Letters about Literature is an annual national reading and writing contest with three levels for competition open to fourth through twelfth grade readers. Awards include monetary gift cards for state and national individual winners while national winners will also bring Reading Promotion Grant funds to their school or community library. Contest information is available via the Missouri Center for the Book or on the Library of Congress Letters About Literature Web site. Submit your letter and entry coupon postmarked no later than December 12.
The 2009 Kirkus Reviews Book Video Awards challenges student filmmakers to produce video trailers for three upcoming YA novels published by Delacorte Press. This year’s chosen titles are:
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
The finalists for the 4th annual Teen Book Video Awards are Benjamin Bliss (Fallen), Rosie Lambert (Very LeFreak), and Brighton Linge (The Maze Runner).
The polls are open through Oct. 30th, so be sure to vote for your favorite video and send the link to everyone you know so they can check them out too!
To watch these enticing book trailers, vote for your favorite, and read more about the competition and each of the filmmakers, visit http://www.barnesandnoble.com/kirkusbva/.
More than 11,000 teen voters chose Paper Towns as their favorite book in the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten! The online poll took place from Aug. 24 through Sept. 18, with the winners announced during Teen Read Week by WWE Divas Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, with a special appearance by John Green. See the video.
Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin/Dutton)
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
Identical by Ellen Hopkins (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
The Graveyard Bookby Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
Wake by Lisa McMann (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse)
Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin)
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (Disney-Hyperion)
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Columbia Public Library, Program Room, Children’s Area
Celebrate Teen Read Week with Jennifer Brown, author of the newly released teen novel “Hate List.” In the book, Valerie Leftman must come to grips with a tragic school shooting her boyfriend carried out and the role she played in it when she helped him create a list of things and people they hated. Based in the Kansas City area, Jennifer Brown is a two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award and the humor columnist for The Kansas City Star. “Hate List” is her first novel. Come hear her speak and answer your questions. Register NOW!
Click here to see if we have a copy of “Hate List” in!
Saturday, October 10, 2009 › 2-4 p.m.Columbia Public Library, Program Room, Children’s Area
We want your help to make some YouTube videos for our web site. Reviews or trailers about books you’ve read, virtual tours of the library or teen tutorials are just a few of our ideas. What are yours? Cameras, tech support and snacks provided. Participants will need to have a parent sign a release form if they wish to have their video posted online. This is a part of the library’s new VOLaTiLE program: VOLunteer Teens in Library Environments. Register Now!
Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program. It is sponsored in cooperation with Affiliate State Centers for the Book.
Has a book touched your life in a personal way? If so, enter the competition!
Using people’s quotes is a clever way of telling a story. It tells a haunting tale that’s happened many times before. “Give a Boy a Gun” even has true facts at the bottom of almost every page. The book shows the harm of a gun and the minds of ‘outcasts’ in a clique oriented high school. “Give a Boy a Gun” is a great book. –Payal K. 3 stars
This book is definitely my favorite book I have yet to read in my life (and just for the record, I have read a lot of books). I absolutely love this author and all of her books, but this is my favorite. I love how her character’s thoughts are not rambles and on-going, yet, straight to the point. They’re simple thoughts, one or two liners that make you rest the book in your lap and you say, “huh”, and just pause for a moment and relish what was just read.
The whole book itself is very simple and soft flowing. The storyline is very smooth and easy to follow. It feeds you different concepts and new ideas to ponder. And the main character’s perspective is very calm and thoughtful, so it’s also refreshing to be the reader. I highly enjoyed this book and honestly wish it didn’t end. Notoriously leaves you wanting more. –Mariah M. 4 stars
Columbia Public Library, Gene Martin Secret Garden
Teen volunteers are needed to create giant puppet characters for the library. These fanciful creations will be used in parades and for public display. Bring your ideas, large and small. We’ll provide materials and assistance to bring these fantastic characters to life. If you’re able, walk in the holiday parade with your creation along with the library book cart drill team on November 22. Volunteer for your community at your library! This is a part of the library’s new VOLaTiLE program: VOLunteer Teens in Library Environments.
Voting for the 2009 American Library Association Teens’ Top Ten is now open! Teens can vote for up to three of their favorite titles from the 2009 nominees. Click on the Voice Your Choice picture above and vote now!
This book was really good. I learned a lot about how horrible the refugees’ situations are in Africa. This book is really suspenseful and it kept me up reading at night. It is kind of scary but it is supposed to be so the story is good. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to read an adventure, action, mystery book. The only reason it didn’t get 4 stars is because it’s kind of confusing at first. –Rayna S. (3 stars)
Interested in philosophy? You may enjoy this book translated from the original French.
Neither of the two main characters would normally be of interest to our teen readers (unless any of our teen readers are interested in ideas and philosophy and the meaning and purpose of life):
“Renée Michel is the dumpy, nondescript, 54-year-old concierge of a small and exclusive Paris apartment building. Its handful of tenants include a celebrated restaurant critic, high government officials and members of the old nobility. Every day these residents pass by the loge of Madame Michel and, unless they want something from her, scarcely notice that she is alive. As it happens, Renée Michel prefers it that way. There is far more to her than meets the eye.
Paloma Josse also lives in the building. Acutely intelligent, introspective and philosophical, this 12-year-old views the world as absurd and records her observations about it in her journal. She despises her coddled existence, her older sister Colombe (who is studying at the École normale supérieure), and her well-to-do parents, especially her plant-obsessed mother. After careful consideration of what life is like, Paloma has secretly decided to kill herself on her 13th birthday.”
- from a review by Michael Dirda in the Washington Post – Read the complete review at the Washington Post website.
Renée and Paloma eventually meet, and recognize each other as kindred spirits. This book was written for thoughtful adults, not teens, but if you plan on being a thoughtful adult some day give this book a try.
Join us for three fun “D” activities. We’ll create useful items from duct tape like wallets, purses and bookmarks. We’ll also “re-purpose” old clothes. Bring some of your old, boring clothes, take them apart and change them into something new and exciting. We’ll also have DDR and provide some snacks to celebrate the end of the teen Summer Reading program.
6th-grader Miranda is finding mysterious notes, addressed to her, apparently from someone who is watching her. Is someone spying on her, stalking her, is she in danger? Should she do what the notes ask her to do? Unfortunately Miranda is on her own with this decision. She has a sometimes uncomfortable relationship with her mother, her best friend has mysteriously started avoiding her, and some new friends don’t seem to be quite trustworthy yet. We often feel compelled to make important decisions on our own, without advice from others – are these the best decisions we make, or the worst?
Miranda’s favorite book, referred to frequently in the story, is A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle, another book which DBRLTeen highly recommends. And DBRLTeen found the story somewhat reminiscent of an extraordinarily moving book for adult readers: The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. Like those two books, there is some time travel involved in When You Reach Me, but its not a science-fictiony kind of book at all. The book is centered on Miranda, trying to figure out the mystery of the notes before its too late, trying to get along with her mother, and friends, all at the same time.
The book is shelved with our “J” books, with many others for middle school readers, but DBRLTeen finds it an intriguing read for both high schoolers and adults as well.
So DBRLTeen recommends When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, because although it often seems we don’t have time (or the wisdom) to prevent a tragedy from occuring, maybe, if the premise of the book is correct, we have all the time in the world.
17-year-old Zac Sunderland is the youngest to ever sail around the world solo – it took 13 months! He completed the trip this morning (Thursday July 16) in California. Too bad he had to miss so much school…
“Unfortunately for Sunderland, a Brit named Mike Perham, who is a few months younger, embarked on a similar quest last November and is expected to complete his solo-circumnavigation, aboard a 50-foot racing yacht, in about three weeks.”
your ideas and comments about this blog and our library programs. Leave comments on postings here, or email us. Send us short book reviews too! Email teen@dbrl.org
Celebrate Teen Read Week with Jennifer Brown, author of the newly released teen novel “Hate List.” In the book, Valerie Leftman must come to grips with a tragic school shooting her boyfriend carried out and the role she played in it when she helped him create a list of things and people they hated. Based in the Kansas City area, Jennifer Brown is a two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award and the humor columnist for The Kansas City Star. “Hate List” is her first novel. Come hear her speak and answer your questions. Register NOW!
Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program. It is sponsored in cooperation with Affiliate State Centers for the Book.
Using people’s quotes is a clever way of telling a story. It tells a haunting tale that’s happened many times before. “Give a Boy a Gun” even has true facts at the bottom of almost every page. The book shows the harm of a gun and the minds of ‘outcasts’ in a clique oriented high school. “Give a Boy a Gun” is a great book. –Payal K. 3 stars
VOLaTiLE Giant Puppets
By Caroline B. Cooney
Interested in philosophy? You may enjoy this book translated from the original French.
Join us for three fun “D” activities. We’ll create useful items from duct tape like wallets, purses and bookmarks. We’ll also “re-purpose” old clothes. Bring some of your old, boring clothes, take them apart and change them into something new and exciting. We’ll also have DDR and provide some snacks to celebrate the end of the teen Summer Reading program.
6th-grader Miranda is finding mysterious notes, addressed to her, apparently from someone who is watching her. Is someone spying on her, stalking her, is she in danger? Should she do what the notes ask her to do? Unfortunately Miranda is on her own with this decision. She has a sometimes uncomfortable relationship with her mother, her best friend has mysteriously started avoiding her, and some new friends don’t seem to be quite trustworthy yet. We often feel compelled to make important decisions on our own, without advice from others – are these the best decisions we make, or the worst?
17-year-old Zac Sunderland is the youngest to ever sail around the world solo – it took 13 months! He completed the trip this morning (Thursday July 16) in California. Too bad he had to miss so much school…