April is National Poetry Month!

And we have been celebrating in the Youth Services Room!  A group of young poets attended two after-school poetry workshops.  They had a lot of fun creating poems from book spines.  Here are some examples of their Book Spine Poetry:

       They also created Six-Word Memoirs (describing something about themselves in exactly six words) and Poetry Tweets (writing a poem using only 140 characters or less, like a tweet).  I'll share some examples of these in the next blog post, after you've had a chance to hear the poets speak their words!

       Come to the library this Wednesday, April 10th, from 6:30-7:30 when the young poets will share their poems.  You are invited to share your poetry, too!  So bring a friend and be at the Youth Services Room on Wednesday.

Connie

Bullying

         We hear so much about the cruelty of bullying.  There are many helpful books that explore this important topic.  Here are two which pair nicely together and which I think are really good.

Bystander by James Preller

         Most of us are not bullies, but are likely to be bystanders.  We see and hear someone being bullied, but we try to ignore it…to not get involved… and we don’t stand up to the bully.

         Eric is the new kid in seventh grade. Griffin wants to be his friend. When you’re new in town, it’s hard to know who to hang out with—and who to avoid. Griffin seems cool, confident, and popular. But something isn’t right about Griffin. He always seems to be in the middle of bad things. And if Griffin doesn't like you, you’d better watch your back. There might be a target on it.
       As Eric gets drawn deeper into Griffin’s dark world, he begins to see the truth about Griffin: He’s a liar, a bully, a thief.  Eric discovers there are consequences to standing by and watching as the bully hurts people. In one shocking moment, Eric goes from being a bystander . . . to being the bully’s next victim.

Cornered: 14 Stories of Bullying and Defiance edited by Rhoda Belleza

       It does not necessarily take a fist to create a punch in the gut. Fourteen short stories by well-known young adult authors delve into the experience of being bullied—socially, emotionally, physically, psychologically, and sexually. The school hallways, walking home, and house walls are no longer boundaries for intimidation and harassment. With social media and smartphones, bullying has lost all limits, and the lines among truth, lies, and real accountability have become blurred.
     Cornered includes stories by Jennifer Brown (Hate List), Elizabeth Miles (Fury), and Josh Berk (The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin).

Books can help us understand ourselves and others.

Happy reading,
Connie

Have you registered yet for the Sweet Tweets Poetry workshops?

       I hope you have marked your calendar for March 27th and April 3rd from 3:00-4:00.  We’ll have some fun with words, creating poems from book spines and composing six-word memoirs before we try our hand at some poetry tweets!

Here are a couple of poetry tweets that I like:

 Every time we say goodbye a piece of me is torn aside.  It pulls and pulls, stretched out wide, until again we two collide.

________________________________________________________

Strength isn’t about the size of your muscles. It’s more to do with how you cope with all life’s little tussles.

 

See you there!  Bring a friend!
Connie

Sweet Tweets @ the Library!

April is National Poetry Month and we are ready to celebrate! 

I will offer two poetry workshops after school on March 27th and April 3rd, from 3:00-4:00.   Our goal is to write Poetry Tweets---creating a short poem using 140 characters of less (think Twitter!).

We will do some fun word play to warm us up, like creating Book Spine Poetry.  Here are two examples of that.

 

We’ll also try Six-Word  Memoirs, describing something about ourselves in 6 words or less.  Here’s one I just wrote about myself.

 Grand kids.  More fun than kids.

We then will be ready to tackle writing our Sweet Tweets! There will be plenty of time to work on your poetry tweet during the second workshop. We will share at the library on April 10th in the evening from 6:30-7:30.

So, grab some friends and register at the library (or call us to register) for some creative fun!

See you there,
Connie

The United States of YA

         I bumped into this really cool graphic at  http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-united-states-of-ya/


         And the creators of the website give permission for anyone to re-post the map or to print it!    

         Epic Reads has selected one book for each state.  How many have you read?  I’ve read 15 of the books, and need to read more!  

         And check out Maine’s title: Delirium by Lauren Oliver. 

         Let me know how many titles you have read. 

        Epic Reads is now working on a world list, finding YA novels set in every country!
You can check out what they have so far here:  http://www.epicreads.com/forum/read.php?44,1086

Happy reading,
Connie

Let’s Hear It For Nonfiction!

        I read mostly fiction, but am beginning to realize all the great nonfiction books that I am missing.  Narrative nonfiction (nonfiction that tells a story) is every bit as exciting and engaging as fiction,--and has lots of good information. 

       Try pairing a fiction book you like with a nonfiction book on the same subject.  The pairing will make your reading experience of both fiction and nonfiction richer.

       Here is a pair I think you would like.

The Green Glass Sea by  Ellen Klages (fiction)

            It's 1943, and Dewey Kerrigan is on her way to New Mexico to live with her mathematician father. Soon she arrives at a town that, officially, doesn't exist. It is called Los Alamos, and it is abuzz with activity, as scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Europe are part of the Manhattan Project, working on the biggest secret of all--"the gadget" – the atomic bomb.  None of them knows  how much "the gadget" is about to change their lives.

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin   (Mrs C’s favorite nonfiction book at the moment!) (nonfiction)

             This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and the genius that created the world's most formidable weapon --the atomic bomb.  In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos, New Mexico, working on the Manhattan Project.

And you even can add a graphic biography to this pair (I guess this makes triplets!).

Feymann by Ottaviani and Myrick (graphic biography)

          This is a graphic biography of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century: Richard Feynman: physicist, Nobel Prize winner, bestselling author, and safe-cracker. In comic format, it tells the story of the great man’s life from his childhood in Long Island to his work on the Manhattan Project and the Challenger disaster.
      
         For suggestions of nonfiction books to pair with fiction books, just ask the staff in the Youth Services Room.


Happy reading,
Connie

It's Awards Season!

          And I’m not just talking about the Academy Awards for movies!  It’s also the time of year when the Best Books lists for 2012 are published.
          The Printz Award is given each year for excellence in literature written for young adults. 

         This year’s winner is In Darkness by Nick Lake. 

         This book, as dark as its title, is set in Haiti after a devastating earthquake. "Shorty" is a very poor Haitian boy trapped in the ruins of a hospital when everything explodes around him. He is surrounded by ruble and dead bodies. He is growing weak without any food or water.  As he waits for a rescue that may or may not come, Shorty becomes aware of another presence near him.  It is a spirit from two hundred years ago, - the spirit of slave and revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose own end came in darkness. What do a child of the slums and the man who shook a troubled country out of slavery have in common?

        There also were four Printz Honor Books for 2012.  They are: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Saenz; Code Name Verity by Wein; Dodger by Prachett; and The White Bicycle by Brenna.

Check out these award-winning books at the library!
Happy reading,
Connie