Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

The Green Brothers (John, author of YA books such as The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns; and Hank creator of the blog ecogeek.org), creators of Nerdfighteria , are at it again. They've just launched a new youtube page called Crash Course. Crash Course will be full of educational videos hosted by John and Hank. John will tackle World History while Hank will be all about the Biology! If their other youtube videos and appearances are any indication these videos are going to be informative, funny, fast-paced and definitely not boring! So far there's only one video, so you aren't too far behind! Subscribe now! Here's the short preview for Crash Course starring John Green himself! And the first history video about the Agricultural Revolution! See? Awesome, subscribe! DFTBA, Sti

I'm happy to announce that we'll be having an author appearance on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:00! Author Mark Long* will be discussing his new graphic novel The Silence of Our Friends . The Silence of Our Friends brings to light a little-known chapter of the civil rights movement in the sixties in Houston, Texas. Author Mark Long talks about the politically charged dynamics – and difficult societal tensions – of that era, discussing and showing the process they went through to get that history on the page.  So you'll get a combination history lesson (on things that happened less than 50 years ago in Houston!) and behind the scenes info on what it takes to create a graphic novel. After the presentation, Mr. Long will also be answering your questions.  * Mark Long is a video game designer and producer   living in Seattle. The Silence of Our Friends in based on Long's childhood experiences with the civil rights movement in suburban Houston, Texas.

I've seen these videos circulating on the internet, but I wanted to share them here as well since they are so much fun! This one makes me think of Toy Story, but for books! And a montage of libraries in movies and tv shows. Hope you're having a great Friday! DFTBA,  Sti

Amandla Stendberg reading The Hunger Games I found a great Hunger Games related interview this morning! Publisher's Weekly spoke with Amandla Stenberg about her role as Rue in the upcoming movie, as well as her opinions on the Hunger Games books, meeting Suzanne Collins and what she's reading right now. It's a great interview, I especially like when she talks about what she's reading: I’m always reading a book! Right now I’m reading Cleopatra’s Moon. I cannot put it down. It’s about Cleopatra Selene, who was Cleopatra’s only daughter. It’s a very interesting tale about how she loses everything. As soon as I finish Cleopatra’s Moon, I’m going to get Legend by Marie Lu. I’ve heard a lot about it.   I also read the Maze Runner series, another post-apocalyptic story. I’ve read the Mortal Instruments series, I was obsessed with those. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is one of my favorites. Even though it doesn’t have any monsters or crazy