Teens Blog
It's that time of year when publishers and booksellers come out with their "best of the best" lists. We're always curious to see what teen titles are being recognized and whether or not our circulation statistics and casual conversations with you, our teen patrons, reflect these trends. What do you think? Have you read any of the titles below? Are there titles that aren't on this list that you think should be? Let us know what you think! Maybe we'll come up with our own KPL list!
Publisher's Weekly - Best Books of the Year - Children's Fiction (includes teen titles)
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 2: The Kingdom of the Waves by M.T. Anderson
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (on order)
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Nation by Terry Pratchett
This past weekend saw a collection of vampires, tigers, pandas, princesses, zombies, zombie snowboarders (what?), and other odd characters invaded the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for the annual Teen Halloween event. Nearly 120 costumed teens showed up for a night of Halloween fun, including a performance by Crawlspace Eviction, a costume contest, and a dance with some seriously excellent music. If you weren't there, you missed out! You can still see what you missed by checking out our Flickr page for the event.
The annual Teen department Read-A-Thon fundraiser for Loaves and Fishes was a big success(just look at the photos!) and the donated food items are starting to roll in! Just a reminder: if you've got pledges you still need to turn in, the deadline for getting those in to the Teen department is November 1st... so hurry and get those canned goods in!
Recently, we were honored to have award-winning author Sharon Draper visit Kalamazoo to talk about her work. Ms. Draper gave a fascinating and entertaining presentation here at KPL on Wednesday, October 1st and spoke about a number of topics including the inspiration behind her stories and characters, how she writes her books, and if her novels will be made into movies(hint: if Denzel Washington is out there somewhere reading this post, please call Ms. Draper's agent).
If you missed it, take a look at our Flickr page for photos of the event!
Book
Sharon Draper visits KPL
sharon-draper-2-160
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalamazoopubliclibrary/sets/72157607874818186/
The re-carpeting project is finally over, and the Teen department is back and better than ever. Come on down and check out:
- our new and improved comics section!
- the new arrangement for the tables and seating area!
- and, of course, the fancy new carpet!
Be sure to look at our Flickr gallery of before and after pictures to see what we went through. We're still looking to come up with even more improvements so if there's something you'd like to see in the Teen area, leave us a comment or stop by the desk and let us know!
Do you wish you could vote in the upcoming presidential election but are not legally allowed to do so due to your age? If so, then Teens' Top Ten might just satisfy that need you have to let your voice be heard. KPL's own Galley Review Group was one of fifteen teen book groups across the country that helped select the nominated titles. And now, when YOU go online to cast your vote during Teen Read Week (October 12-18), you help ensure that the 2008 Teens' Top Ten list is truly representative of the reading tastes of teens everywhere. So go read one or two more of the nominated titles, then cast your vote between October 12 and 18. Check our calendar for other Teen Read Week programs.
If you haven't been down to the Teen department lately, well, now is most definitely not the time to come down. The reason? We're closed! The final phase of the lower level re-carpeting project starts today, and we've barricaded ourselves inside the Teen office until it's finished on Friday the 26th. Fortunately, we'll still be running our great programming all this week, including J-Pop, Tween Central, and T.A.B. so you won't miss a thing. Be sure to stop in next Monday to check out our new carpet. It'll be worth the wait, seriously!
It's that time of year again- the days are getting shorter, darker, and colder, and the vampires are coming out to feast on human blood. OK, maybe not that last one... but it's definitely time to start thinking about all things scary! While you're planning your costume this year, make sure you don't forget to check out Teen Halloween on October 25th at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts! Co-sponsored by KPL, the KIA, and Kalamazoo Education for the Arts, Teen Halloween is a celebration for teens only. This year's festivities include a live performance by Kalamazoo's own Crawlspace Eviction, a costume contest with great prizes, and a dance with a live DJ spinning your favorite tracks. Doors open at 6:30, and the program starts at 7:00. Look for free tickets at the Teen desk or at the KIA soon!
Things my grandma thinks are true
She says my brown eyes are a fluorescent blue
No grandma that's not me it's you!
She say ducks are born from chicken
No grandma ducks are born from geese and chicks from hen
She says uncle louise has gotten his wife pregnant again
No grandma you mean aunt louise and she doesn't have a boyfriend or husband
She says the bark on a tree taste like honey one bite will make you feel like a star of a show!
No grandma...wait, I can't say no because the answer to that I don't even know.
Tyesha P., 17
Written in creative writing workshop for teens held at the KPL in July.
Good hello, and allow me to be introducing myselves! My name is Stewart Fritz and I'm the new lead librarian here in the Teen department. While I've worked at KPL since 2006, if you weren't in the Children's Room a lot, or attended one of the programs I ran, or were a member of the J-Pop Club, then you may not know who I am. Here's a quick summary:
I graduated from Loy Norrix High School, way back in the dark days when cell phones were the size of small cars and the Joker still looked like Jack Nicholson. I have a bachelor's degree in art, and I worked for many years at a major video game company doing interface graphics for games like Mortal Kombat(RARRRRRGH!). I've also been a web designer, camp counselor, cook, and radio station disc jockey. I got my librarian degree in 2005 and started at KPL in 2006 in the Children's Room. I quickly was drafted to take over the monthly J-Pop animation club, and soon after found myself running other programs for Tweens and Teens.
I'm a big fan of fantasy and science fiction books and films, and I really love graphic novels so you may find me rummaging through our stacks for the titles I haven't already read a hundred times. I occasionally can be coaxed into a game of Guitar Hero, although my DDR skills are notoriously awful so don't ask. I still draw and do printmaking and I'll listen to just about any kind of music. My favorite color is black, my favorite book this month is Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society, my favorite video game is Katamari Damacy and my secret weakness is the famous Hot Doug's in Chicago. Look it up next time you're in town and tell him Stewart sent you.
That's about it... if you're in the Teen area stop by and say "hi!"