Mukilteo Library to be a Teens' Top Ten

Congratulations to the Mukilteo Library, whose combined teen book group and teen writing group have been selected by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) to be a Teens' Top Ten nominating group! For the next two years this group will receive ARCs (Advance Readers Copies) of upcoming books to review, discuss and nominate to be part of YALSA's Teens' Top Ten list, which is voted on in August to September of each year.

Happy news for the enthusiastic readers of Mukilteo :)

Interesting Article on Dystopian Fiction for Teens

There is an interesting article on the New Yorker site this week about teen fiction:

Fresh Hell
What’s behind the boom in dystopian fiction for young readers?
by Laura Miller

The adult dystopia extrapolates from aspects of the present to show readers how terrible things will become if our deplorable behavior continues unchecked. The more utterly the protagonist is crushed, the more urgent and forceful the message. Because authors of children’s fiction are “reluctant to depict the extinction of hope within their stories,” Sambell writes, they equivocate when it comes to delivering a moral. Yes, our errors and delusions may lead to catastrophe, but if—as usually happens in dystopian novels for children—a new, better way of life can be assembled from the ruins would the apocalypse really be such a bad thing?

What are your thoughts? Favorites?

Our Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian teen fiction list, created by Jocelyn.

Spring Booktalks @ AMS

Spring 2010 Booktalks on Prezi

I did something a little different with prezi this time. This wasn't a visit like what we do when we go to present summer reading, this was a more casual drop-in lunch in the library of one of my middle schools. It was a two day engagement, so what you see here reflects the additions I made after the first day, when I learned they wanted more zombie and apocalypse books (I was more than happy to oblige).

SO, what you'll see here is that there is no path, no slideshow, PowerPoint-esque intended order to the presentation. Students would walk in on the "What to Read" text, and we'd chat for a couple minutes so I could remind them who I am, etc. Then I'd scroll out, and ask them what they wanted to hear about. They'd indicate a cover, I'd booktalk it, we might talk a little about other books they or I know of that were similar, then we'd move on to a title another student wanted to hear about.

The library media specialist wanted me to bring books that her students could check out from me. I wasn't sure exactly how that would work out at first, but I, by exploiting my poor personal library record (at the time), realized that the OPAC reveals a patron's standing, whether it's good or limited, or blocked. Students who had their library card or knew their number would log onto their account, I'd verify that they were in good standing and then I'd just write down their numbers and the item numbers to check them out manually when I got back to the branch. It worked out great, and I'll definitely do it again. I of course, got an okay from the branch manager to do that.

We only had the lunch period (three lunches total), so we weren't necessarily able to get through all of the books, but that's the way I always design my school visits - I want them to realize there's definitely more at the library than I can talk about in 30 minutes.

It was also a great way to use the Explore and paperback titles. I had multiple copies and then could meet demand when five kids all wanted the same book. Two days was great for this because students who forgot their Sno-Isle library card the first day could come back the second day and hope that the book they wanted would still be there. The school library media specialist and I are now planning to do one of these a month starting in the fall, and hopefully the entire event will become routine for everyone.

I also deliberately had both old and new titles. I wanted to make sure that some of the books I talked about were available in the school library for those who didn't have public library cards. And frankly, almost everything is new to THEM. In case it isn't, it's kinda nice to have a kid attest the awesome (see: The Ranger's Apprentice). Gives ya cred. ;)

Books:
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
Bloody Jack by LA Meyer
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
Cut by Patricia McCormick
The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu
Green Angel & Green Witch by Alice Hoffman
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Love You, Hate You, Miss You by Elizabeth Scott
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Messed Up by Janet Nichols Lynch
Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by Ehrich Van Lowe
Northlander by Meg Burden
Outlaw: the legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee
Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas
Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
The Rock and the River by Keekla Magoon
Samurai 7 by Akira Kurosawa & Mizutaka Suhou
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien
Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

To see the actual booktalks click here.

I'm now afraid I might run out of books. I need to read faster.

Love Tearjerkers? Here is a Great Display Idea!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE books that pull my heartstrings and evoke sniffling. Some of my favorites are the lovely picturebook Faithful Elephants, If I Stay, Last Days of Summer, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and especially The Time Traveler's Wife.

Lynn Rutan and Cindy Dobrez made this fantastic interactive Sob-O-Meter display where teens get to add books and rate the level of weepiness. I love the huge gage and giant tissue boxes!

What are your favorite tearjerkers?

Don't have one? Check out our teen booklist - Tearjerkers: Books to Make You Cry

Free Scavenger Hunt Reading Program

Author and library lover Kay Cassidy has come up with a fun reading promotion your library can take part in. It is called The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest. 150 YA authors have created trivia questions to go with their books. Teens read the related book, turn in the their answers, and if they get at least 8/10, they are entered in the monthly drawing for a $50 giftcard to the bookstore of their choice.

The list of YA books you can choose from to feature are here.

Looks like a fun and easy way to promote books that might otherwise be sitting neglected on the shelf!

What do teens want?

Great article in PW about a survey of teen "uber-readers" from teenreads.com that disseminates what teens want in books and how they relate to literature and the internet in a marketing sense.

"Consistent with our 2005 survey, book copy was the most important factor that would make teens pick up a book. A stunning 91% saw this as the most important influence. The cover was important to 79%. The next most important influence, with 77%, was familiarity with an author's previous work; 74% were looking for the next book in a series. For 73%, the title was important."

It's worth a few moments of your time. Whole article here.

books to...video game?

Books being made into video games is nothing new. Lord of the Rings, Nancy Drew, Where's Waldo and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are just a few. But I confess, I was surprised to see that the Clique is being made into a game. From the Warner Brothers press release:

In The Clique: Diss and Make Up players are immersed in the fabulous world of "The Clique," complete with fun fashions, cool classes, after school 'Jobbies' and, of course, all the latest gossip. Players can take teen gossip to a new hi-tech level by wirelessly connecting with their real-life clique using BFF mode. This mode enables two players to trade character information and send messages – all while unlocking secret gossip in the game.

I know there has been a lot of talk over the years about making more games that appeal to girls, but focusing one around gossip and struggling to get popular, I find it a rather depressing. But on the other hand, multimedia tie-ins are so natural for this generation who don't view it as a sell out or commercialization of their favorite books, but a way to enjoy them further.

What do you think?

boys and books, revisited

The debate on what it takes to get boys to read (with the assumption they aren't reading enough) goes on. A school librarian in School Library Journal recently made the statement that we need more books with boy protagonists, and that "lots of books with female characters aren't really about being female. In fact, in many cases, the main characters could just as easily have been males—and that would make my job a lot easier". She sights Siberia as an example.

Over on MSN's Mom and Pop Culture page (a cleverly titled blog for parents about pop culture), Martha Brockenbrough argues that "But the problem isn't the books, it's the way we're raising our boys. If they aren't willing to read about girls, and if we're indulging that sort of nonsense, then we are raising boys who will have a hard time functioning in a world where girls play serious roles. In other words, the real world."

What do you think? Should authors be writing fewer books staring girls? Or should we stop just accepting that boys are less inclined to read about girls, and start actively encouraging them to get over themselves?

The 2009 Rainbow List

From the ALSC blog:

"The Rainbow Project announced the 2009 Rainbow List, a joint undertaking of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and Social Responsibilities Round Table. Featuring well-written and/or well-illustrated titles with authentic and significant gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered/queer/questioning (glbtq) content for youth from birth through age 18, this year’s bibliography presents 34 outstanding titles, published in the last eighteen months and representing a broad range of glbtq experience...

Four titles stood out to the selection committee as especially deserving of recognition for their characters, stories, and quality of writing and/or illustration:

1. Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (first novel)


2. 10,000 Dresses written by Marcus Ewert and illustrated by Rex Ray (first picture book)


3. Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon


4. Skim by Mariko Tamaki (text) and Jillian Tamaki (artwork)

"

Read the whole list here.

article: Classroom Misbehavior

Classroom Misbehavior
Some authors treat the subject of affairs between boys and their teachers as romance; others see it for what it is--the stealing of innocence
March 9, 2008 - Sonja Bolle for the LA Times

Anyone looking for easy explanations for what some have called "an epidemic" of this sort of sexual abuse will find them in these books: The absence of parents in teens' lives, the increased possibility of secrecy in e-mail as well as cellphone communication. But the choices each novelist makes in telling the story make the reading experiences vary widely.

Scholastic's new multi-platform series for tweens

Scholastic Plans to Put Its Branding Iron on a Successor to Harry Potter

I'm not sure this will have much appeal for teens, but it is an interesting concept. It will feature 10 books be various authors including Rick Riordan and Gordon Korman, plus web based games, collectable cards, and cash prizes for readers who puzzle it all out.

“We want to go where the kids are and really be part of their complete world, rather than going to one aspect of their world,” said David Levithan, an executive editorial director at Scholastic. He added, “We talk of it as being subversively educational.”

books into movies in 2008

Over on the YALSA-BK listserve someone just posted a list of all the movies based on kids and teens books coming out next year. WOW! Looks like there could be some really fantastic programming tie-in opportunities here!

Spiderwick Chronicles, books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
Jumper by Steven Gould
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Suess
Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
City of Ember by Jeanne du Prau
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Tale of Desperaux by Kate Dicamillo
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Ball Don’t Lie by Matt de la Pena
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 by Ann Brashares

new book featuring writing of teen girls

Salon has an article featuring 4 short stories from the new collection Red: The Next Generation of American Writers -- Teenage Girls -- on What Fires Up Their Lives Today. Looks like a very interesting and frank collection with lots to consider. I'm intrigued.

Q&A with Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

I'm behind on reading this series, but loved the first one. Are any of your younger teens reading it?

To mark the release of Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Disney Editions, Oct.), the final volume in Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s saga about Peter before he was Pan, the authors kicked off a national tour, beginning with an appearance this week in Barry’s hometown: Miami, Florida.

Stargirl inspires

I love this idea. Teens who loved the message of Stargirl started their own society to support each other to live more like Stargirl and do kind things for others. So nice!
Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl Inspires Societies

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - the movie!

I'm excited to see that NaNIP is going to be made into a movie...starring one of the guys from Superbad! Check it out:

Cera and Dennings to star in 'Playlist'

article: Teen Marketing 2.0

The September 3rd Publishers Weekly has an article about how publishers are beginning to explore using more 2.0 technologies to reach out to teens. I was happy to see that much of what we are considering on our website is reflected in this article.