Gingerbread House Program

18 teens created gingerbread houses at the library on Wednesday, December 21. They decorated them with Christmas trees, ice skating bears, Santa's sleigh, snowmen, and more creative additions. See photos from the programs here.

Magic Tree House Series

review by Caitee, 8th grade

There is a series of some 50 books, entitled the Magic Tree House and Merlin Missions, written by Mary Pope Osborne. Out of all the books, my favorite is book #32, The Winter of the Ice Wizard. In this book, Merlin has a mission for Jack and Anne(and their friends Teddy and Kathleen). Jack and Anne have to retrieve the Ice Wizard's missing eyeball. This book happens to be extremely adventurous. They run into danger,have to make some hard decisions, and in the beginning, they don't know(or have much of a clue) where to find the eye; except to go to the Norns. The 3 Norns weave lifes of people(such as the Ice Wizard, in the book) into trapystres. Jack, Anne, Teddy, and Kathleen have to some how get the Norns to reveal where the eye is hidden. This book, along with the series, is extremely magical. Though it is magical, it also teaches us lessons, such as loyalty, being truthful, and many more lessons that you will have to read and find. I enjoy reading this book series, even though i am "old". Right now, I am on book 29, I have been looking for this book for some number of years (literally). My mom just found book 29, I cannot wait to read it, and finish the series.

Click here to see if The Winter of the Ice Wizard is available or to reserve it.

Click here to see the rest of the series.

Guardians of Ga'hoole

Review by Caitee, 8th grade

There is a book series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky, that I have been reading all year. Initially, there are 15 books in the series, but Ms. Kathryn wrote a book entitled "A Guide to the Great Tree", and another, "Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole". This series begins with a young Barn Owl named Soren, going through his adventurous time trying to find the Great Tree, which is said to be a myth, other hard times, and a remarkable child and adulthood. Near the middle of the series, you read about Soren's nephew's lifehood, how Nyroc (A.K.A. Coryn, Soren's nephew) has a special ability, and his destiny that he has to discover. All of that is in between books 1 thru 7. In those books, there is much more than what I told, like wars, wolves, and more! Books 8 thru 11, each book is a legend about Hoole (you have to read to discover who Hoole is) and his journey to become the king of the owl kingdoms. I am only on book 13, and in a new beginning of another story, so I cannot tell you about books 12 thru 15, or the extra books that were written. Characters in the book: Soren, Glyfie, Twilight, Digger, Coryn, Ezlryb, Otelissa, Martin, Ruby, Eglantine, Madame Plonk, Mrs. P., Pelli, Primrose, Octavia, Octavia, and Doc Finebeak. There are MANY more characters, and things to tell how wonderful this series is. Read this book series!!!!!!

Click here to see the books in this series.

Halloween Pops

Teens made these Halloween pops at the library this week.

Twelfth Grade Kills

The book I chose, which is my favorite book is Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer. The characters are all well put together, except for Meredith. She's too much of a Mary Sue. For those who don't know what a Mary Sue is, it's a term used to describe a character that is too "perfect". The storyline is great, and it keeps the reader wanting more.

Note: Our library owns this book and others in the series. Click here to see if they are available or to reserve them.

Huckleberry Finn

Review by Bill, 11th grade

I dislike this book because it is slow and not funny at all.

Note: Our library owns this book. Click here to see if it is available or reserve it.

Running Out of Time

Review by Olivianna, 7th grade

I love the book, Running Out of Time, written by Margaret Haddix, because it is very suspenseful. It is about someone coming from a reserve and then coming into the 20th century. When I read it, I couldn't put it down!

Note: Our library owns this book. Click here to see if it is available or to reserve it.

Book Review: Swan

Review by Sierra, 10th grade

Swan is a Japanese graphic novel about a girl named Masumi who wishes to become a prima ballerina. However, she must over come many obstacles, including her fatal flaws and the great prodigies and rivals that stand in her way.

The series of Swan is full of competitions, unrequited love, and most importantly, Ballet.

The books are amazing to the artistic eye. Kyoko captures the grace and beauty of ballet, and multiplies it a hundred fold with anime stylized, but very accurate structure and anatomy for male and female characters.

To an artist, or someone who loves looking at drawings, they will be charmed at once by the pages of beautiful figures and graceful poses. Fans of Ballet will also enjoy this book, for the story shows and even tells you about many ballets, and the costumes and dancing that is drawn are very wonderful, and very accurate to the real deal.

Its flaws, however, probably make a lot of people turn from the book before they can really become hooked. These flaws include the over exaggerated eye lashes and flowing hair of the men, the rather intense use of shojo(manga for girls) sparkles/roses/fire, and the longer then normal dialogue. Manga(a form of Japanese Graphic Novels) is supposed to be carried not only by the dialogue, but also by the art. This book, though it's art is fantastic, can be somewhat confusing to someone who has just started reading Manga. Certain actions are not shown or explained very well(such as when a ballerina begins to falter), and one dramatized emotion can be confused with another(Such as amazement and awe that looks more like fear and dread).

The story is a soap opera, filled with fears, suspense and competition. This is not necessarily a flaw, but the listed things are so constant, that it can become very exhausting.

Aside from these flaws, the books are amazing to read, and to any hard core fan of Manga, this is a must read.

Note: Our library does not have this series, but you may request the books from another library through MeLCat here.

Teens' Top Ten

YALSA announced the 2011 Teens' Top Ten books today.

What is your pick for the best book of the last year?

1. The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
6. Matched by Ally Condie
7. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
10. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Teen Read Week

This week (October 16 - 22) is Teen Read Week. 6th through 12 graders are invited to:

1. Submit a book review for this blog. It can be fiction, nonfiction, a graphic novel, an audiobook, or a magazine - anything you have read. Your review can be as short or as long as you want. Submit your review here. Everyone who submits a review by the end of October will win prizes (pizza, pretzels, and maybe more).

2. Read the blog to see other people's reviews and get suggestions for new books to read.

3. See if you can identify a shredded book. Part of a book is in a jar behind the reference desk. Can you identify the book? (This book was damaged when we received it. We did not shred a good book!)

4. Attend a program at the library. We'll make edible Halloween treats on
Wednesday at 4:00 for 9th through 12th graders and
Thursday at 4:00 for 6th - 8th graders.
Please register below so we will have enough supplies for everyone.

Ebook and Audiobook Downloads

You can now download ebooks and audiobooks through Overdrive with your Milan Public Library card. See our website for details.

Paolini's Inheritance Series

Inheritance, Christopher Paolini's fourth book in the series, will be available next month.

Paolini discusses the beginning of the series in this video. Did you notice that a character is described as having different color eyes in Eragon than in Brisingr?



See more here.

Harry Potter

Recent Harry Potter happenings:

J. K. Rowling recently announced the creation of Pottermore. Visit the website to see her announcement.

The final Harry Potter movie was released yesterday. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Teen Summer Reading Program begins this week

Our Teen Summer Reading Program begins this week.

Stop by the library to pick up a reading log, keep track of your reading, and earn prizes. New this year, you can choose to count the time you spend reading or how many days you read. You'll earn a prize from the prize box after 4 hours or 10 days, a free ice cream cone from Nagle's after 8 hours or 20 days, a free book after 12 hours or 30 days, and continue to enter the prize drawing for each additional 4 hours or 10 days.

Our first program will be Paint the Windows on Tuesday, June 17. Sign up to paint the front windows at 1:00 P.M. or the teen area windows at 2:30 P.M.

We'll have Teen Tuesdays each Tuesday throughout the summer. See the teen page of our website for details.

We hope to see you in the library this summer.

Thumbs Up! Award

2011 Thumbs Up! Award

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

Honor Books:

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Click here for more information about the Thumbs Up! Award.