Come learn what's up with the universe from a NASA consultant! All ages are welcome so bring your whole family!

Astronomy for Everyone

with Kevin Manning
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
5:30 - 7:30 PM

Turrentine Room

To earn an additional entry in the Summer Reading Club Grand Prize Raffle, comment on this post with an answer to this question:

If you discovered a constellation, what would you name it?

Come and get 'em! Free copies of Rot & Ruin are now available for pick-up at the Media desk for those of you who are planning to come to the book club event.

In BeT(w)een Book Club
Wednesday, July 25
4 - 5 PM

We will have snacks, do an activity, talk about this crazy zombie book, and brainstorm questions to ASK THE AUTHOR when we MEET HIM LIVE at the Creatures of the Night Lock-In!! Don't miss this!

We're entering our 3rd week of the Summer Reading Club and having a great time! Don't miss this week's "must attend" event...BURRITOS & BOOKS!

Wednesday, June 27
4 PM - 5 PM
Turrentine Room

To earn an additional entry into the Grand Prize Raffle, leave a comment with your answer to this question...

What's your favorite place to read during the summer?

Are you part of the CLUB? The Teen Summer Reading Club (SRC) has officially started. Hopefully you were able to attend our kick-off event yesterday, the Creatures of the Night Drawing Workshop. These are just a few of the amazing creations done by the teens who came.

Don't forget that attending Teen SRC events counts toward your reading hour goals, so go online and log those hours!

Earn an extra entry into the Grand Prize Raffle and increase your chances of winning a nook e-reader, Nintendo DS, gift cards, and more by posting a comment on this blog post and answer the following question...

What is your favorite Creature of the Night?!?

• Read 'em as long as you need 'em and then bring 'em back!

• No late or lost fees

• No circulation period so you can keep them longer than 3 weeks if you need them

These books are located in the Teen Department on the low shelves below the video games and are marked with purple, yellow, and green stickers. You can't miss 'em!

With school about to end for the year, you're probably thinking about how you'll spend your summer. Why not earn FREE PRIZES for reading and attending amazing FREE EVENTS each Wednesday at the library?  Join the CLUB...everybody's doing it.

June 11 - August 4, 2012

• From June 11 - July 30 you can join the club by going to the Teen Summer Reading Webpage
• Click on “QUICK START: Sign Up, Log Your
  Reading, or Check out Upcoming Events”
• Click on "Sign Me Up"
• Enter your info (Don't forget to write down your user name and password so you won't forget them)
• Start reading!

Once you've read for at least an hour or have attended a library event...

• Go back to the Teen Summer Reading webpage
• Click on “QUICK START: Sign Up, Log Your
  Reading, or Check out Upcoming Events”
• Enter your User Name and Password
• Click on "Add/View Log"
• Enter the info about what you've read or which event you attended.

When you've reached 10 hours you can come into the Teen Department to pick up your first prize. It's that simple and it's totally FREE!

Check out all of the events that we're hosting so you can mark your calendars for 8 weeks of fun and freebies!

Thank you to everyone (all 75 of you!!) who attended our Hunger Games movie release party last Wednesday. I hope you had as much fun as I did with the survival stations (knot tying, edible plant identification, and Wii archery), the Cinna Makeover station where you could get your face painted or a temporary mockingjay tattoo applied, and the Project Runway: Katniss station where you could design an outfit for Katniss.

Some of these amazing Project Runway: Katniss designs are on display on the teen area bulletin board so go check them out!

We also had a SNACK BOMB where we tossed snacks attached to parachutes into the arena for everyone to collect. And the Cornucopia Challenge was awesome!

Check out all of our Hunger Games party pictures.

Be on the lookout for more amazing teen programs coming soon!

Do you love to read teen fiction? Would you like to influence what other teens read? Well here is your chance. Every year the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) puts out a list of the Best Fiction for Young Adults based on the comments and feedback from TEENS just like you. You can view the current list, but if your favorites aren't on there, submit a nomination form.

There is also an opportunity to give your feedback LIVE at the American Library Association conference in Anaheim this June. Space is limited to just 10 teens so if you're interested and want more details contact me at jaxelrod@escondido.org.

• Are you a Review Crew member?
• Are you thinking of joining but not sure where to begin when it comes to writing book reviews?

Well here are some points to ponder when you're writing a book review from Heather Booth, Literature & Audio Service Librarian at the Downers Grove Library. The most important thing to remember is that when writing a review you're not just retelling the story. You're trying to help other readers decide if the book is worthy of their time and WHY. Move beyond "I love it/I hated it" by considering these suggestions...

• My first impression of this book was...
• Compared to other books in this genre, this book was...
• The writing is similar to this author/this book...
• Who do you think the author was trying to read?
• Who will want to read this book?

The CHARACTERS were...believable, boring, flat, interesting, likeable, multi-dimensional, one-sided, recognizable, unrealistic

The DIALOGUE was...realistic, over-the-top, funny, witty, rough, melodramatic, subtle, serious

The PLOT was...familiar, gripping, complex, fast paced, unique, contemplative, simple, slow

Here are some DESCRIPTIVE WORDS & PHRASES you might use to describe a book... entertaining, lyrical, compelling, slice-of-life, memorable, pass-along, if you enjoyed_____, down to earth, can't put down, must-read, daring, well told, page-turner, discussable, controversial, not for fans of ______, plodding, readable, bland, high-interest.

Now go write reviews!!  And if you haven't joined the Review Crew yet, be sure to do that first!

If you're between the ages of 11 - 18, we now have another way for you to earn community service credit. Besides helping the community with our Crafty C.A.T.S. program you can now join the Review Crew!

The Review Crew is an online club where tweens and teens write online book reviews in exchange for community service hours. Reviews will be posted on the Teen Book Review Blog.

• 3 qualifying book reviews = 1 hour community service
• Get a free book after your first 3 reviews
• Be entered into monthly drawings for great prizes

Bring your parents to the informational meeting to sign up and learn more:

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
4 - 5 PM
Turrentine Room

If you can't make the meeting, you can fill out the Review Crew Participation Form on the Review Crew page. For questions contact Joanna at 760-839-4283 or jaxelrod@escondido.org.