Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

Every year when the weather turns cool and the days are shorter, we observe a very special tradition here at the library. It is called a Doctor Who Marathon. Since this time of year we also celebrate the Library Book Sale, our usual room is not available so we make the best of things and get cozy in the tiny History Room. This is the picture beside the word 'cozy' in the dictionary This year we used a projector to watch Season 6 and sat on cushions so we 'comfortably' fit 14-15 people in the (probably) 10ftx12ft room. There was a strict 'No Spoilers' policy since several people had yet to enjoy season 6 and we didn't want to well, spoil anything for them. About 3 episodes in we noticed that Todd makes the best faces while watching Doctor Who. So of course we took pictures of him for the next 2 days. And again on Tuesday when we watched the finale... Here are a few of my favorites.

I just finished planning the Young Adult programs for the Spring and I'm really excited to get started on them with y'all! Here are a few hints about things we'll be doing in the coming months! January 6th March 2nd March 9th February 10th (AND at our HUNGER GAMES PARTY!!) May 4th Intrigued? Excited? I know I am! Join us Fridays from 4:30-5:30 in the Library Activity Room! DFTBA, Sti

Some excellent news about your (and my) library! The Friendswood Library is the 5th highest ranked library (in our budget bracket) in Texas according to Library Journal. You can read more about it here: http://features.libraryjournal.com/star-libraries/class-of-2011/americas-star-libraries-2011-top-rated-libraries/ But basically, yay!

  In the UK there is a BBC channel that broadcasts children's shows all day (like Nickelodeon or Disney channel but for really little kids). It's called Cbeebies. And the last show every evening is for a bedtime story. Often they have celebrities read the stories. It sounds a bit like Reading Rainbow to me...Anyway! I found out today that most of the cast of Doctor Who has guest starred on it! Here are a few of our favorite people reading books to children, how great is that? Pretty great, if you ask me!                                                             David Tennant (the 10th Doctor)                                                         Christopher Eccleston (the 9th Doctor)                                                           Alex Kingston (River Song)                                                     Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones)                                                         John Simm (The Master)

One was an American author born in 1832 who is most famous for  Little Women, her (semi-autobiographical) book about the lives of the March sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. * The other is an Irish author born in 1898 most famous for The Chronicles of Narnia, a series set in the fictional world of Narnia.** Well, they actually have a few things in common. Their books are wildly popular with children and adult alike. They have been read and reread for generation and have been adapted to film and stage for years. The other thing they have in common is that today is their birthday! And you know how I feel about birthdays! So Happy Birthday C.S.Lewis and Louis May Alcott! May your books continue to bring joy to readers everywhere! DFBTA, Sti *Alcott was a prolific writer and a really interesting person. Her dad was a transcendentalist and Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were close family friends.  **C.S. Lewis was also pretty awesome. Besides his Narnia ser

On Monday I revealed the Maverick Graphic Novel List for 2012-2013. Today I'm happy to introduce the Texas Lone Star List for 2012. There are some seriously good books on here! Lots of dystopias, mysteries, adventures, zombies and paranormal stuff to get excited about! Dionne, Erin. Notes from an Accidental Band Geek. Frost, Helen. Hidden . Gibbs, Stuart. Belly Up. Gidwitz, Adam. A Tale Dark and Grimm. Gier, Kerstin. Ruby Red. Hobbs, Will. Take Me to the River. Lane, Andy. Death Cloud. Maberry, Jonathan. Rot & Ruin. Monninger, Joseph. Wish. Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls: A Novel. Oppel, Kenneth. This Dark Endeavor. Paulsen, Gary. Paintings from the Cave: Three Novellas . Roth, Veronica. Divergent. Rylander, Chris. The Fourth Stall. Schmidt, Gary D. Okay for Now. Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. Stephens, John. The Emerald Atlas. Van Draanen, Wendelin. The Running Dream. White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy. Young, Moira. Blood Red Road . We already

I'm back again! The first thing I did when I got to work today was watch The Hunger Games trailer. Guys, I think it's going to be really good. Everything looks great and close to the book! I'm not going to lie, I cried. What do you think? Let me know in the comments! DFTBA, Sti

Hey all! This weekend I was in Austin for my Maverick Committee meeting. If you're not aware this committee chooses the Maverick List, a list of notable graphic novels that have been published in the last year. I love serving on this committee, I get to read lots of graphic novels and comics and I get to discuss them with equally nerdy librarians (also, afterward I get to go to Austin's Wizard World Comic Convention!)! Here is the list we voted on on Saturday. Hot off the presses! I've put a star(*) next to those that I particularly love and will do more specific reviews later. 2012-2013 Maverick Graphic Novel List Books for 6th-8th grade Bake Sale by Sara Varon          Astronaut Academy Zero Gravity by Dave Roman  *     Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword  by Barry Deutsch     Last Unicorn  by Peter Beagle       Lost and Found  by Shaun Tan*           Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken by Ray Friesen*         Possessions: Book One: Unclean Getaw

Some people have pointed out that this photo from Vanity Fair looks a bit more like a Banana Republic ad then a picture of Hunger Game tributes. But this may be the last time we see any of them look this clean and/or happy so let's make the best of it, shall we? From left to right: Clove , District 2 (Isabelle Fuhrman); Marvel , District 1 (Jack Quaid) Foxface , District 5 (Jacqueline Emerson); Thresh , District 11 (Dayo Okeniyi); Glimmer , District 1 (Leven Rambin [she's from Houston!]); Cato , District 2 (Alexander Ludwig); Rue , District 11 (Amandla Stenbeg); Peeta , District 12 (Josh Hutcherson); Katniss , District 12 (Jennifer Lawrence); Gale , District 12-not a tribute (Liam Hemsworth) If you head over to the Vanity Fair page and scroll over each actor there's a bit of info about their character and how they got the part in the movie. Pretty neat. And have you seen the new posters? They are amazing! Seems crazy we have to wait until March for this

Here are a few hints: It's the highly anticipated 4th book in a series. It's about dragons. It's really, really long! That's right! It's Inheritance by Christopher Paolini! And right now, there are only 9 people on hold, so you should get on the list! I love taking pictures of books before the public has seen them! DFTBA, Sti

I know I already have a list of links on the right toolbar, but I doubt most people have noticed them and I just found this great list of links from Booklist magazine and I wanted to share it with y'all in hopes that you can find help for homework woes or just some inspiration. So here goes, just click on the title to be taken to the site. Astronomy Picture of the Day - I'd file this one under inspiration. Each day NASA posts a new picture of the cosmos, and a professional astronomer explains it briefly (and usually understandably!). Awesome Library - Database that searches lots of carefully reviewed resources for projects and unanswered questions. It's pretty...well, you know. Citation Machine - One of my favorite websites when I was writing papers in college, helps you format all those pesky sources in MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats. Coolmath.com - The layout may seem a little childish, but I wish this site had been available when I was struggling with mat

Hope you're getting your brains warmed up for our Scavenger Hunt on Friday! Keith is concocting some brain teasing puzzles for you to work out. See you there! 4:30 on Friday! DFTBA, Sti

Halloween isn't just about trick or treating and dressing up in awesome costumes. It's also about sharing chills and thrills with your loved ones through books! All Hallow's Read is a tradition started by Neil Gaiman * when he decided that there weren't enough holiday traditions that involved giving books. It's a way to share scary things (which most of us love) with others. Here's a quick video where he explains the concept some more (also, there are zombies in the background) http://www.allhallowsread.com/ As a librarian I will share with you my list of scary books you should check out: Stranger With My Face by Lois Duncan (or really anything by Lois Duncan) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link What are your favorite scary books? Leave your suggestions in the comments! DFTBA, Sti * On

It's Halloween, one my Top 3 favorite holidays! This year Friendswood Library staff dressed as 'Book'aneers (at my suggestion) and the Teen Advisory Group dressed as Steampunk Bookaneers. Basically, it's awesome. Here are a few photos of us doing our piratey thing at Halloween in the Park and here at the Library What are you dressed as today? DFTBA, Sti

John Green's new book comes out soon. He's been busy signing all of the preorder copies and now he's reading us his chapter. Check it out! I also read yesterday, that John and his brother Hank will be making educational videos soon. And I am SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. Okay, and that was your nerding out moment for the day. DFTBA, Sti

This week is Teen Read Week 2011, a week that highlights Young Adult books in school and public libraries. You already know that reading is a great hobby to have, it's free, you can do it anywhere, and it's fun! Did you also know that teens who read for fun usually have higher test scores and a re more likely to succeed in the workforce when they're finished with school?* Also, YA books and teen activities are important and deserve their own week of publicity!  The theme this year is "Picture It @ Your Library" so the focus is on graphic novels (one of my favorite things ever!) and other books that invite you to view the world in new and creative ways through literature. In conjunction with the 'Picture It' theme, there is a photography contest you can enter! Create a visual version of your favorite book's title. The guidelines are here: 2011 Teen Read Week Photo Contest. The deadline is Oct. 31. You can submit your photo(s) from home, or wor

Looking for new book recommendations and a way to connect with YA authors? Check out ThisIsTeen on facebook for lots of resources. You can: Participate in weekly author Q&As Use the author and book gallery and book finder to find new books that interest you Read excerpts from books Enter contests And questions and discuss books Explore videos and events Just looking around for a few minutes I can already see that this will be a great place to see what other teens are reading and enjoying. Head over to facebook and 'like' them to get started! So you know, I approve and so does Snape: DFTBA, Sti