Paris Public Library Teen Blog

25 Pictures Taken at Exactly the Right Moment

2012-02-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

I was in hysterics the entire time.... For more, go here.

Turquoise Eyes!

2012-02-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

What a pretty girl! She like something out of a fantasy book.

Painting vs. Real Life

2012-02-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

So that's who that couple were! The artist, Grant Wood, saw a little house in Iowa that he wanted to paint with “the kind of people [he] fancied should live in that house.” Who did he choose? dut-duna-nah! His sister and his dentist. Aren't they a happy looking couple....

No-Handed Bicycle Moves

2012-02-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

"Golden Tree" by Martin Brooks from Ninian Doff on Vimeo.

I have definitely pulled a few of these moves myself. "The Hippie," "The Beginner," and "The Canoe" are three of my trademark moves.

New Arrivals!!

2012-02-01T14:04:00.001-08:00

January 1st - January 15th

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

2012-01-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

Title: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Author: Rachel Cohn
Genre: Love Stories
Published: 2006
Age: 13+

Synopsis: It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked in to his band's show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City--and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date. This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be--and where the next great band is playing. Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you'll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

Review: What happens when two witty, wise, but vulnerable teens meet by accident at a chaotic punk rock club? They fall in love, of course. While both are dealing with the fallout of failed relationships and the infinite hurt that accompanies them, they are questioning everything about themselves, their friends, and their future paths. The passion and intelligence of these characters, along with the authors' intimate knowledge of and complete respect for their audience, make this novel unique. Told in alternating chapters over the course of a single night, the narratives create a fully fleshed-out picture of both teens, informed by their love of music, their devotion to their friends, and their clear-eyed view of the world. These kids don't drink or do drugs and it's solely their obsession with music that takes them to these clubs. One of Norah's relatives calls her a "potty mouth," and that's no exaggeration. Throughout the book, the expletives fly fast and furious, but they are more about personal expression and in-your-face attitude than about strong emotions. Yet, there is also considerable depth and sensitivity. Norah explains the Jewish concept of tikkun olam-the responsibility to heal a fractured world-and Nick comes up with an original spin on it. There are many heart-stopping, insightful moments in this supremely satisfying and sexy romance. A first-rate read. - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

The Hobbit Trailer

2012-01-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

So who else has their name on our copy of The Hobbit in anticipation for the amazing looking movie coming out in 2012?

2012-01-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

With the new Snow White movie coming out, I got to thinking about classic fairytales and found these neat minimalist posters of classic children's stories? I think Rapunzel is my favorite. Did you notice the wolf's paw in Red Riding Hood? Scary!

Forgotten Your English?

2012-01-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, I bet you've wondered what English sounds like to foreigners who don't speak the language. It sounds so normal to us, right? Well, this couple made this odd short film using fake words, which makes the English speaking viewer feel like they're from another country!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Graveyard Book

2012-01-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Horror, Suspense, Fantasy
Published: 2008
Age: 10+

Synopsis: Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack--who has already killed Bod's family. . . . Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his "New York Times" bestselling modern classic coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Review: A baby survives the killing of his family by a mysterious assassin. He crawls to a nearby graveyard and is adopted by the assortment of spooks who occupy the place, soon to include his own recently murdered parents. There he is christened with a new name: Nobody, or Bod for short. Under the watchful tutelage of the dead, Bod learns reading, writing, history, and a few other useful skills-haunting and "disapparating" [disappearing from a location and reappearing in another]. Why It Is a Best: An elegant combination of Gaiman's masterly storytelling and McKean's lovely drawings, this book also works as a series of independent but connected short stories set two years apart, following Bod from age two to 16.- Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!!

2012-01-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

January 1st - January 15th

Secret Banana Messages

2012-01-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Write on bananas with toothpicks, and, as the day goes on, the message slowly appears. I think I have an idea for my next prank.

Ivy-League Dorm Rooms

2012-01-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what your dorm room will look like when you go to college? Well... not like these unless you are headed to an Ivy League college and you are gifted with electric tape! (Which you might be. If so, kudos!) Are these rooms a tad pretentious? YES! Are they too trim and neat? OH YEAH! Am I jealous? ....... yes... I hope you guys and girls get to have dorm rooms just as lovely!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Snow in Summer

2012-01-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

Title: Snow in Summer
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Published: 2011
Age: 9+

Synopsis: With her black hair, red lips, and lily-white skin, Summer is as beautiful as her father's garden. And her life in the mountains of West Virginia seems like a fairy tale; her parents sing and dance with her, Cousin Nancy dotes on her, and she is about to get a new baby brother. But when the baby dies soon after he's born, taking Summer's mama with him, Summer's fairy-tale life turns grim. Things get even worse when her father marries a woman who brings poisons and magical mirrors into Summer's world. Stepmama puts up a pretty face, but Summer suspects she's up to no good--and is afraid she's powerless to stop her. This Snow White tale filled with magic and intrigue during the early twentieth century in Appalachia will be hard to forget.

Review: Drawing from her eponymous short story of 2000, Yolen offers a gripping 20th-century adaptation of Snow White, starring Snow in Summer, a girl growing up in West Virginia in the 1940s. Summer's beloved Papa, bereft over the death of his wife and son, is seduced by a beautiful but wicked witch, who marries him and takes over the household, using her wiles to render Papa and the rest of the town helpless while she abuses her stepdaughter. Only widowed Cousin Nancy resists the witch and offers aid to Summer via some down-home magic. "Your caul, child.... I retrieved it right after you were born. Salted it down, let it dry over the rim of a bowl. I've kept it for you all this time." Based on the traditional Snow White-complete with a magic mirror and seven dwarfs (more or less), along with some Appalachian folklore, post-Depression era culture, and snake-handling evangelicals-this story is beautifully written and deliciously scary, with just enough differences from familiar versions to keep readers guessing. - Publisher's Weekly

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

DIY Project: Wildflower Ice Cubes

2012-01-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

The girly side of me couldn't help but post this neat how-to. You can put whatever you'd like in the ice cube, like raspberries or mint leaves or flowers. What a neat thing to do for a girls night in with popcorn, soda, and Twilight.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Ella Enchanted

2012-01-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Title: Ella Enchanted
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 1997
Age: 9+

Synopsis: Presents an adaptation of the Cinderella story in which Ella of Frell, given the magical "gift" of obedience as an infant, finds her compulsion to obey any and all orders a bit inconvenient when she is left at the mercy of her nasty stepmother and stepsisters, and sets out to find the fairy Lucinda to undo the curse.

Review: Levine's artful debut novel features a spunky heroine whose trials, all faced with admirable steadiness, give new twists to the classic Cinderella story. Ella is burdened with a curse (she cannot disobey a command), bestowed at birth as a gift from an addled fairy and this‘plus the loss of her beloved mother‘causes all sorts of troubles. Before her death, Ella's mother commands her daughter to keep the curse a secret‘only the cook, Mandy, who is also a fairy, knows the truth. Although Mandy won't use what she calls "big magic," she does give Ella a magical book that, through glimpses of other people's correspondence, lets her see what is going on in the lives of her new friend, Prince Charmont, her soon-to-be stepsisters and her greedy father. Levine ably creates tension between the good and evil characters, throwing in an assortment of ogres, elves and gnomes. Young readers will be charmed by the budding romance between Ella and her prince and touched by her crippling fear of hurting the prince via the curse. After a humorous and inventive re-enactment of Cinderella's three appearances at the royal ball, the action concludes with a slightly skewed but happy ending. Although the pace of the story flags in spots, and the author never wholly engages a suspension of disbelief (Ella's escapes often come too easily‘for example, when she tames ogres who want to make a meal of her), Levine provides a winning combination of memorable characters and an alluring fantasy realm that will leave readers with hopes of future tales of Ella and Prince Char. - Publisher's Weekly

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

LED Light Slippers

2012-01-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

These exist??!! For people who make lots of late-night trips for snacks, these LED slippers ($40) allow you to easily move around dark areas without turning on any lights.

National Gahetna Archives

2011-12-31T09:42:00.000-08:00

Like vintage photographs? If so, head on over to the Gahetna photo archives. I know what I will be doing for the next several hours.....

New Arrivals!!

2011-12-30T11:48:00.001-08:00

December 16th - December 31st

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

2011-12-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Title: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Author: Mildren D. Taylor
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1976
Age: 9+

Synopsis: An African-American family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand.

Review: In all Mildred D. Taylor's unforgettable novels she recounts "not only the joy of growing up in a large and supportive family, but my own feelings of being faced with segregation and bigotry." Her Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of one African American family, fighting to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan, growing up protected by her loving family, has never had reason to suspect that any white person could consider her inferior or wish her harm. But during the course of one devastating year when her community begins to be ripped apart by angry night riders threatening African Americans, she and her three brothers come to understand why the land they own means so much to their Papa. "Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain't never had to live on nobody's place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you'll never have to. That's important. You may not understand that now but one day you will. Then you'll see."- Amazon

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

2011-12-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

Title: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1990
Age: 9+

Synopsis: An ocean voyage of unimaginable consequences... Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.

Review: On a long, grueling journey from England to Rhode Island in 1802, a 12 year old changes from a prim and proper girl to a swashbuckling mate of a mutinous crew and is accused of murder by the captain. Awash with shipboard activity, intense feelings, and a keen sense of time and place, the story is a throwback to good old-fashioned adventure yarns on the high seas. -School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

I Believe I Can Fly

2011-12-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer

So this is insane! Have you seen this trailer for I Believe I Can Fly, which is a 40-minute documentary about a bunch of crazy French guys who created "skylining," a new European sport that combines tightrope walking, slacklining and base jumping. They walk tightropes across fjords in Norway, and do cartwheels mountains. Wow..

New Arrivals!!

2011-12-16T11:27:00.001-08:00

December 1st - December 15th

Secret Passageway Switch

2011-12-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

This secret passageway switch is so neat! This switch has been designed so that you can use it to activate a secret passageway or turn on a lamp. When placed in a bookshelf, this electrical switch uses your favorite hard-bound book to conceal its true function. An idea by Ben Light.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Princess Bride

2011-12-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 1973
Age: 12+

Synopsis: William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests--for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love--that's thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible--inconceivable, even--to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an "abridged" retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to "Beasts of all natures and descriptions.

Review: The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a "good parts version" of "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." Morgenstern's original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern's mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the "Classic Tale" nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you'll put it on your "keeper" shelf. - Nona Vero

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Christmas Lights

2011-12-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

Mind blown, thankyouverymuch!

Gift Complaint Form

2011-12-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

Gift complaint forms. Do you think our parents would be mad if we have a few of these little lovelies in reserve for the inevitable ill-fitting, out of style Christmas gifts? You know, just in case?

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Maniac Magee

2011-12-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

Title: Maniac Magee
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Published: 1990
Age: 9+

Synopsis: Maniac Magee comes home! Little, Brown and Company takes great pleasure and pride in announcing that, effective immediately, we will be the sole publisher of the paperback edition of Jerry Spinelli's classic Newbery Medal winner, Maniac Magee. It has been eight years since Maniac Magee won both the prestigious Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Newbery Medal, and its popularity among young readers remains undiminished. The story of a boy who finds himself when he runs away from an intolerable situation continues to reverberate with humor and truth.

Review: Warning: this interesting book is a mythical story about racism. It should not be read as reality. Legend springs up about Jeffrey ``Maniac'' Magee, a white boy who runs faster and hits balls farther than anyone, who lives on his own with amazing grace, and is innocent as to racial affairs. After running away from a loveless home, he encounters several families, in and around Two Mills, a town sharply divided into the black East End and the white West End. Black, feisty Amanda Beale and her family lovingly open their home to Maniac, and tough, smart-talking ``Mars Bar'' Thompson and other characters are all, to varying degrees, full of prejudices and unaware of their own racism. Racial epithets are sprinkled throught the book; Mars Bar calls Maniac ``fishbelly,'' and blacks are described by a white character as being ``today's Indians.'' In the final, disjointed section of the book, Maniac confronts the hatred that perpetuates ignorance by bringing Mars Bar to meet the Pickwells--``the best the West End had to offer.'' In the feel-good ending, Mars and Maniac resolve their differences; Maniac gets a home and there is hope for at least improved racial relations. Unreal? Yes. It's a cop-out for Spinelli to have framed this story as a legend--it frees him from having to make it real, or even possible. Nevertheless, the book will stimulate thinking about racism, and it might help educate those readers who, like so many students, have no first-hand knowledge of people of other races. Pathos and compassion inform a short, relatively easy-to-read story with broad appeal, which suggests that to solve problems of racism, people must first know each other as individuals. - Joel Shoemaker, Tilford Middle School, Vinton, IA

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Introvert vs. Extrovert

2011-12-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

How funny! Which are you? I am most definitely introverted.

It's Here!!

2011-12-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Be sure to come in and reserve your copy today! It definitely won't stay on the shelves for long, so don't take any chances.

New Arrivals!!

2011-12-01T11:03:00.001-08:00

November 1st - November 15th

London Style Through the Ages

2011-11-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is easily the coolest video I've seen in a long, long time. This video is 100 years of East London style in 100 seconds. The dancers change costumes along the timeline of fashion until they get to present day London. Notice how the male character disappears for a time during the 1940's when he would have presumably been at war. Bravo!

Awesome.

2011-11-19T07:17:00.000-08:00

Roald Dahl's Writing Hut Is Sinking!?

2011-11-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

Oh dear! "The Dahl Literary estate is asking the public to donate half a million pounds to move the shed where he wrote many of his books." They are hoping to have it rescued in order to move it to the late author’s museum. Now a show of hands, who absolutely loved The BFG or The Witches when you were kids? I better see your hand in the air.

The "New" Shining

2011-11-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

Favorite spoof trailer. Who knew The Shining was actually a romantic comedy? Do you like scary movies?

Things We Say Today

2011-11-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

... that we owe to Shakespeare. How neat! A master of words indeed.

Living Wall Art

2011-11-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Check this out! Over at the National Gallery they have plated a hoarding wall with 8,000 plants of 25 different varieties to recreate the "strong bands of colour" of Van Gogh’s A Wheatfield, with Cypresses. General Electric helped them out in order to fulfill a portion of their carbon reduction plan. What a super way to reduce a carbon footprint!

Transfer Accelerator

2011-11-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

{via A Cup of Jo}

How neat! The Dutch installed a slide in one of their subway station. Commuters are encouraged to use it if they're running late, and the official name is a "transfer accelerator." How very Doctor Who.

New Arrivals!!

2011-11-04T11:14:00.001-07:00

October 16th - October 31st

Russian Family and Their Elephant?

2011-10-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Wow. I wonder how that came to be.

Rock Star (Parents') Homes

2011-10-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

(David Crosby)

Check out this neat photo series which features rock musicians from the 1970's at their parents' houses. Don't they look rather out of place?

(Frank Zappa)

(Elton John)

Yeah, Star Projector!

2011-10-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

How retro, and pretty, and cheap! At only $22 before shipping from Infmet, really there is no reason not to have one. Right now.

New Arrivals!!

2011-10-18T13:32:00.001-07:00

October 1st - October 15th

Candy Bar Name Game

2011-10-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Candy bar cross-sections. How many can you name?

Holy Street Art!

2011-10-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is a selection of photographs from 106 of the Most Beloved Street Art Photos of 2010 on Street Art Utopia. Aren't these incredible!?

Over-Under Shots

2011-10-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Wow. These are called over-unders or split-shots, this neat trick allows you to see what's going on above the water as well as below. These are some of my favorites. More here.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Tangerine

2011-10-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

Title: Tangerine
Author: Edward Bloor
Genre: Sports
Published: 1997
Age: 9+

Synopsis: Though legally blind, Paul Fisher can see what others cannot. He can see that his parents' constant praise of his brother, Erik, the football star, is to cover up something that is terribly wrong. But no one listens to Paul--until his family moves to Tangerine. In this Florida town, weird is normal: Lightning strikes at the same time every day, a sinkhole swallows a local school, and Paul the geek finds himself adopted into the toughest group around: the soccer team at his middle school. Maybe this new start in Tangerine will help Paul finally see the truth about his past--and will give him the courage to face up to his terrifying older brother. Includes a reader's guide and an afterword by the author.

Review: When he was little, Paul stared at an eclipse too long. Or so his parents tell him. Now 12, he is legally blind. When his family moves to Florida's Tangerine County, where lightning strikes every day and toxic smoke billows through the air, Paul begins to remember something else. As buried memories surface, he uncovers the ugly truth of what his football hero brother did to him years ago. The element of suburban ecological horror here is both frightening and surreal, but it gives way in the second half of the novel to an onslaught of soccer and football games. The playing fields are symbolic arenas in which Paul's anger at his brother and his tentative friendships with a group of poor minority kids get worked out. The horrific elements, however, remain largely unresolved. The zombie Paul mentions never appears. Lightning continues to strike. A swarm of mosquitoes hovers over the housing development. Problems crop up, too, in this book's pacing, but first-novelist Bloor pulls it off, wedding athletic heroics to American gothic with a fluid touch and flair for dialogue. A sports novel that breaks the mold. - Publisher's Weekly

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Baby Trashes a Bar

2011-10-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

I think I just died laughing at this.

New Arrivals!!

2011-10-04T12:00:00.001-07:00

September 1st - September 15th

How to Determine a Dystopian Book?

2011-10-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

Overheard on the Titanic

2011-09-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

The artist's statement is that the "Overheard On The Titanic print is part of my ongoing series of Newspaper Blackout Poems: poetry made by taking an article from the New York Times and blacking it out with a Sharpie marker, leaving only a few choice words behind. This poem came from a theater review." How sad.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Various

2011-09-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Title: The Various
Author: Steve Augarde
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2004
Age: 12+

Synopsis: While staying on her uncle's rundown farm in the Somerset countryside, twelve-year-old Midge discovers that she has a special connection to the Various, a tribe of "strange, wild--and sometimes deadly" fairies struggling to maintain their existence in the nearby woods.

Review: In this inventive and unusual fantasy, Midge, 11, is staying on her uncle's farm while her violinist mother is on tour. She is drawn into a disused barn by the "sound" of words inside her head-the voice of a small winged horse, one of the fairy folk, or "the Various," as they call themselves. She becomes involved in their dramas and adventures as she tries to ensure that their Forest, which her uncle plans to sell to a developer, remains safe for them to live in. Augarde's fairies are very much of this world: concrete and well realized in all of their physical details, down to their tattered clothes made from scraps of fabric. The climactic scene is exciting, and the one in which one of the Various shoots an arrow into the gigantic and fierce farmyard cat and kills it is powerfully visceral. There is an air of contrivance in the story's resolution, however, as it is through events in the adult world of Midge's family that the Forest is saved. This is somewhat anticlimactic, as the efforts of the Various to save themselves turn out to have been unnecessary. Midge's character is clearly delineated, but other human characters are less well developed. The strength of the novel lies in the sense of atmosphere, and the portrayal of the fairy characters, particularly Pegs, the winged horse. - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!

2011-09-27T10:23:00.001-07:00

September 1st - September 15th

The Marshmallow Willpower Test

2011-09-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

There's this psychology experiment about willpower and children, where the professor would give kids one marshmallow and tell them that if they waited to eat it until he got back, they could have two. This is a hilarious video showing children having some intense struggles during this social experiment. The blonde boy was really battling his inner demons during this video!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Goose Girl

2011-09-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

Title: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2003
Age: 13+

"Those who enjoy getting lost in an enchanted world will discover here a satisfying and richly embellished retelling."

Synopsis: Princess Anidori, on her way to marry a prince she has never met, is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.

Review: She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm. - Booklist

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

First Position Tragedy

2011-09-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

She just can't quite do it, though she tries so hard! How sweet.

Embroidered Book Covers

2011-09-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

How sweet! These are embroidered book covers by the artist Jillian Tamaki? She created them for Penguin Books, and it is supposed they will be available soon.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Ender's Game

2011-09-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

Title: Ender's Game
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 13+
Age: 1991

"A space-age Lord of the Flies thrill-ride."

Synopsis: Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Review: This new young adult edition of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classic sci-fi novel by Orson Scott Card, winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens, includes an original postscript by the author in which he discusses the origins of the novel. is all about leadership. The novel asks: What does it take to successfully lead men into battle? The buggers have invaded Earth twice. The last time mankind survived only because of the brilliance of Mazer Rackham, commander of the International Fleet. Years later, a third invasion is feared and a new commander is sought. Ender Wiggin is only six years old when he is plucked to succeed Rackham and sent to the space station Battle School. He is isolated, ridiculed, bullied, and persecuted-but he survives and thrives. Using his astonishing intelligence, the boy learns to be a top-notch solider and, despite his youth and small stature, is quickly promoted up the ranks. By the age of 12, Ender learns the art of command and earns the respect and fear of his fellow soldiers. This audio version was created in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the novel and it's a gem. The audiobook is narrated by a full cast. Stefan Rudniki is particularly good as Ender. Despite Ender's age, this is not a children's novel. Its profound themes (and mild profanity) call for intelligent teens who appreciate a complex novel. - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Pictogram Movie Posters

2011-09-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Viktor Hertz has combined two hobbies, graphic design and film, in this series of pictogram movie posters. Pictograms are often seen in instruction manuals and on signs, and is considered a universal language.

"I’ve always been fascinated and a bit obsessed by pictograms, with the way they are as simple as possible," he tells us." A classmate called me a 'pictophile' the other day. I can only agree. I made a few Kubrick posters some time ago, using pictograms, so that’s where it all started. Now I wanted to be consistent, and do a series of posters using the same grid and style, making them work together as a whole. "I try to bring a twist to it, and not get too simple. I want to be unpredictable and entertaining, and make something that communicates the film instantly, yet in an original way."

Neat.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Thirteenth Child

2011-09-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Title: The Thirteenth Child
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate History
Published: 2009
Age: 12+

"With wit and wonder, #1 New York Times bestselling author Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion in an amazing new trilogy about the use of magic in the Wild West."

Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Eff must finally get over believing she is bad luck and accept that her special training in Aphrikan magic, and being the twin of the seventh son of a seventh son, give her extraordinary power to combat magical creatures that threaten settlements on the western frontier.

Review: In this alternative history, a magical barrier protects most people from the dangerous magical creatures of the Wild West. Eff is a 13th unlucky child who supposedly will cause doom and misfortune, and is twin sister to Lan, the lucky and extra-magical 7th son of a 7th son. This novel covers a lot of ground both in time, following Eff from when she's 5 until she's 18, and in distance, as Eff's family moves to the Western frontier when Eff's magic-professor father and practical mother decide that the move will hide Eff and Lan's differences. Then Lan's potential is revealed after he causes an annoying classmate to float. When he leaves to go to school back East, Eff follows her own path to learning more about magic, including assisting in caring for the magical creatures at her father's college. Her narration provides background about life in this version of early America, where magic helps with daily chores but brings its own dangers. Eff's life in Lan's shadow will ring true to all siblings of a particularly talented child, but at the conclusion it's Eff who uses her own magic to rescue her twin. Reminiscent of Orson Scott Card's "Alvin Maker" books, this is an interesting, but often slow-moving tale. - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!

2011-09-06T09:25:00.001-07:00

August 15th - August 31st

Was Your Dad Hip?

2011-09-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

"Your dad played obscure musical instruments before you did and there’s a sultry flute ballad about your mom to prove it."

I just found this incredibly funny tumblr called Dads Are the Original Hipsters, which features old photos of dads looking super awesome back in the day. And each picture has a hilarious caption that points out that though hipster may feel that their trends are entirely original, they're not. Thank you Internet!

"Your dad wore tight shirts before you did and he has the stretched out fibers to prove it."

"Your dad knew how to rage before you did."

"Your dad wore deep-V’s before you did and he has the photo of his man cleavage to prove it."

"Your dad rode a skateboard before you did and he has a picture in Thrasher to prove it."

The Seasons

2011-08-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

This art print by by Sarah Lazarovic entitled "The Week that Wasn't" of Toronto's seasons sounds eerily a lot like Maine weather, huh?

New Arrivals!

2011-08-30T08:57:00.001-07:00

August 1st - August 15th

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Call of the Wild

2011-08-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

Title: Call of the Wild
Author: Jack London
Genre: Adventure
Published: 1903
Age: 10+

"Though his massive output is uneven, his best works - particularly "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" - have endured because of their rich subject matter and vigorous prose."

Synopsis: Buck, a huge four-year-old Scottish Shepherd-Saint Bernard cross-breed, lived a life of ease at Judge Miller's Santa Clara Valley estate. This is the story of Buck and how he was thrust into the life of a sled-dog in the savage Klondike during the Gold Rush, and how he ran with the wolves. Jack London, born in San Francisco on January 12, 1876, is well known for his stories involving men and animals and their struggles in the environment. Being an illegitimate child, he adopted his stepfather's surname. London had an adventurous life which included being an oyster pirate, a laundromat worker, a seaman and a participating in the 1897-98 Alaskan Gold Rush. His personal life adventures, idealism and belief that the fittest should survive inspired much of his writing. He wrote 50 books in 20 years, the most widely acclaimed being the story of the dog Buck in The Call of the Wild. London died at the age of 40 on November 22, 1916. He was the most successful and best-known writer in America in the first decade of the 20th century.

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Awesome People Hanging Out Together

2011-08-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Charlie Chaplin and Helen Keller

Wes Andersen and Kanye West

Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee

A little something to brighten your day. A fun little tumblr of vintage, rare, and recent photographs of Awesome People Hanging Out Together. How neat! There are lots more, so do stop by!

Dinosaur Superheroes

2011-08-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur Superheroes. Cooooooool.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Looking For Alaska

2011-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Published: 2005
Age: 14+

Intense, brooding, intriguing. A great novel for older young adults.

Synopsis: Miles "Pudge" Halter is abandoning his safe - okay, boring - life. Fascinated by the last words of famous people, Pudge leaves for boarding school to seek what a dying Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Pudge becomes encircled by friends whose lives are everything but safe and boring. Their nucleus is razor-sharp, sexy, and self-destructive Alaska, who has perfected the arts of pranking and evading school rules. Pudge falls impossibly in love. When tragedy strikes the close-knit group, it is only in coming face-to-face with death that Pudge discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.

Review: "From the very first page, tension fills John Green's Michael L. Printz Award-winning novel. Miles Halter, 16, is afraid that nobody will show up at his party because he doesn't have many friends. He loves to read biographies and discover the last words attributed to famous people. He's particularly intrigued with the dying words of poet Francois Rabelais: "I go to seek a great perhaps." Miles is leaving his loving Florida home for the "great perhaps" of the same Alabama boarding school attended by his father. Ominous chapter headings (40 days before, 10 days after) reveal that something tragic may happen. At school, Miles is accepted by a brainy group of pranksters led by his roommate and Alaska Young, a smart and sexy feminist. The teen becomes captivated by his new friends who spend as much energy on sex, smoking, drinking, and cutting-up as they do on reading, learning, and searching for life's meaning. As the school year progresses, Miles's crush on Alaska intensifies, even after it becomes evident that her troubled past sometimes causes her to be self-destructive. This novel is about real kids dealing with the pressures of growing up and feeling indestructible. Listeners will be riveted as the friends band together to deal with the catastrophic events that plague their junior year, and rejoice at their triumphs. Jeff Woodman clearly delineates the voices for each character in an age-appropriate, smart-alecky manner, injecting great emotion while managing not to be overly sentimental. This story belongs in all collections for older young adults, especially those who like Chris Crutcher, David Klass, and Terry Trueman." - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

15 Jobs You Never Knew Existed

2011-08-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

So, you think your summer job is the worst? Well, scooping ice cream or clearing tables wont seem so bad after you've checked out a few of these 15 Jobs You Never Knew Existed.

(In case your wondering what is going on in the picture above, that poor woman is a professional odor tester for various deodorants. Yikes!)

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Briar Rose

2011-08-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Title: Briar Rose
Author: Jane Yolen
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction
Published: 1992
Age: 13+

"Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, Yolen's novel is a compelling reminder of the Holocaust as well as a contemporary tale of secrets and romance."

Synopsis: Rebecca has always loved listening to her grandmother's stories about Briar Rose. However, the old woman's astonishing and hard-to-believe admission that she "is" Briar Rose sets Rebecca on an unforgettable path of self-discovery that will change her life forever.

Review: Windling's Fairy Tale series has produced several excellent fantasy novels inspired by classic fairy tales. This is one of the series's most ambitious efforts, and only a writer as good as Yolen could bring it off. Yolen takes the story of Briar Rose (commonly known as Sleeping Beauty) and links it to the Holocaust--a far-from-obvious connection that she makes perfectly convincing. Rebecca Berlin, a young woman who has grown up hearing her grandmother Gemma tell an unusual and frightening version of the Sleeping Beauty legend, realizes when Gemma dies that the fairy tale offers one of the very few clues she has to her grandmother's past. To discover the facts behind Gemma's story, Rebecca travels to Poland, the setting for the book's most engrossing scenes and its most interesting, best-developed characters. By interpolating Gemma's vivid and imaginative story into the larger narrative, Yolen has created an engrossing novel. She handles a difficult subject with finesse in a book that should be required reading for anyone who is tempted to dismiss fantasy as a frivolous genre. - Publisher's Weekly

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

DIY Project: Tree Lamp

2011-08-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

So what do you do with the odd looking branch you found hiking three years ago that you can't bring yourself to throw away? How about a tree lamp?

Anna Laurent says that "making a lamp from a tree branch is easy, inexpensive, and requires few materials. The primary challenge is planning a design, and finding a piece of wood that works—the concept and wood need to be considered together, as different types and shapes of branches offer different possibilities and limitations. After that, your best resources are creativity, and, as always, Home Depot's wealth of accommodating hardware and staff."

So who else is going hiking tomorrow now?

Step-by-step guide here.

New Arrivals!!

2011-08-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

July 16th - July 31st

Book List: Steampunk

2011-07-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

So, what the devil is steampunk anyways! I've seem a lot of "steampunk jewelry" and "steampunk art," but until now I didn't know exactly what it was. So I thought I'd do a little research and this is what I came up with.

Steampunk is an genre that was formerly underground but is becoming more popular. As literature, it began with authors such as Jules Verne and H.P. Lovecraft. Today's steampunk authors tend to write books that are set in alternative-realm Victorian era, or have a Victorian vibe. But the difference is that they are technology-heavy with such inventions as multi-spectrum binoculars and steam powered airships, as well as have supernatural elements.

Aesthetically, steampunk is primarily costumes with corsets, top hats, horn-rimmed glasses, and poison darts hidden disguised in parasols. It's steam power used creatively to win wars, escape prisons, and see the rest of the world. If looking to jump into the genre, here are a few suggestions:

Fever Crumb by Phillip Reeve
Foundling Fever Crumb has been raised as an engineer although females in the future London, England, are not believed capable of rational thought, but at age fourteen she leaves her sheltered world and begins to learn startling truths about her past while facing danger in the present.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray travels to England in search of her brother only to be abducted by the Dark Sisters, residents of London's Downworld, home to the city's supernatural folk, and she becomes the object of much attention--both good and bad--when it is discovered she has the power to transform at will into another person.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
A scientist invents a machine that transports him far into the future where he discovers a changed world inhabited by two unusual races, the Eloi and the Morlocks.

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore
The adventures of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a group composed of characters taken from late 19th Century literature, as they defend Britain against various villains.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
In the city of Ember, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

Larklight by Philip Reeve
In an alternate Victorian England, young Arthur and his sister Myrtle, residents of Larklight, a floating house in one of Her Majesty's outer space territories, uncover a spidery plot to destroy the solar system.

Airman by Eoin Colfer
In the 1890s on an island off the Irish coast, Conor Broekhart is falsely imprisoned and passes the solitary months by scratching designs of flying machines into the walls, including one for a glider with which he dreams of escape.

Librarian Pick of the Week: The Book Thief

2011-07-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 2006
Age: 13+

This is going to be a classic one day. If you haven't read it, please do.

Synopsis: Set during World War II in Germany, Zusaks groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing, encounters something she cant resist: books.

Review: "Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book-although she has not yet learned how to read-and her foster father uses it, The Gravedigger's Handbook, to lull her to sleep when she's roused by regular nightmares about her younger brother's death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayor's reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel's story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative." - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Hobbit

2011-07-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R. Tolkein
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 1937
Age: 12+

Considered by many to be the "Greatest Fantasy Epic of Our Time."

Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo-alone and unaided-who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside . . . This stirring adventure fantasy begins the tale of the hobbits that was continued by J.R.R. Tolkien in his bestselling epic The Lord of the Rings.

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!!

2011-07-19T08:06:00.001-07:00

July 1st - July 15th

Cuteness Overload

2011-07-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

"Sea otters hold hands when they sleep, so they don’t drift away from each other."

Librarian's Pick of the Week: City of Bones

2011-07-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

Title: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, Book 1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2007
Age: 14+

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer for the new generation.

Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder--much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing--not even a smear of blood--to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Review: "When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a "mundie" (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped. Jocelyn is the only person who knows the whereabouts of "The Mortal Cup," a dangerous magical item that turns humans into Shadowhunters. Clary must find the cup and keep it from a renegade sector of Shadowhunters bent on eliminating all nonhumans, including benevolent werewolves and friendly vampires. Amid motorcycles powered by demon energies, a telepathic brotherhood of archivists, and other moments of great urban fantasy, the story gets sidetracked by cutesy touches, like the "toasted bat sandwich" on the menu of an otherworldly restaurant. The characters are sporadically characterized and tend toward behavior that is both predictable and slightly repellent-Clary finds out who her real father is about 200 pages after readers will have it figured out. Despite the narrative flaws, this version of New York, full of Buffyesque teens who are trying to save the world, is entertaining and will have fantasy readers anxiously awaiting the next book in the series." - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Recipe: Fudge Pops

2011-07-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

{via Smitten Kitchen}

As usual, I've got you covered! What better way to cool down than with some homemade fudge popsicles? I know you're probably saying, "Me? Cook? Riiight.." But believe me when I say, this recipe is really quite simple. All you need is something to cool the pops in (mold, ice tray, etc.), and the rest I am sure you can find in your mom's cupboard!

Fudge Popsicles
Adapted, just a bit, from On A Stick!

Makes 4 standard-sized popsicles (3 ounces each) or 6 in my tiny* popsicle molds (which were 2 ounces each)
2 tablespoons (21 grams or 3/4 ounce) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup (67 grams or 2 1/3 ounce) sugar
1 tablespoon (7 grams or 1/4 ounce) cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons (8 grams or 1/4 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) whole milk
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon (3 ml) vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon (7 grams or 1/4 ounce) unsalted butter

In the bottom of a medium saucepan over very low heat, gently melt the chocolate chips, stirring constantly until smooth. Stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, milk and salt and raise heat to medium. Cook mixture, stirring frequently until it thickens, anywhere between 5 minutes (for me) and 10 (suggested in the book). Remove from heat, add vanilla and butter and stir until combined.
Set aside to cool slightly then pour into popsicle molds. Freeze 30 minutes, then insert popsicle sticks. Freeze the rest of the way before serving.

Here's the full post by Smitten Kitchen

Book Buzz: Issue #5

2011-07-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

And now for our fifth issue of The Book Buzz!

Here is a new round of great book reviews from you guys. Since this batch is mostly Young Adult, I thought I'd toss it on the Teen Blog so you can keep up with what your peers are reading these days. The books featured in the newsletter are all available at the library. For the newsletter, you can either pick up a copy of the newsletter in the Juvenile Fiction section at the library, or you can view the newsletter below.

Don't forget to keep those book reviews coming! We're hoping to put out our next issue at the beginning of September.

If you haven't written a review yet and would like to, you can pick up a book review form in the Juvenile Section of the library. And after you've filled out the form for a book you've read recently, all you have to do is drop it off in the Book Buzz Drop Box.

So stay on the lookout for our next issue of Book Buzz. And keep reading!

Book Buzz Newsletter #5

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Golden Compass

2011-07-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Title: The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)
Author: Philip Pullman
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 1995
Age: 14+

Perfect weekend read for fantasy lovers of all ages.

Synopsis: In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall. Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however,nothingis as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing--victims of so-called "Gobblers"--and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

Review: "A novel set in London and in the Arctic regions of a world that is somewhat like our own. Lyra, apparently an orphan, lives among the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford. She becomes aware of a nefarious plot to steal children and transport them to the far north. As Lyra is drawn deeper and deeper into this mystery, she finds that the children are being made to suffer terribly. What she does not‘and must not‘know is that she is the keystone in an ancient prophecy. Her destiny is to save her world and to move on into a parallel universe. She dives headlong into harrowing adventures, totally unaware of her importance. She also discovers the identity of her parents, who are major players in the unfolding drama. In Lyra's world, every human has a daemon, an animal that is sort of an extension of one's soul. This fact is central to the story as the church, the academic world, and the government seek to understand the significance of the phenomenon. Also important, but never fully explained, is a substance called Dust. This is a captivating fantasy, filled with excitement, suspense, and unusual characters. The armored bears are wonderful and more interesting than most of the humans. There is some fine descriptive writing, filled with the kind of details that encourage suspension of disbelief. The story line moves along at a rapid clip, but flags when it delves into philosophical matters. The ending is less than satisfying, but serves as a lead-in to part two of the series. Fantasy lovers will be clamoring for the next installment." - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

The Invisible Man

2011-07-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

Aren't these incredible!? Chinese photographer Liu Bolin carefully covers himself in paint in order to camouflage him against his surroundings. It is estimated that it can take up to 10 hrs to prepare for a single photo shoot.

New Arrivals!

2011-07-01T12:23:00.001-07:00

June 16st - June 30th

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Westing Game

2011-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Title: The Westing Game
Author: Ellen Raskin
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2003
Age: 10+

A murder mystery for a lazy summer day.

Synopsis: For twenty-five years, Ellen Raskin's Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game has been an enduring favorite. This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. They could become millionaires, depending on how they play the tricky and dangerous Westing game, which involves blizzards, burglaries, and bombings. Ellen Raskin has entangled a remarkable cast of characters in a puzzle-knotted, word-twisting plot filled with humor, intrigue, and suspense.

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

How lovely!

2011-06-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Allow me to get a little girlie on you all by posting this while trying to jump up and down. This place actually exists. How wonderful!

Photo by GethinThomas.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Leviathan

2011-06-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Title: Leviathan
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: Steampunk, Science Fiction
Published: 2009
Age: 13+

Oh, how I love Science Fiction!

Synopsis: On the eve of World War I, the machine-loving Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their big steam-powered Clankers. Inspired by Darwin, the British have fabricated animals into warships. Their mothership, "Leviathan," is a marvelous whale-dirigible, in this new trilogy by the bestselling author of the Uglies series. Illustrations.

Review: "This is World War I as never seen before. The story begins the same: on June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated, triggering a sequence of alliances that plunges the world into war. But that is where the similarity ends. This global conflict is between the Clankers, who put their faith in machines, and the Darwinists, whose technology is based on the development of new species. After the assassination of his parents, Prince Aleksandar's people turn on him. Accompanied by a small group of loyal servants, the young Clanker flees Austria in a Cyklop Stormwalker, a war machine that walks on two legs. Meanwhile, as Deryn Sharp trains to be an airman with the British Air Service, she prays that no one will discover that she is a girl. She serves on the Leviathan, a massive biological airship that resembles an enormous flying whale and functions as a self-contained ecosystem. When it crashes in Switzerland, the two teens cross paths, and suddenly the line between enemy and ally is no longer clearly defined. The ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel, and that's a good thing because readers will be begging for more. Enhanced by Thompson's intricate black-and-white illustrations, Westerfeld's brilliantly constructed imaginary world will capture readers from the first page. Full of nonstop action, this steampunk adventure is sure to become a classic." - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Cat vs. Human

2011-06-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

This is evidence that soon cats will take over the world.

The Beatles

2011-06-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

This was taken right before the infamous Abbey Road picture was taken. Cool.

New Arrivals!!

2011-06-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

June 1st - June 15th

Librarian's Pick of the Week: After the Wreck...

2011-06-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Title: After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Drama
Published: 2006
Age: 14+

Beautiful, compelling, and terribly sad. Not recommended for the faint of heart.

Synopsis: Jenna Abbott separates her life into two categories: before the wreck and after the wreck. Before the wreck, she was leading a normal life with her mom in suburban New York. After the wreck, Jenna i alone, trying desperately to forget what happened that day on the bridge. She's determined not to let anyone get close to her she never wants to feel so broken and fragile again. Then Jenna meets Crow. He is an enigma, and Jenna is instantly drawn to him. Crow is able to break down the wall that Jenna has built around her emotions, and she surprises herself by telling him things she hasn't told anyone else. Can Jenna bring herself to face the memories she's tried so hard to erase?

Review: "Jenna Abbott, 15, is struggling to come to terms with the car accident that killed her mother and nearly took her own life as well. Formerly athletic and smart, she suddenly finds herself unable to concentrate or communicate with anyone. She is broken in both body and spirit and desperate to escape "into the blue," which is how she remembers the drug-induced haze immediately after the accident. Not wanting anything to do with her father and his new family in California, she moves to New Hampshire to live with her aunt and uncle, and begins looking for ways to escape. It takes two near-disasters for Jenna to tentatively open up to her classmate Crow and face her fears and grief. Oates is at her best telling the stories of teenage girls dealing with internal trauma and outside pressures. Jenna's pain at losing the only person truly close to her and the isolation she creates for herself are poignantly drawn. Her understanding that her choices are not what her mother would want for her is especially telling and may speak to teens in comparable situations. Similar in topic to E. R. Frank's Wrecked (S & S, 2005), this powerful novel is well worth reading." - School Library Journal

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Poll Results are In!

2011-06-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

{screenshot from Back to the Future, pt. 1}

So looks like the results of the "If You Could Have One Superpower, What Would It Be?" poll were unanimously in favor of Time Travel. Do you guys wish you could be present at world-altering historic events? Or do you really just need more time to finish that paper you've been procrastinating on? ; ) I was rooting for Teleportation myself. (Instantaneous world travel? Yes, please!)

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Freak the Mighty

2011-06-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

Title: Freak the Mighty
Author: Rodman Philbrick
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Published: 1993
Age: 12+

We're going 90's this week!

Synopsis: The heartwrenching story of two "special ed" boys who pair up to form a unique and empowering friendship. Two boys, a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant and a tiny Einstein in leg braces, forge a unique friendship when they pair up to create one formidable human force.

Review: "Maxwell towers over other kids in the eighth grade. He lives with his grandparents, Grim and Gram since his dad was imprisoned for the murder of his mom. Everyone, including him, thinks he is stupid. Kevin is a dwarf. Plagued by a short stature, but no lack of self esteem. His wild imagination paints the world into an image that is full of adventure. They join forces and forge a friendship. Together they are not the crippled kid and Killer Kane's son. Together they are Freak the Mighty. Their deficiencies as individuals are negated by the fused being they become. On Maxwell's shoulder Freak, aka Kevin, is nine feet tall and Max is intelligent. Max is portrayed realistically as an awkward and self conscious kid. "Freak" is full of confidence. Philbrick shapes a funny and thoughtful tale kids will relate to and enjoy. For a story of friendship and a lesson in self confidence and using your imagination. I recommend this book."- J. Kennedy

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!!

2011-06-07T08:37:00.001-07:00

May 15th - May 31st

Book Trailer: Across the Universe

2011-06-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Science Fiction Love Story!!! I thought I'd recommend something a little different for you.

Title: Across the Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Published: 2011
Age: 13+
Synopsis: A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder. Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules. Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Robinson's Crusoe

2011-05-31T13:51:00.000-07:00

Title: Robinson Crusoe
Author: Daniel Defoe
Genre: Classic, Adventure
Published: 1719
Age: 12+

We're going old school this week!

Synopsis: "The solitary survivor on a deserted island, Robinson Crusoe gradually creates a life for himself, building a house and cultivating the land, and making a companion of the native whose life he saves. Daniel Defoe's enthralling story-telling and imaginatively detailed descriptions have ensured that his fiction masquerading as fact remains one of the most famous stories in English literature. On one level a simple adventure story, the novel also raises profound questions about moral and spiritual values, society, and man's abiding acquisitiveness."

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

How to Cope with Stress

2011-05-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

With school ending and summer jobs looming, you might feel a tad more frazzled than usual right now. If so, try out some of these tried and true stress relievers. (Cleaning out my closet actually does me feel about 30% less stressed. I have no idea why.....)

Hanging Beds.

2011-05-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

Awesome..

Check Out Our New Arrivals!!

2011-05-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

May 1st - May 15th

Parkour Flipbook

2011-05-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

How cool. Parkour paper craft illustrated by Serene Teh. Check out some of her work on Vimeo and Tumblr.