Monday, July 28, 2014

12 Anticipated Titles

There are several books coming out in the next few months 
that I CAN'T WAIT to get my hands on!





What books can't you wait to read?

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Lunanshee's Yearly Program Planning Guide for New YA Librarians

YA LIBRARIAN RULE THE FIRST:
DON'T FREAK OUT!

How do you prevent the freak out? Planning.

As I prepare to leave my current job, I've spent a good amount of time making sure to leave copious notes for the YA Librarian who will follow me.  One of the documents I've created is what I'm calling the YA YEARLY PLANNING CALENDAR OF GLORY.  This calendar (more of an outline, really) details the illusive when of organizing year-round teen programming at a busy public library.  Since this seems like a document that many new YA Librarians could benefit from, I've decided to share it with the world.

Clearly some of the programs/dates on this YA YEARLY PLANNING CALENDAR OF GLORY may not apply to your branch but, if you are a new YA Librarian, I hope this gives you a starting point for your annual planning.
Cheers!

YA YEARLY PLANNING CALENDAR OF GLORY

JANUARY
Local school district winter holidays - do you need programs?
AARP Tax Aid Starts = becomes VERY difficult to find a room for Teen Programs
Start thinking about Summer Programming Ideas
Black History Month Program planning & room reservation (Black History Month = February)
Teen Tech Week program planning & room reservation
Place YA Book Order

FEBRUARY
Black History Month - African American Read-In can be a great program (http://www.ncte.org/action/aari)
AARP Tax Aid = VERY difficult to find a room for Teen Programs
Plan Asian Pacific Heritage Month program & book a room (Asian Pacific Heritage Month = May)
Teen Tech Week promo
National Poetry Month program planning & room reservation
Add titles to YA Book Order

MARCH
Teen Tech Week
AARP Tax Aid = VERY difficult to find a room for Teen Programs
Plan out Summer Program details and begin creating flyers/posters etc
Place YA Book Order
National Poetry Month program promo
If you are planning to do a Holi Water War during summer make sure to get the Holi powder now!

APRIL
National Poetry Month.
Send in SRP materials to be printed for May promo (plan on taking some to school in the area).
Add titles to YA Book Order

MAY
Asian Pacific Heritage Month
Start gathering supplies for SRP
Place YA  Book Order
Plan SAT practice tests for the next school year (KAPLAN/Princeton Review)

JUNE
Summer Reading Starts – take a breath and say a prayer. :)

JULY
Summer Reading – you’re halfway there!
Plan Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept/Oct) program & room reservation
Place YA Book Order

AUGUST
Summer Reading Ends – compile stats, get teen feedback
Decide if you want to do a Scream-In - if so, then start planning & looking for teen volunteers
Plan Teen Read Week & book a room
Add titles to YA Book Order

SEPTEMBER
Hispanic Heritage Month = September 15 to October 15
Scream-In Promo (if applicable)
Teen Read Week promo
Place YA Book Order

OCTOBER
Teen Read Week
Scream-In – usually planned for the weekend before Halloween depending on how the holiday falls.
Book a couple rooms for Holiday events during local schools Winter Break
Add titles to YA Book Order

NOVEMBER
Think about Black History Month (February) program possibilities. If African American Read-In is happening, this can count as your program.
Place YA Book Order

DECEMBER
Holiday Programs so parents can do some holiday shopping (movie & coco day, craft, games etc). Usually run these during the schools’ Winter Break
Add titles to YA Book Order
Start thinking about Teen Tech Week (March) & book a room

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Kimberly’s Favorite TV Shows


Top Ten Tuesday is the weekly meme hosted by the excellent blog The Broke and the Bookish. For various reasons, I haven’t had a chance to post one of these in a few weeks, but I couldn’t resist this week’s topic: television! I adore TV. I watch a lot of TV every week during the regular season, pick up shows during summer, and then marathon shows throughout the year. I just really, really love watching TV.


1) Brooklyn Nine-Nine – I didn’t start watching this show until after it won the Golden Globe, but once I did, I was hooked. It’s refreshingly funny, imminently quotable, and overwhelmingly positive. “The Party” was one of the best comedic episodes I’ve watched in a long time. I’m pretty sure I watched it 3 times in one week, it was just that funny.

2) Criminal Minds – I have watched this show from the very beginning and, 9 seasons later, it continues to be a favorite. There have been some bumpy moments along the way (the overextended Prentiss storyline, for one) but nothing that could keep me from watching. That being said, I am extremely disappointed in the Jennifer Love Hewitt casting news from a few weeks ago. Criminal Minds thrives on its ensemble cast, and I think bringing in someone who is used to be being the star (and can’t really act) might ruin the show. At least I’ll have 9 perfect seasons to rewatch! (I’m actually already rewatching, but I’ve stalled on the season 5 Foyet episode. So sad!)

3) Doctor Who – I hesitated about putting this show on the list because the hipster in me has recently begun to feel Over It. It’s too popular now. Everyone and their mother seems to be dressed like the Doctor or a Dalek or the TARDIS at conventions. Matt Smith made the show too accessible to the youngsters. But, I still love the show regardless. I’ve loved the show since I watched all the reruns of the 4th Doctor on PBS in the 1980s, and I’ll probably continue to love it despite the oversaturation.

4) Elementary – Confession time: I think this show is better than Sherlock. There, I said it! That is an unpopular opinion, I know, but I stick by it. It is perfectly cast, consistently well-written, and manages to give depth and interest to all the characters while still maintaining focus on Sherlock. And if I had even half the poise and style Joan Watson has, I would be a star.

5) Game of Thrones – Ugh, this show. I love it so, but it constantly hurts me. I try not to get attached to characters, but I just can’t help it! And then they die! Or leave forever! And I shed tears because I’m one of those crazies who still hasn’t read the books and so is surprised by character death. Sigh.

6) Grimm – If you couldn’t tell by this list, I love procedural crime dramas. I don’t watch (or read) a lot of paranormal, but this show brings the supernatural to my favorite procedural format. It’s perfect!

7) Person of Interest – I started watching this show for Jim Caviezel, and stayed because it’s smart and addictive. I do miss the more procedural approach it took in the first two seasons, but I love the fun new character dynamics from season three.

8) Psych – This show just ended this season, but I already miss it. Psych is the one show I watched on a regular basis that didn’t take itself seriously. It was silly and irreverent and the actors always looked like they were having a blast filming it. Plus, the musical episode was epic!

9) Stargate: Atlantis – Man, I loved this show. This is the show that started my obsession with sci fi conventions, brought me back into the world of sci fi TV, and introduced me to fandom friends. I have many feelings about this show, and not all of them are positive (I never finished the last season, so all-consuming was my hatred for Keller), but I will always love it for how it changed my life.

10) Teen Wolf – This is my current favorite TV show. It has problems, yes, but I can overlook all of those for the sheer pleasure it is to watch the show. Call it my guilty pleasure show. The one I watch because the men are pretty and the plots are bonkers and the suspense just might give me a heart attack.

Honorable Mentions:
1) NCIS – If it weren't for the travesty that was the last season and the introduction of the infuriating Ellie Bishop, this one might have been in top ten.
2) Veronica Mars – Proud Kickstarter backer here! Season 3 of the TV show wasn't that great, but the first season was perfection and the movie was everything I needed in my life. Veronica & Logan forever!
3) Call the Midwife – This is the show that replaced Downton Abbey in my heart. All the drama, but with no Lady Mary horning in on all the screentime!
4) Big Bang Theory – I mainly watch this show in syndication when I’m at my parents’ house, so I’m probably a season or two behind. It still makes me laugh, though, even when I've seen the episode a million times.
5) Battlestar Galactica – This was the smartest show on television. It featured a stellar ensemble cast, precise and careful plotting, and a unique way of tackling important social issues.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Review: 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by Eric Shanower, L. Frank Baum, & Skottie Young

This graphic novel compiles the Eisner Award winning limited series The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1-8 into a rich, beautifully drawn work of art that is perfect for readers new to Oz.

Eric Shanower has refined Baum's novel down for a graphic novel format but retained the tone and quirkiness of the original text. The text is strong and requires the reader to pay attention to more than the pictures on the page but this graphic novel's real strength is the art.  Skottie Young has drawn Oz and it's inhabitants as whimsical, odd, beautiful and menacing.  The illustrations are inked in clear lines and vibrant colors that encourage the eye to study each cell closely.  The quality of both art and text is consistent from start to finish.

I could wax poetic and gush enthusiastically on this graphic novel but the bottom line is that this novel-to-graphic-novel adaptation is the quality to which all such adaptations should aspire.

Highly recommended.

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: All ages.

Recommended for Readers of:


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Teen Summer Writing Contest

TEEN SUMMER WRITING CONTEST!

This Writing Contest is open to teens worldwide and is co-hosted by Barbara Bush Branch Library and LSC-Tomball Community Library.

Students in both Middle School and High School are welcome to submit Short Stories and/or Poetry. Three winners will be selected in each category and every participant will receive a Certificate of Participation. Entry Form and Guidelines are available here.

This year, Teen Summer Writing Contest winners will be announced by local Houston YA Author Crystal Allen who’s first Middle Grade novel, How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba Sized Trophy, received praise from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Review and YA author Neal Shusterman. The reception where winners will be anounced is scheduled for 7:00-8:00pm on August 12, 2014 and will take place at LSC-Tomball Community Library in Tomball, TX.  Teens do not have to be present to win.

Questions about the Teen Summer Writing Contest? Please contact YA Librarian Rebecca at ccteen@hcpl.net.