Teens Blog
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!
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
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
.jpg "Teen Summer Reading Game logo")
If you're reading this, chances are you literally just got out of school for the summer! I know, the last thing on your mind might be more reading- but now's the time to come down to any library location and sign up for the Summer Reading Game! We've got library staff ready and waiting to sign you up, and there are tons of excellent prizes to earn- all just for reading anything with pages over the summer(yes, really)! Read more info about the games at the Reading Games page on our website, or stop in and pick up your game board and find out the rules in person!
The pillars at the entrance to the Teen Area were recently decorated in anticipation of this year's Teen Summer Reading game: Wild Style! If you haven't been downstairs recently, you really ought to stop by(of course, if you're reading this in the Teen Area you already know). We decided to throw a little color around down here and I think it turned out great. We'll have a whole post about the game and Summer activities soon- but for now, come on down and take a look at our mess!
We can’t leave the subject of Holocaust fiction without talking about The Book Thief by award-winning Australian author, Markus Zusak. Published in 2006, this 550-page volume went on to win a Printz honor award—for excellence in young adult fiction—in 2007. Narrated by death, it is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who, after witnessing the death of her little brother and becoming separated from her parents in Nazi Germany, is then taken in by foster parents in a small town on the edge of Munich. Liesel’s life intersects with many others, including the Jewish man hidden in her basement, the mayor’s wife who leaves the window to her personal library open so that Liesel has free access, and the neighbor boy who becomes her lifelong best friend. Throughout, Liesel learns to draw on the power of her stolen books as a means of survival.
One of my favorite things about Zusak’s writing is how he personifies inanimate objects or ideas. By describing something otherwise lifeless in human terms and human actions, the reader gets a heightened sense of what the characters feel and think. Consider these two examples:
“As the book quivered in her lap, the secret sat in her mouth. It made itself comfortable. It crossed its legs”
“Before they proceeded to their respective homes, Rudy’s voice reached over and handed Liesel the truth. For a while, it sat on her shoulder, and a few thoughts later, it made its way to her ear.”
Although published as a book for teens, The Book Thief has been popular with adults as well. Regardless, its impact as an example of literary excellence will endure. Please read it.
The Book Thief
0375831002
Book