Harry Potter 7 Part 2

This is just because I'm really excited about it:



Have I mentioned that Lynnwood Library will be having a Harry Potter Party on June 25th? No? Hmm. I should change that. lalala.

World War Z Movie Project FINALLY Moving Forward!

It seems like there's a new cast member announced for the upcoming movie version of The Hunger Games every 20 minutes or so lately, and that's cool. I like The Hunger Games as much as anyone, and excitedly click on all the stories I see that announce the newest additions to the cast. But a large number of fans of books with post-apocalyptic themes remember another dystopian novel published a few years ago that for many of us was at least as exciting as The Hunger Games; that book was Max Brooks's World War Z.

After what seems like FOREVER, news has finally begun trickling out recently regarding casting for the movie version of World War Z. As the link said, Brad Pitt's production company has owned the rights to the film version of this awesome book for several years, and Pitt himself has long been slotted to play the UN reporter who records the oral histories of survivors of a worldwide war with the walking dead. However, those of us who have been following the buzz around this book/film crossover and the countless delays and difficulties surrounding casting the film, selecting a director, and finishing the screenplay wondered if the movie was ever going to happen. This week's announcement of Mireille Enos from AMC's The Killing signing on to play Pitt's wife in the film seems to finally end any lingering fears that the project won't move forward.

This exciting news prompts me to ask the question what other books with 'end of the world' scenarios do you think would make great movies? Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It and Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth came to my mind, but I know some of you can think of a great book I'm missing.....

Love Never Dies Contest

From Random Buzzers:

"One grand prize winner will receive a full year's subscription to Netflix© and signed copies of Torment, The Dark and Hollow Places and The Iron Thorn! 5 Runners Up will receive a grab bag consisting of 9 different "Love Never Dies" titles!

All you have to do to enter is submit an essay in 200 words or less explaining which character from a novel best personifies the phrase "love never dies"."

Being a Netflix subscriber and having read both The Iron Thorn and The Dark and Hollow Places, I can confirm that it's a pretty good prize package. Of course, I thought Fallen (the book before Torment) was painfully boring and woefully overwrought, so I'm not going within ten feet of reading Torment. But I know several of you will disagree with me, and I'd love to see your reviews telling me how wrong I am.

Last day to enter is May 20th. Check out the full info here.

Review: Pink Boots and a Machete

Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey From NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer by Mireya Mayor is by far one of my favorite books of the year. I’ll confess, I have a weakness for memoirs and this is one of the best I’ve ever read. Like the title suggests, Mireya Mayor is a cheerleader turned Ph D scientist and National Geographic Explorer. Her journey from a tomboy in Miami to a female Indiana Jones in Madagascar is pretty remarkable especially since science was never her strong point in school.

Mayor is totally crazy. She nearly dies in the jungle, not once but twice. She's charged at by an angry gorilla. There are scorpions in her shoes. The male scientists give her a hard time for packing makeup for the jungle until they need tweezers for splinters. She even manages to discover the world's smallest primate:

We do own the book and the National Geographic film Mystery Gorillas where Mireya Mayor is at the heart of the jungle to explore the great apes' secret world. Even if you don't like monkeys (who doesn't?) you should check them out today. She proves that you don't have be a genius to succeed, you just need to have passion.

-Reviewed by Danielle, Adult Teen Librarian at the Mill Creek Library

Movies about Books

Some people don't like it when a book they have read is turned into a movie. It is never as good and they say it destroys the way they remember the book.

I like it, for me there is no down side.

Whether the movie is great or lousy it has no effect on how I feel about the book.

Even if the movie is terrible, I still get to experience someone else's view of something I care about. It is just like talking with someone about a book you have both read. Even if they disagree with you, the conversation is still fun.

Don't get me wrong, I can still be disappointed when a movie falls short or screws up a book. I want the movie to be good but if it isn't......I still have the book.



My favorite book of all time is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and I think Peter Jackson did a great job with the movies. However, I hate the way Gimli was portraited. Jackson took one of my favorite characters and turned him into a punch line. But if I want to remember Gimli the way he is "supposed" to be, I can just reread the books.

Well, another series of books I love is being turned into a movie. George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series has been made into a HBO series that just started this month.



If you have HBO, check it out.

The fact that I don't have HBO is driving me crazy.
If you don't you are stuck with me reading (or rereading) the books and waiting for Sno-Isle to get the season one DVD.

How do you feel when a favorite book of yours is turned into a movie?
Does seeing a movie change the way you envision a book when you reread it?

Nate - Snohomish Library Reference

Everybody Loves a Parade!

Every year the city of Oak Harbor celebrates its Dutch Heritage during the Holland Happening Festival. Wooden clogs and windmills abound, and there's always a fun carnival that sets up for the weekend. There's a street fair, a fun run, entertainment, and lots of good food to eat too.

We here at the Oak Harbor library participate in the parade that is held on the Saturday morning of the festival. We gather up a big group of library staff and teens who love the library, and walk the parade route waving to friends, family, and everyone who's out for the fun.

If you'd like to join us this year, come to the Oak Harbor Library at 9:30 am on Saturday, April 30th. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather (looks like it's going to be cloudy this year). We'll have bubbles to blow, streamers to wave - and maybe even some donuts for everyone who comes out to help us promote the library!

See you there!

Teen Review of the Week: The Other Side of Truth

The Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo

Description:
This book is about 2 young Nigerian children fleeing the county after their journalist father writes about something that offends the government and military, resulting in the murder of the children's mother. This story takes place in modern day London an it follows them through the foster homes, trying to find thir father.

My Thoughts:
I liked the part when they find their uncle

Recommendation:
Middle school kids; it is really slow

--M.M., Stanwood, grade 8

I'll be sending a copy of Girl, Stolen by April Henry to Stanwood Library for MM. If you'd like a chance at being the Teen Review of the Week, be sure to submit your reviews!

Make Your Own Comic Strip

Have a few minutes to kill or a great joke you'd like to see illustrated? Fancy yourself a budding comic artist, but find yourself lacking in the artist department?

Make your own digital comic strip with Strip Generator!


See it bigger here.

Share a link to your comic in the comments, and you win The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks. You've got until midnight on May 1st to make your comic and submit it here (the comic you make does not have to be library related)!

(note, Strip Generator is all ages, and some user submitted content might be better suited to older viewers)

via I Heart Daily

2011 Video Contest Winners

The 2011 Sno-Isle Teen Tech Month Video Contest is officially over. It was a very exciting year, with more great entries than ever, and fierce competition for votes in the final days.

First place, with a prize of a $150 gift card for Best Buy goes to Hardy Boys "The Secret of The Lost Tunnel".

Second place ($75 gift card for Best Buy) goes to Epic Book Time.

The Librarian's Choice Award ($75 gift card for Best Buy) goes to Venture into the Classic Tales by the Lee twins. Ella Enchanted Character Interview was also greatly enjoyed by the librarian set :)

Winners will be contacted soon to set up award ceremonies at their local libraries. Thanks to everyone who participated. We really loved all the videos, and can't wait to see what you come up with for next year!

Vive la France

A friend was recently telling me about her upcoming trip to France. Since then, everywhere I look I am surrounded by all things French. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few of my favorites. So eat a croissant, listen to the soundtrack of Les Miserables and enjoy.

Revolution by Jennifer DonnellyAn angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--

Louis Charles, the lost king of France.

Zazoo by Richard Mosher“ One wispy October dawn, a boy on a bike came and went. Little did Zazoo know that this inquisitive, bird-watching bicyclist would hold the key to her past and open a window to the future as well.” Amid old secrets revealed and rifts healed, a Vietnamese orphan raised in rural France by her aging "Grand-Pierre" learns about life, death, and love.

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène “In the rough Paris housing projects, Doria, 15, a child of Muslim immigrant parents, sets her soap-opera dreams against the grim daily struggle, even as she does sometimes find the bold and the beautiful in herself and in her neighborhood. "It's like a film script. . . . Trouble is, our scriptwriter's got no talent. And he's never heard of happily ever after." Author Guene, 19, has grown up in the neighborhood she writes about, and her irreverent commentary never denies how hard it is. The first-person contemporary narrative, translated from the French, is touching, furious, sharp, and very funny. – Hazel Rochman”

Amélie Amelie is a young woman who had a decidedly unusual childhood; she spent most of her time in her room, where she developed a keen imagination and an active fantasy life. Despite all this, Amélie has grown into a healthy and beautiful young woman who works in a cafe and has a whimsical, romantic nature. She decides to step into the lives of others around her to help them out. MPAA rating: R.

and for a little nostalgia (best read aloud with a fake French accent)

Anatole by Eve Titus A French mouse decides to earn an honest living by tasting the cheese in a cheese factory and leaving notes about its quality.

Teen Review of the Week: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Description:
Cammie Morgan is a 15 year old girl who attends a school called the Gallagher Academy, a school for female spies in training. Cammie meets a boy named Josh and begins a secretive relationship with him, the whole time having to keep her secret.

My Thoughts:
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this book. When I first picked it up I was annoyed with the author's writing style but as I read I didn't notice anymore. I was really into this book and finished it in a couple of days. Thumbs up!

Recommendation:
Girls 6th grade and up.

--A.A., grade 10, Snohomish

AA will be receiving a free copy of Sequins, Secrets, and Silver Linings by Sophia Bennett, so if you want a chance at winning a free book, be sure to submit your reviews, here!

Support Your Local Record Store

Did you know Record Store Day is on April 16? David, the Teen Contact at the Camano Island Library Pilot Project thinks you should know about it:

What?? You don’t know about Record Store Day?? A few years back, indie record stores banded together to celebrate how cool record stores still are, and each year more stores are involved, there are more in-store concerts, and more bands give away FREE COOL STUFF: CDs, vinyl 7” singles, t-shirts - you name it. Take a look at a message from this year’s Record Store Ambassador, Ozzy Osborne here and make sure to check with your local indie store to see what they’ve got planned for April 16.

A Book to Make You Choke on Your Breakfast

Today’s blogger is Marlene, Teen Contact at the Brier Library. She is currently reading The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex.

How many times have you read a book that makes you laugh so hard you choke on your breakfast? This is one of those books! You will stay up late at night reading and wake up early in the morning to read more. Each adventure with 12 year old Tip (Gratuity) and her unlikely friend J. Lo. (a Boov) keep you wanting more. Find out what happens to earth, now known as Smekland, when the orange wearing, dental floss eating aliens take over.

Check out our website www.sno-isle.org for other excellent books by Adam Rex!

Learn to Salsa!

Like to dance? Have nothing to do this Friday night? You should...

Experience the Salsa - a fun and fiery Latin dance! See a demonstration and learn the basics from Wendy Messarina Volosin, a salsa dance instructor.

Date: Friday, April 15, 2011
Time: 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Arlington Boys and Girls Club, 18513 59th Avenue NE, Arlington, WA
Cost: Free

Not sure what the salsa is? Here's one of my fave youtube clips to give you an idea:

Nearby Event: Natural Highs Youth Arts and Community Health Fair in Monroe

Come to Monroe High School this Thursday April 14th between 6-9pm and check out the fair. There will be tons of stuff going on including door prizes, free food and drinks, live music, some 'open-mic' time, a photography slide show, booths and presentations hosted by local organizations, and other activities. Plus, if you bring your parent/guardian to the fair you can earn up to 3 hours of COMMUNITY SERVICE!

For more info you can call Steve Pitkin at 425-879-7397.

I hope to see you there!

Review: Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

Mandarin Ramey is beautiful and wilder than the wildwinds that sweep the small town of Washokey Wyoming, that drive people to do crazy things. Grace Carpenter is shy, awkward, smarter than all of her classmates - and would like nothing more than to be like Mandarin. When Grace and Mandarin are paired together for an end of the year project at school, they begin an unlikely friendship that causes the entire town to raise their eyebrows.

Desperate to please Mandarin and keep the friendship alive, Grace agrees to run away to California. But as the day for leaving draws closer, Grace begins to see the real Mandarin - very troubled and very dangerous. Will Grace be swept away by Mandarin's magnetic pull, or can she keep her grounding in the badlands of Wyoming?

I really enjoyed this book. The stark setting of windswept Wyoming provides the perfect backdrop for this story about two very different girls with the common goal of escaping town (and very different ideas of how to do so). It was easy to imagine that there are girls just like them in every town - feeling stuck where they are and desperate to get out, but not quite knowing how to make the leap into the bigger world. The relationships between Grace and the other characters in the story are very believable - from her child beauty pageant obsessed mother to her so-called friends who really aren't much friends at all.

If you like reading realistic stories about today's teens and the problems they deal with, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

~Anne

Teen Review of the Week: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Description:
Yalena has been in prision for a while before she is offered a way out of being executed, becoming the general's food taster. Her choices are grim either way. If she accepts the job, she'll be slowly poisoned, if she doesn't she gets hung. Yaleana thinks it through, and chooses the choice that she thinks she can elude death in easier.

My Thoughts:
I really liked this book because it's adventurous and different than most other books I've read. Yaleana is a spirited character, and she reminds me somewhat of myself, only different. My favorite part is near the end, but obvoiusly I can't tell you about it because then you'd know how the story ends!

Recommendation:
Fiction-romance-magic lovers. People like me.

--K.S., grade 8, Lynnwood

KS will be receiving a free copy of Captivate by Carrie Jones. If you want a chance at winning a free book, be sure to submit your review!

Nearby event: E. Lockhart @ Seattle Public Library

I just love E. Lockhart's books!



Our neighbors to the South at Seattle Public Library are having an awesome author program with her this coming Thursday...with cupcakes!

Hey teens! Come meet E. Lockhart (author of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, the Ruby Oliver series, and many other awesome books), enter a raffle, and eat cupcakes. Seattle Public Central Library - Level 3, Teen Center Thursday, April 14, 2011, 4:30 – 5:30pm Maybe I'll see you there?

Free Songwriting Class this Weekend

If you love music even half as much as I do, then you have probably thought about writing a song. After all, there are so many terrible ones out there that seem to become giant hits, and there is so much in your heart waiting to burst out into music, right?

But truthfully, it can be really hard to get started. I've been in a couple of bands over the years (or at least have jammed with friends many many times), and only have one song to show for it. So how is it done?

This weekend, we have a FREE class with singer-songwriter Levi Burkle! He will get you started by creating an original song where everyone gets in on the act. By the end of the workshop, Levi will perform the song for the group. Previous musical experience not required. Just bring your imagination and your rock star dreams.

Mountlake Terrace Library - 1pm - Saturday April 9th, 2011

Hope to see you there! - Dawn

Double Author Visit at Third Place Books

Next week (Thursday April 14th, 2011 at 7pm) Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park will be hosting not one, but two awesome teen authors! From their newsletter:

Holly Black is the bestselling author of the Spiderwick series. She is here with her new book Red Glove (Margaret K. McElderry), the sequel to White Cat.

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth - he's the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hands can transform anything - or anyone - into something else.


Cassandra Clare made her fiction debut with City of Bones. She is here with the highly anticipated fourth book of her Mortal Instruments Series, City of Fallen Angels.

Who will be tempted by darkness? Who will fall in love, and who will find their relationship torn apart? And who will betray everything they ever believed in? Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

In the heart-pounding fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series, the stakes are higher than ever.

Tickets & Books Available 4/5/11
SIGNING LINE TICKETS REQUIRED

Doesn't that sound just fantastic? If you go, please report back and let me know how it goes? I've already got plans that night :(

Who should be cast in The Hunger Games?

It was announced last week that the roles of Peeta and Gale in the upcoming The Hunger Games film have been cast. We already know that Jennifer Lawrence (nominated for an Oscar in her performance in Winter’s Bone) has been cast as Katniss. Josh Hutcherson (from The Kids Are Alright) and Liam Hemsworth (of The Last Song with Miley Cyrus) have nabbed the roles of Peeta and Gale respectively. IMHO, I think the male leads were cast perfectly, but the buzz from the fans are about 50-50 split.

This leaves one major casting decision still left to make: The role of Haymitch Abernathy, the only living Hunger Games winner of District 12. Who do you think should play him? My money is on Robert Downey Jr. The roles of Effie and Prim are up for grabs too.

Who do you think should have been cast for The Hunger Games? Are you excited for the film adaptation? Will it be bigger than the Twilight franchise? Leave your comments below!

Find Poetry in Unexpected Places

As an occasional dabbler in poetry, I like writing exercise that give you a good kick to get going. Nothing is better for this than writing Found Poetry, where you look around at already existing word groupings, and pull or break them apart in new and interesting ways. Can you make a poem off a box of cereal? Yes! How about from an instruction manual? Totally! What about an issue of the New York Times? Certainly...plus, you can be featured on their website, if you enter their Second Annual Found Poem Challenge! Be sure to check out the website for all the rules and examples of last year's winners. Over 200 people entered last year. If I was between 13 and 25, I would totally do it, but alas, I'm old. ;)

In the meanwhile, if you think this sounds fun, but need a little boost to get going, or prefer writing with a group, come to the Mountlake Terrace Library this Wednesday at 4pm where we will have a free creative writing class focused on this topic: Recycled Words - Found Poetry.

Hope to see you there!

Dawn

Voting is Live for Teen Video Contest

You all have been waiting so patiently, and now it is here: time to vote on the Teen Tech Month Video Contest! There are a TON of videos to choose from this year. Please take your time and watch them all before you make your pick. You have until April 20th, 2011 to watch them all and vote. Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry. This is definitely our best year yet! If you have any suggestions on how to improve the contest or process, please let us know.

Teen Review of the Week: We Hear the Dead

We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni

Description:
Maggie and Kate Fox decide to play a prank on their relative by pretending to be ghost whisperers. Soon enough, the prank spreads until the nation believes they can communicate with the dead, creating an entire new subculture and the dawn of spiritualism. Based on a true story.

My Thoughts:
I thought the story was wonderful, especially because most of it was real. I thought it was a little bit too slow paced through and drawn out longer than it should have. A lot of the story was repetitive for the second half and the romantic situation was absolutely irritating. My favorite part had to be Dr. Kane's stories of adventure

Recommendation:
historical fiction lovers; young adults; romantics

--K.R., grade 12, Marysville Library

I'll be sending KR a copy of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. If you want a chance at winning a free book, be sure to submit your review!

Outstanding Turnout for Video Contest!

Hello everyone,

Just to give you a quick update, we have 27 entries we have accepted to be voted on for the video contest. They can be seen here, at the Sno-Isle Teens YouTube channel. Look for the playlist titled 2011 Teen Video Contest.

Because of the large number of entries, it will take a little longer for our IT folks to get them posted for voting. Once they do, you will find it on the poll page of our Sno-Isle Teens website.

Start watching now, so you can be an informed judge once voting starts :D

It's National Poetry Month

Happy National Poetry Month everyone!

Lots of people think poetry is dead, but I believe it to be live and well. While poetry isn't making headlines or getting a reality TV show made, look around the internet and you will see lots of people are still making it, including teens. Teen Ink has an awesome poetry section that features only poems written by teens. Plus there are tons of videos of teens doing poetry slams on You Tube.

Ashley from Arlington recommended we check out this great performance, with a teen celebrating readers and geeks with healthy vocabularies:



Do you have a favorite poem or slam performance? Share the link below and what you love about it, for a chance to win!