Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

So. The inimitable Maggie Stiefvater created a deck of tarot cards based on her Raven Cyle series and she's holding a contest to give away 10 decks of them. Keith decided he couldn't do anything worthy but he thought I could.  Since I'd just completed a project using acorns, I thought: "Hey, I could make The Acorn Boys!" And Keith's response was: "You were put on this earth to make Acorn Boys."  And so, I present to you, The Acorn Boys based on The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  First we have our heroine Blue Sargent, daughter of psychics but no psychic herself. She reminds her mom of the Page of Cups and gets called Blue Lily by a crazy lady (I chose a Calla lily because I like them better than the other kind, plus I love Calla). She is known for her DIY style and short, dark hair. I made up the rest of her face because there isn't a ton of description about it, but we know she's tiny because she didn't eat her vegetables.  ...

I'll be the first to admit I love Halloween. But not the terrifying Halloween. I love zombies and vampires, but I like my zombie and vampire movies/books to have a little bit of humor to them. And especially a dash of hope. A light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. And the more snark and sarcasm, the better. Which is precisely why I love the Skulduggery Pleasant series. But wait, before I get you excited about the series,I want to warn you that only the first three books are available in the States...I'm trying to get the rest for the library, but it's not been easy. Still, if you think you'd be interested in ordering them for yourself once you get invested in the series, continue reading! Stephanie's uncle is a famous author of horror novels. When he is found dead, she is named his heir and meets a friend of his, Skulduggery Pleasant a skeletal mage. Literally. The guy's a skeleton. Look at the cover right there! So yeah, then there's evil...

For my second All Hallows Read suggestion I've chosen a book that just slightly creepy. It's creepy in a, if I think about it too much I get the willies kind of way. But it's also sweet and full of adventure and about growing up and friendship. So, you know, lots of great topics there. "Doll Bones" by Holly Black was a Newbery Honor Book this year, and I personally think it should have won the medal but I digress. It tells the story of Zach, Poppy, and Alice, three friends who have created an imaginary world full of adventure that happens to use dolls and action figures as characters. But Zach and the girls are in middle school now, and people expect them to stop playing make believe with dolls. When Zach is forced to quit the game Poppy reveals that the Queen, a creepy antique doll owned by Poppy's mom, is actually filled with the ashes of a dead girl named Eleanor. Eleanor has been speaking to Poppy and they must find her grave or she will make all o...

So the time has come, get ready for some book recommendations. Mostly spooky, scary stuff for your Halloween nights! Let's get started! So, this weekend I finished Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick. Here's the official description we have in our catalog: "Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant" I don't really think it does it justice, but it gives you the general gist. Seven different stories that travel back in time and slowly unravel the story. There's a lot of recurring imagery that can be kind of creepy. But not too creepy? It's hard to describe properly. Each story is completely different but connected by a common chord and it was fun to try and puzzle out what the connections were going to be in each one. Plus, look how awesome the covers are: Also, we met the author last year at Teen Book Con and he was great. DF...

It's almost that time of year again! That's right. October 1st is right around the corner and that means I'll be busting out my box of Halloween earrings (FINALLY) and gearing up for all things Halloween! It also means preparing all my Halloween costumes (3 this year!). But most importantly, All Hallows Read is coming too! So stay tuned in October for some scary book suggestions from me, other librarians, and other teens! p.s. If that picture doesn't explain the concept of All Hallows Read clearly enough, here's one of my favorite writers/human beings, and the creator of the holiday, Neil Gaiman to explain it further.

I hope everyone's first day of school was fantastic. Or at the very least, not awful! I thought I'd give y'all a week to get used to school. To acclimate, if you will. And then we'll start with all of our awesome programs!  As usual, Tuesdays from 4:30-5:30 will be video games and snacks Then Teen Advisory Group meetings will be on Wednesdays 4:30-5:30 And Fridays will be different programs like snack making and board games and hedgehogs made out of books.  I've uploaded the program brochure below, so you can see just what we've got going on this fall. But you can also come in to the library and get a paper copy. AND you can get reminders on your phone if you text the message @yaprograms (516) 342-4409 See you next week! DFTBA, Sti

Were you at Science Fiction Trivia Day with guest author Adam Holt? Would you like a personalized copy of The Conspiracy Game? Just print and fill out this form and bring it in to the library this week! DFTBA, Sti

This is Michaela. She's been coming to my YA programs at the library since....since I became the Young Adult librarian, basically. Among other things she's been a book pirate, Professor Trelawney, Table Wrangler, Marshmallow Archer, Maker of Miraculous Yarn Creations, a great friend and an inspiration.  She just finished her first year at George Washington University in Washington DC and is leaving in a few minutes to go to GHANA to teach people about water purification with Community Water Solutions .    Her last stop before leaving? The library. How awesome is that? Almost as awesome as Michaela. You can follow her adventures in Ghana on her blog The Wandering Texan . Hey Michaela,  DFTBA, Sti

I know you're excited about summer, who can blame you? But you know who is even MORE excited about summer? ME! I've got a bunch of excellent things planned in June and July, for instance:  See that last program on the brochure? It's an overnight lock-in. That's right, 12 hours IN THE LIBRARY. No one allowed in or out but Young Adults. BUT, you have to attend 3 programs and read 21 hours in the Summer Reading Club. "But Sti, how do you join the Reading Club?", you ask. Or you would if this were an infomercial...This year we're going digital, so starting June 1 (yes, a Sunday and yes before school is technically out) you can go to the library's website  or the library (free) app  and sign up to log your hours spent reading this summer! Here's what the website will look like when you get there:  Create an account and log your hours! The website will keep track of them and tell you when you've earned a prize. Just as in...

Hey guys, I have to leave work early today to help out at Comicpalooza so there will be no program. Hope I see you this weekend!

You know you can always listen to free audiobooks from Overdrive, but this summer a program called  Audio Sync  is also sponsoring two complete YA Audiobooks a week! If you're interested in audiobooks, but aren't sure where to start, this is a good way to get into them. Here's a list of this summer's selections: SUMMER 2014 SYNC TITLE LINEUP May 15 – May 21 WARP: THE RELUCTANT ASSASSIN by Eoin Colfer, Narrated by Maxwell Caulfield (Listening Library) THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells, Narrated by Derek Jacobi (Listening Library) May 22 – May 28   CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge, Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden (Harper Audio) OEDIPUS THE KING by Sophocles, Performed by Michael Sheen and a full cast (Naxos AudioBooks) May 29 – June 4 CONFESSIONS OF A MURDER SUSPECT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, Narrated by Emma Galvin (Hachette Audio) THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE by Agatha Christie, Narrated by Richard E. Grant (Harper Audio) June 5 – June 11   ALL OUR Y...

On April 26th a group of teens, Lisa, and I attended Teen Book Con hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop at Alief Taylor High School. It was a day full of lots of interactions with lots of amazing authors. I was in awe most of the time, sometimes in awe of the authors (I mean, Laurie Halse Anderson, you guys!) but mostly in awe of all the teens and the excellent questions they had and how excited they were to see and meet the authors. Basically, I love when anyone loves something.  We took tons of pictures so I thought I'd post some here and over at the TAG facebook page!  Yeah that's THE Laurie Halse Anderson talking to us (except I was in the bathroom!) Cecil Castelucci and Paige Jackson took a picture of me taking a picture of Kayla taking a picture of Andrew with Marcus Sedgewick Andrew and John Corey Whaley Jackson was brave and tried Peruvian soda! Keenan and Eliot Schrefer Paige and Shannon Hale Shannon Hale was just v...