Here in the Teen Services department, we are constantly striving to provide the kinds of programs that Kalamazoo's teenagers want. We know that gaming, crafts, and Japanese pop culture are popular. And Galley Group attracts new enthusiastic teen readers almost every month. Besides those, however, are there other programs we could offer that would bring you and your friends to the library? If so, we want to hear from you! Among the ideas that we have recently scheduled that either had to be cancelled due to lack of registrants or had few, if any, attendees include reader's theatre and workshops in the library's computer lab.
If you are a teenager and you have some good ideas about how the library can better serve its teen patrons, please leave your comments below. Better yet, consider joining the Teen Advisory Board (T.A.B.), which meets once a month. The next meeting is Wednesday, December 2, from 3:30 to 5 in the Van Deusen Room. We look forward to your feedback!
Karen posted earlier about the upcoming visits by great authors during 2009-2010, and we're about to kick things off with a visit by this year's visiting Youth Literature Seminar authors Lisa McMann and James A. Owen. Lisa's suspense-filled Wake is one of this year's Teen Top Ten award winners, and James' Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series is sure to appeal to fantasy lovers. Hear Lisa and James talk about their work and read selected passages from their books (including possible sneak previews!) There will be time for Q&A and book signing as well, so if you're a fan of Lisa and/or James, or if you're just curious about the writing process, be sure to come to Central at 6:30 PM on Thursday for the Meet the Author event!
Book
Lisa McMann
lisa-mcmann-photo-160
http://www.kpl.gov/teens/meet-the-author.aspx
Teen Read Week started yesterday, and we’re celebrating down in the Teen Area. You may have noticed our banner and a list of fun themes for each day, but even if you haven’t stopped by there’s still plenty to do. If you don’t do anything else this week, why not grab one of our science fiction and fantasy-themed books from our display and try out a genre you’ve never read before? If the sci-fi/fantasy thing doesn’t do it for you, why not vote for next year’s theme? Finally, what we’ve really been waiting for down here is the announcement of this year’s Teens’ Top 10 Awards! The full list of winners can be found at the ALA’s Teens’ Top 10 page(did any of your favorites win?) but here in the Teen Area we’re very excited that Wake by Lisa McMann is one of this year’s winners! You can see Lisa speak in person about her books and more on November 12, when she visits Kalamazoo as part of the Youth Literature Seminar. Congratulations to Lisa and to all of the Teens’ Top 10 winners!
Wake
9781416953579
Book
How many times have you recalled, in conversations with friends and loved ones, exactly what you were doing when you learned about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001? For me, my kids had their very first play date that morning with a new friend who has since become like a son to me and whose mom has become one of my closest friends. So not surprisingly, those two events--the 9/11 attacks and that play date--will be forever connected.
In David Levithan's newest title for young adults, Love is the Higher Law, three New York teenagers whose paths had barely crossed before the attacks find similar connections in the days, weeks, and months that follow. Claire, Jasper, and Peter, each in a distinctive voice, relate their story in alternating chapters. Insightful but not overly preachy, Levithan sheds a shining light on how a young person might have reacted to and internalized the horrors of that day.
Book
Love is the Higher Law
9780375834684
If you signed up for the Teen summer reading game at the Teen desk this year, chances are you got a folder with the list of nominees for this year's Teen Top Ten awards. You might even have checked out a few, or maybe even the entire list! Well, if you've been waiting the whole summer to vote for your favorites, now's your chance: From now until September 18, voting is open at the ALA's Teen Top Ten page! Head there to check out more info about the awards and voting, or if you're just ready to vote, head on over to the ballot page to cast your vote! Teens can vote for up to three of their favorites, nd the winners will be announced in a webcast featuring WWE Superstars and Divas during Teen Read Week. Voice your choice- vote for your favorites now, and then come back and let us know what your favorite Top Ten-nominated books for the summer were!
Picture this: You're about to start your senior year in high school; you have lots of friends; you're good at sports; you're even well dressed. From all outward appearances, you've got it made. But what others don't know is that somehow or other you keep disappointing the person whose opinion matters to you more than anyone else's...your dad's. Sure, maybe you're made a few mistakes, but in his eyes, you can't do anything right. And you're starting to believe him.
So your self esteem takes a nose dive and on top of that, after your most recent exercise in poor judgement, you are sent away to live in a trailer park with your glam rocker uncle whom you barely know. What good can possibly come of this?
This is Liam Geller's story, written by K. L. Going, and it is funny on many levels. But it's also a sad commentary on how damaging relationships--with parents, kids, friends--can be when one person forgets to consider the feelings of the other person. It's such a simple and universal theme...in fact, I'd be surprised if you don't recognize someone you know before you finish the book.
King of the Screwups
9780152062583
Book
While I consider myself to be a fairly good writer, I often wish I had been a little more willing to step outside of my comfort zone and try new ways of expressing myself on paper, for instance through poetry or fiction or other forms of creative writing. Perhaps I would have ended up going down a slightly different path and become a professional writer. Nonetheless, one of my favorite things about being a librarian is having the opportunity to hear authors speak about their development as writers. When did they know they wanted to do nothing else but write? How long did it take to get their first book published? What inspires them to write the things they write about?
If these kinds of questions interest you, you will be glad to know that the Teen Services department at KPL often brings well-known young adult authors to Kalamazoo so that you can ask them these questions (and more!) yourself. For instance, in the last several years, we've had Sharon Draper, Chris Crutcher, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jacqueline Woodson, John Green, Angela Johnson and M.T. Anderson, just to name a few. And this year is no different. We are busy getting ready for fall visits from authors Lisa McMann (Wake and Fade) and James A. Owen (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series), as well as some other favorite authors who will be coming later in the 2009-2010 year. You'll definitely want to keep checking back here for the latest news on upcoming author visits.
In the meantime, if you have read any of Lisa McMann's or James A. Owen's books, what did you think about them? We'd love to know!
Wake
9781416953579
Book
The most recent teens books I have read, Hate List by Jennifer Brown and The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson, were galleys, which means they haven't been published yet. Therefore, unfortunately, I cannot link the titles to a KPL catalog record since they have yet to be added to the Teen collection. BUT...if reading new books before they are even published is something that interests you, I'd like to invite you to join Galley Review Group. Members of GRG have the opportunity to read these pre-publication versions of new books and then provide their opinions to the publishers by filling out this review form. We meet once a month to talk about the titles we've read and to discuss which ones we think should be nominated for the Teens Top Ten list.
If you are an avid reader and would like to get in on the fun of reading new teen titles before everyone else, call the Teen desk at 553-7807. Of just come to our next meeting which will be Thursday, August 6 at 4:00 at the Central branch downtown.
Hope to see you there!
Book
Galley Review Group
teens-reading-111-160
http://www.kpl.gov/teens/galley-group.aspx
Looking for something to read this summer? Want to know what other teens are recommending? Take a look at this list...these are the books that have been nominated for the 2009 Teens Top Ten list that will be announced during Teen Read Week in October. Fifteen teen book groups across the country, including our own Galley Review Group, have helped create this list of nominations from the hundreds of pre-publication titles provided by publishers during the last year. After you've read your choices, make sure to vote for up to ten of your favorites between August 25 and September 18 at www.ala.org/teenstopten.
City of Ashes
9781416914297
Book