Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Last Call for Video Entries!

We'll be accepting Teen Video Contest Entries until 11:59pm tonight, so don't forget to enter for your chance at the Flip MinoHD™. Finalists also receive Infamous for Information t-shirts!

Enter here.

See what's already been submitted - and don't forget - we'll be asking all of you to vote for the best video to determine the winner!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

It's not too late to enter & win that video camera!

We're accepting entries into our third annual video contest, and this year, your options are wider than ever before - and not just because there are more books to choose from! This year you can make a video promoting the Sno-Isle Libraries, too.

We can't wait to see your entries!

Enter here.

Check out your competition!

See the entries from 2009 and 2008.

New Video Contest Entry!

Entries for our third annual video contest are rolling in!

Check out the latest:



Take a look at all of the entries so far.

You've got until March 31st to enter here.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Vote for your favorite!


The Children's Choice Book Awards want you to vote for your favorite book, author, and illustrator of last year.

Will it be Blood Promise, Blue Moon, Catching Fire, City of Glass, or Shiver?

Will your favorite author be Suzanne Collins, Carl Hiaasen, Jeff Kinney, James Patterson or Rick Riordan?

For your illustrator options and more head on over and vote!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Digital Photography Scavenger Hunts!

You may have missed your chance when Monroe Library had a digital photo scavenger hunt earlier this month, but you still have three (3!) chances to challenge your friends to a wild day in your community:

Oak Harbor:
Date: 3/1/2010 - 3/31/2010
Use your digital camera or phone to find all of the items on the list. Three winners will be chosen from all finishers at the end of the month.

Marysville
Date: 3/27/2010
Start Time: 1:00 PM
Bring your cameras and your friends and get ready for a crazy time around the city. See how many items on the list your team can find and photograph. Start at the Marysville Library and end up at the Marysville YMCA for a photo slideshow and prizes.

Lynnwood
Date: 3/29/2010
Start Time: 12:00 PM
End Time: 5:00 PM
Don’t sit at home during spring break! Use your camera or camera phone to capture the answers to clues around Lynnwood. Bring your friends and compete against each other or work together as a team (of 4 or less). The teens or teams who get the most clues in the shortest amount of time will receive a prize.

Call or email your library for more information!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

New Video Contest Entry: Our First Teen Generated Library Commercial

Monroe teen Emmett F. created this very cool homemade claymation video to promote Sno-Isle Libraries for our Teen Tech Month Video Contest:




I'm awed by the creativity we are seeing in this year's entries!

Don't forget...the deadline is next Tuseday - March 31st. One talented teen will win a Flip MinoHD!

Health Care Reform is a Reality. Um ... Now What?

A historic, massive health care overhaul was passed into law this week. That sounds great and all, but after a House bill, a Senate bill, a presidential proposal, a Republic counter-proposal, and a year of bickering, who can really keep track of just what exactly the new law really means? And what impact will it have on teens? Here are a few of the elements of the new legislation that will affect you. (Statistics and facts are from the official white house website.)

1. Insurance companies will be required to cover you on your parents' insurance until you're 26. So if you don't find a job right out of high school or college, you can still be covered. Yay! And you really do need it, even if you're healthy - anybody can find themselves in dire need of medical attention after a ninja pirate zombie attack/unexpected illness/bus accident.

2. Your parents don't have insurance? The new law will help over 95% of Americans get coverage by 2014. Insurance companies will be required to charge premiums that are tied to the actual costs of medical care in your area, and quit just making up insanely high numbers. Also, they have to provide a decent quality of coverage, and they can't toss you out on your butt if you have the gall to actually get sick. Still can't pay? The government will help all but the wealthiest families pay their premiums.

3. Pre-existing condition? No worries. Maybe you've already been denied coverage on your own or your parents policy because of a chronic condition like asthma or some pesky recurring sports injury. In 2014, that will be illegal. Everybody can get the same coverage for a fair rate. Because insurance is supposed to, you know, insure sick people. What a thought.

4. Everybody will be required to have health insurance. This is called the individual mandate, and it's very controversial. Being forced to buy insurance if you don't get it through a relative or job sounds scary, but it's also what makes healthcare affordable and available to everybody. (Read an MSNBC article about how the individual mandate works here.) If you or your parents are low on income, the government will help you pay.

This is an introduction to the big issues directly affecting teens, but there are lots of other provisions in the law. Want to learn more? Check out http://www.healthreform.gov or http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform - or ask your friendly neighborhood librarian to help you find the facts!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Little Brother - the Movie?


The Hollywood Reporter posted an exclusive report yesterday that one of my favorite books is being made into a movie! Little Brother by Cory Doctorow has been optioned by Angryfilms!

"Brother," a play on Big Brother of George Orwell fame, centers on a high school senior who, after a terrorist attack blows up San Francisco's Bay Bridge, becomes swept up in the extralegal world of Homeland Security. After he and his friends are interrogated and tortured, he is released into a city that is under total surveillance. The teen leads an Internet-fueled rebellion to rescue his friends and free the city.

Tell me that wouldn't make an awesome movie? For those of you who have read it, who is your dream cast?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Book Trailer Contest Entry!



Here's entry #1 in our Teen Tech Month Book Trailer Contest! I loved Sherri L. Smith's Flygirl, so I'm really excited that BlueberrySlurp was inspired by it too.

Now if anyone was to make a trailer for the Meg Powers quartet, I'd probably fall over in rapture. Not that I'm setting anyone a challenge or anything... (hint: yes I am).

IF you think you can do better than BlueberrySlurp, or you want to make all my book trailer wishes come true, you have until March 31st to enter here!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Can't Wait for MockingJay? Mourning the end of Twilight? Try FanFic!

I swear, my head will explode if I have to wait one second longer for Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay. Of course, once it does come out, I'll read the whole thing in one night and then be sad that I don't have any more Hunger Games. Are you too suffering from impatience or end-of-a-series depression? Here's what gets me through: fan fiction.

There is some incredibly awesome fanfic out there, set in the worlds of your favorite series. It's endless, and a lot of it is really, really good. Also, it lets you explore and imagine in whole new ways. What if Bella had never met Edward? What would the Hunger Games have looked like if the story were told from the perspective of Foxface? What if Voldemort had an heir? You never have to leave your favorite stories, even long after the author has ceased to write them.

You can find tons of fanfic based on books, movies, anime, comics, and television at http://www.fanfiction.net. Have you imagined a whole new story set in the post-apocolyptic landscape of Gone? Have you been having dreams about new and greater challenges for Katsa from Graceling? You can sign up and contribute your own for the world to read.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Signed Sea of Monsters Winner!

The random drawing chose this comment from Alex Stapay!:

Would you want to read on one of those, or are you going to hold onto reading your paper books?

i'd have to hold on to my paper back books because paper backs are easier for the technologically impaired.

What do you guys think about ebooks in general?

i think the idea's great, but i wouldn't go out and buy them when paperbacks and hardbacks are cheaper.

What do you like/dislike about this whole issue? Why?
i like the fact that you could chat with other people who are reading the same online book because if you forget who a certain character is then someone else can explain it to you.
i don't like how the set up works though, it's kinda dumb.


Alex -- Email me ASAP at jparker [at] sno-isle [dot] org with the library you'd like to pick up your signed copy!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Don't Forget: Still time to win signed Sea of Monsters

You've got until 11:59pm tonight to comment on this post and enter for your chance to win a signed copy of Rick Riordan's The Sea of Monsters.

How hot an item is The Sea of Monsters? Well, currently there are 191 people waiting for our 47 copies.

I'm guessing you all liked the movie.

It'll take no time at all, just head on over here.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Meet Author Carrie Ryan at a Local Bookstore

Just a few days ago, Jackie was raving about Carrie Ryan's wonderful zombie books, and that she has a new one coming out. Well, it looks like she is on tour to promote The Dead Tossed Waves, so you can actually meet her in person!

Friday March 19th - 7pm
Pizza Party with Carrie Ryan
University Bookstore - U District, Seattle
Become one of the UNCONSECRATED with the help of our professional make-up artist!

Saturday March 20 - 6:30 pm
Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park

In this follow-up to Carrie Ryan's post-apocalyptic, zombie-ridden debut The Forest of Hands and Teeth, a young girl named Gabry lives behind the Barrier in a town on the sea. But the Barrier can't hold back every threat and, without warning, those threats lead to the death of half of Gabry's generation, and the imprisonment of the other half. To save the future, Gabry must discover the secrets her mother left behind when she left the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

Do you love comic books?

If I wasn't working today, I would totally be at the Emerald City ComiCon. We are lucky to have such a great comic book show here in the Northwest! And it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This year there are a TON of great comic book illustrators and writers, plus all kinds of fun celebrities such as Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek's original Spock), and Lou Ferrigno (TV's Incredible Hulk). Plus there is gaming, costumes, and tons of fun booths where you can shop for cool anime and comics related stuff. I love meeting all the artists and writers best of all. They are great people and most are super nice when you get talking to them.

I especially wish I was there so I could get one of these adorable Owly shirts!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Need some inspiration?

Don't forget to submit your entry into our teen video contest this month!

If you need some inspiration, take a look at 2008 and 2009's entries, but remember, this year, you can also create videos that promote the library.

If you are really thinking outside of the box and want to set your video in the library, talk to your local teen librarian. They'll probably work something out with you. Find and contact yours here.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Squees and the Apocalypse

I'm not going to lie. I just squeed a little when THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Materials by Carrie Ryan landed on my desk a few minutes ago. I don't think I even realized that the sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth was coming out so soon.

I've got a weakness for apocalyptic fiction - you know the kind of books where life as we know it ceases to exist for one reason or another? Ryan's books have the added awesome of zombies being the cause of the downfall.

I could wax poetic for many, many minutes about how fascinating I find this type of literature and how it reveal the current fears of our society, but, for your sake, I'll skip all that mumbo-jumbo and just give those of you who read like I do a list of some of my favorite post-apocalyptic books I think you'll like:

  1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth: All Mary's ever known is the world of the Sisters within the fence and that death lay outside. But her mother told her stories, tales, really, of a life beyond the borders. It is those tales that keep Mary going when the Unconsecrated turn her mother.

  2. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff: It happened so suddenly they never even knew what happened, but they were surrounded by guerrilla warfare and all that matters now is survival. How do you evade death when you don't even really know who the enemy is?

  3. The Moon Series: Life As We Knew It, the dead & the gone, and This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer: Volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, rock Earth and shatter the fragile infrastructure we all rely on. Miranda and Alex are left to deal with the fallout - and an attempt at a survival that seems more impossible than the event that triggered everything.

  4. The Compound by S.A. Bodeen: There's been a nuclear holocaust, and Eli & his family have been locked safely in the compound for six years. But what if what he should fear isn't outside of the bunker?

  5. Green Angel & Green Witch by Alice Hoffman: Green's family went to the city to sell vegetables. They never came back. They never will. The city was destroyed. Burned. Barely anyone got out. And now Green's world is covered in ash.

  6. Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden: Spring break camping was perfect, but when they come home they learn that their entire town has been overtaken, and all their family and friends have been imprisoned. They can stay safe in the mountains, but then who will rescue the prisoners?


Let me know about your favorite post-apocalyptic books in the comments!

Next time, DYSTOPIAS. Which are, literally, just as awesome. And then there's DISASTER fiction... and... and...

For more lists of random awesome click on this ridiculously long link.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Hunger Mountain Prize for Young Writers


Ripped from the headlines an email somebody sent me:

"A Prize for Young Writers
Poetry, Fiction & Creative Nonfiction
Judge: M.T. Anderson
Prize: Publication in Hunger Mountain online
$250 to first place winner in each genre, $100 to runners-up

We are looking for talented high school students to enter poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in the Hunger Mountain Prize for Young Writers. We accept any form of poetry. Fiction can be experimental or traditional.
Creative nonfiction can be personal essay or mini memoir.

The Judge for the competition is National Book Award Winner and New York Times Bestselling author M.T. Anderson, author of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; Burger Wuss; and Feed.

Submissions should be under 8,000 words, double spaced, in Times New Roman font and not stapled. Poets are welcome to enter up to three poems per entry. Manuscripts must be accompanied by an index card with the writer’s name, address, email address, telephone number, as well as the title and genre of the work. The writer’s name should not be on the manuscript itself. Please enclose a $10 entry fee. Postmark submissions by April 30, 2010. We will do our best to notify prize winners in June.

Please send work to the following address:
Hunger Mountain Prize for Young Writers
Hunger Mountain
Vermont College of Fine Arts
36 College St.
Montpelier, VT 05602

For complete guidelines and to learn about past prize winners please visit Hunger Mountain."

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Teen Fire

Do your friends just not understand your love of books? Are you searching for the right community to get your nerd on in safe online anonymity? Well, the publisher Sourcebooks may have the social network for you.

Teen Fire has book groups, forums, chat, authors, contests, free stuff, and other nifty (yes, I AM that old) features. Users even have the ability to create their own profiles and pages. There's even a whole section devoted to videos of teens and their favorite books (which reminds me - you are working on your entry to our video contest, right? ;))

Check it out. You never know. You might just love it.

via SLJ

Saturday, March 6, 2010

2010 Kate Herzog Scholarships

"Willamette Writers' goal is to provide and encourage a creative environment and support system for current and aspiring writers."

The Kate Herzog Scholarship for high school senior and college freshmen and sophomores offers four scholarships ranging from $100-$250.

Submissions must be less than 1,000 words long but can be essays, memoirs, fiction, or poetry. For more information about applying refer to their website and email.

Dates to Remember:
Application Deadline March 25th, 2010
Finalists Will Be Announced June 15, 2010
Scholarships Will Be Awarded August 7th, 2010

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Win a signed copy of THE SEA OF MONSTERS

I have one Rick Riordan-signed paperback copy of Percy Jackson #2, The Sea of Monsters.

In order to win, you must:
  1. be 12-18 years old,
  2. able to pick it up at one of the Sno-Isle Libraries,
  3. watch the following video, (all of it)
  4. answer in the comments the questions I ask after the video:


(Yes, I know, I ask so much of you)



Would you want to read on one of those, or are you going to hold onto reading your paper books? What do you guys think about ebooks in general? What do you like/dislike about this whole issue? Why?

You have until 11:59pm on Sunday, March 14 to answer.

I'll draw one lucky winner from the comments. If you add interesting discussion by returning and interacting with other comments, you can earn more entries per substantive comment (meaning: only if those comments add something to the discussion), up to 3 entries per teen.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Chat with Scott Westerfeld

Based on how many of you ask me for The Uglies Trilogy, I suspect there's a healthy cadre of Westerfans out there. Therefore, I figure you should know that Scott Westerfeld is the featured author at readergirlz this month. They are talking Leviathan.

If you are still waiting for your copy of Leviathan to come in, the postergirlz have some recommended reads to go along with Leviathan:



And, because this is the month of BOOK TRAILERS, here's Leviathan's awesome one:



"Do you oil your war machines, or do you FEED them?" muhahahahaha!

Westerfeld will be chatting at the rgz blog all month long, including a LIVE chat on March 17th at 6pm.

As an added bonus, here's a video Westerfeld made:

Monday, March 1, 2010

Film Festival by & for Teens

While you are of course working on your book trailer submission for this month's contest, you may want to see what other teens in the area are doing with cameras:

"See short films created by some of Seattle's most creative young talent.

Films will include submissions from teens working with Northwest Film Forum, The Center School, Reel Grrls, and 911 Seattle Media Arts Center. After seeing the films, stay for the Q&A with the young filmmakers themselves."

Friday, Mar. 5, 2010, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Seattle's Central Library

For more info contact Central Library Teen Center 206-615-1410 or E-mail the Teen Center

via SPL