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Crafts

Glove Monsters

Sunday February 11, 2018: 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Downtown Library: Secret Lab
Grade 6 - Adult

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Blog Post

50th Anniversary of The Outsiders

by manz

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the novel The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, which she started to write at the age of 15. Fifty years, and never out of print, the book is still relevant and read today, touching many generations.

It’s a coming of age tale narrated by Ponyboy, a teen living in small town Oklahoma with his two brothers. Living on the poor side of town and known as Greasers, they and their friends face daily run-ins with the kids from the other side of town – the Socs.

In 1983 a film version of The Outsiders directed by Francis Ford Coppola was released, starring many up and coming young actors who got their break in the film. In 2005 a new version of the film was released, which includes additional scenes that add to the story. The intense behind-the-scenes casting process also included is priceless.

Reading and watching as a kid in the 80s, it was one of the first films and books that had a profound effect on me.

Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

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Blog Post

Kids’ Summer Reading Lists!

by manz

Summertime is here! The last day of school is upon us. The SUMMER GAME starts tomorrow! It’s time to grab some books to fill all your summer adventures.

Here are some 2017 summer reading lists that were compiled by Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) that cover a variety of ages and genres. Below are AADL public lists of them to make for easy browsing within our collection. Be sure to check out some of these great titles, everything from board books, picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels!!

Birth–Preschool Summer Reading List

Grades K–2 Summer Reading List

Grades 3–5 Summer Reading List

Grades 6–8 Summer Reading List

What's on the top of your reading list this summer?

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Blog Post

More Armored Bears!

by endless

Hiding in a cupboard in the Master's room at Oxford, Lyra Belacqua sees him try to poison her uncle, an important northern explorer and scientist. Lyra's daemon, Pan - an external animal manifestation of her soul creature, something between a patronus and animal familiar - urges her to leave quietly, but Lyra decides instead to warn her uncle. In doing so, she aligns herself with his quest to understand the northern lights and to build a bridge to another world. Pullman's trilogy takes place in a multiverse that spans something like WWI England, contemporary America, and a separate universe called Cittegaze, with its own rules of soul and substance. The "northern lights" trilogy, made of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, won several prestigious awards and was made into a series of films (see ). Pullman's trilogy has long been a favorite series to recommend to precocious young readers and teens looking to explore new literary worlds, much as Lyra bridges the universes of the books with her daemon in tow. For every young person today who has sorted themselves into Gryffindor, imagined a pet owl or rat, or wishes they could play quidditch, there's a slightly older person who has imagined themselves a daemon that changes animal forms depending on their true internal state, who has re-read Pullman's trilogy or read it aloud to their children and wondered about the fate of the armored polar bears.

We will soon get another installment of the bears, Lyra, and her northern journeys, because Philip Pullman recently announced a new trilogy to be released in fall 2017! "The Dust," the first new book takes place during the same historical timeline as the original trilogy. This is a great opportunity to go back to Pullman, who challenged young readers and older science fiction devotees to think about humanity's role in global destruction, who challenged the religious tenets of many YA series like the The Chronicles of Narnia, and who imagined a multiverse based on a particle physics decades before Steven Hawking. The series rewards re-readers and celebrates the power of children's curiosity.

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Blog Post

Just Added! New Genre Offerings from Teen Bestselling Authors

by nicole

If you're into Teen lit and looking for something new to obsess over, a couple of popular Teen authors have released (or will soon release!) some brand new titles:

Veronica Roth, author of the dystopian bestseller Divergent, will release Carve The Mark in January 2017, the first in a science fiction duology (because trilogies are so 2012) that calls itself a "stunning portrayal of the power of friendship—and love—in a galaxy filled with unexpected gifts." You'll have to check it out yourself to verify its "stunning"-ness, but readers of Roth's Divergent series will at least be in for something new--this title looks like it will be a much more epic, intergalactic brand of Science Fiction.

Fans of the Sci-Fi fairy tale Cinder will be excited to know that in November Marissa Meyer released Heartless, a story from Wonderland history, long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. School Library Journal calls it "an unforgettable story of the evolution of the Red Queen from a young girl who dreamed of true love and freedom to a madwoman best remembered for the phrase 'Off with his head!'" Anyone who's read Meyer's Lunar Chronicles won't be surprised that the author is telling the semi-sympathetic story of another evil queen, but this title trades in the sprockets and cyborgs for some clean-cut Fantasy.

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Crafts

Wrap It Up! DIY Gift-Giving

Friday December 2, 2016: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Westgate Branch: West Side Room
Grade 6 - Adult

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Public Event

Scratch Workshop: Design a Pong Game

Saturday May 7, 2016: 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Downtown Library: Training Center
Grades 3 - 8

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Blog Post

The Seventh Most Important Thing

by manz

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall received a lot of Newbery buzz in 2015, and while it didn’t win the award, it’s still a winner.

"On a bitter November day in Washington, D.C., when everything felt metallic – when the sky was gray and the wind stung and the dry leaves were making death-rattle sounds in the alleys – thirteen-year-old Arthur Owens picked up a brick from the corner of a crumbling building and threw it at an old man's head."

It didn’t hit the man’s head, it hit his arm. Arthur is then sent to juvie and ultimately assigned community service working for the old man – who they called the Junk Man, since he’s often spotted wheeling a shopping cart and digging through garbage throughout the neighborhood. Was Arthur really supposed to pick through trash collecting things for the crazy old man who stole his dead father’s hat?

Arthur is tasked with rummaging for what the Junk Man, AKA James Hampton, AKA St. James, calls the seven most important things: light bulbs, foil, mirrors, pieces of wood, glass bottles, coffee cans, and cardboard. His father has died, his sister is a pest, he has no friends, he gets bullied at school, he spent time in juvie and is now known as a "bad kid," and now he has to work for the Junk Man collecting weird stuff. Eventually Arthur comes to realize the importance of what the trash will become, and this bit of community service ends up being a life-changing experience for all involved.

The book is set in 1960s but you can barely tell. The character of Hampton is based on real-life American folk artist James Hampton who spent over a decade creating his vision of heaven from scraps. While Hampton is based on a real man the rest of the characters and story are fictitious. If you're not familiar with Hampton's art, read the book before you dig for details!

It’s a lovely youth novel, great for middle grade readers and for fans of Gary Schmidt’s books.

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Blog Post

Teen Stuff: Orbiting Jupiter

by manz

Gary Schmidt has done it again with his latest teen novel. The acclaimed author won both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy as well as a Newbery Honor for the amazing The Wednesday Wars. Schmidt’s newest novel is written in the same style as The Wednesday Wars and its companion Okay For Now.

Orbiting Jupiter features 14 year old Joseph, and rumor has it that he has a baby, almost killed a teacher, and has just been released from a juvenile detention center. He moves in as a foster with 12 year old Jack and his parents on a family farm in rural Maine. Joseph is wounded, lost and longs to find his baby daughter – all while trying to ward off bullies and learn to milk a cow. The book is full of nice grown-ups, helpful teachers, and a few warm and fuzzy feelings to balance out the harsh reality that is Joseph’s life. It was great to see a brotherly relationship develop between Joseph and Jack in small tender moments amidst all the other things happening in their lives.

It’s a quick read and I really wanted more character development, and the ending happened a bit too quickly, but I am really glad I read this book. (For 7th grade and up.)

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Blog Post

Goodbye Stranger, by Rebecca Stead

by manz

Rebecca Stead, author of Newbery Medal winning When You Reach Me, has a new youth fiction novel out, and it’s delightful! Goodbye Stranger is a story of friendship, love, family, and betrayal set in New York’s Upper West Side. Bridge, Em and Tab have been BFFs forever and they Twinkie swore “no fighting.” Then 7th grade hits. The main character Bridge was in a car accident in 3rd grade which left her immobile for a year, and she struggles with wondering why she survived and what her purpose is.

Now that it’s 7th grade things are changing. Em has new curves, Tab is involved in civil rights, and Bridge is enjoying hanging out with a boy named Sherm, but they’re “just friends.” It’s a good mix of teen angst and innocent wonder. Em gets into some hot water over texting things she shouldn’t be texting and it spits fire on the friendship – even though they Twinkie swore.

The novel is told in the 3rd person, with some chapters told in 2nd person from an unidentified character’s POV, as well as a few chapters with letters Sherm writes to his grandfather.

As a middle grade pre-YA novel it does a good job featuring kind adults and teachers, and while some of the kids come from families of divorce it doesn’t overwhelm the novel. It’s a good one if you’re looking for an easy breezy middle grade novel with a bit of teen drama and lots of beautiful writing.