Gingerbread House Program

Tuesday, December 18
6th - 8th graders - 4:30 P.M.
9th - 12th graders - 6:30 P.M.

Create a gingerbread house from graham crackers and candy decorations. 

Registration is required by Saturday, December 15.  Register here. 

Jack-o-lantern Programs

From our teen jack-o-lantern carving programs this week:

Teens' Top Ten

The 2012 Teens' Top Ten list was announced to kick off Teen Read Week.  Each year, teens nominate and vote for their favorite books of the previous year.  See the winners and nominations in our catalog here.

We've made our own top ten lists of books published  last year based on how many times there were checked out. 

How many have you read?  Which one is your favorite?

Here are the top ten from our teen section:

1 (tie) What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
1 (tie) Flawless: A Pretty Little Liars Novel by Sara Shepard
1 (tie) Angel: A Maximun Ride Novel by James Patterson
4  Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton
5 (tie) I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
5 (tie) Crossed by Allyson Condie
7 (tie) The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer
7 (tie) Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz
7 (tie) Matched by Allyson Condie
7 (tie) Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
7 (tie) The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

Here are our top ten teen books from our juvenile section:

1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever 
2 The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
3 (tie) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik
3 (tie) Sign of the Moon by Erin Hunte
5 Ten Rules for Living with my Sister by Ann Martin
6 The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
7 (tie) A World without Heroes by Brandon Mull
7 (tie) Spirits in the Stars by Erin Hunter
7 (tie) Quest for the Spark by Tom Sniegoski
7 (tie) The Emerald Casket by Richard Newsome

Dork Diaries Readalikes

Have you read all of the Dork Diaries?  Are you looking for something else to read?  Try some of these:

Amelia series by Marissa Moss

Boys are Dogs by Leslie Margolis

Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

How I Survived Middle School by Nancy Krulik

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf by Jennifer Holm

Teens' Top Ten

Each year, YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) creates a list of Teens' Top Ten titles from books published in the last year.  Books are nominated by teens and the winners are determined by teens voting for their favorites.

See more information here and submit your vote here.

See the list of books in our library here.  

New Books

Today is the last day to receive prizes for your summer reading, but don't let that stop you from reading! Check out these new books to enjoy reading during your last weeks of summer.

We have several new additions to favorite series:
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Legacies by Pittacus Lore
Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure by James Patterson
Rapture: A Fallen Novel by Lauren Kate

We also have recently received several new books on the list of nominations for the Teens' Top Teen list.  See the list here.  Read them and be ready to vote for your favorite later this month.

  

  

   

100 Best-Ever Teen Books

Have you seen the list of "100 Best-Ever Teen Books" compiled by NPR?  What do you think of the list?   For the newer books, do you think they'll remain a "best-ever" or are they just "best right now?" 

Hunger Games

Did you like The Hunger Games? Are you looking for something similar to read? Find a new book in this flow chart from Lawrence Public Library. We have most of the books in our library and can request others for you through MeLCat.

Paint the Windows

See photos from our Paint the Windows program in the Milan News-Leader here.

Creatures of the Night

Nancy from Howell Nature Center brought six nocturnal animals for us to see and learn about today.  We met a great horned owl, a flying squirrel, an Eastern screech owl, a European ferret, a barn owl, and an opossum.

All of the animals we saw today are from Howell Nature Center's Wild Wonders Wildlife Park which provides homes for animals and birds that are not able to live in the wild.  

Great Horned Owl
This great horned owl is 24 years old and has been living at Howell Nature Center since he was young.  He, like all owls, can fly silently due to the type of feathers at his wingtips.  He has excellent hearing which is enhanced by his ears being at slightly different heights. 

 

 
Flying Squirrel
Flying squirrels have skin stretched from their wrists to their ankles which allows them to glide similar to a kite.  Like all nocturnal animals, he has large eyes. 

 

Eastern Screech Owl

This owl's name is Farley.  Eastern screech owls may be red or grey;  Farley is a grey phase owl.  He, as all of the owls today, was very interested in something in the park; he kept looking out the window at the geese and other animals outside. He arrived at Howell Nature Center after his wing was injured when the tree he lived in was cut down.  Due to the damage to his wing, he can not fly.  Although this owl was quiet today, we heard a recording of a screech owl and learned that it sounds similar to a horse.

European Ferret 
Ferrets are a type of weasel and are in the Mustelidae family.  Like ferrets kept as pets, this ferret has had its scent glands removed. 

Barn Owl

Opossum
This opossum loves broccoli and walked back and forth across the table to find and eat more.  Opossums are marsupials.  Baby opossums are about the size of the tip to the first knuckle of a pinkie finger.  They live in the mother's pouch for about two months.

Usually when you find a baby animal alone, you should leave it where you find it because the mother will return.  Opossums are an exception to this rule.  Mothers often will not realize they have lost a baby, so young opossums alone should be reported to an appropriate facility to help them.

Contrary to popular belief, opossums can not hang by their tails. They can use their tails to help them climb or hold things, but their bodies are too heavy to hang by them. 

The human owl
Owls eyes are very large.  Like other nocturnal animals, their large eyes help them see at night.  If humans' eyes were proportionately the same size as owls' eyes, this is what our eyes would look like.  Our volunteer also had an owl wing to demonstrate how quietly owls can fly.

Owls' feet
  

Teen Book Finder App

If you have an Apple device, see this free Teen Book Finder app to find book suggestions from lists of award winning books, create your own reading lists, share books on Twitter and Facebook, and more.  

Summer Programs

Our Summer Reading Program will begin on Friday, June 8.

See our teen brochure here.

Register here to read or attend programs this summer. 

Pick up a reading log from the library beginning on Friday, June 8 and earn prizes for reading anything (books, magazines, etc.) or listening to audiobooks throughout the summer.

Weekly programs will be held throughout the summer.

"Teen Tuesdays" will include Paint the Windows, Game Days, Reader's Theater, Books and Bites, and craft projects.  We know South Arbor is still in school for our Paint the Windows program, but we want to get them painted early in the summer.  If you are still in school that day, but are interested in participating, contact Jennifer Perryman at the library (439-1240) or through a note on the registration form and she'll save a window for you.

"Creatures of the Night: Nocturnal Birds & Mammals" will be presented by Howell Nature Center on Tuesday, June19 from 10:30 - 11:30 A.M. in the Senior and Community Activity Building. This program includes birds and mammals from Howell Nature Center's Wild Wonders Wildlife Park and highlights their adaptations for living in the dark.

Our summer programs will conclude with a Starlab presentation by Dynamic West Assemblies.  We'll explore the wonders of the night sky inside an inflatable Starlab Dome.  This program will be held at 4:30 on Tuesday, August 14 in the Senior and Community Activities Building.  Registration is required and will begin for this program on July 14.

Hunger Games Program

Teen Hunger Games Program

Monday, March 12

3:30 P.M. 9th – 12th grade

4:45 P.M. 6th – 8th grade

Discuss the book series and upcoming movie, test your knowledge of Hunger Games trivia, and participate in other activities related to the book.

Registration is requested. Please call or stop by the library or register online here.

We hope to see you there.

2012 Book Awards

The American Library Association recently announced several 2012 youth book award winners.

Click on the book titles to see them in our catalog. (It may take a minute for our catalog to load.)

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What were your favorite books from last year?
Printz Award
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Printz Honor Books


Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
The Returning by Christine Hinwood
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Michael L. Printz Award is awarded for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. See more information about the Newbery Medal and past winners here.

Newbery Medal Winner



Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Newbery Honor Books

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

The Newbery Medal is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. See more information about the Newbery Medal and past winners here.


Sibert Medal Winner



Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

Sibert Honor Books

Black and White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor by Larry Dane Brimner
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say
The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O'Connell and Donna M. Jackson

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year. See more information about the Sibert Medal and past winners here.

2011 Most Popular Books

It seems that everyone is creating a "best books" type of list at this time of year, so here's ours. Our list includes the most often checked out books in our library this year. What do you think? Have you read them? What's your favorite?

Teen Fiction

1. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
2. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
3. Jane by April Lindner
4. Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
5. Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
6. Z by Michael Thomas Ford
7. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
8. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
9. Chosen by Ted Dekker
10. Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

Teen Series

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Maximum Ride by James Patterson
4. Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
5. The Immortals by Alyson Noel

Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature this morning.

See more about the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature here.

See his books in our library here.