Tomorrow, When the War Began movie

Ok, I can't tell you how awesome the book Tomorrow, When the War Began is. Well, not as well as the trailor for the movie can:



I don't see that this has a U.S. release date, so no idea if we are even going to see it here across the Pacific, but here's seriously hoping.

Whether we do or not, take what you just saw there, and translate it into a hold for the first in the Tomorrow Series by John Marsden. That trailer is EXACTLY like what's in the book. At least, it's how I saw it all in my head. I can't tell you if the rest of the movie will live up to it, but I'm loving what I've seen so far. The audio cd version is pretty excellent too.

Other Books to Movies

Like Jackie, I'm super excited about the upcoming Hunger Games movie (and totally support her choice of Eddie Izzard as Haymitch (though I think he could also do great as the costume designer :) But in the meanwhile there are a bunch of other cool books and graphic novels being made into movies this summer. I'm totally curious to see how these films turn out:



Beastly by Alex Flinn - A modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", from the beast's point of view.



Jonah Hex graphic novels by Justin Gray - Old West bounty hunter in a battle between good and evil.



The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson - Swedish thrillers about a young goth hacker (recommended for mature teens/adults only...this series has some heavy stuff in it.)



Scott Pilgrim graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley - One of my favorite gn series, this has it all...indie bands, awesome fights, video games, and romance!

Beat the rush and order the books today, so you will totally be ahead of the game when the movies come out :)

Hunger Games Movie

Scholastic (the publisher of Hunger Games) is having a Mockingjay pin giveaway on their On Our Minds blog. All you have to do is tell them who you would cast in the roles of Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and Haymitch.

However, they are requiring that you be 18 or older to enter (LAME!), but, it is interesting to read people's comments either way.

I don't have anything to give away (*sob*), but I would still love to know who you'd cast in those four roles - so feel free to share in the comments!

My favorite suggestions from their comments so far are:

• Katniss: Emily Browning


• Peeta: Alex Pettyfer? Jeremy Sumpter? William Moseley? I don't know.


• Gale: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (would he even DO this kind of movie? Is he too old?)


• Haymitch: Eddie Izzard HANDS DOWN. Awesome suggestion.

No idea what we're talking about? Read Hunger Games and Catching Fire, but make sure you've got some time on your hands, 'cause you won't want to put them down. And get yourself on hold for Mockingjay now. It doesn't come out until August, but there are already 90 holds on it.

Already read HG & CF? Is the wait making you crazy? We have a whole list of books about survival. Find it here.

Love Film? Nominate a Fabulous one.

The Young Adult Services Association (affectionately known as YALSA) is an organization for librarians who work with teenagers. Each year they put out a number of really great lists of books, but also a very cool list of movies called Fabulous Films for Young Adults. The movies are not a best of year list, but based on a theme. Last year's list was Outside In: Rebellion vs. Conformity and you can find the dvds we own from that list here. This year's theme is Other Times/Other Places and they are looking to find out which movies you love which fit that theme. You can nominate here. To make the list they really want to know what you and your friends think of the movies, so let them know!

The Most Banned

Every year the American Library Association announces the top ten titles that have had the most "formal, written complaint[s], filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness.”

It should be no surprise, then, that most of these books were written for the teen audience.

The ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009 reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs



2. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
   Reasons: Homosexuality



3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide



4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
   Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group



5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
   Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group



6. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
   Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group



7. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
   Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence



8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
   Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group



9. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
   Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group



10. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
    Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

I've read seven of these. How many have you read? What do you think?

To learn more, including the top 100 challenged books of the decade click here.

Banned Books week is September 25 - October 2, 2010. Talk to your librarian if you'd like to do something special to celebrate challenged books that week.

via Entertainment Weekly

We Have a Winner!

Congratulations to Kate N. of Coupeville whose delightful video "Petricia's Passion: Turning the Pages of Life for the Better" is the winner of our 2010 Teen Video Contest.



Not only is it beautifully filmed, it shows many of the ways libraries can open your life to possibility and all the great stuff you can get from the library, it also showcases our gorgeous new remodel at the Coupeville Library!

Congratulations Kate! We look forward to seeing great things to come from you.

And thank you to everyone who entered. It is inspiring to see so much creativity, fun, and library love from our tech savvy teens.

Last Chance to Vote for Video Contest

Don't forget...voting ends TONIGHT for the Teen Video Contest!

Let your opinion be heard. Vote here.

Remember that Super Bowl ad that made you a bit weepy?

You know, that Google search one.

Was that just me?

Well. Ok, then.

Aaaanyway, Google has created a site where you can make a Search Story yourself.

It's a little too late to use this for the Video Contest (which, by the way, have you voted yet?), but it's pretty fun to play around with.

Here's my favorite:

But I'm always seeking ways to survive the ZA.

Make one! Share the link for it in the comments!

Via The Happy Accident

PS-- Check out the Zombie booklist!

Vote-Over - ReStart for Video Contest

Hey everyone! There has been much confusion about the Teen Video Contest. We did not clarify how we would be selecting finalists, nor whether or not credits count for the 3 minute limit. So we are starting over voting and including ALL the videos submitted by the deadline.

Voting has been extended until April 15th. Tell all your friends to vote!

DIY for Teens at Sno-Isle Libraries

What do you think when you hear the words "craft" and "library" in the same sentence? Decorating bookmarks in 3rd grade? Assembling something from pipe cleaners and sticky piece of foam? Little kid stuff, right?

WRONG! At Sno-Isle Libraries we have lots of awesome one day classes where teens can learn how to make all kinds of cool things. Call it crafting if you must, but I much prefer DIY.

Last month Marysville Library had an awesome program where teens made LED throwies:

Marysville Library leads teens in making 'altered objects'

What fun stuff can you learn how to make?

Sharpie Transformations Monday April 12th - 3-5pm - Oak Harbor Library
Duct Tape Style Monday April 12th - 3pm - Arlington Library
Flower Hair Clips Tuesday April 20th - 4-5pm - Lynnwood Library
Book Safe Wednesday April 28th - 3:30pm - Marysville Library (registration required)
Melted Crayon Bookmarks Monday May 3rd - 4-5:30pm - Edmonds Library
Terra Cotta Flower Pots Monday May 10th - 3-5pm - Oak Harbor Library
Pop Tab Bracelets Tuesday May 18th - 4-5pm - Lynnwood Library
Tic Tac Toe Games Wednesday April 28th - 3:30pm - Marysville Library (registration required)

Plus there is Gaming and Crafty Activities every Monday from 4-5:30 at the Darrington Library!

And there will be a whole lot more this summer :)

Don't forget, all these classes are FREE FREE FREE!

New Twilight Story Coming Out Soon

A bit of exciting news for Twihards:

Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' Novella 'The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner' Out In June
Story of newborn vampire from 'Eclipse' is due out on June 5.

The 192-page book follows the story of Bree, a newborn vampire who appears briefly in "Eclipse" as a member of the army Victoria raises to fight the Cullens and the werewolves.

I'll let you know as soon as we have it in our catalog!

Great Teen Tech Month Program at Brier

Here is a short video our publicity specialist Deborah F. took at the clay animation program at the Brier Library last month!



And here are the wonderful videos that were made that day:



Hopefully we will have this program at another library, so be sure to check our Teen Events page :)

Vote Now for Teen Video Contest

We got a ton of great entries this year. The finalists have now been posted in our poll section of our website and await your votes. Voting will go through Sunday April 11th, and the winner will be announced Monday the 12th!

Thanks to everyone who entered...we had more entries this year than ever before :)

Late Entry

The Teen Tech Month Video Contest is closed to entries now, and this one came in late, so it isn't eligible, BUT I think it's a pretty awesome effort and deserves to be seen. Even if it's tardiness keeps it from being in the running.



More info on how you can help us choose the Video Contest Winner coming soon!*

*savvy readers might know where we usually hold such polls and may already be voting...