Movie and Games Tuesday!

I want you all to come out today to see Camp Rock at 1 and come to the Uno championship at 6:30 tonight. Plus, there's still tome to sign up for the Mario Kart Double Dash tournament Thursday at 4!

( Public School)Spring Break!

I hope you kids are enjoying your spring break and will enjoy it more at the library! I want all of you to come by for the programs we're having every day. Today, it's board games from 1-3 and a DDR championship from 4-6! Come beat your friends or cheer on your classmates! There's also Guitar Hero Metallica Wednesday, a Mario Kart championship Thursday and Wii Sports Friday! Plus, there are lots of great new graphic novels to read, too. See you at the library this week!

Great "Kids'' Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are really popular at my library and I thought about why I haven't read " kids'' ones like Naruto ( above). I like adult, sad graphic novels like Maus, Persepolis, and American Born Chinese because I like sad stories. However, I also think that there's still a stigma I ( and a lot of adults have) towards certain graphic novels, thinking they're for kids. Do any of you read kids or YA graphic novels? Which ones and why?

Teen Movie Tomorrow: Blades of Glory

Teens, come out for a free movie and popcorn tomorrow! You want silly comedies, you got 'em! See you tomorrow and I definitely better see you all next week if you're on spring break!

Gaming Thursdays next week : Mario Kart tournament, Halo Wars, Guitar Hero Metallica

Gaming this week will be fun, but it will definitely be more fun next week with new games and tournaments! Come for gaming all next week during public school spring break! Monday,March 30 at 4 is the DDR Tournament, Thursday April 2 at 4 is the Mario Kart Tournament and Friday at 3:30 is Wii Sports!

New Spring Games!

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/games-of-spring-2009/games-of-spring-2009/1295966
Here are some of the new videogames coming out this spring, including our new addition April 1, Guitar Hero Metallica. We also have Halo Wars, which I didn't know was multiplayer only online. So come play the games, but please take turns so everyone can play. See you Thursday at 4 for gaming and for the movie, Blades of Glory, Friday at 3:30!

New YA Books In the Library!

I'm so happy about the new books that just came into the library! The one I'm most excited about is The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Vol. 2. It's the sequel to the excellent book about an African-American slave during the Revolutionary War. In the sequel, he escapes his cruel master with his master's colleague who suffocated Octavian's master! I can't wait to read the second book to find out what happens. There's also Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke and a new Iron Man graphic novel. Come in and read all these great books today!

Teen events next week : Halo Wars, Madden '09, Wii Sports, Blades of Glory

Next week, there will be gaming for teens next week with Halo Wars, Madden '09, and Wii Sports. Also, next Friday at 3:30, there's the teen movie, Blades of Glory. Games and a silly movie with the guy from Napoleon Dynamite? You teens have to love that!

Book of the Week: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I love Neil Gaiman's cheeky British humor, and this book doesn't disappoint. Though this isn't a YA book, I think older teenagers would like this supernatural book. Anansi Boys is the story of Fat Charlie, a man who actually isn't overweight, but is given that nickname by his overbearing, embarrassing father. When Fat Charlie finds out that his father has died, he goes from England to Florida to attend the funeral ( Both the way his father died and what happens to Fat Charlie at the funeral are so hilarious. Only Neil Gaiman could make something as sad as death so funny.)

After the funeral, Fat Charlie learns one shocking thing after another. He learns from one of his father's friends that his father was a spider god. ( The title of the book comes from Anansi spider stories from West Africa). Fat Charlie's also told that if he wants something, he should ask a spider for it. Fat Charlie thinks it's all crazy and dismisses it, then has a dream where he talks to a spider. The next day, he finds a man on his doorstep that says his name is Spider and that he's Fat Charlie's long-lost brother. For an average middle-management man like Charlie, that's too much for him to believe, but he goes along with Spider. Spider is handsome, charming, and fun- everything Fat Charlie isn't. Spider takes Fat Charlie on an adventure to honor their father and claim their rightful place as heirs to the Spider God's throne.

This book is hilarious, supernatural and just what I'd expect from a Neil Gaiman novel. I can't wait to finish this novel and read more from him. After I finish reading it, you can find this book in FIC Gaiman in the library.

Games of the Week

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/purple-picks/purple-picks/1247158
Here are some video games out this week. I wonder if the new Resident Evil is offensive ( or more offensive than it is already with the violence) because African characters are seen as zombies? Maybe that's just the way the game is because it is set in Africa. I don't know, but on a non-controversial topic, I'm getting GH Metallica for the library for the public school spring break the week of March 30 and due to popular demand, I'll get Super Smash Brothers soon for the private school spring break the week April 13-17.

Best. Tournament.Ever!

Thanks so much to the many kids ( and very helpful parents) that came to the Guitar Hero 3 tournament today. I truly now know the power of videogames and have learned that candy and gift cards make the best prizes. Nothing else will do. Pictures will be posted soon. Hopefully, I'll see you all at the Teen Movie, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, tomorrrow and definitely for gaming next Thursday at 4!

Book of the Week: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I love this disturbing best-selling book by Suzanne Collins. Hunger Games is the story of a teenage girl, Katniss, growing up in a futuristic version of America after a terrible war. The winners of the war have divided America up into districts and the winners of the war live in the luxurious Capitol, while Katniss lives in poverty in District 12. To remind everyone of their victory, the members of the Capitol stage the Hunger Games, where teenagers from all over the country have to fight to the death until the last one survives-on a reality TV-like show.

Though the story is so heartwrenching, it also has many touching moments. Katniss's friendship with her best friend Peeta and her closeness to her family is heartwarming. There are also some oddly funny moments, too. Katniss makes fun of the cheerful hosts and stylists of such a gruesome show. They're there to make the ''tributes'' seem more likable so they'll be sponsored by rich people and hopefully survive, but Katniss knows that by just using her intelligence and knowledge of hunting, she stands a chance of surviving the Games. Collins makes great subtle points throughout the book about the gap between rich and poor and the "reality'' of reality shows where's people's misery is entertainment. To me, though, the story is ultimately about a girl trying to maintain her humanity in such a cruel world. We just ordered Hunger Games so it should be on the YA Fiction shelves soon or we can order it for you anytime from another library.

Happy Teen Tech Week!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Fe3Y3gJFDe2ggPMXyst%2bGg%3d%3d
Here's a survey you teens can fill out this week to tell me how you use technology and how you want to use it in the library. Teen Tech Week is an event held every year in libraries in March ( this week, it's March 8-14). Young adult librarians celebrate the use of technology in libraries, especially by teenagers. From downloading pictures from your camera to YouTube to promoting your own music on your MySpace page, you're using technology to make your life fun.

Speaking of MySpace, if you have your own MySpace/Facebook page, e-mail it to ya_rgpl@yahoo.com ( that's not a space in the e-mail, it's an underscore ya_rgpl)so I can post a link to it right on this blog! I'll judge the coolest site and the winner gets to be the first to play the new Guitar Hero: Metallica April 1!

The big events to celebrate Teen Tech Week are the Guitar Hero 3 tournament on Thursday March 12 ( celebrating gaming) and the Teen Movie Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist ( celebrating movies and online music). I hope you participate in all these events and Happy Teen Tech Week!

Guinness Gamers

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/guinness-gamers/guinness-gamers/1290100/2
Here's an article about crazy gaming records.

Gaming Thursdays next week : Guitar Hero 3 tournament, Halo Wars, Madden '09

Next Thursday at 4 is the Guitar Hero 3 tournament, so get your star power ready! I will have the PS2 and XBox 360 versions out by request. I will also have the other Xbox out so teens that aren't interested can play Madden '09 or Halo Wars. I may have the Gamecube Mario Kart out if little kids show up that can't play games rated T. There is also the chance to e-mail your MySpace or Facebook page to the blog. E-mail it to ya_rgpl@yahoo.com. See you next week!

Teen Movie Next Friday: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Next week on Friday at 3:30, we're showing Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist to kick off our teen movie program. Sign up or just show up next week to see it! Kids under 13, see me, Yanda to get a permission slip to give to your parents to see the movie. See you then!

Book of the Week: Game by Walter Dean Myers

I love Walter Dean Myers' stories about kids growing up in Harlem and this story doesn't disappoint. Game is about Drew, a teenager growing up in Harlem who eats, sleeps, and drinks basketball. He's a star on the team at school and hopes to go pro. It's his only escape from the bleak crime-infested world he lives in and he hopes it's his ticket out of Harlem. Everything's going according to plan until a new teammate arrives.

Tomas is the new player who shakes up everything in Drew's world. He's a good player, but he's not as good as Drew thinks. Drew also thinks Tomas is getting special treatment from the coach and the coach is racist towards him.( Drew is black and Tomas is white and from the Czech Republic. ) Drew's confidence in himself is shaken when the coach benches him during most of the games and tells Drew he may not have what it takes to go pro. On top of all that, many of Drew's friends are caught up in street life and are going to jail or on their way there. Drew has a lot of problems and doesn't know if he can count on the solution he turned to before, basketball.

I love Myers' easy, yet powerful style of writing. He mixes teenage slang with heartfelt profound descriptions of Drew. Though the story is about an African-American boy playing basketball in Harlem, it's still a universal story about a teenager trying to find his way and build a future on his special gift. You can find Game by Walter Dean Myers in the YA section under YA FIC MYERS or we can order it from another library.

Book of the Week: Watchmen by Alan Moore

I know this was a Book of the Week before, but with the movie coming out this week, I may reread it and try to make sense of it. Read about Rorshach, the Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan, and the rest for the first time or read it again.