Photo contest starts today!

In case you missed all the previous buzz about it, the first ever online, teens only, Shorewood Library summer photo contest starts TODAY!

Are you a photographer wannabe? Obsessed with editing images? Attached at the thumb to the camera button on your smart phone? Then hear this: enter the “Beneath the Surface” photo contest for a chance to have your beautiful, unique photography displayed at Shorewood Library for the whole community to see.

How does it work, exactly? It’s online, like I said, which means that all the photos that are submitted must be digital and will be published immediately to a  Tumblr set up just for the photo contest. You can keep track of what you and your friends, and your neighbors, and/or complete strangers are submitting to the contest, comment on your faves (do NOT diss ones you don’t like – no negative comments will be allowed) and get inspired to take your own pictures.

Because the photo contest is online, this means you can also easily submit your photo, along with caption, right to the Tumblr where the photo contest lives online: shorlibteens.tumblr.com. If that’s not how you want to submit, email your photo to splteen@mcfls.org. Multiple entries are very much welcome, but please submit one photo at a time!

Happy snapping!

Read them while they’re hot! (And before May 8th)

In two short weeks, Shorewood will host four YA authors. Kiera Cass, Elizabeth Norris, Aprilynne Pike and Amy Tintera will be here to discuss their work including their brand new books, which are mostly hitting the shelves this week and next week. We’re getting so excited to meet all of these authors. Why not pick up some of their books before they’re here so you have lots of questions for them?!?!

4/23: The Elite by Kiera Cass – this is the sequel to last year’s The Selection. There’s a long waiting list for this one, so if you don’t get to read it before meeting Kiera Cass, you could always just buy it from Boswell Books on the night of the author visit.

In The Elite, the competition for the heart of Prince Maxon is still fierce. There are only six young ladies left in the running, and America finds herself more and more swept up in Maxon’s romantic ways. But she sees her old friend Aspen standing guard around the palace and can’t help but be overcome with memories of their time together. If she’s going to choose between the two, time is running out. Her decision gets all the more crucial as the violent rebels increase their fight and unexpected secrets come to light.

Is there going to be a third book? We’ll have to ask Kiera Cass when she’s here!

4/23: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris – sequel to last year’s Unraveling, which we also just got in hardcover format!

Distracted by a moment with her crush, Janelle is killed instantly when she doesn’t see a car coming. Mysterious Ben brings her back to life, unharmed. Driven by her own involvement in strange activities – and her FBI father’s possible involvement investigating a series of gruesome deaths that may be linked to Janelle’s experience – Janelle begins to pursue answers. What she finds is bigger than anything she could have imagined and will tie her to her mysterious savior across time and space. In Unbreakable, Ben has returned to his home and Janelle has no time to dwell on their lost love. When an Interverse agent shows up unexpectedly and fills Janelle in on a human trafficking plot in which Ben is the key suspect, she is forced to face her past and her future.

4/30: Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike – this is a stand-alone title, very different from Pike’s previous, more fantasy-driven work.

Jeff is the new kid in his school, which has it’s problems. It doesn’t really help that he’s the only one who can see the ghost of Kimberlee, a former classmate who died and can’t move forward into the afterlife until she has righted some wrongs from her life. Klepto Kimberlee must return everything she stole, and Ben agrees to help her. However, turning up unannounced and unexplained with stolen goods isn’t exactly good for a guy’s reputation and things go hilariously awry.

And coming soon: the debut title from debut author Amy Tintera that is sure to skyrocket her to popularity!

5/7: Reboot by Amy Tintera – this is a great sci fi novel with a serious kick that will definitely have us all eagerly anticipating Tintera’s next book.

Wren is one of many young people who died from a mysterious disease and were then “rebooted.” Reboots, as they’re known, come back stronger, better-looking, almost like genetically perfected humans. Because they also come back with less empathy and more aggression – depending on how long they were dead – they are confined to a special camp where they are trained to be ruthless soldiers. Wren commands respect from her fellow Reboots because of how long she was dead, but when Wren becomes inexplicably drawn to a new Reboot she begins to learn about the terrible fates of those who were dead for less time than her. She must use her position of power to uncover the truth and forge an escape for those she has come to trust and rely on.

IMPORTANT JOHN GREEN ANNOUNCEMENT

It has come to my attention that there is an awesome live stream event happening on January 15th with author John Green to celebrate one year since the publication of arguably his most famous book, The Fault in Our Stars.

7pm Eastern, 6pm Central.

Learn slightly more here: http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/post/39752611431/penguinteen-updated-post-weve-added-events

Shorewood High School student Nerdfighters have requested we (the library) help host the live-stream event by providing a venue.

SOOOOOOO:

Tuesday, January 15, 5:45 p.m.

Village Center Meeting Room

Live stream w.John Green begins at 6:00 SHARP.

Bring your friends, your food, your awesomeness.

Nerdfighters: you have been notified!

New (awesome!) stuff happening this Winter & Spring!

Check out the Winter & Spring events page to see the newly scheduled awesomeness taking place! The Hobbit party last week was a success and lots of fun, and there is more fun to come. 2013 is nearly upon us, so take your winter break to relax, do some crafts at the Craft-A-Palooza on the 29th, and gear up for what’s happening at the library between January and April.

Highlights…

MCTBA voting: What the heck is a MCTBA? MCTBA stands for Milwaukee County Teen Book Award and means the ONLY local teen book award around! YOU, Milwaukee County teens get to choose the number one book of the year. Vote at Shorewood Library, or online at mctba.wordpress.com, or via email to mctba.votes@gmail.com, between January 1 and March 1, 2013!

Bucks Reading Challenge: Challenge yourself to meet the reading goal and win a ticket to a Bucks game! For students in grades 3-10. Register and read between January 2 and February 27.

March Madness Read-A-Thon: Get into the madness of March with a crazy day of mass reading! All ages are welcome to this four hour power read with story telling, silent reading, group reading, talking about books, and all kinds of reading-related hilarity.

Book Club: Opinions Needed!

Book club is coming in January 2013.

Shorewood’s teen book club is for those in grades 7-12 who want to read a book and then talk about it with other knowledgeable and book-loving folks. Everyone will check out the book (or buy it, or borrow it, or download it) and then read (or listen!) to it before we all meet, armed with opinions and voices, and hash it out. Characters will be argued for and against, questions will be raised and answered and then lead to more questions which might not be answered, plot points will be gone over and over and over until we’re all satisfied we know what happened and why. All this in the name of reading and having a great time doing it.

Book club is real. It’s happening. And it’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll meet once a month from January until April 2013, so get excited!

But here’s the kicker: YOU get to decide what we’ll read. Well, sort of. Since there are about a billion* books to choose from, I’ve narrowed down the field a little bit. I’ve thought up three grand themes, with a sample list of titles, that I want your opinion on.

Submit your answer today!

*I didn’t actually count, so “a billion” is just a rough estimate.

Teen Happenings this Fall

Have you seen the Fall 2012 Events page on our website? Check it out to learn more about what’s going on at the library for teens this Fall! There have been updates in the last week, with more fun planned for the month of October. Here are some highlights:

Next Thursday, October 18th, TAB members and myself, the teen librarian, will host an informational meeting for people interested in seeing what TAB is all about. From 6-7:00pm, we’ll answer your TAB questions and let you voice some ideas for making the library a better place!

Book pumpkin making, October 20 at the library.

Stop by the library on Saturday, October 20th to make a pumpkin out of an old book (that we promise is no longer being used), a stick and some glue. No wonderful books will be harmed. And many wonderful pumpkins will be made. From noon to 1:30 pm on Saturday, October 20th, teens in grades 7-12 are welcome to come get crafty at the library.

And finally, on Thursday, November 8 author John Flanagan will be at Shorewood Library! Fans of the Brotherband Chronicles and the Ranger’s Apprentice series will not want to miss out on a chance to meet Flanagan.

Hello from Emily!

Hi Shorewood Public Library teens! I’m Emily, the new teen librarian. I’m excited to get started as your librarian. Soon, the Teen Advisory Board will be back underway and we’ll get to planning some fun teen programs for the coming months. I hope to see many of you clamoring to get your hands on some great reads as I stock the teen section of the library with brand-spanking-new, hot-off-the-presses books (like Libba Bray’s newest, The Diviners! I promise you’ll find it on the shelves ASAP). As always, if you’re interested in joining TAB or being a teen volunteer, use the links on the right hand side of the teen page to find out more about those ventures. If you have a question about either of those opportunities, or a question or suggestion of any kind email me or find me at the library. Ask for Emily at the customer service (check-out) or information desk if you’d like to meet  me!

Questions, comments or concerns? Email me at splteen@mcfls.org.

 

Summer 2012

Summer is winding down, but you still have a few weeks to turn in your reading folder info to get all the awesome coupons and to get your entries in for the grand prize drawing (gift cards, books, candy, movies, and more!).  The grand prize drawing will be at the end of August.

You may have noticed the blog has been quiet recently, that’s because I’m been extremely busy getting things ready for the new librarian who will start this fall.  I’m leaving Shorewood in August, but look for new book reviews, event info and more coming in a few months.

 

Summer 2012

Summer is here!! You can sign up for Teen Summer Reading right now and events start the week of June 11.  Summer events include Tie Dye, Movie Book Group, Hunger Games Book Group and Summer Game Days.  Check out the Events page for more info.

Here’s a printable flyer with info about all the teen summer events.

Hunger Games Movie Release Party

Join us March 22 from 7-9 p.m. for our Hunger Games Movie Release Party!  Test your knowledge with Hunger Games trivia, show your love for the book by designing a t-shirt, come dressed as your favorite character for the costume contest, and prepare for the games with a Capital makeover.  All this plus food and prizes!  The library closes at 8 p.m., so make sure you’re here by 7 p.m.  This event is recommended for students in 6th-12th grade.

For more info check out the Events page.