New YA Books - A Fantasy Series and a New One By Kevin Brooks

I just got a few new things in. If you're a fan of Kevin Brooks, The Road of the Dead is now in. I also got all three books in the Secret Country trilogy, a fantasy series by Pamela Dean. For details go to New YA Books: A New Fantasy Series and a New Kevin Brooks .

Win Your Favorite CD Contest

Want to win your favorite CD? It's easy.

Just fill out an entry form Win Your Favorite CD Rules and Entry Form (includes complete rules) and bring it to the Information Desk between March 1 and March 11.

Three entries will be drawn at random on March 12 and those folks will win the CD of their choice. Winners will be announced on this blogsite.

All entries will be used as suggestions for additions to the library's music CD collection, so even if you don't win, you may soon be able to borrow that CD.

You can download your entry form now, but don't bring it in until March 1.
Good luck!

New Series Books, Plenty of Pirates and More

An interesting assortment of new books just hit the shelves. For details, check out New YA Books: New Series Books, Plenty of Pirates and More.

More New YA Audiobooks In

I just got a batch of new YA audiobooks in. Here's what's now available:

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Twilight and New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

Silverfin by Charlie Higson

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

Valiant by Holly Black

Enjoy!

Yesterday's Video Game Tournament

I can't believe that 26 of you managed to convince your parents that you needed to go to the library in yesterday's miserable weather! Despite the weather being so bad that we had to speed the tournament along a bit because the library was closing early, that was a remarkable turnout. If you missed it, check out the photos.

Where Did the YA Collection Go?

If you wander down to look for a YA book and can't find them, don't panic. They haven't gotten rid of the YA collection. In fact there's good news The Big Move is done! The YA collection has moved back one row of shelves to where the biographies had been. This gives us nearly double the shelf space. That was long overdue. We were really getting cramped in the old space. It's so nice to have a little elbow room. A big thanks goes out to Christina, Rose, Jason, Dev, Tim and Nick L. for their efforts in shuffling a whole lot of books around last Friday! If you're looking for the black whiteboards with program info, or the brochure rack with the book lists, they are now on the wall right next to the elevator (see photo). The alcove right near the elevator (the one in the photo) will become teen space soon. We're looking to get some fun, funkier furniture in there to make it a small, but hopefully comfortable, teen hangout spot. If you'd like to help plan that space, pop me a quick e-mail.

What Mrs. N's Been Reading - Pigboy

I just finished another one of those Orca books. This one was Pigboy by Vicki Grant. Boy, I am really becoming a fan of these! Another quick read with enough action to satisfy an older teen who just can't handle a long book with heavy vocabulary. This one has a class field trip going badly awry when the class basically walks into the middle of a robbery gone bad. The kid who is usually everyone's favorite punching bag has a chance to become a hero.

What Mrs. N's Been Reading - Rash

I'm becoming a fan of Pete Hautman's books. I just finished Rash. In it, it's late in the 21st century, and all menial labor is done by convicts. In order to get enough manpower to get things done, all sorts of things are punishable by incarceration, including seemingly mundane things verbally abusing another person by insulting them. After being provoked into an attempt to beat up another student, the main character, Bo, is sent to a pizza factory in the Canadian tundra. Sounds a little weird, I'll admit. Like Hautman's Godless (another book I'd recommend) Rash takes an issue and takes to seemingly absurd levels, but does it in a way that makes you take another look at your values. Check it out!

Pics From Hershey Kiss Roses Program

The Hershey Kiss Roses program was a lot of fun yesterday. 23 of you went home with a lovely little bouquet to give to someone or to devour later. Things went pretty smoothly, even though stabbing a Hershey Kiss with a piece of floral wire can be harder than it looks. If you missed it, here are a few photos.

Thought for the Week

Here in south-central PA we've dodged the winter weather bullet so far, but not for long if the forecasters are correct. Sounds like we're getting some nasty precipitation tomorrow and Wednesday. I don't know about you, but once Christmas is over I can do without the snow, especially the shovellable (?) quantities. I kind of agree with this thought:

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. "

Carl Reiner

If you disagree, first, enjoy! Second, come on over to my house and help me shovel out.

A Few More New YA Books

Fans of either Lois Duncan mystery novels, or Patricia Wrede's series that started with Sorcery and Cecilia will be happy. We've got a new Lois Duncan novel, and the latest adventures of Kate and Cecilia just in. For more info see New YA Books: One Mystery and a Chick Book .

What Mrs. N's Been Reading - Tell

I just finished Norah McClintock's Tell. I've read a few of the Orca Soundings books now, and have yet to be disappointed with one. If you're unfamiliar with the series, they are intended for older, weak, or reluctant teen readers. Strong readers who want an intricate plot and lots of detail in character development might be disappointed, but they aren't the intended audience for these books. They do pack in some action, with characters and plot that will interest teens, usually in 100-200 pages. This one is about a teenage boy, David, who's stepfather is fatally shot on the street. When the police begin to suspect that David was involved, and even his own mother suspects him, details about the drowning death of David's younger brother years earlier also come to light. The author packs quite a bit into only 100 pages.

More New Books

More are trickling in, plus there are still some from that last big pile that I haven't posted. For details on a few of them see New YA Books: More New Ones - Mostly Chick Books .

What Mrs. N's Been Reading - Blood Red Horse

I just finished K.M. Grant's Blood Red Horse, the first in the De Granville Trilogy. Not bad! At first glance this probably isn't one that I would have picked up. It's the story of two brothers and a very special horse, that takes place during the time of the Crusades, specifically the Third Crusade. I think horses are beautiful, magnificent creatures so don't think I'm anti-animal, but I just don't ordinarily care to read about 'em. And if I needed to pick one historical time period to read about, the Crusades probably wouldn't be it either. However, this book had been recommended by someone that I've agreed with in the past. It's got a bit of everything - adventure on the high seas, sibling rivalry, knights, pageantry, battles, political backstabbing and maneuvering, all in just a well-told story. It also gave you some insight into the Crusades from the Muslims' point of view. Another one that had me up later than I should have been so I could read just one more chapter. I'm expecting the second book in the series, Green Jasper, any time now. The third one, Blaze of Silver, is due out later this year. Check it out!

Latest "and" Magazine Available

I just got a stack of the latest issue of and magazine. If you're not familiar with it, definitely check it out. All of the writing, illustrations, photography, you name it, is by local teens, including our Teen Advisory Group's own Susanna (Go Susanna!) Nothing against school newspapers, but the quality of the work in and is several notches above. There are piles of them available down in the YA area. They're free. Pick one up. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Big Move - Need Service Hours?

There are changes coming at the Fredricksen. Basically we're moving about half of the books on the upper floor of the library. Why should you care? Well, the good news in all of this is that the amount of space for YA books will double. Yea!! That section is currently stuffed to the gills, so I'm excited about getting more space. If you need a couple of service hours for anything, here's an opportunity for a few fun, easy ones. On Friday, February 16, I need some volunteers to help shuffle things in the fiction area. We'll go from about 3 (or whenever you can get here after school) until about 5, if we have a good crew. If you're able to come in and help please pop me a quick e-mail. Those of you who were at the Teen Advisory Group meeting last night don't need to e-mail - I already know about you.

Upcoming Programs - Games and Roses

In case you missed them, or you don't pay attention to the stuff in the sidebar on this page, there are a couple of great programs coming up soon:

Hershey Kiss Roses for Valentine's Day on Sunday, February 11 at 2:00. Combine chocolate and flowers for a unique gift for someone special. Samples are on display at the Information Desk. For grades 6-12. Free. Sign up at the Information Desk.

Game Development and Design on Mondays, February 12 and 19, and March 5 and 12 at 7:00. A 4-part series presented by Mayer Foner of Games Only Emporium, that will cover the history of games and what exactly makes the great games so good and the lousy ones so darn bad. (Seems obvious but sometimes it's hard to put your finger on the why.) Plenty of hands-on activities, and everyone will create a game to be tried out and critiqued by their peers and then refined. Emphasis will be on board games, but the principles apply to board games, video games, or physical games. Sign up at the Information Desk. Grades 6-12.

See you there!

Thought for the Week

I realized that I've been a bit negligent on the "Thoughts for the Week." Between Christmas and New Year's both being on Monday (the day I usually posted that) and being out of town for a little while at the beginning of January, I just got out of the habit. Hopefully I'm back in. Yesterday I watched the DVD "The March of the Penguins." If you haven't seen it, it's wonderful - go borrow it from your local library. Anyway, they were talking about temperatures of 80 below zero with hundred mile an hour winds and these poor penguins not having eaten for like 3 months. Kinda makes today's high of about 18 seem downright balmy in comparison. Nonetheless, being spoiled by a mild winter so far, I only really have one thought this week:

"BRRRRRRRRRRR"

Mrs. N.