challenged by some Great Gatsby trivia, a Great Gatsby crossword puzzle (a popular fad of the 1920s), matching slang of the 1920s game, and a type of bingo that involved them discussing The Great Gatsby with other teens. Here are some teens (in costume, no less) playing the games.
The flapper with the red feather on was the winner of our costume contest! We also had The Great Gatsby movie on the big screen, a how-to-do the Charleston instructional video playing and Dance Dance Revolution, because marathon dance contests were a popular fad in the 1920s-
Next month's book is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Hope you can join us!
since I last posted-- oops! We've actually had a book discussion (on Cut by Patricia McCormick), a movie (We Are Marshall) and a J.A.M.S. meeting since my last post, I just didn't take any pictures so I didn't post anything. This past Sunday marked the beginning of The Big Read Gatsby About Town project. Basically, for the next 6 weeks we are encouraging everyone to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and participate in book discussions and events happening around the county. For teens there are book discussions at each SCPL location and an essay contest with a $1100 prize. For more info, visit the Gatsby About Townpage on the library's website!
We had our monthly TAG meeting last Thursday and much was accomplished! We decided on contests and prizes for TeenRead Week, we voted to have (for the first time ever) a Teen Winter Reading program (probably November-February), and we talked about activities for the Teen Gatsby Gala and the Teen Halloween Party. Oh, and Transformers won the October movie vote, so we'll be showing that next month. October is going to be busy!
Here's a pic of some TAG members after the meeting and the feeding frenzy that occurs when they get to choose an ARC* for attending!
*ARC stands for "advanced reader's copy." They are almost final versions of some new books sent to librarians, booksellers, reviewers. etc.! We love them :-)
Yesterday was our monthly J.A.M.S. meeting and the group voted to watch an episode of Tsubasa and two episodes of Air TV. We only met once during the summer and we usually get a couple of DVDs a month from the anime clubs we belong to, so now we've got a lot to choose from!
Yesterday was the first day of school and I fully intended to post a "good luck" entry, but in the afternoon the electricity went out and I had no computer or internet...so good luck on your second day of school and all the ones after that!
In other news, Eclipse, the long awaited third novel by Stephenie Meyer, finally arrived (it was released 2 weeks ago but all the places we order from were out of stock-aargh!). We got 16 copies systemwide with 5 copies just at Headquarters. Sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy it. I've read it and am anxious to discuss it, so stop by the teen room or respond to this post when you finish it!
Yesterday was our Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsRead & Feed. We had several new faces, frozen wands and a lively discussion! Topics discussed included-
-whose death made you cry the most?
-do you like Snape now?
-how was Malfoy the true owner of the wand?
-how could you not see Ron and Hermione getting together?
-what does Harry do as an adult?
-who was that at the train station?
-did you love or hate the epilogue?
Next month's book is Cut by Patrica McCormick. Hope you can join us!
Just a quick post about today's TAG meeting-- we discussed the teen halloween party, the teen gatsby gala, teen read week, and teen summer reading...we didn't make any decisions, but we will! Here are a few TAG members posing with upside-down books after the meeting!
Friday was the Junior Volunteer Party to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who helped out at SCPL this summer. There was pizza, karaoke, prizes and letters of recommendation- good times!
Wofford and SCPL are sponsoring a reading program called Terrier Tales where grades K-8 can earn tickets to Wofford football and basketball games by reading. To sign up, visit any branch or the teen room or multimedia desk at the Headquarters Library!
Photobook: Spartanburg 2007 ended June 30th and we had 37 of the original 50 cameras returned. One photo from each camera was selected for a display in the teen room at the Headquarters Library. The following five photos were selected as the best by a panel of local experts. They are Abernathy's Grocery by Kayla Dixon, the Barnet Park sculpture by Kristen Bell, The Beacon sign by Bonnie Antosh, Building gap by Courtney Tipton and Headquarters Library by Wing Ling Tang. The teens who took the winning shots received a $25 Best Buy gitcard. All photographers were given a set of prints from the film in their camera. Enjoy!
We had our Battle of the Bands: Teen Summer Reading Finale on Friday. Four great local teen bands/musicians (Coma Cinema, Amplifyed, Polyphonic and Steven Howell) competed for the following sweet trophy-
Yes, those are gold eagles. The battle was very loud, crowded and awesome! Amplifyed went home with the trophy and (hopefully) a good time was had by all. Here are some pics in case you missed it!
We had what is becoming our annual summer TAG meeting yesterday at Barnes & Noble. I forgot the camera, so all I've got is a picture of the outside of the building! We met in the teen fiction area and everyone was able to browse the shelves and request books for the library to buy. We also voted on the August teen movie and talked about the possibility of doing a really simple winter reading program. We'll meet at the library next month to discuss fall teen events!
So I stayed home all day Saturday and did basically nothing but read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I finished it a little after 11pm and was not disappointed! Did you guys like it? Here are more pics, as promised, from our Harry Potter party Friday where around 60 teens came to celebrate!
The last Harry Potter book comes out this Saturday and it makes me happy and sad at the same time. So, to celebrate/mourn, we're having a Harry Potter party this Friday from 3-5pm in the Barrett Room at the Headquarters Library. It's open to teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12. We'll have a costume contest, Harry and friends on the big screen, wandmaking, games, fun food and more! Then at 9am on Saturday morning, visit your local SCPL location to check out a copy of book 7. Here's hoping the final book is as awesome as the previous 6!
Today we discussed A Heart Divided by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld at Crossroads Coffee. Here's a synopsis of the book (which I loved-- that's 2 read & feed's in a row!) and a photo from the discussion!
synopsis- When sixteen-year-old Kate, an aspiring playright, moves from New Jersey to attend high school in the South, she becomes embroiled in a controversy to remove the school's Confederate flag symbol.
Next month we're discussing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
I realized that although I've posted about teen summer reading events, I don't think I've ever posted about the teen summer reading program. Oops! Here is the info followed by a picture of the prizes-
-Open to teens ages 12-18 or entering grades 7-12!
-Sign up and receive a card to keep track of your progress!
-Earn points by reading, reviewing items read and attending events just for teens @ the library!
-Earn 10 points and receive a mood cup and a chance to win a $50 giftcard to Westgate Mall! -Earn 20 points and receive a booklight and a chance to win a $100 giftcard to Barnes & Noble! -Keep going, and for each additional 10 points earned, you’ll get another chance at a $100 giftcard to Barnes & Noble!
-Teens who earn 20 points or more will be entered to win an iPod or a Nintendo Wii!
J.A.M.S. met last Monday to watch Black Cat, win prizes and suggest manga titles to add to the teen collection. Here's a pic of a few Otaku in attendance!
This event actually happened on Friday, June 22nd, but I was off last week so I could attend my little sister's wedding in Ohio and am just now getting to post about it. Rob Wilder, a science teacher at Spartan High is in Barrow, Alaska this summer as part of the PolarTrec program. We had a live webcast and Q & A session with him from the comfort of the Headquarters Library. Here are some photos from the event.
Oops- I totally forgot to bring the camera to the book discussion today! We met at Crossroads Coffee right by the library and enjoyed a sandwich tray, fancy coffee drinks and lively discussion about this month's book, Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson. To be honest, I hated this book when I started it, but it won me over by the end and I think I might read the sequel now. Here's the cover and a synopsis-
Synopsis- Three teenaged girls from very different backgrounds, thrown together to pick peaches in a Georgia orchard, spend a summer in pursuit of the right boy, the truest of friends, and the perfect peach.
Hope you'll join us at the July Read & Feed where we'll be discussing A Heart Divided by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld!
Today was the Teen Writer's Group meeting and 10 teens turned out to share their writing and have it critiqued by other teens. Here are some pictures taken between readings!
Around 30 teens showed up to watch Blood and Chocolate today at the HQ library. The movie is based on the teen book of the same name by Annette Curtis Klause. Here are couple of photos- one during the movie and one of a few teens who stayed after so I could take their picture for the blog!
I've been lucky enough to read two books lately that I've really loved. The first, Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr, I wrote about a few days ago. The second I just finished this past weekend. It's called The God of Animals and is by first time author Aryn Kyle. I heard about it on a podcast (teen author John Green and his brother Hank's Brotherhood 2.0 podcast to be exact. Aryn is Hank's neighbor.) and even though it is technically an adult book (but narrated by a 12 year old girl) and I hate the cover (I know, I know), the writing is awesome. I laughed, I cried, etc. Here's a pic of the cover (judge for yourself) and a summary from the publisher-
When her older sister runs away to marry a rodeo cowboy, Alice Winston is left to bear the brunt of her family's troubles -- a depressed, bedridden mother; a reticent, overworked father; and a run-down horse ranch. As the hottest summer in fifteen years unfolds and bills pile up, Alice is torn between dreams of escaping the loneliness of her duty-filled life and a longing to help her father mend their family and the ranch. To make ends meet, the Winstons board the pampered horses of rich neighbors, and for the first time Alice confronts the power and security that class and wealth provide. As her family and their well-being become intertwined with the lives of their clients, Alice is drawn into an adult world of secrets and hard truths, and soon discovers that people -- including herself -- can be cruel, can lie and cheat, and every once in a while, can do something heartbreaking and selfless. Ultimately, Alice and her family must weather a devastating betrayal and a shocking, violent series of events that will test their love and prove the power of forgiveness.
For those of you who've never been to the Headquarters library and seen our awesome teen room, here are some pictures so you can experience it vicariously!
Photobook: Spartanburg 2007 officially started Friday! All 50 cameras are in the hands of 50 Spartanburg teens and we're excited to see what they deem photo-worthy!
I read the best book Friday. It's called Story of a Girl and is by a first time novelist named Sara Zarr. I'm now a fan for life and can't wait for her second book!
Here's a synopsis from the publisher- When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend - Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom and striking emotion, Story of a Girl reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, epiphany and redemption.
What would happen if we gave 50 teens a camera each and asked them to photograph Spartanburg? Let's find out!
Join us for the Photobook: Spartanburg 2007 kick off event on Friday, June 1st @ 3pm in the Barrett Room at the Headquarters Library located at 151 S. Church St. in Spartanburg. Local photographer Mark Olencki will talk about what to look for in a photograph and give other photography tips. One time use 35mm cameras will be distributed to the first 50 teens in attendance.
Photobook is open to teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12 and runs June 1st– June 30th.
Cameras must be turned in to any Spartanburg County Public Library by Saturday, June 30th and be accompanied by the photographer’s name, address, phone #, age and grade in school.
Film from the cameras will be developed and one photo from each camera will be selected to display at the Headquarters Library in July. Five photos will be selected as the best by a panel of local experts and the teens who took those photos will receive a $25 Best Buy giftcard. All photographers will be given a set of prints from the film in their camera.
Call 864-596-3500 x.1241 or email susanw@infodepot.org with questions!
So school is out and teen summer reading has officially begun! We had our sign up party yesterday at the Headquarters Library and around 60 teens came to sign up, eat, make hemp keychains, watch Happily N'Ever After and play Dance Dance Revolution. Click on the teen summer reading logo to learn more!
