Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

Hello all! Monday is October 1st. You know what that means! Yep, the day when I break out all of my Halloween themed earrings (seriously, I have about 10 pairs that I alternate all month long)! But also, it means that Teen Read Week is just around the corner. This year we celebrate you--teens--and what you read from October 14-20 and the theme is the creepy 'It Came From the Library' (insert evil laugh here).  All that week I'll be posting creepy books for you to read, I'll also be making some videos about your favorite spooky stories, and there just may be some giveaways! So stay tuned! Ahh, Teen Read Week. Just another reason Fall is the best season! DFTBA, Sti

Have you ever really loved a book? Have you ever wanted to show how much you loved that book by making something? I feel this way a lot. Sometimes this results in awesome crafts and sometimes.....not so awesome crafts. This is the start of a new series' of blog entries called BiblioCraft Corner, all about crafts I (or you) make that are inspired by or created from books! For our inaugural entry, I'd like to share the craft I worked on this weekend. Remember when I blogged about Zita the Spacegirl a few weeks ago? Well, my favorite character is Strong Strong and I really wanted my very own Strong Strong (though maybe not quite so large as he is in the book!), so I decided to make one! I asked the author Ben Hatke if he minded my creating a Strong Strong doll and he was cool with it.  (Strong Strong is the big guy!) Of course then it took me several months to get around to it...but I started it this weekend! Here's what I've got so far. Please keep in mind that ...

Maggie Stiefvater's newest book The Raven Boys is out! Though she is from a family of clairvoyants, Blue Sargent's only gift seems to be that she makes other people's talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the expensive Aglionby Academy, she discovers that he has talents of his own--and that together their talents are a dangerous mix. You may have read Stiefvater's other work The Scorpio Races , The Wolves of Mercy Falls series ( Shiver , Linger and Forever ), and my favorites Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception and Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie. Her writing is really atmospheric (so get ready for some creepy moments) and poetic (very beautiful), and The Raven Boys sounds excellent. Did I mention she's also an artist and musician? She illustrated and composed the music for her newest book trailer: DFTBA, Sti